When I Was Reincarnated into the World of an Ultra-Difficult Game, I Ended Up As the Sole Subordinate of the Ridiculously Strong yet Incompetent Demon Lord, Tasked with Creating a Dungeon
“What’s with that suspicious ritual? If weird rumors start spreading that something like this can summon me, it’d be really troublesome.”
And yet… I actually did show up.
If word gets out that this ritual was legitimate, it’ll be a problem.
Whether I appear or not depends entirely on my mood, so I could just ignore it—but honestly, it feels gross and I hate it.
“Oh, w-we humbly greet you, Lord Pilkaya…”
“Yeah, I’m Pilkaya. So, what exactly are you guys trying to do?”
The Dark Elf Queen. Uh… what was her name again? I remember Rey mentioned it before, but I wasn’t interested, so I forgot.
Anyway, she seems pretty shocked that I actually appeared.
…Good. At least it doesn’t seem like they were doing this ritual with full confidence that it would work.
“We beg of you! Please allow us to swear allegiance to the Demon Lord’s army! Could we have an audience with the Demon Lord?”
She pleaded desperately. Was this an act? No… she seemed dead serious, which made it hard to judge.
Swearing allegiance to the Demon Lord’s army? No other race has ever done that before.
They didn’t even side with us in the last war against humanity.
And now that we’ve grown stronger, they think they can just cozy up to us?
…No, wait. As far as I know, humanity shouldn’t be aware that we’ve been steadily rebuilding and regaining power.
Both the Demon Lord and Rey have been keeping things as discreet as possible.
Well, the Demon Lord does flex his power from time to time…
But from their perspective, the Demon Lord’s army should still be nothing more than the Demon Lord himself, a half-dead me, and a handful of remaining troops.
And they want to swear loyalty to such a weak-looking force?
I have no idea how serious they are.
Scratching my head, I come to the conclusion that I can’t make this decision alone.
『Pilkaya. Bring them to the depths of the dungeon. Follow Rey’s instructions.』
As if reading my thoughts, the Demon Lord’s orders come through.
So we’re meeting them, huh… Well, I guess it’s fine. Even if these guys came at him all at once, there’s no way they could beat the Demon Lord.
Still, I really don’t want him meeting such shady people.
But it’s probably best to leave it to Rey and the others to figure out what they’re really after and how much they actually know.
“Alright. Follow me.”
“Th-Thank you very much!”
The Dark Elf Queen bows deeply.
…How much of this is genuine, I wonder?
◇
“What should we do? Make them all employees?”
“Primilla , what’s the current manpower situation in the Demon Lord’s army?”
At my question, Lady Fiona turns to Primilla for confirmation.
“My farm has enough hands, thanks to the monsters. Magirema’s restaurant is also sufficiently staffed. Rigma’s inn and Tokito’s shop have the bare minimum, but a few extra hands wouldn’t hurt. As for the mines… we’d really prefer to leave that to the dwarves.”
“I see. If it’s just their current numbers, we could take them in, but if there are too many, we might not be able to manage them. It would also increase the burden on Pilkaya’s supervision.”
“She probably wouldn’t complain, though.”
“That’s exactly the problem. We should have Terapheia give her a lecture again.”
Again? Honestly, it feels like she gets scolded on a regular basis.
Now, what to do with the Dark Elves?
Should we extract as much information as possible and then silence them?
“Why are they suddenly offering to swear loyalty now? If that was their intention, they should have sided with us in the last war.”
That’s a good point.
Now that things have stabilized, what reason would they have to betray humanity?
Are they trying to infiltrate us as spies?
“It’s probably because of Zino.”
That’s what Fiona mentioned before.
Dark Elves have always been persecuted. But when it came to reincarnators, only the Elves— their rivals—got one.
Feeling the pressure, they’ve been challenging the dungeon non-stop.
We thought they were after something specific in the dungeon.
Maybe items or magic to use against the Elves.
But it seems their true goal was to seek protection under the Demon Lord’s army.
In other words, just like me.
…Somehow, I feel a slight sense of camaraderie.
“In any case, we need to find out how much they know first. After that, you can decide how to make use of them.”
“So, should we make them employees after all? They might even be helpful in the fields, Primilla . They live in the forest, so they should know a thing or two about plants and farming.”
“Well… that’s true. But is the Demon Lord okay with this?”
Primilla ’s concern is likely about whether the Dark Elves might betray us— and if that happens, how much it would hurt Fiona, who absolutely despises betrayal.
Small-time traitors like Molly are one thing, but if an entire race swears loyalty and then stabs us in the back, it wouldn’t sit well with Fiona.
“…To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled when Rey first brought in Tokito.”
“Huh?”
Thinking back, she did oppose it at first.
I had to beg her to let Tokito join because I saw value in his shop.
After that, Fiona started actively recruiting reincarnators, so I assumed she was in favor of it all along…
But was she just humoring my selfishness?
“That said, there’s no doubt they’d be useful to the Demon Lord’s army.”
“…Sorry, this was my selfish decision.”
“It’s fine. Indulging Rey’s whims is part of the Demon Lord’s job.”
“…That’s exactly the problem.”
Rigma sighed in exasperation, but I found myself admiring Fiona’s leadership.
I see. Even after being betrayed in the past, she still prioritizes the army’s best interests.
“Well, it’s not like Rey is the only special case. If you Four Heavenly Kings want to make use of them, it’s fine to let the Dark Elves join.”
“…Man, this is getting more and more disappointing.”
“Rigma, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“As expected of the Demon Lord! To grant not only Rey, but us as well, such mercy!”
By the end, Fiona had slipped back into her usual airheaded self, but calling it “disappointing” is just rude.
That’s just who Fiona is.
And I fully understand that I’m not the only special case— just that we all get special treatment.
Ripianem was right.
“Alright! No whispering behind the Demon Lord’s back! So, what’s the plan? Should Primilla take charge of them?”
“We’ll hear them out first, and if they seem safe, we’ll let her handle it.”
“Decision made! Meeting adjourned! Also, I’m tired, so Rey, come with me!”
…She’s going to cling to me again, isn’t she?
At this point, I’m basically a plushie to her.
If she just wants something soft to hug, she could go for Primilla or Ipiletis— they’re smaller and cuter.
“No.”
“W-Why not!?”
But Primilla immediately shut her down.
“Aren’t we supposed to be assessing whether the Dark Elves are dangerous? We can’t decide that without the Demon Lord present.”
“Oh…”
“…Right. Forgot about that.”
“…Both of you forgot, didn’t you?”
“Come on, this is a big moment for the Dark Elves…”
It’s not that, Rigma, Primilla .
It’s just… no matter how much she sees me as a comfort object, being hugged constantly wears me down.
Even if I know she’s just treating me like a pet or plushie.
“…I’m sorry.”
…Ugh, apologizing first is unfair. Now I’m the one who’s going to get scolded.
“…Yeah, sorry. I forgot too.”
And so, both Fiona and I ended up bowing our heads to Primilla .
