And here we were—the Holy Empire of Lubelius.
Already, the kids were agape at the exotic sight of Lubelius's city streets. Baton and the musicians, meanwhile, were tensed up, unable to stay at ease. Diablo was with me as my secretary, as well as Shion—I had her stay home during my last trip, so she got to come along this time. Instead, Veldora was watching over things in Tempest; I reminded him of his vital position as labyrinth master, which kept him from getting any funny ideas. Really, Veldora could go to pretty much any nation besides this one—he and Luminus in the same place was just far too dangerous.
Report. The chances of a problem occurring are one hundred percent.
You couldn't spell it out more clearly than that. If there's a big mine in the ground in front of you, you're not gonna march straight for it.
Hinata was our guide here. "Welcome to Lubelius," she casually told us. "The
Holy Emperor himself will be greeting you shortly."
She was talking about Louis, and I had insider knowledge, of course, that he was only playing the role of Lubelius's leader. Baton and the others, however, didn't—it was classified information, and I told the kids to keep mum about it around the orchestra.
"So tonight there's going to be a dinner party to formally greet all of you. Tomorrow, we'll be tuning things at the concert hall, and we're slated to begin rehearsals the day after that. The show's scheduled for three days from now. Does all of that sound good to you?"
"What do you think, Baton?"
"Y-yes, Sir Rimuru! I think that will be fine. Everything's been magically transported here already, and I believe it all made the trip safely. We'll need to adjust our setup for the concert hall's size, but I understand they have an orchestra of their own, so I don't anticipate any issues."
Sounds good to me.
"You sure, though? You're only getting one day for rehearsals."
"Ha-ha-ha! Here in Lubelius, yes, but we've never missed a day preparing for an event like this back at home. We'll all work as one to answer the call!"
Great, then! If he was that confident about this, I was sure their extended efforts would pay off. Talent really can beat hard work sometimes, but then again, hard work is never gonna betray you. It connects to confidence, giving you the internal strength you need to express your full skills in any situation. Keep up a regular effort, and you'll truly start believing in yourself. I internally gave Baton's response an A-plus as I nodded at him; if he was that confident, I felt safe expecting big things from them.
That night, his orchestra received the royal treatment from the nobility. For the most part, it made them more nervous and awkward than ever.
"Um, Sir Rimuru, we're just regular citizens of Tempest, you know. Is it really all right to be afforded rooms like these?"
We were traveling with over a hundred people, and they were all given their
own room to stay in, each with a maid on standby in an adjacent chamber so you could call them in at any time. There was even a salon on the level of a four-star hotel spa, available completely for free. Baton and his musicians hardly knew what to do with themselves.
The dinner party was just as swank, featuring a cavalcade of bite-size courses served on top of a small spoon—a feast for the eyes and the palate. Each course was small but carefully seasoned and designed to keep your attention. Everyone loved them. Kenya and the kids acted like it wouldn't be enough for them at first, but by the end of the banquet, they were all rubbing their full bellies. As a slime, I had a de facto bottomless stomach, but theirs were beholden to the laws of physics. Stack up enough tiny courses like this, and you'd still have trouble eating them all.
Unlike these innocent kids, though, our orchestra had mixed feelings. Tempest was full of culinary delights of its own, but you weren't going to see intricate masterpieces meant for kings and princes like this. They've never had anything like it, and they certainly had not enjoyed this level of service before. I could tell them not to be nervous, but it was an impossible ask.
"Ah, don't worry about it. It just shows how much they're looking forward to your performance, I'm sure."
At times like this, I took solace in the fact that I wasn't doing the performing. I didn't need to go up there and sing, as it were, for my supper. If I were in the same position as Baton, I'd probably be too anxious to eat anything—talk about a wasted opportunity. So I encouraged our band to enjoy themselves more as the dinner party went on.
After it ended, everyone retired to their rooms. The kids were already asleep by now, overstimulated and exhausted from the day's events. With everyone else resting, I was all alone. My newfound ability to take naps helped for such occasions, but it looked like I wouldn't have to rely on that. There was a knock on the door.
"My apologies for interrupting you late at night. Our leader has invited you to visit her, Sir Rimuru—would you happen to be available?"
I had been silently approached by Luminus's personal maid, an overcomer.
She seemed like quite an elegant talent, unlike the ones who populated our research lab. I had thought Luminus was going to snub us today, but it looked like she wanted to see me after all. There was no need to turn her down, so I roused Shion and Diablo, and we followed the maid down the hall.
"Good to see you again, Rimuru," Luminus offered me in greeting. "I admire the restraint you show, not bringing that evil dragon along."
She was talking about Veldora, right? I couldn't blame her, given what he had done, but it still seemed kind of mean. But that was none of my business.
"Yeah, good to see you, too. And he's a troublemaker, you know? If I brought him to something like this, it'd be more of a headache for me than anyone."
"Hee-hee-hee! You know him well, then."
It was a short exchange, but I felt a real connection to Luminus now. Veldora's helping me in unexpected ways.
Waiting for us in that ornate chamber were three people, Luminus included. Gunther, her elderly butler, was stationed to her left, and Louis, the man serving as emperor, was standing to her right. With the passing of her standin Roy, this meant all the surviving members of Luminus's Three Servants were on hand.
I wasn't sure why Hinata was missing, though.
"But you didn't call for Hinata?"
"No," Gunther replied. "She may have advanced from Enlightened to Saint, but she's still a former human being. Whether she no longer requires sleep or not, she has still not shed her human habits."
"I did reach out to her," added Louis, "but she told me some nonsense about sleep deprivation being bad for her skin…"
It was indeed past midnight, so they didn't force Hinata up. That made sense to me, but then Luminus gave me a light smile.
"It's odd, though. Her body's structure has transformed to something closer to a spiritual life-form, so skin deterioration should be the least of her worries. But it's true—Hinata actually does require sleep. Even as a Saint, her body's still
as it was during her human years. It will take many more years for it to undergo the full evolution. A lot of people have the wrong idea about this, but there's nothing superhuman about Hinata at the moment."
She had a little laugh at this.
Unlike monsters, humans cannot undergo sudden, explosive physical transformations. That means Hinata still retained some of her human characteristics—which, if looked at from a certain angle, could be seen as a weakness. This was something I subconsciously suspected, but it just showed how ridiculous monster transformations could be.
I, of course, did not require sleep, and neither did Diablo. Shion did, more or less, but three hours per session was enough, and she could stay continually active for seven days or more without rest. Benimaru and Soei were apparently the same way, which showed just how well monsters adapted to their environments.
But regardless, if Hinata wasn't here, it wasn't my job as Luminus's invitee to care.
"Right, well, here's a souvenir for you. It's a collaboration between Shuna and Mr. Yoshida—an apple-brandy pound cake."
