Aletea Desert was second in line to the throne. The person closest to the throne after the Emperor. It was natural to receive succession education, and it was also natural for swordsmanship to be included in that subject.
'If you had remembered and doubted my actions when my brother's ascension to the throne was announced, you wouldn't have been so surprised.'
How funny must they have looked at her to be so shocked?
No. The Duke would have noticed. This was an area of ability, whether you look down on it or not.
'... Only the truly incompetent are left.'
She stopped laughing and put her sword in its sheath on the floor. Thud! A loud sound echoed in a space filled with silence.
"Anyway, it is difficult for the current Empire to deal with the Demon King's Army alone. Alliances with other countries are essential."
"But the reason why His Majesty's ally has to be Shanguk..."
"Then which country should we form an alliance with? Esperanes is a kingdom that is difficult to even contact, and Rweche has suffered great damage since forming an alliance before and has fallen out with us. Excluding these two kingdoms, all that remains is Shanguk and its tributaries. I guess you have other tricks up your sleeve?"
"..."
Silence fell.
Aletea spoke softly to the greedy pigs who were trying to strengthen their power in the current chaotic situation of moving the Capital and changing the Emperor.
"Don't do anything foolish."
How dare you try to suppress the spirit of the newly crowned Emperor? So, didn't this side have no choice but to come out strong?
He was her only family left in the world. She revealed her teeth with the will to protect him.
***
After returning from the meeting with the Demon King and resting a bit while reading the documents sent by Dvelania, an uninvited guest came to visit.
Let alone being a close friend, if he sees me from a distance, he gets so scared that he runs away, so I can't even have a proper conversation with him. It would have been nice to simply resolve the goal and leave quickly, but I felt quite sorry that he had brought strange food and asked for tea time, so I used my whim and arranged the visit.
Thus began a silent tea time filled with discomfort.
'... If you're going to do this, why did you come?'
I looked at the person sitting across from me with a sour expression. I could see the demon holding a teacup and covering half of his face without even touching the food he brought with him. The hands that were openly shaking are a bonus.
I finally sighed at the silence seemed like it would never end.
"Tea is for drinking, not for covering your face."
"...!"
There are so many different things.
What would you do if you were so startled while holding a teacup to your face? The demon, who has been thrown tea in his own face, rolled his eyes as if he was embarrassed. The bangs that were so wet and stuck to his forehead were dripping with water.
Anyway, he can't just keep holding an empty glass in a situation where he heard those words. Taktaktak. His trembling hands put down the teacup with an embarrassing noise, and his whole face was finally revealed.
I followed his movements with unimpressed eyes and reached out to pick up the food the other person had brought, and opened my mouth.
"Why are you here, Myers?"
Crunch. Wow, it tastes bad. It's worth it just because I thought there was a twist.
"Uh..."
"Are you trying to call the lieutenant again?"
"...!"
Myers, Commander of the 12th Corps, jumped up from his seat and waved his hand, sweating profusely.
"That...! I got scolded by my adjutant a lot last time... I'm not like that anymore...!"
Yeah, you'd better keep your mouth shut. What if you ruin the dignity of the Corps Commanders?
Even when I think about it again, the most surprising thing is that he maintains his quiet image. What kind of timid and tactless thing is reticence?
I put down a bite of the strange food on the table and brushed off the crumbs from my fingers.
"It's a joke. Are you not eating this? You brought it with you."
"Oh, that doesn't taste good to me..."
It doesn't taste good to me either, you idiot.
If you're going to give an answer like this, it's better not to answer at all.
'Or was it poisoned?'
For a moment, I looked down at the food with a bite taken out of it with suspicious eyes, but then shook my head.
Who would be poisoned by food that looks ominous and tasteless just by looking at it like this? Even if it was poisoned, it didn't matter because my warrior's body will detoxify it on its own.
"..."
"..."
Myers, who was trembling wildly in the uncomfortable silence, swiped the bangs from his forehead with his hand as if he were frustrated. At the same time, the third eye on his forehead, hidden under the bangs, was fully exposed.
