Dungeon Defense (WN)

The Demon Lords started to murmur among one another. A woman with a buzzing voice let out some grouchy words. 300 years was an absurd length of time. Paimon closed her eyes within the clamoring as if she had finished saying what she wanted to say.

I could tell that her using honorifics with a low-tier Demon Lord like me was also for the sake of putting a severe emphasis on her decency. She probably believes that the way she’s acting is cool, but in my opinion, she just looks arrogant.

“Silence. Settle down.”

Rank 5 Demon Lord Marbas calmed the buzzing with a wave of his hand. The ballroom became still.

“Paimon. Are you finished?”

“Yes, this lady has nothing more to add.”

“If that is the case, then let us listen to Dantalian’s counterargument. Dantalian has the right to question Paimon and Paimon has the right to answer Dantalian.”

All right, I muttered to myself in my head and took a deep breath.

My turn was approaching. They say that if you know your enemy, then you can win every battle, so I decided to check my status before going into my defense. Due to the unknown passive skills possessed by the Demon Lords here, my stats have dropped drastically.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ True Name: Dantalian Race: Demon Lord　　 　Faction: Dantalian’s Demon Lord Army Attribute: Neutral(-10)

Level: 4　　　　　Infamy: 253 Job: Dungeon Manager(F), Demon Lord(F)

Leadership: 15/15　　Might: 2/5 　　Intelligence: 20(-5)/25 Politics: 13/15　　Charm: 5(-5)/10　　Technique: 4/10

*Titles: You have no titles. *Abilities: Tactics(F), Marksmanship(F), Mining(F) *Skills: Acting

[Achievements: 0] [Subordinates: 42 units/50 units] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Pitiable stats. Nevertheless, I felt serene thanks to Lapis’ silent encouragement. Even among the numerous emotions that were currently going through me, I could still clearly feel the small worry towards me. Furthermore—the time when the Jalsen Village adventurers invaded was much worse than this!

My stats were low now, but my stats back then were so low that they could have dug a well. I had just arrived in this world at that time, so I had to gather information on my own from beginning to end. I had to put on a performance, despite not being used to acting, in order to survive.

And how is this situation in comparison?

I know well enough what sort of situation I’ve been put into and I know very well who the other party is. Paimon was one of the bosses I beat over and over again as I played the game tens of hundreds of times.

It’s very obvious to me how you’ll respond to certain questions.

“Dantalian you may start your inquiry.”

Marbas spoke.

I bowed my head to him before looking around the room with a thin smile.

“Before I begin, I wish to express that I am sincerely at a loss. First, it is because Your Highness Paimon is a much more noble and powerful personage than someone like myself.”

I heard someone snort. It was probably Rank 8 Barbatos since she had been against Paimon since the beginning of the gathering. I paid it no mind as I continued.

“Second, I also did not know that Andromalius was a personage who possessed enough prestige for Your Highness Paimon to be this concerned about him. Until now, I had firmly believed that there was an unbridgeable gap between Your Highness Paimon’s status and Andromalius’ personality. Nonetheless, Your Highness Paimon has leaped over that gap and is now trying to advocate for Andromalius of all people, an individual who is the most pathetic among all 72 Demon Lords and is honestly embarrassing to even call our kin……I apologize, but I fail to understand Your Highness’ intent.”

Paimon’s expression became cold. The corners of her mouth were still raised, but her gaze was cold. As someone who has constantly interacted with the most impassive girl in the demon world, this expression was nothing impressive. Not only was it obvious to her that I had nearly ridiculed her reputation directly, but it was obvious to everyone else as well.

“……This lady gave a clear reason for that regard. Demon Lords have value solely because they are Demon Lords.”

“Is that so?”contemporary romance

I opened my eyes wide as if I were shocked.

“No, is that truly so? Miss Paimon, do you genuinely believe that?”

“Yes, I am being sincere. Do you perhaps think this lady had made that declaration frivolously?”

“I apologize. I do not have any intentions to mock you, Miss Paimon. I am simply surprised because I do believe that Miss Paimon could not possibly speak amiss.”

