Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle - Chapter 228-2

228 – The Talk with the Dragon King and the Scales of Justice (Part 2)

Valac’s expression disappears, and a terrifying fighting spirit is released.

In the face of pressure that would make an ordinary man loosen his bowels, Wraith laughs.

「Hah, bring it on. I truly hope you make it to the main event.」

When she checks that Wraith isn’t batting an eye, she laughs…and quickly calms down.

「…Me too, kid. I’m sure if we meet in a match, even Foo can’t ignore me.」

It seems like Valac is really worried about her childhood friend, Furcus.

「It would appear that your conversation has concluded.」

「Yeah, it’s over, stubborn knight.」

「My name is Astrea.」

「Yeah, I know.」

Valac gave us a wave and left.

「You guys can have your talk, but do you mind if you do it while we walk somewhere else?」

Astrea agreed to Wraith’s proposal.

My party members walked in front while Astrea and I were behind, walking side by side.

「What I wished to talk about was a job offer.」

Astrea gets right down to business

「…Uh… You mean, with the Knights Order?」

「Indeed. Your Black Magic will be most useful. Please consider it. With your Black Magic, my comrades would not be hurt during battles with criminals. And above all else, damage to the surroundings can be limited.」

…There was that time with the purse snatcher near Blitz’s fruit stall, Cashew’s former workplace.

At that time, I had Blitz bear the brunt of the attack, but certainly, it was resolved with no one, other than the criminal, getting hurt.

「In addition, if one considers your abilities, you would be a huge asset to my allies even in a large group battle. I also believe that you can help contribute to the decline of repeat crimes.」

「Ahaha, that might work. People do bad things because they think that they stand to gain something from it. I’m sure they’ll understand once they’re made immobile by Lem’s Black Magic and surrounded by big strong knights. That there isn’t any worth in committing a crime in this area, at least.」

Said Wraith, cheerfully.

「…To put it in other words, yes. Also, this might require patience, but I wish for you to become the hope of Black Sorcerers.」

「Hope…huh?」

「Injuries are a part of everyday life, so White Sorcerers are always in need. However, the main place of employment for Black Sorcerers is only as an Adventurer, and I understand that it is currently difficult for them to find employment. A portion of them are employed by the Knights Order but…they ultimately end up training other Aptitudes.」

Not a lot of Wizard types have an Aptitude for combat, but someone like me is able to handle a sword as well as the next guy thanks to Furcus.

If your movements aren’t too shabby, or if you have an Aptitude for something other than Black Magic that is useful, you can develop that and make yourself a knight.

However, this isn’t a demand for someone who is good at Black Magic.

「It would appear that Sir Lem has…somehow or other trained yourself in very much the same way that I have, but due to my own circumstances, I’m afraid I can’t take the initiative in spreading the method around.」

I guess she’s referring to how I trained myself by casting Black Magic on myself.

If this is some sort of trade secret taught from parent to child, then I suppose she can’t just casually tell others about it.

I also understand that it’s a way of doing things that won’t gain support if you go public with it.

If you consider other types of magic users, it would be fairly dangerous if they started burning their own skin or freezing themselves.

Black Magic and Gravity Manipulation are just as dangerous.

I cast it on myself knowing that it was dangerous because I had a strong sense of purpose.

It would be…difficult to gather and nurture Black Sorcerers by loudly touting such a method.

「And that’s…where I come in?」

「Indeed. If those who reject idealism were to see you, the fruits of such labor, even their resistance would lessen.」

It is common, in fact, that with or without precedent, the ease of discussion changes.

White Sorcerers are also considered an unfortunate Job, but thanks to the existence of Panacea, formerly of the Aerial party, they cannot be held up to be as unnecessary as Black Sorcerers.

…I have thought before if I could become such an existence for Black Sorcerers.

