bookworm

Soei, capture the assassin.”
“I have a Replication on its way.”
As we waited for the councillors to calm down, I carried out the tasks demanded of me. Already, there was an investigation happening nearby.
“You could kill a person with this?”
“Yes, it’s called a bullet. You need a special tool to fire it, but there’s not one near us at the moment.”
“So the assassin was targeting Prince Elrick? But what for?”
“To frame the demon lord Rimuru, of course.”
“Indeed, indeed. If Prince Elrick was killed at this point in time, suspicions would naturally turn to Lord Rimuru. It’d certainly complicate our efforts to admit Tempest into the Council.”
“Yes, that was probably the real motive. These fools were likely set up as disposable pawns the whole time.”
The security chief, Sons of the Veldt leader, Chairman Leicester, and Hinata were discussing matters here. I was certainly glad to be cleared of doubt.
Elrick was safe now, although he’d need to face up to the commotion he caused in the chamber later.
“Am—am I being targeted even now?” he asked, his face haggard. He might’ve been a fool, but I didn’t want him dead or anything.
“I think it’s all right now, Elrick—sorry, Prince Elrick. When the assassin missed you, that put an end to the ambitions of whoever wanted you dead. At this point, there’s no reason for them to try again.”
By now, it was no longer possible to frame me for murder. Elrick was no longer of use to them, you could say, and therefore he had no need to fear for his life.
“B-but I’m the prince of a superpower nation. People could exploit me in so many ways…”
Ummm, you think so?
Maybe he was vulnerable, as someone in line for the throne, before he pulled all that nonsense today. But he wasn’t officially crown prince, and there were other people in the line of succession, so at this point…
If Elrick had actually succeeded today, he would have been a hero, I suppose—but Englesia wasn’t easy enough on its royalty that an idiot prince doing dumb things would be allowed on the throne. Maybe the people would sympathize with his motives, but they’d never forgive him for screwing up. After today, Elrick’s chances of being King Elrick someday were as good as gone.
“But hey, life’s not all about becoming king, is it? You’ll probably need to atone for today somehow, but after that, why don’t you try reconsidering your future a little? I mean, I became a demon lord just by sort of drifting along, but I never really wanted to be one or anything. But there’s no going back on it now, so I figure I may as well take advantage.”
“Heh-heh! A demon lord offering me comfort? I thought you’d be scarier… More vengeful.”
“I’m not trying to comfort you. But generally, I’m a pacifist.”
Elrick’s shoulders slumped down as he resigned himself to his fate. “I was a fool to be tricked like that, Gaban. It’s time for you to take responsibility.”
“P-Prince?!”
“You were the one who approached me. I fell for your cajoling, and I must atone for that…but you had best prepare to do the same, Count Gaban.”
Elrick had now fully given himself up to the security team.
It was pretty obvious that Gaban was the main person behind all this, rounding up Reiner and Elrick and convincing them to cause this wild scene. I’m sure someone’s using Gaban, too—that mystery organization, perhaps. I can’t write it off as a conspiracy theory. It’s probably best to conduct a full investigation, but not even Soei’s found any clues yet.If we can capture the sniper, though, maybe that’ll lead to something. Let’s hold out hope for that—and meanwhile, there’s someone else I need to consult about.
“So, Gaban, there’s something I wanted to ask…” I turned my eyes to Gaban in custody.
“Wh-what? What does a demon lord want from me?”
Even now, his attitude still had problems.
“I want you to tell me what you were scheming when you enticed Prince Elrick to join you.”
“Hmm? I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t know anything.”
“Wh-what?! Are you abandoning me?!”
“And where’s your evidence? Yes, I was asked by the prince to invite you here, but I certainly had no idea he would try something like that.”
“You will not talk your way out of this, Sir Gaban. Both the other councillors and I in this chamber will speak against your case.” Johann was having none of it, and neither were the assorted representatives nodding along with him—including a few being forced to keep standing. No problem finding witnesses, then.“Behh… But it’s true! I didn’t know. The prince designed all of this! All I did was follow his orders!”
