Advice From A Senior Devil

“I see. So that’s how your latest summoning ended.”

What Devil King Grazen brought to his lips was tea from the northeastern part of the continent in the world of seven moons, which I had only just brought back with me.

It was one grade above one of my favorite brands.

Grazen apparently took a liking to it as well, because after one eyebrow twitched upward, the corners of his mouth relaxed into a smile.

“Still, my friend. When you overcome difficulties, you build a base, secure your safety, and then take your time resolving the problem. Even the part where you take a girl on as your disciple was the same as last time, wasn’t it?”

…Now that he mentioned it, that might have been true.

That method was probably less something forced on me by circumstance and more of a habit of mine.

There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but Grazen could probably see my broader tendencies from that habit.

For example, even in battle, unless I could seize the initiative from long range or launch a surprise attack, I would first defend or weaken my opponent, secure a safe situation, and only then move onto the offensive.

But if an opponent knew I did that, they might be able to turn it against me.

“The disciple part was a coincidence, though. Still, maybe I do have that tendency. Oh, and I got into trouble with an Angel this time, but thanks to all the training I got from dispatched summonings, I somehow managed. Really, thank you.”

As part of my thanks, I served some baked sweets on a plate, then picked one up for myself as well.

At this point, Grazen was probably the only one who had seen through my habits that deeply.

Then again, I had also joined Grazen’s faction on assignment and learned how things worked on the inside, so in that sense it went both ways.

Besides, Grazen apparently liked me so much that he had actually waited here in this Demon Realm from the moment Annie Mitt summoned me to the world of seven moons until the moment I returned, so I doubted we would have any disputes for a while.

Honestly, I had been surprised.

It was like coming home from work and finding the president of a major corporation you did business with waiting in your house.

Sure, two years was short as Devil summonings went, but even I had not expected him to wait the entire time.

After all, Grazen was the head of a major faction.

He must have had endless work to deal with, and although he could presumably issue instructions even from here, he was hardly in a position where he could casually leave his own Demon Realm unattended for long periods.

I had a hard time understanding what went on in his head, but at the very least, I could tell that he genuinely liked me.

Of course, I could not completely let my guard down, since there was always the possibility he might suddenly declare that true friends ought to forge their friendship through battle or something like that, but at the very least, I could say for certain he would not pick a fight while there was such a large gap in our strength.

“Hmm. If I was able to be of use to my friend, then that brings me greater joy than I could have hoped for. My friend, are those your new companions?”

At Grazen’s words, I turned to look behind me.

But Bella, Pisca, and Anis alike seemed overwhelmed by Grazen’s presence, because all three had shrunk back and were prostrating themselves before him.

…I had thought they were all fairly fearless, but apparently even they were intimidated when faced with someone on the level of Devil King Grazen, which I found a little amusing.

“That’s right. They’re Bella, Pisca, and Anis. Sorry, it looks like they’re all pretty nervous around you. Was I like this when we first met too?”

I remembered the day I first met Grazen.

I was completely used to him now, but unexpectedly running into someone so overwhelmingly important was rather bad for the heart.

However, Grazen gave me a slightly exasperated look and shook his head.

“No. Looking back across all my long years, I have never met another who recovered as quickly as you did, much less someone bold enough to invite me to tea. My friend, you are an eccentric one. And your companions, perhaps because you were the one who chose them, all possess remarkably specialized talents as well.”

Saying that, Grazen once again turned his gaze toward Bella, Pisca, and Anis and began examining them—or more precisely, measuring their aptitudes.

Well, it was not as though I had intentionally chosen them for that reason, but it was certainly true that their abilities were heavily skewed.

“The Magical Beast Devil was Bella, correct? There are many Devils skilled in combat, but even compared with them, that girl possesses an aptitude especially specialized toward close-quarters combat. Her talent is remarkable. Since she possesses precisely the aptitude my friend lacks most, once she develops further, there will be many occasions when you will need her.”

After a little while, Grazen began evaluating my companions.

Naturally, I already understood their abilities to some extent, but if he was going out of his way to explain them, there was probably something beyond that he wanted to teach me.

Grazen’s evaluation of Bella was predictably high.

But just as one would expect of someone described as possessing highly specialized talents, Bella was poor at long-range attacks.

Even after undergoing intensive sorcery training, learning how to manipulate Spiritual Particles and Magical Essence, and becoming capable of using Magic, that had not changed very much.

