Chapter IX

Hello and greetings! Yes, more Demon Lord's Adventurers; hey, it is what has my interest at the moment. You guys work fast, at time of writing, only a couple hours, and it is already filled with reviews. I love it. That said, it seems that the majority of you are enjoying the story so far, I hope to keep you entertained in the future. As for this chapter, as usual, let me know if you liked it with a review. I would like to thank Bakuto Masaki for joining me on this venture into insanity that is my brain. But, with that being said, on to the reviewer responses.

AscendedHumanity: I most certainly do, and that number will keep going up for the time being.

METALHELLSPWN: Yeah, those From Software games are a bitch and a half. Which is why I don't play them, I like easy mode.

Thanos69: All of the above.

dfelfskelkr: Hey, whatever works.

Skull Flame: Liquor most definitely.

It generally is.

Lawoi: Ah. I haven't gotten that far in the novels in terms of actual reading. I've only just gotten past where the anime ended.

I don't recall mentioning her at any point in the story.

Fortitude501: A) I'm not working so I don't really have a whole lot to do at the moment.

B) It's the story that's got my passion the most right now.

Armored Spirits just got an update earlier, Tales of Neptunia is getting an update soon, and as for the rest I can't make any promises. As far as Gremory's Guardian, it's getting to the point I'm half tempted to turn reviews off or something similar, since all the slime has seeped up in that story.

Messiah of authors: You're certainly a perceptive one. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, I just like big tits. And this gives me Mordred and big tits at the same time. Just like using Lancer Arturia, which I use almost exclusively when it comes to Arturia in my stories. Which sword? If you mean Gram, I can't say. If you mean the sword he has as Heathcliff, he likely won't use that until fighting as Heathcliff.

ObsidianUnknown66: Yep, because boobies! It wasn't multiple slimes so much as pieces of a whole one, like a slug trail. Nah, Sinoula has her on a short leash. Aqua, when done right, is a treat.

Well here it is!

correnhimself316: Well I can assure you whatever she gets will be plenty powerful. And yes, Lancer Mordred is something amazing indeed. I can promise you that there will be others who appear, however that doesn't include every single one you mentioned.

15songoku: Thanks. Don't get too used to it, sadly. As once the beervirus is gone I'll have to go back to work.

This is very true.

Don't worry, lemons will be coming shortly. Pun very much intended. Indeed you will.

You're missing a few, but that's because I haven't made many overt references to them, or you didn't catch the rather blatant ones I left, which is fine. However, I won't say precisely which ones, as it would be spoilers for future plot developments.

Phew, that was a lot, keep them coming! On to the main event!

"So what now?" Aqua wondered.

"We return to Sylvie and report our findings," Diablo explained. Turning to the side, he noticed Shera poking some of the leftover globs of slime on one of the plants. "Even pieces of a Slime can still be alive, it is unwise to touch them."

Shera, not hearing him or outright ignoring him, plucked the glob of blue goo off the iridescent leaf and ate it, humming to herself happily. "Mm… tasty…"

Diablo twitched an eyebrow and chided, "No more."

"But –" she began to argue, only to get cut off as Diablo pulled her to her feet.

"No more. That's an order."

"Aw…"

"I want to see what is in it first. If it's harmless we might be able to sell it if it tastes that good, and you can have some more then."

Nanana raised a concerned eyebrow. "Is that greed goddess rubbing off on you?"

Diablo cocked an eyebrow as he looked at her in mild annoyance. "No. Money is simply required to do anything of import."

Aqua, very annoyed, interjected, "That water goddess is right here, you know."

Before Aqua and Nanana could into another argument, Diablo got the blue-haired goddess' attention with a new subject.

"Yes?"

"You say you know healing spells?"

"A few," she answered with a smirk.

"Next time the rest of you have a battle, try focusing on using them."

She blinked in thought at his suggest. "R – Right…"

As the group made their way back through the tunnels towards the exit, Nanana kept noticing the numerous glowing herbs that dotted the landscape of the cave, eventually deciding to bring it up. "Hey, Momo."

"What?" he questioned, stopping to look back at her.

Pointing to a few of the plants, she asked, "Aren't these Hipokte herbs?"

Diablo walked up next to her and picked one of the small, unassuming plants and examined it closely. "Hm… I believe so."

"Hippo tea herb?" Shera questioned, completely butchering the name.

'Cute…' Diablo cooed in his head, earning him an incredulous glance from Nanana.

"Aren't they used in crafting potions?" Rem asked, sniffing the one Diablo held and recoiling slightly.

Diablo nodded in affirmation as he dropped a few of the plants into his Inventory. "Yes. In crafting many of the purest potions possible. One of these can cover almost all of the ingredients I would need."

"Well there's a whole field of 'em over there," Nanana noted before pointing to the side.

Diablo looked where she was point and, sure enough, there was a large field, no less than fifty meters across, covered in a thick blanket of the herbs. He could not keep his jaw from hitting the ground. 'Whaaat?! What kind of mana did that Veldora have to produce this much Hipokte and Magic Ore?!'

Nanana put her hands up in dismayed defeat. 'Not a freaking clue… She did say he was a subordinate to Grima…'

'This is the kind of supply drop you would expect for an event boss!'

'Maybe he never got implemented into the game?'

Diablo managed to calm himself somewhat before putting a hand on his chin. 'Perhaps…'

Shera glanced down and saw more globs of the blue slime on the ground. "Huh… more slime bits…"

Diablo grabbed her by the shoulder and prevented her from reaching out to it. "No more snacking."

"Aww…"

Sighing, he reached into his Inventory and pulled out a small bag of biscuits and handed it to her. "Here, eat these if you're still that hungry."

"Ooh…" she cooed before opening it and getting the fresh-baked smell of sweets. "Ooh! So sweet!" she exclaimed as she took a bite of one.

'So are you…' he mumbled in his mind.

Nanana just shot him a wry smirk. 'If you're not careful you'll start drooling.'

Twitching an eyebrow, he resisted the urge to knock her on the head.

"Huh…" Rem hummed in thought as she looked around.

"What is it, Rem?" Diablo asked.

"There are some holes where those slime bits are…"

"Holes?" he wondered as he walked up beside her. "Hm…"

"Do you think it's acidic?"

