[Beast Master (Lion King)], Demon Lord Carrion.
As the Beast King of [Eurazania] and one of the [Ten Great Demon Lords], he had met plenty of major figures across the world. So even when the [Beastketeers] reported that Phobio was causing some kind of trouble with a rising power in the great forest, he had not been especially surprised.
A [lycanthrope] with muscles for brains causing trouble could only mean one thing anyway: a duel, or maybe a fight to the death at worst.
'If that idiot picked a fight, it couldn't have been anything that outrageous.'
If monsters had one universal rule, it was survival of the fittest.
For the [lycanthrope]s, the strong exploiting the weak and the strong ruling over the weak was the most primal instinct of all, and their law besides.
'...He challenged the [Grand Duke of the Underworld]... directly?'
That was only when the other side was an ordinary monster.
'...That idiot...!!'
Carrion had known Adelio was with the rising forces of the great forest, but he had never imagined Phobio, who knew Adelio's true identity, would actually rush at him. The moment he heard, he came straight to the forest.
Because aside from himself, Frey, and Clayman, the [Ten Great Demon Lords]—especially Guy, the first [Demon Lord] and their true leader—were the absolute worst people to provoke, no matter what.
'Of all people, why did it have to be them...?'
The half-dragon of destruction could be swayed with a toy.
The fairy of the labyrinth, with helplessness.
The giant of tyranny, with indifference.
The fallen angel, with sloth.
The vampire of the night, with pride.
The other [Demon Lord]s might still leave room to forgive Phobio's disgrace for one reason or another, but that arrogant devil and his close aides... they were never the kind to expect mercy from.
For the [Primordial Demons] were kings among demons, beings whose power rivaled [Demon Lord]s and whose temperaments were wrapped in a loftiness equal to—or even greater than—that of [Demon Lord]s themselves.
Even Misery, one of Guy's more mild-mannered subordinates, naturally regarded lesser races as nothing more than tools. And Rain, who was far more troublesome than Misery, hardly needed mentioning.
'...At least Adelio is easier to talk to than those two... but that just makes him more troublesome in a different way.'
Adelio was a [Grand Duke]-class demon, a being comparable to the [Primordial Demons], yet unlike them, he knew how to embrace lesser races.
The problem was that he was just as strict about [Contract]s—and even stricter when it came to punishment.
'...Well, at least he's interesting. That's the only saving grace...'
Muttering that if not for that one redeeming trait he wouldn't even be able to laugh right now, Carrion swallowed a deep sigh behind a fierce smile.
*
"The compensation I want, huh..."
Facing Carrion without even blinking, Adelio slowly shook his head as he turned those words over in his mind.
"Unfortunately, there's nothing I want from you right now."
The Beast King of [Eurazania], master of all [lycanthrope]s, one of the [Ten Great Demon Lords].
If some other monster had been told to name what they wanted from Carrion, countless desires would probably have rushed into their head. But Adelio voiced none of them.
Of course, there was exactly one price that came to Adelio's mind at once. But just as he had said, it was not something he could ask for "right now."
Because...
'The position of [Demon Lord] isn't a status you can obtain this cheaply.'
...what Adelio wanted was a far greater price, one even the [Demon Lord]s themselves would struggle to imagine.
"...There's nothing you want?"
Unable to know what Adelio was truly thinking, Carrion frowned in confusion and asked how he intended to collect a price at all, then.
After all, he had boldly declared that he would exact compensation in Phobio's place, yet what he was saying now sounded like the exact opposite.
"Simple."
But Adelio had his own way of doing things... no, the method demons used more than any other—
"I'll just leave this matter as a debt."
—a method perfectly suited to demons: plunge the other party into doubt and pressure, then use that opening to draw out an even greater profit.
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