“Nonsense! You’re the very one who procured the orb and brought the plan to me!”
“I can’t say I know what you’re talking about. Again, you will need to find some proof—”
Gaban was sticking to his story. And as sly as I’m sure he was, he must’ve been convinced that no evidence was left. Would it be hard to pin anything on him, then? It’d probably damage his reputation for a period of time, but at this rate, I could see him returning to the scene after a while. That’s the nobility for you—you can’t take your eyes off them for a moment, and they’ll never go down too easily. A more direct approach—with weapons—would be quickest, but that was a last resort.
As I thought about this, the door suddenly opened.
“His Majesty the King Aegil is here!”
The attendant’s shout was audible across the chamber, and those responding to it immediately stood at attention. I was about to join them before Shuna and Benimaru stopped me. Yeah, me kneeling or whatever would’ve presented an awkward picture. Apart from Hinata and me, however, everyone was focused entirely on the new royal visitor. Even the chairman was bowing his head. That’s the kind of respect the king of a nation like Englesia deserved.
King Aegil glanced at the councillors Soei had restrained. He didn’t linger on them long before turning to me, his bushy blond hair going well with his curly mustache.
“I see my son’s caused you some trouble.”
“You could say that. But I think we’ve cleared up our misunderstandings?” I had no intention of exaggerating things. If human society could accept us, better to let a little rudeness now and then slide.
“…Ah. Very good. Then as his father, not as a king, I give you my apology and my appreciation.” He lightly bowed his head at me—the king himself.
I was willing to accept that. “Consider it forgiven. But I don’t want to see a repeat.”
“Yes, that I am certainly aware of. I hope to build a good relationship with you.”
King Aegil looked straight at me, providing me with what I felt were his honest feelings. I figured I should trust him on that. If he reneged, I could consider my options at that time.
“It’ll be good to work with you, then.”
“And with you.”
We shook hands. He was also kind enough to forgive the busted-up desk, so as far as I was concerned, our reconciliation was complete.
“All rise!”
Everyone raised their faces. They had all overheard our exchange, but I supposed this formality indicated that it wasn’t meant to be on the record. A king wasn’t supposed to bow to a foreign power that readily, and I supposed King Aegil saw it as a last resort.
“F-Father…”
“Enough. You need some remedial education, I see.”
“…Yes, Father.”
“Mm.”
With a nod, King Aegil turned to Gaban. “Count Gaban?”
“Your Majesty!!”
“You were talking about evidence. Were you expecting a quick escape because you thought I wouldn’t intervene?”
“N-no, Your Majesty, not at all…”
“I have called for magical inquisitors. I will let them decide your treatment.”
“Gehh?!” Now Gaban seemed concerned. He clung to the king. “P-please, forgive me! I will tell you everything, so please, Your Majesty, have mercy!”
His desperation might’ve evoked sympathy among some people, but King Aegil’s reaction was merciless. “Take him away.”
“““Sir!!”””
One glance at his attendants, and his royal guard sprang into action.
“Now, Sir Reiner, Sir Gaiye… You’ll come with us as well.”
The guard began to haul them off.
“Stop! Let me go!”
“Who do you think I am?!”
They tried to resist but were stopped in their tracks by a group of hooded men that appeared—those magical inquisitors, I supposed. Reiner and Gaiye tried to resist as well, but the men had them subdued in short order, treating those admittedly powerful men like little children. I could tell these weren’t your average prison guards, no.
Englesia really is a superpower, huh? And they got some pretty tough hombres working for them.
Report. It is likely a show of force, to prove to my master that they have powerful fighters at their disposal.
Ah. One of those “don’t mess with us” things? This must’ve been their way of demonstrating that Reiner wasn’t the best Englesia could produce, an attempt to preserve their dignity. It’s hard being a king. I guess he had to stay on his toes to keep a demon lord like me from taking advantage of him. As if Aegil wouldn’t have used my power to make Englesia the world’s dominant force if Elrick had actually succeeded…
…Well, if you wanted to keep a legion of sly, cunning nobility under your finger, I supposed you needed that type of malice in you.
