Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 149: Traitor (5)

Chapter 149: Traitor (5)

I had fully trusted the information I had gained from the game until now.

For example, the Demon Lord army being split into various factions like the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction was new information to me. However, it was simply new. It didn’t conflict with the information I had from the game.

The information that appeared in <Dungeon Attack> and the information that I obtained here; they never conflicted with one another. Thanks to this, I was able to make use of the Black Death and also deal a huge blow on Imperial Princess Elizabeth.

It was different for Paimon.

It was weird if you thought about it. The protagonist and Paimon met for the first time in a human city. The Rank 9 Demon Lord was visiting a city and the hero just happened to be there as well. The two then met coincidentally and became acquainted. How much of this was a coincidence? Was it actually a coincidence……?

I hadn’t questioned this. It was a game scenario, after all. A coincidence of that degree was acceptable. However, this wasn’t just a game now. This was reality. Could coincidences like that happen in reality? Why did the leader of the Mountain Faction who was also one of the most influential Demon Lords visit a human city, and what were the chances that she would also meet the hero?

Paimon made this meeting happen. She approached the hero intentionally……this hypothesis sounded much more plausible.

A chill went down my spine once more. I had a rough memory of what Paimon said to the protagonist in the game. She whispered so sweetly into the hero’s ears.

– Yes, this lady is a Demon Lord. I deceived you. But is that a problem? This lady loves you. Regardless of our difference in race, status, and whether we are allies or enemies, this lady loves you wholeheartedly. This lady has loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you and will continue to do so.

– Hah, really. If it were not for this lady, then you would already be dead. Humans are also rather unsightly. You are their hero. The person who saved the continent. Why would they try to kill a person like you……? Humans are irreparably foolish, I see. At the very least, we demons do not betray our kind.

This was all an act.

– Humans are truly amazing! I heard that there is a republic nation in the human world. They say that humans, elves, and dwarves live equally without any discrimination there. To have equality with no discrimination……. One day, this day will arrive for demons and humans. I am sure of it.

– In this lady’s final moment……would you at least bestow this lady a kiss?

In the end, she took the protagonist’s first kiss. It wasn’t his lord the Imperial Princess or his childhood friend the mage. It was the hero’s enemy that took it, a Demon Lord.

Even in her final moment, Paimon pleaded for her archenemy’s love. The last thing she felt during her final breath was most likely the hero’s lips. What could’ve been going through her mind at that moment?

A pubescent confession of love, blushing cheeks, and a final kiss. Hundreds of lines and thousands of gestures. What did this succubus feel as she put on this performance? This will forever be a mystery…….

“But no matter how much you think about it, that ruler of Habsburg would be the bigger issue. Even if you bring that strong human to your side or barely manage to kill them, that would not get rid of the actual problem. You would have to alienate the two of them somehow……. Honestly, this lady may be confident in political schemes, but not in normal schemes. This is quite an issue.”

Paimon was still talking about the theoretical situation seriously. She probably has no idea what I’m currently thinking about.

I laughed.

“Yes, you certainly do seem lacking when it comes to schemes.”

“……Are you making fun of me? I even gave you a serious response.”

“No, I was being genuine.”

I shrugged.

“You founded a republic nation. That is impressive. But why was it done so simplemindedly? You got into an excessive amount of conflicts with the nations around you. If it were me, then I would have made the continent fall into chaos first. For example, it would have been easier to establish a nation during a war with the Crescent Alliance.”

“B-But.”

Paimon furrowed her brows.

“If I did that, then we would have been targeted by the human alliance.”

“You could have been a supplier for the human army. Amstel could have offered the human army financial support. You had the ability to control the Mountain Faction, in other words, you could have made the war continue endlessly. This would have resulted in the humans becoming more desperate for money. You could have then made Amstel claim various types of rights one by one as compensation for providing supplies.”

“…….”

That’s right. This should have been more than possible if Paimon and Baal were working together. A revolution? Why would you do something so arduous? It would have been better to take advantage of the war.