I had been leaning crookedly in his chair upon seeing this for the first time and straightened my posture.
"There was another eye?"
"Ah...!"
Pababat.
"... I didn't mean to hide it."
"Ah...!"
However, Myers muttered and glanced at me.
"I was careful because it may look uncomfortable in the eyes of Deon, a human..."
"That's what your adjutant said."
"Yes. Is it like the tentacles of Lirinel that she wears around her neck like a scarf?
I looked curiously at the third eye and lost interest again for a moment, then slumped down in my chair and waved my hand.
"It doesn't really matter. So, when are you planning to bring up your purpose?"
"That's..."
I feel like my stomach is going to burst as I watch him hesitate again.
I was quietly watching Myers as if this wouldn't end today and opened my mouth.
"Is it because I've completely neglected work?"
"...!"
Correct.
I was expecting it. I heard that because I neglected my work, the support staff in charge of clearing out monsters was transferred to the battlefield. As the Commander of the 12th Corps in charge of eliminating monsters, it was quite difficult.
"I was planning on moving soon anyway, so go back."
Even if I didn't have to pay such a bizarre and tasteless bribe, I would have moved at some point. It would have been the same even if the Demon King had not called and interviewed me directly.
Because my purpose has not yet been achieved. Therefore, since it was a situation that could not be left idly by forever, I gave a light confirmation and issued an order to congratulate the guest.
"Oh, and take this tasteless thing with you."
"Yes. ... Yes?"
Myers, who had been mindlessly putting back the food he had brought, looked back in shock, but I did not wait for him and called Ed and Dan, who drove him outside.
Ed closed the door and in the meantime, Dan, who was cleaning up the table, found an unknown food with clear bite marks and picked it up. His expression became subtle as he appeared to be blooming with a black aura.
"A biscuit? ... It looks too good to be true... Was it grilled monster meat? Or... did you even tried to poison yourself?"
"Poison? ... Ah, that... It's one of the popular snacks in the demon world. Even though there are some differences in likes and dislikes, it is quite popular. It's not poison."
As always, I ignored Ed's words, which followed a familiar pattern. Dan looked back at me with a surprised face.
"It doesn't look tasty at first glance... you have a lot of courage, Master."
"I knew there would be a twist. Rather, Ed."
The unscheduled and unwanted tea time was over, but instead of crawling under the blanket like usual, I sat down on the bed and snapped my fingers. The corners of my mouth rose slightly and I made a pleasant sound.
"Tell Lirinel to have tea time with me."
"Now... are you going to talk?"
"Yes."
"You just had tea time..."
"It doesn't matter."
"All right."
Ed left for a moment to make contact.
If I knew the 11th Corps commander Lirinel, she would come running as soon as she heard the news. After finishing clearing the table, Dan opened his mouth playfully as he set up new tea leaves and a kettle.
"Have you come to your senses now?"
He finally noticed something moving.
I chuckled at the obvious joke.
"Come to my senses? From the beginning, I..."
I glanced away.
Blood-red eyes took in the puddle of a color similar to mine at my feet.
A calm voice continued.
"... I was sane."
***
It was a sudden tea time invitation, but Lirinel flew like the wind.
Deon, who had been anticipating her actions, welcomed her with a relaxed smile without the slightest embarrassment despite her immediate visit and directly took her hand, and Lirinel, who had vowed to be pious, collapsed at that one action and was left in a half-fazed state. She sat in front of the table.
'For now... let's calm down.'
She took a sip of tea and picked up a cookie. Strangely, she couldn't take her eyes off of Deon, but she had no problem putting it in her mouth.
Lirinel, who never took her eyes off him while drinking tea and eating cookies, seemed like a burden, but Deon kept smiling without showing any emotion and waited thoughtfully until the other person swallowed everything in her mouth.
Lirinel was the first to speak in an awkward silence.
"What did you call me for...?"
"I wanted to see you."
"Oh...!."
Lirinel covered her mouth.
It was a light joke, but it seems it worked harder than expected. When silence came again as she froze and couldn't even breathe, Deon burst into light laughter and brightened the mood.
