episode_0011

Episode 11

A commotion erupted in the royal palace conference room.

“We must unite and act before the demons! We cannot repeat the mistakes of Eremus!”

Shouting was a woman wearing a monster-hide fur coat, revealing her tanned skin and well-defined muscles.

“Quiet down, barbarian. It’s not as easy as you make it sound; that’s why we are gathered here like this.”

The one who responded was a slender girl in a robe, holding a staff.

“Um… Excuse me, I need to use the restroom for a moment.”

With a face that seemed ready to vomit at any moment, the cute white-clad priestess who had been covering her mouth ran to the bathroom.

The meeting for the alliance of human nations was off to a rocky start.

The main speakers were the warrior nation of Amazones, the Magia Kingdom developing advanced magic technology, the Saint Law Kingdom proficient in countering demons, and the powerful human nation of Dweir.

Other minor kingdoms remained silent after stating their positions once the meeting began.

The four major kingdoms leading the discussion were the strongest and most influential, making it necessary for others to follow whatever decision was reached.

“What’s so difficult about this? Gather your strength and strike! And if you dare call me a barbarian again, I’ll put an arrow through your throat for four years!”

This was the statement of Hippolyte, the queen of exceptional warriors and a formidable warrior herself.

Though her threat was fierce, Erin Latlief, the genius magician representing the Magia Kingdom, smirked mockingly at the Queen of Amazones.

“If you don’t want to hear the term ‘barbarian,’ how about acting a bit more civilized? Arrows won’t penetrate my magic, but still.”

“Oh. Shall we test that right now?”

“Enough.”

Hippolyte and Erin seemed ready to engage in combat immediately, but they couldn’t ignore the words of Penelope, the Queen of Dweir.

“Tsk.”

“Hmph.”

Penelope calmed them down, then turned to the saintly maiden from the Law Kingdom who had returned from the restroom.

“I’d like to hear the Law Kingdom’s opinion. What did the Law Queen say?”

“Excuse me? Oh, that is, she said that war is not favorable…”

“So, does that mean an alliance is unnecessary?”

Under the immense pressure emanating from Penelope, Maria, the saintly maiden from the Law Kingdom, felt the urge to vomit again and reluctantly nodded her head.

The opinions of the four kingdoms had completely diverged. While Dweir and Amazones believed in attacking the demons, the Magia Kingdom and the Law Kingdom were cautious about starting a war.

“Unlike us in Dweir, the Magia and Law Kingdoms have different levels of reluctance towards war, but…”

Of course, even for the Dweir Kingdom, there was still some burden regarding war, but it wasn’t to the extent of destabilizing the country with a single conflict.

Amazones naturally supported conflict since their economy relied on supplying various resources, including men, during wartime.

On the other hand, the Magia and Law Kingdoms were smaller in scale compared to the former two. In terms of sheer size, they were not much different from other minor kingdoms.

“But the Magia Kingdom has exceptional magic, and the Law Kingdom has effective laws against demons. We can’t start a war disregarding these two nations.”

In the worst-case scenario, they might be left vulnerable during a war with the demons. If that happened, even Dweir would face significant challenges.

“Is the information about the demons’ movements confirmed? The traces of demons were found on the Bell Viscount’s territory just before the meeting, but that was something we already knew, right?”

Erin’s question made Hippolyte start showing signs of agitation, glancing at Leila standing behind Penelope for protection.

“Stupid! Every time the demons select a new Demon King, a war breaks out. It was the same last time. Just being tossed around in a sudden attack and barely managed to stop them at Eremus!”

Even Hipholyte, who couldn’t hide his anxiety to maintain the kingdom, as Erin, carried the fate of the Demon Kingdom on her shoulders.

The mage who couldn’t break the momentum of the Demon Kingdom, which had just barely risen to a growth trajectory due to an unnecessary war, replied with a cold face.

“If anyone hears, they’ll think you’re the one who stopped them. Contrary to what you say, it’s not like the demons invaded every time they changed the Demon King. It’s not like resources and population are infinitely replenished by them.”

In reality, the current Demon King was the second to change after Eremus, and for over ten years, the demons showed no significant movements.

“You’ve clearly been preparing for this all along!”

“So how would you know that?”

“Ah… sorry, I need to use the restroom again.”

The meeting was turning into chaos. Everyone seemed already tired at a meeting that seemed like it would go on longer than expected.

“I hoped for leaders of humanity, but in reality, there seem to be no sane ones.”

At that moment, a huge vibration shook the palace, and darkness descended on the meeting room.

—

“Mages, dispel the darkness quickly! Guards, hold your positions! Do not leave His Majesty’s side under any circumstances!”

Yelling towards the surroundings, Layla continued to assess the situation in her mind.

