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After the unification of the Demon Realm, if there was no way to force Satan, nothing had really changed.

‘The biggest problem is that he can come anytime he wants.’

The Dimensional Stones hidden throughout the Demon Realm and the Magic Circles that enable dimensional travel.

If those two things can’t be eliminated, the Demon Race could attack at any time.

It feels like North and South Korea—not an end to the war, just a ceasefire.

“I’ll assume I can trust you for now.”

“Whether you trust me or not is up to you. I can’t force it.”

It feels like he’s scratching at my nerves or mocking me, but his tone and attitude are impossibly gentle.

I can see why Jeong Gyeoul calls him the Best Personality in the Demon Realm.

But that kind of attitude makes him a tough opponent in business terms.

You can’t read his intentions, and you can’t provoke him to lose his rationality.

Park Seol-hwa, who was conversing with Satan, shook her head.

“If you have no intention of invading the Middle Realm, why not gather all the Dimensional Stones across the Demon Realm, leave just one for our return, and destroy the rest?”

“…That’s impossible.”

“Your stance has changed. I heard the Dimensional Stones aren’t used as resources, and their only function is to activate the Dimensional Magic Circles. If you can’t give them up, I can only assume there’s another reason.”

As soon as Satan answered, I knew it was coming and fired back.

“Let me say it again, we’re currently at war with Belphegor’s forces. Once this war ends, Asmodeus, Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, and Baal Zebul will remain. It could take years, or even decades. If you wait until then, I’ll gladly join in destroying the Dimensional Stones.”

“…Wait until the Demon Realm is unified?”

“Travel across the entire Demon Realm to retrieve the Dimensional Stones? We’d have to send the entire Satan Army to search every corner of the continent. It’s absolutely impossible at this time.”

Every conversation ends up being about the war.

I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

‘I shouldn’t have met him like this. I should have prepared the cards needed for negotiations with Satan before sitting here.’

Park Seol-hwa had plenty of excuses too.

She never expected to go straight to Satan, and she didn’t think Jeong Gyeoul would act so recklessly.

Facing a slippery character like Satan in an unprepared situation was inevitable.

There was no way to force Satan.

“How about we do this instead?”

Jeong Gyeoul, who had been watching calmly, spoke up.

All eyes in the barracks turned to her.

“Let’s postpone the negotiations that aren’t going anywhere and eat first.”

“…”

Park Seol-hwa, who thought Jeong Gyeoul would come up with some brilliant plan, let out a disbelieving laugh.

Not just Park Seol-hwa, but everyone in the barracks felt the same.

“Alright… let’s eat first. I had a temporary barracks set up, so let’s drop off our stuff there. It looks too cluttered.”

“Ah, thank you. You really have a sense for these things.”

Satan shook his head and stood up, and the negotiations had to be paused.

Guided by Rachel, the group arrived at the barracks but didn’t head to the dining hall.

“…Gyeoul, what are you thinking?”

“Huh? I thought you’d understand, Seol-hwa unnie.”

“…”

“We revealed that we have a Prophet and hinted at a future where the Middle Realm is invaded.”

“Thanks to that, the Satan Army will be fully prepared for the invasion. Was leaking the Prophet a misstep?”

If they think it’s a surprise attack, maybe we can stop them.

But if they know a surprise attack won’t work and come fully prepared?

I can’t help but think we might not hold out.

“Even so, that’s a story for decades later. We’re here to stop it, so it doesn’t really matter.”

Park Seol-hwa frowned in frustration.

“There’s no way to stop it. Didn’t you hear Satan earlier? No matter what we ask, he’ll use the war as an excuse to avoid it.”

“Why are you trying to solve it by talking to Satan?”

“…”

Jeong Gyeoul’s playful expression changed.

It was the same look she had when fighting the Apostles of the Satan Church.

“Talking to Satan won’t work. He’ll just use the war as an excuse to avoid it, like you said. We can’t trust him if he says he won’t invade, and if he says he will, that’s a problem too. But that won’t happen. We’re not going to fight Satan right now. Neither side wants casualties. They’re at war, and we don’t want anyone on our side to die or get seriously hurt.”

“That’s what just happened.”

I felt frustrated as she listed the conversations in the barracks without giving the necessary answers.

It was similar to the way Park Seol-hwa talks to guild members in meetings.

‘…Is this how our guild members feel about me?’

Still looking at Park Seol-hwa as if she didn’t get it, she continued.

“So there’s no need to talk to Satan. We’re just throwing out bait. Whether it works or not doesn’t matter. That’s not the important part.”

