Dungeon Defense (WN)

“I know that Your Highness came here on vacation to comfort your ailing body and soul, but please do so in moderation.”

“But look. I made a lot of money…….”

“That is not something to boast about.”

Lapis glared at me. I unintentionally stood at attention.

“How could a Demon Lord hang around a bunch of gamblers and take their money? This will only be troublesome for Your Highness’ reputation. In no way could this possibly be beneficial.”

I didn’t have an excuse. Lapis didn’t criticize me under the context that gambling itself was bad, but she instead cautioned me about the negative influence it will have on my name. She’s right.

“Let us pretend that Sir Dantalian ends up in a bad situation in the future. At that time, people will criticize Your Highness by saying that you only fell to such a state because you got addicted to gambling. The same thing will happen even if you’re successful. People will speak ill of you by saying that you only got a little lucky while gambling.”

“Uugh.”

She was completely right.

“R-Roughly four thousand gold.”

“……You’ve won a lot, huh.”

Lapis looked a little fed up.

She advised me to donate 3,000 gold to the people. How could I refuse? I listened to her and generously tossed 3,000 gold to an orphanage. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel reluctant to donate my money. Maybe it was because I also felt it was cheap of me to use the status windows to take the money of those gamblers. The people of Niflheim came to like me even more due to my donation.

After escaping the casino, I started to roam around Niflheim again. I even visited the demon red light district that Vuffoet led me to last time.

There were many prostitutes of various different races standing on terraces and waving pedestrians over, but when a goblin prostitute said, ‘Oh dear, Your Highness Demon Lord! Come and rest here!’ in a high-pitched voice……I’ll exclude the explanation. I did learn that there were perverted Demon Lords who didn’t discriminate and enjoyed carnal pleasures with all races. For example, Rank 12 Demon Lord Sitri is famous for their unique sexual preferences and enjoys having sexual relations with people of various races all at once.

Like so, my time of rest went by. The day where the Demon Lords gathered had arrived.

“I cannot make any exceptions today. You must wear these clothes.”

“No, I don’t want to. Wear those clothes? I’d rather bite my tongue and die.”

“This color has been trending recently in the demon world. Generally, Sir Dantalian is too aloof when it comes to your attire. Although it is advisable to not be too attached to your outer appearance, there is a minimum amount of etiquette one must maintain during an occasion like this.”

Lapis and I were at a boutique where numerous articles of clothing were put on display before us. Out of all the outfits in front of us, Lapis went out of her way to pick an ivory coat. She was telling me to put that on over a pink vest.

An ivory coat and a pink vest! Someone needs to seriously check Lapis’ sense of beauty. There’s no way that this was currently trending in this era. Wasn’t this an attire you’d normally see some eccentric aristocrat wearing in a work of art from the Rococo era?

“I’d rather wear a clean suit like you.”

“The black suit I wear is for commoners. It is not something a Demon Lord should wear.”

Lapis spoke sternly. This was my first time seeing her be this stubborn. Even as someone who regularly wore hippy clothes back in my original world, I utterly dislike multi-colored clothes that were pointlessly fancy. They almost make me feel sick.

“Frankly speaking, Sir Dantalian has terrible taste in clothing.”

“…….”

No way! I’m not the one with terrible taste, it’s this era!

“In any case, leave the coordination to me. For starters, I will pick out the color of your clothes and then send a letter to the maiden who will be your partner for the evening. Normally, the men match their attires with the women, but Demon Lords are an exception.”

“Huh? A partner?”

“There is a ball on the first day of the gathering. Naturally, Your Highness Demon Lord must escort a single maiden.”

This was my first time hearing this.

“Hey, hey. I’m terrible at dancing. And what do you mean by a partner? How would I even acquire one?”

“You do not have to worry about that. The ball is nothing more than a formality and is actually more similar to a banquet. Dancing is voluntary to an extent. Do not worry about your partner either. The Keuncuska Firm has already gathered a suitable assortment of ladies for Your Highness.”

Lapis then pulled out a scroll as if she had prepared it for this moment. The personal information of various women was written on it. She then went down the names and gave a brief explanation for each of them.

