『Are you talking about 『Unique Subordinates』?』
『Aahh! So you did know about them, as I’d expected. Although I didn’t think that information about them has spread much yet…where did you hear of them? On a locked forum of 『Laplace』? Or, do you possess a high Knowledge, Shion?』
『The earlier question was your last one, no? Or what do you want me to think of an alliance partner who easily breaks his own promises?』
『Sorry, sorry. This has been my mistake. I’ll apologize while at the same time withdrawing my questions just now』
『I’ll answer just one of them. The locked forum of 『Laplace』 ― the 『Upper Demon King Lounge』 ― doesn’t contain any information about unique subordinates』
If Kaoru misinterprets my Knowledge rank to be high with this, it’ll be beneficial to me, but in the end, it won’t be much more than a feint.
『Thank you for your sincere interaction with me. Very well, then I’ll also tell you my true opinion. I can’t agree with a trade between a unique subordinate and a sacred treasure. Of course, the same applies to a trade between unique subordinate and unique items as well』
――!?
I didn’t anticipate that he’d turn me down. Are unique subordinates such mighty assets?
Shit…it just makes me want one myself even more. However, the negotiations are going to start now. I cannot afford to simply go along with his conditions.
『In that case, I won’t be able to offer you any unique items or sacred treasures either』
『That’d make sense. I guess I wasn’t clear enough about what I meant. It’d be more correct for me to say that I cannot accept a one-on-one trade of one unique subordinates for one sacred treasure or unique item』
Kaoru has apparently shifted to negotiating.
『You mean to say you’re going to trade unique subordinates if you get several items per subordinate? Isn’t that naive of you?』
『It’s no naivety. ―We’ve agreed on keeping the trades equal and fair, haven’t we?』
『You want to tell me that a unique item that can only be created with Alchemy A isn’t equal to a unique subordinate who can only be created with Creation A?』
『Yep. They aren’t equal at all. Shion, do you know how many unique subordinates I can make?』
I know since I’ve heard about it from Kanon. The answer would be eight. However, I’ve no plans to be stupidly honest here.
『No clue』
『So you don’t know, huh? Figures. If you knew, you wouldn’t have suggested such an absurd exchange rate, I’m sure』
『You’ve lost me』
『I can only create eight unique subordinates. Assuming that the number of unique items is the same as what can be created at Alchemy B, there exist 27 types of unique items. If I trust in what you’ve wrote in your earlier mail, the number of sacred treasure would amount to 27 as well, wouldn’t it?』
Each and every of Kaoru’s words is oozing with cynicism. Having said that, I can sense validity from them…
It was my mistake that I honestly, like an idiot, answered him about the number of sacred treasures and gave him a list of all types of unique items…this was a complete failure on my part.
『So you’re saying that one unique subordinate is worth as much as seven unique items or sacred treasures?』
『Right…that’d be correct. But well, even if you compare them to just one of those two types, I still think a unique subordinate is worth more than three items, but what’s your take on this?』
Has he talked up the value of unique subordinates and offered a rate of three to one, feeling that it’d be an exceptional deal?
Having said that…
『In that case, we won’t come together』
『Eh? Really?? I’m convinced I’ve already compromised quite a bit by going down to a rate of 3 to 1, you know?』
I remember the time when I raised my Alchemy to A-Rank. The reason why I raised Alchemy and not Creation――
『Creation A and Alchemy A simply have different rarity values』
『I don’t get what you mean. Are you telling me that raising Alchemy to A costs more points than raising Creation to A?』
『No, both require 50 points. What I’m talking about is the rarity value of Alchemy A. If you look around us, you’ll be able to confirm several Demon Kings with Creation A…but, what about Demon Kings with Alchemy A?』
『In short, you’re saying the items that can be made with Alchemy A are very rare?』
『Correct. The probability of being able to turn a unique subordinate into your own, or the likelihood of obtaining an A-Rank item…which of those two would be lower?』
『What are we going to do about the rate then? Are you saying that unique items have a higher value than unique subordinates? I won’t be able to agree with that notion, you know?』
Just like me, Kaoru frantically tries to get the best rate for himself.
『Here’s my final offer: I’ll trade you one unique subordinate for two sacred treasures or unique items. Even this is already me conceding the maximum I can somehow accept in light of you being my ally. If you can’t agree to that, we’ll have to give up on trading』
I decide on a point of compromise, entering the final stage of the negotiations.
A few minutes later, I receive a mail, telling me, 『Alright. I’ll accept the rate suggested by you, Shion. I’ll also send you the list right away』.
Chapter 273 – Heading for an Alliance ⑧
〜♪
The melody informing me of the arrival of a new mail plays. Once I open it, the mail contains a list of the monsters, which will be up for trading, sent by Kaoru.
――!?
This is quite interesting…
『
Created Subordinates (Generic)
Devil King – A subordinate specialized in magic.
Devil Lord – A subordinate specialized in physical attacks.
Devil Butler – A subordinate specialized in support.
