The Author's POV

The room was beautifully illuminated by a glittering chandelier placed in the middle of the ceiling.

Click―!

The handle on the door to the room clicked as it was opened, and a moment later, a tall, graceful figure dressed in black clothing that were rather revealing entered the room, casting about.

Priscilla Pertinol didn't look around as she quietly walked toward the far end of the room, where a large window stood.

Arriving at the window, by her side, was a massive, 10-foot-tall glass pane that was gently tilted toward the side of the wall.

Reflected in the mirror was a graceful figure with long pink hair that reached the ends of her back, stopping right above her waistline. Two thin horns protruded from the top of her forehead, separating her hair and leaving her unable to hide her pristine looks that seemed to make any man drool.

Her face was carefully composed in an almost-statuesque placidity, absent even of the slightest emotion as her red eyes gazed past through the window.

"How many people have decided to sign up for the task?"

In the moment that she opened her mouth, the area behind her warped, and a black figure appeared out of thin air, with one knee to the ground and a respectful expression.

"We've received several applicants so far."

"A rough estimate."

"About a hundred or so."

Priscilla's delicate brows furrowed ever so slightly, unable to disguise her annoyance.

"This little?"

"Yes...it appears as though the other houses have put up similar quests."

"I see."

Priscilla gave a curt nod, the hint of a frown on her lips indicating that she did not appreciate having her hand forced in this manner.

"Looks like they caught on to my intentions."

"It appears so..."

The servant answered, his head lowering and his voice becoming quieter.

"What do you plan on doing? Will you still proceed?"

"..."

Silence filled the room as Priscilla contemplated. Originally, she had anticipated having more than a thousand different participants join her on this quest.

It wasn't just about her fame and good looks that attracted people to join her mission; it was also the fact that the monetary reward was high.

It was definitely high enough to attract the attention of the masses.

Her goal was obviously not taming the Abyssal Mammoth, which, although difficult, wasn't impossible for her to beat. Her goal was to recruit as many talented people to her side in order to aid her with the incoming fruit harvesting event―World Decree―that would soon take place, but...

Who would've thought that the other demons would see through her intentions and perform similar mass recruitment quests?

'It appears as though there is a spy within my faction.'

There was no change in Priscilla's facial features as she peered at her servant through the corners of her eyes.

The servant, who was quietly kneeling on one knee, suddenly felt a powerful pressure bear down on his body for a split second before finding it disappear into thin air, and what followed was Priscilla's voice as she ordered.

"Disappear from my sight."

"Understood."

With the fade of his words, his figure quietly melted into the background of the room, leaving Priscilla by herself.

Tak. Tak.

The rhythmic echo of Priscilla's heels reverberated throughout the room as she walked toward the chair of her desk and donned a fur-trimmed black cape.

After hooking it around her shoulders and flapping it open with a light swing of her arm, the cape followed her as she walked toward the far end of the room, where she opened the large wooden door and then exited the building.

"...I'll have to make do with what I have for now."

***

"Are you sure that they won't find us?"

Jin inquired while carefully examining our surrounding environment, his eyes darting toward his right and left.

Because of the way he was holding his hands at the edges of his hood, trying to pull it down as far as he could, he didn't look much different from someone who had completely lost their mind.

'It seems like the demonic energy has also started to affect him.'

"Haa..."

I sighed to myself, placing my hand over his shoulder, and shook my head.

"Don't worry. Look, we're not the only group wearing hoods. If you look carefully, apart from a few, most people here are also wearing hoods."

There were a lot of people surrounding us as we stood in the middle of a large plaza. One look was enough to tell that the vast majority of them were demons, but a closer inspection revealed that there were also orcs and members of other races interspersed among them.

Of course, I was only referring to the people I could see.

As I was mentioning to Jin, there were quite a few other people who had the same plan as us and were concealing their identities by donning hoods that were very similar to the ones we were wearing.

This made us stand out even less as we perfectly blended with the crowd.

"You're right..."

Jin eventually became calmer after becoming aware of the other hooded figures that were surrounding us and-

"Has everyone gathered?"

A clear and distinct voice reverberated through the room, reaching the minds of each and every one of the people who were present.

The voice wasn't particularly loud, but it effortlessly made its way into the heads of everyone present, and there was a slight alteration in the expression on my face as a result.

'What fine control of demonic energy.'

It was almost on the level of my control with psyons.

Tak.

A graceful figure materialized on the balcony of a white building that stood adjacent to the plaza, and with the tap of her heel, she drew the attention of those who were present.

In the instant she appeared, the faces of many people present changed, unable to hide their infatuated gazes.

'This is dangerous.'

The aura that was emanating from the demon was comparable to that of Suriol, an individual who had been close to achieving the rank of prince and was the same individual who had come close to defeating me some time ago.

'If the two of us fight, I might be able to win...but the price will definitely not be small.'

Just the fact that she wasn't even one of the strongest demons in this city made me aware of just how dangerous the place I was in was.

My guard increased a notch as I took a small step back.

"Hm..."

At precisely the same time, I became aware of a second figure that was erecting itself behind her. He was also a demon, and he was dressed in what appeared to be heavy armour.

He was standing behind her while maintaining a calm and emotionless expression.

"Since you've all gathered here, you should all be aware of what I request of you."

When Duchess Priscilla spoke, her words once more floated through my mind like the mellow tunes produced by a string instrument being plucked.

"I won't go into heavy detail since all of you must already be aware of what I want to achieve. We will be departing in the next hour, so if you have any business that you wish to ask me about, do so now. I have no interest in waiting for those that are not prepared."

For the next few minutes, the plaza fell into a state of silence as no one raised their hand to ask any questions.

Seeing this, the duchess shifted her gaze away from the people who were standing in the plaza, and then she turned back into the large mansion.

As she did so, she gave the crowd one final glance.

"Since nobody has anything to ask, I will go and get myself prepared."

Her figure disappeared shortly after, and the plaza bustled with noise.

Slowly closing my eyes, I softly mumbled.

"Get ready. We're about to leave."

*

The minutes ticked by in a flash, and precisely when an hour had passed, the Duchess materialized once more on the highest point of the balcony.

This time around, she was clad in a form-fitting, slender-framed armour that accentuated her already well-developed curves and fit her body like a glove.

"Follow me along. I will not wait for those that can't keep up."

Despite the little interactions I had with this Duchess, I sort of had an understanding of her.

She was a no-bullshit person.

Someone who didn't like to repeat herself and wanted others to work efficiently.

She kind of reminded me of Donna, but she was even more uptight than her.

'Ugh, the more I think about it, the more accurate I find this comparison to be...'

Despite the fact that it was far too soon to pass judgment, this was the conclusion that I reached based on the brief amount of time that I was able to see her.

'Although I did say that I wanted to befriend her, that's on the premise that she isn't one of the demons that would backstab me at any moment. I must gain a deeper understanding of her before deciding whether I should work with her or not.'

By then, my mind was already made up, and I followed her from behind.

We exited the city, and I followed closely behind her as we ran for what seemed like a couple of hours before we finally came to a stop in front of an enormous cave.

"We're here."

She turned to face the others and drew a slim sword from her waist as she slowly fixed her gaze on the at least one hundred-meter-high cave that stood behind her.

She then pointed it at the cave and coldly shouted.

"Get ready; we will start immediately."

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