Chapter 224: Demon King Army Cadre? Devilish Kazuma!
The next morning.
Arthur followed the address on Wiz's business card, navigating through the Shopping Street, and eventually found a small shop.
As he pushed open the small door with wind chimes, a strange scent, a mixture of magic and dust, wafted towards him.
The bells on the door jingled, signaling to the owner that a customer had arrived.
Wiz, now dressed in a Gothic black gown, emerged from the back room, a gentle smile gracing her face when she saw Arthur.
"Welcome, oh? Are you alone?"
Arthur nodded slightly: "Aqua didn't want to come, and Kazuma went to the guild to submit a quest first."
Perhaps because Aqua wasn't there, Wiz visibly relaxed.
"Please wait a moment, I'll go make some tea."
While Wiz returned to the back room, Arthur's gaze swept over the irregularly placed merchandise shelves.
Gift boxes covered in ancient runes, bottles and jars of various sizes, crystal balls with ominous glows flickering within...
Each item exuded an aura of "danger," feeling like nothing an ordinary adventurer would ever use.
Soon, Wiz came out with tea and gracefully sat opposite Arthur.
"Please allow me to thank you again. If you hadn't stopped him in time, I'm afraid I would have been purified by that Arch-priest."
"It was no trouble at all." Arthur took a sip of his black tea, "However, I actually had another question yesterday."
"Why are you—still in human form?"
Wiz's smile instantly faded, replaced by an unshakeable melancholy.
"Those are all unpleasant memories."
"As an adventurer, my teammates and I were all afflicted with a fatal curse. Later, through a deal with a demon, I acquired a method to reincarnate as a lich..."
Wiz didn't elaborate on the rest of the story, and Arthur, sensing her reluctance, didn't press further.
He changed the subject, getting straight to the point.
"Miss Wiz is so powerful, I presume you know quite a bit about the Demon Lord's Army?"
Hearing this question, Wiz's face broke into a composed smile, and in a casual, conversational tone, she dropped a bombshell.
"Ah, that... did I not mention it? Actually, I'm one of the Demon Lord Army Executives."
"Pfft—!"
The precious black tea didn't survive, all of it sprayed onto the floor by Arthur.
He sharply turned his head, looking with an incredulous gaze at Wiz, who was frantically fumbling for a towel.
"A Demon Lord Army Executive? A Demon Lord Army Executive would tremble in fear of being purified, and even regularly guide ghosts to the afterlife?"
"It's not what you think!"
Wiz cried, shaking her hands desperately to explain.
"I was only entrusted by the Demon Lord to help maintain the barrier protecting the Demon Lord's Castle! Really! I have never harmed any human to this day, and my name isn't even on any wanted posters!"
Arthur stared at her tearful expression, convinced that the lich wasn't lying, and could only shake his head helplessly.
"A top-tier lich, hiding in a starter town, running an unvisited shop, and still nominally a Demon Lord Army Executive... this world truly is full of absurdities."
"Just to ask, what's with this barrier protecting the Demon Lord's Castle? Isn't the Demon Lord's Army the biggest evil organization in the world?"
"That..."
Wiz froze, her eyes darting around, stammering for a long time without saying a word.
"I'm not very familiar with the other Executives or the Demon Lord... Oh, right! Mr. Arthur, have you heard of the Crimson Demons?"
"Crimson Demons?" Arthur recalled, "The battle race born with high intelligence and powerful magic?"
Wiz gave an awkward smile: "Actually..."
After her explanation, Arthur gained a whole new understanding of this seemingly normal, yet actually insane, world.
It turned out that the Demon Lord's Castle was subjected to collective attacks by the Crimson Demons every so often.
Coupled with the constant military pressure from Belzerg Fortress, the Demon Lord's "later years" could be described as quite miserable.
...
After bidding farewell to this rather indescribable Demon Lord Army Executive, Arthur strolled to the Adventurers' Guild.
As soon as he pushed the door open, he found the dining area bustling with people, the atmosphere a little too enthusiastic.
"Lady Aqua, one more time! I'm willing to pay, please, please perform your 'Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon' again!"
"Idiot! Lady Aqua doesn't like money, she likes good food! Right, Lady Aqua, this meal is on me! So please!"