"Eep!" Shera squeaked in fear.

"That's why you shouldn't go around eating everything that looks good."

"If it was acidic there would be signs of it," Diablo interjected.

"Then what do you think the holes are from?"

"A perfect indentation of what was once Magic Ore buried in the ground."

Rem gasped slightly. "Wait… there's hundreds, possibly thousands of these holes. How much did it eat?"

"No idea. And there are still a lot of ore and herbs left over. We need to gather the herbs before something or someone else finds them."

"Right," Darkness nodded.

The group began picking and pulling the herbs from the ground, careful to avoid damaging the fragile plants. Handing bushels of it to Diablo, who deposited it into his Inventory.

After nearly an hour of pulling, Megumin slumped back and sighed. "There's so much of it… and it all just vanishes into Diablo's portal."

"Yeah," Mordred muttered as Diablo dropped another bunch of the herbs into his Inventory.

As they worked, Megumin suddenly felt a tingle in the back of her mind and immediately stood up, turned around, and shot a small Explosion from her staff.

"Megumin…" Diablo grumbled.

"I had a bad feeling…"

Narrowing his eyes in thought, he turned to where she had fired the attack and saw the burnt corpse of a small, hairless, green-skinned creature. "We need to leave, now."

"Why?" Darkness asked curiously.

Diablo just ordered, "Give me any herbs and ore you've gathered and head for the exit, immediately."

"Okay?"

Nanana frowned in thought before looking at Diablo. 'What's got you so spooked? It's just Imps. You can wipe them out with a single spell. Heck, you might even be able to get them to kill one another.'

Diablo argued, 'That isn't just an Imp. If it was just your average Imp its body would've been turned to ashes. Instead, it remained intact enough to identify from here.'

'And?'

'It's hard to explain. There's something telling me that if we stay here too much longer, something extremely bad is going to –'

Their conversation was cut short as loud screams of terror and pain flooded into the cave.

Without wasting a second for words, Diablo took off towards the source.

"M – Momo!" Nanana called out before she and the others ran after him.

They ran for several long seconds before, as they rounded a sharp corner, Rem caught a glimpse of something ahead.

"Hey, there's a light up ahead!"

Taking the incentive, Diablo kicked off the ground and launched forward. The scene he stumbled upon was the stuff of nightmares.

Dozens of small, pointy-eared, green-skinned, grotesque creatures of various sizes filled the small cave.

Huddled against one corner of the wall, a petite blonde girl with bright blue eyes filled with tears of fear wearing white robes accented with blue and gold, holding a long staff with rings on it.

Surrounded by a small group of the detestable creatures was a young woman with short, wild red hair and green eyes behind glasses, wearing a green dress with a pointed brown hat and matching cape, both of which were in tatters as the monsters around her pulled at the clothing.

Lastly, a girl with long black hair and matching onyx eyes, her clothing almost all stripped from her body by a large monster.

"Get… off me…!" the black-haired girl demanded desperately as the large Imp stomped on her leg.

A smaller Imp cackled madly before looking up and noticing the larger one holding the girl down was suddenly missing its head.

Diablo flicked his hand and Gram appeared in an instant. "Damned Imps!" Swinging it with all his force, the Imps surrounding the pinned woman were suddenly cleaved in half, their bodies falling limply to the floor. "Each and every one of you damned cretins are dying here!"

The redhead managed to kick one of the Imps away from as they were distracted, only for another one to grab a long sword fashioned from bone, her eyes paling as she watched it raise the weapon. "No… stay away…!"

Before it had a chance to react, Nanana came flying in with a diving kick that sent the monster flying against a wall so hard it splattered like a tomato. Pumping a fist, she exclaimed, "Always fun smashing things like that!"

One of the Imps behind hooted before diving at her, only for one of Megumin's shots to hit it and explode violently.

The redhead looked at Megumin in disbelief. "How…? No chant…? What's even going on…?"

Seeing more of the creatures running at them, Diablo raised a hand with his palm facing them. "Dark Bullet Storm!" In a black flash of light, a barrage of energy spheres shot out like a shotgun, ripping through the green-skinned horrors as they collapsed onto the ground. Seeing two of the large ones getting back up to try again, Diablo moved his hand aside for another attack. "Mass Grasp Heart!"

The two creatures stopped in their tracks before Diablo slammed his fist shut, the monsters coughing up blood before collapsing on the ground.

He noticed one more small Imp trying to escape down a hole. "Shera."

Without pause, the blonde elf picked up a pebble nearby and chucked it, hitting the small cretin in the side of the head, killing it.

Rem stared at the elf in disbelief.

Ensuring that no more of them were arriving, Diablo stowed Gram and then turned to the three frightened girls. "Are you three alright?"

"Y – Yes…" the blonde answered shakily as she came back to her senses.

The red-haired woman sat up, groaning and looked around at the scene. "What the hell is this?! Why did we have so much trouble with Goblins…?"

"Because these weren't Goblins," Diablo chided. "They're Imps. Goblins live in the forests, staying as far away as possible from any caves that may house Imps."

The black-haired girl slumped onto her knees silently before looking down at her unclothed form as the reality of the situation finally set in. "Th – Those things… they were… they were going to…"

Sighing, Diablo pulled a large coat out of his Inventory and handed it to the girl, who hastily wrapped it around herself. "It's not as durable as armor, but it's something to wear."

"Th – Thank you…" she stammered out.

Looking out over the trio as they seemed to slowly come out of the shock, he asked, "What were rookie Adventurers even doing here in the first place?"

The bespectacled woman hissed her words out, "We came here with that son of a bitch…"

"Oh?"

"Some big shot from Faltra's main city, claimed he was sent by the goddess or some shit."

The blonde weakly stood up, making her way over to her friends.

Clenching her torn cloak tightly, she whimpered, "As soon as those… things swarmed us he took off like a baby."

Aqua shrugged her arms with a hiss of disgust. "Huh. Must be some shitty goddess that chose that reincarnate."

Nanana just shot the blue-haired goddess an incredulous look before Diablo interjected, "Tell me, did he have two other women with him?"

Nodding, the redhead answered, "Yeah, but he sent them to get supplies while we came here."

Diablo just sighed as he turned his attention back to the black-haired woman. "I would chastise you for following that fool, but I can see he has innate charisma. Regardless, it's over now."

