Profession, Merchant Volume 12 Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2 – The Four Devas of Newland II

“Aaaah, I really don’t want to go.”


The time for the meeting was approaching, but her feet would not move.


Yes, you’ve heard it. Even Luna, the demon lord’s secretary, does not want to willingly take on such an irksome role. It’s just that there is no one else that can do about it, so she has no other choice.


There is also the fact that other than Luna, there is no one in Newland who can talk to the Four Devas on an equal footing or higher, with the exception of the Demon Lord.


That’s why, although the title ‘The Brains of Newland’ is a great one, when you actually find out what she does in her position, even the most ambitious would back away from it.


(I wonder what they will say again this time…)


Lately, people have begun to talk about the city built by the merchant in the suburbs and the priestess’s porn books. For Luna, unlike the demon lord, the absence of the merchant and priestess in their lands right now is troubling in a sense.


Initially, she agreed to run this exile because she wanted to recruit the mining equipment technicians who had been brought in from human lands through the merchants’ connections.


The goal was headhunting, so to speak.


The merchant is a seamless man, and he guards such personnel very carefully. So Luna thought it would be a good idea to use her national political power in Newland to imprison him temporarily.


If headhunting were to take place while the employer was serving a prison sentence, it would be no different to taking sweets from a baby because the place would really be unguarded.


Yes. For Luna, the transgressions of producing explicit books in Newland and the demon lord’s interest in playing Cupid were nothing more than an excuse, and this was her real plan all along.


And as it turned out, it worked. In a city with no boss to follow, the magic ore miner-technicians fell into her hands one after another, with some falling quickly for money, some for women, some for pleasure.


Things had gone as Luna had expected up to that point, but the fact that the merchant did not return from the island even after being pardoned was a blow to her expectations.


And now, as if karma had struck, this problem became even more troublesome.


So much so that the issues brought by the Four Devas would be dwarfed in terms of annoyance if they were put side by side.


◇◆◇


Secretary Luna was walking with very heavy footsteps when she finally arrived at a carved wooden door with the inscription ‘Conference Chamber 13’ on it.


There, her tiny fist knocks on its door.


“Sorry to keep you waiting.”


Conference Chamber 13 is the most opulent of all the meeting rooms in the castle. Every single piece of furniture in it is the work of Newland’s finest artisans and is decorated with an extravagance that would tickle any demon’s fancy.


There are dozens or hundreds of candlesticks in every corner of the room, lit with glowing wax. However, because of the overly complex indirect lighting techniques, the room remains dimly lit. It is a highly inefficient use of energy, but no one pointed it out because it is the privilege of the powerful to consume energy inefficiently.


Yes, the Four Devas were that powerful, at least in this Newland.


And right now, the shadows of those Devas were stretching out from the black round table in the meeting room. There were three of them.


They belonged to the Pillars – the titles by which the Devas are known, namely Gahotho the Blue Oni, Proditus the Fallen Angel, and Kriou the Demon Beast King.


“Luna, you’re late.”


It was Gahotho, the blue oni, who spoke first. He stands at the far end, puffing on a cigar. His blue skin, horns sprouting from his head, and black mustache are enough to make one fear him, but in contrast, his eyes are round and charming. He is the first of the Four Devas, who also acts as their deputy leader, a man of dignity with long arms and legs and a slender build, dressed in a fine suit.


The blonde woman to his left, her hands resting on her cheeks, is Proditus, a fallen angel. Her exposed wheat-colored skin, bountiful breasts, and black wings, characteristic of fallen angels, are beautiful enough to attract everyone’s attention. But upon Luna’s arrival, she simply turned her enchanting eyes in her direction and muttered a ‘hmph.’


“No, Miss Luna is not late. Look, we’re on time.”


The man defending Luna is the demon beast king Kriou. This man’s neck and torso are those of a lion, but his limbs resemble those of a human. He currently leans back in his chair with an ease that makes him look like a no-good bum. But his fur is golden and rich, and he has a huge, dependable physique that one would be tempted to hug at any cost.


Kriou keeps on talking.


“Nigel’s not here yet? He’s a lot slower than we are.”


The Four Devas are called the Four Devas because there are four of them. There is one pillar missing at the moment.


“Huh? But I’m right here.”


“What the!?”


Suddenly, a man is sitting to the right of Kriou, who was complaining, before he knew it. He is a beautiful man with a narrow chin, white skin, and red eyes, as if he had come out of a painting. He is Nigel, the Black Dragon.


“W-When did you get here?”


“Fufu, I’ve been here since the beginning. Didn’t you notice?”


Nigel said with a proud smile. Then he unbuttoned two buttons of his jet-black shirt for some unknown reason, exposing his amorous bosom.


“Grrrr, it’s vexing that I didn’t notice this.”


“As expected of Nigel.”


“This mistress also didn’t notice at all.”


The Four Devas were all impressed and praised Nigel’s ability to conceal his presence.


“…what’s the point in his way of entrance? I think it is over the top and unnecessary.”


But when Luna spoke up with an honest question, the Four Devas all frowned, and the air became icy.


As you can see, Luna is not on the same wavelength as the Four Devas, and that’s one of the main reasons they don’t get along. This is probably inevitable, as she is like a lone literary fan forced to mingle with the sports fans.


But it is not as if she has no connections with any of them, as she and the Black Dragon Nigel have known each other since they were children, as they are fellow countrymen. But even with that, they have never really been able to understand each other. It’s not that they had a fight with each other, but from Luna’s point of view, he’s someone she finds to be a headache to interact with.


On the other hand, speaking of fighting, Gahotho, the Blue Oni and deputy leader of the Four Devas, is at the top of her list of headaches. And no, it’s not as if Luna herself has any particular grudge against Gahotho. However, because Gahotho swears a strong loyalty to the Demon Lord, he has a strange sense of rivalry towards Luna, who is beloved as the Demon Lord’s secretary.


So, in a way, the Four Devas are a meeting place for Luna’s headaches. But the meeting had to proceed nevertheless. Of course, being muscle brainiacs, none of the Four Devas wanted to facilitate the meeting, so Luna had to do all the work in the end, as always.


Luna brought in a whiteboard, which was out of place in this beautiful room. There, she began to explain the situation in Newland as a whole carefully, the international situation on the human side, and even the financial situation in each of the Four Devas’ territories, which, in her opinion should be handled by the Devas themselves.


Each of the Four Devas sat bored and arrogant as they listened.


They probably wouldn’t have bothered anyway, but it would be troublesome for Luna if they complained later that they hadn’t been told about it. Hence, she did her best to give a clear explanation for each topic at least.


“Just get to the point, Miss Luna. What happened to the city of that merchant? Haven’t they destroyed that dreary slum yet?”


Luna was just about to mention the territory of the demon beast king Kriou when Kriou opened his mouth.


Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter