— — — — — —
Yolda watched her two companions already sinking into despair. She was completely overwhelmed.
"Um, um… can Kanna have a maid too?"
Kanna suddenly tugged on Kazuma's sleeve, blinking those big adorable eyes and speaking in a soft, sugary voice.
"Yeah! What about Kanna?"
Tohru slapped her palms together. She'd been so focused on Beel that she'd forgotten Kanna was still just a kid too.
Kazuma looked at Kanna — from her first puzzled look, to her dazed expression, until finally he placed a hand on her head.
"Don't worry. I'll keep things fair. Whatever Beel gets, Kanna gets too."
"Beel gets two, so you get two. Fair and square."
He really had overlooked Kanna earlier. But it wasn't entirely his fault — aside from mealtimes, when she came alive, she spent most of her time… well, eating. According to her, she was just "exploring the world with her mouth."
"I—I'll go convince them! They'll definitely agree!"
Yolda rushed off to persuade her teammates, repeating Hilda's earlier explanation.
Izabella and Satura eventually surrendered and signed dual contracts with Kazuma.
"Done. Let's head back."
Kazuma was ready to go rest. But after just a few steps, something hit him.
"Wait… Beel isn't back yet!"
"Those shadow soldiers have been out forever. Did something happen?"
He frowned and turned to Yolda. "Aren't you good at teleportation? Send me to wherever Beel is."
Seeing Kazuma's frown, Yolda snapped upright and immediately began using her power to track Beel's position, then teleported them.
...
Meanwhile, at the ruins of the school—
"Da dada... drada."
Baby Beel was lecturing the underling he'd just recruited. He stood proudly on top of the rubble, waving his tiny fists.
He looked like he was saying, 'See this? My dad smashed it with one punch. Pretty awesome, right?'
"Clap clap clap! Master Beel is amazing!"
Elim — Pillar General 5 in Behemoth's 34 Pillar Division — looked like a little loli only a few years old, drowning in an oversized witch outfit.
She sat below the rubble, clapping with absolute awe.
Baby Beel lifted his chin proudly. Yes, he was definitely amazing.
Just then, a dark vortex opened beside him, and Kazuma's group stepped out.
"Teleportation magic is seriously convenient."
Kazuma couldn't help sighing when Beel appeared right in front of him. He scooped the kid up in his arms.
"Come on, Beel. Time to go home."
"Dada." (Bring my underling too.)
Baby Beel pointed at Elim.
"Huh? You mean kill her?" Kazuma asked.
"Da da da" (No, no! That's my new underling!)
Baby Beel squirmed out of Kazuma's arms, hopped to the ground, and began reenacting what happened.
Kazuma watched him suddenly start "fighting" Elim, and Elim instantly collapsed with dramatic cooperation.
In the final scene, Baby Beel stood tall with a proud expression, while Elim gazed up at him in worship.
"Our Baby Master is incredible!" Hilda clapped happily.
"Dada~ Dada~" Baby Beel puffed up even more.
"I get it. So basically Baby Beel beat Elim, and then she decided to become his underling, right? But… how did you even become a pillar if you can't beat a baby?"
Kazuma eyed Elim. This loli definitely had some kind of background. She was a Pillar General after all.
"Magic—I can use magic! Very strong dark magic!" Knowing she was being underestimated, Elim quickly raised her wand.
"If you're so good at dark magic, why couldn't you beat Baby Beel?" Kazuma asked again.
"Because the human world barely has any mana! And I haven't signed a contract with a human, so I can't draw enough power!"
"My spells get super weak here…"
She lifted her wand and cast a dark flame spell. A tiny, tiny spark appeared in front of her.
"In the Demon World, I can summon flames this big!" She stretched her arms wide to demonstrate. "But here, I can only make this little speck."
"Da...DAH."
Baby Beel raised his hand and released a spark just slightly bigger than Elim's flame, then struck a quick martial arts pose.
"Now that I see this… Baby Beel might actually be pretty strong."