I thought Hinata would complain about serving this while she was absent, but late-night snacks are a beauty no-no, I'm sure. She liked this kind of thing, but if she didn't know about it, she wouldn't have to agonize over taking a slice or not. It's an act of kindness, really.
"What a feat! How thoughtful of you."
Luminus was certainly complimentary. I must thank Shuna for letting me have this. My two self-styled secretaries would never demonstrate that kind of good sense. Diablo was always extremely considerate of me, but that didn't apply to anyone else. They both have a screw loose, really. But anyway.
"So what did you want to see me for?"
"Yes, well, I wasn't entirely sure whether to inform you, but I've decided I should. It seems that Granville is up to his tricks again. I am very much looking forward to our concert in three days, and I don't want anything to get in the
way of it. So I thought I would ask for your assistance."
A rather casual way, I thought, to give some unpleasant news. I wanted to tell her that it was no topic to discuss over cake. Shion was nodding at this, but I don't think she understood the portent of it. Diablo, meanwhile, looked like he couldn't care less. If an enemy came along, he'd eliminate it—those were his thoughts, no doubt. But this was a pain to me. I was on foreign soil, not my own country. I could summon the demons, as well as the forces Soei deployed across the land, but I didn't want to go overboard.
Besides…
"If it's that big of a deal, shouldn't you really be telling Hinata?"
Yeah, this kind of thing was right up her alley. She was far more qualified to patrol this nation than visitors like us. But Luminus shook her head.
"Hmph! Do not underrate us, please! No matter what kind of rabble attacks us, Lubelius's defenses are ironclad. We've thoroughly enhanced our defensive measures to prepare for that evil dragon, after all. But we are not flawless. There is a possibility they may sneak in undetected through some previously unknown opening."
The way she was talking, no invading army could manage to shake her steadfast confidence. I mean, if they were planning for war against Veldora, your typical army of ten thousand was no sweat. But that wasn't Luminus's concern.
"Some previously unknown opening? Ah, right, Granville Rozzo headed the Seven Days Clergy…"
"Exactly," chimed in Louis. "Given his secret maneuvering around Lubelius across many years, I am positive he has at least one or two hidden routes he can take advantage of. Humans are gifted at sneaky tricks like that."
"And as irksome as the thought is," said a seething Gunther, "he once fought against Lady Luminus as the Hero of Light. With that experience, he could conceal himself entirely, and we'd have no idea he was there."
That did sound dangerous. Kind of an inside job, then? Nobody would know the terrain better, certainly, and there was no doubting his strength. They say
he's more powerful than the late demon lord Clayman, so you didn't want to let your guard down here…or so I thought.
"Ridiculous. I wish you wouldn't disturb Sir Rimuru with such trifling matters."
Then Diablo suddenly spoke up, sounding as brash as always. And here I thought he'd been behaving rather well—now the bomb was going off. I really wish he'd learn when to keep his mouth shut.
Louis and Gunther looked put off for a moment, but Luminus's smile kept them in line.
"Hee-hee-hee… Well, Noir, I see Rimuru's certainly tamed you, hasn't he? Even seeing it in person, I can hardly believe it."
I wasn't sure why Luminus was smiling in a situation like this. But it kept things from getting awkward.
"I wish you wouldn't call me that. I have a wonderful name granted to me by Sir Rimuru—"
"Enough, Diablo. I'm on friendly terms with Luminus, and I'd like to keep it that way."
I gave him a warning that, hopefully, worked as an apology.
"My pardons."
Refraining from addressing her any further, Diablo heeded my request and quieted down. He even bowed his head a little to Luminus and her servants, and while I'm sure he had no remorse whatsoever, I was willing to accept that. Luminus, after all, was asking a favor of her guests, so I didn't want to aggravate matters.
"No, I'd say Diablo there is correct. Perhaps it is wrong of us to make this request at all. But there is a good reason why I decided to share this with you."
Very considerate of her, calling Diablo by name…even if it was a nickname. She chose not to sweat the details and quietly began explaining why she'd summoned us here.
"As I mentioned when I discussed how Hinata still needs sleep, humans cannot quickly adapt their bodies after an evolution. It is something they must
settle into, through many years…"
An Enlightened figure, one qualified enough to be a demon lord, can evolve into a Saint, equivalent to an awakened demon lord. However, given the time it takes for this evolution to finish, you could say that a newborn Saint is not that much of a threat. They may have swells of energy flowing within them, but if they don't know how to wrangle them, it's pointless. Hinata could control her energies down to pretty exacting rates, but that was dependent on her own personal skills. It didn't come as naturally to her as breathing, so the resulting burden had a physical and mental effect upon her.
But why would Luminus bring this up while she wasn't there? …Actually, maybe it's the opposite. She waited for her to be absent before she brought it up. And if human beings took a while to evolve, then…
"Now, going back to Granville for a moment, he is not currently a Saint. He is someone who has hatched out of a Hero's egg, if you will—grown and flown away from the nest. Not even I can guess how powerful he has become."
So he's a true Hero, then?
Of course, this world had many types of Hero—some self-styled, others true Heroes in training as recognized by the world itself. Some were even "real" enough to do things like seal Veldora away for years. Just as seed demon lords could portray themselves as the real thing, those bearing hero eggs could be recognized as fully Heroic, and the difference in strength was roughly proportionate between the two. Heroes and demon lords really were united by fate that way—and in Granville's case, we were safe in assuming he had the strength of an awakened demon lord.
"…You think he's stronger than Hinata, maybe?"
"When I first heard Gren was killed by the likes of Nicolaus, I doubted my own ears. A Disintegration spell is among the most powerful magics of all, but Gren wasn't enough of a fool to leave himself completely exposed to it. But back to your question…"
Luminus looked me straight in the eyes. So this is why she didn't invite Hinata. "…Yes. You're right. I had hoped to tame that man for myself. Having fought
him once, I know for a fact he's stronger than the demon lords of old."
She sounded completely confident, surprising not just me but her servants Louis and Gunther. They were both silent now, perhaps not realizing how misinformed their judgment of him was.
"Indeed, we never directly fought Gren, so…"
"But you would rate him that highly?"
"I would. I gave Gren free rein because I wanted to keep him in my personal sandbox. We both shared common goals, so I forged an agreement with him because I thought it would be fun. As head of the Seven Days Clergy, he was granted all kinds of political power. In a way, I kept him as my personal ace in the hole."
That ace wound up betraying her before she could play it, going over to the other side and wrapping his hands around her neck. It was an error in judgment, I suppose, but I felt like I was a part of the cause, a little bit. Not that I was to blame, but…
"Well, Maribel's dead now, after all. The cherished child of the Rozzo family."
If the notoriously careful Granville was on the move now, that had to be his motivation.