』
The monsters I can trade for items below unique seem to be those three types. What drew most of my attention were…the subordinates listed after those three.
『
Unique Subordinates
Belial – A subordinate who can summon devils.
Barbatos – A subordinate specialized in enemy detection.
The unique subordinates will require one sacred treasure and one unique item. I’ll refuse any trades going below that in value. By the way, for the unique items, my favorite would be the wand Thyrsus! The runner-up would be Divine Robe! As for the sacred treasures, I’d love to have the wand!
』
Maybe intending to harass me or maybe because he really wants one sacred treasure and unique item each…he’s listed two unique subordinates alongside some information.
The ability to summon devils…does this mean he can create subordinates even while not being a Demon King? He might not have that much value as a subordinate for Kaoru, who can create devils himself, but for me as someone incapable of creating devils, Belial’s value would be immeasurable.
I use my smartphone to send a mail.
『Let me ask some things: What are the devil species Belial can summon? Is there any difference between the devil species Belial can summon and the ones a Devil Demon King can create?』
After waiting for a while, Kaoru sent me a reply.
『Belial can summon Demons. Those are C-Rank devils. There’s no difference to the Demons I can create myself』
『How many Demons can Belial summon?』
『One every four hours』
Hmm…so six demons per day, huh?
――Kanon! What’s the CP cost for creating a Demon?
I ask Kanon telepathically. She frantically comes flying over, and answers, “Umm…you need 100 CP to create one Demon.”
100 CP…? In other words, for Kaoru, Belial would save him 25 CP per hour… It’d have played a role back when we just became Demon Kings, but nowadays, that’s a tiny fraction of our CP income.
It feels like the intended use of Belial’s ability is to summon a demon in battle…and use it as a disposable shield?
Now then, which should I choose? I guess I’ll try to negotiate since I’ve got nothing to lose anyway.
『I have a suggestion. I’ll raise the trading rate for the generic monsters from my side. Or to be precise, I’ll add one Orichalcum Set per monster. I’ll also throw the Divine Robe into the mix as well. So would it be possible for you to trade a unique subordinate for that?』
『What would you answer in my shoes? Generic and unique items…they’ve got a gap in value that can’t be filled, don’t they?』
Kaoru’s answer is somewhat roundabout, but in short, he refuses.
『I’ll need some time to think it over』, I inform him via mail.
◆
Now then, what should I do about this?
I have three choices: First, choose Belial. Second, choose Barbatos. And lastly, throw one more sacred treasure into the mix, and choose both.
The wand sacred treasure ― Growth Wand ― is a no go. Sarah, the owner of the Growth Wand, is one of Aster Empire’s main combat assets. That said, it was already a tough fight with myself to just hand over Growth Large Sword. I don’t want to part with any more sacred treasures.
The mass production of Demons is a big advantage. According to Kanon, Demons can evolve, so it’s possible for them to become big combat assets in the future.
On the other hand, Barbatos specializes in enemy detection. He’s certainly appealing as well.
It’s unclear what exactly a specialization on enemy detection entails, but in game terms, it’d be close to the role of a thief. I feel like that role would heavily boost Rina’s unit, which is the Aster Empire’s main combat force.
If I prioritize defense, it’d be Belial, and if I prioritize invasions, it’d be Barbatos.
I was greatly troubled by that difficult choice.
Chapter 274 – Ishikawa Alliance
――I guess it’s got to be Barbatos.
After worrying over and over again, I finally decided to go with Barbatos.
Belial is specialized on summoning, thus he’ll likely sacrifice something for the sake of obtaining the summoning ability. Mass-producing Demons would be very advantageous, but there are other ways to turn Demons into subordinates.
Oddly enough, Kaoru’s words, 『Generic and unique items…they’ve got a gap in value that can’t be filled』, tipped the scales towards Barbatos.
I sent a mail to Kaoru.
In the end, the details of the trade are as follows:
Shion’s side:
Orichalcum equipment x 180
Growth Large Sword
Thyrsus
Kaoru’s side:
Devil King x 20
Devil Lord x 20
Devil Butler x 20
Barbatos
There’s also a reason why the trade rate hasn’t turned into one orichalcum item per generic monster. For me to take over 100 subordinates would require making 100 new bloodkin through 《Contract》. I simply cannot use that much CP on this.
As I worried about this part, Kanon told me…
“If you turn a kin into your subordinate, all subordinates, which belonged to the kin before the contract, are going to become yours alongside the kin.”
After hearing about this condition…and after consulting with Kaoru…the result of our discussion and me accepting his request, 『If I’m going to pass them to you after turning them into kin, we need to change the rate a bit』, the rate became three items per monster.
Devil Kings have a high LP, so it’s possible to turn five of them into subordinates at once. Thanks to this, the number of 《Contracts》 has drastically decreased to 12.
And, on the day when all negotiations finished we decided to hold what would become the very first trading ceremony inside my Domain.
◆
Translation Notes:
