It's okay, just be more careful in your next life.

Chapter 11: It's Fine—Just Be More Careful in Your Next Life

Sword and Broken Sword Pavilion?

What a great name.

Leon had barely sat down in the tavern, setting his suitcase against his feet, when a waitress in a short skirt came trotting over with a tray in her arms and asked in a pleasant voice, "Sir, what would you like to drink..."

She abruptly fell silent halfway through her sentence, her attention completely stolen by that handsome face.

His features were sharply defined, his high nose slightly upturned. Beneath his subtly curled, near-black violet hair lay a pair of pitch-black eyes. Though he looked travel-worn, it did nothing to conceal the sharp edge that seemed to emanate from within him...

She occasionally encountered handsome men while working here, but a face this handsome—and so full of stories—was truly uncommon.

An Os Empire noble?

That pale skin suggested he spent most of his time living in a castle...

While the waitress stood there dazed, Leon had already skimmed through the menu and casually placed his order.

"A glass of honey water, and ten pieces of bread... If you have a bag, please give me one."

Hearing his order, the waitress quickly snapped back to her senses and replied warmly.

"Certainly! Oh, sir, we also offer rooms. If you haven't found somewhere to stay yet, you might consider staying with us."

Noticing the suitcase beside him, she took the opportunity to promote the tavern's rooms.

But staying here was still too risky for Leon.

He had heard of murderers returning to the scene of the crime, but never of one bold enough to rent a room next to the police station.

At this very moment, he was less than ten meters from the Adventurers' Guild, and everyone around him was an adventurer! These people might appear to hold the slightest bit of sympathy for the Demon Lord, but if they learned that the Demon Lord was sitting beside them, Leon was willing to bet he would already be lying on the floor.

As for why he had put himself in danger by sitting here, that was a long story.

A few hours earlier, he had stood on the Teleportation Array and crossed several time zones, flying directly from the Demon Capital in the far west to the northeastern coast of the Vortex Sea, in the center of the Os Continent.

Then something absolutely ridiculous happened. Leon had never expected the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Teleportation Array to be so unreliable. Even with the target marked as the labyrinth beneath Thunder City, it had tossed him straight onto the surface.

In any case, by the time he came to his senses, he was already standing in a small alley not far from here.

Grand Duke Campbell's parade happened to be passing nearby. When Leon met those sharp eyes, he felt as though his heart had stopped.

Fortunately, a Bronze-level necromancer was not particularly conspicuous.

And with everyone's attention drawn to the knights swaggering through the streets, no one noticed his arrival at all.

Otherwise, the knightly lords would not even have needed to act. In an instant, he would have been swallowed by the vast sea of ordinary citizens.

That said, the humans' reaction did confirm a suspicion Leon had held for a long time—

Namely, a mere Bronze-level necromancer would not arouse anyone's vigilance at all.

Having already come face-to-face with the Hero, he was confident that even if that old bastard pressed his nose against him and took a deep sniff, he would not detect the slightest trace of hell! Of course.

He would not deliberately go up and let someone sniff him, either.

The adventurers in the tavern soon noticed this unusual guest.

However, none of them associated him with a visitor from hell. Instead, they took him for some sort of noble, unconsciously lowering their voices as they whispered among themselves.

"Who's this guy?"

"Who the hell knows... An outsider, maybe? A guest of the Campbell Family?"

"Why would a guest of the Campbell Family be here? He's probably a guest of the mayor or the Andes Family..."

"What's he doing here?"

"Maybe he's posting a commission... Anyway, let's watch."

Leon, seated comfortably, paid no attention to their whispers or the probing gazes fixed on him.

A straight body feared no crooked shadow. He did not think these people could spot any flaw in him.

While they observed him, he was observing the adventurers as well.

Short swords, battle axes, bows, crossbows, and firearms... Their equipment looked rather ordinary, but they probably had no need for anything too fancy in the labyrinth.

"The situation on the surface isn't all that different from what the books described. Those firearms are probably Isaac IV's work, but they don't seem to pose much of a threat to the rule of the knightly lords?"

After all, this world possessed Extraordinary Power, and Extraordinary Power was attached to the soul, and indirectly to bloodlines as well... Objectively speaking, this system did indeed effectively suppress the progressive forces that should have emerged alongside firearms.

Of course, that was not the point.

He was a Demon Lord from hell. He had more important things to worry about.

"Come to think of it... Dragan the Demon Lord's Demon Lord Territory is probably far more complicated than the Ministry of Internal Affairs imagined."

As he looked at the honey water the waitress had brought over, Leon tried to sort through his thoughts.

The chances of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Teleportation Array malfunctioning were actually quite low. And the teleportation magic had not failed; he had indeed been sent here. Only the landing spot had been unexpected.

There was only one possibility.

Someone had erased the Teleportation Array inside the labyrinth!

And not only that!

