I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 21

 

“Why is this happening!”

 

Cathedral Inner Sanctum located in the Kingdom Capital. The Knight Commander shouted as if he couldn’t understand.

 

“It’s only natural. To request the kingdom’s cooperation in annihilating the capital? Surely you didn’t think Headquarters would comply with such an absurd demand?”

 

In contrast, the elderly Archbishop maintained his benevolent smile and replied in a soothing manner.

 

Though he held a position overseeing a kingdom’s capital and possessed one of the highest ranks within the Religious Order, his opponent was the commander of the Headquarters Direct Holy Knights.

 

This wasn’t someone who could be dealt with through rank alone.

 

“When facing the Demon Lord, it’s merely a minor sacrifice!”

“That’s right. However.”

 

A calm. Yet resolute voice.

 

“It hasn’t been confirmed that the opponent is actually the Demon Lord.”

“…Th, that’s…”

“The birth of a new Demon Lord. It’s completely unexpected, but we must consider why Headquarters has been treating this as classified information.”

 

The Knight Commander’s expression twisted in frustration, but the Archbishop didn’t stop speaking.

 

“If we’re careless, trust in the Hero will waver, and the Religious Order’s influence in the secular world will surely diminish. With unprecedented prosperity ahead of us, this is a situation we must avoid above all else.”

 

Seeing the Knight Commander’s face about to explode, the Archbishop reluctantly added.

 

“It would be different if we had concrete evidence.”

“This is someone who evaded the Holy Knights’ pursuit for over ten days! There’s no way they’re just an ordinary Dark Mage…”

 

In the current situation, the Knight Commander’s statement only served to diminish the Holy Knights’ reputation. That was tantamount to undermining the Religious Order’s prestige.

 

The Archbishop openly let out a sigh.

 

“It’s merely circumstantial evidence.”

“That’s…!”

“This is Headquarters’ decision. Which means it’s the Goddess’s will. …Surely the commander of the Holy Knights doesn’t intend to defy the Goddess’s will?”

 

The Bishop’s closed eyes opened sharply.

 

“…Let’s end today’s conversation here.”

 

With his expression thoroughly twisted, the Holy Knight Commander who had been staring him down for a while left with those final words.

 

“Tsk. Foolish bastard.”

“What will you do?”

 

As the Archbishop clicked his tongue and sat down, someone appeared from behind him where there had been nothing and asked a question.

 

“If things end like this, it will only make our relationship with the Holy Knights awkward going forward. There are many things to worry about in the position of Archbishop.”

 

The Shadow Woman didn’t answer and prostrated herself in place.

 

“Tell them to cooperate moderately. And…”

 

The Archbishop, who had been pondering for a moment, pressed his head with one hand and spoke.

 

“I need to schedule an audience with the King.”

 

* * *

 

“Em, employment, you say? The Demon Lord…?”

“That’s right.”

 

Simone, whom I met again, seemed greatly shocked and couldn’t continue speaking.

 

His face, which had been completely ruined not too long ago, was already back to normal. Even wearing human skin, a demon was truly a demon.

 

“Still, the space has become quite clean.”

 

The appearance of the Black Moon Trading Company had changed significantly from before.

 

While it was still the same old building that could collapse at any moment, the miscellaneous trash had disappeared, and the documents that had been scattered everywhere were neatly organized. Most importantly, there was no smell of spoiled food.

 

“Not knowing when the Demon Lord might visit again, I organized things in the meantime. More than that.”

 

Simone, who had been speaking proudly as if boasting, immediately hardened his expression.

 

“For Your Majesty to take employment at a lowly human trading company due to my mistake. Please kill me…”

“Stop.”

“But.”

“Do you intend to mess up the trading company you worked so hard to organize with blood again?”

 

Simone, who had been tearing up as if moved, soon adjusted his glasses and spoke.

 

“Hearing your words reminds me of something.”

“What?”

“The Trading Company Owner.”

 

He seemed to be trying to look sharp, but with his glasses still broken, it was a comical sight.

 

“The Golden Star Trading Company Owner, who until recently had been more devoted to work than anyone, has recently handed over full authority to his son and disappeared.”