“I recommend this individual. She is the Venom Hell archduke’s daughter. Although Sir Dantalian lacks a bit in status to be the partner of an archduke’s esteemed daughter, my superiors at the Keuncuska Firm actively went out of their ways to arrange this partnership for some reason. It is an opportunity to gain personal connections.”

“Uh-huh.”

“This person is good as well. As she is the daughter of an earl who is the subordinate of the Void Hell archduke, not only is her beauty remarkable, but she also has an influence over high society. I can assure you that if you take this lady as your mistress, it will be incredibly beneficial for you in the future.”

I was taken aback.

“What? As my mistress?”

“It is not scandalous for a Demon Lord to have several mistresses. If anything, it can be the source of one’s pride. The next candidate is…….”

A verbose introduction of all of the women continued on. I was completely in a daze. An abrupt ball. This is something that has zero connections to my life. Furthermore, I have to make a woman I’ve never met before my partner and go around with her for an entire day? Mistress? What’s that supposed to be?

“Wait, wait! Lapis, stop talking for a second. I am being overwhelmed. Let us put aside the whole mistress business for a moment. Let’s say that I participate in this ball. I understand the reason why I’d have to select a partner. However, why is the Keuncuska Firm choosing my partner?”

Lapis was about to say something, but I waved my hand to cut her off. I could take a guess as to why they’re doing this. The superiors at Keuncuska were most likely informed that I’m using the matter regarding Andromalius to threaten them. They probably want me to turn a blind eye to the matter by connecting me to someone of influence.

This might seem like an award for other people, but, unfortunately, I’m not happy about this at all. It’s clear that even these daughters of influential people are close allies of the Keuncuska Firm. They’ll do whatever they can to restrain me by attaching a mistress onto me. In other words, they’re nothing more than poisoned apples that only looked appealing on the outside.

“……But Sir Dantalian.”

Despite hearing my deduction, Lapis still insisted that I should pick a partner.

“It is also true that, through this, you will not only be able to naturally gain a person of influence on your side, but you will put the Keuncuska Firm completely on Sir Dantalian’s side as well. Sir Dantalian may have made a lot of money through the black herbs, but your faction is still weak. If you are able to tactfully gain a person of influence’s protection as well, then no one would be able to look down on you.”

“Hm.”

Her suggestion made sense as well. I fell into deep thought.

My first and foremost goal is survival. My second goal is to ‘clear’ this world……in other words, if I go by what VenusPanties implicated, I have to conquer this world. If I consider these two goals, then receiving the strong protection of someone seems like a wise decision.

By making an influential person’s daughter my mistress, I can use her and ultimately betray her later on in order to lay aside an even larger faction……This definitely isn’t a bad idea either. The other party is most likely approaching me to use me as well. They can’t complain about a relationship where we use each other mutually.

However.

“Lapis. Let me tell you how I sincerely feel right now.”

“I am listening.”

“I am honestly not confident I can do this.”

Lapis tilted her head.

“Pardon?”

“If it’s you who have been watching me more than anyone else, you should know that I am a fundamentally unstable person. I wasn’t always like this. Did you call it Demon Lord syndrome? It’s that. I became like this because I’ve been able to feel the emotions of others as a Demon Lord. My rage and another person’s joy is gathered in one place inside of me. It is a complete mess.”

Lapis’ expression became a bit darker.

“But……were you not able to find stability after coming to Niflheim?”

“This is only a temporary measure. From what I can tell, this is nothing more than the beginning of my manic depression. Who knows how long my mind can endure these chaotic emotions.”

I confessed with mixed feelings. Lapis’ worried emotions were being transmitted to me as I did so. Is there really a difference between mixed feelings and worry? The two emotions are nearly the same. There isn’t much of a gap. It was hard to distinguish how much of the emotion I was feeling now was mine or Lapis’.

“I don’t know what will happen either. All that I am certain of is that balance is necessary.”

“Balance, is it?”

“I need breaktimes. On the outside, I must either undergo battles while actively reading the emotions of others or go to war. This is a given. However, I must also be able to rest peacefully in my Demon Lord room and not have to worry about the emotions of others. A place to rest my overly exhausted mind.”