"Th – There won't be anymore… right…?" the frightened blonde asked.

Diablo shook his head in response. "No. The rest were likely frightened away. Regardless, we need to get you three out of here before something worse shows up."

The girl with only the coat on her tried to stand up but stumbled as her leg gave out from under her, though Diablo managed to catch her.

"I don't expect you to stand any time soon," he argued before pulling a potion from his Inventory. "Here. It won't get rid of the pain entirely but it will heal it faster."

"Thank you…"

As she drank it down, Diablo turned to the group. "Now, who are you three?"

The redhead spoke up first. "Moluka, Copper Wizard."

"P – Prelsina, a Copper Priestess," introduced the blonde.

Finishing the potion with a sigh, the black-haired girl introduced herself. "Fikuma, Copper Fighter." Clenching her fists, she snarled, "Not that it did me any good…"

"Why on Earth did the Guild let a bunch of Coppers come to a place like this?" Diablo grumbled.

Moluka explained, "Because we were accompanied by a Silver."

"And?" he prodded.

Rem explained, "A quest like this is normally rated for a party of Irons, so a few Coppers with a Silver would be considered enough."

"Not when that Silver is complete fool and coward. On top of the fact this is Veldora's cave. Whatever, let's head back to town."

"We can't!" Prelsina argued.

"Why?"

Moluka answered, "The quest we accepted with that dirtbag was to find and rescue some village girls that were captured by the Goblins."

"Imps," he corrected.

Pointing to one of their corpses, Moluka exclaimed, "These disgusting things! Whatever they're called!"

"I highly doubt they are still alive," he argued coldly. "And even if they are, I strongly doubt they would want to stay that way."

Prelsina's whole face went pale at that answer. "… Th – That…"

Sighing at her expression, Diablo pulled one of the smaller crystals from his Inventory and threw it down, one of the mechanical angels appearing in a flash of light. "Archangel Flame, search for more Imps. If you find any living females, human or demihuman, return them to me."

The machine responded with a quiet humming noise before flying off into the cave.

"Now, let's leave the cave. There is little we can do now beyond wait for its return."

"… Okay…" Prelsina answered with a defeated nod.

Outside the cave, Aqua yawned as they entered the sunlight.

"Which province did you come from?" Diablo questioned.

"Melromarc," Moluka added.

Diablo glanced at Rem.

"It's to the west of Faltra."

"Ah."

"How'd you end up with someone from Faltra then?" Shera questioned.

Moluka answered, "A friend of Fikuma's is in his Party, and she suggested we join him. He suggested a simple quest to see what we could do, and chose this one."

Raising an eyebrow, Diablo pursued a line of questioning. "I'm assuming the quest said killing Goblins."

"Correct."

"That was the first mistake. Imps are nothing like Goblins. Goblins are rather peaceful unless provoked and prefer to live in forests. Imps are insane beasts that utilize women of other races to breed. Goblins are also significantly more intelligent than Imps, but are physically inferior in almost every way. Which is why they do their best to avoid encounters with other races. And why they are often enslaved by more powerful races."

"You almost sound like you like Goblins…" Shera muttered in amusement.

"Ah…" was all Diablo could force out as he realized it.

Nanana came in with a save, however. "Well, Draphs are often discriminated against as demons, so I'm sure there's some overlap there."

"Makes sense," Rem noted.

Diablo addressed the three once more. "We will return you to Faltra, you will likely find transport from there to Melromarc."

All three stared somberly at him.

Sighing, Nanana redirected, "So what were you trying to do as Adventurers?"

"Pardon?" Prelsina asked, surprised at the question.

"What were your goals when you became Adventurers?"

Fikuma was the first to answer, albeit slowly. "I… I was hoping to earn money for my village."

"H – Helping other Adventurers stay alive," Prelsina declared softly.

Moluka gripped her broken staff in frustration. "I… I just wanted to become the best wizard…"

Diablo sighed as he scratched his head in frustration. "For crying out loud. You're merciless, Nanana."

Nanana smiled sweetly at him. "I have no idea what you mean."

Diablo turned his attention to the three rookies. "Tell me, are any of you in a Familia?"

"No," Fikuma replied. "We'd never be able to travel far from Orario if we were."

"I see. Then join mine."

"Yours?" Prelsina asked in curiosity.

"Which god do you serve?" Moluka asked with mild suspicion.

Shera pointed to Diablo. "He's not exactly a god, but he is the ruler of our Familia."

The three girls looked at each other, then Diablo, silence filling the air for several long seconds. "… Eeehhh!?"

"What?" he questioned, worried by their reaction.

"Y – You're a god!?" Prelsina exclaimed.

Sighing, Diablo argued, "She just told you I'm not."

"Then what are you…?" Moluka asked, bewildered.

"A Demon Lord," he answered plainly.

"As well as a god," Nanana added.

"A D – Demon Lord…" the bespectacled redhead mumbled in disbelief.

Shrugging, Megumin interjected, "He's not like the ones from the old stories."

"Stories is all that those are," Diablo argued. "Humans tend to only remember the bad, after all."

Moluka stared at him suspiciously. "… You promise you're not evil?"

"If I was I would've left you to the Imps to make my own escape easier. Or worse."

She frowned in thought as she studied his face.

"Now, my Familia and I are returning to Faltra. You're welcome to come with us or find your own way there."

Mordred piped up, "And I'd recommend going with, because you never know what will pop up. These forests have been overrun with weird stuff ever since Veldora vanished. Hell, you might even run into a Rath. Now that would be fun."

All three just stared at her in silent worry as they huddled closer together.

"Yeah… hunting down a Rath… that would be very nice…"

Diablo sighed as he tried to prevent Mordred from frightening them further. "Let's just head back."

Some time later, as the group made their way back to Faltra, Diablo noticed someone exiting the city, running towards the group. "Hm?"

"Priestess, Wizard!"

It was Kyouya, shouting Prelsina and Moluka's classes, as he had clearly forgotten their names.

Moluka twitched an eyebrow as he approached them.

As he did, his eyes caught onto Diablo, and his run slowed to a jog in disbelief. "You!?" Looking at the girls as he approached, he asked, "What are you –?!" only for Fikuma to charge forward and ram her fist square into his jaw, sending him flying like a skipped pebble.

