“What’s going on here?!” Kyle reflexively put his hand on the grip of his sword, whereas Yuriga remained calm as always.

Kyle prepared himself so that he could act at any movement, preparing to question Klaus and Yuriga about all of this.

“It’s Yuriga! How have you been?”

However, only Kyle seemed to be the one who was nervous. Lieze greeted Yuriga as if she ran into an old friend. Seeing Lieze so calmly approach her, Kyle frantically stopped her.

“Don’t get too close, what if this is a trap?”

“There’s no way. If Yuriga wanted to fight us, she’d aim for a surprise attack, not appearing in front of us like this.”

Realizing that this was a sound argument from Lieze, Kyle went silent. Seran and Urza also kept up their caution but weren’t particularly distanced toward her. Their first meeting may have been hostile, but through a lot of ups and downs, this reaction was to be expected to a certain degree. However, Kyle couldn’t accept it either.

“I wouldn’t say it’s been a while, but it appears that we actually have some sort of connection.” Yuriga once again showed no emotion on her face despite her innate beauty.

“..Why are you here?”

Losing his choice of cutting her down right there, Kyle was feeling a lot heavier, but Yuriga didn’t directly answer his question.

“..Did you never think of it as weird? How could us demons act so freely inside humanfolk territory?”

Being asked that question, Kyle thought about it. They first met Yuriga in the mining city Callan. Then in the country Eddos. Both are inside humanfolk territory, filled to the brim with races of the humanfolk. The Demon Territory was so far away, yet how did they reach that location this easily? It’s not as if they could suddenly turn invisible, so moving from place to place like that would surely gather attention. To achieve this, they would need help from the inside.

“There are people supporting the demons inside humanfolk..?!” Kyle glared at Klaus.

“Rather than calling them supporters, it’s more that the client is the Demon Lord themselves, see.”

“It’s the same.” Kyle didn’t bother listening to Klaus’ odd correction.

From Kyle’s point of view, lending support to a demon is the same as betraying humanfolk as a whole.

“I understand what you’re trying to say, but I’d still like you to calm down, and hear her out. Though, to think you would send me a letter right as I was wondering how to get you here, it must be a blessing from Maranai-sama.” Klaus dropped the name of the God of Commerce Maranai, showing a meek smile.

“..Don’t you dare use that god’s name in connection with a demon.” Kyle threw another sharp comment at Klaus, but he just ignored that.

“Hmmm, I guess this is just a difference in our mindset. Rather than all demons as a whole, I am much more interested in the Demon Lord themselves. That is why we are working together.”

“Are you even aware that this is betrayal towards humanfolk?!” Kyle roared in anger, yet Klaus shook his head.

“No, quite different. Rather, I’m doing work for the sake of humanfolk, sacrificing my own name for the better of the world.” Klaus was being serious about this.

“..What do you mean?”

“You should know, right? The current Demon Lord seeks a positive relationship with humanfolk. Confirming that it would be for the benefit of humanfolk, I am working together with them..Well, I do receive my own perks from that.” Klaus laughed in a good mood. “You see, there’s an abundance of products in the Demon Territory you just can’t get over here, see. As the only one in the market, I do profit quite a lot from it.”

“So in the end, it’s all about the money.”

“I’m a businessman, after all, so I won’t deny that..However, it’s also not just that.” Klaus seemed quite genuine about this, but the second he was working together with demons, Kyle saw him as the enemy.

“Let me get to the main problem.” Yuriga seemingly was done listening to them arguing and spoke up. “The Demon Lord-sama would like to meet you, so I want you to come with me to the Demon Territory.”

“..Huh? What did you just say?”

For a second, Kyle was unable to understand the words he had just been told, bluntly returning the question.

“Exactly what I said. The Demon Lord-sama wishes to meet you, so I want you to follow me to the Demon Territory.” Yuriga showed no emotion whatsoever, bluntly exclaiming her business.

“Why? What are they planning to achieve by meeting us?” Kyle asked for the reason, but Yuriga shook her head.

“I have no knowledge nor right of knowing about the Demon Lord-sama’s plans. As they wish to meet you, I simply act accordingly.”

“And we have no obligation to do so.” Kyle declined in a heartbeat, but Yuriga didn’t seem too shocked.

“Well, that’s the expected reaction.”

“Of course. I don’t want to be surrounded by demons and finished off just like that, after all.”

“We fully guarantee your safety, and we don’t plan on simply asking for this favor for free. We’re willing to add various conditions beneficial to you. For example, what about that skin from the [Dragon King] you received a while back?”

“That’s..” Kyle didn’t know how to respond.

