"Hahahahaha! Wait kids! I will eat you, the great demon king of evil!

"Oh my God!

　I chased after the children who were cheering and running away from me from behind.

　But it seems that one of the children got tangled in the middle of the run and fell down.

Watch out! Be careful running away, or the evil demon king will catch up with you.

"Ehehe, thank you, Maoshama

Oh, don't worry about it. The demon king is a bad guy, but he's a gentleman.

　I let him stand up, patted the kid on the head, and then I said, "Huh-ha-ha! And chased the kids around with a high evil smile.

　Just then, three little kids stand in front of me.

I'll kill you! I'm going to get them!

"There you are, brave men! But will you be able to defeat me?

"Get off! It's the Holy Sword Attack!

"Hono no Maho!

"Holy sword attack, two!

　I blow up and pretend to stagger in a convincing act as the kids attack.

"Gwaaaaah! Kuh, d*mn it ...... My ambition ends here, huh ....... But be on your guard. When I am defeated, the second and third demon kings will surely appear and take you to ......Whoa, wait a minute, kids, you're still in the middle of your speech. Hey, dude, that's not safe, okay?

　I catch a kid who jumped on me in the air while laughing, and the kids who were watching jumped on me together.

"Well, he's grown quite fond of you, mister. You've become a demon king.

　A brave man crouched near my fallen body, looking down at me with a chuckle and a smile on his face.

I'm the real thing.

　They don't think they're playing hero with a real demon king.

They are also very good at playing with children.

I do it all the time at home.

　But in my family, they want to play the Demon King, so I'll play the hero. I'm the hero who gets attacked by the demon king and gets beaten back.

　In my family, the Demon King is the righteous one.

Do you want to play? The Great Satan of Evil. Now you'll get a spare copy of my mask for free.

"I don't want it.

　Is it a quick answer, I see.

　The female knight who was watching us with a wry smile on her face - Carotta - spoke to the woman next to her.

I'm sorry for barging in on you so suddenly.

"Don't worry about it, we always have the help of the church. Besides, the kids seem to enjoy it.

　The nurse who manages this orphanage (...) said that with a smile.

　It's this church-run orphanage that Carotta brought us to after that yesterday.

　It seems that most of the lodgings in the capital are closed, and there are almost no places still running them.
　The church's dormitory-like place is also used to shelter what little troops they managed to gather in the capital, so it was the only one available.

　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of the most popular things to do with it. The reason for this is due to the food shortage (...).

　The food in the capital city is mostly covered by imports from neighboring cities, but because of the political turmoil in this city, the merchants who bring food to the city have become unreliable.

　--Merchants of this era are very sensitive to danger.

　Maybe you'll get caught up in the war and lose your life. Maybe you'd bring food all the way over, but the army would seize it.
　And in fact, it is said that the food brought by small and medium-sized merchant associations and their merchants would be sold at a tenth of the purchase price.

　They wouldn't go to such unprofitable places on their own.

　A major trading company can come and go safely, but given the current situation, the price of food in the city has skyrocketed to a very high level.
　And since all the surplus food has been confiscated by the military, the citizens of King's Landing are now in a very bad situation where they have to fight for a piece of bread today.

　Incidentally, the prince and his unpleasant companions, who brought about such a situation, are said to be nothing more than rebels as it is, and they are now conducting their turn-over maneuvers to great acclaim.
　They are trying to persuade a good number of neutral aristocrats, if not anti-princes, to their side and take effective control.

　Therefore, it is the anti-princes who are running out of time.

　It is the princes who are in a dominant position at the moment, and the opportunists are drifting towards them.
　That's probably why we're on an overcrowded schedule to carry out our strategy the day after the strategy meeting because we lose more and more of our advantage as time goes by.

"I'm sorry to be here with the kids. You're our guest.

"No, it's okay. You got a free room. I'll do the best I can.

　I cower with a grin as the nurse gives me an apologetic look.
　I'm sure you can't see her expression because she's wearing a mask.

...... I wasn't going to question your identity, but I'm starting to wonder who you are. You look young, perhaps with a child?

　The female knight turns to me and asks, "No, I have two sisters.

"No, I have two sisters. I'm always with them.

"Hey, masked mani-chan! Let's get it over with!

Oh, come on. Okay, guys--

　I was just about to continue, when I heard a small gurgling sound coming from the child's stomach in front of me.

What, are you hungry?

Yes, ......, but we're all hungry too, so it's no use.

　--Well, it was a food shortage, this city. I forgot about it because I was so energetic, but I guess I was just holding out.

　The breakfast we got for you was honestly a poor breakfast, and these kids may not be eating proper food these days.

　I guess I'm a little late to the party.

...... Okay, okay. Nell, follow me. Let's get some meat on the grill.



"Eh ...... Wait, wait a minute, what's the rush?

"First thing is to eat first and foremost. I'll take too long to prepare without you, so help me. I'm sorry, I'll borrow your kitchen.

"Yes, please feel free to use it.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.


It's a good thing that you're not the only one.