Next to Master Giles, a large man of unknown identity takes off his thick coat.

　I was even more distant from consciousness than I was when I looked directly at the Demon King Gandalf, seeing his exposed true face.

　--I'm not going to be the only one.
　The great man was unmistakably there.

''Eeeeee!　Your father (and) ......!

　The brave Ezell almost shouted his secret, and he suppressed his mouth with both hands and swallowed a scream.

　His Majesty Alfred gave Ezell a sideways, smiling look, and then stepped forward to the front of us.

　So that's what it was - as the initial wave of surprise recedes, a vivid conviction floats through my mind.

　Clyde, the captain of the convoy, has red-eyed black hair, an outward characteristic of Clyde's appearance, which, like Leila, who works at the White Wolf Shop, is unique to the families that make up the Dragon King's Knights of the Kingsguard.

　I thought that even if you come from a family, you wouldn't necessarily join the Dragon King's Knights, but if it was His Majesty himself, it was a different story.

　Rather, it would be unnatural if there were no members or relatives of the Dragon King's Knights.

　The same goes for Master Giles, the guild executive.

　This person was not only one of the guild masters leading the Adventurer's Guild, but also an old friend who traveled with His Majesty Alfred during his adventuring days.

　Taking that into account, it was understandable that such a grown-up person had made the move.

　The circumstances of how the Duke of Kingswell became the leader of the mission at the last minute was perhaps also a smokescreen to cover up His Majesty's case.

　When these facts have not been revealed until now, the Duke of Kingswell is as adept as ever at hiding inconvenient information - although this may be a compliment for a minister.

''I don't think that's disrespectful. It's a worthy opponent for me to face.

　The Demon King Gandalf descended the stairs and stood on the floor at the same height as us.

　Immediately after that, the four demon generals landed in a posture that showed their respective natures, as if they didn't think it was a good idea to look down at the demon king.

　The oldest, Vestri, had an air of composure, as if he had understood this would happen from the beginning, while Norzuri and Austri could be seen to be in a panic at the Demon King's actions, even though their temperaments didn't match, both of them were in a hurry.

　Suzuri's expression was still physically invisible, but she showed no signs of being upset by the current situation.

''It's the Demon King Gandalf. This is the first time we've met face to face like this.''
This is the second time we've talked. This is the second time we've spoken to each other. Human nature is unpredictable.

　The thoughts that have been trying to calm down are violently shaken by the additional astonishment.

　A second time?　What the hell is going on here?

　Leaving behind my, no, the confusion of almost more than half of the people here, including the Demon General, the Demon King Gandalf proceeded to have a dialogue with His Majesty in a matter-of-fact manner.

''O High King of the Earth. We hope that you will concentrate on your counter-agart ram and not interfere with our operational activities.
As much as we would like to, we don't even know who the hell Agat Ram is and what he's up to. We can't even guess who is a bigger threat than the Demon King's Army.
Of course we understand. Regardless of your answer, you can do something to make up for your ignorance.

　Demon King Gandalf's intimidation is, metaphorically speaking, an infinite abyss.

　It's as if he is bound from the depths of his psyche by an emotion that resembles fear, standing in the depths of darkness with no bottom in sight.

　In contrast, the intimidation unleashed by His Majesty Alfred is like an infinite azure sky.

　Just looking up at him is overwhelming, but there is no fear in it, it's simply captivating.

　The fact that such a being is facing each other at a certain distance from each other, I couldn't help but be disturbed by the thought.

''Heh, Your Majesty ...... Don't tell me you've been ...... about Demon King Gandalf before?

　I can't help but overflow my words, to which his Majesty Alfred replies in his usual manner.

I'm sure you know that during the war, Gandalf's army destroyed a certain nation on earth and turned the site into a demon-infested 'forbidden area'. It's an event that is kept hidden from the world.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. ...... I heard about it.
"When I was a young man, less than 20 years old, I challenged the Forbidden Region as an adventurer. It was there that I confronted the remnants of the Demon King that were left there.

　Hmph, said Demon King Gandalf, interrupting his words.

It's just a mental body that was left behind to check on the situation on the ground. Luke White Wolf. Just like the seal that Eir Cesroomnir left on your right eye.

　Gandalf, the Demon King, pointed one hand toward me and lightly waved his fingers in the air as if to shake off something in his way.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market.

''Nah......!''
Luke!

　A garnet quickly breaks in between me and what seems to be a mass of magical power.

　Like a swirling haze, it changed shape and took the form of a young translucent elven woman in the blink of an eye.

'...... Gandalf.'
'It's an old sight. I saw that Alphasul was attached to the body he had when he was alive.

　The phantom of a young elf - the spirit body of Eir Sethromnir - stared at Gandalf with a distorted look on his well-formed face.

　I looked at the translucent and unrealistic figure of Eil, feeling simultaneously astonished and convinced.

　In the past, the High Elf Eil has worked a repeated cover-up to prevent me from extracting any more information than necessary - just what Eil thinks is necessary - from the Right Eye of Wisdom.

　In the end, we eliminated Eir's mental body, and I thought that Eir ended up laying a strong seal in exchange, but I didn't think that was the end.

''You, what the hell do you think you're doing?''
I say there's no need to cover it up. The history you're trying to hide, I can tell you all about it.
"......!　Wait for me!　It's to the legacy of Alfazul: ......!
'This is exactly what I mean when I say that the means and the ends have been swapped. It's not a permanent cover-up that Alphasul wanted.

　Gandalf said in a cold tone of voice, and then turned to us, taking his gaze completely away from Ail's vision.

'Listen with an open mind. I will tell you the truth about us and Alfazul ...... and Agart Ram.