--Varvatos.

　I chose Barbados after much deliberation.

　Belial is specialized in summoning. Then he would have sacrificed something to gain the ability to call it summoning.

　The advantage of being able to breed daemons is great, but there are other ways to get daemons under their control.

　Coincidentally, Demon King Kaoru's words, ''General-purpose goods and unique goods.......there's a gap in value between them that cannot be filled,'' were the deciding factor in my decision.

　I sent an email to Demon King Kaoru.

　As a result, the contents of the exchange--

　Theon's side has 180 orichalcons.
　　　　　　Growlage Sword
Tulsos

　20 Demon Kings on the Kaoru side.
　　　　　　Demon Lord 20
　　　　　　Demon Butler, 20 of them.
　　　　　　Varvatos

　It became.

　There's a reason why the exchange rate isn't one-for-one.

　In order to take on 100 subordinates, 100 "Contracts" - to become a family member - is required.

　It's not very much, but I can't spend that much CP. And just when I was wondering what to do, Kanon told me........

When you have a family member under your command, the members of that family are also under your command.

　After consulting with Demon King Kaoru, he said, "If you're going to give me your family, you're going to have to change the rate! and after discussion, the rate was set at three items per demon.　

　The Demon King had a high LP, and it was possible to have a maximum of five of them under its control. With this, the number of times the 《Contract》 was greatly reduced to 12.

　And on the day when all the negotiations were over - the first exchange ceremony was to take place in my controlled territory.


　　◆


　The place where the exchange ceremony will take place is the office on the top floor of the largest building overlooking the residential section of the Astor Empire. This is the room where Ms. Tamura usually resides.

　Only today is it specially connected to the 【Transition Device】 that has been installed by the entrance of the dominant area.

　I've prepared for this. All that was left was to wait for Demon King Kaoru.

　About 10 minutes before the appointed time. An alert sounded from my smartphone, announcing the invasion - Demon King Kaoru's arrival.

　When I checked my smartphone, I saw a thin man wearing a triangular hat at the entrance of the control area. And the figure of Demon King Kaoru with 10 arc-demons in tow is projected on the screen.

　I used the 【Transition Device】 to move to Demon King Kaoru's place.

''Welcome, Demon King Kaoru.''
Thank you for having me.

　As I bowed my head ostentatiously, Demon King Kaoru replied with a childish smile.

"In the meantime, I've prepared a formal place to conduct the exchange ceremony, but what do you want to do?

　I refused Demon King Kaoru's offer last time and negotiated with him at the entrance of the dominion territory. If that's what Demon King Kaoru wants, he'll have no choice but to listen.



　--!

　I'm astonished when Demon King Kaoru says simply.

''Are you sure?''
Hmm?　You're not going to trick me or anything, are you?
Of course not, but...
'Then it's fine. You know what Theon told me?　He said trust is built up gradually. I guess this is a step in that direction.
I'll repay Kaoru's trust with trust, too.
By the way, do you think we should leave our weapons with them?
No, that won't be necessary. Then I'll show you around.

　I took Demon King Kaoru and his attendant along with me and used the [Transference Device] to transfer.

''Huh?　Wow..........

　Looking at the destination of the transfer - the living quarters that can be seen from the window of the office, Demon King Kaoru exclaims.

''Hm?　Are there no people in Kaol's dominion territory?
''No, we have people but they're not this big........ You see, bringing the people to their knees is a troublesome habit and not very tasty.

　Although Kaoru has a black-hearted impression of the Demon King, he seems to be unusually straightforward now.

"I'm calling myself a country, after all.
'I see. This is a country, for sure.
We're still at the town level in terms of size, though.
'Maybe I'll build a town when I get back too.... By the way, is there any merit to it?
'Advantages...... It will be easier to rule in the future if it is widely known that our people are living happily ever after. And later, the quality of the food has improved.
'What?　Does Zion eat food?
'Don't eat when you can afford it. Well, it's mainly your boys who are happy with the quality of the food.
I've always thought of Theon as a cold-hearted person, but do you really care for his men?
I don't know.

　I'm proud to say that I treat my men and people better than the average demon king, but I think of my men......................when asked, I have ulterior motives, so it was hard to answer.

''By the way, what about those cronies?''

　I ask, shifting my gaze to the one man the Demon King Kaoru brought with him and the ten arc-demons.

　The male is probably Barbados. However, I don't understand the point of bringing an arc-demon with me. They are unapproachable to be called guards.

''I'll introduce you to him. He is - Barbatos. He's the man I'm proud to hand over to Theon this time.
Master Theon, it's nice to meet you. My name is Varvatos.

　The slender man wearing a triangular hat introduced by the Demon King Kaoru - Barbados - hangs his head reverently.

''I'm Theon. It's a pleasure to meet you. So the rest of the Lesser Demons are your guards?
No. They're a gift from me. A token of my affection?
Okay. Thanks for your consideration.

　Ten Lesser Demons........ I checked my inventory and took out a piece of clothing - a demon crystal robe - and presented it to Demon King Kaoru.

That's a gesture of affection from me.
'Thanks!　Is this a sign of dearness?　Or is it because you don't want to owe me anything?
You can take it as you will.

　The robe of the magic crystal is a robe that can be created when the smelting has grown to A rank. As far as performance was concerned, it wasn't much different from the unique items that could be created at B rank.

''That's right!　I'll be a Zion impersonator too, but I named my country after it!
"Oh...
If we're going to form an alliance, shouldn't there be a name for the country?
So what's your country?
Kaga Province.
You named it after a place.
I had a hard time deciding on Komatsu, but Kaga is cooler, right?

　Demon King Kaoru speaks happily.

''Well then, let's make an alliance. The alliance will be broadcast live to the whole world.
That's good. Do you think I'm going to be a celebrity now?
I don't know.

　Me and Demon King Kaoru smiled at each other.

''Sion-sama, Demon King Kaoru-sama, are you ready?''

　Tusk, who I entrusted with the live feed, calls out to me. Me and Demon King Kaoru look at each other and nod.

''Let's go then!　3.2.1.......cue!

　A red light lit up on the video camera Tusk held in his hand.

''Nice to meet you. All human beings and Demon Kings of the world. My name is Demon King Theon. I'm the Demon King who controls a part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan.
Nice to meet you. Wow I'm really nervous. My name is Kaoru. I'm the demon king who controls a part of Ishikawa prefecture in Japan.
"I have something to report to you all today. Today in my dominion-- the Astor Empire and--
My dominion - the Kaga Nation forms an alliance.
The name of the alliance is The Ishikawa Alliance!　Will this alliance work....
Or will it fail again...
I wanted everyone to be able to judge the fate of the Ishikawa Alliance, and that's why I've decided to deliver this message.
I'm excited to see what happens!
Well, I'd better be off.

　When I lowered my hand, the red light that indicated the recording went out.

　This was probably the world's first alliance between two demon kings - the "Ishikawa Alliance".