“Excuse me, then. And please allow us to handle this affair.”
With that, the king’s entourage left. They confiscated the Orb of Domination, too, by the looks of it, but I didn’t mind. I had already disabled it while no one was looking—it wouldn’t do to see it used for evil purposes. It also wouldn’t do for me to carry on about it any longer, so I let it go without comment.
Following an afternoon break, we continued with the legislative session. The councillors seemed a lot less energetic than they were in the morning hours, somehow. That was lucky for me, because I didn’t need to cajole them into passing all the day’s important business.
The following three resolutions were enacted today:
• Tempest is recognized as a nation.
• Tempest will officially join the Council.
• The Council’s military rights will be assigned to Tempest.
These were accepted without protest and passed, barring any issues, by unanimous vote. It was a long road to get there, but everything I wrote up for the Council was accepted in the end.
I’m really not good at this level of brinkmanship with a room full of hungry sharks. People can scoff at my ideas all they want, but having to feel out my opponent’s mind and objectives just tires me out. I think I’ll let Raphael handle that for me from now on.
…Understood.
Today it was brute strength that let me take control of my problems. But I didn’t lash out first—it was Hinata and that charming young Shuna. In fact, I was the guy who saved Elrick’s life. This amply demonstrated the broadness of my heart, I think, so I was pretty satisfied with myself. What’s more, I had taught them all a valuable lesson: Attempting physical force against a demon lord was meaningless.
The session behind us, we left the chamber. It was a stormy day, but now, it was finally over.BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Glenda Attley, the beautiful ex-mercenary, pulled the trigger with every intent to kill.
The gun she had kept since she was summoned to this world didn’t betray her. It was already a part of her body, to the point that it no longer even required maintenance. Combine that with her Sniper unique skill, and there was nobody who could stop her.
Sniper, as a skill, provided three abilities. One was Magic Sense, tuned to a perception level far beyond the norm; one was Compute Prediction, letting her read and understand the results of people’s actions; and the other was called Control Space. This third ability, in particular, made Glenda practically superhuman, allowing her to connect any two points in space that she could picture in her mind.
Anything she had physical sight of was within gunshot range for her. She could shoot from directly above the heads of her targets, and she was free to ignore any obstacles in her way as she landed a bullet home. She could also ignore all gravity and air resistance, making long-range shots possible without a sniper rifle.
Put this all together, and Glenda had never failed a mission. But after her last blunder, she came to realize that there was always someone better out there.
That was doomed. A monster like that’s too much for me.
The moment she saw him, Glenda realized how dangerous this opponent was. That man, Diablo, was impervious to her handgun. It wasn’t a matter of physical attacks not working. Glenda had two types of bullets, a normal one and a magic-infused set. The first type was for when she couldn’t leave any magical traces behind, but for monsters with physical resistance, Glenda concentrated her own magical force into bullet form, an original magic skill of hers.
She treasured the ability to handle anything that came her way, and so Glenda truly had no blind spots. But Diablo didn’t work that way. Her instincts warned her to run from him, her Compute Prediction skill foreseeing nothing but her death. Even with her standard-breaking strengths, she could see no possible path to victory—a hard lesson in reality for her to take that day.
And now Glenda had stretched her Magic Sense skills to their limits to carry out an assassination.
The bullet she fired appeared just a foot or so away from her target. Now, in the blink of an eye, it’d demolish his head—or it should have.
That eighteen-inch (or so) gap was very carefully selected. When connecting two points in space, the connection would fail if the destination point overlapped with a certain amount of mass. In other words, if the target unexpectedly moved, the connection Glenda built might cut out. That’s why she settled on eighteen inches. Even someone with godly reflexes couldn’t respond quickly enough to something that close, especially a bullet traveling at the speed of sound.
