Ch.429Chapter 429 – Under the Flag (4)

# Firenachena Castle.

A place where various factions, including the resistance led by Princess Gabriella, once fought a fierce battle.

Though many parts had collapsed and shattered in the aftermath of the battle, thanks to the efforts of the newly crowned queen and the assistance of a certain demon, it had now almost completely regained its former splendor.

Of course, even during the reconstruction, it had been a busy place every day due to political rivals targeting it, but that chaos had finally subsided with the help of another demon.

Afterward, as the knights and lords within the Firenachena Kingdom who had maintained neutrality began to support Princess Gabriella who had ascended to the throne, the chaos finally settled, and things were beginning to normalize.

In the palace that had largely regained its former appearance, Vanilla, who was stationed there representing the demons as part of a deal with Princess Gabriella, was hurriedly entering the palace in response to a sudden summons from the queen.

Since they were keeping the matter of demons as secret as possible, she entered disguised as an ordinary elf mage, and the queen soon gathered her close aides to receive her.

Upon confirming the faces present, Vanilla realized there was no need to maintain formalities and immediately reverted to her original form.

“Not staying in elf form?”

“I prefer removing makeup when allowed, Lord Archery.”

Vanilla spoke lightly to Archery, with whom she had become quite friendly by now.

And seeing Vanilla, Gabriella smiled apologetically.

“I apologize for disturbing you so late at night, Vanilla.”

“Despite appearances, I’m nocturnal, so I’m actually quite energetic.”

After Vanilla spoke respectfully to the queen, Gabriella smiled.

Then, her face quickly turned serious as she said:

“I called for others as well, but have they not come?”

“They’re hiding in my shadow.”

Having told the truth to the queen who was checking if the others who were supposed to come together had attended, Vanilla soon looked at her shadow and said:

“Come out.”

“Finally time to emerge, I see.”

A voice came from the shadow.

And slowly, Gigas and Sirius revealed themselves from within the shadow.

When Sirius appeared with a fan and a quiet smile, a wave of tension passed through those around the queen.

While Vanilla and Gigas were demons, they had some recognition because they had lent their strength during the palace assault, but Sirius did not.

Though he had supposedly worked covertly to help them, he had clearly existed as an enemy at that time.

So suspicion was natural.

In fact, even Gigas and Vanilla had arranged for one of them to always keep an eye on Sirius as a precaution, so they had nothing to say about it.

The fact that even Sirius had been called—did it mean something quite troublesome had happened?

“…Now that everyone who needs to be here has arrived, let’s begin this emergency meeting. The main agenda concerns a proposal from Princess Liriel of the Mikea Kingdom, but…”

Queen Gabriella spoke quietly, showing a white envelope stamped with the seal of the Mikea Kingdom.

Some who had been with the queen when the envelope arrived by magic and had read its contents could immediately understand what agenda would unfold.

Of course, while some ministers were thinking that this alone wouldn’t be reason enough to call all of them, the queen opened her mouth, looking at the demons.

“But I needed to call all of you, so I summoned Gigas and… even Sirius.”

“What’s the matter?”

“It would be faster if you see for yourselves.”

The queen said this while nodding to Archery.

And Archery briefly left the conference room.

Soon, he entered the conference room with two disheveled demons.

Seeing the two, the three demons widened their eyes and exclaimed:

“Merry!”

“Rage?”

The unkempt vampire duke weakly raised his hand.

“Sorry for being much later than planned.”

“Why are you so injured?!”

Sirius asked with surprised eyes.

“Even for a Demon Lord, I had pulled out as many troops as possible and there weren’t any notable strong ones left. Besides, the goal was just to escort Lord Baphomet out…”

“According to my original plan, I should have arrived safely with my subordinates several days ago.”

Rage was about to smoke a cigarette but put it back after observing the atmosphere.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he glared slightly around and asked:

“Wait. Didn’t anyone worry that I was delayed?”

“If we really needed help, we would have sent a distress signal… We assumed you might be out having fun somewhere…”

Gigas said apologetically.

Rage nodded, understanding this misunderstanding came from his usual attitude.

And Baphomet bowed his head apologetically and said:

“It was my fault.”

“Duke, explain.”

“…We barely escaped from that monster, and Merry was so badly injured that we had to rest for a while. However, we had to keep silent without sending any signals to avoid being detected by it.”

At the word “monster,” tension flashed across the demons’ faces.

It was worth noting that Rage was not a weak demon.

He was powerful enough to serve as a legion commander under Sia, and strong enough for vampires to call him a duke.

And such a demon had used the term “monster.”

“Was the Demon Lord that strong?”

Gigas carefully asked, knowing that even if a Demon Lord was strong, a duke shouldn’t be completely overwhelmed.

And Rage chuckled and said:

“I never thought a Demon Lord would die so pathetically.”

