Ch.178Side Story 1. The Story Between (1)

# Side Story 1. The Story Between (1)

Lug appeared suddenly, accompanied by blue flames. And with him appeared the Demon Lord, Belphegor.

“Can anyone explain to me what exactly is going on here?”

Then a burst of white light.

Belphegor dove through the gap.

Seeing Belphegor standing at a distance, covered in blood and somehow appearing to protect Lug, Esmeralda couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened.

“Come to think of it, Lug said he was going to talk with the Demon Lord.”

“Well, looks like the conversation went well. Did he seduce the Demon Lord too?”

Though Esmeralda spoke jokingly, she felt a chill. She thought it unlikely, but she couldn’t deny the remote possibility.

And if she felt such anxiety, others would feel it even more strongly.

“Esmeralda.”

“……”

“We came here to subjugate the Demon Lord, right? Right?”

“Calm down, Millia. Bringing that up now is too blatant.”

What had begun as a journey with noble intentions now felt like it had transformed into a sordid love triangle as she listened to Millia’s words.

It sounded like nothing more than a declaration to eliminate a rival.

“…Let’s hear the details first, shall we?”

Saying this, Esmeralda shifted her gaze to Tina’s companion.

Another spy who had once infiltrated the hero’s party. Major General Lilith from the Demon Army’s Strategic Planning Department.

“How do you see the current situation?”

“I don’t know the details either, but at least now we have no reason to invade the human realm.”

“Does the Demon Lord feel the same way?”

“Yes.”

Lilith kept looking around, exclaiming in amazement.

This was something she never dreamed would happen.

She never imagined she would see the day when the demon realm would be covered in the same blue as the human realm.

They had been willing to wage war to obtain such land. If they could have it without invasion, there was no reason to risk war.

The demon realm’s hostility toward the human realm wasn’t about revenge, but survival.

“However, for the human side, this could be a reason to restart the war.”

It was Eirene who ruined the improving atmosphere, sitting demurely on a nearby rock.

She seemed to be staring into space, perhaps still suffering from the aftereffects of holy magic.

“If the demon realm no longer has a reason, now the human realm has one. They’ve suffered from the demons’ offensives, and this land is fertile enough to tempt those in power.”

War cannot be unilaterally stopped by one side.

Moreover, Belphegor is severely wounded now. Even if the hero’s party doesn’t act, there will be many powerful figures who will step forward to defeat such a weakened Belphegor.

Just the fact of defeating the Demon Lord would bring enormous glory.

And when the powerful gain glory, it naturally becomes strength and new power.

“That’s……”

Hard to deny.

Lilith nodded while nervously chewing her lips.

“Then we need to prevent the Demon Lord’s absolute symbolic power from being damaged. That’s how we can prevent war.”

The military might that Demon Lord Belphegor possesses.

We need to showcase it to discourage anyone from even thinking of challenging her.

But would that be easy?

Can we assert that it would solve everything?

“Unfortunately, it seems Demon Lord Belphegor has made too many enemies. At this rate, the situation could spiral out of control.”

Eirene pulled out a flickering communication crystal from her bosom and held it out to her companions.

The crystal was revealing the chaotic situation, constantly proclaiming the empire’s downfall and the Demon Lord’s power.

People are willing to throw themselves into hell for revenge, even if they cannot win.

“Demon Lord Belphegor must be punished. Otherwise…”

Eirene smiled sweetly and proposed a new solution.

“We could fabricate the existence of someone stronger than Demon Lord Belphegor and hold their leash.”

From her bosom came a sky-blue glowing collar.

Her cherished collar.

“We pretend Lug is a being superior to the Demon Lord, and I show that I hold his leash. Lug becomes a powerful bomb, and I become the bomb’s handler.”

“Would that be possible?”

“Why not? It’s simple for me.”

Saintess Eirene had filled the vacant position of the vanished celestial god through propaganda alone.

Creating an entity greater than the Demon Lord and using it to suppress war would be simple for her now.

Moreover, how much legitimacy would the Saintess’s sacrifice have?

Portraying Lug as a being superior to Belphegor would bring many benefits.

It would immediately disperse the hatred directed at Belphegor and make it difficult to measure the total power.

Moreover, the blue flames and brilliant white light that Lug displayed would have been seen by the demons too, making it easier to propagate the existence of a being greater than Demon Lord Belphegor.

“The problem is that Demon Lord Belphegor is currently keeping everyone at bay. And we don’t know if she’ll go along with our plan.”