That villainous bastard—or bastards—had deliberately drawn a new one in an alleyway in the surface city, just waiting for the newly arrived Demon Lord to land and black out on the spot.

As for the reason...

Did he even need to guess?

Only because he was too weak, and his landing had been uneventful. If the Ministry of Internal Affairs had sent over a Diamond-level demon, the moment it landed, it would probably have gotten its head held down and beaten until it shit itself!

"Tch... There's probably no hope of relying on these traitors to start a business. Better figure out how to make them draw more fire instead."

That worked too.

It saved him the trouble of testing those guys' loyalty. He could just beat them all to death with one stick! While Leon silently calculated in his heart, a group seated not far away had already set their sights on him.

Adventurers had always been a mixed bunch.

Some took jobs from the Adventurers' Guild during the day, then went to the Thieves' Guild on Underground Street at night to earn extra cash.

Although commissions obtained through legitimate channels were not easy to brush off, this place was, after all, right next door to the Adventurers' Guild—Sword and Broken Sword Pavilion.

Several burly, fierce-looking men exchanged glances before finally turning their eyes to the only female thief in their group, dressed in a little leather jacket.

Knowing what those dumb brutes were thinking, the woman rolled her eyes at her companions. Under the urging of several gazes, she twisted her way over to the seat beside the man with the suitcase, sat down as if they were old friends, and whistled at him.

"Hey, buddy, where do you usually make your money?"

She tugged her collar low, squeezing her not-so-generous breasts into a faint cleavage.

That trick probably worked well on men thinking with their crotches, but unfortunately, it still fell short compared to a Succubus.

Those few who had left through the door earlier were presumably her companions.

Leon set down his cup and put on a nervous yet deliberately composed expression, like someone visiting a place like this for the first time while stubbornly pretending to be a regular.

"Do I look like someone with a lot of money?"

The woman narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze drifted downward unconsciously and settled on the ring on his right hand.

Gold?

No idea whether it was gold-plated or solid gold... but that gemstone was clearly worth a fortune.

A trace of barely perceptible greed flashed through her eyes, but she moved her gaze away as if she did not care.

"Then you need a way to get rich?"

"You have one?"

"Of course I do."

The thief-like woman smiled and held out her right hand.

"Chris."

"Quinn."

Leon reached out and shook her hand. Just as he was about to pull away, he discovered that the woman had not let go. Instead, she lightly rubbed his palm with her index finger.

"Quinn? What a strange name. Are you from the Os Empire? Or from the Academic Federation in the north? By the way, your skin is really nice. No calluses... Let me guess, you're a mage?"

"Just Black Iron-level."

Leon "shyly" pulled his hand back.

His embarrassed appearance made Chris giggle. She reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Black Iron-level mages are pretty common around here. After all, anyone stronger either goes to the Academic Federation or works for a lord. Very few of them go out adventuring... Speaking of which, our team happens to be short a mage. Want to join us?"

Leon: "Your team?"

Chris: "Silver Scimitar. If you come here often, you should have heard our name."

Leon: "Is that name... famous?"

"Very, very famous. You could call us a strong team for exploring dungeons," Chris bragged shamelessly before suddenly lowering her voice and leaning close to his ear with a mysterious look. "Let me tell you a secret, but don't tell anyone else... Recently, we discovered a hidden passage in a dungeon. If nothing goes wrong, it should lead to Lord Demon Lord's treasury."

Leon looked at her in surprise.

"Really?"

"Of course it's real. Would big sister lie to you?" Chris laughed heartily and patted Leon's shoulder. "So? Since you know magic, how about joining us?"

"No problem! Please, you have to take me with you! Ah, wait a second, I'll pay the bill first—"

With a look of wild delight on his face, Leon sprang from his seat as though the promise of immense wealth had truly gone to his head.

Seeing the waitress approach, he remembered that he had not paid yet and immediately reached into his coat. But Chris, who had risen as well, beat him to it, giggling as she tossed the meal money and tip onto the tray in the waitress's hands.

"Big sister's treating you to this meal. Consider it a celebration for joining Silver Scimitar! When you get rich someday, make sure you don't forget big sister."

As she spoke, she casually turned her face aside and shot the obstructive waitress a vicious glare.

The waitress holding the tray turned pale, and her legs trembled involuntarily.

Although she wanted to warn that handsome young man that the girl sitting across from him was no good person, in the end, she yielded and lowered her head.

She was just an ordinary person.

Some matters were beyond her control.

Following behind Chris, Leon left the tavern with light steps, suitcase in hand.

It looked like these people could escort him into the labyrinth.

He had been worrying about finding a guide. Now, not only did he have guides, he even had temporary bodyguards! The clinking of glasses and lively chatter in the tavern never paused.

Watching the young man being led out, quite a few adventurers wore mocking expressions.

Poor guy. Silver Scimitar had actually set their sights on him.

But it was nothing much.

He just needed to remember to be more careful in his next life...