"Ah yes, the child I caught sight of at your festival. I wasn't aware at the time, but she was quite a foe, wasn't she? If Granville treated her with so much respect, she might have been the key to all his ambitions."
Maribel was a handful. If she stayed away from the spotlight, letting her conspiracies naturally play out, we'd have a maelstrom of evil to deal with. The enemy in front of you is never as potentially lethal as the one seething from far away.
Still, though…
"So what does Granville want? He can't be taking action at this point out of some twisted desire to avenge Maribel."
"That is probably… No. Never mind."
Luminus stopped herself from saying something. She shut her eyes for a few
seconds, deep in thought, before quietly continuing.
"Even long ago, his one hope was to spread peace across the world. He fought against countless slavering monsters and vicious magic beasts, defeating them in his quest to protect the human regions of the world. I fought that stubborn old man many times, until he understood that I wanted to live alongside humankind instead of eradicate them. Once we forged an agreement with each other, that was when peace finally spread across the West. Legions banded together to form small nations, which prospered and grew into larger ones over time. And it was Gren himself who appealed to them behind the scenes to create the Council of the West."
Hearing the story like this, Granville—or the Hero Gren—really did seem like a legendary figure. He was now part of the shady Five Elders, but it was still all in the name of protecting humankind. No matter the motivations behind it, if you looked at the results he put up, Granville basically gave the human race a thousand years of peace, didn't he…?
"The ancient elves who rule over Thalion have no territorial interests. We in Lubelius serve as a shield against the tyranny of Earthquake Daggrull and the Storm Dragon Veldora. The demons to the north keep attempting to intervene from their ice-shrouded world, but it's more for entertainment than anything. If Guy were serious about it, he would have brought the world to its knees long ago, after all. That just leaves humankind's other great outpost on this planet, and Granville has worked alongside the dwarves to combat it and hired merchants to prod its innards. He's been doing all this by himself for ages."
Put it that way, and Granville really seemed amazing.
…No. No, now's not the time to commiserate with him.
"All right. So if he's done all those noble things, what does he want?"
"Hee-hee… Don't hurry me, now. I'd like to say that Gren has no reason to confront me, but I can think of one thing. I can think of it, but I have no intention of telling you."
Oh. I figured as much, given that pause earlier.
"But I did receive some concerning news about his motives. Do you know
Yuuki Kagurazaka?"
"Sure. You said he gave off bad vibes or something, didn't you? He's the mastermind who incited Farmus to fight and set Clayman against me."
"Oh, you picked up on that? That saves me some time, then, but you should know that Yuuki has contacts with Gren. There is some kind of business going on between them, and it seems they've forged a pact of their own."
Yuuki again? I'm really getting sick of him playing around with us. Without Raphael, I'm sure he would've easily pulled the wool over my eyes. If we kept letting him run around free, I'm sure we'd be constantly encountering the same problems. Maybe it's about time to settle matters.
"So Yuuki's motivations are lurking around behind Granville's moves?" "That they are. And I think one of his targets is all of you."
I see. And with me outside of Tempest, now was the best time to attack?
"Interesting. So that child Yuuki wants this Gren character to fight against Sir Rimuru?"
Now it was Shion speaking up out of nowhere. I gave her a surprised look. Knowing her, I assumed she was spacing out on the conversation by now, but she actually had a full grasp of it.
"Keh-heh-heh-heh… Perhaps they think they enjoy an edge now that a few of us have left the country, but they had best think again. We have not one, but two members of the Big Four guarding you. No scheme of theirs could possibly cause any harm."
Diablo, meanwhile, was the same as always. I really wish he wouldn't bring up the Big Four right now. It's so embarrassing.
"Well, remain on your guard. Once three days pass, it will be none of your business anyway. As I said at first, all I care about is enjoying a nice concert."
Luminus never wavered. She called Gren a threat, but to her, the entertainment came first. And as we concluded this private midnight talk, I began thinking I could learn from the way she compartmentalized things.
So was Granville really going to do something? And was Yuuki going to take advantage? With those worries in mind, I greeted the second day of our stay in Lubelius.
Today we'd be bringing in and setting up all our equipment in the concert hall. We were guided to a grand cathedral, one of the nation's main buildings. It was large enough to hold crowds of parishioners while also serving as a defensive post for the road that lay beyond.
I had nothing in particular to do. Best to let the professionals handle their own instruments. Instead, as I planned, I'd be taking the kids out for some on site social studies instruction.
Of course, after listening to Luminus, I exercised the cards I had in hand. First, I called for Venom, who answered directly to Diablo, and ordered him to go on security duty. I'm sure this sudden invitation confused him.
"Diablo, I want you to watch over Baton and the rest as they prepare—"
"Sir Rimuru," he interrupted, "one moment, if you please. I thought we may run into some trouble here, so I made some arrangements overnight. The orchestra will be safe."
Great. Diablo must've foreseen and addressed anything that'd make him leave my side. This is exactly why he assembled so many troops, I'm sure, so I didn't mind that at all. But apparently he told Venom to come here in ten minutes or less. Venom actually did it, which was funny enough, but if that's the kind of order Diablo gave without a second thought, he really was heartless. Which he was, of course. He's a demon. I marveled at his talents all the time, but at that moment, I couldn't imagine how hard it was to work under him.
So the next thing I knew, Venom already had a hundred demons helping the orchestra. These were all above A in rank, and I couldn't imagine any security issues from Luminus's side, either. The band was nothing if not very well guarded.
Thus, guided by Hinata, the children and I observed the goings-on around Lubelius. My personal take? It's the exact opposite of Tempest but not always in a bad way. Here, you were guaranteed a happy society at the expense of personal freedom. There was no competition, really. You just followed your
assigned instructions to carry out your work, and then you did it a million more times.
That could break you down mentally, maybe, but you'd never be beleaguered by starvation or pain. Anyone who couldn't live in this environment left long ago, I'm sure, and besides, if this is all you knew from the day you were born, it wouldn't occur to you to complain about it. You can't envy what you don't know about. If you never felt inferior to anyone else, you'd never be inspired by those feelings to try to improve yourself. That's all it took to craft a society free of conflict.
"Sounds kinda boring," whispered Alice.
"Yeah." Kenya nodded. "I mean, people our age are working and stuff. Is there no school or anything?"
The other children didn't comment, looking confused at the unfamiliar landscape.
"No, there's no school here. It's a nation managed from the top down, with everyone living peacefully as equals under the name of our god."
Hinata sounded proud of it, but did she really think it was right? She and her forces got to enjoy a luxurious life, but didn't she feel bad about having a monopoly on that? Of course, it didn't feel right to tell some hapless commoner about what they were missing out on, but…
"After all, some things you just can't have, no matter how hard you try. You can't yearn for something if you don't even know it exists in the first place."
"I guess not, but…"
Kenya was no fool, either. He understood what I was getting at.
