"So, you plan on joining the fray while also taking everyone here down with you," sighed Gab, who got a headache by now.

'This arc is getting annoying. Maybe I should opt out and live a quiet life, far away from all the bullshit that's been happening here. Let's decide after the dungeon if it's worth helping her further than the bare minimum.'

Seeing his annoyed face, Enota nodded with a grin: "Well, I will make sure that all of you want to join me. I only need to make you all an offer which you can't refuse, hehehehe."

"I'm not gonna comment on your last sentence, but how the hell did you end up with such an army?"

"I made a deal with the devil."

「Somewhere in the past」

Somewhere, in a palace, a man sat there with closed eyes while wearing plain clothes. If one were to see a picture of him, one would have guessed that he was an old man who lived a healthy life. The average citizen would not believe that he was a fairly respected magician who was also the reigning king of a country.

The current king had an image to keep. But since he wasn't expecting anyone important, he opted out for comfortable clothes.

The hall in which his throne stood was big enough to house a ball party, and the walls were littered with paintings of former family heads.

"What a lovely sight," the man thought to himself loudly as his gaze wandered through his forefathers. One of them was his former uncle, who was the previous head of the state. That man gave the throne up to him to dedicate his life towards his own pet project.

'Soon, I will be able to do that too, heheheh.' went through his head as he heard someone opening the door and entering hastily.

And there she was, his daughter in all her glory, running towards him.

'I thought, I thaught her manners, but well, it seems like the maid failed when it came to her education.' sighed the king who was watching her run towards him.

The girl immediately stopped ten meters away from the throne before kneeling and pressing her head against the blood-red carpet.

"What led you here, my daughter? There shouldn't be any reason for you to visit me. Or have you perhaps taken the initiative and abandoned your naive ideas?" asked the king while starring down at her with a raised eyebrow.

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His golden eyes were enveloped in a hue, and one glance from him was enough to pressure anyone under his power. Enota felt like an insignificant being whenever her father glanced at her. But right now, she was experiencing hell since her father continued starring at her. She was sweating and shaking uncontrollably, while at the same time, she didn't even dare to look up.

To her fortune, it didn't take long for her father to ease the pressure on her while commenting: "I'm surprised that you haven't yet fallen unconscious. So tell me the reason for your coming, daughter."

"Fa-Father, No, I mean my dear Lord. This insignificant being has chosen to join the fight and wants to ask for your guidance and for some help," stuttered Enota, while her head was still remaining on the ground.

"Guidance?" commented the man before laughing loudly. "My dear daughter, calling me father should be fine. But as a King, I'm not allowed to give any candidate fighting for the throne an edge over the other. Tell me what lead you to abandon not to join the fight for the throne."

"No matter what I do, there will be no escape from the king. Either I will end up as your puppets or as theirs, even if I promise not to participate, which is why I decided to participate. But I'm way too late to the game. I haven't made any connections, nor have I gained my own followers, and neither am I skilled enough to stand out, which is why I want to make you an offer that you can't refuse."

" An offer which I can't refuse?" The king laughed loudly before calming himself down. "Interesting. Interesting. I want to hear the offer, and if it isn't even to my liking, you'll be ending up like that without my help. So tell me, daughter, what offer can a king like me not refuse? I've got money, wisdom, and manpower. What can you possibly offer to me?" commented the king in amusement while tapping on the armrest of his throne that was made of some silver metal.

"I want 200 men below the intermediate level who will be serving me. For that, I'm willing to end up as your puppet if I'm unable to become a promising candidate. … no, I mean to win over the throne after 7 years," stated the princess with a trembling voice as she was at the brink of crying.

The eyes of the king immediately narrowed, and his gaze immediately searched if someone else was listening to them. After making sure that the two were alone, a big smile formed around his face before he commented: "I don't care about having you as my puppet. But your willingness is more than enough for me to break my promise of impartial since I want to see how you envision winning the throne in such a short time frame. Daughter, I agree with your offer, and you shall get your 200 men army and a free teleportation spell for your offer since I'm in a good mood."

Enota took a deep breath of relief since her gamble paid off, but in the next moment, a thunder shot through her body, and runes began to form over her body slowly. The pain she felt was so unbearable, and it took all her strength for her to gaze at her father, who only stated: "seven years. If you can't deliver on your promises of becoming a throne candidate with a high chance of winning over the throne, you shall become my puppet."

With that, the deal with the devil was sealed.