ALL NOVEL Chapter 237
Chapter 237: Competition (1)
Time passed, and the day of the competition arrived.
The members of the Demon Communion and Sayori wanted to attend the competition, but……
“I wish I could go with you. It’s a shame.”
“Go ahead.”
“…… Be careful.”
“Ribbit, ribbit.”
“I was curious about the training center, but it’s a shame that I can’t go with you.”
Only Demon Lords were allowed to attend, so they couldn’t go together. Instead, they came to see Jung Minwoo off.
“I’ll be back.”
Jung Minwoo waved to the Demon Communion members and Sayori, then boarded the carriage the Head Butler had prepared.
Thud—
As he entered the carriage and sat down,
“Minwoo-nim, good morning.”
Dantalion, who was already in the carriage, greeted him with a smile.
“Yes, good morning.”
One might wonder why Dantalion was there so suddenly.
T h i s w a s c o p i e d fro m k i n gmt l . or g
“Thank you for granting my request.”
A few days ago, Dantalion had proposed going to the training center together. Jung Minwoo had agreed, thinking it would be lonely to go alone, and that’s how Dantalion ended up here.
“Not at all, I also felt it would be lonely to go alone. I’m rather grateful that you suggested it first.”
They were exchanging pleasantries when,
“We will depart.”
The Head Butler, sitting in the driver’s seat, informed them that they would be leaving for the training center.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Giddy up!”
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
The carriage moved, and Jung Minwoo and Dantalion exchanged various stories on their way to the training center.
“I’m looking forward to the day Minwoo-nim becomes 30th.”
From talk about the day he would reach the 30th rank,
“…… Yes? You’re having a wedding ceremony when you reach 30th……? Oh…… Congratulations?”
To the story of his wedding with Venus, Elin, and Sayori in six months.
They were so engrossed in their conversation that time flew by.
“We have arrived.”
Before they knew it, they had arrived in front of the training center.
“Thank you.”
Jung Minwoo got off the carriage and entered the main gate with Dantalion.
“””It is an honor to meet you, Demon Lords.”””
The instructors waiting at the main gate bowed their heads and greeted them.
“Nice to meet you.”
Dantalion received the instructors’ greetings without using honorifics.
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
Jung Minwoo used honorifics because he recognized a few faces among the instructors.
“Minwoo-nim, I knew you were extraordinary, but I never imagined you would ascend to the position of Demon Lord so quickly.”
The instructor who had been his homeroom teacher spoke to him with an emotional expression.
“Haha, I was able to rise to this position so quickly thanks to your good guidance.”
He offered a simple compliment, and,
“Oh, ah……”
The instructor trembled, wearing a dazed expression.
‘What’s wrong…… Why is he shaking so much?’
Jung Minwoo felt awkward seeing the instructor tremble so much and was about to move on when,
“Welcome, Jung Minwoo-nim and Dantalion-nim.”
Deetan, the head of the training center, approached and greeted them.
“Since we have distinguished guests, I will personally escort you to the auditorium.”
As he had last time, he volunteered to guide them.
“Shouldn’t you be greeting the other Demon Lords?”
To Jung Minwoo’s question,
“It’s alright. The other instructors can do that.”
Deetan shrugged and said it was fine.
Knowing that Deetan wouldn’t change his mind even if he refused, Jung Minwoo nodded and was about to ask for guidance when,
“Dantalion, did you ultimately side with Jung Minwoo? Your flip-flopping attitude is just like the pigeons.”
An unwelcome voice came from behind.
‘Judging by the spite in his voice, it’s Baal.’
Turning his head, he saw Baal, his face as spiteful as his voice.
“Pigeons, you say? I simply made a choice to survive, knowing that I would be led to a meaningless death if I sided with Baal-nim.”
“…… What?”
Baal’s face was filled with bewilderment, seemingly caught off guard by Dantalion’s retort.
“And isn’t it Baal-nim who acts like a pigeon?”
“What……?”
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? The fact that our cooperative relationship was broken because of Baal-nim’s actions.”
“……”
Baal couldn’t refute Dantalion’s words and only frowned.
