Chiyon, having completed all restoration work, was finally ready to head outside.
The residents, who had been withering away inside the castle walls, regained vitality and confidence thanks to Kyu-seong’s food and equipment.
“We’ve located the place where the survivors have gathered!”
Verna, who had gone outside the castle using Mammon’s poison, delivered the report. It was confirmed that some survivors were secretly avoiding the monsters’ attention.
Chiyon’s soldiers, who were planning to drive out nearby monsters anyway, intended to meet the survivors while they were at it.
“Have you checked all the equipment?!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Hundreds of soldiers donned mithril gear, which looked extraordinary even without its usual shine. Thanks to Kyu-seong’s provisions, they had been well-fed and had trained diligently.
“We march!”
“Waaaah!”
The castle gates opened.
The moat and drawbridge had also been fully restored, so recently, monsters merely lingered nearby without daring to attack.
‘All thanks to our lord!’
As a side effect, there were no more monsters left to send to Kyu-seong, but it didn’t matter.
They planned to capture them directly.
Since they intended to clear all nearby monsters for security, it was killing two birds with one stone.
Dududududu.
Soldiers marched out.
Unlike before, they no longer trembled in fear.
During multiple monster raids, they had experienced firsthand the greatness of the equipment crafted by Catsmith.
Unless it was the strongest monster in the area, there was nothing that could penetrate their armor.
And even if a strong monster did appear, it was fine.
They had a goddess, a hero, and slimes sent by Kyu-seong.
Of course, he was no longer a hero but had become stronger after becoming the Demon King’s servant—Choro.
“Kkweek?”
The first monster they encountered was a fearsome Fang.
It seemed to have lost territory in a war and was now frequently spotted near Chiyon.
Near Chiyon, there was a dense forest, rich in resources deeper inside, occupied by powerful monsters.
“Capture them all!”
“Waaah!”
Previously, they had been overwhelmed by such enemies.
But now, fully armed with Catsmith’s gear, the soldiers were brave and fearless thanks to their overwhelming defense.
“Charge!”
“I’ll grab its right leg!”
“I’ll attack from above.”
They couldn’t win one-on-one.
But with about 30 Fangs and hundreds of soldiers, they overwhelmed them with sheer numbers and equipment, capturing them swiftly.
“Kkuul.”
The captured boars were paralyzed using poison from Poispois, who, along with Angel, was guarding Chiyon.
Afterward, soldiers in pairs carried the captured monsters back to Chiyok.
“Our lord will be pleased!”
“Let’s catch more and present them too!”
Rather than just enforcing security, the soldiers felt like they were offering tribute to Kyu-seong, which motivated them even more.
They continued to patrol the forest near Chiyok, driving out or capturing monsters as needed.
“Over there!”
Finally.
The soldiers arrived at the place where the survivors were said to be.
A seemingly ordinary tree trunk.
Upon closer inspection, there was something like a door.
Knock knock.
Choro stepped up and knocked on the door.
Then a voice came from inside.
“W-Who are you?!”
“I am Choro from Chiyon. I came after hearing there were survivors here.”
“Chiyon? That crumbling city? You’re not lying, are you?”
The voice inside was immediately suspicious.
But it was undeniable that Chiyon had indeed been a collapsing city just days ago.
Thanks to Kyu-seong’s full support, it had been completely restored in just about a month.
“Chiyon is not the place you once knew. Think—how else could we have come all this way?”
At that, the door cautiously opened.
Inside the trunk, a few people appeared, all gaunt and hollow-eyed, in poor condition.
“Gasp!”
Seeing Choro and the soldiers of Chiyon, the people inside widened their eyes in shock.
Brilliant armor and gear.
Healthy skin and sturdy bodies.
The stark contrast between themselves and the soldiers left them speechless.
“D-Did you really come from Chiyon?”
One of the trunk people, now speaking formally.
Choro nodded toward him.
“Yes.”
“W-Why did you come all the way here…”
“As I said, we heard there were survivors and came to check. Allow me to formally introduce myself. We are servants of the Demon King Lee Kyu-seong, and I am Choro, one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings. Formerly a hero.”
