NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
Chapter 12
70th Floor.
It was a level ruled by the Demon King Andromalius, and the relationship with the neighboring Citri’s 71st floor was quite poor.
This was due to Andromalius’s original rank. As long as Seir von Debata was alive and Citri’s powers were sealed, Andromalius was ranked last, originally the 72nd Demon King.
However, he rose to the 70th rank by chance, while bullying the sealed Citri and causing chaos on the 71st floor. Several battles had already occurred due to this, and the relationship between Citri and Andromalius was beyond repair.
“You’re planning to operate in the 70th floor? I’ll help!”
Perhaps that was why Citri was very proactive. When Nahun mentioned plans to operate on the 70th floor, Citri offered support both physically and mentally.
Of course, the sight of him crawling on the grass to express his opinion was rather unseemly. When Nahun glanced at Citri with a somewhat pitying expression, Citri sensed it and yelled.
“Wh-what’s with that look?!”
“Nothing.”
Today, Citri was again training to get back at Nahun. It seemed Citri was adapting to his magic power faster day by day, as today he was crawling at a rather decent speed. He was now at a level where he could confidently say he could beat a snail.
“Seriously… why is this damn magic power so dense?”
Seeing Citri grumbling, Seere jumped off his chair. Nahun quietly watched Seere. After coming down from his chair, Seere ran over to Citri.
“Huh? What’s up…? Do you have something to say?”
Shaking his head, Seere rejected the idea of having something to say. Citri looked at Seere with a questioning gaze, wondering why he came. Then, Citri was shocked by Seere’s next action, and Nahun couldn’t help but laugh.
“Let’s do it together!”
With a plop, Seere lay down on the grass, just like Citri was. Seere looked at Citri with a big smile.
“They say doing it together is less tiring!”
Citri felt somewhat bewildered, but he knew that this pure child wouldn’t be trying to make fun of him. That naive smile, looking like he didn’t know anything, surely had no ulterior motives. While the action itself was a bit silly, Citri realized it was genuinely meant to encourage him.
Citri gave a slightly awkward smile and thought, ‘Dealing with such pure intentions is difficult…’
At that moment, while Nahun was watching Seere’s cute actions, he reminded her of one important fact.
“Seere, you’re going to get your white teddy bear dirty.”
“Huh?!”
Seere suddenly stood up in surprise as if he hadn’t thought of that at all, and he looked at the teddy bear covered in grass blades with a sad expression.
“My white teddy bear has gotten dirty…”
“It’s fine; you can just give it a bath.”
Seeing Nahun use the word “bath” instead of laundry while looking at the stuffed animal made Citri think it was unexpected.
‘Is he used to dealing with children?’
Nahun lightly picked up the sulking Seere and handed him to Cain, telling him to wash up along with the teddy bear, and sensing Citri’s gaze, he asked.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well… you seem quite experienced in dealing with children.”
“…It’s not that I’m experienced. I just think about how to make Seere comfortable and act accordingly.”
After hearing Nahun’s response, Citri felt a slight sense of discomfort. For the first time, the always inscrutable Nahun seemed to exhibit a peculiar expression as if he was hiding something.
“…Really? You always think and act so much.”
“Then does Citri always act without thinking?”
“Hey, when did I ever do that?!”
“The nuance of your words suggests so.”
“You’re unbelievable…”
Nahun snapped his fingers, retracting his magic power. Citri looked at him with a puzzled expression over the abruptly halted training.
“Let’s suspend training for a moment and continue our earlier discussion.”
“…Oh, that?”
It was the topic of assisting the attack on the 70th floor. Nahun was asking for a detailed explanation of that.
“I don’t know how you guys intend to do your groundwork, but I’ll help in any way I can.”
“What’s your reason?”
“Because we’re allies… but you probably won’t believe that, right?”
“Of course, you’d say something like that. We know that Andromalius and we have a poor relationship, but even if we attacked the 70th floor, there wouldn’t be much advantage for you, would there?”
“The truth is, we’re also preparing for war.”
Nahun’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by her answer. Citri found his reaction amusing.
“What’s with that surprised face? You didn’t expect that?”
“…I anticipated that a war would break out, but the timing is earlier than expected.”
Nahun had known that Citri was preparing for war against Andromalius. It was evident within the game as well. However, the timing of the war was supposed to come much later than this.
In fact, even when Nahun planned the attack on the 70th floor, he had already moved the timeline earlier than the existing story.
‘Did I bring the timeline forward, causing this change?’
While Nahun pondered that thought, Citri spoke up, unaware of Nahun’s inner musings.
“So, since your goal is also to attack the 70th floor, wouldn’t it be better as allies to help each other?”
“I see that Citri is making some outstanding suggestions. I see you in a new light.”