"…In this managed society," Hinata continued, "the population enjoys high levels of happiness across the board. That's all the more reason why we need to go through the Western Holy Church to build relations with other countries."
Yeah, I'll bet. You couldn't expose this oblivious populace to stimuli from other nations without warning.
"Makes them sound kinda sheltered."
"But if they're happy, I don't think it's really our place to comment."
"Yeah. Happiness doesn't come from material possessions, after all. If it's emotional happiness you're after, then a society like this works."
Not that I could ever stomach it. Now that I knew better, I'd always be pursuing more abundance as my mission. Way back in the past, when I spent my afternoons playing tag with my school friends, maybe I could have accepted something like this. Everyone has their own idea of what happiness is, after all; it's not the sort of idea that you could point at someone and say they're wrong about it. You had to think for yourself and act accordingly—that's the best way, I figured. It was food for thought, but…
"…But none of these people can survive on their own, right? They can't keep this up unless they've got someone protecting them."
Chloe was speaking my thoughts out loud. Never underestimate a child's knack for observation.
Hinata blinked a little at this. I guess she must've picked up on that as well— just how warped this society really was. If everyone was oblivious, they'd be unable to do anything without someone managing them. Having no freedom meant that someone else had life-or-death power over you. It wasn't much different from being livestock.
"…Yes. And that's why we're working to avoid that."
"Hmm… Well, okay. But I think it'd be better if this was a group effort, Miss Hinata. That way, everyone could pitch in instead of you having to do everything!"
That was one ideal, yes. But someone always had to suffer eventually, because it never really worked out that way. We're all born with different levels of talent, and everyone produces work at their own pace. Words like equal sound nice, but there's always going to be a cruel, unequal reality attached. Ideals and reality—a contradiction that could never be fully buried. Prop something up here, and something else has to sag over there. There's no correct answer. You just have to keep rushing down the path you believe in— and that's what makes life interesting.
I think today gave the kids a lot to ponder; it's also reminded me that material possessions aren't enough to make you happy. I knew that, but I just couldn't stop. That was the conclusion I made, but I still didn't think today was a waste for me. My approach was, in a way, just one of many correct answers.
The diversity I enjoyed was the very potential that drove people's lives, I thought. But I wanted to reconsider my life one more time, carefully. No need to decide what's correct or not. I was stabbed in my previous life, and then I got reborn as a slime. Nobody could tell you what's coming next for me…and if that's how it was, I'd be missing out if I didn't enjoy the present.
That's what today made me think. And even now, the gears of fate were turning…
"Jaune has disappeared?"
"Yes. It is hard to believe, but I detected a massive amount of magic force… and then the demons sleeping there seemed to vanish…"
"…Unfathomable."
Leon thought he misheard Arlos's report at first.
In Leon's domain was an area shared with the demon realms, the spiritual world that demons call home. It was a land covered in thick miasma and magicules, one where a demon with untold powers could occasionally manifest itself. Your typical demon, bereft of a physical body, could be handled by Leon's knight corps, even if they were an Arch Demon. However, they had discovered an older demon in this land, one that's such an absolute threat that not even Leon could ignore it. This was Jaune, the Original Yellow.
She had yet to obtain a physical body, which limited where she had access to. However, her presence was still enough to keep Leon from moving an inch from where he stood. Anyone else would have been helpless against the carnage she wrought.
"She's an insane demon, the sort who'd throw nuclear-level magic spells around for fun. She would be impossible to live alongside, and she has no interest in negotiating. Without your backup, Sir Leon, she would even threaten
my life. And now you say she's gone?"
"Yes, Claude. I couldn't believe it myself, so I went to see…and the region that normally overlaps with the demon realm has been dimensionally repaired. I can only assume that someone has blocked the Gates of Hell."
"Impossible…"
Claude, the Black Knight widely considered the strongest fighter in all of El Dorado, was snapping at Arlos, the Silver Knight and his comrade-in-arms.
Everyone who lived here, not just Leon, was tormented by the demons. If Jaune, the original source of all their woes, had disappeared, it was such good news that nobody would dare believe it. In fact, the missing Gates of Hell seemed to portend even more ominous events for the future.
The Gates were a kind of door that overlapped between the physical and spiritual worlds. Its presence allowed bodiless demons to appear and interact with "normal" space for a limited time. Many knights had been deployed to close this door, but the demons stopped them. Ever since Leon built his nation here, there had been continual skirmishes on regular occasions. What made this so difficult for the knights was that spiritual life-forms could resurrect themselves as long as you didn't kill them at the root. Even worse, a demon just killing some time could easily cause massive damage to Leon's forces.
To Leon, who ruled over an otherwise bountiful realm, only the demons kept him up at night. If he truly wanted to, perhaps he could sweep them all up by himself—but one false move, and it could lead to Jaune awakening. And even then, Leon could probably beat her, although it'd require the fight of both of their respective lives. That's why he had avoided that so far.
What could have happened? Jaune is just… She's not like Mizeri and Raine, the way Guy describes them. She just doesn't listen to reason.
After carefully weighing his interests, Leon decided to maintain the status quo, even if it meant taking some losses. And now, out of nowhere, that threat was gone. He and all his forces agreed about one thing: No way had it just happened to turn out like this.
Now more news was reaching Leon's nervous ears.
"Report, my lord! There are currently five children being kept under wraps in Tempest. We've confirmed our intelligence with their former academy in Englesia, and we're almost done assessing it. It would appear the demon lord Rimuru is forging a secret pact to sell the children to the demon lord Luminus."
"What?"
"Lubelius and Tempest have signed a peace treaty; both demon lords are on good terms with each other. Our guess is that Rimuru has deceived Yuuki Kagurazaka and is using the magicule-rich children for his own business dealings!"
They had just received a magic call from a member of the Azure Knights currently investigating Tempest. The news gave Leon pause. The Rimuru he met at the Walpurgis meeting didn't strike him as the sort to pull a move like that.
"Have them observe this agent of ours closely. He may have a good contact… or he may be under someone's control."
"You don't think…"
"The demon lord Rimuru, perhaps?"
"No. I just don't see any reason why Rimuru would get rid of the children." "So why, then?"
"Someone's trying to make us fight. Someone who stands to profit from it. There's a chance the demon lord Luminus is being dragged into this as well. For all we know, Luminus may be behind it all."
"…?!"
"What in…?"
Leon thought for a moment—gauging the situation in the Western Nations, figuring out who'd be the prime suspect. The conclusion was as obvious as it was unnerving.
"…The Cerberus society?"
Only that shady pack of merchants knew Leon was collecting otherworlder children. Well, not just them. The people he tapped for their knowledge of
summoning spells knew, too.
