Chapter Index





    Ch.13Hero Esmeralda (2)

    # The Hero Esmeralda (2)

    Lieutenant General Lilith, a staff officer of the Demon Lord’s Army and direct aide to Demon Lord Belphegor, clicked her tongue.

    “I can’t believe the humans beat us to it.”

    She had failed.

    And for such a ridiculous reason.

    Originally, they had planned to rescue Lug. The operation was scheduled for when Lug and the hero’s party would leave the fortress city of Senova.

    But luck wasn’t on their side. Something happened inside the fortress city, and they blamed it on the demons.

    A typical lowly human tactic.

    And for Lilith, such human methods were already familiar.

    It wasn’t difficult to figure out who was behind it.

    ‘The Saintess, Eirene Saintess. It could only be her.’

    While the public viewed her as an innocent and noble saintess, she was actually the very darkness of the church.

    Anyone in a position of power knew this information.

    ‘Well, Mr. Lug probably knows that too. Since the Demon Lord ordered special management for him, he must have his own thoughts.’

    Of course, Lug wasn’t someone in a position of power.

    He naturally didn’t know. To Lug, Eirene was just a pretty person.

    Unfortunately, only Lilith’s expectations were building up at this point.

    “Yes, the Saintess’s schemes are already famous on our side.”

    Lilith smiled as she reviewed the results of this operation.

    Yes, she knew.

    About the woman named Eirene Saintess.

    “Hehe, thanks to her, we failed.”

    Of course, knowing something and being able to deal with it were separate issues.

    Before they could do anything, the human forces raised their alert level, and the entire operation team was annihilated.

    This was clearly a major blunder.

    The root cause was complacency, thinking there was still time before the operation.

    It took less than five minutes for soldiers to rush out from inside the walls and crush the operation team.

    Just as Lilith was racking her brain over this…

    “Ahem! Lilith, are you doing well?”

    Belphegor barged in where Lilith was, escaping the nagging of her subordinates. She asked casually as usual, and Lilith responded calmly and coolly as always.

    “Of course, my lord.”

    “Good, good. So, I’ve decided to entrust you with full authority because I trust you. I hope you continue to do well.”

    “Yes!”

    Lilith had always been a parachute appointee. Since she had been acting as a cold commander to avoid being looked down upon, this time was no different.

    The act of pretending had already become second nature to her.

    That’s why she felt a chill down her spine after naturally telling her lie.

    She couldn’t admit now that she had made a mistake and messed up badly.

    The personnel deployed for this plan were either promising talents or already established forces.

    As Lilith secretly turned pale, she muttered as if she had just realized something.

    “Full authority… Yes, with full authority, I can still make up for this.”

    And so, Lilith’s snowballing began.

    ***

    About a day after leaving the fortress city.

    I received a call from Lieutenant General Lilith.

    “Ahem, may I go to the bathroom for a moment?”

    Since it was a separate contact outside of regular reports, it might be urgent.

    “You won’t run away, right?”

    “Haha, how could I run away in a place so close to the demon realm?”

    Esmeralda said with a bright smile. I know that much too.

    There’s no way I could escape so easily anyway. I’ve already tried and failed three times.

    If I try again and get caught, I’ll arouse suspicion.

    “…Lug, just in case, I’ll cast a spell on you. Come here.”

    “It’s fine…”

    Millia casts a spell on my neck.

    Of course, she didn’t ask for my permission.

    It feels somewhat like a collar, but upon closer inspection, it was a disposable shield and alarm spell.

    Probably something that activates automatically if I’m in danger.

    “…”

    And Eirene Saintess, who could be considered the most dangerous, just smiles brightly this time.

    It would have been a disaster if she had offered to cast a holy barrier or something.

    “Is this bastard actually a demon going to communicate with them?”

    Tina’s joking words stabbed my heart like a dagger, but it’s okay.

    She knows everything, but she’s also someone who knows nothing.

    ***

    After putting some distance between them, Lug immediately activated the communication magic from the Demon Lord’s Army.

    “…Communications Security, Lieutenant Lug reporting.”

    His back naturally bent even though the other person wasn’t physically present.

    It was the typical posture of an office worker who feared their superior.

    -Yes, Mr. Lug. This is Lilith. I heard about what happened from reports. The situation was quite coincidental. We were just about to implement an operation to rescue you. Hehe.

    “Ah… Did everything go well?”

    -Of course, everything went well. Hehe, do you think I wouldn’t notice that much?

    Lilith put on a show of bravado.

    Lug was an entity recognized by the Demon Lord.

    Revealing her shortcomings in front of him would be like confessing to the Demon Lord.

    It was better to act as if nothing had happened.

    ‘Wow, as expected of Lieutenant General Lilith.’

    Lug admired Lilith’s bold claims and bowed even deeper.

    She was a demon who was trying to rescue him.