“That point… honestly, I think it will be difficult. Her Majesty won’t even notice our plan.”

“What about you approaching her and giving her a hint? You seemed close to the Demon Lord.”

“I’m not sure.”

Lilith shook her head.

Honestly, if she approached and explained the plan in advance, things would be simple.

But she felt there was a high possibility that Belphegor wouldn’t accept the plan.

She’s standing there protecting Lug—wouldn’t she get angry if told about a plan that seems to sacrifice him?

While Lilith knows about the relationship between Lug and the hero’s party, Belphegor knows absolutely nothing about Lug.

If she carefully explained that the hero’s party originally held Lug’s leash and suggested proceeding with the plan, Belphegor might become even more protective of Lug.

The relationship between the hero’s party and Lug was, from an outsider’s perspective, abnormally strange.

It would be difficult for anyone to accept who hadn’t directly witnessed it and interacted with it indirectly multiple times like Lilith had.

‘Auntie might be disappointed in me. That wouldn’t be good.’

Belphegor is fundamentally someone who doesn’t raise her fist against family, but if there’s a family member who wants to make someone a slave to achieve world peace, she’s the type to slap them to set them straight.

And if Lilith gets slapped by Belphegor, she dies.

“It seems… difficult.”

Honestly, the probability that Belphegor would understand everything well isn’t low.

Belphegor trusts Lilith to that extent, and even if she doesn’t understand, she won’t use violence against Lilith.

However, she couldn’t be completely confident that wouldn’t happen.

Even if you’re told to defuse a bomb according to instructions, the fact that there’s a bomb in front of you is undeniable.

Unfortunately, Lilith wasn’t brave enough to risk it.

And besides, isn’t there a much simpler method?

“Let’s just deceive her.”

Deceive Demon Lord Belphegor.

That would be simpler for inciting through performance too.

“Her Majesty admires and imitates authoritative figures.”

“What? Why bring that up suddenly…?”

“Sometimes she refers to herself as ‘Lug.’ If we record that and spread it around, wouldn’t it help deceive the masses?”

Lilith now understands.

When she met and talked with Lug and heard about his purpose, she realized that Demon Lord Belphegor’s statement that “Lug is special” was different from what they had understood.

She had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding, but now it would be convenient to use.

“If we make statements that seem to acknowledge Her Majesty’s authority, surely…”

Demon Lord Belphegor would once again refer to herself as “Lug.”

What matters is the statement.

Even if the latter part is cut off, it doesn’t matter.

If the Demon Lord just utters the words “Lug is the Demon Lord,” they can edit it and spread it around the world.

“As a price, though that’s not quite the right word, at least Her Majesty’s life…”

A proactive appearance.

Yes, Lilith decided to reveal Belphegor’s embarrassing past to the hero’s party in order to save her.

***

After the series of events had passed.

It was when they were heading to the Demon Lord’s castle with Lug and Belphegor neatly packaged.

The entire hero’s party was sticking close, claiming to monitor the Demon Lord.

When they finally had a moment without others’ gazes, Eirene spoke with a bright smile.

“Hero, how could you make such an impulsive move there?”

“……”

“I was supposed to be the one to sacrifice myself, but you stole the show and surprised me. How sneaky of you.”

Esmeralda’s unexpected deviation from the original plan.

It was a dramatic ad-lib where the hero sealed the Demon Lord, not the Saintess.

It was so absurd and unplanned that even Eirene had to focus on inciting the crowd rather than picking at it.

“The rest of you too. You were quiet when we explained the plan.”

Adding their spoons to the pot were Mage Millia and Scholar Tina.

Eirene clicked her tongue at how the situation had diverged from her plan.

She thought she had captured the mood and deceived them well, but apparently not.

“Isn’t this better? People will more easily believe that the Magic Tower is helping rather than the crumbling Celestial Temple.”

“In terms of knowledge, no group is better than the Eye of Truth. Won’t our cooperation make people envision a brighter future?”

Excuses flowing naturally.

Millia and Tina made no attempt to hide that they had read the desire hidden behind Eirene’s plan and intended to steal that role.

However, they hadn’t succeeded with that plan either, and it was entirely because of the person who was now keeping quiet.

The hero Esmeralda’s impulsive action had reunited the hero’s party that was about to disband.

“Esmeralda.”

“Say something.”

“At least try to explain yourself.”

“……”

Thus, Esmeralda, deliberately ignoring her party members’ glares, pulled her hood down low and turned her head away.