“No need to talk to Satan… the conversations in the barracks were just bait? What could we gain by making him wary of us…?”

The expedition members all thought deeply about Jeong Gyeoul’s words, but nothing came to mind.

No matter how much they thought about it, there was no situation where making Satan wary would benefit them.

“No, it seems like everyone’s business sense has gone soft. Look, let’s say Ukraine and Russia go to war.”

“…Why would they go to war? That’s like North Korea nuking the US. Did Putin go senile?”

Jeong Ha-yul interrupted Jeong Gyeoul.

“…It’s just an example. Be quiet.”

“Alright, let’s hear it without interrupting.”

“Assume this war ends with Russia’s victory, and then Russia attacks South Korea. No objections. Anyway, what should South Korea do then?”

“Wow. Gyeoul, you’re good at this. That analogy was spot on. Want to join my guild?”

Park Seol-hwa applauded Jeong Gyeoul and invited her to join the guild.

The other expedition members still looked confused.

“…What is it? Don’t keep it to yourselves, explain it to us.”

“It’s simple. We help Ukraine.”

“…”

“If the war with Ukraine doesn’t end, they can’t turn their eyes to our country. Apply that to this situation? It becomes very simple. We help the other Lords so Satan can’t unify the Demon Realm. It doesn’t matter if one or two fall or die. There are seven Lords.”

Now all the expedition members understood Jeong Gyeoul’s plan.

“But Gyeoul, this plan was considered by our guild too, but it ultimately involves aiding in a war between nations. It was deemed impossible. We’d have to supply war materials and provide continuous economic and military support. Your plan can’t end there, right?”

In fact, this plan had already been proposed by Park Seol-hwa’s guild, as well as by the Taebaek and the Association.

It was quickly discarded due to the limitations of available resources and manpower.

“We can do it on our own. Don’t worry about the economic part, I have a lot of money in the Demon Realm. The rest is a bit of a scam, but…”

As Jeong Gyeoul continued explaining her plan, the group didn’t even think about heading to the dining hall.

Finally, after a while, Rachel came to the barracks, and they had to stop talking.

The expressions of the group leaving the barracks looked much more relaxed.

***

These frustrating people… How do people like this become guild leaders and top players?

When war breaks out, neighboring countries grow rapidly.

Just like how Japan, ruined in World War II, grew by feeding off Korea’s civil war.

“The guild and the Association discarded this plan because they didn’t know the tendencies of the seven Lords.”

“…The tendencies of the Lords?”

“Why do you think the Lords have those names? You’ve heard them before, right? The Seven Deadly Sins.”

“Yeah. Go on.”

Hayan rolled her eyes, as if she was the only one who didn’t know, but it seemed a bit awkward to ask.

She might go dark again. I’ll tell her later.

‘This is harder than a cookie dough.’

Pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth.

The Lords bear the names of demons corresponding to the Seven Deadly Sins.

And they inherited those tendencies.

It’s a bit odd that Satan embodies wrath, but…

You could say this war is the result of Satan’s wrath bursting out. Whatever.

“Lucifer is literally prideful. He probably doesn’t care about the Satan Army. He thinks he’s practically a god.”

Just leave him be, whether he joins the war or not.

It’s fine if he joins, and fine if he doesn’t.

“But don’t worry, he’s just an outcast.”

Lucifer can be left alone, and now it’s time for the most important one in my plan.

“We need to get Mammon involved in the war between Belphegor’s forces and the Satan Army. Naturally, Mammon’s army will also try to unify the Demon Realm and invade neighboring countries. Since Satan broke the agreement between the Lords, any movement from the other Lords will be met with suspicion.”

“Mammon… that’s greed, right?”

“Right. He’s incredibly greedy. If we use the wealth Heukgu and Heukrang have gathered, we can move Mammon.”

Maybe Mammon is already moving.

I still find it strange that Asmodeus’s forces held out against Satan’s.

If we’re lucky, Mammon might do the work for us.

The Satan Army, Belphegor’s forces, and Asmodeus’s forces are located in the southern part of the continent.

The other Lords are probably just watching, wondering if they should join the war or not.

If Asmodeus or Belphegor’s forces had collapsed quickly, the Lords in the central and northern parts might have formed an anti-Satan alliance, but the war is dragging on longer than expected.

They’re probably just watching, sucking their thumbs.

But if Mammon starts moving, Leviathan and Baal Zebul will have to move too.

Mammon is in the center of the continent.

Above him are Leviathan, Baal Zebul, and Lucifer.

Below him are Asmodeus, Satan, and Belphegor.

In the end, Mammon is the key to my plan.

 

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