"YOU FUCKING FILOLIAL SHIT COWARDLY FUCK TARD!" she cursed violently.

Diablo trembled as he held back his laughter.

The bewildered man stood up weakly with blood dripping from his chin. "E – Eh…?"

"You left us to die, you bastard!" Moluka accused.

Wincing, he tried desperately to argue his case. "Wh – What? No, I –"

"Ice Needles!" Moluka shouted, interrupting him and sending a small volley of large spears of ice at him.

Kyouya shrieked in fear with a shrill voice and dove out of the way of the attack.

Megumin just stared at him, deadpan. "Some hero…"

Nanana snickered and commented slightly louder than needed, "If I remember right, Aqua said something about a garbage goddess reincarnating him."

Aqua felt a sudden pain in her back.

Diablo tried to ignore their squabble and focused a disinterested, pitiful stare on the man.

"Wh – What…?" he asked tremulously before standing up.

"First you endanger my followers from some twisted sense of injustice, then you lead a bunch of Coppers to an Imp-infested cave and abandon them as soon as the situation gets uncomfortable."

His mouth flapped open and closed several times, but no words formed.

"I should kill you where you stand. It would be just so easy. But ultimately not very satisfying. Instead… tell me Kyouya, what is an Adventurer and Hero's greatest resource?"

"H – Huh?" he mumbled, not grasping his point.

"Well?" Diablo prodded, his expression flat and cold.

"M – Money?"

"Reputation."

Kyouya flattened his brow in frustrated annoyance. "… What do you…?"

"Tell me, what do you think will happen when I and these girls report on what happened in their quest and your abandonment of them the moment Imps showed up?"

He lurched back with a cold gasp as he put the pieces together.

"You may have protected your life by fleeing, but I can promise you it won't be a life worth having. Come on girls. We have a quest to turn in."

The others followed him, even the meek Prelsina unable to look Kyouya in the face as he stood there silently.

As they entered the city, Diablo heard rabbled voices hollering and shouting nearby. Cocking an eyebrow in thought, he followed the source of the voices and was greeted with a crowd of people that could have been Faltra's entire population. "What's going on?"

Moluka scanned the crowd before her eyes shot wide in disbelief. "Th – That carriage…"

Tracking her gaze, Diablo looked where she was staring and saw the crowd gathered around a large, ornate carriage adorned with golds and violets, pulled by several large, ostrich-like birds that were significantly taller than any human.

"That's the queen's royal carriage…"

"The queen?"

"The queen of Melromarc. Mirellia Q Melromarc."

Following the carriage's path from a side street, Diablo's group kept an eye on it as it neared a building towards the back of the town, just past Mage's Guild.

"That's the lord's estate," Rem explained, pointing to the small building just behind the guild hall. "His actual home is outside the city walls, from what I understand, but he conducts most of his business there."

"That must be who she's here to see then," Mordred commented, doing her best to stay in the shadows.

Diablo watched carefully as the door to the carriage swung open and two figures stepped out.

The first was a petite girl with long, dark blue hair tied in twintails, her face lit up by her bright azure eyes, wearing an extravagant, full-length dress made of blue fabric with cerulean, gold, and white accents.

'Well she's adorable…'

'She's probably a princess, you know,' Nanana chided. "Who's that?"

"That's Melty Q Melromarc, second daughter and crown princess of the region," Moluka explained.

Diablo raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'She's the second daughter, yet she's the crown princess? How unusual.' His attention was fully engrossed when the second occupant stepped out.

A tall, stern-faced woman with deep, dark purple hair tied up neatly, her gold crown perched atop her head, piercing violet eyes and a more than enviable figure accentuated by her full-length dress of deep reds and muted golds.

'Beautiful…'

Nanana chuckled lightly to herself. 'You certainly never stray far from your type.'

Diablo raised an eyebrow at her. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

She just shrugged with an amused smirk. 'Nothing, nothing. Come on, let's turn in that quest and report that dirtbag.'

'Agreed.' Stealing one last glance at the queen, the group made their way to the Guild Hall.

Sylvie heaved a heavy sigh as she sat in her chair. "I see… that's a shame, but not overly surprising."

"You knew he was like this?" Rem asked, surprised.

Sylvie shook her head. "I didn't strictly know, but I had my suspicions. Regardless. You completed the quest the Guild headquarters offered and completed the quest Tsurugi's group had embarked on. So the total reward of both quests goes to you. Twenty-five thousand Vals."

Diablo put a hand up to interrupt her. "The reward for the Guild's quest goes to us. The reward for the Imp quest goes to these three."

Sylvie nodded with an approving smile. "So be it. Twenty thousand to you, five thousand to the three Coppers."

"Good. One more thing. I would like to claim ownership of that cave."

Everyone in the room stared at Diablo in stunned silence.

"S – Seriously…?" Sylvie balked, doing her best not to shout.

"Is that a problem?" he asked with a stern scowl.

Sylvie felt a chill run up her spine and shook her head. "O – Of course not…! I just… didn't expect it. I'll see to the paperwork."

"Good."

After collecting the money, the group made their way back to their home at Wiz's shop, where Diablo placed Falnas on all four of the women, taking special care not to add to Fikuma's experience.

After expending the necessary mana to finish the process, he sighed as he sat back in a chair.

Mordred tested her muscles as she examined her body. "I don't really feel that different."

"You just joined, of course you don't," Rem commented dryly.

"Ah."

"So what now?" Moluka asked, looking at Diablo.

He just shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Pardon?"

"I don't know how other Familias are run, but I don't expect you to constantly flock around me."

"Most Familias have a set structure. Doesn't yours?"

He frowned slightly in trepidation. '… I want to ask what she means exactly, but that might play my hand a bit too much…'

"How is a normal Familia organized?" Nanana wondered.

Moluka explained, "At the top is the deity or god. Some refer to them as the Patron. Just below them is the Captain, the mortal Follower who handles the day to day operations of the Familia, issuing orders, organizing quests, training the members, and ensuring the Patron's will is being enforced."

Diablo scratched the back of his head in consideration. '… I am gonna have to find a Captain one day it seems…' "I am a god that likes to see talent flourish and nurture what those around me value and get them to take it beyond the norm. I have yet to find a suitable person that shares this value in seeing others become the best in their beloved fields."