Perhaps the Rozzos have discovered our summoning program…
Yes, maybe those merchants joined forces with them in a real, palpable way. If he started to doubt them, there'd be no end to it for his troubled mind. Besides, that report was suspicious on its face. Leon wouldn't have any motive to take action over just five children—or so he thought. Normally, demon lords avoided interfering with one another as much as they could. Butting into a conflict between demon lords that he had no personal stake in would be the height of folly; it could give him two enemies where there used to be none.
It was best to ignore these events. Luminus might be scheming at something, but it'd all be pointed at Rimuru, not Leon. There was, by Leon's reasoning, no point in making a move. This time, however, he could feel his judgment wavering. Perhaps detecting this, Leon's advisers began debating the matter.
"I see… So there are people out there trying to take advantage of Sir Leon?" "Should we quash them?"
Leon stopped them. "No. Cerberus has major clout in the Eastern Empire. It'd be unwise to make enemies of them without any evidence. They're no doubt fanning the flames here, but the Rozzo family might not be so faithful themselves. And besides that…"
He was taking the situation coolly, providing suitable instructions for his forces, but there was still a pang of anxiety in Leon's mind. That name, Scoey Colbert. Could that be…?
…No, there was no reason to make a move. In fact, any moves would mean falling for the bait. Leon understood that, but he still had trouble resisting the impulse.
If Jaune was alive and well somewhere, he couldn't do something ill-advised that could affect the very land he stood on. The scales in his mind remained stationary, pointing out the correct choice.
And yet…
Strange. I just feel like I have to act right now…
He had fallen silent, his adviser looking up at him.
"My lord, we are all your faithful knights. We will gladly follow any orders you give us."
"Yes! No matter how selfish you may be, we will never chide you for it. Grant us your orders, and I promise we will make them come true!"
"You…"
Arlos, Claude, and all the other knights were unquestionably loyal to him. "…Either Jaune's disappearance is an extraordinary stroke of luck, or…"
Leon closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was a fearless smile on his lips.
"I accept your loyalty. I must go myself. Guard this land in my stead." """Yes, sir!"""
Here, in the Golden Land of El Dorado, great forces were now in motion. Leon Cromwell, the Platinum Saber, was about to reach for his sword and end his long silence.
"Ah, the demon lord Leon's on the move, huh? Just as I thought—it's not just any child he's looking for. So maybe Chloe really is the one…"
It meant that Leon's true desire wasn't the children, but a certain person who came from another world. By the laws of cause and effect, this made it seem quite likely that Chloe was what Leon wanted.
"But, Sir Yuuki, Leon's not necessarily going to do what we want, will he? He's probably headed for Lubelius, but I doubt he's accepted the info we've given him at face value. In fact, I'm sure he doubts it."
"I'm sure he does. But it still let us narrow down his motivations. That's good enough."
Yuuki was satisfied, but Kagali and the others didn't see things his way. They seemed concerned, unsure about his thoughts.
"I agree that Chloe merits attention, but don't we lack concrete proof that she's the central figure? Relying on uncertain odds like that strikes me as out of character for you, Sir Yuuki."
"Yeah, right? And here we are, leakin' sensitive information to him. It's all but askin' him to doubt us, y'know? So what was the purpose of all that?"
"I'd like to know, too, Boss. I don't think you made a mistake, but now Leon's gonna have it in for Cerberus, won't he? It's basically ended our relationship. I don't see how we've gained anything at all."
Laplace and Teare weren't hiding their concerns now. Footman didn't join
them, and the ever-wise Kagali felt it proper to keep her mouth shut.
"I can understand if the clowns here are confused," Misha said with a bewitching smile. "It's true—we didn't stand to gain anything from this. We did it for just one reason, and that's because the boss has decided we can't deal with the demon lord Leon any longer."
That set off a light bulb in Kagali's mind.
"I see. So that's how it was? Not that we won't deal with him, but we can't…?"
"Huh?"
"Wh-what do you mean, Lady Kagali?"
"Hoh-hoh-hoh! Not like we'd understand her if she told us. All we have to do is follow the orders, and—"
"Quiet one second, Footman. Whether I can understand it or not, I want to hear it!"
Footman scowled a bit at Teare's interruption. They usually got along well, so it stung a bit. The way he saw it, they didn't need to get mired in complex reasoning—just do what Yuuki and Kagali and the others said, and everything would work out fine. He truly believed that, but now it seemed he was the only one. The others trusted Yuuki and Kagali, but they wanted to know what they were working for.
Yuuki looked at them and smiled. In terms of being easy to use, Footman sure is a helpful guy…but if you want a better chance at success, people like Laplace are leagues better. Of course, it's not like we had some grand reasoning behind this…
As he thought over this, he began to venture an explanation.
"Well, the fact that Leon's taking action now is all the reason we needed. You know how we had you guys deliver one final shipment of classified goods to him? I only did that because we were planning to shut off business with Leon, and I wanted you to have a chance to see your hated nemesis in person once."
"Huh? So you really wouldn't have cared if we started kickin' ass in there?"
"You're exactly right. Assuming you escaped alive once you were done, that is."
Yuuki grinned, a smile brimming with confidence as he attempted to calm his minions down.
"Children or not, collecting otherworlders takes a lot of hard work. We know Leon did it to boost his fighting power, but we kept helping him anyway. You know why, right?"
"Yeah, 'cause we wanted to keep that connection with him?" "Right. So what did we need to keep that relationship going?" "The classified goods, right? The otherworlder children?"
"Mm-hmm. And now we can't get any more of them. Why?"
"Well, because the Rozzos we had been countin' on to summon them for us are… Oh. Ohh."
"What? What is it?"
"You see, Teare? This way, we can pin the blame for cutting things off on the Rozzos. If we can't get any new supply in, we certainly can't keep our business going. We can't go around looking for kids that just happened to wander into this world, but we can pretend we are and sell them that way. So this way, we're seizing the initiative. Even if we cut Leon off for now, we can still make contact with him later if we need him."
"But that's still no reason to deliberately make him suspect us," a confused Teare said.
"Nah," groaned Laplace, the truth dawning on him. "You see, they're tryin' to make the Rozzo family out to be the real bad guys. I tell you, Boss, you're a mean one, that's for sure."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Thanks for the compliment. Yes, like you said, Laplace, I'm intending to shunt all the blame on old man Granville."
"It annoys me to say this," Kagali added, "but Leon's a very careful individual. We're the only ones he's suspecting right now…but at the same time, I'm sure he thought, There's no way Cerberus would do something so immature. He'd
eliminate Rimuru or Luminus as suspects, and in his eyes, there's nobody else who could be scheming against him. The Rozzos are probably the least of his worries."
"Leon's careful, yeah, but he's also got a lot of self-confidence. He's not gonna let himself get hurt by some human he wanted to take advantage of. He didn't even try to learn about the Rozzos. I don't think he could even guess that the real threat was lurking among their ranks."