“Hehe… What are you saying, you jerk!?”
Realizing too late that she had just insulted herself, Citri snapped in anger, but Nahun moved on to the next topic without concern.
“We have no reason to refuse your proposal. So how will you help us?”
“You’re quite shameless, aren’t you?”
“What are you implying?”
“…Never mind. So how do you want us to help? You’ve been thinking since you heard my story.”
At Citri’s question, Nahun slightly raised the corners of his mouth. That confident smile seemed to indicate he had something prepared.
‘If I had made another suggestion, you would have criticized it as well…’
Citri was beginning to understand Nahun more and more. Nahun shared what he had in mind.
“Please continue your preparations for war as usual.”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking you to engage in an open confrontation.”
“Wait, wouldn’t that put us at a significant disadvantage?”
“Don’t worry.”
Nahun reassured Citri.
“Your Majesty will not suffer significant troop losses.”
“…So you’re telling me to pretend to fight?”
“Oh, you’re quick-witted. As expected of Her Majesty Citri.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Watching Nahun praising her while clapping his hands, Citri felt something strange. It was undoubtedly a compliment, but it felt like an empty one, leaving Citri quite confused.
“Can we really attack the 70th floor by just pretending to fight?”
“The attack on the 70th floor won’t be done by our own hands.”
“Huh?”
“Look at this.”
Nahun showed Citri a report he had previously shown to Lin. As Citri read the report, he gasped in surprise and looked up at Nahun.
“Is this true?”
“Yes.”
The content of the report Nahun showed stated that Andromalius had publicly criticized a powerful figure from the 70th floor he ruled, thereby straining their relationship.
“I realized he was foolish, but I didn’t expect him to be this foolish.”
“Thanks to that, we have an opportunity.”
A Demon King’s rank is determined by his military strength, scale of power, and influence. Naturally, maintaining good relationships with his forces is a necessary virtue for a Demon King.
However, Andromalius lacked such qualities. He tended to overestimate his own power and was a self-centered individual. This was the main reason Andromalius had remained at the bottom of the ranks for a long time.
“That guy would never apologize for his personality.”
“Exactly.”
No matter how much of a Demon King he was, it was unthinkable to publicly criticize a powerful figure who accounted for a large part of his forces. But the selfish Andromalius would not show a quick apology or response for this blunder.
“We’re going to use that to do some groundwork.”
Nahun’s earlier involvement with Lin’s operations was also intended to take advantage of this situation. The goal was to infiltrate the 70th floor and meet the powerful figure who was publicly criticized, Aaron Raeders, and persuade him.
By winning over Aaron, they would also pull his forces towards them, thereby splitting the 70th floor’s power. Hence, they would take control of the divided 70th floor.
After grasping the situation, Citri nodded. The plan seemed solid. But getting Aaron Raeders on their side was the biggest key…
“You’re telling me you’re confident in succeeding in the persuasion part?”
“We’ve sent a messenger with a reputation and power who would be tempting once they meet him.”
“…I think I know who it is.”
There was only one person under Nahun who possessed the reputation and power to undertake such a task.
“Okay, I’ll induce a war as you say.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as the persuasion is complete.”
“Got it.”
Citri pointed at Nahun with her index finger.
“What about the division?”
“Everything from territory to funds will be divided fairly, 50-50. How does that sound?”
“Unexpected. I thought you would try to take more for yourself.”
Nahun responded with a gentle smile as if he looked kindly at her.
“We’re allies, after all.”
The alliance with Citri must continue. For that, a small loss could be tolerated.
‘It’s worth it.’
Citri narrowed her eyes.
“…You didn’t believe me when I said it, did you?”
“Whether you believe it or not, that’s up to Her Majesty Citri.”
Nahun, who said she could think freely, snapped his fingers. The magic power thickened again around them, causing Citri to plop down once more.
“Ah!”
“Training resumes, Your Majesty.”
#
After finishing the training with Citri, Nahun returned to the castle, where Seere welcomed him.
“Teacher!”
“Oh, Seere. You look clean!”
Had the white teddy bear been washed? The dirty parts were entirely gone, and it had returned to being a pure white stuffed animal. Seere also looked fluffy and clean. Nahun couldn’t help but smile like a father at Seere’s beaming face welcoming him.
“Here.”
When Nahun opened his arms, Seere rushed into them. While easily lifting Seere, Nahun asked Cain.
“Cain, has Lin departed?”
“Yes, she left just a short while ago.”
“Good.”
As Nahun made his way to his office while holding Seere, he blinked when he noticed something in Seere’s hair.
“Seere.”
“Yes?”
“Did you dye your hair?”
Seere tilted her head quizzically, but Nahun was certain of what he saw. Among Seere’s white hairs, a few strands of red were visible.