The skin she was talking about was a reward from the [Dragon King] Zeurus for saving Ghrud from the grasps of the Mera Cult. As a material, it was something that could be directly out of a legend or ancient tale, but that made tempering it only more difficult. Kyle judged it would be of great use for his armor, but no person in humanfolk would be able to draw out its full potential, which is why they had yet to find any use for it. Seeing that Kyle gave no proper answer, Yuriga took that as confirmation to continue.

“It appears as if humanfolk’s hand is not enough to put it to proper use..However, it’s possible for a demon.”

“So we’ll be able to use it if we go to the Demon Territory?” Shildonia showed a spark of interest.

Back in the days of the Ancient Magic Kingdom Zaales, tempering such material seemingly had been possible, but this kind of technique had since been lost. She is probably curious how the demons managed to acquire it.

“That’s right. You had enough for several people, right? We can make equipment for everyone.”

“......”

That proposition sounded all too enticing to Kyle, which made him think once more. The equipment they currently possessed was the best you could acquire with money alone, but that was the limit of it. In order to achieve their ultimate goal, fighting was something they most likely wouldn’t be able to avoid. So that they wouldn’t die—so that Kyle wouldn’t let them die again, he needed stronger equipment.

“This, and also that demon called Targ..” Yuriga added another piece of interesting information.

“Did you figure out something?”

Seeing Kyle’s reaction, Yuriga seemed satisfied. Targ is a demon the group encountered in the nest of dragons, who most likely could be related to the next demon lord who will start the [Great Invasion], which is why Kyle was very much intrigued about him. Not to mention that not even Yuriga knew about the next possible demon lord.

“It seems like you are curious about him. However, I do not have the right from the Demon Lord-sama to tell you about that here.”

“..So you figured out something, yeah?”

“You can interpret that however you’d like..If you would like to know, you have to ask the Demon Lord-sama directly.”

“So this is supposed to be one incentive, huh.”

If you want to know, come to the Demon Territory, is what she was saying. Kyle considered the possibility of forcing it out of Yuriga, as he faintly put his hand on his sword’s hilt, which Yuriga sensed and took a cautious stance.

Then again, using force to make her tell me probably won’t work.

He knew very well that Yuriga’s loyalty could not be shaken. If the Demon Lord had not granted her permission, she would most likely die without telling him anything. Kyle relaxed his body, to which Yuriga lowered her own caution. The demons were a threat that had to be annihilated at one point, but with the current state of the humanfolk, that would be impossible. It wasn’t a case of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’, but if Kyle managed to meet the Demon Lord, that might turn into a possibility.

If I can just gather some information..most preferably, I could strike down the current Demon Lord and the next Demon Lord at the same time..

However, in order to meet the Demon Lord, they would have to sneak into the Demon Territory, and although there was not that big of a chance of success, being invited over by the Demon Lord most likely was a chance that would never come again. That being said, entering the Demon Territory would be dangerous. In fact, entering the main territory of the enemy makes the trip to the nest of dragons at the World Tree seem like a sightseeing trip.

Judging from the previous experiences with Yuriga, she most likely would not set up any trap for them. However, if there was an order from the Demon Lord, she wouldn’t hesitate to attack them.

“Yeah, and I’m tagging along with you. There’s the part about business as well, but it’ll guarantee your safety.” Klaus brought up this proposition, most likely to reassure Kyle. “I’ve been there a few times myself, and it’s not that dangerous..as long as you don’t do anything unnecessary. And if there’s anything else you need me to do, feel free to tell me.” Klaus spoke with brimming confidence, but as Kyle still couldn’t bring down a proper decision, he glanced at his allies.

“..Targ was that demon who could teleport, right? I’m dying to know more about that guy.” Seran rubbed the elbow of his left arm, having fought Targ directly.

In order to land a single attack on Targ, he willingly sacrificed his own arm.

“I’ll cut him down next time.” Seran flashed an arrogant and confident smile.

Before, he had to rely on a cheap trick to strike down Targ, but now he was intent on doing it with his skill alone.

“..I wouldn’t mind meeting that Demon Lord myself. It’s the individual Zeurus held in high regard after all.” Shildonia muttered as she crossed her arms.

She must be quite curious about this Demon Lord that her old pal the [Dragon King] accepted as a person. Lieze and Urza kept their stance of letting Kyle decide, not objecting at all. Kyle closed his eyes, and started thinking. Without knowing the goal of the Demon Lord, it was definitely troublesome to have their attention, but as Yuriga had been ordered by the Demon Lord, she would probably not give up that easily. If so, then agreeing was a good option for Kyle. The danger was high, but so was the possible return.

“..I got it, let’s go to the Demon Territory.”

At the end, Kyle made his decision, and all of his allies nodded.