Dungeon Defense (WN)

“Let us proceed to the next agenda.”

I impassively continued to the next topic.

I absolutely couldn’t show a bitter or displeased look on my face in this situation. I have to quickly get past it as if it isn’t a big deal.

The more I appear flustered, the more the Demon Lords will think that the leadership on our side is divided. And keep this in mind – there is no leadership that looks more incompetent than leadership that appears divided. Leaders must always wear a mask so that their true intentions are inscrutable.

“…….”

Unfortunately, it seems Paimon didn’t get the memo.

Paimon’s eyes looked like they were spewing out lava. She was glaring at Barbatos so intensely, that it felt like she wanted to whip Barbatos to death right this instant. On the other hand, Barbatos was smirking at Paimon with an expression that looked like it was asking ‘What? Are you frustrated?’

“……Tonight’s Walpurgis Night shall be adjourned here. I would like to thank everyone who participated today.”

In the end, the atmosphere remained tense until the meeting concluded. The Demon Lords started to leave in groups of threes and twos. I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but it was obvious what they were whispering about. Damn it.

I gestured at Vassago with a glance before stepping out of the room.

As I was slowly calming down my frustration in the hallway, Vassago soon approached me. I didn’t even turn to face Vassago as I muttered.

“What is your true motive?”

“Barbatos came to me last night and told me to vote against it.”

Vassago leaned against the wall and pulled out his pipe. He was a man who originally didn’t smoke, but at some point, he had picked up a habit of smoking like me. Vassago exhaled a puff of smoke.

“I thought you were indirectly conveying your message to me through Barbatos, but seeing as to how you’ve invited me here like this, I see you were completely unaware. How does it feel, oh great Dantalian? How does it feel to be betrayed by a trusted lover?”

Vassago let out a mocking laugh.

I sighed.

“Is that why you deliberately gave a contrasting opinion at first?”

At the start of the meeting, Vassago voiced a contrary opinion from Barbatos. Thanks to this, they succeeded in giving the impression of not being on the same side.

The reason why Vassago had voted against abolishment was because he was against the ‘complete’ abolishment of slavery. In other words, he was against abolishing slavery for both demons and humans together……. This is probably how most people will interpret his decision.

Vassago nodded.

“Barbatos gave me a script and told me to voice an opposing opinion at first.”

“So that you can give her an opening to bring up the topic of human slavery next?”

“Indeed.”

We quietly exchanged words with our backs against the wall. Instead of looking at each other, our gazes were both fixed on the empty space in front of us. We both knew very well that there was no need for us to go out of our way to make gestures and looks to intimidate the other party.

“Vassago, you have made a mistake.”

“Considering the situation, it seems I have.”

“I have always expressed my intentions directly to you. Openly. Face to face. Barbatos may be my lover, but there is no way I would ‘use’ her to convey messages to you, is there?”

I gnashed my teeth.

“Barbatos is not my messenger, and you are not my subordinate. Did you take me for someone who would convey messages through his lover due to laziness? Did you think I would respect you that little?”

“I admit my mistake.”

Vassago lowered his tone as he spoke. There was a slight hint of anger in his voice.

“As you know, you are an incredibly arrogant and conceited kid. A person like you making Barbatos act as your messenger did not strike me as strange at the time.”

“In that case, if you informed me as soon as you noticed something off—.”

“But you are also at fault, Dantalian.”

I turned to see Vassago glaring at me more seriously than ever.

“I honestly never thought the day you would be incapable of controlling Barbatos would ever arrive. You’ve been going around flaunting your relationship with Barbatos publicly.”

“…….”

“Do not even think about denying this. The two of you strutted around as if the whole world were your living room. Hmph, this is why fools who stake their lives on things like love always end up with a broken nose sooner or later.”

I quietly turned away and looked at the ground. I was implicitly agreeing that he was right.

“……I never expected this to happen either.”

“What exactly did you not expect?”

“That Barbatos would do something like this without telling me.”

Silence.

I took my pipe out of my pocket. Once I did, Vassago snapped his fingers, causing my pipe to light on its own. I didn’t utter a word as I put my pipe in my mouth.

“The day that I console you will never come. You’re a son of a bitch whom I refuse to associate with, after all.”

“……I am aware.”

“However, it will be troubling for me if you become weaker. I bet my entire political life on you, you damned bastard. I even lost three spirit kings during our subjugation of Agares. Three spirit kings whom I worked thousands of years to get.”

Vassago spat on the floor.

“Do not appear weak before me, kid. It’s so sickening that I want to vomit. Even if comfort is required in the world, you will never be a beneficiary of that comfort. What an unpleasant feeling…….”

There was nothing I could say. Vassago would probably get more upset if I apologized to him here. Silence was all that I could offer. Hence, I decided to change the topic.

“But it is strange. Why did Barbatos drag you into this?”

“Hm?”

“She must have known that I would see through her immediately. Yet, she chose to involve you. I am sure there is a hidden motive behind this.”

I gazed into the air.

“If Barbatos refused on her own, it would have seemed like only the Plains Faction were in opposition. But if your vote gets mixed in as well…….”