 

Come to think of it, even after working at the Golden Star Trading Company for several days, I had never seen the Trading Company Owner’s face.

 

Even during the interview, the Deputy Manager had taken his place, and overall there had been no mention of the Trading Company Owner. At this point, it seemed certain that something was up with the Trading Company Owner.

 

“But, is the work manageable for you?”

 

Just as I was about to get lost in thought, Simone asked while reading the mood.

 

“Su-surely for the Demon Lord, any task would be as easy as twisting a goblin’s wrist…”

 

Contrary to his worries, the trading company’s work was quite manageable.

 

Perhaps because I hadn’t been here long, most of the work was paperwork. A level slightly more complex than what I’d seen during the entrance test.

 

For me, with a built-in universal calculator, it wasn’t difficult at all. Even that wasn’t really needed anymore since I’d gotten used to it.

 

“Anyway, that’s not something you need to worry about. I’ll look into the trading company owner myself. You continue tracking the locations of the remaining materials.”

“Understood.”

 

After answering, Simone hesitated.

 

Wondering if he had something to say, I looked at him and noticed his gaze was fixed on my feet.

 

A creepy feeling.

 

For some reason, I simultaneously felt like kicking Simone and like I shouldn’t, so I just went outside.

 

-Phew… How tiring.

 

The Demon Lord, who had been fine in front of countless piles of documents, complained of sudden fatigue.

 

Normally I might have teased him about it, but I was equally tired.

 

With deception magic wrapped around my body, I quickly returned to the inn.

 

The next day.

 

When I entered the Golden Star Trading Company at work time, Miril, who had been picking up snacks, greeted me with a smile.

 

“Mr. Jude. Good morning!”

“Good morning, Miril.”

 

Does this person never go home from work?

 

She was always here first when I arrived, and even when I left work, she showed no signs of going home.

 

No wonder she found the night duty room without any mistakes when she guided me last time. She must have made herself completely at home in the trading company.

 

Yet I’d never seen her doing any particular work, making her quite a mysterious figure.

 

‘Besides, she seems quite young still, so how did she even get into the trading company?’

 

I kept the question to myself. There was no need to voice it out loud.

 

Perhaps because she had no particular assigned tasks and had plenty of time, she was one of the few people I’d grown somewhat close to at the Golden Star Trading Company.

 

I didn’t want to bring up potentially awkward topics and make things uncomfortable.

 

“The trading company seems a bit busy today.”

“Right?”

 

As she said, the trading company had quite a lot of people moving around busily from the entrance.

 

From people frantically packing luggage to the employee next to me running with bundles of documents.

 

At first glance, it looked like a war had broken out.

 

“We opened trade with the Royal Palace.”

“With the Royal Palace?”

“Yes! They’re replenishing supplies consumed during the last great war?”

 

Miril answered with a cheerful smile.

 

“Originally, given the massive quantity, they said they’d stockpile slowly, but something must have gotten into them. It seems they simultaneously commissioned supplies from trading companies throughout the capital.”

-Hmm.

 

The Demon Lord made a meaningful sound after hearing Miril’s explanation.

 

“This is a historic moment for our Golden Star Trading Company to leap forward as the kingdom’s top trading company!”

“If they commissioned multiple trading companies simultaneously, isn’t it not that big a deal?”

“What are you saying! This deal is just the beginning. Opening trade with the Royal Palace is no ordinary matter.”

 

From what I heard before, she seemed to have joined the trading company not long ago. Does she have exceptional company loyalty?

 

I didn’t quite understand, but I was about to head to the office thinking ‘whatever,’ when I heard Miril’s slightly subdued voice.

 

“Ever since my brother returned from studying abroad, everything seems to be going well.”

“Brother?”

“Oh. Didn’t I mention? Dahan, the deputy manager of Golden Star Trading Company, is my brother.”

“…”

 

From somewhere, I thought I heard a small giggling sound.

 

Only then did I notice that Miril’s bright blonde hair was the same color as Dahan’s.

 

Blonde hair was so common in the kingdom that I hadn’t paid much attention, but who would have thought they were siblings?