Kazuma thought about the tiny loli who'd dumped all her stats into magic. Yeah, it made sense. With that body type, if she said she'd invested points in strength, even a hobbit wouldn't believe her. Everything must've gone straight into magic.
"Little girl, that's not the way. As a mage, all you really need is a small number of spells. Then dump all remaining points into strength and speed. A battle mage is the true path."
Kazuma patted her head like a patient, world-weary mentor.
Elim nodded seriously. She was going to invest points into strength. She was going to get strong. She was going to dual-class.
"And you're from the 34 Pillars Division. Being Beel's underling is fine, right?" Kazuma asked.
"No problem. The leader and the others already got sent back to the Demon World. It'll take them a long time to rebuild their physical bodies."
"Until then, I'm basically on vacation. So serving the Master Beel is totally fine." Elim said obediently.
"Oh, resurrection? Alright kid, come explain to me exactly how resurrection works."
Kazuma smiled pleasantly. Off to the side, Hilda covered her face. She'd hoped they could avoid that topic, but trust this kid to spill everything to an enemy the moment she was asked.
Aren't you a pillar of the 34th Division? Why are you answering questions so honestly?
"When a demon dies in the human world, we don't actually die," Elim explained. "Our souls return to the river in the Demon World."
"Then we start regenerating a new body. It takes time, but we do revive."
Elim was a good kid with zero sense of danger. She answered everything without hesitation.
"I see… hahaha… I see… Next time I beat someone, I'll make sure to crush their soul too."
Kazuma's smile froze into something serious. He'd been careless. Humans stayed dead when you smashed the body, but demons could revive through their souls.
Kazuma updated his finishing tactics: after killing someone, burn the body, crush the bones, and then purify the soul.
"Alright. Contract time. Once you sign, you're one of us."
Kazuma sent her the invitation.
"Okay. All signed."
Elim completed the contract without fuss. A good underling always knows their role.
"Everything's settled then. It's not dawn yet, so let's head home. Yolda, open the way."
"Yes."
Yolda looked at Kazuma, then turned to Hilda. She locked onto the location based on Hilda's info and opened a portal.
"Teleportation is really convenient. By the way, Yolda, pick up some food for me later."
Kazuma was starting to find Yolda way more useful than Hilda.
"I want cake! And korokke! And also—"
Kanna raised her hand and started listing items.
"Dada w dada!"
Baby Beel raised his hand too and began placing his order.
"If teleportation's that handy, get me some stuff while you're at it," Tohru said. She could fly fast, sure, but as a dragon she also fully embraced the human art of not wanting to move.
It was like lying in bed with the light switch right beside your head but still refusing to reach for it.
"Yolda… rent the newest movie for me," Hilda added.
"Yes, yes, yes, I know."
Yolda suddenly felt like her future life was going to be miserable. But for Master En's safety, everything was worth it.
"Mm. What are you staring at? Keep staring and I'll beat you to death, old man."
Right before stepping through the portal, Kazuma turned to the distance and said that, then walked through.
---
The group went home. Meanwhile, far away where Behemoth and Ittosai Kunieda were standing—
"Looks like our side won," Ittosai said. "Behemoth, you heading back now, or do you want to fight me too?"
He watched Kazuma leave and couldn't help smiling. That kid was still monstrously strong.
"I'll call it my loss this time."
Behemoth knew that Kazuma's last line earlier had been directed at him. It surprised him. His aura had been fully concealed, yet Kazuma had still sensed him.
No wonder his son Jabberwock lost. The opponent was absurdly powerful.
Next, a dimensional portal opened behind Behemoth, and several demons stepped out — all with stronger auras than Jabberwock had possessed.
"Captain, should we attack?" one of them asked.
"No. We lost this time."
Behemoth turned around and walked into the portal. He supported Prince En, but he also had to think about the 34 Pillars Division.
"Maybe… maybe we should reconsider our stance. With such a powerful adoptive father, Master Beel might have a greater chance of becoming Demon Lord in the future…"
And with that thought, he disappeared into the portal.
.
.
.