That monster is one thing, but the prince of a kingdom is no sweat. Well, no point crying about it. I’ll have to come up with a strategy for the next time I see him.
She was much more confident about today’s mission—but at the next moment, her face filled with surprise and foreboding. The bullet that was supposed to shatter the prince’s head had vanished.
“No! What just happened?!”
The unthinkable had occurred, something impossible under any normal circumstances. She didn’t know why it took place, but if someone had done something, it had to be that demon lord.
“Him! That devil bastard’s boss! Did I underestimate him, too?!”
That was Glenda’s initial reaction.
For a moment, she thought about firing again. Her perfect ambush had just failed, so any further attempt had even less of a chance. She knew that, but it meant that she’d fail her mission. Her bosses—Maribel and the elder Granville—would never allow that. It made her hesitate, and thus she failed to escape soon enough.
“Heh. I would say so. You did underestimate Sir Rimuru. And I have no interest in forgiving you for that.”
“Tch! Who’re you?”
“My name is Soei, faithful Covert Agent of the demon lord Rimuru.”
Glenda was shocked. But quickly, she resigned herself. The man didn’t ask her name in return—not because he didn’t care about her, she thought, but because that could wait until he captured and interrogated her. If she could just get away, she could keep what she knew concealed.
The assassination failed. And being captured afterward would be an even worse fate. Any further mistakes, and she’d be disposed of as useless. Glenda had seen many of her compatriots walk that road, and to her, getting away was job number one right now.
She squared up against her foe.
“…So you were expecting an attack?”
“Yes. Everything was worked out in Sir Rimuru’s mind. If you want to resist, go right ahead. I have no interest in killing you, but the more you resist, the more painful this will be for you.”
“Hah! How kind of you. In that case, I’ll do what I want here, thank you.”
Without hesitation, Glenda fired instead of waiting for a response. This was a single, regular bullet; she had sixteen left, but she doubted they’d work against the magic-born who called himself Soei. A magic bullet would, probably…but instead, Glenda took out her military knife, slashing at Soei with a refined, well-honed motion.
Soei dodged it with the minimum movement required. Glenda smiled at this. The knife was infused with her magical force, making it both a physical and magical weapon. She did this when facing foes where physical attack wouldn’t be enough, and Soei just revealed that he saw it as a threat.
Plus, Glenda had noticed another habit of Soei’s.
This guy’s the type who hates extraneous motion. He may be more susceptible to simpler methods. Let’s see how comfortable he’ll be in a moment…
She unleashed another attack—knife in her right hand, gun in her left. Unhesitant, she repeatedly pulled the trigger, gauging Soei’s response. As she predicted, there was no reaction. He must’ve known they’d have no effect on him—but he kept his guard up, staying on the alert for her knife.
Not bad. Maybe the strongest opponent I’ve ever had.
Diablo didn’t count in Glenda’s mind. Foes she never had a chance against weren’t tabulated in her records.
Soei’s left pointer finger moved. Glenda didn’t miss it, sensing the danger and instantly performing a backward somersault to dodge. There was now a sizable distance between them, and that was the right move for her to make, because in the next instant, an ultra-thin wire advanced upon her original position.
“Hohh. You have good instincts.”
“Well, thank you. You’re not so bad, either.”
The light exchange was punctuated by a gunshot from Glenda. It wasn’t a threat to Soei. He went straight at her, not bothering to evade.
So simple. I’m glad to have opponents like these. They’re so easy to deal with.
Magic bullets didn’t require any firing. They could be shot without a sound, so if she mixed one in with her regular bullets…
Now that her attack pattern was established, she’d strike with her real attack while his guard was down. That was Glenda’s standard strategy—take a seemingly wasted shot and turn it into an instant kill. Even if you were expecting it, it’d be tricky to dodge it out of the blue.
And Soei demonstrated the same reactions all the other titans she defeated before did. He took the bullet in the right shoulder and was sent flying back.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! So much for you, handsome man. Rama fell for the same trick. The more confident you are, the more effective a simple move like that becomes.”
