These Demons Do it for Free-Chapter 94

**“The eldest daughter, secluded deep in the Abyss, is out of the question.”**

Bringing her back to the city would be a monumental task, even if they knew where to find her. And it was uncertain whether she’d even be interested in the throne if they did. It was far safer to rely on Fiona, the second daughter, who was already in the city.

That’s what most people would think.

**“Now I have even more to think about.”**

Meeting Valen was supposed to clarify things and narrow down my path forward, but it only ended up complicating things further.

**“But it’s better this way.”**

Consider it a form of inoculation.

If I had been thrown into the Grand Duke succession dispute with no prior knowledge, I’d be completely blindsided. Avoiding involvement wasn’t an option—I’d already established quite a strong connection with Fiona.

And I’d continue to need that connection in the future.

**“It’s not an immediate issue anyway. The Grand Duke is still alive. Right now, my main concern should be the Abyss worshippers.”**

Especially the Cult of Destruction.

I might not pose a direct threat to them just yet, but as a wildcard, I am a potential risk.

The Cult’s unique ability to manipulate space—crossing dimensions—is something I’d disrupted by sealing off a shortcut. They would have likely guessed by now that I had some means of blocking their movement, making me a target to eliminate first if they ever felt their advantage was threatened.

**“To prepare for that, I need two things.”**

First, I need to increase my own power, and second, I need a group willing to stand by me against their collective might.

Viola’s advice was to focus on the latter. She judged Telema Faction too weak to face the Cult, especially given that even Master-level explorers struggled against the Cult’s leaders, like the professor.

So I need a group with even stronger members.

**“I have three options.”**

The Frontier Guild, where I have the strongest connections; the Enigma Guild, who recently approached me with a recruitment offer; and finally, the city’s official forces, if I decide to fully align with Fiona and form a closer bond with her family.

“Ah... my head hurts.”

“What does?”

“Huh?”

The muttered words had slipped out, and I hadn’t expected anyone to respond.

I let my guard down.

Just as I was preparing to defend myself, I stopped mid-motion, recognizing the person who had spoken.

“...Alejandra?”

“It’s been a while.”

She smiled at me with that familiar, relaxed grin.

---

“You still carry that around?”

“This? Yeah.”

I held up Axis as she gestured toward it.

“You know, it’s essential.”

“Hmm, true. That’s at least an A-rank artifact. If you had customized it for control rather than functionality, it might’ve even reached S-rank. The only downside is its low output, but it’s spatial-based.”

“...I’m grateful for it.”

I meant it. The more I used Axis, the more I realized just how well it was crafted.

“I didn’t mention it to fish for gratitude, but I’ll take it,” Alejandra replied playfully, chuckling as she picked up her drink—one I had bought for her, of course.

“So, did you come looking for me?”

“Hm? No.”

She looked slightly surprised, smiling wryly as she raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve gotten a bit full of yourself, haven’t you?”

“Isn’t it too much of a coincidence to be random?”

“What do you mean?”

“Even though it’s the same district, the Alexandria Faction is in the inner city. You wouldn’t have a reason to come to the outer sector.”

“I had some business here.”

She twirled a teaspoon between her fingers, clearly indicating she wasn’t going to explain any further.

“I’m not here to interrogate you.”

“I know. So? What was all that about earlier?”

Curiosity. She’d avoided revealing anything personal, yet here she was, wanting me to satisfy her curiosity.

For some reason, her unchanged mannerisms were oddly comforting. In fact, her personality made her feel like someone I could trust with secrets.

I summarized the situation briefly.

As I finished, Alejandra clinked her teaspoon against her glass with a sharp, *ting*, as if signaling the end of her thoughts.

“So, one: you’re worried about Fiona due to the succession conflict. Two: you’re worried the Cult of Destruction will target you because of your magic.”

It was a concise summary, but it was accurate. I nodded, and Alejandra tilted her head, almost as if confused.

“Do you really need to worry about that?”

“...What?”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“It hasn’t even happened yet. Is there any point in worrying about something that might not happen?”

True to her hedonistic nature, living only in the present. Perhaps I had chosen the wrong person for advice.

“Anyway, that’s what I think. The first issue isn’t worth worrying about, and as for the second, just join the Frontier Guild. I wouldn’t recommend Enigma. They may call themselves a guild, but they’re individualistic. They’d retaliate if attacked, but they won’t stick by you.”

“Frontier Guild... they’re a bit... I don’t know, unbalanced? I turned down their offer initially to avoid conflicts with my fellow trainees, and it feels wrong to join now just because I’m in a tough spot. Plus, being in a guild means following their rules...”

Alejandra shrugged indifferently.

“A privileged problem.”

She was right; I had no rebuttal.

Wanting the protection of an organization but not wanting to abide by its rules was the height of cherry-picking.

As I wrestled with a faint sense of self-reproach, Alejandra’s next words struck me.

“In that case... wouldn’t it be better to make your own?”

Huh?

---

The solution was simple.

If I was lacking in power, I’d just have to gather more.

An inevitable succession dispute? If I had enough strength, I could weather that. Should it come to actual conflict, might would be the only true legitimacy. The same applied to the Cult of Destruction.

The real issue boiled down to one thing.

“So, I’m going to form a guild.”

“Suddenly?”

“A guild?”

Ray and Leif blinked at me with wide eyes, reacting to my guild announcement with mild shock.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious.”

“Uh... Roman, I’m genuinely asking because I don’t get it. We don’t even meet the guild formation requirements.”

I never thought the day would come when Ray would doubt my intelligence.

But she was right. We didn’t currently meet the requirements to form a guild.

“Guild formation requirements. First, a minimum of eight members. Second, the leader must be a Senior explorer or higher. Third, a guild deposit of one million Rupe must be submitted to the Alliance. Sound right?”

“We can only fulfill the last one, and even that would be... well, practically everything we’ve got.”

The three of us—Ray, Leif, and I—had shared our financial status. The only reason Leif said “practically” was that one of us might have some hidden funds.

“The first requirement is easy. We just bring in our peers.”

“True. Dual affiliation is forbidden for wizards in different factions, but faction and guild dual affiliation is allowed.”

“Then... the guild leader?”

“If you’re not the leader, your peer strategy won’t work. They’d only come for you. I mean, we’re talking about the Alexandria Trio here. They wouldn’t budge even if Fiona or Arthur asked them.”

“I know.”

The guild leader had to be me.

But the Alliance requires guild leaders to be Senior-ranked explorers.

So, I’d just have to rank up.

If I wanted to venture deeper, promotion was essential anyway.

We’d already reached the limit of the second layer for Novices. To go further, I’d need to either meet the requirements for a temporary permit, sneak down through a hidden path, or rank up to extend my limits.

Nothing would change.

“I’m going to take the Senior promotion exam.”