I then bowed at a 60 degrees angle.

“Now then, I will use the authority that has been granted to me to overstep my status and ask Miss Paimon some questions. Mis Paimon, what are Demon Lords? My question may have been somewhat vague. Let me rephrase it. What is the meaning of the existence of Demon Lords within the demon world?”

“Are you looking down on this lady? Naturally, it is to guide and unite all of demonkind and lead them to the surface.”

“An excellent answer. Look down on? Banish the thought. I will simply be honored if Your Highness could go through the trouble to answer a couple of my questions.”

I showed my palms and smiled affectionately.

“Miss Paimon, if Demon Lords must guide, unite, and lead demonkind to the surface, then if a Demon Lord does not guide, unite, or try to lead demonkind to the surface, does that mean they lack the qualities of a Demon Lord?”

“Correct.”

“Truth be told, I think so as well.”

That was a lie. Who cares what the duties of a Demon Lord are. It’s fine as long as I don’t die. Nevertheless, lying doesn’t cost a dime.

“That is actually all there is to the meaning of Demon Lords within the demon world. Pardon me, but if I were to compare us to the archdukes that rule the Hells of the demon world, there are Demon Lords among us whose influences are smaller than theirs. I am one of them. Despite this, we are treated like emperors and empresses that are above those dukes and archdukes. Why is this? Everyone, it is just as Miss Paimon has said.”

I looked around the room.

“As survival of the strongest is law and greed is the truth of the demon world, only us Demon Lords can truly work for the sake of others and lead them. We are the only ones whom demons gladly bow their heads to. Even if the archdukes of all of the Hells lead tens of hundreds of armies, do you think any of their men have truly sworn loyalty to them? Within this den where everyone can only think for themselves, to demons, Demon Lords are the only existences that shine as a light of hope.”

Absolute symbols.

Realistically, demons may have been constantly fighting bloody battles for thousands of years, but ‘they’ are proof that we could still one day become one. That’s what Demon Lords of <Dungeon Attack> are.

“But then there was a certain Demon Lord. He did not try to unite or lead demonkind. He exploited hundreds of goblins solely to make money. The more surprising thing was the fact that he didn’t even reside in the human world! He spent his time lavishly in the demon world for the sake of his own enjoyment and pleasures. The funds he used for his luxury naturally came from his goblins’ sweat and blood. Thus, I wish to ask everyone this.”

This individual had betrayed that expectation and hope.

“Is this person truly a Demon Lord?”

No one responded. I paused for a moment before opening my mouth.

“Can we truly call this person our kin?”

The ballroom remained quiet. I went from using all sorts of gestures to moving extremely prudently and slowly.

“Everyone. If anything, I wish the censure us. The reason why we are treated more nobly, despite being worse than an archduke, is because we are Demon Lords. What reason is there for us to disregard and forgive such an individual?”

“Because.”

Did she think that she would lose her momentum if she allowed me to continue? Paimon interrupted me.

“Because no matter how crude they are, only seventy-two of us exist in the world…….”

“Oh, Your Highness Paimon. For whose sake do us seventy-two Demon Lords exist for?”

I glared at her.

“Since when did Demon Lords exist for other Demon Lords? Since when did we Demon Lords stop acting for the sake of demonkind and create a ranking among ourselves?”

“…….”

“We are lonely. You are right. It is hard for us to distinguish ourselves from others. Thus, it is hard for us to feel ‘togetherness’. For us, we and others are simply a single blob of consciousness. All right. We are lonely; however, does this mean we should absolutely spare the life of a Demon Lord solely so that we could stave off our loneliness?”

She couldn’t answer.

Paimon.

This debate was over the moment she answered my first question. She shouldn’t have given such a textbook response saying that the duty of Demon Lords is to lead demonkind. She should have firmed her nerves and simply said that Demon Lords don’t have something like a duty.

“That is just being greedy! Your Highness Paimon has made a much too obvious contradiction. Your Highness spoke in a tone that sounded as if you were speaking for the sake of Andromalius and all of us. However, is that nothing more than Your Highness’ own greedy desire to not be lonely!?”