"I'm kidding."
"That's right! Just kidding! Haha!"
"I was just curious, but..."
A straight finger brushed the side of the teacup. A voice almost like a murmur came out slowly.
"The Demon King said he used up 90% of his magic power when he saved me."
"Yes, he did!"
"You must have used up your magical power in many ways after that..."
His pupils straighten up. The half-downcast eyes were clearly focused on Lirinel.
"How much do you have left now?"
"...!"
"Was it a burdensome question? But you are the only demon who can know that."
There was only her...!
"Of all the demons excluding the Demon King, you are the one with the most magical power. Yes?"
"Of course...!"
Oh, she was caught. Lirinel quickly covered her mouth. Assessing someone's magical power was only possible when the amount of magical power did not differ greatly. If the gap was large, the only things people feel about each other are 'overwhelmingly powerful' and 'overwhelmingly weak.' In that sense, Lirinel, who had magical power second only to the Demon King, had a rough idea of how much magical power he had consumed, which had become similar to hers after consuming 90% of his magical power.
Even if she covered her mouth, it was already too late.
Deon, with shining eyes, rested his chin and tilted his head.
The eyes slowly folded, and ruby-like eyes appeared between them.
"Can you tell me?"
"But... it's confidential..."
"Is it confidential to me too? Considering my status, I think it's okay to listen."
"But... I need to get permission from the Demon King..."
Her hand was held.
Lirinel closed her mouth and lowered her gaze. Four fingers and the palm supported the hand, and the thumb slowly swept the back of the hand. She was startled and reflexively raised her head, and a pretty smile greeted her as if he had been waiting for it.
"Of course I won't tell anyone. Can you tell me a little bit?"
"...! ...!!"
You, you, you...! This man! She quickly covered her nose. Apart from that, the mouth opened steadily. It was pointless to hold on, so there was nothing she could do.
Deon gave her a blessing, right? As the leader of the Demon Church, it was right to pay back, so this was force majeure.
"Come on, come on! It's almost the same."
"Okay?"
"It's still more than me, but..."
It's not decreased as much as he thought.
Well, it will be okay since it will continue to be consumed in the future. Just maintaining the flowers in the central garden would take quite a bit of magic.
The puddle under his feet got bigger. Deon, who had been holding Lirinel's hand for a moment after looking at it with a dry gaze as the area had now expanded to a radius of two meters around him, smiled brightly.
"Thanks for letting me know."
"...!!"
In order to calm down Lirinel, who was struggling with the waves of emotions, the best thing to do was to do nothing.
Due to his previous experience, Deon was not embarrassed and moved his face away from her.
It was only when Deon's teacup was almost empty that normal conversation became possible. Lirinel, who seemed to have come to her senses late and was looking around with an embarrassed expression, let out an exclamation as if something occurred to her.
"Do you know what, Deon? The Salvation Church has completely collapsed in the human world!"
"Yes?"
"Yes! Now that the rival is gone, the Demon Cult will grow even bigger!"
"Good. Is the demon summoning still not working well?"
Demonism was constantly attempting to summon demons in the human world. The standard way for demons to come into the human world.
There were fewer restrictions than coming through the border, so if even one of the twelve Corps Commanders was properly summoned and made a contract, that alone was a great harvest.
But was it as easy as it sounded?
As expected, it didn't seem to be going well, and Lirinel sank down.
"I'm sorry... It happens to regular demons sometimes..."
"No. If you succeed, it just becomes a little easier, but if you fail, it doesn't hinder work at all."
In the first place, it was one of the excuses and a trick for entering the human world.
"You successfully brought back the summoned demons according to the route you created, right?"
"Yes."
"Then that's enough. Relax."
"Yes..."
The topic of conversation disappeared again.
What a mistake again before she could make up for her ugly behavior a moment ago. Lirinel rolled her eyes uneasily, thinking that an order to banish the guest would be issued like this. It was by chance that an enchanted wooden box came into view in the process.
To be exact, it was a wooden box with 'almost all of its magic gone'.