I am a merchant.

　Moreover, I am a merchant of the demon race.

　Our Pandemonium Chamber of Commerce is a long-established business that has been in business for more than twenty generations.
　Of course, we are the most powerful in the demon kingdom, and we take pride in the fact that we handle all kinds of products distributed in the demon kingdom.

　This is why I, Shaks, the 24th president of the Pandemonium Merchant Association, is one of the few people who have the honor of being a merchant for the Demon King.
　Including me, there are more than a handful of merchants who receive orders directly from the Demon King, the ruler of the Demon Kingdom.

　Now that the Demon King has defeated the Human Nation and has become King of the Earth, he will be able to expand into the distribution network of the previously unexplored Human Nation, and his profits will continue to grow.

　The future of our trade association and the demon kingdom will be smooth sailing.
　It was just when it seemed like that.

　I received a summons....

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　* * * *.

　I can't stop sweating from the tension.
　After all, it's the First Demon Queen Astareth who's standing right in front of me right now.

　She is the person of the moment, a person with a great momentum.

　Originally, as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army, she had a strong presence in the military and excelled in both performance and ability.
　For a while, he was defeated in a political battle and was thrown out, but during his seclusion, he married the Demon King, returned as the Demon Queen, and made a splendid comeback.

　She also made a clear contribution to the war against humanity, the biggest battle in recent years.

　Now, if she can quickly conceive a son with the Demon King and give birth to a son, her prosperity will be immovable.

　In short, Astareth-sama is someone you have to pay as much attention to as the Demon King, maybe even more so.
　To the Demon King's purveyors, the family of the Demon King is also an important customer who gives orders to him.
　If they were banned for displeasing him, it could cause the business community to fall into disrepute.

''Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Demon Queen, it is with great pleasure that I am granted an audience with you...!
''Don't be so hard. I'm the one who should have been able to get this done right after the inauguration of the Demon Queen, but I've been disappointed that the reformation and the invasion of humanity hadn't allowed us to delay it until today. I'm sure she must have been very impatient. Forgive me.
No, sir.

　That's right.
　To tell the truth, this is the first time I'm going to have an audience with the Demon Queen, and this is the first time I'm going to overlook her business.

　That's why I'm nervous.

　It's always more annoying to have a preference for women than men. We don't know what kind of orders our new queen, who has been given the right to live and die for us, will have in store for us.

　Of course, there was business even when she was the Fourth Heavenly King, but she was in charge of different things back then, and we don't know how gaining power will change a person.

　Please, I can only hope that he is a powerful man who is easy to do business with.

''Wha........Our Pandemonium Trading Company has served as the Demon King's family's purveyor for generations. Whatever the Demon King's family desires, we are ready to search to the ends of the earth to provide you with whatever you need.

　Anyway, sales pitches. Just keep on selling.

"I'd be happy if you could offer me anything from trivial everyday objects to unique treasures. As a merchant of the demon tribe, I will never disappoint the Demon Queen...!
Well I'll get right to it, but I need you to do one thing for me.
'By all means!　What can I get for you, sir?　A dress?　Jewelry?　In fact, I've taken the liberty of offering some items that would suit the Demon Queen...!
'No, that's not what I meant. I've got my clothes in time.
That's right...!

　Crap!
　It's true.

　This Demon Queen Astares owns a truly magnificent dress.

　All the dresses she has shown in public have been wonderfully designed and have made an impact in the world of demon clothing.
　Even though we are in the same industry as you, we were shocked that we had no information about where the Demon Queen bought those beautiful dresses from.

　Could it be that a new merchant force that we don't know about is approaching the Demon King's family?
　If that's the case, our Pandemonium Chamber of Commerce, the demon kingdom's merchant industry, is in unprecedented danger of being kicked off the top spot!

　This time, as she is pregnant with the Queen, we will be offering you a maternity dress that will look great even with her growing belly!　I was so enthusiastic about it.

　The demon queen was already wearing that kind of clothes.
　Moreover, the sophisticated design of her maternity dress, the fine fabric, the reliable tailoring!
　Even I, who take pride in being the best merchant in the Demon Kingdom, don't have the confidence to prepare such a high-level item.
　''Total defeat!

　Where did the queen get this good stuff?

All I ask of you is to act as my go-between.
You're a middleman, aren't you?

　What do you want, not to buy, but to sell?

　It's not that unusual to receive such requests.
　In the past, in order to raise money for the war effort, they would sell the treasures that the Demon King had in his possession to raise money for the war effort, as our ancestors have done in the past.

　But.....

I don't know if that's an accurate description, as I'm not much of a businessman, but I'd like you to sell the goods for someone else. How about a fifty-fifty split of the profit between him and you?
"Whatever the queen wishes, I will do my best, but I don't know what to do until I see the goods...

　It's the store's credibility that's at stake if you sell out a bad one.

　We should do our best to keep the Demon Queen in a good mood, but is it necessary now?　The courage to say no.

Good point. I want you to sell me the clothes.
Clothes?
'I have a special relationship with someone who will tailor her clothes directly for me. I wanted to make sure that her work was in the hands of someone other than me.
Your Majesty's clothing?
Yes, I'm wearing a pregnancy gown made by her.
Yes, sir.

　A quick decision.
　A merchant could only survive if he could see the opportunities and be smart.

　I didn't know that the Queen's clothes were one of a kind, made by her designer.
　So you can't guess the purchase route then!

　With the peace of mind of knowing that there is no longer a possibility of new competitors entering the market & the expectation of dealing with a very good product, my merchant heart is pounding animal!

Let me be the go-between for you!　I'll sell it to you at the highest possible price and show you!
Oh, yeah?　You don't have to take it too hard...?
Well, first things first!　We'd like to meet the designer in person.　If possible, sign an exclusive contract on the spot!
''Out of the blue?''

　I was too excited to notice that the Demon Queen was donating to me at the time.

　Because my intuition was screaming at me.
　This product will definitely sell.

　That the clothes tailored by this mysterious designer would create a whirlwind in the fashion world of the demon kingdom!
　You can chew on the profits at the center of that vortex. What could be such a delicious story for a merchant!
　No, no!

　To the new profits of the new era that the Devil's Land welcomes.
　Our trade association will continue to bite!