Glenda laughed loudly—but her eyes were still alert, surveying the damage to Soei. Going easy after felling your prey was out of the question. That was the ironclad rule of the battlefield, and Glenda would never relax without checking her foe for a pulse. Besides, she didn’t think she killed him with a single shot anyway.
“…I see. More of a handful than I thought.”
“Being a sore loser now? Well, sorry. If you’ve seen my face, my only choice is to take you out.”
Soei, back on his feet, had lost his right arm. The fight seemed to be Glenda’s to win. That’s why she was more careful than ever as she pointed her gun forward.
Magic bullets work on him. And now, with my next move, I’ll blow his brains out.
Launching her Sniper unique skill, Glenda cautiously steadied her aim.
“Heh. Don’t worry. I’ve been asked to capture you. I imagine Sir Rimuru wants information from you, but he’s a gentle person. Cooperate with him, and you won’t be killed.”
“Don’t lecture me like that now!!”
With a shout, Glenda fired—three bullets toward his head, two toward his heart. Five magic bullets, whizzing straight to their targets. Then the first three made the leap in space, reappearing in front, above, and to the right side of his head. The other two quickly followed, materializing before his heart and at an angle behind it.
All five bullets hit home, shattering Soei’s body.
These Warp Shots were Glenda’s pièce de résistance. Magically created bullets, unlike their regular counterparts, could disrupt and scatter magicules. Even if he could regenerate his body, those shots made it impossible.
No matter what your skills were with a sword or spear, being targeted by supersonic bullets from all directions would be impossible for even the greatest of masters to handle. Based on her past experiences, Glenda knew full well what she was capable of. That was the secret to her continued survival—and that was why she now checked to be sure Soei was dead.
His body was, in fact, collapsing into black smoke in front of her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief. Since the moment she caught sight of him, a dark anxiety had been smoldering in her heart. It wasn’t as vivid as it was with Diablo, but her instincts told her this was a dangerous foe.
“It’s over. You were a tough one. I didn’t have any capacity to go easy on you.”
Glenda was so relieved that the words just fell out of her. But that relief came just a bit too early. Suddenly, behind her, she heard a voice that couldn’t possibly be there.
“Oh, really? In that case, why not give up and let me capture you?”
She reflexively leaped out of the way. Turning around in a panic, she saw Soei himself standing there.
“Th-that’s crazy! Didn’t you die just now…?!”
“Heh. You’re the crazy one. You think that was enough to kill me? I have no reason to lose to you anyway.”
“Then I’ll just do it one more time—Whoaaa?!”
Glenda froze. Anyone would. Unbelievably to her, she now sensed Soei’s presence on all sides of her. She immediately activated Magic Sense, but it just revealed the very truth she didn’t want to know.
“It—it can’t be! Wh-why are all of these physical bodies?! That’s ridiculous! What kind of joke is this?!”
“It’s simple. I have a skill known as Replication. That is all. And while my Replications aren’t as powerful as my true self, you should be proud that you defeated at least one of them.”
Soei—or at least, one of the four Soeis in the room—offered Glenda his sincere compliments. But now, escape was possible.
“Goddamn it…!!”
With a barbaric scream, Glenda lunged at Soei—and at that moment, her desperate last stand began.
On a balcony overlooking a garden blooming with flowers, a girl, a boy, and an old man sat at a round table facing one another. It was Maribel, Yuuki, and Johann.
“We messed up. We botched it,” Maribel said quietly. Despite that, she didn’t seem too affected. She had predicted this, and in a way, it was part of the plan.
“What a disaster for Gaban, though. After all the devotion he had for you.”
Johann, seated in front of Maribel, was holding a glass of wine as he lamented the count’s fate. He may not have felt that strongly for him, but even he had just a twinge of sympathy for the man. Gaban, after all, was one of the Five Elders, just like Johann—or maybe was, by now. His fall was already in progress.