“F-Four Heavenly Kings! A former hero!”
Shocked by this unexpected revelation, the people trembled.
Some slumped down in despair, thinking it was the end.
“P-Please, at least spare the children.”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something.”
Choro scratched his head with an awkward expression.
The soldiers also glanced at each other awkwardly, reacting to the trunk people’s response.
“Our lord also faced similar misunderstandings. Now I get how it feels.”
“I’ll try talking to them.”
At that moment, Verna stepped forward.
With angelic wings, her appearance caused the trunk people to look at her with amazement.
“W-Who are you?”
“Greetings. I am Verna, the goddess who protects Chiyon.”
“O-Ohh! A goddess!”
Relieved by Verna’s presence, the people were filled with joy once again. But soon they tilted their heads.
“W-Why are you with the Demon King’s servants?”
“I am also a servant of the Demon King.”
“?”
‘What did I just hear?’
Everyone looked at Verna in disbelief and then exchanged glances.
Confirming they had all heard the same thing, they turned back to her, stunned.
“The Demon King is not a bad person. I, a goddess, vouch for him.”
“She’s a fake goddess!”
“…What?”
“You’re trying to deceive us! You lackeys of the Demon King!”
Clearly, the misunderstanding had deepened.
Verna flapped her wings in panic and then emitted a holy light.
“I really am a goddess! Look at this!”
“Fake sparkles!”
“Eek! I’m telling you, I’m the real goddess of compassion, Verna!”
“Don’t make me laugh!”
Watching this unfold, the soldiers of Chiyon didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Their goddess arguing fervently with gaunt strangers.
But by now, they were used to her antics, so they just watched quietly.
“Hehe, alright then! Why don’t a few of you come visit Chiyon and see for yourselves!”
“Why are you suddenly talking like that?!”
-You need to see for yourselves to truly understand the Demon King’s true nature! Don’t you see this? The armor worn by our soldiers and their healthy appearances!
-If you stay here like this, you’re all going to die anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to serve under the Demon King? Besides, he’s not even that bad of a person. Actually, he’s so kind that he’s downright foolish!
‘Who’s calling who…’
The soldiers nearly blurted out their thoughts aloud.
“I understand. I’ll go personally as a representative!”
“I’ll go as well.”
“C-Can we bring our children too? I don’t care if it’s the Demon King or whatever. Our children haven’t eaten for three days… please, anything…”
In the end, unlike their initial caution, all the people in the tree trunk decided to head to Chiyon. After all, staying there meant starving to death all the same.
There were nearly 50 of them.
Even Choro was surprised by the unexpectedly large number.
“How did you survive? What about food?”
“We endured by eating weeds. Things like tree bark and roots.”
“You’ve really been through a lot.”
Fortunately, Chiyon had already prepared vegetable porridge for the new survivors.
Escorted strictly by the soldiers, the tree trunk survivors arrived in Chiyon and were awestruck by the impressive walls.
“N-No way…”
“Just three months ago, this city was falling apart.”
“This is amazing!”
Even the sight of the drawbridge lowering was grand.
There wasn’t a single monster in sight the whole way there.
As they entered Chiyon, the well-restored buildings welcomed the soldiers and survivors.
“How is this possible?!”
“Wow, they’re living so well.”
The newly arrived survivors were first given the prepared vegetable porridge. Since it was made with Kyu-seong’s provisions, the taste was, of course, outstanding.
“Hoo, hoo…”
Slurp.
Without hesitation, they began eating the porridge.
Soon, Chiyon’s residents approached and started checking on them.
“Oh dear, you’ve suffered a lot outside, haven’t you?”
“It’s okay now. There are many empty houses and land here. Let’s live well together.”
Once the capital, Chiyon was a large city.
But even now, the population barely filled half of Chiyok.
After filling their stomachs and being assigned houses, the survivors finally felt at ease and began to shed tears.
Sniff.
“Thank you, thank you.”
“How could we ever repay this grace…!”
Choro shook his head.