"I can imagine. The Five Elders were nobody too big, after all, except for those two."
"Two? But if Maribel's gone, that just leaves Granville, don't it?"
"Well, you didn't know, but there were actually three people in the Rozzo family we needed to be careful with."
Maribel was dead, but two still remained—such was the information Cerberus gave them.
"Of course, to be exact, it's not one of the Elders. It's this one guy who worked for Cidre, that frontier margrave, and he's apparently real bad news."
With a grin, Yuuki told the room what he knew.
Cidre was the aristocrat responsible for protecting the peace in northern Englesia. In this region was a family of protectors who guarded the land from generation to generation. The current one, a man decked out in a full mask and armor with no skin visible, had been serving Granville all this time despite nobody knowing where he came from. He wasn't part of the Five Great Elders, but anyone aware of him knew better than to ignore him. Yuuki heard about him from Damrada.
"And you know, Damrada himself told me 'I have no idea who'd win between us unless I actually fight him.' So no way he's weak. The only other person he's described in terms like that is Hinata."
As far as Yuuki knew, Damrada kept a close eye out for only three people in the Western Nations—Hinata, Maribel, and this man. To him, the man was even more of a menace than the head elder, Granville himself. And if Damrada the Money—one of Cerberus's leaders and a man who enjoyed Yuuki's full trust—
rated him like that, there was no way Yuuki could afford to ignore him. "So what's he like?"
"That I don't know. I've never met him. But he pretty much single-handedly keeps the peace up in the north, you know? Damrada said he happened to see him in combat once, and he himself was fightin' against a bunch of demons from the north."
This statement was like dropping a bomb in the room. Kagali and Misha were already aware of it, but even they seemed to have trouble accepting it. That's how much of a revelation it was.
"The man's name is Razul, apparently. Granville personally named him." "Granville…?"
"He named him?"
"Wait, so you mean…?"
"You weren't aware of that, Lady Kagali?" asked Misha. "Well, it's true. Damrada told me that Razul isn't human."
"Yeah," Yuuki added. "He doesn't wear all that armor just to protect himself. It's also so nobody finds out what he is, according to Damrada."
To Laplace and the others, however, that was just a small detail.
"Ah, that doesn't matter. Lemme get this straight. By 'demons from the north,' d'you mean from the lands of that demon lord?"
"R-right! If the Lord of Darkness is taking action, the West would've been a heap of ash long ago…"
Nobody, not even Yuuki, could smile at the normally composed Laplace and Kagali acting so out of sorts.
"Please, calm down. You guys are pretty scared of the demon lord Guy Crimson, huh? Well, we're fine for now. Regarding your question, yes, the northern demons were people working under Guy. It looks like Guy's tolerating it when his forces decide to attack human settlements for fun. It's just a game for the demons, but the victims sure don't see it that way, of course. So it was
Razul stopping them before they could cross into his territory."
Just one man, protecting human society from all those demons? The thought stunned everyone except Yuuki into silence.
"I hardly believe it, but I'm convinced. If Guy isn't serious about this, that explains why the Western Nations are still safe. This Razul person sounds like quite a threat, but…"
"This is just crazy. Not even I could pull a stunt like that."
"B-but…I know he's strong and all, but what's he have to do with Leon? Are we trying to have Leon travel north and fight against him?"
As everyone regained their composure, Yuuki found himself smiling at Teare's question.
"Right, let's go back to the main topic. Like I said, the Rozzos have this Razul as kind of a last resort. He's there to fend off the demons who might attack at any time, so they couldn't afford to move him away from the north."
That was why not even Maribel factored Razul into his calculations. Why not? Because as a champion working directly under Granville Rozzo, not even Maribel had the clout to order him around.
Yuuki had been aware of Razul for some time now. He hadn't used him in his strategizing so far because he simply didn't have the chance. Any false move with him, and Guy's forces were capable of laying waste to the West. He didn't want that, and thus the northern regions were hands-off to him. Now, however, things had changed.
"I'm going to level with all of you. A while back, I had a conference with Granville where we worked out an agreement—an agreement I've already briefed you about."
The smile disappeared from Yuuki's face. Everyone else nodded.
"Right," said Kagali. "The god worshipped by the Western Holy Church was exactly who we expected it to be. And out of sadness for losing Maribel, Granville decided to join forces with you, Sir Yuuki."
"Stupid old man."
"Silence, Laplace. So along those lines, Granville asked for your help with something. Are the preparations for that going along well, Sir Yuuki?"
Yuuki and Granville's secret meeting. In the midst of it…
...…
...
…
Yuuki was the one who informed Granville of Maribel's death. She had challenged the demon lord Rimuru to battle and lost. Left with no other option, she set off a magical control reactor, got caught in the resulting explosion, and died. It was the same story Yuuki told Rimuru earlier. Yuuki had considered giving Granville another lie but opted against it—now that Rimuru's suspicions of him were gone, he didn't want to be needlessly inconsistent.
Although he couldn't say how Granville would react, Yuuki wasn't at all afraid of him alone. Even if he was part of the Seven Days Clergy, those protectors of humankind, Yuuki saw him as just a poor elderly man possessed by a mad, greedy desire for power. He wasn't about to let his guard down, but he viewed Granville as a beatable opponent.
The old man had several of his guards with him at the conference, including a couple of otherworlders. It'd be a bad idea to make enemies out of all of them, but Yuuki still felt at ease. With Maribel gone, all he really needed to watch out for was this Razul guy. Thus, he faced up against Granville, not bothering to hide his true nature.
"I see… So Maribel is dead…"
"Mm-hmm. And lemme tell you, it was hard for me as well—her controlling me, making me fight against Rimuru… I know the Free Guild's built under the Council and gets their operating budget from them, but this is really a breach of contract, isn't it? I had my free will taken from me, and I really think I deserve some compensation."
"So what happened with the demon lord Rimuru?" Granville asked, pushing Yuuki's demand aside. Yuuki expected that to some extent, shrugging without showing any real disappointment.
"What happened? Nothing, really. He may have doubted you before, perhaps, but now I think he believes all of this was Maribel's scheme. That's the way I framed it with him, besides, and I hope you won't think ill of me for it."
"Mmm…"
Granville's expression hinted at severe exhaustion, something Yuuki didn't anticipate. He shut his eyes tightly, remaining silent for a moment.
"…I see. So Maribel is gone. Now all hope is lost for the Rozzo family. And if it is, we must use the secret treasure she hid away for our revenge."
"She? And a secret treasure, you say? I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I'd like to stay out of it, if you don't mind."
"Heh-heh-heh… Ah, don't say that, Yuuki. You know already, don't you? You're no fool."
"…Know what?"
"Hmph! That the god of Luminism is none other than the demon lord Luminus herself."
