A Weak Demon Lord Started Livestreaming in a Bottom-Tier Dungeon and Went Viral?! After Completely Crushing Rude S-Rank Explorers and Annoying Streamers, the Internet Erupted in Praise. Um, I'm Supposed to Be the Enemy of Humanity, You Know? - 17

Chapter 17: The Weak Demon Lord, Surrounded

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I stared intently at the monitor displaying the inside of the dungeon. What it showed was, in a word, a plain-looking girl. Her facial features were well-formed, but her hair was messy, she had heavy dark circles under her eyes, and her hunched posture made her look decidedly unhealthy.

“…Just as I thought, her magic capacity is tremendous…”

『Isn’t that girl Rio Mushigami?』

“Oh? So she is someone of note?”

『She’s the one who got an S-rank certification for having an absurd amount of magical power. But she can barely use any magic besides enhancement spells, so there’s talk of downgrading her rank. Apparently, she’s treated like a failure now.』

“A… A failure?”

To me, it was like watching a ton of gold walking around in clothes. Calling that a failure was utterly ridiculous. No—perhaps human magic simply couldn’t fully utilize that level of magical power? Well, that wouldn’t be surprising.

While considering various possibilities, I observed the girl on the monitor with rapt attention alongside the viewers.

“Hmm? She seems to be acting with some purpose, but what is she doing?”

『In dungeon training, each party usually receives a task. Like, ‘Retrieve part of a defeated monster,’ something like that.』

“Hohoh, that’s a pretty practical assignment.”

Well, right now the only things roaming around the Tokyo Dungeon were the skeletons I had summoned. At best, they would be able to bring back bones.

“Oh? Looks like they’re taking a short break.”

On the other side of the monitor, the girls took out something stick-shaped from a wrapper and started eating it. They looked like portable rations. However, the appearance of the food didn’t exactly whet the appetite.

“…It doesn’t look very appetizing. It kinda resembles the core of a toilet paper roll.”

『That’s “Calorie Hate,” a portable ration. The developer said it was such a hatefully bad taste that it would earn people’s wrath. It was a masterpiece of creation, to say the least.』

“Why would they sell something like that!?”

『Nutritionally speaking, it’s so well-balanced that a person could live off just those…』

“Humans should eat delicious food and live with cultural dignity!!”

『It’s kinda sad when you think about it… A demon lord preaching how humans should live.』

And just then… One of Rio Mushigami’s party members, a particularly bratty-looking girl, casually littered the food wrapper.

“I’m seriously thinking of killing that human.”

『He’s pissed lol』

『Can’t blame him. I’d wanna murder some brat who litters in my house too.』

『Even if he kills her, this Demon Lord can just resurrect the girl. It couldn’t get any better, really. We could watch a cute girl die without worrying about her.』

It seemed I saw a comment that sounded more demon lord-ish than me, but I decided to ignore that. 

“Oh! Mushigame-san just picked up the trash that kid littered. Demon Lord Points +1.”

『Is having more “Demon Lord Points” something to be happy about? LOL』

Hmm. I only said that on a whim, but maybe I should implement some kind of Demon Lord Points reward system. Like, they could use one point to access a monster-free safe zone or something. Not bad. It actually sounded kind of promising.

『Even though you’re just bones, we can totally tell when you’re thinking.』

“Hehehehe, you make me sound so suspicious. …By the way, why does that girl seem to be carrying way more than the others? She doesn’t exactly look like the strongman type.”

『I saw something on the forums a while back. Apparently, she’s being bullied.』

“What was that?”

Bullied? That girl?

“Humans really are reckless creatures. Don’t they consider the possibility of revenge later?”

『Humans are creatures who act without thinking of consequences. History proves it.』

“How profound…Such karmic depth.”

Truly, humans are full of karma. Between this and the comment that sounded more demon lord-ish than me… Sometimes humans scare me.

Between that comment that made me sound more like a demon lord than I am, and this… sometimes humans scare me.

“But bullying, huh… Hmph, I can’t just sit by.”

『Huh?』

『Where are you going?』

“Obviously, to recruit her!! It’s just too sad that someone with that much talent is being bullied and unable to reach her true potential!! She must come work in my dungeon!! If she gets strong enough, I can even entrust her with my duties—cough, cough—”

『You’re just trying to get out of work, you lazy skeleton.』

I pulled out a headband that read “Welcome Dungeon!!” and a flag that said “Now Recruiting!” from the storage room.

“Good thing I’m already fully prepared for a moment like this. Well then, I’m off!!”