Given his personality, one might expect him to show his demonic energy, but,
‘He must be afraid of getting expelled.’
At the training center, if a Demon Lord used demonic energy without a valid reason, they would be expelled. Jung Minwoo guessed Baal was holding back because of that.
‘For someone like Baal, who’s always struggling with a shortage of talent, expulsion from the training center would be a painful blow.’
Jung Minwoo could only laugh at Baal’s ability to control his anger based on the situation.
Snicker—
He let out a small laugh, and,
“Jung Minwoo……”
Baal glared at him with murderous eyes.
“Ah, I apologize. I remembered something funny that happened earlier and couldn’t help but laugh.”
“Hmph!”
The excuse seemed to work, as Baal simply turned away without a word and walked past them.
“Jung Minwoo-nim, Dantalion-nim, let’s move as well.”
“Alright.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Deetan gave Baal a cold stare for a moment before guiding Jung Minwoo and Dantalion to the auditorium.
As they entered the auditorium,
‘…… Why is that guy sitting there?’
More than anything else, Jung Minwoo could see Baal sitting smugly in a chair that was several times more dazzling than the others.
‘With Satan absent, he’s acting like it’s his own world.’
He was annoyed by Baal’s playacting as the Demon Lord but since Satan wasn’t here, there was no justification for dragging him out of that seat.
‘It’s an eyesore, but it can’t be helped.’
Jung Minwoo was about to move to the seat labeled ’72’ when,
“Minwoo-nim, you have a separate seat.”
Deetan stopped him, saying there was a different seat for him.
“…… I have a separate seat?”
T hi s wa s co pi e d f r om k i n g m t l. o r g
“Follow me.”
“Ah, yes……”
T h i s w a s co pi e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
Although he didn’t know what it was about, Jung Minwoo decided to follow Deetan.
As he followed Deetan,
“Baal-nim? Would you please return to your original seat?”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k in g mt l. o r g
He suddenly approached Baal and asked him to vacate the seat.
“What’s the problem? The Demon Lord isn’t even here. Don’t make a fuss and just go back.”
Baal made a dumbfounded expression and refused Deetan’s request.
“The Demon Lord-nim may not be here, but there is an owner for this seat.”
“…… What?”
“The Demon Lord-nim has entrusted Minwoo-nim with the scouting task.”
T h is w a s cop i e d fro m k i n g m t l. o r g
“……”
“Therefore, this seat should be occupied by Minwoo-nim. Please vacate it.”
A situation even he hadn’t anticipated.
‘When did he even prepare this?’
He was a bit flustered by Satan’s cute surprise, but,
‘It’s good since Baal is being an eyesore.’
He felt pleased that he could get back at Baal.
Although it was said that the scouting task was entrusted to him, it was just an excuse to put him in this seat.
“What if I refuse?”
Perhaps unwilling to lose face by leaving the seat, Baal asked what would happen if he didn’t comply.
“If you don’t vacate it, you will be permanently expelled.”
“…… I’ll vacate it.”
Apparently afraid of permanent expulsion, Baal hurriedly rose from the seat.
T h i s w as c o p i e d f r om k in g m tl. o r g
‘It would be a shame to just let him go like this.’
With his strong Confucian values, he couldn’t just let his senior go without saying anything.
Just as Baal was about to move to the seat next to it,
“My backside was getting cold, and you warmed up the seat for me. Thank you so much for your consideration.”
Jung Minwoo expressed his gratitude to Baal for warming the seat.
“…… Sure.”
Baal, realizing that anything he said would sound pathetic, simply moved to the seat next to it without a word.
“Snort.”
“Chuckle.”
Finding the situation amusing, some Demon Lords couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“……”
Baal pretended to be nonchalant, but contrary to his expression, his face was beet red.
One might feel a bit sorry for him, but,
‘It’s his karma.’
Th i s wa s c op ie d f r o m k in g m t l . o rg
Considering his past actions and his future betrayal, there was nothing to pity.
‘Should I read his thoughts?’
Jung Minwoo felt curious about what Baal was thinking and used ‘Mind’s Eye.’