"Oh…"
Yuuki had assumed as much, but it surprised him to hear it from Granville's own lips. At the same time, he wondered why he'd reveal such a vital secret to him.
"Well, if you're telling me that, then what are you scheming?"
"Scheming? Oh, don't call it that. I've accepted you, you know. With Maribel gone, you're the only person I could entrust the future of the Western Nations to—or really, the human race itself."
Granville rose from his sofa, speaking to Yuuki in exaggerated tones. Yuuki wasn't obedient enough to believe him.
"Ah, come on. I don't need to be some savior—Rimuru's probably gonna step up to do that anyway. He really does want to live alongside humankind, you know."
Yuuki snickered a little. He assumed all talks were off now. But Granville
wasn't done yet.
"You're still young, Yuuki, very young. Maribel could see into the future, but it appears that you cannot. That demon lord, Rimuru… We cannot ever permit his continued existence. Lady Luminus had no interest in the human world, and that's exactly why she and they could coexist. But not Rimuru. He's going to corrupt humanity and spread chaos worldwide, I'm sure of it. There will be seas of blood."
"Oh? Wow. What's your basis for saying that?"
"My sixth sense."
"Huh? That's kind of irrational—"
"My sixth sense as a former Hero. It is pleading with me to slay the demon lord Rimuru."
This made Yuuki pause. He squinted at Granville. He may have called himself a former Hero, but to Yuuki, he looked like a shriveled old man. He had fancy clothes, sharp eyes, and the charisma and drive of a leader and ruler…but Yuuki just couldn't see the kind of "strength" that would put Granville above Maribel.
"A Hero? You're joking."
"Pfft! You can choose to believe me or not. But I want to know whether you'll assist me in defeating the demon lord Rimuru."
"Ha-ha! Assist you? Why would I ever agree to something so hazardous? I want to keep my current relationship with him—"
"Enough nonsense, you fool! Maribel is dead! Now's not the time for us to be playing mind games with each other! We could leave everything to the Empire, but there's too many question marks in their government. And who knows how much we can trust the merchants you're connected to?"
"Mmm…"
Who's talking nonsense now? Yuuki thought, chiding Granville in his mind. Unlike Granville, he didn't take a humans-first approach to life. No matter what happens to humankind, it was all good to him—as long as he had full control of it in the end. But this talk of a secret treasure still concerned him. By the sound
of it, Granville felt this would be enough to defeat Rimuru, and Yuuki wanted to find out what it was.
Granville, meanwhile, paid Yuuki's thoughts no mind.
"I won't ask you to believe me. I simply want us to join forces, just once." "…Again, how does that benefit me?"
"I will grant you Lady Luminus's hidden treasure."
"And that is…?"
"The ultimate weapon—the one that sealed Veldora away."
"…?!"
This sudden bombshell was impossible for Yuuki to ignore.
"The greatest Hero of all time. I have not met her personally, but Lady Luminus is protecting her in a special ark."
"A demon lord protecting a Hero? What kind of joke is that…?"
"Ha-ha-ha! None of that, now. I was just as confused at first. But in the great battles that unfold in this world every few hundred years, I have seen this Hero in action. Truly, she is the supreme figure among her kind, capable of annihilating any form of evil."
"Stronger than you in your prime?"
"I would not even compare."
Those words sounded honest to Yuuki, and he was pretty confident in his lie detection skills. Granville was telling the truth. And if he was, Yuuki had an idea why this Hero disappeared and left Shizue Izawa to herself.
…There must be some limit to this Hero's career. Her life span? Well, regardless of the reason, if we can seize that ark or whatever Luminus is guarding, we can get the strongest pawn of all for ourselves, and then…?
So this "ultimate weapon" was in the custody of Luminus, likely under some sort of spell. If Yuuki and his friends could figure out what kind of spell it was…
"That's quite fascinating. But I'm not enough of a mark to believe you at face
value."
"I'm sure you're not. So here's a suggestion. I will attack and cause a scene at their main cathedral. It'll no doubt lead to confusion and chaos at Lady Luminus's castle, and in the midst of that, you can fly in and steal the ark."
It was an attractive suggestion—so advantageous to Yuuki, in fact, that he doubted it all the more.
"What do you gain from this? Isn't the demon lord Luminus your master? You're so bent on getting revenge for Maribel that you'll defy Luminus herself ?"
Granville greeted this question with disgust. "Of course I am. I was once on good terms with Lady Luminus, but she's already disposed of me. Our relationship hinged on the promise that she wouldn't oppose the human race. Now that she's joined hands with the demon lord Rimuru, Lady Luminus…or rather, the demon lord Luminus is my enemy—and nothing more."
The malice was clear in his words. Yuuki picked up on it, astonished by its sheer force. Wow… I thought he was a used-up old man, but he can still cut it on the front lines, can't he? Maybe this isn't such a bad offer after all…
He began to seriously consider it. On one hand, he'd insist upon Granville rising up first. That reduced the chances of a betrayal and gave him an opportunity to size up his powers before putting his own skin in the game. In the worst case, he could claim Granville tricked him with his lies into joining in —but he could judge how serious he was once battle began. If he couldn't gauge whether Granville intended to actually fight this out, there was no point joining in.
"Interesting… Very interesting. I still have a few doubts, but considering what I stand to gain from it, maybe giving it a venture isn't such a bad idea."
"Ha-ha! I thought you would say that. It will be a temporary alliance for us, but there will be no better way to cap off our friendship. Can I count on you for this?"
"Well, if you're willing to set the table that much for me, I might as well trust you a little, huh? So how are we gonna make this a success?"
"Yes, well…"
The two of them began going over the finer details—and at the end of it, the mastermind in full control of the Western Nations shook hands over it with the magic-born scheming to conquer the world.
...…
...
…
First, the Rozzo family would exercise their full resources in an attack on the cathedral. All the agents from the Selt Foreign Information Bureau would be there, as well as the survivors from Blood Shadow and some otherworlders summoned by the Rozzos. Even Razul himself, guardian of the Western Nation's northern boundary, would be present.
"I'm curious to see the full measure of the Rozzos' strength," muttered Kagali, grinning evilly—and she spoke for everyone in the room.
"So, Sir Yuuki, do you have a read on where this ark is hidden?"
"Granville gave me all the details. We'll have to proceed carefully, though, just in case he's tricking me."
"And that's my job, eh?" said Laplace. "I'm a little anxious about sneakin' in by myself, so I'm takin' Teare and Footman along, okay?"
"I'd like to say yes, but I have another job for Teare."
"Oh? Well, just Footman, then. But what're ya gonna do with her?"
"She's taking the most important job of all. But back to you for a moment. I want you guys to avoid combat as much as you can. Just focus on completing your mission."
"Always consider the possibility of a trap," advised Kagali. "If you sense any danger, don't hesitate to retreat."