“Gaban was incompetent. All that time he spent living in Englesia—did he develop a love for its king, perhaps? He would certainly have brought them under his control faster otherwise…”
“Don’t be silly. Not even we in the Rozzos have reached into the central core of Englesia yet. Gaban couldn’t—”
“No. No, you’re wrong. It’s easy to seize the core. Just kill them all and leave a single infant remaining. And if that infant shares a blood lineage with Gaban, all the better.”
“Well, yes, if you put it that way, but…”
To Maribel, and all the bloodstained history she knew, this wasn’t that radical an approach. In fact, she thought it was the peaceful way. It kept the body count low. But Johann wanted to explain to her that Englesia’s security wasn’t about to just let that happen. It was an easy thing to envision—less so to act upon.
“But I’m interested in those magical inquisitors.”
“…Those unusual-looking people who served the king?”
“Yes. Impudent, aren’t they? So impudent. They must’ve built up their military to oppose the Rozzos.”
“What do you think of them?”
“Mmm, they’re strong, I suppose. Gaban told me as much after he experienced them for himself.”
Maribel was able to share information with those under her Avarice rule, to a certain extent. Anything her target learned, Maribel could tap into as well. Thus, she now used Gaban as a throwaway pawn. She wanted to learn about those inquisitors, so she had him engineer a crime so heinous they’d have to step up. All that foolishness aimed at the demon lord Rimuru was perfect for that, and considering Count Gaban was Englesian nobility, the magic inquisitors were bound to come knocking.
She saw all of that. And just as she hoped for, she now knew the secrets behind the inquisitors. In fact, they weren’t anything too deep—just people infused with enough monster force to become magic-born. They hadn’t worked and trained themselves to perfection, like the magic-born Razen of old Farmus.
To Maribel, these inquisitors—bereft even of sentience, a side effect of their bodies rejecting the monster elements injected into them—were just uninteresting toys. But they regained that sentience when not in magic-born form, so depending on what you implanted in them, they could work in a variety of environments. Their strength, each an over-A by themselves, was nothing to sniff at, either. As she saw it, they could be useful enough.
“How fearsome. So you approved of Gaban’s scheme, even though you knew it would fail, just so you could learn that?”
“No. My goal was to help build up your trust. Now the demon lord Rimuru sees you as trustworthy.”
“Do you mean…?”
No, he didn’t need to ask. He understood it well enough. Her goal from the start was to eliminate Rimuru; the magical inquisitors were just a nice bonus. Maribel just wanted Johann to tell her about Rimuru’s internal dealings.
And if I don’t give that to her, I’ll be snuffed out as quickly as Gaban was…?
He didn’t think he was as incompetent as Gaban. But nonetheless, Johann felt an inscrutable sort of fear toward Maribel.
You—you must be kidding. Here I am, one of the Five Elders, and this little girl is bossing me around…
He may have thought that, but he would never daresay it. So he decided to return to their main subject.
“What do you think about pitting these inquisitors against the demon lord? Pin some manner of crime on Rimuru—”
“We can’t. We just can’t. All it’d do is anger the demon lord. Yes, the magical inquisitors are strong, but that’s it. Nothing at all that could hold its own against a demon lord. It’s silly even to consider it.”
“That much so…? So wouldn’t teaming up with the demon lord be our best bet, then?”
Maribel shook her head. “That won’t work. It won’t work at all. Besides, apart from Grandfather, every single one of you are suffering under a serious misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Yes. Yes, exactly. The misunderstanding that humans are equal to monsters. Do you understand why I proposed to Grandfather that we eliminate the demon lord?”
“Because he’s building a new economic bloc that will eventually become a financial threat to us?”
“Right. But that’s just our cover story. The real reason is because, in time, we’ll be helpless against him.”
Maribel, this little girl, struck fear in Johann’s heart—and now this girl was looking fearful herself as she spoke.
“How do you mean by that?” Johann asked, pressing her to continue.
“The demon lord Rimuru possesses a staggering amount of war power. With that backing him up, what do you think would happen if he decided to negotiate with someone?”
