"Phew. ......

　The king rolls his shoulders wide to relax his stiff muscles, then leans back deeply into his office chair and lightly rubs his own brow.

　Perhaps because he had been sitting for so long, every knot in his body aches.

...... I'm getting old, too.

　I'm old enough to abdicate the throne and leave it to the younger generation, but ...... I have no choice but to do it even if it's painful as long as I have no one to go behind.

　I've been thinking about it for a while now, and then he smiled a self-deprecating smile. 　

　--This is the mess the country is in. This is, in part, his own fault.

　First of all, I didn't notice something was wrong with my son. No, you noticed, but you didn't think deeply about why he was acting as he was, just as a rebel.
　This has put the country at risk, given other countries an opening to get in, and has led to internal strife.

　The senate urges you to have a new child since you have no heir, but since you lost your wife, you would have to marry a new woman.
　I'm sure you're aware of the fact that the king's duty is to keep the blood flowing. ...... Honestly, I have no intention of having a new child at my age, and having just lost my son, I have no desire to do so.

　But because of my unwillingness to have a child, there is certainly a fierce political battle going on between the dukes of the royal bloodline and the next king.

　The two men who are staying in the castle now are only involved in the flow of the current, yet they are fighting against those who harm them.

　Then I, the source of the flow, will not be any more comfortable than them.

Let's try a little bit of ......

　Then he opened the lid of the vial beside him.

　This is the unconventional demon king who gave me a few bottles because he was looking somewhat tired.

　It's a nutritional supplement, but it's very good for you.
　I'd say he's more humane than all the hopeless vile vultures in this country's political world.

　I can see why my daughter likes the man.

　One of them smiled, and then the king stirred his vial and--

"'Nooo!

　--At that moment, a sensation runs through your body as if your blood and flesh are being activated and remade (・・・・・・・・・).

　Power gushes out from the depths of your body, and the dull ache you felt in the depths of your body recedes.

　Before long, within seconds, a vitality that reminded me of my heyday filled my whole body, and fatigue was gone like a lie.

............

　Just when I was stunned by the tremendous effect, there is a knock on the door of the office.

"Your Majesty, your guest is here.

"Oh, oh. Let me through.

　As soon as he answered in a familiar butler's voice, a door was opened and a man appeared from the other side.

"Hello, my king.

"...... You're you?

　It was the demon king Yuki.

　He has taken off the mask he always wears to reveal his true face.

　Not long ago, he said, "Oh, by the way, I have a face like this. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I've taken off my mask and said "nice to meet you", but I was surprised to find out that my true face appeared underneath the mask.

...... You, what in the world is this nutritional supplement?　That was a bit of an unbelievable benefit.

"Hmm?　Yeah, that's an excellent potion. That worked well.

　The demon king looked unconcerned and said.

What? Elixir! You don't know what it's worth, do you?

　It is no nutritional supplement, it is a national treasure.
　I remember when he saved his daughter Ilir and used it to heal her wounds, but it should never be given to someone so carelessly and haphazardly.

　In a small country, just trying to get one of these would be enough to tilt the national finances.

That's your standard of living. I don't give a shit. I've already decided not to walk away from it.

......, but wouldn't it cost a lot to produce one?　Are you glad you got all this?

It does cost a lot, but I have them by the hundred, so don't worry about it. They were mass-produced for a while.

"Hi--

　The words from the demon king take your breath away.

I've got to have hundreds of ancient elixirs and other ancient potions to keep me happy. Oh, don't even think about saving them. I've got an item box - I have a storage spell, so it's not a problem, but it usually goes bad, you know?

　I didn't understand what he was saying in the first half of the article ...... but I guess the demon king has a slightly different sensibility from us.

...... If you like it, I'll take it. I'll take it. --So what's the matter with you?

"Hey, sorry about the night. There's been a development over here. Can you think of anyone else who's called 'sir'?

Hmm ...... Your Excellency. In this country, the word "sir" means mostly ministers. So you think that's the mastermind?

You're very perceptive. While Nell and I were out during the day, some guy was actually spying on us. We let it swim during the day, but it went off our radar a little while ago and went back out. So we tracked him down, and he ended up in the church.

"What?　Church to ......?

　The church is now heavily involved in the affairs of state.

　The church is now very much involved in the affairs of state. Although I secretly feel a sense of urgency about it, I am unable to take a strong position because the church certainly helped me during the last crisis in the capital.

　There was a fear that they will move for more power in the near future: .......

"Oh. It's a good idea to have a political marriage with this "lord" of the church to strengthen the connection. The fact that they would let a brave man, the church's greatest asset, do such a thing means that he must be a very high-ranking opponent. So I was wondering if you had any idea what you were looking for.



"...... I see. Hmm, I have an idea. We've been doing some digging around, and one of us has become suspicious. You know I have no heir, don't you?

"--oh.

　For a moment, a look of concern appeared on his face, but quickly returned to a nonchalant expression, Demon King Yuki.

　Truly, this man is ...... full of humanity .

...... haha.

"?　What is it?

"No, I'm sorry. That's all right. --So, if things continue as they are, I'll either have to take a new wife or adopt a child from the royal family. And since I have no intention of having another child at my age, the latter is a necessary choice.

...... I see. Adoption means that the real power to run the country will pass from you to your adopted family, right?　My adopted son's biological father would be in power behind the scenes,

There you go. It won't happen if I let Ilir take a son-in-law, but I have no intention of involving her in this messy world of politics anymore. So you can take her.

I'll let you think about that when you're older. --I see the story. So there's a guy who wants to be the next king, and you don't want His Excellency among the guys who want to be the real power. It's certainly a good time to look at it. They're trying to gain an advantage over the others by strengthening their ties to the church.

"Mm . And there are three people who are about to adopt them. The Minister of Finance, the President of the Senate, and the Minister of War. All are called Excellencies. ...... I have my eye on the Minister of War, a man named Jayma Ledrios.

"Hey, ...... what's the deal?

"A man who is patriotic to the point of deflection. He can't stand the current situation of the country. I have long argued that the country should be led by the military to make it more powerful and prevent other countries from interfering.

Ah ...... typical militarist. They usually say 'for the good of the country' and do terrible things, so you should be careful.

You are well aware of that. It's a good thing that you have a good idea of what you're doing. I'm sure there are many people who love him, and I have to admit that he is the most talented and accomplished of the three.

"...... says that he is most likely the 'Sir' behind it.

"It's a long story. I've been putting together a list of recent developments in these three men, as I see it. And the speculation was deepened when I heard you speak. If the man at the head of the army and the church, which is getting involved in internal affairs, would join forces, it would not be so difficult to take control of the country. Our interests are aligned.

...... "By the way, and this is just out of curiosity, who do you want to trust with your country?

"Yes, ...... I'm still struggling with a lot of things, but I personally think I'd like to leave it to the Senate President. He is a trustworthy man, and his abilities are impeccable. But this will be a little difficult, since the Senate does not have much real power.

What, you don't have the option of being the king anymore?

"I don't want this cumbersome job anymore. I don't want to be in this cumbersome position anymore, as I realized from the previous riots that I'm not competent. So I'd like to quit being king and let others take care of everything else. ...... I can't ruin the country by being too selfish, so I'll just have to hold on until the next king is chosen.

...... When the time comes for you to step down, do you want to come visit us for a bit?　I'll let you rest easy.

"Huh. That would be nice. Hmm, I'd love to visit with Ilir then.

　Then the king smiled.