"I ain't a kid, y'know. You don't have to remind me."
Laplace exuded confidence, Footman silently nodding his approval. "Good," said Kagali. "Remember that Luminus was the master of Valentine, a
demon lord as powerful as I was. I don't need to remind you how strong she is. She could easily defeat me in my prime. Do I make myself clear, Laplace? Your first priority isn't to steal the ark. It's to get as much info as you can without pushing your luck and come back home safely, all right?"
"Fine, fine. I ain't got no obligation to old man Granville. This ain't a Moderate Jesters job anyway, so I'll do my best for you guys, okay?"
"Yeah." Yuuki nodded. "So for this job, I'm gonna be supporting you. If that ark's every bit the decisive weapon Granville claims it is…"
"Support? What, don't you trust me? That hurts…"
"It's not that. We need to firm up our defense. There's bound to be a trap or two, so we can't be too careful."
Yuuki trusted Laplace and his cohorts well enough. This time, though, not even he could predict what would happen. No matter what, he couldn't afford to have them go easy and risk messing up the whole thing.
"I'll be following you all in secret," he continued. "It'll be up to you guys to carry out your end of it."
"Ooh, so we're gonna be a diversion for ya, huh? That would be smarter."
"And if things fall apart, use the confusion to bail out safely. I'll take our prize in the midst of that."
He grinned. The plan was perfect, and after several rounds of planning with Granville, Yuuki realized he was dead serious about it. This was definitely going to be the best shot he'd get. The chances of another opportunity like this were slim to none. Regardless of how things shook out, Yuuki thought, he absolutely had to get his hands on that ark.
"Okay, but is this ark really everything yer sayin' it is?"
"It is. He said it houses the Hero who sealed away Veldora himself. Supposedly this Hero answers to Luminus, but my plan's to undo whatever spell's been put on her and make her mine instead."
"Huh?"
"Seriously? Are you kidding me?!"
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Hoh-hoh-hoh…"
"Talk about priceless, wouldn't you agree? The East is ready to accept this ark at any time. We'll figure out how to gain control of the ultimate Hero; trust me."
The whole room was surprised to hear Yuuki's casual revelation. Now the ark was more valuable than any of them could imagine, and it was hard for anyone to hide their excitement. Even Misha, who was ordered to prepare for this ark in advance, couldn't hide her blushing cheeks. How could she? They were attempting to gain control over the figure who defeated the True Dragon, the most powerful presence in the world. World conquest, as envisioned by Yuuki and Cerberus, was no pipe dream now.
"I can see why yer bein' so careful, then, Boss."
"Yes, if that's how things are, I'd gladly volunteer to join in the research."
"Ha-ha! Not so fast, Kagali. It's too dangerous to accept Granville's story at face value…but I do think it's pretty plausible. So we can't mess this up."
"I'm sure Sir Yuuki's presence puts all our minds at ease, but we can't afford to have any of you drag us down, am I clear?"
"Roger that."
"Hoh-hoh-hoh! Understood!"
Learning the gravity of their mission enthused Laplace and Footman all the more. Yuuki gave them both satisfied looks, then turned to Teare.
"Now, Teare… We're actually going to have the demon lord Leon's support for this operation. It'd be rude if we didn't give him a warm welcome."
With Leon on the move, Yuuki's team now had a mission. If he chose to stay put, they would've likely done the same, maybe providing a little help on the sidelines—but now even Leon was on his way to Lubelius's holy lands.
No doubt about it. The battlefield was going to be chaotic.
"If Leon's been lured here," Kagali said, "we should make him think Cerberus
is being used by the Rozzos, too. That way, he'll mistakenly believe that he can trust us."
"And then we can tell Rimuru that Leon's ruthlessly after those little kids, right?"
"Right. And to make that more convincing, we need some of the kids we were planning to give Leon."
"Oh! And that's where I come in?"
"You got it, Teare. It'll mean showing your face in public, but knowing you, it's not gonna blow your cover, is it?"
"Not at all! With my acting skills, duping Rimuru is no problem!" She was ready for the job, but Yuuki still cruelly shook his head.
"Well, I have high hopes for that, but it's not gonna be enough. The demon lord Rimuru's an incredibly cautious leader, and he's got a real sharp eye for trouble. He might realize we're up to something, so we're gonna need to confer with Granville first…"
In hushed tones, he gave his orders to Teare. The evil thoughts of the magic born began to swell past all limits. The fated day was soon, very soon.
Deep inside a darkened room:
"Of course we will strike the demon lord Rimuru. And the demon lord Leon. And…Lady Luminus as well."
Granville's eyes were twin wells of bottomless hatred as he muttered the words.
For more than a thousand years, he had devoted himself to humankind. Perhaps his goals had shifted over time toward absolute rule and administration with an elite secret cadre, but there was no doubting his ultimate goal of peace across human society. It presented him with one hardship after another—an endless string of betrayals, accompanied by the deaths of the companions who supported him. Still, with his indomitable spirit, Granville had overcome all his hardship, guarding the people of this world up to now. The demon lord Luminus
assisted him, but his own efforts were just as extraordinary.
Those long-gone days when he discussed his ideals with his friends. The promises he forged with those who died before him. They all led up to the birth of Maribel, a great hope that brought his plans one step away from fruition. But now that hope was gone. His ultimate dream was to merge West with East, creating a united front to face the demon lords. Otherwise, keeping human society going seemed impossibly difficult. Now that the Octagram had been formed, their power was simply too great.
They were two down from their days as the Ten Great Demon Lords, but their authority was more dominant than ever before. Guy Crimson, the Lord of Darkness, was letting his demons treat the northern lands as their personal playground. Earthquake Daggrull's interests in territorial expansion were drawing his attention toward human lands. He hadn't acted yet, out of concern over clashes with the Queen of Nightmares, but he couldn't restrain himself forever. And now even the Eastern Empire was showing signs of a figure among them beyond humankind. Granville had also thought the Sleeping Ruler might attempt something, but he was so far unable to confirm his intentions.
These were the giants he had protected humankind from so far. But now…
"Look at these upstarts and their petty ambitions. Well, if they feel up to it, let them try. I'm too tired for it now…"
Not even Granville knew how much longer he had to live. With Maribel dead, no one was left to be a worthy successor to him. And without anyone to arbitrate over the proceedings to come, humankind would quickly meet its doom. It was simply a species far too ready to lay bare its greed and start infighting.
Long ago, his wife—a woman who resembled Maribel in many ways—was killed by such people. Granville had kept living, bottling up his sadness out of concern for the children she left behind, but that was in the past now.
"All this world has done is take from me. It deserves to fall."
His true feelings dribbled out from his lips. As far as he was concerned, this was the plain, honest truth. He had already given up his body to the madness… and that was exactly why he had such firm resolve now. The madness had
reached his mind.