"So what? Say that again."
At my question, Riorel Phenex cleared his throat to shake off his tension and opened his mouth again.
His expression was more serious than ever.
"Will you become a Devil?"
Well, this is...
I was momentarily speechless at the unexpected suggestion.
"You mean become a Reincarnated Devil or something?"
"That is not it. Recently, stories about you have reached the higher-ups. I tried to cover it up as much as possible... but since you wander around so freely..."
Riorel trailed off.
Ah, that's my fault.
My hobby lately has been gourmet hunting, wandering around the Underworld to eat delicious food, so it seems I was eventually caught.
"But what does that have to do with becoming a Devil?"
"To be precise, it is closer to belonging to the Devil faction rather than turning into a Devil yourself."
"Hmm? That's also unexpected."
There shouldn't be that many people in Devil society with a mindset as open as Riorel's.
Besides, there are the Old Satan Faction members who clearly hate me, yet they want to accept me?
"I was puzzled at first too, but I suspect they concluded that even if all the current Devils fought together, they could not defeat you."
"That... was a wiser judgment than I expected."
"After all, there are rumors that you are an immortal monster that cannot be killed. Furthermore, the Great King of the House of Bael personally saw you during the Great War."
"Ah, right. That happened."
Then it makes sense.
If it's someone who witnessed my power firsthand in that hellish battlefield back then.
It isn't impossible to understand why they would make such an offer.
Aside from that, a Devil...
I had thought about creating my own faction later, but I didn't expect an offer to come in this way.
It's not a bad story.
The Devil faction is a decent option.
Based on the original story, the Fallen Angel faction would be the best, but I have a grudge to settle with Azazel, so they are out.
The Angel faction, which would never accept me, is also out.
Joining other mythology factions is possible, but I'm not particularly drawn to them.
In that case, the Devil faction, where my disciple is, is actually better.
"So, what can you give me?"
"First, a noble title equivalent to a Duke, a territory, and this..."
Riorel carefully held out a black box.
When I opened the box, inside was a set of Evil Pieces in the shape of chess pieces and a bead glowing with a brilliant yet bewitching light.
I felt a familiar yet powerful energy from the bead.
"This is?"
"It is a Dragon Orb."
Oh...
So this is a Dragon Orb.
The item from myths that allows an Imugi—a lesser dragon—to finally become a true Dragon after training for a thousand years upon obtaining it.
Anyway, it's a tremendous treasure.
"Hmm... I'm torn..."
It's all good, but Devils... Devils...
Actually, these bastards are the root of most incidents in the original story.
There is no guarantee they won't try to pull something on me.
No, they definitely will.
But if they do, I can just tear through their schemes with power.
"Fine. I accept. But I have a condition."
And so, I came to belong to the Devil faction.