A group of idle adventurers were fervently surrounding Aqua, who, in turn, put on an "I'm so troubled" expression, enjoying the flattery.
"So-called talents are not something you can perform just by being asked!"
"Moreover, as a goddess, I would never exchange my talents for money; that's a desecration of art!"
Aqua righteously refused everyone, then, sharp-eyed, spotted Arthur outside the crowd and immediately waved him over.
"You're finally back, Arthur! It's all your fault for making this goddess wait so long, that things turned out this way!"
Arthur twitched his lips, too lazy to refute her bandit logic, and simply looked around, asking.
"Where's Kazuma? Why are you here alone?"
Aqua craned her neck and ordered another drink from the waitress, answering without looking back.
"Kazuma, he went out with the female knight's companion from yesterday. He said he leveled up and wanted to learn more new skills."
"I see."
Arthur nodded with relief, thinking that although Kazuma's potential wasn't high, at least he was more reliable than a certain troublesome, useless goddess.
"Big brother!"
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Kazuma, having learned new skills, pushed open the door, followed by the beautiful Darkness, and a silver-haired girl with tears in her eyes, looking utterly heartbroken.
Arthur raised an eyebrow: "We meet again, Miss Darkness. And this is..."
Before Kazuma could speak, Darkness stepped forward, shielding the silver-haired girl behind her, explaining in an ecstatic tone.
"She's Chris. Because Kazuma stole her panties and all her money, she's feeling very down right now."
At these words, the air in the entire guild restaurant froze, and everyone's gaze instantly focused on Kazuma.
"Hey! What nonsense are you talking about! While it's true, your way of saying it is very problematic!"
He immediately jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, gesticulating wildly as he loudly defended himself.
"Chris was crying and begging me, saying she'd pay any amount of money if I'd give her panties back!"
"I just told her that the value of her panties was for her to decide the price herself!"
"At most... at most I just added that if the price didn't satisfy me, I'd enshrine these panties as a family heirloom!"
This utterly oblivious defense earned icy glares from all the female adventurers present.
Meanwhile, the male adventurers, who had been listening intently, all gave him a thumbs-up in unison.
Arthur expressionlessly took two steps back, distancing himself from this "teammate" who was at the center of the storm.
He was pretty sure now.
Neither Aqua nor Kazuma were easy to deal with!
Arthur quickly walked to the reception desk. Princess Luna, who usually greeted everyone with a smile, found her smile stiffen a bit upon seeing him, evidently having witnessed the recent farce.
"Good day, Mr. Arthur, how may I help you?"
"I... want to recruit some 'normal' teammates."
Arthur rubbed his temples, emphasizing the word "normal."
Princess Luna, who had also witnessed the entire process, gave an awkward smile and pointed to the corner of the bulletin board.
"In Axel, temporary team-ups are common, and adventurers post recruitment notices themselves."
Arthur thanked her and turned to the bulletin board, his gaze quickly scanning the information.
[--Team Member Recruitment--]
[Recruiting a magician and a priest. Current members are Sword Master, Spearman, Rogue. Genuinely aiming to defeat the Demon Lord, beginners are welcome as long as they are motivated!]
[Recruiting a magician. Current members are four people: two vanguard professions, an eris priest, and an archer.]
[Need a kind person, someone willing to listen to my boring topics, someone who won't mock my strange name, someone willing to accompany me even without a quest.]
(Note: If possible, I hope they are around the same age. I just turned thirteen, and my profession is Archmage.)
Arthur looked at these notices and found that most teams were recruiting new members to fill gaps.
Only the last one, rather than recruiting teammates, seemed to be...
A blind date?
As he hesitated, an overly intense gaze, almost tangible, pierced his back.
Arthur whirled around. A petite girl in a black cloak stood not far away, nervously clutching her staff, watching him with apprehension.
The moment her eyes met Arthur's, she lowered her head abruptly like a startled rabbit.
But in that fleeting glance, the burning crimson in her eyes was precisely caught by Arthur.
Crimson Demons...
Arthur's gaze returned to the bulletin board, pausing for a moment on the recruitment notice for the thirteen-year-old Archmage.
He already had his answer.
"Normal" teammates might be a luxury, but "powerful" teammates... seemed to be right in front of him.