『You look super shady lol』

『This skeleton is the best lol』

『I love the way this stream has such chaotic energy』

『Don’t leave the stream unattended, lol』

Hmm. True, I shouldn’t leave the stream running unattended.

…Ah! I know!

“Al-san, while I’m gone, could you chat with the viewers for me?”

“Eh!?”

『OMG it’s Backup Streamer Al-chan-sama!!』

『Al-chan-sama!! Al-chan-sama!! Marry me!! Then beat me to a pulp every day until I nearly die!!』

『Somebody report this pervert already』

I left the stream to Al-san and hurried off to the section of the dungeon where Rio Mushigami was located. It didn’t take long to find her. Ignoring her party members, I quickly approached her and spoke up.

“Young lady!! If you’re interested, would you like to work in my dungeon!?”

“Eh? U-uh!?”

“And of course, it wouldn’t be for free!! I shall make you as strong as a Demon Lord!! And as a bonus, I’ll throw in this enormous magic stone!!”

“A-ah, u-uh…”

Perhaps because I spoke so suddenly, Rio Mushigami just blinked in confusion, frozen in place. And in the next moment—

“A—a talking skeleton!?”

“C-could that possibly be the Demon Lord everyone’s talking about…?”

“N-no way the Demon Lord would just show up out of nowhere!! Let’s take it down and finish the assignment!!”

The girls who had been dumping all their luggage on Rio drew their weapons and rushed at me.

“I’m speaking with this young lady right now. Please do not interrupt.”

“““!!!!”””

Magic power could be used in many ways. With a bit of technique, you could release it from your whole body to intimidate opponents and momentarily paralyze them.

I might be weaker than other demon lords, but I was actually fairly skilled in controlling magic. My intimidation was enough to make an average person empty the contents of their stomach.  

The girls who charged at me lost their will to fight in an instant and collapsed to their knees.

The fact that they didn’t vomit proved that they were relatively resilient. Meanwhile, Rio Mushigami, who was supposed to have been hit with the same pressure up close, was…

“Eh? Eh? Why… Why did Grace-san and the others suddenly collapse…?”

Though clearly confused, she stood perfectly fine. Magical intimidation didn’t work on those with significantly higher magic power. At least in terms of magic reserves, she outclassed me—probably rivaling even the Great Demon Lord.

“Pardon me. I am Demon Lord Olden. Please, call me Olden.”

“Ah, um, I’m Rio Mushigami. Just Rio is fine.”

“Rio-san!! I would be honored to help you become stronger!!”

“Eh? Um, m-me, become strong…?”

“Yes!! You have talent!! You could become even stronger than most demon lords!! So, what do you say!?”

“E-even if you ask me that…”

Rio averted her gaze and opened her mouth apologetically.

“Th-there must be some mistake, right? There’s no way someone as useless as me could be stronger than a demon lord…”

“That’s not true at all!! If you entrust yourself to me, I’m sure you’ll be able to use powerful magic in no time!!”

“M-magic…?”

“Yes!! Although, the only ones I can teach are summoning magic, resurrection magic, and… Well, some morally questionable ones.”

“Q-questionable…?”

She flinched a bit, but seemed curious about what I said. Still not making direct eye contact, she asked.

“Um… You’re not going to make me drink weird potions or do anything dangerous, right?”

“Of course not. We’ll strengthen you through entirely legitimate means!! …Though, you might experience a little pain.”

“R-really… Do you think someone like me could really use magic? That, um… summoning magic thing?”

“Absolutely!!”

When I nodded with confidence, Rio glanced up at me.

“Th-thank you… But, um, I still have school, so I think I’ll have to decline—”

“The Explorer School, correct? In that case, let’s go greet them right away!! Oh my, I’m getting nervous. this’ll be my first time leaving the dungeon!!”

“Eh? Eeeeh!?”

I scooped up Rio and headed for the dungeon exit.

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“…Why is this happening?”

“I-I mean, uh, if a monster suddenly pops out of a dungeon, everyone is going to assume it’s a stampede and go into panic…”

The moment I stepped outside the dungeon, the once-bustling plaza in front of Tokyo Dungeon fell completely silent. I was instantly surrounded.

Hmm. I suppose, as a Demon Lord,  it was only natural for me to be feared. But still. This was a bit too much. I was feeling a bit hurt, to be honest. 

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Afterword: Fun fact about Rio. It’s hard to tell because of her bad posture, but she’s actually pretty tall and… Well, she’s quite ‘big’ too.