The recent vibration was the aftermath of the palace’s protective magic being activated. Excess magical power had been used internally, absorbed entirely, and then shot up into the sky.

“Were they planning to blow up the meeting room in one go? Even so, having enough power to shake the palace just from the aftermath… unbelievable!”

Everyone was tense, waiting for the darkness to disappear.

Almost instinctively, Layla swung her sword towards the threat.

As she clashed with whatever was attacking Penelope, an unimaginable force emanated from the sword.

“No! Pushing back!”

If she got pushed back, Penelope would die. With an almost prophetic feeling, Layla tried with all her might to push back, but just before getting pushed away…

“Huh?”

Another figure appeared and helped push back the enemy alongside her. Immediately after, as the mages dispelled the darkness, revealing the face of defeat, a demon with a resigned expression stood there.

“Edward?!”

“Listen to me first before you start a fight, Layla.”

He was her beloved husband, covered in blood, definitely not someone who should be present in that place.

—

It wasn’t too late by a hair’s breadth.

While idly passing time at the hotel, I suddenly witnessed a horde of monsters appearing in the sky above the palace.

As usual, I was about to rush out to fight with my sword when Layla’s face came to mind, and as soon as I felt a sense of foreboding, I sprinted towards the palace at full speed.

The premonition proved correct as an unnatural darkness, seemingly caused by magic, hung over the meeting room, and Layla was in danger.

“What’s with the blood on your body?”

“It’s not mine. It’s from the monsters I fought on my way here.”

“You really… Phew. No, that’s not it. Thank you for saving me. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”

Hearing thanks from my wife, I felt proud as I looked ahead.

In sight were women who seemed to be high-ranking officials from various countries and their guards.

And despite being eyed by all of them, there was a perplexed-looking young woman scratching her head.

It seemed strange, but I never could have imagined that she was a real demon.

“Hmm. It’s a failure. Since the magic didn’t work well, I tried to cut their throats one by one. The darkness has already disappeared, is this a crisis?”

Contrary to expectations, the Meat Girl showed no signs of distress.

Everyone here is exceptional. But what’s with this leisure?

“Who are you in the first place?”

“I am Rumaniel. I am Rumanie, the King of the Demon Realm.”

Quite coolly said. I had thought so, but hearing it directly was certainly shocking.

“A demon appearing in the royal palace of the greatest human nation. If you’re a demon, stay quiet until we come to drive you away.”

“You waited in vain; I came to visit myself. Where shall we try to drive me away?”

Damn it. If that were possible, it would have been done by now.

The demon stood still with a sword in hand, and none of us, including me, could move easily.

Not only because there were no openings, but everyone felt that moving rashly would only lead to death.

Surveying us all, the demon seemed to have convinced itself of something as it nodded its head.

“However, no matter who I am, it seems you won’t all be able to return unharmed. Since the plan has already failed, retreat. However…”

“We can’t go back empty-handed.”

As the demon raised its sword towards the sky, without any signal or word, the thoughts of the humans in the conference room aligned.

Arrows were shot, magic was unleashed, and those like me and Leila, holding weapons, rushed forward.

We didn’t know exactly what the demon intended to do. But everyone knew we couldn’t leave it alone.

Yet, even that was already too late. The demon had infiltrated the palace long before.

“Leila!”

Witnessing the flash breaking the palace barrier and descending towards the conference room, I swiftly moved to the side, embracing my wife.

—

“…With this, I’ve repaid the debt I opposed.”

“Hey, hey! Snap out of it! Hey!”

Erin, who had gone beyond her limits to wield magic to block the demon’s magic fired outside the palace barrier, collapsed in front.

Hippolyte supported the fallen Erin and looked around. Due to the hazy dust, it wasn’t clear, but miraculously, it seemed there were no casualties.

‘No, not a miracle. It’s thanks to this little one. Come to think of it, how did those two…?’

The most dangerous ones were the man and woman who had approached the demon closely when the flash descended.

One was a daughter of the Bell family, and the other seemed to be her husband.

He appeared to be a man of great strength, unlike any she had seen before, but this time, his exceptional skills seemed to have acted independently.

‘I saw him protect Bell’s daughter at the end… Ah!’

She had to hold her breath.

As the situation escalated, the man, who had become a mess due to being used as a medium for magic, was flying towards the sky with the unconscious Bell’s husband draped over his shoulders.

If it had reached that point, there was an obvious reason why the woman was deliberately taking the man away.

Although she hadn’t done it directly yet, as the Queen of Amazones, Hippolyte had witnessed this familiar act countless times.

“Ed…ward…!”

Watching Bell reach out towards the sky as if trying to grab the disappeared demon, calling her husband’s name, Hippolyte couldn’t say anything.