"I see," Moluka muttered before looking back at Diablo. "In the meantime it would be good to set up a captain of some sort, as I doubt you can accompany us on every single quest, especially as the Familia continues to grow."

"Ooh, me, me!" Shera cheered, only for Rem to pull her hand down.

"Not a chance, elf fatty," she hissed, the two growling at one another.

Sighing, Diablo argued, "I will decide when I find one suitable for the role. Not before. Until then I will continue to oversee until I find one that fits."

"Right…" the red-haired mage grumbled in disappointment.

Fikuma snickered in amusement. "Your little plan fell apart."

Moluka lurched back with her face flushing red. "I – I didn't have anything of the sort!"

"Oh please, it was written all over your face."

Prelsina smiled in relief as the two got into a friendly argument, before feeling a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Mordred standing next to her with a nostalgic look in her eyes.

"You got good friends, kid," the blonde warrior noted.

"H – Huh?" she muttered, not sure how to react.

"You watch their backs in a fight and I have now doubt the three o' you will go far."

"U – Um, thanks…"

Mordred flashed a toothy grin before turning her attention to Diablo. "Oh, hey, Diablo, got a sec?"

"Of course," he responded, sitting up to address her.

"When do you think you can that new sword ready?"

"In a couple days."

Mordred proceeded to pull out the remnants her old sword, the damaged hilt and small portion of the blade. "Do you think you could use pieces of this?"

Diablo took the pieces in his hand, but raised an eyebrow at her request. "I suppose. But why?"

Mordred's expression fell as she answered. "Because… this sword was the last gift I received from my father before he died…"

"… Ah. I'll use what I can."

"Thank you…" she answered with a small smile and a bow. "He gave each of his daughters that wanted to become a warrior a sword when they were of age after all…"

"I understand." His expression softened as his mind drifted. 'Father huh… I wonder how Ako and Kaede are doing… Same with Kazu and Sugu…' Sighing, he shook his head of the thoughts. 'Nothing I can do about it right now,' he thought as he looked at the pieces of Mordred's sword and thought how to use them. 'Best start smelting some ebony and magiore.'

In the front of the shop, Lilietta perused the various shelves and display cases at the extravagant and ornate items Wiz had on display. "All of these items are so pretty… I wonder why nobody buys them."

"Right?" Wiz interjected with rare enthusiasm as she picked up an ornate necklace with a large jewel in the middle. "This necklace here grants you the strength of a thousand soldiers."

"Whoa!"

With a weak laugh, Wiz added, "Though it does have the minor side effect of making you infertile."

Lilietta's expression froze for several seconds. "… E – Eh…? Th – That isn't good at all!"

Wiz turned to the girl in surprise. "Eh? But then, what about these boots? They allow you to run as fast as the wind. Although, if you have a Dexterity below four hundred they become heavier than lead."

"Then the Dex boost is meaningless!"

"Th – Then what about this waterbreathing potion?"

Lilietta looked at the small white bottle of liquid suspiciously. "… The side effect?"

"Well until it wears off you can't breathe air."

Lilietta slumped her shoulders in a heavy sigh. "Miss Wiz, do you sell anything that doesn't have massive drawbacks or is obviously cursed…?"

Wiz put the bottle down and looked around desperately before picking up a large red potion bottle. "I – I have these potions."

Lilietta's suspicion was still in full effect. "That do what?"

"Completely heal your wounds."

"… And…?"

"And… that's it as far as I know."

"Really?" she asked with surprised excitement. "Where'd you get them?"

"Diablo made them," Wiz answered proudly.

Lilietta just stared at her with a shaky smile before sighing. "… Wow… Erm… Miss Wiz, I don't mean to be rude, but why do you sell all these awful items?"

"Awful…?" Wiz lamented. "But they're all so powerful. They let you breathe underwater, move at the speed of sound, or grant you wishes."

"But the side effects they come with are too much to bear!"

"People with high Stats aren't usually affected by those issues, though…" she grumbled.

Sighing, Lilietta explained, "This town, despite being the capital of the Faltra province, is inhabited mostly by Copper and Iron Adventurers, items like that are meant for Gold and Platinum Adventurers."

"O – Oh…" She managed to push aside her disappointment when she heard the bell ring as the door opened, turning to the potential customer. "Oh, welcome to Wiz's – EEEHHH?!"

In the back, Diablo had the pieces of Mordred's sword lying on a large cloth alongside several large pieces of ebony and magisteel ore.

"What do you plane to make it from?" Rem asked.

"Ebony mixed with magisteel."

"Won't that be rather dangerous?" Moluka challenged.

"Not if you get the mixtures right."

"I see. Well I'll be excited to see –"

She was cut off as Lilietta ran into the room from the front of the store, out of breath and frantic. "L – Lord Diablo, the front of the store, come quickly!"

Diablo nodded sternly and wasted no time getting to his feet and following her.

Making his way out to the front of the store, he almost tripped over his own feet when he saw who was waiting at the door.

Mirellia, Melty, and several soldiers.

With a gracious bow, Mirellia asked, "I take it you are the Patron of this Familia?"

"Yes I am," he answered as firmly as he could, his mind spinning. 'What is the queen doing here!?'

"What is the queen doing here?" Nanana questioned.

"I'm here to speak with you directly, Sir Diablo," Mirellia explained calmly.

"Hoh? In private or right here?"

"A private setting is preferable."

"Follow me to my office then."

Mirellia nodded and followed after him, several soldiers moving with her. However, she turned to them and put a hand up. "No. Stay here with Melty."

"But, your highness…" one of the armored men argued weakly.

"That's an order."

"… Yes, your majesty."

Diablo and Mirellia stood in the large back room of the store used for smithing, Diablo standing against the wall as Mirellia sat. "So, what is it you wish to discuss, your highness?" His confidence on the front was just that, a front. 'Okay, keep your cool, just don't act stupid…'

Mirellia was hit with a deep sigh before answering. "I have a request for your Familia."

"Oh? Directly from the queen." 'This is either going to be very good or very bad.'

"Yes. It concerns one of the lands under Melromarc's jurisdiction."

"I will hear your request."