“That…?!”
Only then did Johann stumble upon the true danger. In this world, wars between nations almost never took place—they needed to save their fighting ability for the monsters who threatened them. The Council stepped in to handle cross-border issues, and that inevitably meant those with the most economic strength were able to speak the loudest. Even the largest of states, such as Englesia and the former Farmus, didn’t have enough of a military to make enemies out of every Council member.
“And you realize that their military’s not their only asset, either, right? Being bound by rules is the same thing as losing your freedom…but if you can create the rules yourself, you don’t have to lose anything, do you see?”
Tempest might follow the Council’s rules at first, but after that, nobody could say. And if Tempest decided to spread its own values to the Western Nations, soon the entire region would have to take orders from them. The demon lord’s rule would be complete—a totally peaceful coup. He could threaten them with warfare, he could apply economic pressure—but either way, the stronger nation always gained the power to punish others.
“It’s funny. So very funny. And as time passes, there will come an era where everything will need to go through the demon lord.”
“And—and if…”
If that happened, even Johann know where it led.
“But doesn’t the demon lord seek to coexist with…”
Maribel stopped Johann with her cold eyes. “It’s stupid. So stupid. Not just you, but the entire Council. They’re all idiots.”
Then she took pains to explain matters in a way Johann could understand. Essentially, things may be fine now, but the future was an unknown. If humankind, after forgetting about the threat of the Storm Dragon, ever did anything to cross Rimuru…
“I don’t know what the life span of a demon lord is, but humans are such short-lived animals. If we don’t stop the demon lord’s ambitions right here, the Rozzos’ one fervent desire is as good as scuttled.”
A demon lord could always change his stripes. And while humans may come and go, Maribel absolutely refused to expect human values from such long-lived rulers.
“You see? So that’s why ideas like partnering with a demon lord, or taking advantage of a demon lord—they’re all wrong, down to the very roots. None of them would ever work.”
Johann was silenced. Then, like the final nail on the coffin, one of her Blood Shadow troops chose that moment to make a magical call to her.
He was reporting on Glenda’s defeat.
“No… They captured Glenda?!”
Johann looked shocked. “…Is that true?”
Not even Maribel could hide her surprise. Glenda’s wariness was always commendable; no matter the danger involved, she always made it home alive. Maribel trusted her—not her personality, but that animal-like craving for life.
“I can’t believe it. That clever, conniving vixen…”
Glenda was one of the standout results from the Rozzo family’s secret summoning program, an otherworlder forced by their spell to remain faithful to them. Her strength was well-known by now, and the family treated her like a full-fledged tactical weapon.
The idea of her being defeated and captured was beyond belief for Johann. Elder or not, he was a normal human, and unlike Granville or Maribel, he could only think about things in standard human terms.
Maribel ignored his awestruck muttering as she pondered her options. Defeating him is out of the question. But if we can take rule over him, all our problems are gone. We’ll have to do it.
“…We’ll set a trap,” Maribel said.
“A trap? What are you intending to do?” Yuuki asked, breaking his silence.
She turned to him. “Right. A trap. Your people are going on a ruins expedition trip with the demon lord Rimuru, aren’t you? We’ll set a trap there.”
She wasn’t asking for his opinion. This was a finalized plan, and it was set in stone.
“Right, Kagali’s headed there…but I don’t think that’s such a good idea, y’know?”
“Why is that?”
“Because the demon lord Milim’s joining them,” Yuuki warned. “It’ll be too dangerous to hatch anything.”
In his opinion, they needed to win Rimuru’s confidence first, then work out more of a long-term plan with him. But Maribel’s mind was already made up.
“No. No, I can’t have that. The more time we give him, the more trouble that demon lord will be. That’s what my instincts are telling me. Yuuki, is there a way you can keep Milim from coming along?”
“That’s even less possible. He’s already eyeing me. If I try putting a stop to it, it’s basically admitting that I’m tricking them.”
