Frontline (1)

[Amadeus's Castle]

I was currently in a room with the two other contractors that were actually glaring at me for no apparent reason.

One of them was a giant that was similar to Kasmor, but this one had two horns on his head while also having demonic-looking eyes. He had black hair and wore an (S-) ranked armor that I had appraised previously.

The other one was a lizard-looking humanoid, he looked like an arrogant little prick and had black hair, a tail, two horns, and red eyes. He was a magician similar to me, but he wore a robe, instead of a suit like me.

Although (A) ranked equipment is overall always good, and it is extremely powerful, there is a massive change in power with the increasing ranks of the artifacts, meaning that the giant who had an (S-) ranked equipment was probably the stronger of the two, although they were both ranked at (B+).

The room was silent with all three of us sitting at a large rectangular table, it was only moments after that Amadeus finally arrived.

We all stood up, gave our greetings and he then sat down at the main seat of the table.

He explained a simple plan, of us all going to the frontline, with me going to appraise artifacts while the other two will go there to get experience in war.

He ended the meeting and we headed out to the castle's main entrance where a lot of carriages were waiting for us.

I could see a huge army of demons and contractors, demons were always humanoid creatures, either looking like humans, elves, minotaurs, and more while having a black or red body color. While contractors looked the same, the main difference between contractors and demons is that contractors don't have horns or have black or red-colored skin.

Me and the other two, have horns not because we are strong but because Amadeus is strong, the only way for contractors to have horns is to be a contractor from a duke like Amadeus or the demon lord.

But, even if other demons saw us with our horns, they wouldn't really think of us as demons, as they can identify that the demonic energy inside of us, belongs to Amadeus. Other races might think so, but not the demons.

Although there is another way of getting horns, the reason none of these contractors have them is that the only way to get them is after using demonification, which will pretty much turn you into a demon with a red or black body and give you horns but will basically kill you after around like 3 hours from the start of it.

Wilham used this against the protagonist and another contractor used it during the first attack, even if the main characters didn't kill them, both of them would have died.

I was called and I got on a carriage together with the other two contractors and we started to move.

Although Amadeus could go faster if he wished to, he needs to make sure to bring an army to fight the Union.

Although it is pretty much to keep appearances or something like that.

...

I hadn't really noticed or checked before but there were actually many towns surrounding Amadeus's castle, although they were like 40 minutes away by carriage.

We were advancing through the many cities and also passed the castle of another duke. The demon kingdom, and the human kingdom, had similar situated, strategic points, with the human realm having the 3 households.

While the demon realm had 3 dukes, and all of them were situated similarly to the humans, one castle on the human front, one on the Union's front, and one between the two fronts.

Amadeus's castle was actually on the human front and we had already passed the castle between the two fronts so now we are heading deeper into the east with the Union.

It was almost after 16 hours in the carriage that we had finally arrived at a castle.

The castle was the same size as Amadeus's one, and I could also see a young girl with a red kimono, waiting at the front entrance, but of course, she had 3 horns, red eyes, red skin, and black hair, which was a sign of demons and contractors but since it was a normal hair color for all races no one really suspects someone of being a demon just for their hair color, although it was not like that in the past of this world.

She greeted Amadeus, before finally landing her eyes on me, and at last, I was finally taller than someone, although she was still around my size.

"You must be the little appraiser", She said in a calming voice.

I bowed down just like I would with Amadeus and said, "That is correct"

She smiled and said, "That's great, I have a task for you to do right now, you see"

I looked up at her and turned on [Truth Eyes], although I had already guessed, she was indeed a duke.

[(SS-] Yuki-onna], She was a character named after a Japanese demon that used ice, and just like one would think, she used ice attacks on her opponents.

The novel didn't really describe her deeply and only mentioned that she held the front against the Union until she was killed by the protagonist after the alliance with the humans and the Union.

Although she was indeed a duke, I had to decline the work because as a contractor of Amadeus, so I need to act as if I would only take orders from him.

"I apologize, madam, but I should only follow the orders of my lord", I said respectfully, but she didn't take it that way.

I could already feel a cold aura surrounding me that sent shivers down my back, it was then that I heard a deep voice.

"Do as she tells you too", Said Amadeus.

"I understand, my lord"

With that, the cold aura disappeared and a smile appeared on her face.

She then told me to follow her, which I did, although she walked really slowly.

After around 10 minutes of walking, we finally reached a room and we went inside, I could see it was an armory just from the many artifacts and clothes around the room.

"I would like you to appraise some items for me", She said while grabbing a white fox mask, that you would find in Japan. It had two black fox-like eyes, a crescent red moon on the forehead, and a red line below the eyes.

She handed it to me, and I pretended to analyze it while holding it in the air.

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[(S+) Blood Fox Mask]

-(Lies of Truth): Makes your lies more believable to others.

-(Friendly): When used, it makes the user look more friendly and welcoming.

-(Dark Side): Can pacify and hide your negative emotions such as killing intent and more.

-((SS) Intelligence): If not used by someone who has the potential to have SS ranked intelligence, it will make the user lose intelligence over time.

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I explained to her about the (SS) ranked requirement and a look of understanding came to her face, almost as if she confirmed her doubts.

I also explained the other effects and she seemed to be disappointed.

Well, it is understandable though, an item such as this only works well on demons that go and tempt other races into being contractors but Yuki is a commander that fights in the frontlines all year, meaning it is pretty much useless for her.

I also don't think she can wear it though, considering her reaction after finding out about the restriction.

After finishing that appraisal, she then guided me to a conference room, where I could see three demons, the giant and lizard contractor, and Amadeus.

The Amadeus side was all sitting on the left side of the table while the 3 demons were on the right side, so with that I sat on the left side while Yuki went and sat on the right side of the table.

The meeting started, and Yuki explained the situation of how the Union has become more aggressive, and how they have been attacking with more troops and their (SS) ranked commanders.

She explained that although it wasn't that bad with our 2 dukes fighting against them, it was obvious that the demons were getting pushed back by the Union.

She then explained a plan that has always been part of this world, and that is the pyramid formation for wars.

(SS) ranked individuals are in the center, then to its sides are (S) ranked individuals and that follows all the way to (D) rank.

There is a large space between the squadrons one could say and is so that the lower-ranked don't get affected by the higher-ranked fights and their powerful attacks.

Of course, she and Amadeus would be in the center but there was also Botis, a snake humanoid demon that focused on poisons, he is actually stronger amongst the three (SS) ranked dukes and is also the main reason the enemy has not completely destroyed the demons.

But then something caught me off guard.

"Your 3 contractors will also be joining the war, but I don't know their capabilities so it would be better for them to explain", Yuki said.

'wait me too?'

'Shouldn't I be considered a priceless member that shouldn't die no matter what?'