In that regard, the casino was rather great. Whenever I won, I was happy and the other parties were sad. There is always a clear distinction between emotions as a result of a win or a loss. I didn’t have to struggle to distinguish the boundary between myself and others. Of course, being in my quarters by myself is the best, but that’s incredibly boring.

“And yet I have to make some person whom I don’t know the intentions of into my mistress? I have no way of knowing whether she’s working for the sake of her household or Keuncuska. Thus, I would have to once again pour my all into being concerned about another person’s emotions.”

“Sir Dantalian.”

Lapis stopped me all of a sudden. This was something that she would incredibly rarely do.

“Huh?”

“When you are with me……do you feel that way as well?”

Anxious. I felt this kind of emotion from her.

I already found out a long time ago that Lapis has all sorts of emotions behind her usually impassive face. Although she spends most of her time as a cold woman, she would occasionally show me her humane side.

It’s comfortable to be around her since she’s always calm. Since other particular emotions are rarely transmitted to me. Furthermore, since she isn’t completely dull like a doll, we occasionally understood each other. She maintained the perfect distance with me.

I chuckled lightly.

“No. Continue to stay at my side.”

“Understood.”

Lapis responded calmly. Mm, I could clearly tell she felt relieved on the inside, but there’s no need for me to go out of my way to point that out and embarrass her. Despite my looks, I’m actually a very considerate man. People don’t seem to realize this that well, though.

She spoke in a troubled tone.

“Then this is going to make it difficult to choose a partner for tomorrow’s ball.”

“Right. That’s also a problem……Mm, who cares really? You can be my partner, Lapis.”

“…….”

There was a moment of silence.

“Pardon me……?”

“That settles it. With this, this problem has now been dealt with.”

I only thought up this idea a second ago, but it’s still a decent solution even if I think about it carefully. For one reason or another, the Keuncuska Firm wants to make me into their ally. Completely refusing all of the candidates wouldn’t be wise. By making Lapis, an employee of their company, my partner, I can give them the message that ‘I don’t intend to make you guys my enemy’.

Furthermore, this will also express the fact that I have no intention of moving according to their plans. It’s good because the Keuncuska Firm will know that I have the intent to cooperate with them, I won’t harm my position, and my mental state will be fine since I won’t have to go around with a complete stranger. It’s perfect.

“You said that it’s custom for men to match their attire with women, right? Hurry up and choose a dress. I will generously match my outfit with yours.”

“Your Highness. I am a half-succubus. Even if you were accompanied by a pure-blooded succubus, the impact that would have on your reputation as a Demon Lord is still worrisome. So if you take someone like me…….”

“Oh dear. You’re going on about pure blood and mixed blood again. I’m going to get sick of this topic if you mention it again. I am saying this with a plan in mind, so just follow my orders obediently.”

I went across the boutique and searched for a dress that would suit Lapis. Lapis followed me in a panic. She kept going on about my dignity as a Demon Lord and whatever, but I ignored her.

“How about this? A pure white dress. It’s luxurious and elegant so it’s perfect.”

“……That is too refined for a ball. No, more importantly, Sir Dantalian, I still have not accepted this.”

“Then how about this black dress? The adornment looks both splendid and dignified at the same time. It seems befitting for a Demon Lord’s partner.”

“Your Highness.”

Lapis’ tone was fairly urgent. I continued to play dumb.

After this bout continued for roughly 3 hours, Lapis raised a white flag. Once I threatened to go without a partner if she keeps resisting, she surrendered. In the end, after I half-forcefully gave Lapis a black dress, I chose to wear an utterly plain black coat and vest under the pretext of matching my partner’s attire.

“Haaa……for an important gathering to become like this…….”

Lapis let out a sigh and muttered. Nevertheless, I was just overjoyed that I didn’t have to wear an eccentric outfit anymore. Not ruining a customer’s mood is also an important duty for merchants, you know?

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. I hope you guys had a good holiday. It’s 2020 and my life is practically the same. Perfect. I’m just waiting in anticipation for my trip to the US. It’s been more than 12 years since I traveled anywhere overseas. I’m bringing my laptop on the trip, so I’ll probably get some translating done at night. It’ll definitely take me a while to release chapters while I’m there, though.

In any case, I’ll see you guys in the next release.

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