Once they left the forest, they encountered the others, who rejoiced that Lucifer and oxy were both unharmed. Only Nomi seemed to have her doubts. In a tone that combined surprise and praise, Saul asked Ainz:

"You're unhurt… Did you avoid fighting?"

Just as Lucifer was about to answer, Nomi cut in:

"Sato-san, what did you bring back? Were you charmed by something?"

"I battled the King of the Forest, and tamed it. Oi, come out."

They could all see the pearly white fur of the King of the Forest as it emerged from the trees. The blood wolf's gathered around Saul, shocked expressions on their faces as they all took a step back with weapons raised.

"Well, it's huge, even if it's a oversized cat."

Though it had cute round eyes, its massive body was still a fearsome sight, and It was only natural that these mercenaries should be wary. With that in mind, Lucifer decided to calmly say:

"Be at ease, everyone. I have subdued it, so it will not lash out wildly and hurt people."

Then, he approached the King of the Radiated Forest, and made a show of patting its furry body.

"It is as milord says; this King of the radiated Forest is loyal to milord, and is milord's faithful servant. This one swears to milord that this one will not inconvenience thee, fine gentlemen!"

However, to them, they could only hear a strong of cute meows and other feline voices. In this way, the King of the Radiated Forest displayed its loyalty to Lucifer. Perhaps they were on guard because of its vast size, but since it was a cute oversized cat to begin with, they would probably stop being on edge once they got used to it. The problem was how to make everyone think it was the true King of the Radiated Forest. That was the only thing Lucifer had no idea how to accomplish. And then, things developed in a completely unexpected direction.

"…So this is the King of the Radiated Forest! Unbelievable! What a majestic beast!"

"—What?"

Lucifer looked back and forth between Saul and the King of the Forest, checking to see if Saul was making fun of him, but Saul seemed to be entirely serious.

"…Wow, the King of the Forest… so the legends really were true! I can feel its mighty presence just standing before it!" Nomi gasped.

"Eh? Mighty presence?"

"Uwah, that's pretty awesome. You actually pulled it off. Someone as strong as you is certainly qualified to have ox-chan at his side."

"If we had encountered him, we would have been killed for sure. I expected nothing less of you, Sato-san. Amazing work."

As Taguchi, Saul, and the others showered him in praise, Lucifer looked to the king of the Forest again.

A giant oversized cat.

It did not remind him of anything else. Why were they so intimidated by a beast like this?

"…Everyone, do you not think this creature's eyes are very cute?"

Their eyes went wide as they heard those words, as though their eyeballs were about to fall out. It would seem that statement was quite absurd.

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"Sa-Sato-san, do you think this beast's eyes are cute?"

Of course! After mocking the reply in his heart, Lucifer magnanimously nodded, and then he began to wonder if the King of the Forest had used a passive charm skill.

However, it didn't know anything about magic.

"Unbelievable, that's Sato-san for you." Luna looked into its eyes,

"what do you think?"

"…They are eyes filled with wisdom, and I could feel the power of this beast. There's no way it could be cute by any stretch of the word."

"…?!

Lucifer looked dumbfoundedly at the others. After realizing that they shared Luna's opinion, Lucifer felt his head spin for a moment.

"How about you, ox?"

"Actual strength aside, those are powerful-looking eyes."

"…No… way… seriously…?"

Was it his imagination, or did the King of the Radiated Forest look at him with a smirk on its cat face, Lucifer could have just showered him in cuddles if it was the size of a normal cat. However, for other's it looked like a monstrous beast.

This was clearly false advertisement.

Who names a giant cat the "King of the Radiated Forest."

After the initial shock wore off, the blood wolf's quickly fell back into their former rhythm. The atmosphere slowly relaxed, and they began to have more casual conversations. However, the more they tried to ignore the giant cat, the more it tried to insert it's way into their conversation. Even it was not as foolish as to say something stupid like "hello," it was clearly looking for attention.

"—Sato-san?"

"Yes."

"Sato-san! Please let me join your team!"

""Hah?!"

"I want to protect myself and take revenge…but I don't have the strength to do it now. So I want to become stronger! I want to learn the secret to your strength, Sato-san! I don't mind if it's just a little bit! However, I can't hire an excellent adventurer like you on a long-term basis with the amount of money I have! So please, let me join your party! I have some confidence in my ability. Please allow me to do this, I beg you!"

Just as Lucifer was blinking his eyelids, Saul continued:

"please! I want to be strong like you."

"So, you want to become a warrior and protect yourself and take revenge then?"

"Yes!"

Saul seemed to have shed his youthful attitude, and looked straight at Lucifer, his eyes filled with a manly resolve. If Saul joined him, this would either mean he is stepping down as the leader of The blood wolf's or basically making Lucifer the leader.

Either way, it wasn't something Lucifer' wanted.

In Hollow, there had been an endless stream of applicants seeking to join the guild The Angels of hell. Most of them wanted to do so for personal gain, thinking that they would profit from joining one of the highest-ranked guilds in the game at the start. They did not think of what they could do for the guild, but what the guild could do for them.

In addition, there were those who wanted to infiltrate the guild to steal its information and rare items. Because of this, the Angels of hell did not increase its numbers much beyond it's founding members. They were careful not to let their hard work and effort be trampled by others. Still, this was the simple, pure desire of a man who knew nothing of the guild called The Angels Of Hell. His misguided way of thinking was quite refreshing.

"hahaha!"

Lucifer laughed, long and loud. His laughter was light and buoyant. Then, when he was done, he removed his helmet and bowed deeply. He could hear oxy taking a deep breath in the background. Actions like this did not fit Oxy's master, The leader of Angels of hell. Still, Lucifer felt that he had to do this, without any hesitation about whether it was right or proper. He did not feel that bowing to a young man who was younger than him.

There was no malice in Lucifer's laughter, but Lucifer now knew he should not have done so. He raised his head to face the surprised Saul:

"…Forgive me for my laughter. That was a mistake on my part. But I would like you to understand that I was not laughing at your determination. In order to join my team, you must meet two criteria. At the moment, you have only met one of them. Therefore, I am sorry, but I cannot let you join."

The hidden condition was all of the present guild members had to approve of the prospective member. Therefore, even if Lucifer agreed, he could not add members to the guild on his own. However, Lucifer was pleased by the loyalty which his creations had shown him after coming to this world, and in that good mood, he continued:

"I understand how you feel, and I will remember that you wished to join my team. As for protecting this yourself, I will exert all my power to aid you. However, I might need your help—"

"Yes! Please, I'm eager to help!"

"Is that so, is that so…"

As Lucifer was nodding, he met Luna's gaze. He seemed to be enjoying the show, which made Lucifer feel a little embarrassed.

"Then, we'll discuss that matter later. Before that, I have an interesting story to tell everyone, about the taming of the King of the Radiated Forest. Oh, and, you still have your own team to run. Let's say..after your "mission" is complete, I'll think about it."

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