“It would seem like each person voted based on their personal beliefs. I see. Is that what she was aiming for?”

Vassago let out a snort.

I stroked my chin.

“Yes. Barbatos wanted to throw an opposing vote against me, but she did not want to make it seem like she was antagonizing me. The reason she got you involved most likely lies there.”

“It appears that I was suddenly used in a domestic dispute. What a wretched pair.”

Now there was only one question left.

Why did Barbatos throw an opposing vote against me?

Vassago offered his opinion in this regard.

“Perhaps this was her way of airing her grievances with you. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was upset since you have been using the Empire however you pleased up to this point.”

“……It is not like Barbatos is a child. There is no way she would air her grievances in such a manner. She could have voiced her complaints directly to me.”

“Hmph, she is a child.”

Vassago pushed himself off the wall.

“Be it her appearance and her mind. She’s someone who abandoned her sword and became a necromancer in order to save her subordinates. What else could she be but a child? Go ahead and have your domestic dispute between a kid and a child. It is so childish that I cannot go along with it.”

Vassago then walked off after leaving those words.

“…….”

I lingered in the hallway and smoked my pipe for a while before I eventually made my way somewhere else.

To Barbatos’ bedroom.

* * *

There wasn’t a single guard in the hallway where Barbatos’ bedroom was located.

It was because this area was fully protected by transparent death knights. Once I started to approach from the other side of the hallway, the death knights glared at me coldly. Their lolita complex is irreparable.

It didn’t matter to me if the black knights glared at me or not. I didn’t even knock as I pulled open the door to Barbatos’ room. None of the death knights could stop me.

The room was dark and didn’t have even a single thread of light.

In the shadow of this darkness, Barbatos was sat at the window sill staring at the night sky. Barbatos didn’t even turn to look at me as she mused.

“You’re surprisingly late.”

“The shock was rather immense. I required some time to collect myself.”

I sat down in one of the chairs in the room.

“Barbatos. You betrayed me.”

“I know.”

“Betrayal. That is a word that I never imagined ever being uttered between the two of us. I never would have dreamed of it. What is it that you want to say to me?”

Barbatos spoke with a hint of amusement.

“What do I want to say? Do you really not know, Dantalian? I’ve always known you’re an idiot, but I didn’t know your brain was this retarded.”

“I want to hear it from you directly.”

I answered her curtly.

Even I could tell that my tone was overflowing with anger.

“I can’t figure out when we started hiding our thoughts from each other. Didn’t we promise to share everything? Don’t be cowardly, Barbatos. If you have something to say, don’t beat around the bush and say the damn thing you want to say yourself! Take responsibility!”

“The coward here is you.”

Barbatos snapped her head to me.

Even in the darkness, Barbatos’ golden eyes were glowing with rage.

“You put this law forward for that bitch Paimon, right?”

“…….”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? That I wouldn’t notice and let it slide? Did you think I’d be oblivious to the fact that the archdukes are just an excuse and that this is all for that bitch Paimon? Did you really believe I wouldn’t find out?”

Barbatos gnashed her teeth as she asked.

“Demon Lords have to be absolute……. The archdukes must be shown punishment……. These are all excuses. If you genuinely believed I would be tricked by these lies and agree with your stance, Dantalian, then you must think me a fool.”

“Barbatos.”

I spoke in a pained mutter.

“It’s true that the archdukes must be punished. I was not lying.”

“Hah. Then why did you claim that the humans can’t be slaves as well? Is that also an absolutely necessary measure?”

“…….”

Barbatos got up from the window sill.

She walked up to me and grabbed me by the collar.

“I realized the truth as soon as I heard about this agenda. The fact that you were acting for that bitch Paimon’s sake. If you had honestly told me the truth from the get-go, then yeah, I might’ve turned a blind eye. Instead, you hid the truth from me and tried to play it off with nonsense……!”

Barbatos’ expression contorted.

“Who betrayed who first? Huh? Who hid their thoughts first? Even though you told me dozens of times that I’m your number one and that you would never cherish Paimon more than me!”

Son of a bitch, Barbatos spat as she brought her face closer to mine.

“Listen carefully. I can no longer watch you frolic around with Paimon. In the first place, you’re at fault here for trying to hold both me and Paimon at the same time! So make your choice. Is it going to be me or that bitch Paimon? Tell me right now……!”

Tears were welling in the corners of Barbatos’ eyes.

I was unable to open my mouth for a while.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Although Vassago sort of feels like a pushover, he’s still respectable in his own rights, huh? He fully understands his position and the lengths he can go with his words. The situation with Barbatos does feel inevitable and I wonder how Dant will resolve it.

Welp, this chapter was somewhat late cause of work overload. We finally got another EN translator! It only took half a year since that last guy! So cool! The company stopped actively looking for a new person since that last guy because we didn’t know if he was going to take the job or not. Thankfully, he didn’t since he was that bad. I haven’t reviewed the new guy’s work yet, so I’m not sure where he stands. We’ll see this upcoming week, I guess.

I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.