And so, the Demon King's War ended with the victory of the human race.

　And from here, as is usual in war, a long post-war process awaits us.

　There are many things that must be done, but it's not necessary to finish everything at once.

　The first thing we have to do is to take control of the Demon King's Castle and conduct a detailed investigation.

　This one didn't include any outside collaborators, and the Golden Fang Knights and Silver Wing Knights were instructed to work together on the mission.

　Another thing that is going on at the same time is the reconstruction of the castle town where the dwarves live.

　In addition to the destruction by the Demon King's army, the destruction of the warding stone to ward off dragons has made it imperative to rebuild the main facility more quickly.

　The adventurers and civilian collaborators, including Luke of the White Wolf Forest, led the energetic work here.

　And now - it's already been five days since the fall of the Demon King's Castle.

　There was an unprecedented tension among the Golden Fang knights who were investigating the Demon King's Castle.

''We've been waiting for you, Commander Gilbert!

　Gilbert, the leader of the Golden Fang Knights.
　The knights of the Golden Fang run to the right and left to greet this fearless yet expressionless man.

　Gilbert himself refused to be overly welcomed and walked to the back of the castle accompanied by a few companions while ordering a progress report on the investigation of the Demon King's castle.

　--and another.

　In contrast to Gilbert, who was dressed in knight-errant-like attire, a man dressed in what can only be called fashionable everyday clothes was walking next to Gilbert as if it were a matter of course.

'Carmine,' he said, 'you were supposed to be on vacation. You were supposed to be on vacation, weren't you?

　Gilbert threw a look at the blond-haired, blue-eyed man walking next to him without looking at him at all.

I know, but the situation is what it is. I've decided to give up my precious time off just for today and try to understand the situation.

　Carmine, Commander of the Order of the Silverwing Knights.
　He is the older brother of Garnett, the knight guarding Luke in the White Wolf Forest, who has been staying in Green Hollow Town under the guise of an extended vacation to observe the course of the Demon King's War from up close and personal.

　Gilbert is the picture of simplicity and sturdiness, while Carmine has an air of frivolity about him.

　The two, who could only be described as polar opposites by anyone's standards, visited the research base set up in a room of the Demon King's Castle while exchanging a minimal amount of conversation.

　It must have been a room that was originally used for a military council.

　Compared to the other rooms, it took up quite a bit of space, but it was almost exclusively occupied by the piles of materials and documents brought in by the knights, and it really showed the busy nature of the field.

''We've been expecting you, Commander Gilbert. Sir Carmine, please come this way as well.
Tell me what you know. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what you know at this point.
Ha!

　The knight in charge of the base flipped through a stack of documents at hand and reported to Gilbert and Carmine on the matters known from the investigation to date.

''The remaining strength of the Demon King's army has been almost completely destroyed. However, their numbers are smaller than expected, and most of their troops are believed to have escaped from the Demon King's Castle.
'You didn't get past the siege, did you?
Yeah. We have an escape route, sir. We are taking as many prisoners as we can, as instructed by the palace, but it's difficult to keep everyone in the field.
All right. Let's get ready for dispersion.

　While Gilbert was listening to the report from the head of the base, Carmine was leaning against the wall and looking around the room.

　It's not that he wasn't interested in the contents of the report, but he seemed to be listening to the conversation, trying not to interrupt.

''I didn't see that in the first report about the escape route of the enemy forces. Is it something newly discovered?
Yes. Would you like me to show you around right now?
Please do so.

　Guided by the knight acting as the head of the base, Gilbert moved to the basement level of the Demon King's Castle.

　Along the way, Gilbert caught a glimpse of Carmine, who was naturally following him, but he tacitly agreed to accompany him without giving any further reaction.

''It seems that this is the escape route for the Demon King's army.

　The place where the two knight commanders were led to was a vast hall at the far end of the ground floor of the Demon King's Castle, set at the end of a passage that a battle golem could pass through with ease.

　There were lightly over twenty fully armed knights on heavy guard, but their vigilance seemed to be directed inward rather than out of the hall.

　Gilbert and Carmine quickly made their way to the back of the hall, and then understood the reason for the vigil.

　A large square hole gaped in the floor at the back of the hall, and a gentle slope led endlessly into the darkness.

'I see, it's a big hole that leads to the depths of the dungeon. The main force that we want to keep in reserve is escaped from here, using the defense force as an abandoned stone?
''If you believe what the Demon King said, their virtual enemy is another race in an even deeper realm. They didn't want to do something stupid like fighting with humans to the end and getting wiped out.

　Carmine crouched down and traced with his finger a trail that looked like he had dragged something left on the floor.

　Perhaps he had let the golem drag a cargo bed or something with supplies on it to escape to the next level of this 'Demon King's Castle Realm'.

''I don't have a lot of information reaching me, but I heard that only two of the four leaders of the Demon King's army have been killed out of four, right?
''Ah. Apparently the Demon King didn't even show up while he was engaged alone.

　The two knight leaders do not look at each other, but engage in a conversation that is appropriate for someone who is in charge of a part of the kingdom's military affairs.

　Although they are opposites of each other's personalities and the relationship between the knights is by no means moderate, they are still not so self-righteous as to ignore the basic principle of the knightly order of 'serving the peace and prosperity of the kingdom'.

　In analyzing the trend of the Demon King's army, both sides believe that it is natural to have a calm exchange of opinions.

''In our common sense, this would never be possible, but it seems that their executive class can replace their bodies many times, so there was no need to defend even the Demon King's 'current body' to the death ......?'''
''Supposedly, the two demon generals that remained at that point in time were in charge of withdrawing the main force of the demon king's army and research materials to the next level. In preparation for the battle with their 'true mission'.

　After the fall of the Demon King's Castle, the Knights immediately took control of the entire Demon King's Castle, but it was after many things had already been carried out there.

　A number of battle golems that seemed to be in their possession.

　Experimental equipment that considered humans as nothing more than experimental animals, and documents that recorded the results.

　The troops that were not sent to the defense units and the modified soldiers that would still exist in significant numbers.

　After all, the Demon King's Army must have viewed the battle over the Demon King's Castle as a battle of retreat from the beginning.

　It's not hard to imagine that someone with a considerable amount of authority was at the helm in order to complete this huge task in a short period of time before the fall of the castle.

　Since the supreme commander, the Demon King, was in the middle of a battle, perhaps an existence was given the second-highest position.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well. I'd like to move this 'Demon King's Castle Realm' to the jurisdiction of the Adventurer's Guild as soon as possible.
Absolutely. The war against the demons is too different in nature from that between humans. Let the guild manage the dungeons.

　Just as Gilbert was about to turn on his heel, Carmine suddenly called out to him as if he had remembered.

'Oh, by the way, it's about Luke in the White Wolf Forest.
I hear you were instrumental in defeating the Demon King. What about that man?
'Didn't you have a competition to knight him in the name of the Golden Fang (there) or the Silver Wings (us) and leave it to His Majesty?　That story ...... is apparently going to end in a painful split.
What is ......?

　Carmine gave him a troubled look and shook his head in an exaggerated gesture of relief.

''Either (s)he and (s)up(s) will snatch it from the side, or it will be an unprecedented step ...... either way, something unprecedented could happen.''