“Died?”

Vanilla’s eyes widened at the sudden news of the Demon Lord’s death.

Baphomet nodded and continued:

“Who would have thought he’d be consumed by a soul he had eaten, losing control of his body and being absorbed.”

“A fitting end for someone who always tried to suppress others with violence. He didn’t even realize he was being deprived of everything, including his soul, by a stronger power before he was extinguished.”

Sirius’s eyes trembled slightly at Rage’s calm assessment.

The Demon Lord was not a weak demon either and had once competed with Sia for the position of Demon King.

Though his luster had faded somewhat due to similar strong figures, in terms of strength and influence alone, he could be called the second strongest in the demon realm.

Queen Gabriella didn’t miss their trembling.

“If it’s a being that even you all call a monster, then it seems a truly dangerous monster has appeared.”

“That’s right. To add, I should call it a mad monster.”

Rage replied to the queen’s words.

As some humans’ eyebrows furrowed slightly, Vanilla quietly said:

“Duke, she’s the king of this country. Show some respect.”

“…I apologize. My injuries have made me a bit irritable, and I’ve been rude to the merciful one who has accepted our kin.”

“I forgive you.”

The queen said with a smile.

Then she quietly asked:

“What kind of monster makes such strong beings like yourselves so wary?”

“Literally a mad woman.”

Rage said quietly.

“While fighting us, she kept saying she would make us her friends or dolls, and used threads to turn surrounding demons and monsters into dolls. The dolls themselves were quite strong, so just dealing with the sheer numbers was difficult, and the woman herself was strong too. Clearly, she had become even stronger with the Demon Lord’s power added to her.”

Rage grumbled.

“It was so bad that Baphomet and I were prepared for one of us to die while the other would alert our comrades… but suddenly, that woman looked north, shouted that ‘that man’ was there, and flew away.”

“That man?”

“I don’t know who she was referring to. But it seems she’s obsessed with some man.”

Rage said quietly.

“However, Baphomet and I were severely injured, and since that woman had released many dolls before leaving, we had no choice but to hide. For days, we kept silent, gradually reducing the number of dolls whenever we recovered some strength, until we finally secured our safety and escaped.”

“That’s strange. Duke, were they really that hard for you to destroy?”

“Destroying them wasn’t difficult, but there was another problem.”

Rage replied to Gigas with disgust.

“Those dolls would turn other nearby magical creatures into dolls on their own. Like some kind of plague. As dolls created more dolls and increased in number, we had to be careful.”

“Her strength, the number of dolls, plus the method of forcibly increasing her allies, and a madness that defies communication… Though it’s not our place as demons to say, she could be called a devil.”

Baphomet muttered that now with wings, she even looked like a devil.

“…If such a monster were to chase demons to our kingdom…”

“Enough. They are the queen’s…”

“But…”

People began to murmur, and Archery started to calm them down.

Thinking this might turn into condemnation against them, Vanilla was about to speak when:

“Silence.”

It was the queen.

The queen calmed everyone around her.

As all eyes turned to her, the queen smiled and said:

“According to your story, that devil suddenly headed north, correct? And the fact that you didn’t send a distress signal shows you were carefully ensuring this place wouldn’t be discovered. Can we assume the possibility of them invading here is low, Duke of the demons?”

“It should be low. As I mentioned earlier, she seemed obsessed with something else enough to suddenly lose interest in us, so she probably didn’t carefully pursue us.”

However, Rage quietly added:

“But that man the devil is obsessed with might be in danger.”

“…I see.”

The queen closed her eyes briefly.

“…Then the probability of that devil targeting demons and coming here is low.”

“That’s right.”

“Good. But there’s always the possibility. We need to prepare for that monster.”

“Is that alright?”

Vanilla respectfully asked the queen.

The Firenachena Kingdom was, in fact, quite battered.

The resistance, the royal army, and the holy knights of the Emiris Order had continuously clashed, and a major battle had occurred at the palace not long ago.

Although Queen Gabriella was gradually stabilizing her position, it was true that the significantly reduced military strength had not fully recovered.

Moreover, considering the nature of the opponent, going in with inadequate numbers would only increase the enemy’s forces.

From Vanilla’s perspective, it was beyond the Firenachena Kingdom’s capabilities to subjugate an opponent that had essentially defeated the vampire duke and Baphomet.

“We can’t do it alone. Then, we should borrow the strength of an alliance, shouldn’t we?”

Queen Gabriella said this while showing the letter she had been holding.

Vanilla, who hadn’t seen the letter yet, quietly asked:

“What is that letter?”

“It’s an alliance request from Princess Liriel of the Mikea Kingdom.”

Queen Gabriella said with a smile.

“It was a proposal to unite under the banner of the White Dragon to counter a crisis facing the entire continent.”