“All of this is due to the mercy of our lord, the Demon King. Though he is often misunderstood simply because he is a Demon King, he is more merciful than any other ruler.”
“Ohh! Long live the Demon King!”
“So if you happen to know where any other survivors might be, please tell us. We intend to rescue as many people as we can.”
“Ah, we did come across another group while foraging for food. We don’t know where they live, but we can guide you to the spot where we met them.”
“Excellent. Once you’ve recovered a bit more, I’ll ask for your help then.”
“Yes!”
The rescue of new survivors.
Chiyon would certainly continue to flourish.
***
[Your worshippers are increasing!]
Lately, the messages from the little humans were quite satisfying. It felt like I was leveling up just by standing still.
After a few of those messages, the Slime Overlord’s ability suddenly upgraded, and it seemed I would grow stronger again soon.
‘More slimes! More farming!’
As the Slime Overlord’s ability grew, I’d be able to summon even more slimes, which was very exciting.
Currently, most of our food crops were cultivated by goblins. We had a few slimes assisting them, but they didn’t produce items.
Still, even without item drops, the taste was the same, so we ate the crops produced in bulk by goblins.
That’s why most crops that became items were for delivery. Recently, we renegotiated contracts and agreed to supply some to Ironblood and Terror, so item production was more important than ever.
The more slimes, the better.
I truly hoped the little humans would keep worshipping me diligently.
“Hm? The Elder is here!”
I looked up from crouching in the field, still sitting on my fieldwork cushion.
“Elder? Hassan?”
“Yes! I just sensed his presence.”
What’s this about? I paused my work and stood up.
Heading toward the portal linked to Hassan’s World Tree, I saw Kyler already receiving him.
“Elder, you’re here?”
“Yes, I’m here, I’m here.”
Hassan waved happily at Ara and me. Kyler looked at him with a slightly disapproving gaze.
“You should’ve made an appointment with Mr. Kyu-seong. You can’t just show up unannounced.”
“Heh heh. Please understand, I have no other way to contact you except by visiting like this.”
“I rarely go out, so it’s hard for me to get messages. Please bear with me, Kyler.”
“Ah, I wasn’t trying to criticize Mr. Kyu-seong…”
Kyler flailed his hands in panic.
Seeing that, Ara burst into laughter.
“Just kidding. Haha.”
“Phew.”
“So, what brings you here, Elder? Did something happen to the World Tree?”
At my question, Hassan shook his head.
“I came to deliver some information. Something you’d find very interesting.”
“Huh? Information I’d be interested in?”
I couldn’t even imagine what it might be.
Could it be about a new dungeon plant?
While I was thinking that, Kyler’s expression darkened slightly.
“Don’t tell me… you’ve found another Deadly Sin.”
“Heh heh. As expected of you, Kyler. That’s exactly it.”
“A Deadly Sin!!”
Ohhh! That’s definitely something I’d be interested in.
I hadn’t found the last two Deadly Sin dungeons yet, so this was perfect.
“In fact, Isthart had long suspected a certain place, but it was hard to confirm. Only recently did we manage to verify it.”
“Oooh. But Elder, is it okay to share such information with me?”
“Heh heh.”
Hassan answered with a laugh.
Let’s keep this just between us.
“The Deadly Sin is Envy. But its location is… quite tricky.”
“Envy!”
I wonder what kind of kid it will be?
What will it look like? What kind of type?
“The Envy dungeon… is located in the deep sea.”
“Wow! Deep sea…?”
By deep sea, do you mean under the ocean?
How did they even find a dungeon in such a place, and how did they confirm it?
“We’ll need a solid plan. Leave it to me, Mr. Kyu-seong.”
Kyler, already assuming I would go.
Well, after collecting five Deadly Sins, of course I would.
“I’ll help too.”
“Wow, with both of you helping, that’s reassuring.”
“Me too! I’ll help too, Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”
“Oh, our Ara is such a big help too!”
Two Level-9 Awakened, and five Deadly Sins!
Let’s go with this ultra-luxurious party!
Cliche Novel 