Profession, Merchant Volume 12 Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 1 – The Four Devas of Newland I

Going back to Newland, the land of demons ruled by the demon lord.


The demon lord’s secretary had just arrived after accomplishing a task that needed her presence outside the castle gates.


When the demon lord’s secretary arrived at the castle, or more specifically the demon lord’s chambers, she was ordered by the demon lord to ‘sit here,’ pointing at her own lap, before she could report anything.


Naturally, she felt anxious inside, wondering what she was up to this time. However, as it was the order from the demon lord herself, she had no other choice but to follow.


The secretary walks towards the luxurious sofa she is sitting on, which also serves as her ‘throne.’


The demon lord’s attire resembled that of a high-leg swimsuit with less amount of fabric. As such, when she sat, the secretary’s small buttocks rested directly on the demon lord’s exposed plump thighs.


Then, the Demon lord, seeming to be in a slightly better mood, relaxed her cheeks. There, she started combing the secretary’s pretty black hair, and even gave a few strokes on her small horns.


The secretary kept her usual poker face, which was the norm while she worked at the castle. But as expected, as the demon lord did this to her – who is already a hundred years old – even she, who always looked indifferent, couldn’t help but blush in shame.


“Luna. Are the priestess and the merchant back yet?”


The Demon lord asked while poking the secretary on her cheek.


In the previous episode, Newland had sentenced both the merchant and the priestess to an exile on a deserted island. However, even though they were supposed to have been pardoned about three months later, they were still on the island without any signs of getting picked up.


Now, half a year has passed since his sentence, but they still haven’t returned.


“This time, we have sent a fleet, but they were driven back by the incredibly strong silver-haired girl again.”


“Silver-haired girl… Isn’t that the priestess?”


“Probably.”


The two people in the room gave an indescribable look at each other.


“So, it’s the priestess, huh… then that means things are going to plan… fufu, fufufu. In that case, it’s fine. Just let them be for now.”


For the demon lord, banishing the merchant and the priestess to the island has no other purpose than to develop the relationship between the two into a bonafide romantic relationship. Basically, she has taken a liking to the priestess and is interested in playing the role of the Cupid for her. It was a more girlish reason than what her secretary thinks.


“However, it would be boring if we left them to play couples on the deserted island for a long time. I wouldn’t be able to play with the priestess, and without the merchant’s semen, my life would be lacking.”


And because she is a ‘girlish’ demon lord, she says things that a girlish(self-centered) woman would say.


“In that case, what does Your Majesty think should happen to the two?”


The secretary may be asking this, but inside, she didn’t really care about the relationship between the merchant and the priestess. At best, she found it a little unfair that her boss was lending too much support to the priestess and not paying attention to the female warrior and the holy knight who was left behind, but that is considering her occupation as an assistant of the demon lord who also plays the role of the fair judge.


But even then, the secretary doesn’t really care either because she doesn’t have an interest in human love.


What the secretary is really invested in is the demon lord’s desires. After all, it is her job as a secretary to fulfill her wishes.


Hmm. I like the merchant and the priestess, and I want them to get along as a man and a woman. But as a couple? To be honest, I don’t really like the idea.”


“Is that so?”


The secretary’s eyes widened in surprise at her superior’s answer.


“What do you think of human love, my dear?”


When she was asked this, the secretary tried to think of a witty way to answer, befitting of the brains of this country. But after failing to find any, she had no choice but to answer honestly.


“It’s sticky and gross. It’s yucky.”


“Ka-ha-ha-ha, what a coincidence.”


The demon lord laughed,


“I think so, too.”


And also replied.


“When I was born, there was no such thing as love. The word had not yet been invented. Nevertheless, men and women were naturally intimate with each other. It was more refreshing and beautiful at that time. But as the world progressed, desires became more complicated, so did the ways of becoming intimate. Before I knew it, humans had already made rules and such to express intimacy, and worse, they also established levels of it, like love(romance), care(affection) and fondness(liking). That’s also why expressing intimacy to someone has become so sticky and disgusting nowadays that people like us abhor it.”


Just when you think she’s being girlish, she starts to spout old-fashioned words. But when you think about it, she has every right to be, considering that this great demon lord existed long before the birth of the secretary, who is now over a hundred years old.


“Not just humans, but demons these days as well. Such a frivolous thing…”


“If you think so, then why do you favor the priestess’s love so much?”


“Hmm. As you say, love is certainly disgusting. It’s clingy, cocky, and makes me itch in a lot of ways. However, there’s only one kind of love that I think is beautiful.”


“Oh, what is it?”


The Demon King said as he stroked the secretary’s cute horns again.


“It’s the unrequited and hopeless love.”


◇◆◇


As Luna was having a… ‘romantic’ conversation with the demon lord, a familiar came into the demon lord’s chambers.


“Miss Secretary. It’s almost time for the meeting.”


“Ah, you’re right.”


Luna left the demon lord’s lap in a hurry. Her pretty face, however, was visibly distorted with bitterness, as if she was disgusted by those words.


“What’s wrong?”


“Nothing. It’s just that I have a meeting with the Four Devas today.”


“I-I see…”


When she heard the words “Four Devas,” the demon lord also made a face as if it was going to be a problem.


“Now then, Your Majesty, if you’ll excuse me-”


“Alright, alright. I’ll leave it to you.”


In Newland, aside from the demon lord at the top, there was also the existence of the “Four Devas,” who were just a level below the Demon Lord in terms of power and were acting as her subordinates of some sort.


But even though they are not on the level of the Demon Lord, they are known to the world as extremely powerful and unique, enough for the Messianic Papal Court and its allied states to place a large bounty on their heads and for other countries to treat them as the most sought-after research subjects because of their uniqueness.


The Four Devas were also granted many territories on the Newland mainland and thus shared local political power. The Demon Lord’s power and authority may echo throughout the land, but to unify the vast territory of Newland, strong cooperation between the central political power and the local political power is essential. What pays for this is the feudal system of the Four Devas.


In other words, the Four Devas effectively ruled each region, and the Four Devas swore allegiance to the Demon Lord, forming the political community of the nation of Newland, much like the role of feudal lords and dukes in their human counterparts.


However, the fact that they have such political power means that their demands, complaints, and grievances can conflict with each other’s interests.


And worse, these conflicts always reached out the central power, and this has happened so often that it can be said that the relationship between the Four Devas and the Demon Lord is downright sour.


And given the Demon Lord’s personality, which is just as erratic as these subjects, it was a near-impossible task to appease these troublesome people, to mediate between them, or even to come to an agreement with them.


So, all those roles fell to the Demon Lord’s private secretary – Luna – instead.


As such, Luna could only sigh as she walked through the corridors of the castle, thinking how to please these troublesome authorities one more time.


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