“Especially when it comes to knights, they may be powerful but they use up a lot of money. If it were me, I would have made the knights indebted to me and coerced them into accepting my demands. Oh right. Come to think of it, it seemed like you also had connections with the church. You should have used them!”

Oh dear, it seems like I was having fun with this now. Paimon’s situation was much closer to that of a player than my situation. Not only did she have more than enough authority in the demon world, but she could also influence the human world. Furthermore, she had ample funding and was well-connected. Couldn’t she quite literally live however she wants?

“The churches are also in the position of supporting the war with the Crescent Alliance. However, they would also suffer from financial pressure. I would aim for that. I would make the churches issue me an indulgence.”

“An indulgence……?”

“A certificate that declares that your sins have been pardoned. If you acquire this, then that shows how loyal you are to God. Blocking the wicked Crescent Alliance is God’s will, thus participating in the defense against the Crescent Alliance would be serving God. You could just flaunt it around like this.”

Paimon opened her mouth.

“There is no way…that the churches would be so corrupted.”

“Humans would more than gladly become corrupted if they are given the right amount of pretext. This is for the sake of humanity and the continent. I am absolutely not doing this for money……. Well, would it not be simple to corrupt them? You have to do things like this at first for things to eventually go smoothly. Although your life would gradually become busier. It is rather easy to make money if you throw around God’s name.”

“…….”

Divine power exists in this world. Your divine power becomes stronger the more faith you have. People are able to come in contact with God’s power. It was probably because of this that people didn’t doubt the existence of God. This was why priests had a lot of authority.

The more faith they have, the easier it was to turn them into fanatics.

To defend humanity from the wicked Demon Lords. Could there be a cause nobler than this? Priests would demand funding from nobles and commoners without reserve. Even those priests would find themselves slowly falling under the charm of money…….

War is quite an excellent business opportunity.

“Even if they sell indulgences, that would not be enough to cover all of their war expenses. They would reach a limit. This is where Amstel could have stepped in. Amstel could have purchased the indulgences in mass. Whether it be 100,000 gold or 1,000,000 gold, you could have poured it all in. The churches would have probably praised Amstel for being a city that had devoted itself to humanity! May you forever be blessed!”

I laughed.

Mm, I think my bipolar disorder is back. I was getting worked up. I couldn’t help it since I was a fan of <Dungeon Attack>. Out of the countless number of players, only I knew about this secret lore. I was honestly elated.

War of independence? A revolution? And what was the other one? A war for liberation?

“That would be it. Everything would be settled then. Why would you start a liberation war to accept other races as citizens? What a terrible thing to do. You could have just said this to the churches when you purchased the indulgences in mass for the second time: The other races in our city voluntarily donated to the cause.”

“…….”

Kuh. That’s right. That was all you had to do. Money becomes a tyrant the longer war lasts. You could have reached a point where you could buy the rights for the other races with money.

You would have helped humanity and served God which makes for the perfect justifications. The knights who had become indebted to Amstel and the churches that are basically the mental leaders of the continent would have acknowledged the other races. Nothing is impossible if you have the proper justifications and authority.

“Finally, you could have started a diplomatic game around the end of the war. The leaders of the human army would most likely start to fear the end of the war. The day they would have to pay back their debt would arrive, after all. At that moment, you could have simply whispered to them: Free a couple of cities and we will write off the debt.”

Aah. That’s it. Amstel was probably affiliated with another nation at that point. Was it the Frank Empire? The Teuton Kingdom? I’m not sure, but it was definitely a part of another nation. Nonetheless, even that nation would be unable to refuse when numerous knight brigades and churches request Amstel’s independence.

Well, you could also lobby actively to the higher-ups of that nation……this would let them save face as well. How about giving the indulgences Amstel had purchased to that nation for free? At most, they’re just pieces of paper, but they have quite the symbolic meaning.

A nation that gave up some of its territories for the sake of humanity and God. This should let them maintain their dignity.