【How dare they laugh when I’m the one who was humiliated?】
Reading his thoughts, he realized that Baal wasn’t blaming Deetan or him for the humiliation but was directing his anger at the other Demon Lords.
T hi s w a s c opi ed f r o m kin gm t l . o r g
【After the competition, I’ll find a way to get back at them for laughing!】
It was amazing that someone so petty could reach the 1st rank.
Jung Minwoo kept ‘Mind’s Eye’ active, hoping Baal might be thinking about scouting or other information, but,
T h i s wa s c o pi e d f r o m ki n g m tl. or g
‘…… Doesn’t he ever get tired?’
Surprisingly, Baal’s stream of curses toward the other Demon Lords continued until the competition began.
The competition began, and,
“It is an honor to meet you, esteemed individuals. The competition I have prepared is……”
“It is truly an honor. The competition we will be starting now is……”
“I will do my best. The one I will be doing now……”
The students came out one by one, starting from number 1, and showcased the performances they had prepared.
‘None of them are satisfactory.’
He thoroughly checked the students’ information with ‘Heaven’s Eye’ but couldn’t find anyone who met his expectations.
‘Should I just settle for scouting number 22 and be done with it……?’
The only consolation was that number 22, whom he had his eye on, had accepted his scouting offer.
‘It’s impolite to leave in the middle, so I should wait until the end.’
Jung Minwoo decided to abandon his expectations and continued checking the students’ information with ‘Heaven’s Eye.’
Some time passed, and it was student number 826’s turn.
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Hesitantly, hesitantly—
She seemed nervous and walked onto the stage hesitantly, like a malfunctioning machine.
‘…… That student……’
Looking at her face, he remembered that she was one of the students who wanted to join his Demon Lord’s Castle.
‘Her unique trait was…… Communication, wasn’t it?’
If he remembered correctly, the effect was that her words would flow smoothly and be well-received.
‘Let’s take a look at her information.’
Jung Minwoo used ‘Heaven’s Eye’ to check the student’s information.
【Loading information for ‘None.’】
『Information Window』
〈Basic Information〉
Name: None
Gender: Female
Age: 0.4 years old
〈Detailed Information〉
Rank: None
Alignment: Evil
Unique Trait: 【Communication】
Current Emotion: Nervous
〈Aptitude〉
Talent: Empathy, Persuasion, Listening, Conversation, Understanding, Sympathy.
Talent Grade: Empathy (Highest), Persuasion (Highest), Listening (Highest), Conversation (Highest), Understanding (Highest), Sympathy (Highest).
Aptitude Grade: Clerical (Lowest), Eloquence (Highest), Combat (Lowest)
‘Huh……?’
Jung Minwoo couldn’t hide his surprise after seeing the student’s information.
He was surprised because she possessed a crazy talent when it came to corruption.
‘…… All of her talents are related to corruption?’
Her talents were extremely skewed in one direction.
In other places, they might not welcome someone with such specialized talents, but to Jung Minwoo, she appeared to be a talent who could lead the ‘Corruption’ department.
‘I must scout her……!’
Jung Minwoo was thrilled at the thought of discovering a hidden gem.
No one else had shown interest in her, and since she wanted to join his Demon Lord’s Castle, she would accept his scouting offer without hesitation.
He looked at the student on stage with expectant eyes, but,
“Uh, uh……”
She was fidgeting with her fingers, unable to even introduce herself properly.
He wondered how a demon who couldn’t even speak could be specialized in corruption, but he decided not to dwell on it.
“Ugh, ugh……”
As she couldn’t even introduce herself after a minute,
“We will conclude the performance of student number 826 here. Demon Lords who are interested in selecting her, please press the button on the right and state your desired conditions.”
The instructor stepped forward, trying to end the performance.
“…… Sigh.”
The student’s face was filled with despair, wearing an expression of defeat.
“””…… ……”””
No Demon Lord was willing to press the button for a student who couldn’t even introduce herself.
“If there are none, we will move on to the next student.”
As if expecting this reaction, the instructor was about to call the next student when,
Bing—!
Confirming there were no competitors, Jung Minwoo boldly pressed the button.