“Fair enough. Then let’s bring down the demon lord Milim as well.”
“Huh?” Yuuki asked, dazed.
“That’s ridiculous! Maribel, that’s not just beyond reckless; it’s beyond the realm of possibility!” Johann stood up out of his seat.
Their reactions were perfectly understandable. Even crushing one demon lord required a careful, foolproof plan. But two at the same time? It was deliberately giving yourself no chance.
But Maribel still smiled. “I will put everything I have into it. Everything, do you understand?”
“It’s still impossible!” Yuuki cried. “You say ‘everything,’ but my Moderate Jesters are all busy with their own work right now. And—”
“I don’t know how useful they are, but if they’re not available, we’ll proceed without them.”
Maribel shuttered Yuuki’s objections before he could finish stating them. To her, the Jesters weren’t worthy of consideration—or, to be more accurate, she already knew a better force, a large one, that could take on demon lords for her.
“…But you know, Yuuki, I had you supply a certain something from the Dragon’s Nest for me before. I think it’s high time we use it.”
“You mean that? That’s such a bad idea! Not even I can control it!”
“Not a problem. It belonged to the demon lord Milim anyway—we’re just returning it for her. Maybe we could say that Clayman was saving it as his last resort, and his surviving loyal troops set it off? Then Milim’s rage won’t be directed at us.”
“If something goes wrong, it could cause untold damage to human areas…”
“And?”
“N-no, um…”
Johann attempted to talk Maribel out of this but was completely shut out. She might’ve been theoretically open to alternatives, but flat rejections would never grab her interest. And since Johann had no other suggestions, Maribel’s strategy won the day.
As Johann struggled against her, Yuuki kept talking, trying to figure out her thought process. It made him realize this operation had a better chance of success than he thought. “…All right. In that case, Milim’s likely to take it on herself. She’d stop Rimuru from doing so, for sure, and it’d be the perfect way to separate them, maybe.”
“Hee-hee! Very good. Very, very good. And while the demon lord Milim’s playing around with it…”
“We go in and take over Rimuru’s mind?”
“Yes, precisely.”
“But I’ve still got one worry…”
“The Storm Dragon?”
“…Yep, you guessed it. If we fail to take over Rimuru, and Veldora goes on a rampage, what’re we gonna do then?”
That—or their target might fight back more than they expected, giving them no time to take over his mind. If it came to that, Yuuki would have no choice but to kill Rimuru. He attempted to voice his concerns about that, in a roundabout away, but apparently that was an acceptable consequence of her plans.
“No need to worry about that. No need at all, Yuuki. Don’t worry about a thing. Just focus on defeating the demon lord Rimuru.”
Yuuki didn’t defy her. In the end, he did what he was told. “…All right. If you say so, I’ll believe in you.”
Maribel gave him a nod.
Thanks to what her grandfather Granville told her about demon lords, Maribel saw much deeper into the world than most.
If Rimuru should fall, and Veldora the Storm Dragon flew into a rage, the demon lord Luminus would likely step in to handle it. Paradoxically, that would actually be better for her than Rimuru keeping up his current rule.
He and Luminus had already joined forces—which essentially meant that Luminus left management of the Western Nations to him. The Queen of Nightmares herself, someone who saw humankind as little more than vampire food, had let the Seven Days Clergy do that before, but—as shown in Granville’s own fall—they were no more. He had lost Luminus’s protection, and with that, the authority he had to influence the Western Nations.
From now on, Hinata the Saint would doubtlessly gain more political clout…and considering their relationship, the rising rule of the demon lord Rimuru would grow even firmer with her.
No matter what, I’ve got to stop that.
And as she secretly thought this, it didn’t matter if she needed to expose the world to the threat of Veldora to do it.
Maribel and Yuuki spent the next little while fleshing out the details of their plan. By this point, there was no room left for Johann—all he could do was pray they succeeded. Thus, these magic-born, packing as much malice as they could into their intricate plans, began to devise a way to suppress Rimuru for good.