"How do you feel about assassinations?"

'I'm beginning to think very bad.' "They are no different from monster slaying, only requiring more stealth."

"Good. Then you can do my kingdom a great service in removing some filth from it. One that greatly profited from a horrible tragedy a few months ago."

'I didn't hear about any tragedy after I arrived. I'll have to ask Rem or Megumin.' "I will need to know what I'm dealing with before I decide how to proceed."

"His name is Idol Rabier, and he was sold children that survived the first Wave."

Diablo's interest and concern spiked into pure rage at that moment. "… Children…?"

Mirellia nodded regretfully. "Yes. Demihuman children, to be precise. Unfortunately, due to the church and Melromarc's own political climate, Demihumans are discriminated against and slavery of them is legal."

"And you have not acted to change that?"

"If I make it illegal, the traders and their customers will merely go underground, and operate in the cover of shadow. If it is legal, then at the very least I have a chance of keeping an eye on it and knowing who is buying what. Thus I can plan to deal with them accordingly."

He nodded as he understood her position. "Regardless, why are you coming to a small, nameless Familia such as mine? I have no doubt the queen has many partners with the skill and expertise to accomplish the task."

"That in itself is the problem. If I were to send my Shadows to do this, then it would cause a disaster amongst the nobility and give the Church of Three Heroes enough momentum to try and take over the kingdom. And nobody needs another Slane Theocracy running around."

That logic made sense to him, as much as he hated to admit it.

"Besides that, such methods would leave too much of a trail, and if it was discovered I had someone assassinated because of their taste in slaves, well…"

Sighing, he finished her thought. "They'd go underground and keep their activities hidden."

"Correct. However, if it is some small, new Familia with an anonymous request, then that is where the trail ends. As a result, those who would like to keep matters as they are will not be aware if it is someone within their circle or a fellow noble who has marked them." She added with a playful smirk, "Not to mention you would gain new Familia Members in the form of freed and grateful Demihuman slaves."

Diablo just shrugged. "I would not impel them to join, that would need to be of their own choosing. Besides, would not just you being here leave a trail?"

"I make it a point to meet each and every new Familia within the country. That is all we are doing here. After all I have to inspect the character of every God and Goddess in my Kingdom. Lest they become another Aries. I honestly envy Lautreamont for getting Ereshkigal. Such a kind Goddess she is."

That was a new name for him. "Ereshkigal?"

Mirellia nodded in agreement. "Yes. She is the Patron of the Ereshkigal Familia and one of the three queens of the Lautreamont Knight Kingdom, alongside Arturia Pendragon and her sister Morgan."

"Ah."

"So, will you take the job?"

"Do you have any limitations?"

"Just make sure it can't be traced back to me."

Diablo stepped away from the wall and bowed extravagantly. "It will be done, Lady Melromarc."

She nodded with an appreciative smile. "I will ensure you are rewarded properly. Now, if you don't mind, I have a personal request of you."

He sighed, having a feeling the assassination was not her only reason for being there. "And that is?"

"If my information is correct, you are not of this world, am I right?"

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but decided lying to her would not help the situation. "… That is correct. Why do you ask?"

"Then you, to a degree, have no stake in the political dealings of this world."

He thought for a moment how to respond before deciding to just be blunt. "Only in so far as they effect the people who follow me. So tell me what it is you want."

"My husband, the king of Melromarc. I worry he is too easily swayed by the words of the church. I figure if a god approaches them, they may be less likely to scheme as brazenly."

"I see. So you're effectively asking me to frighten them into obedience?"

She nodded firmly. "At least until I can deal with them properly."

"I see." He scratched the back of his head in thought. "I cannot be certain of how that will go, given my innately Draph nature."

Mirellia merely shook her head. "Gods and goddesses take many forms. Some are merely human in appearance, others more Demi-like, some even take full animal appearances."

"I understand."

"That doesn't guarantee they will not act rudely, or that they'll even treat you kindly. But at the very least it may reign them in somewhat."

"We can only hope."

In the main room, Melty stood transfixed as Aqua effortlessly moved and directed a small body of water through the air. "Wow… such a neat trick…"

"Hehe," Aqua snickered proudly.

"I'll see to it as soon as possible," Diablo urged as he and Mirellia stepped out from the back of the building.

"That is good to hear," she answered confidently.

Melty pointed to Aqua as her mother approached. "Mother, this woman can control water!"

Mirellia looked at Aqua in mild astonishment.

Nanana just sighed with a shrug. "And that's pretty much all she can do. Party tricks."

"Hey! I can use it to fight!" Aqua argued loudly.

"All you do is splash water around."

Mirellia put a hand in front of her mouth in a restrained laugh.

Melty, however, stared at her mother with a sense of relief and awe before looking to Diablo.

Before she could say anything, Mirellia spoke up with an order. "Now, Melty, why don't we take our leave?"

"O – Oh, yes, Mother."

And so, the two royals and the soldiers departed the store.

After they were gone for a few seconds, Nanana glanced at Diablo. 'So what did the MILF want?'

'She wants me to kill someone,' he answered bluntly.

'Why?'

'I'll explain in a minute.' He then turned his attention to the petite Pantherian. "Rem."

"Yes?" she asked, her tail swishing happily behind her.

"Was there some sort of tragedy before I arrived?"

Frowning slightly, she nodded in affirmation. "Just before Shera and I summoned you, the first Wave of Calamity hit."

"Wave of what?" Nanana asked.

Rem looked at her, not sure how to react. "H – Huh?"

"You said Wave of Calamity. What kind of wave?"

Wiz was the one to explain. "It's not a wave as in a wave of sound or water, but a wave of space. The entire area is coated in a dark aura, and monsters begin pouring out a portals appearing in the sky in their thousands. The one that hit recently appeared over a region of Melromarc known as Seyaette. One of the few regions that was friendly to Demihumans, and the lord of the region died in the attack."

Diablo's eyes narrowed deeply in suspicion. 'The lord of a region friendly to Demihumans dies in a meteorological event such as that? Just in time for all of his people to be sold off as slaves. I smell a conspiracy.'

"And these Monsters are like the ones that come from Orario's Dungeon, not the ones you find out in the rest of the world."

Diablo frowned slightly in thought. '… Is that bad…?'

