“Is that the only reason?”
“Do I really need to say the other one? That slime controls the entire Forest of Jura, from one end to the other. If we go monster hunting in there, we’d get crushed. So why don’t we dissolve Orthrus now while it’d be to our advantage?”
“Yeah… I suppose. We just need to protect our core assets, huh? Like a lizard that’s lost its tail.”
“Right? So can I leave the arrangements to you?”
“‘Let him play the good guy’… Oh, him, you mean? You come up with the most interesting ideas sometimes, Boss. All right. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Kazalim.”
“Of course. Also, not to change the subject, but can you call me Kagali?”
The boy turned toward Kazalim, eyebrows raised. “Oh, you’re finally going through with it?”
“Uh-huh. With Clayman dead, it’s time to step up. Until I have my revenge against Leon, I’m putting the demon lord Kazalim name on ice.”
“Sure thing. In that case, get to work, Kagali.”
“Yes sir.”
They gave each other a glance and grinned—opening the curtain on a new age of chaos.
CHAPTER 1RECONCILIATION AND AGREEMENT
Things became much, much harder after all that. Getting everything settled was more exhausting for me than fighting Hinata—a fact I made sure remained a closely guarded secret.
What had happened? Well…
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Luminus, the single god worshipped by the Western Holy Church, was none other than the demon lord Valentine. Her real name was Luminus Valentine all along. She had been using a trusted confidant as a stand-in, giving him her name, Valentine, so he could fully play the part of demon lord in her stead. That, of course, was all in the past, now that Veldora had so breezily blown her cover at the last Walpurgis Council.
The Crusaders, the team of paladin knights led by Hinata, stood in opposition to the demon lord Valentine, which earned the Empire the support of the general public. The entire setup was wholly contrived, something Hinata knew all along—but whatever rational sense the arrangement made, why did she go along with it?
“It was out of my hands,” she said, sighing. “Lady Luminus defeated me when I tried to put a stop to things myself. Not that she was much interested in the people’s support in the first place…”
She must have sensed my skepticism. Reluctant or not, apparently Hinata was incapable of defying Luminus’s will. She did, however, extract a promise from her that no civilians would be harmed in the process. As long as she stuck to that, Hinata was willing to hold up her end of the bargain.
But as the man who was with her then explained, this ploy wasn’t Hinata’s doing in the first place.
“No, I was the one who came up with the plan. My brother Roy was all for it. Lady Luminus had little to do with it, and Hinata was so against it at first that she tried to take us all down. If anyone has an issue with it, they should complain to me, not her.”
This was Louis—the Holy Emperor, as he called himself.
“All right, so…um, Your Majesty? Mr. Emperor?”
He chuckled. “Just Louis is fine, my demon lord.” Even though the paladins were right in front of us, he apparently didn’t have much time for formality. Given how I was a demon lord just like his boss, Luminus, I suppose being casual with people like me came naturally.
Louis then embarked on a recap of recent events, loudly enough for the paladins to hear.
“So the Valentine I met at Walpurgis was your brother?”
“Indeed—my younger twin brother, to be more precise. Unfortunately, it seems he was killed by unknown assailants on the way home from the Council.”
“Huh? Killed?”
He didn’t look or sound too broken up about it, but this news was kind of a surprise. I mean, stand-in or not, that demon lord Valentine was clearly a powerful dude.
“Yes. Roy had a tendency to be overly confident; he must have left himself exposed. The Western Holy Church has many enemies. There are quite a few nations who see the Holy Emperor Lubelius as an eyesore. I imagine one of their assassins must have caught my brother unawares. It’s a great disappointment.”
Despite his lack of grief, Louis didn’t seem wholly unmoved by the loss. Louis was pretty strong, too; I could see that much. But if his demon lord–class brother was now dead, he must not have been too optimistic about his own future.
“I’d been enlisting Roy to work with the new recruits lately, for on-the-field training,” said Hinata. “One time, Saare actually managed to overpower him in battle, so he’d clearly been off his game—but we still need to watch out for whoever killed him. Not that any of that matters to you, I assume.”
She had a point. Roy had left hardly any impact on my life at all.
Now, at least, I had a handle on Louis, Valentine, and Luminus, as did the Crusaders listening in on us. This was all news to them, and they were all shocked into silence.
Now Hinata turned to her soldiers. “All right. You all heard us. It wasn’t my intention to deceive you, but I suppose that’s how this worked out, isn’t it?”
“L-Lady Hinata…”
She raised a hand to stop the question before it began. “I couldn’t tell any of you,” she coldly continued. “We needed to have as few people in on the plan as possible. If any of you revealed it, we would’ve been forced to execute you.”
Wow. Not mincing words, huh, Hinata?
“Heh… Heh-heh! Well, you won’t trick old Arnaud here. The god—or should I say, the demon lord Luminus—threatened you into doing this, didn’t she?”
This Arnaud guy was awfully brash. Hinata, however, swiftly shut him down. “No. I told you—our citizens are under the protection of Lady Luminus. That’s the truth. So I’ve chosen to carry out her will, as long as she remains friendly to humanity. You will not insult her around