 

Her seemingly idle attitude, the other employees who treated her familiarly, and even why I’d never seen her leave work – all my questions were solved at once.

 

“…Didn’t you say you hadn’t been here long?”

“The trading company was much smaller originally. Thanks to my brother finding good investors at the academy, we moved to this big building.”

 

Miril spoke with an expression as if feeling nostalgic.

 

“They said it was a building used by another trading company before….”

 

I couldn’t hear what he said after that very well.

 

-Kuk, kukuk…!

 

It was because the irritating laughter was making my head dizzy.

 

‘Be quiet.’

 

My mood became unnecessarily disturbed. Every time the Demon Lord burst into that kind of laughter, something would happen.

 

There were a few things I could guess. He might have sensed that the second trial was approaching, or he might have noticed something in the deal with the Royal Family.

 

“Ah, Mr. Jude. I was waiting for you.”

 

As I entered the office, one of those busily writing documents shouted.

 

“The documents on the desk, there’s going to be quite a lot today. Please handle the calculations.”

“…All of that?”

 

It was several times the usual amount.

 

“Sorry to ask this as soon as you arrive. It’s just that you’re the fastest at calculations among us….”

 

Even though I had definitely finished all the assigned work before leaving yesterday, there was a massive tower of documents in front of me.

 

“Isn’t it just time for work to start?”

“The Deputy Manager called an emergency meeting from dawn. We wanted to call you too, but we didn’t know where you were staying. But he said we could look forward to something good once this work is finished, so let’s work hard.”

 

The man said that and turned his attention back to the documents.

 

I sighed but there was nothing I could do.

 

Unlike me who had gotten sufficient rest during the night, most of them seemed to have been dragged out without much sleep.

 

I sat down and started working on the documents.

 

However, perhaps because my mind was complicated, the speed at which the documents decreased was extremely slow.

 

“Sorry. Here, please handle this much more.”

 

Maybe it was because the documents to calculate kept increasing.

 

“Everyone, you know I haven’t even been here a full week yet, right?”

“That just shows how amazing Mr. Jude’s abilities are!”

“This is urgent, could you calculate this before the others?”

 

Even while sighing and mechanically processing documents, my mind was complicated.

 

What was the point that made the Demon Lord burst into laughter?

 

‘Don’t laugh.’

 

Bang.

 

When I irritably slammed the desk, the busy office became quiet for a moment. Then everyone showed understanding expressions and quickly focused on their work.

 

‘I said don’t laugh?’

-Keke, keuaak!

 

After giving the Demon Lord, who ignored my words and continued laughing, the gift of Soul-Crushing Pain.

 

‘Stop laughing and do some calculations.’

-…230 gold coins expenditure, expected income is at most 241 gold coins. Considering taxes and risks, it would be better not to do this.

‘Good job.’

 

Only then could I properly focus on the document work, but the anxiety in my heart didn’t disappear.

 

“Ah.”

 

Eventually, when it was almost time to leave work, I remembered that I needed to find the Trading Company Owner’s whereabouts.

 

“Then I’ll head out first.”

“Mr. Jude, are you leaving work? Time has already passed like this. I’d like to ask you to stay and help if I could….”

 

I heard Dahan’s voice, who seemed unaware that he had been buried in documents.

 

When I walked toward where the sound came from, I saw Dahan holding his head with one hand while wrestling with documents.

 

“I already feel bad for giving excessive work to a newcomer, so I can’t ask you to do that much. Then, could you deliver this to Miril on your way out?”

 

He handed me a small bundle of organized documents as he spoke.

 

“Miril?”

 

I took it and came out to the Trading Company lobby. The morning bustle had long since disappeared.

 

In the quiet space, Miril, who seemed like she would always be lounging around, was nowhere to be seen.

 

I wandered around the trading company for a few minutes looking for places where she might be.

 

Just as I was about to feel puzzled by her absence.

 

-This way.

 

The Demon Lord said.

 

Following the direction he indicated, there was a staircase I hadn’t discovered before.

 

“This is….”

 

I could hear the Demon Lord quietly chuckling.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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