"Is that bad?" Nanana questioned.

Wiz nodded in return. "Monsters from the Dungeon are significantly stronger from the ones you encounter around the world. The best way to think about it is any Monster you fight out here, the variant in the Dungeon is three times as powerful."

Diablo frowned in thought before Moluka interjected, "That's why the Four Cardinal Heroes exist."

"The who of the whatnow?" Nanana and Diablo asked in unison before the horned man even had a chance to think.

Rem explained, "The Four Cardinal Heroes. Legendary Adventurers summoned from another world."

Diablo and Nanana both looked straight at Aqua, who just looked at them in confusion. "Wh – What? Don't look at me, I'm down here."

"The Four Heroes wield the Four Cardinal Weapons. The Sword, Spear, the Bow, and the Shield."

Shera suddenly raised a hand, interrupting Rem.

"What?"

"A shield isn't a weapon, it's armor."

Twitching an eyebrow, Rem rebuffed, "Well… I know that, but it's still counted as one of the Four Cardinal Weapons."

"Except it's not a weapon. It's armor."

"That doesn't change the fact it's a Cardinal Weapon."

"Armor. Shields protect after all, not attack."

"Whatever…" she hissed. "Regardless, they're summoned as the Sword Hero, Spear Hero, Bow Hero, and Shield Hero."

"Interesting," Diablo commented in thought.

"Together with the allies they gain they're supposed to fight off the Waves."

"I see. And Orario does nothing to help?"

Moluka argued, "By the time they received news of the Wave happening it was already over."

Diablo shook his head. "That's not all that I meant. Providing Adventurers to help battle preparations or loaning out their members."

"Good luck with that," Fikuma retorted weakly.

"Hm?"

Megumin answered, "Most gods are only here for their own amusement. Even if they receive fatal injuries they just go back to their original Realm. So they're not overly concerned with what happens to this world."

Diablo narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Is that so…?" 'Perhaps I need to make them care.' "They sound utterly pathetic."

"And you would've done things differently?" Fikuma argued.

"It doesn't matter whether I'm here to enjoy myself or to conquer your world, but it's all meaningless if there's no world left."

"Yeah," Nanana agreed with a firm nod.

"Right…" the others responded unsurely.

"Now then…" Diablo muttered as he looked over a map of the region. "I suppose before anything else, we should get those three some new equipment and finish Mordred's sword."

As he was thinking, Megumin approached him. "Hey, Diablo, think we can go practice my Explosion magic somewhere?"

Sighing, he stood up and turned to her. "That's fine, but we can't use Satan's castle anymore. Or any other location that might in fact be inhabited."

"R – Right…" Megumin stammered, not looking him in the eyes.

"… Megumin…" he asked, noticing her behavior.

"Y – Yes…?" she responded, her eye still darting all over the room.

Before the sudden interrogation could continue, the front door of the shop slammed open, Satan walking in practically coated in flames. "Lord Momon – ahem, Lord Diablo!" she exclaimed, having to correct herself on his name. "I thought we had a deal!"

Diablo turned his ire on Megumin harshly. "What? Did? You? Do?"

"… N - Nothing…" she stammered weakly.

Stomping a foot, Satan howled, "Nothing my ass! You've been blowing up my castle for the past week! Thank the Supreme Beings I moved my kitties to Nazarick!"

"Megumin!" Diablo snarled.

Megumin bowed deeply in apology. "I'm sorry! IneededtoletoffsomeExplosionssoIpriedAquawithliquorandmadehercarryme!" her words all running into one long breath.

Diablo tightened his fist and looked at the antsy water goddess trying to sneak away. "Aqua!"

Before she could take a chance to flee, Moluka raised a hand and her broken staff towards her. "As thy source of power, hold my enemy and stop their motions. Bind!" Suddenly, a hexagonal grid of glowing lines appeared at her feet and extended to where Aqua stood, the blue-haired girl's movements freezing entirely.

Diablo widened his eyes momentarily before deciding to keep his focus. '… I'll need to look into that.' "Now, Aqua, tell me. You knew my deal with Satan."

"But it was really good booze…!" she whimpered.

"I DO NOT CARE!" he roared. "You do not realize the kind of trouble you have caused us!"

Aqua, having been freed Moluka's spell, winced back with a mixture of fear and worry.

"Not only did you do something I promised an ally we wouldn't do, you defied a direct order!"

She sunk her shoulders as he continued.

"You're lucky Satan came directly to me instead of rampaging through the city! Anyone she would have killed would be on your shoulders!"

The girl practically collapsed to her knees from his verbal lashing.

"For crying out loud…" Diablo groaned before folding his arms in disgust. "I"ve ignored most of your actions until now because I had hoped you would change. Obviously, I was wrong. No wonder the other gods set you up in Purgatory."

"… D – Diablo…?" she begged weakly, only for him to ignore her.

"I can see now I'll have to deal with your problems personally."

She stared up at him fearfully.

"This will only be temporary, until I'm certain you can be trusted."

"Wh - What is…?" she asked, dreading his answer.

Thinking for a moment, Diablo nodded to himself. "Hm… yes, this will kill two birds with one stone."

Aqua could only gulp nervously.

"Wiz."

"Y – Yes," the busty brunette stammered.

"Do you know of any slave traders in the area?"

She stared at him blankly, floored by the unexpected question. "H – Huh? U – Um maybe but why?"

"To get the slave collars off of Shera and Rem and one on Aqua."

"E – Eh?!" almost everyone in the room gasped in disbelief.

Nanana sighed in surprise. 'Wow, she really pissed you off.'

He only nodded. 'I am a man of my word and she broke it.'

Nanana just shrugged in response. 'Ah. Well personally I think you should've done this sooner.'

'I tried to give her a chance to change naturally.'

'Well, whatever. I'm going with you, I've always been curious what a slave auction looks like.'

'Right…'

"D – Don't you think this is going a bit too far…?" Wiz asked with concern.

Satan just stood with her arms folded. "Personally I think you need to punish that little brat too, she instigated this."

Diablo shook his head in response. "Megumin's just a child. Though I will punish her for this, I assure you. But Aqua should know well enough not to do something like this. Clearly that concept needs to be forced into her. Otherwise she'll never learn."