See? Everyone would have gotten a happy ending. The churches would have been happy to receive money, the nations and knights would have fewer campaign funds, and most importantly, Amstel would have had a really good relationship with the higher-ups of almost every nation. They would have obtained a strong diplomatic presence. Well, it would take an immense amount of money to accomplish this……but compared to going to war for several decades for things like independence and liberation, this would have probably taken the same amount of money but for less effort.

It would have been simple once you got the ball rolling. The Crescent Alliance went on an expedition several times. You could have liberated a city or two under the pretext of war funding each time they did. It wouldn’t have taken long to obtain about 13 cities.

Paimon’s republic nation would have probably gone down in the history books as the noblest republic in the word, the guardian of mankind, and servant of God?the great Republic Alliance of Batavia. Let others do the fighting. The blessed nation of Batavia! Buy everything with money!

“Fantastic……what an amazing plan. No, it would be troubling to stop here. I would then plant seeds of jealousy and dissatisfaction throughout the continent. The envy of nobles and commoners is an impressive thing, is it not? We also bought indulgences and made sacrifices to protect humanity. Why was Batavia the only one to gain independence? Why is it that only the citizens of Batavia are able to bask in freedom?……Fantastic, this would have been truly splendid.”

The unity of mankind would gradually break apart each time the Crescent Alliance invaded. I was certain of this.

“There is no better fertilizer than jealousy and envy to make a republic grow rapidly. You could have won over republicans and made them start revolutions in their own nations. Chaos would sweep through the continent. The kingdoms of the human world would be unable to ignore these revolutions……. The nobles would split into sides and the commoners would rise up. Ah, the Crescent Alliance cannot attack during this time. You were finally able to start an internal discourse, so adding a common enemy to that would be troubling…….”

“Dantalian.”

A pair of cold hands gently pressed against my cheeks.

“Huh?”

I quickly came back to my senses. Paimon was grabbing my cheeks with her hands. Our eyes met. Her gaze looked somewhat fuzzy.

“Did you know? This was when Barbatos and this lady were still friends. As you know, Barbatos is an irreparable lesbian. This lady is also similar to her, so we would occasionally enjoy each other’s company.”

What a shock! Barbatos and Paimon were a couple in the past!

This shock was 26 times stronger than when I discovered that Paimon was a republican.

“I-Is that so? How should I say it? That is a very, very big surprise.”

“Rather than lovers, we were more like friends. We would comfort one another whenever one of us craved the touch of skin. During those times, we would often joke around. In the rare chance, although it sounds completely ridiculous, in the rare chance that we fall for a man, what sort of person would that man be?”

Paimon smiled.

Huh?

Why does this feel like deja vu……?

“When I heard that Barbatos had a male lover, I thought it would be something strictly unique to Barbatos. Fufu. But to think our tastes would match even here. Truly, I wonder what sort of relationship this lady had with Barbatos in our previous lives. There is no fate as eccentric as this.”

“Pardon me?”

“Please close your eyes.”

I wasn’t even given the time to close my eyes.

Paimon raised her heels and kissed me. I couldn’t resist. The way she moved made it clear that this wasn’t her first time. Her movement felt incredibly natural.

I felt internally shocked as I stared into her face. Her eyes were closed. Why do these Demon Lord women never care about my consent? They both kept calling each other their archrivals and yet they both do the exact same thing! Don’t tell me that you two never actually had a bad relationship.

At the very least, Paimon didn’t insert her tongue. It seems she simply enjoyed the touch of the lips. She was a gentleman compared to Barbatos. I guess you could call this a type of solace…….

No, Paimon is the Succubus Queen. She might do something like Barbatos did when she used her lust spell. Damn it. Please give me an opportunity to save face……. I couldn’t do much to resist as I simply waited for time to pass…….

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Well, there you go. Paimon is now an official member. An official member to what you may ask? You already know. On another note, this chapter was a bit annoying to translate cause of Dantalian’s monologue about what he would’ve done. A fair bit of tense switches.

In any case, I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.