Aidi’s Visit
“I’m here. Entertain me.”
Core No. 666, Aidi, had arrived. She just walked straight into (not my) house and acted as impudently as some aristocratic girl… Oh, I guess she’s basically like one in the Demon King Faction, huh. Okay then.
I didn’t see her master anywhere… was she having him on house-sitting duty?
“You came, Aidi.”
“Fufufu, of course I did. This will be fun, Rokuko—but by the way, why’s this dungeon located in a different spot than what I had Core No. 564 tell me?”
It seemed as though Aidi had went to the original dungeon, which was no more than the cast-off husk of a dungeon at this point… After this and that, everyone had already transferred over to [White Rabbit Garden (Name Pending in the Adventurer Guild)].
So I answered her.
“Did you think a rabbit would just stay and wait to be eaten after being found by a predator? They’d normally run, yeah?”
“Oh yeah. Good thinking, Rokuko’s Master.”
“Well, it was more like everyone came here after seeing how interesting it was, but still.”
“Pfft. How like Rokuko. Kukuku.”
Even her laugh was like what you’d expect of a Demon King Faction core. It somehow gave you the feeling of wickedness, yet it also didn’t feel out of place. The kind of feeling that was hard to understand. It’s probably better to not think too deeply on it…
“So, what will I be doing here?”
“… Could you start by telling us more about Core No. 564? He’s some sort of baphomet demon-type or something?”
“Simple enough… I have no reason not to tell you about him.”
Ooh, that’s better than I’d hoped!
And so Aidi easily told us what she knew.
Core No. 564:
He’s usually humanized. (Wears a tailcoat)
His true form’s a demon-type monster called a baphomet.
Although he’s a demon, he can’t hide himself in shadows.
Physical attacks are effective as he has substance.
He has enhanced himself accordingly, so Orange would absolutely lose a one-on-one.
For Rokuko, it would depend on how well she could fight… I don’t think she would win.
IAidi will also have trouble. I’ll need assistance.
His dungeon is a demon-type one. He shouldn’t have a Master.
I’m pretty sure he uses gargoyles. Lesser demons and succubi, too.
His staff are probably greater demons.
He’ll probably use skeletons and gargoyles as soldiers for the Dungeon Battle.
“Hm, that’s a coincidence. We were planning on using gargoyles along with your skeletons as our soldiers as well, Aidi.”
“Summon-type monsters are unlimited as long as you can still use magic. They’re really convenient to use for soldiers.”1
“Agreed. No matter how I think about it, using DP for them just isn’t worth it.”
By the way, [Summon Skeleton] was apparently something like a staple for the Demon King Faction. The strategy Core No. 6 preferred to use was a summoned army—a legion—of skeletons. He also seemed to use improved [Summon Skeleton]-type skills.
So… I guess it being a staple for their faction was due to Core No. 6 using it so much?
“It’s basically like putting on a toy crown to have fun with an informal king’s game, I guess.”
“… Are you sure it’s alright to tell us Demon King-sama’s strategy like that?”
“How many years do you think Jiji-sama and Haku-sama have been fighting? Tons of people have known for a long time, not just Haku-sama.”
So that’s how it is, huh… Well, if you want to win against someone going with numbers, you’ll have to either deploy more numbers or simply fight at a higher level. When I said as much, all Aidi said in response was [So?] with a mocking laugh.
“Judging by how you’ve talked about it, I guess you also play with those toy crowns?”
“Mine’s a tiara I got from Jiji-sama, don’t go confusing that for some toy crown, okay?”
“Ah, okay.”
I didn’t peg her for someone that followed trends. She really is a daddy’s girl, huh.
“So, what should I do?”
… I suppose I could have her summon skeletons to condition the adventurers. It’d fit our plot perfectly.
“… That’s what you want me to do?”
“We’ll be relying on you to win the Dungeon Battle, Aidi.”
“Hmph. So you’re teaching undomesticated humans a trick, huh… how amusing. Good!”
And that is how we added skeletons to the raids on the rabbits for the interim until the day of the Dungeon Battle.
“Oh yeah, Aidi, is there any way I could get a [Summon Skeleton Scroll] from you? It seems cheap enough to buy and I could trade you a [Create Golem Scroll] for it.”
“… Eh, fine. I approve of your offer.”
“Man, equal trades are great, aren’t they?”
“Magic isn’t my strong point, so it’s not too equal in that respect?”
Incidentally, I had another [Summon Skeleton Scroll] prepared for Orange so that he could keep the system going even after we were gone.
I will say that Aidi floofing the orange-colored rabbit for the DP exchange was incredibly adorable though.