"Sure."
Hearing Suzuki's request, Anrietta sighed in relief, and was glad of his request, especially when she knew that she had no need to worry that he might make a move on those goblinas.
"...." Suzuki.
While the goblinas might be cute, and also become beautiful, it was strange when one thought to do it with the hobgoblins, yet without a doubt, they were all cute. Still, wasn't it weird to just sleep with them right away when they hadn't created a connection?
"...." Treyni.
Regardless, Anrietta sat next to him while drinking a cold tea he had given her. While the tea could be gotten from Rimuru, as there were many plants that could be used as teas, the ice came from Suzuki's, as it seemed he could use ice magic, which made her raise her brows, wondering what other mysteries he possessed.
"What do you want to ask?"
"The information of the monster kingdoms, and also the East."
"..." Anrietta.
"...you want to do business with the East and the monsters?"
"You've seen how unbothered I am by the monsters and all the inter-species drama, right?" Suzuki shrugged, entirely relaxed. "I don't care about those things. This world is filled with countless races, each with unique powers, traits, and weaknesses. Nobody is perfect. So, instead of letting myself get swallowed up by useless hatred or negative emotions, isn't it better to just focus on making a profit?"
"....."
Anrietta narrowed her eyes, studying his face. For a moment, she felt like she had completely misread him. She had genuinely started to think his only goal in life was to sleep with beautiful women from every race across the globe.
"...What's with that expression?" he asked.
"Nothing." Anrietta shook her head, though a faint blush betrayed her composure. "I just think I might have judged you wrongly."
Suzuki laughed, clearly amused by her reaction. "It isn't too late. You'll find a lot of good qualities in me if you stick around."
"Hmph! We'll see about that," Anrietta snorted, looking away and resting her chin in her smooth palm. "Anyway, what exactly do you want to know?"
"I know the Western Countries well enough, but I'm completely in the dark about the territories separated by the Jura Forest and the East. Actually, wait—are there countries to the north and south, too?"
"To answer your question, yes," Anrietta nodded, her tone turning serious. "There are nations to the north and south. But I highly advise you to avoid the north at all costs."
"Yeah, it probably won't make any money anyway. What's up there? Crabs? Ice?" While there was a chance the north held untapped wealth like Alaska, it was equally likely to be a barren, frozen wasteland.
"That's not the issue," Anrietta corrected solemnly. "The frozen continent in the north is the domain of one of the three progenitors of the Demon Lords: Guy Crimson."
"A Demon Lord..."
Suzuki murmured the title, his mind wandering. He knew that a human could theoretically become a Demon Lord. According to the world's rules, it required taking the lives of ten thousand souls, using them as a sacrifice to evolve into a being feared by the masses.
In the past, when he was younger, and this was all just fiction, the concept seemed cool. But now that it was reality? The thought of slaughtering thousands of humans—his own species—was a heavy one. Sure, he could kill monsters without batting an eye, but mass human sacrifice?
Besides, as a merchant, he felt that killing people was simply a waste of good resources. Why kill your enemies when you can bury them in crippling debt? Forcing evil people to work for you until the day they die just to pay off what they owe... wasn't that a far more satisfying—and profitable—torment?
Evolving in the "right" way definitely seemed like the better path.
Anrietta watched Suzuki's expression shift and immediately felt a spike of anxiety. Given his unpredictable nature, she was suddenly terrified he might try to draft a business proposal for a Demon Lord.
"Wait a moment..." Anrietta leaned in, her eyes sharp. "Don't tell me you want to do business with the Demon Lords, too?"
"If the margins are good."
"You have to be kidding me." She stared at him for a long moment before sighing, deciding it was better for her heart health to stop questioning his sanity. "Anyway. As you might have guessed, aside from the Eastern Empire, several territories in the East are ruled by Demon Lords."
"Several?"
"Well, three of them, specifically." She paused, correcting herself. "Wait, four."
"That's a lot of walking disasters in one area."
"While the first two are somewhat manageable, the other two must be avoided under any circumstances."
Suzuki leaned forward, intrigued. "Who's on the blacklist?"
"First is Clayman, known as the Crazy Pierrot or the Marionette Master. Don't even entertain the thought of negotiating with him. He will bypass any deal and turn you into a literal puppet to serve his whims."
Ah, Clayman, Suzuki thought, nodding in understanding. The trash one. If someone in this world needed to be taken out, it was definitely someone who robbed others of their free will. Still, he knew well that Rimuru would slay this Demon Lord, so he did not worry. Instead, it was Clayman's fault for provoking Rimuru.
Considering how chill Rimuru was, if Rimuru had ever killed someone, it meant that person was definitely lower than trash, and it was better for the world not to have such an existence at all.
"What about the second one?"
"Milim Nava. Also known as the Destroyer."
Suzuki raised an eyebrow. "She has a really cute name for someone with such a terrifying title."
"Do not let the name fool you," Anrietta warned, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "She is a walking natural disaster. She's easily among the top three strongest existences in the entire world. Maybe even higher."
Suzuki fell silent. He remembered Milim's childish, playful nature from the lore, but he also knew Anrietta wasn't exaggerating her power. It made him wonder... with his current stats, could he survive even a playful pat on the back from her?
[Report. The host will die immediately.]
Right. Let's not test that.
"But," Suzuki smiled, catching the loophole in Anrietta's warning. "In other words, as long as I don't get involved with Clayman or Milim, the rest of them are fair game for business, right?"
Anrietta just stared at him in disbelief.
"Come on, Anrietta! Tell me!" Suzuki closed the distance between them, playfully begging her. "Tell me about their specialties! What are their local exports? Please~!"
As Suzuki leaned into her space, his hand casually brushing against her arm, Anrietta let out a helpless, frustrated sigh. She looked up at the sky, asking for patience she didn't have, yet found herself entirely unable to pull away from his touch.
"Hnh~!"