    How could he not bow his head?

    “Then you called to set up a new operation! Do you need my cooperation?”

    -Eh…

    “Yes?”

    -O-Of course. I was just surprised that you jumped straight to the point.

    “Ah! I’m sorry! I was too shortsighted!”

    Lilith had actually intended to make excuses about the failed operation.

    But she had overlooked one thing: Lug didn’t know anything about her operation.

    There was nothing to apologize for in the first place. Lug didn’t know that the operation team had been annihilated by external factors.

    Lilith, who had contacted Lug to make excuses like a thief feeling guilty, belatedly realized this fact.

    -No, it’s fine. I was just going to check on you.

    “Oh! Thank you! I will continue to work tirelessly for the Demon Lord’s Army!”

    Of course, if he’s ordered to infiltrate the hero’s party any longer, he’ll immediately quit the Demon Lord’s Army.

    And even if they threaten to transfer him to the frontlines of the war against dragons after rescuing him, he’ll still quit.

    Lug is just a typical sycophant with smooth words.

    -The operation, about the operation. Hmm…

    “Haha! Perhaps there is no operation…”

    -There is.

    “Yes, …I’m sorry.”

    -It’s fine.

    Lug had intended to joke, but he came to his senses at the other’s cold voice. They weren’t on joking terms to begin with. The other person was a three-star general in the Demon Lord’s Army!

    Lug wasn’t in a position to casually speak to such a person.

    -Ahem! This operation…

    “Yes.”

    -This operation is…

    “I’m listening attentively.”

    -…is to scatter the hero’s party and then target only the hero.

    Lilith voiced the best plan she could think of.

    After fully activating her brain!

    Perhaps because it sounded more plausible than she expected once she said it? Lilith raised her voice confidently.

    -The hero’s party consists of individuals drafted from various groups. They wouldn’t let them act as the hero’s party for trivial matters.

    Yes, the hero’s party doesn’t always stick together. Each member has their own social position.

    -For example, what if you say you miss your hometown? Then the leaders of each group would think it’s presumptuous and call them back.

    “If it’s my hometown…”

    -I mean the hometown from the infiltration operation. The stage we turned into ruins.

    The party members already don’t have much time to spare. If they accept Lug’s request, they’ll each have to leave to do their own tasks.

    Honestly, this was only a possibility if Lug’s unreasonable request was accepted, but Lug saw potential.

    “Well, the hero has a righteous personality and is also affectionate, so I think they’ll grant a request that’s not even about retirement.”

    If he says the reason he wanted to retire was because he wanted to see his hometown, even the hero couldn’t ignore Lug’s request.

    It would be best if they just let Lug go, but that’s unlikely.

    And if they grant his request, there’s no reason to have promising individuals from each group accompany them just to see a mere porter’s hometown.

    If not everyone accompanies them, there will be gaps in various ways.

    ‘But I wonder if it’ll be okay since it’s an operation that already failed once.’

    It happened just recently.

    The incident where the operation team and Colonel Extra, who were deployed to rescue Lug, died. Even then, they had targeted a moment when only the hero and the saintess were present.

    ‘Ah, perhaps they’re planning to set a trap in advance? It must be something I can’t even imagine.’

    Though he didn’t know what it was, it was a plan devised by Lieutenant General Lilith herself.

    Lug had many questions, but he decided to let them slide.

    -Ahem! So, Mr. Lug, don’t worry and just hang in there. That’s all.

    Click.

    Lilith unilaterally cut off the communication, fearing that her sloppiness would be exposed if she continued the conversation.

    Of course, there was no chance of Lilith’s sloppiness being exposed.

    In Lug’s mind, Lilith had already become a legendary strategist.

    Although Lug had never actually been under her command, he could set aside all doubts because Lilith was thinking of him and she was quite beautiful.

    The beauty part was especially important.

    ***

    After ending the communication magic, Lilith wiped her cold sweat and pondered.

    Even to her, the plan seemed too crude.

    “…Not yet, I haven’t failed yet!”

    Belatedly realizing that a similar plan had already failed, Lilith thought while clutching her trembling hands.

    Yes, she had been given full authority.

    If the plan was lacking, she could overwhelm it with force.

    “You there, call the 11th Corps Commander.”

    Yes, this time she would send a corps commander.

    Normally, even she couldn’t handle someone in the position of a corps commander, but…

    “Your Majesty! Please! Give me another chance! What did I do wrong?”

    Recently, the 11th Corps Commander, Eleven, who had disgraced Lug in front of Demon Lord Belphegor.

    He needed an opportunity to make up for everything.

    “Hehe, I see a way out!”

    Lilith crossed her legs and put on airs with a seductive smile.


    0 Comments

    Heads up! Your comment will be invisible to other guests and subscribers (except for replies), including you after a grace period.
    Note
    // Script to navigate with arrow keys