After all, Bella’s offensive Magic had only developed to the point where the fire breath she could already use became more powerful, while her right head could breathe ice, her middle head darkness, and her left head lightning.

Even those breaths lacked the range needed to exchange long-range Magic attacks with other Devils, placing them more in the category of longer-ranged medium-distance attacks.

“Next is the Lesser Devil Pisca. Her detection ability is especially high, followed by her skill at concealing herself. As a scout, she would be impeccable. She also possesses talent for offensive Magic, so in a different sense from you, she should pair very well with Bella.”

Pisca’s evaluation was also high, and… at those words, she lifted her head and grinned with obvious pleasure.

I thought another one of Pisca’s defining traits was that she adapted to situations faster than any of the other three.

Pisca’s greatest weakness was not, like me, her lack of close-combat ability… but something far more dangerously severe: her low durability.

Despite appearances, I was quite sturdy, so I could withstand magical battles with other Devils and exchanges of heavy bombardment, but Pisca would have difficulty surviving even that.

Her best approach would probably be to hide while locating the enemy, fire and relocate before hiding again like a sniper, or perhaps ride Bella and serve as a ranged attacker from her back.

“Lastly, Anis may fairly be called a rare kind of Devil. The fact that she could assume a humanoid form while still so weak likely came from the strong attachment you felt toward her when you created her, but separately from that, her aptitude for movement and teleportation is extraordinary. At this point, it would be more accurate to call it an inherent trait of her existence as a Devil. Once she develops, she should be able to travel freely between worlds while bringing companions with her, even without being summoned.”

Powerful Devil Kings like the old man and Grazen could travel from their own Demon Realms into other worlds, but at present, I still lacked the power to do that.

Anis, however, apparently possessed the potential to travel between worlds even while having far less power than I did.

I was honestly a little surprised by how covetously Grazen looked at Anis.

Apparently, for a Devil King like Grazen who commanded an army, possessing a Devil with transportation abilities meant he could organize a detached force separate from the main army he personally led.

During wars with other Devil Kings or invasions of other Demon Realms, the existence of such a detached unit apparently provided a tremendous advantage.

Of course, that had absolutely nothing to do with me right now.

In the future, it might be best to have Anis travel between worlds doing business and gathering whatever supplies this Demon Realm needed.

Incidentally, Grazen said Anis’s other aptitudes were around average.

“Now then, as you can see, all of my friend’s companions possess extremely specialized talents. There is no doubt they are excellent, but until they develop to a certain degree, there will be occasions when earning payment alone proves difficult for them.”

I nodded at Grazen’s words.

For example, if Bella were summoned as a bodyguard, she would fulfill that role without any trouble.

But if Pisca were the one summoned under those circumstances, carrying out the requested role would probably be somewhat difficult for her.

The reverse was true as well. If they were summoned to win the heart of someone of the opposite sex, Pisca would probably handle it well, while Bella was clearly unsuited to the task no matter how you looked at it.

“Of course, with only this many people, you may continue making use of my dispatch system just as you have. But if you intend to command a full-fledged army of your own one day, then you will need to begin building the framework for it, even if only little by little.”

By “framework,” Grazen apparently meant not only a method for assigning the most suitable Devil to each summoning, but also ways to make summoners choose his faction more frequently, as well as systems for handling the payment earned through contracts.

Apparently, many Devil Kings collected a portion of the payment their subordinates earned and allowed them to do as they pleased with the rest.

But under that system, Devils who were currently weak but possessed unusual talents found it difficult to develop.

For that reason, Grazen’s army collected everything first and then redistributed it according to each Devil’s evaluation, almost like paying a salary.

Naturally, that system had its drawbacks as well. First, someone was needed to manage all of the collected payment, and from the perspective of the Devils who were the primary earners, their own share became smaller, so resentment would inevitably build up.

Grazen’s organization eased that dissatisfaction through his own charisma and by securing such an abundance of summoning destinations that they practically lacked the manpower to fill them all… but naturally, I could not imitate that.

So I would need to begin searching little by little for a method that suited me.

“Otherwise, the girls who chose you and followed you here will never be properly rewarded. Though personally, I believe a matter of that degree will be child’s play for my friend.”

Grazen’s opinion of me remained strangely high as ever, but he was right.

Bella, Pisca, and Anis—the three whom I had turned into Devils—their futures would be decided by my hands.

That said, it was not something that needed to be solved immediately, so for now, I would accept Grazen’s kindness, continue taking dispatched summonings, and think things through at my own pace.