「Everyone will notice Lem’s abilities before long. This time, your contributions were made visible thanks to the points system. Won’t there be a ton of people that are like “A Black Sorcerer can get this far, and you’re saying that it’ll be tough but there’s a way that I can get that strong too? Sure, sign me up!”?」

「I wish to say that I want you to join the Knights Order but…let us talk if you ever have the desire to join. In ten or even twenty years’ time, I believe that the negative image of the Black Sorcerer can be eradicated by the work of you and everyone serving under you.」

I’ve never thought about that, but that sounds amazing.

It truly, truly sounds incredible.

But…

「I am honored by your proposition and your speech fills me with hope. However, I love this industry. And my dream has yet to come to fruition.」

My new dream of becoming the hero of the Monsters is still underway. In fact, it may never end.

Yet I still want to aim for it.

「I see. …I thought that you might say as much.」

Astrea’s expression loosened ever so slightly.

「Y’know, knight lady, it’s a little weird to be poaching a party member right in front of the party leader.」

「…My apologies. Now that I think about it, this is quite disrespectful.」

Astrea apologized after Wraith’s little remark.

「Aah it’s fine, but is Lem the only one you wanna recruit?」

「…The White Sorcerer young man and the Cyclops woman have promise. If you have any desire to join, we would accept. However…I cannot hand a child a sword and make them fight criminals. Once you turn thirteen, we can accept you as a trainee if you so desire.」

「I’m gonna become the strongest Hero so I don’t have a~ny interest in being a knight.」

「…I…want to go with Wraith.」

「Alright.」

Astrea doesn’t question why he asked in the first place.

「…I get the impression that the Knights Order are mostly Normals.」

Said Josh.

「Just as how there are more Normals in a town, it is a matter of percentage. It is not uncommon for a Demi-Human to become a knight now. Criminals don’t care what race they are, if the people who catch them don’t respond, we will fall behind.」

「Th-that’s true…」

「But your concern is valid. Minorities have a hard time. I wish to improve it as well but there aren’t many effective measures…」

Astrea answers even casual questions earnestly.

Josh is listening particularly intently to what she has to say.

Once the conversation reached a natural stopping point, I asked her.

「By the way, where are your other four members, Astrea?」

「It would appear that they went for a long training run on their own after they were defeated. They left a note. I also plan to join them later. We’ll get the footage later, and we’ll figure out what we did wrong, and we’ll make the most of it next time.」

「I-I see…」

「Sir Lem?」

「Ah, yes?」

「While continuing to be an Adventurer…this may be difficult as you are temporarily enrolled in the Wraith party, but… When you have the time, I don’t mind if you were to come as an interim instructor. It would help us greatly if you do.」

「…Thank you for the offer.」

Huh…along with my position in the Demon King Castle, this is an unexpectedly viable proposal.

「Hey, hey, now look here, Lem’s gonna be working with us after the festival games are over.」

「This is only if that doesn’t come to pass.」

「Now listen here…」

We walked out of the venue while talking about this and that.

At the side entrance prepared by the Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon for those involved in the games.

「Yo…! Lem! A~nd the Wraith party! And little miss knight captain as well!」

Using the Teleportation Recording Stone, we teleported to the hollowed-out tree room from before.

When we exited that, that voice called out to us.

「Garo…?」

It was the Ash Hero Garo, the world’s 11th ranked party.

His party members are here too.

「In the flesh! I’ve been waiting for you…!」

There was even Valac from before along with her other party members, including the Beast-Controlling Thief Barbatos.

And that’s not all.

「…H-hey, Lem. L-looks like Garo and I had the same objective…」

Fenix was here too.

Garo had his arms around the shoulders of the Flame Hero Fenix, of the world’s 4th ranked party, with a troubled expression on his face.

Of course, Lily and the others were there too.

To get wrapped up with Garo while waiting for me… He must’ve wanted to talk to me.

「After fighting with all our might, let us eat and drink with the same zeal! So without further ado, let’s go…!」

Somehow, it came to this.

But I must say…what a crowd.