Your personality of not being able to firm your nerves is the reason for your defeat.

“Andromalius had committed two grave crimes.”

I raised my voice and shouted as if I were venting my anger.

First, he had gone against the duty of a Demon Lord. A Demon Lord that has lost their honor loses their right to rule over demonkind. Therefore, they are no longer a Demon Lord.

Second, he had severely harmed the expectations and hope harbored by the people towards Demon Lords. When we one day appeal to demonkind for the sake of planning for a greater cause, a portion of the demons will doubt us because they will think of Andromalius as an example. If this didn’t harm the image of all Demon Lords, then I don’t know what would.

“Someone had to stop Andromalius; however, no one did for hundreds of years. Is this not shameful? Demon Lords were lowering the reputations of Demon Lords on their own! Furthermore, a personage of the 9th rank has advocated a value that completely opposes the idea of Demon Lords, greed!”

“……Guh.”

“I would like to make a request here. As Demon Lord Andromalius had not only violated the name of Demon Lords but has realistically sullied it as well, death was the only suited punishment for him. Thus, I would like to make a request. As a noble Demon Lord who must naturally maintain one’s dignity had gone against her own word, we must make Her Highness Paimon act as a representative and give a public apology to the people of Niflheim.”

Paimon didn’t even try to maintain the smile on her lips. She hid her mouth behind her fan as she glared daggers at me.

As the two of us aggressively met each other’s gaze, everyone around us remained still. It wasn’t a silent stillness but a stillness filled with excitement. Since both parties were pressing charges against one another, there was nothing more interesting than this for onlookers.

It was at that moment that Rank 8 Barbatos laughed and applauded.

“Gyahaha! He’s right, that kid’s right. That whore bitch would always go around talking about how Demon Lords must be high-class or whatever.”

I turned my head. I was now able to see Barbatos, whom I have only been able to hear the voice of, with my eyes. Just like in the game, Barbatos was a short girl. She was wearing a dress that was highly decorated with red frills, so she looked just like some little lady you’d see when playing with dolls.

“If she goes against the very words she’s been constantly saying her entire life here, then it’ll only be bad for her, so she definitely has to apologize to those demon pieces of trash. Kyahaha, this is great!”

“Barbatos.”

Marbas, the one in charge of the proceedings, gave Barbatos a sidelong glance.

“Outsiders are not allowed to intervene without permission.”

“Hah, but the questioning is over. Is there anything more to say? Whore bitch, you should hastily run on over to the city and place your abundant ass on the ground and apologize. Who knows? Maybe some sex-deprived vagrant will accept your apology by graciously doing you?”

“Barbatos!”

Marbas’ tone became stronger. Barbatos snorted and closed her mouth. Barbatos made some excessively sarcastic remarks, but Paimon didn’t turn to look at Barbatos even once. She kept glaring at me.

“…….”

I didn’t back down and continued to stare back at her. Either I’ll be imprisoned in some unknown place for 300 years or you’ll step on your own dignity and apologize to the people. There were only these two choices. I didn’t want to lose in this battle of vigor.

You’re the one who attacked me first. You messed with me when I wasn’t doing anything. If you didn’t go out of your way to hold a hearing in this official place and press charges on me, then I wouldn’t have had to bear the risk of being hostile towards someone as powerful as you.

‘So lower your eyes.’

I’ve beaten you more than a dozen times in the game.

I’m a player who managed to not only kill you but every Demon Lord that’s present in this room as well, you human fetishist Demon Lord.

***

TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. It’s pretty fun translating this since it isn’t the same exact dialogue as the LN. It’s like a new viewpoint.

In any case, I’m going on my trip in 2 days and I highly doubt I’ll be able to get the next chapter out by that time since I have to start packing and also buy some stuff for my friends. I will most likely leave an ‘update’ post on the day of my departure. Like I said before, I’m bringing my laptop with me so I will most likely do some translating at night during my trip, so don’t be too disappointed about my absence.

I’ll see you guys in the update post

done.co