As they continued walking, Wiz pointed to a large tent just outside the city. "There, that's the slave trader. Though officially her occupation is raffling off monster eggs."

Later, Diablo, Shera, Rem, Nanana, and Aqua, who had her hands bound with rope that Nanana held, made their way to the tent.

"Is the rope really necessary!?" she shouted.

Nanana rebuffed, "It's to make sure you won't run away."

"You can't seriously be planning to put a slave collar on a goddess!"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before defying my orders. Orders I give have a reason, after all."

The goddess could only whimper weakly.

As they approached, Diablo noticed someone standing just outside the tent. He gulped nervously as he got a better look at the person.

A tall, extremely curvaceous redhead with her hair tied up, one bunch covering her right eye, her violet left eye looking around with a seductive shine, the open-back dress she wore leaving very little of her bombastic chest to the imagination, the cuts along the sides showing off almost all the curves of her hips. She took a drag from a small pipe as she noticed Diablo and the others approaching, her ruby red lips curling with anticipation. "Hm? Ah, what do we have here? Prospective customers?"

"In a way," Diablo answered, the beast inside having to be very forcibly contained.

Smirking, she tapped the excess into a tray from her pipe and motioned inside the tent. "Step right inside."

Diablo gulped slightly as he and the others followed her in. 'I wonder what a slave auction is like…' His mind filled with innumerable possibilities, from buxom elves hung up on chains, to petite Dwarves paraded in front of a horde of frothing bidders, to some that he could not even bare to focus on. All of his thoughts were silenced when he entered the tent and saw a large variety of plain looking cages with wooden lids and floors strewn around the area in relative silence, a smaller tent situated in the center.

Nanana merely shot him a playful, mischievous glare as his expression flatlined. 'What's wrong? You almost seem disappointed.'

'Sh – Shut up…'

"So, what's your pleasure? Buying or selling?" the redhead asked as she sat on a stool in front of the smaller tent. Looking over Rem, Shera, and Aqua, the woman commented on them. "I imagine that elf would fetch a rather high price. And the Pantherian…" she trailed off as she looked at Rem. "I'm sorry, but we don't buy pregnant slaves."

"Neither are for sale and neither are –"

He was cut off by a shocked and sputtering Rem. "P – P – Pregnant!?"

"When did that happen?" Shera wondered.

Frowning in thought, the woman added, "What I'd like to know is where you came upon a Demon Lord's child."

Shera hummed in thought before something hit her like a bus. "Huh…? Ah! Diablo, that night you tortured her!"

Diablo's face turned so red it threatened to melt off. "I didn't do anything like that! I merely stroked her tail and ears!"

Nanana looked at him deadpanned. "… That's torture…?"

"H – How do you even know that!?" Diablo shouted, changing the subject to the redhead.

She raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "You don't know? I'll introduce myself. I'm Medios, the most deductive slave trader, since I can judge every potential purchase, and customer, by their mana."

"I knew others could see it!" Shera cheered.

Medios raised an eyebrow in amused surprise. "Didn't you know? All elves can see mana." Pulling back the right side of her hair, exposing her other eye and a slightly pointed right ear, Medios explained, "I myself am one quarter elf, which is why I can see it."

"I see…" Diablo muttered in thought. 'That's dangerous…'

Changing the subject, she urged, "So, if you're not here to sell, you must be here to buy."

"Not exactly. I'm here to get a slave collar applied to someone."

That interested her greatly. "Oh? Who? The pretty Otherworlder over there or the goddess?" Smirking with excitement, she noted, "I've never gotten the chance to put a slave collar on a goddess before."

"Then today's your lucky day. That blue-haired troublemaker is the one I'm here for."

Medios' smirk widened in response. "My, my, how exciting. Just for that privilege, I'll waive the fee."

"… Eh?" Aqua mumbled in disbelief.

She then poured a small amount of semi-transparent ink into a small dish. "The collar is magically produced by forming a seal on the slave's body in special ink mixed with the master's blood."

Diablo twitched an eyebrow in response. "… Ah crap…"

Medios turned to him in amusement. "Afraid of knives?"

Shera shook her head with a shrug. "Nah, Diablo has really powerful blood."

The alluring woman blinked in thought. "What do you mean?"

Taking the knife she handed him, Diablo pricked the end of his finger, with blood shooting out like a hole in a balloon.

"Oh my…"

"I frightened the Chienthropes at the Guild…"

"I can see why…" Catching a small amount in the dish she began mixing it, but noticed the blood still squirting out. "Erm…"

Sighing, he put reassuring hand up. "It's going to keep going for a while. It'll stop when it clots eventually."

"R – Right…" Grabbing a nearby brush and dipping it in the dish, she walked up to Aqua. "Hold her top open for me."

"R – Right," Nanana answered, finally grasping how serious the situation is as she opened Aqua's shirt, seeing something that surprised her about the goddess' modestly voluminous chest. "… Y – You're not wearing a bra…!?"

Aqua huffed dismissively. "Yes I am."

"No, you're not," she argued bluntly.

"Yes, I am."

"No. You're not!" she urged, pointing to Aqua's bare chest under her top.

Aqua smirked proudly. "Yes. I am. It's just invisible so no one can see it. Just like my panties."

Nanana stared at her for a few more seconds before her brain seemed to completely glitch to a stop. "… Do you even know what a bra and panties are for!? … You know what, forget it. Just mark this idiot."

"Understood," Medios retorted in mild amusement. "Now be sure to hold her still, I don't want to end up making this an explosive seal."

Aqua's entire body tensed up like a corpse as Medios drew the seal on her, intricate patterns and shapes that, once she put the finishing touches on, condensed into a singular pattern right in front of Aqua's collarbone. "There, done."

"O – Oh, that wasn't too –" Aqua began to say before the seal suddenly lit up brightly as purple arcs of energy shot and zapped around her body, her back arcing as the pain of magical electricity coursed through every inch of her body.

And fin! Ninth chapter down. If you liked it be sure to let me know with a review, I would greatly appreciate it. If you were confused, unsure, or simply have questions on anything, do leave me a review letting me know what they are and I will do what I can to address your concerns. If you did not like it, review if you must, but another activity you actually enjoy may be what the doctor ordered. With all that out of the way, until next time, bye-bye!