“…If it’s the White Dragon…”

The first thing that came to mind was that man.

And the queen smiled and said:

“Yes. Our hero, our friend.”

“…Well, considering what we did in Albheim, and his activities elsewhere…”

Gigas’s quiet murmur was heard.

But pretending not to hear, the queen quietly said:

“The princess proposed this: The evil deeds committed by a certain order in various places have become unbearable. And they are showing ambitions to invade neighboring countries. To stop such villains, to counter the harm they will bring, we must unite under the name of the White Dragon who opposes them. Those who have received the White Dragon’s help must now become his strength.”

In reality, there were more flowery phrases, but the queen boldly omitted them.

Vanilla immediately realized why the queen had summoned them.

“So the Firenachena Kingdom is joining.”

“We’ve received his help, and we also have a grudge against that problematic order. To repay the favor and to gain some political benefits, we will join the alliance.”

The queen revealed how the Firenachena palace would move.

As if the discussion had already been had with the ministers, there was no voice of opposition from anywhere in the conference room.

“And you’re asking if we will join as well?”

“It won’t be easy. This document has also gone to Albheim, I’m told.”

The queen spoke, mentioning the contents of the letter.

She had already heard about what the demons had done in Albheim.

She had her thoughts but didn’t say anything normally because she didn’t believe they did those things simply out of evil.

‘It must be concerning for them.’

And as she had guessed, when the name Albheim was mentioned, the demons’ expressions darkened slightly.

“…The elves are a bit awkward for us.”

At Baphomet’s words, the legion commanders quietly bowed their heads.

They had already shed much blood with the elves.

“…It’s a mountain we have to cross anyway.”

Vanilla said quietly.

Since they had fought for survival, she didn’t feel strong guilt.

But if the demons were to adapt and live here, they would eventually have to resolve their relationship with the elves.

‘…If necessary, I’d offer my own head, but…’

Still, for now, it was awkward.

It was difficult without their king having returned yet.

But considering the White Dragon’s movements, the elves’ joining the alliance was almost certain.

If the demons were to join along with the Firenachena Kingdom, there would surely be a commotion with the elves.

‘I still can’t think of a good way to appease the elves.’

Vanilla sighed slightly and spoke.

And at times like this, she thought of the one person she always relied on.

Their king.

‘What would Sia have done?’

For a moment, the four legion commanders thought of their king.

And recalling their king’s back, they soon smiled as if giving up.

“Have you decided, demons?”

“Yes.”

Vanilla answered.

“…It’s awkward, but we intend to join first.”

“Why?”

“Because our king would have said that no matter how awkward, in this situation where everyone must counter a crisis, we should stand together.”

“A person who prefers head-on confrontation, isn’t he?”

“It was tough supporting him.”

“Going the hard way while shouting about romance, ignoring the easy path.”

“He became a bit less like that as he got older and sat in a respectable position…”

As the four legion commanders’ half-resigned reminiscences flowed out, those around them were slightly bewildered.

Soon, Vanilla smiled and said:

“If we go into details, it will get long, so I’ll keep it simple.”

Vanilla looked around and firmly said:

“Our king is with the White Dragon. We will be with him too.”

Perhaps there was something they could relate to.

Archery smiled with satisfaction.

And the queen also smiled and said:

“It’s decided then.”

No long words were needed.

The direction was set.

The queen nodded and said:

“Then let’s join together, allies. Let’s lend our strength to them. At the same time, let’s work with the alliance to warn about and subjugate that devil who will be a danger to the continent.”

“Agreed.”

Neither the queen nor Vanilla said, “Because we’d suffer heavy losses on our own.”

It felt a bit uncomfortable to think about exploiting the alliance from the start, but given the high danger level of the monster that even demons feared, and being in a leadership position, one had to be somewhat brazen.

And if they were to fight the order, they were willing to give their all.

The demons were ready to follow their king at any time.

The Firenachena Kingdom had accumulated debts to settle with the Emiris Order.

Perhaps because they had the same actions to take despite slightly different directions, Vanilla and Queen Gabriella briefly looked at each other and smiled.

Then Gabriella changed her expression and looked at the vampire duke.

“So we need information and characteristics of that devil. Can you organize it later?”

“Sirius will do it.”

“…If it’s my husband’s request.”

Seeing Rage unhesitatingly passing the task to Sirius, the legion commanders made disgusted expressions.

But the lazy duke seemed unconcerned.

“…I understand for now.”

In the somewhat awkward atmosphere, the queen smiled slightly and spoke.

And as if remembering something, she added:

“But it would be better to hear the name first. Do you know the name of that devil?”

“She introduced herself like this: The Puppeteer, Phobia.”

Rage answered the queen’s question.

“That mad puppeteer left saying she would make that man hers and flew north.”

Rage said quietly.