I'm so glad they found Dariel.

　The discussion was over and Droyer took a breath.
　It was a deep breath, as if he had risen from the water on the verge of suffocation.

'I knew I couldn't support the situation any longer on my own. It's complicated, though, if I recall that the trigger for Dariel's appearance was the disappearance of the Rasperda Fortress...!　Even with that...!

　Well, that happened.
　It's a big deal for the Demon King's Army, though.

　Also, my Grandfather wanted to say, 'If the important thing is over, then let me touch your tits,' so now I have Doroye hold me.
　

'How are you cleaning up the fortress?　It must be a bit of a clusterf*ck for the Demon King's army, right?
I left it up to Bezelia. If it were true, I should be working too, but I figured seeing Dariel would be my first priority.

　Another one of the wrinkles of many things....

''So I too must return as soon as my business is done. I can't put the burden on Bezelia alone.
'What?　You're leaving already?　I'll miss you, but I don't have a choice, I'll see you later.
You'll be back, huh?

　Is that right?

'But first, I have a question for Dariel. I'm sorry to be so quick, but could you lend me your wisdom?
Hmm?　What is it?

　I just said I could help you.
　I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

It's about Lasperda Fortress. It is the strongest defence against the invasion of the brave men. It was the last line of defense to keep the brave men out of the demon territory.
Yeah, sure.

　But that Rasperda Fortress is no longer there, either.
　It is hard to believe, but it was blown up by a mage.

　When I saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes, but the place where Rasperda Fortress used to be had been burned to the ground and not a speck of ash was left behind.

　What kind of great magic do I need to master to do such a thing?

　That one is also a problem, but let's leave it at that for now....

''With the disappearance of the Rasperda Fortress, we are forced to fundamentally rethink our policy. Until now, all we had to do was use the fortress to intercept the attacking heroes. But the fortress is no more.

　In Droyer's mind, he must have envisioned a heroic interception without a defensive base.
　It's a pretty desperate picture.

　Waiting for the brave men who could attack at any moment without facilities would be quite painful.

　The fortress was not only a defense facility, but it was fully equipped with the necessities of life.
　There is a warm place to sleep, and the stockpile of food in the warehouse will always be full so as not to run out. It was also equipped with a bathroom.

　Lacking such defensive facilities, I wondered if they could hold a large army to guard and intercept the brave men.

I think we should rebuild a new fortress right now. Anyway, we can't intercept the brave men without a fortress, so I think the military will allocate a budget for it. I'm sure they'll be very reluctant to do it, though.
You don't like it at all...?

　How bitter are you between the active Four Heavenly Kings and the military brass?
　Bashvaza's little gift is a disaster...!

But no matter how much funding we get, it will take time to build. In the meantime, I'm wondering what we should do if the brave men attack in the meantime...!

　I guess Droyer doesn't know that the brave Radie is in no mood for that now.
　This is the pain of being shut down for espionage, I thought to myself, and I felt sad again.

''Well I don't think the brave man will be attacking us for a while longer.
Really?　Dariel, you really know your stuff!

　For some reason, they praised me.
　I'm kind of sorry about that letting go.

But I think we should think a little more about rebuilding the fortress before we do that.
''That's...?
As I said before, it's not the demons who really need Lasperda Fortress, it's the humans. It's the human race. It was the human race that originally built that fortress.

　Originally, the attacker and defender of this battle were well-defined.
　The human race's brave men and women, who are aiming to protect the king, attacked the king, while the demons, who are trying to protect him, blocked them.

　No matter how many times the heroes and the Four Heavenly Kings were replaced, the relationship between them remained the same for hundreds of years.

　If that's the case, wouldn't the defending demon race need a fortress more than the defending demon race?　You might think.
　That's also a point of fact.

　However, the brave must aim at the Demon King and divide deep into the demon territory.

　Being alone in enemy territory is a tougher situation than you can imagine.

　That's why fortresses were needed to support the brave men who invaded the enemy territory.
　Rasperda Fortress was originally built for that purpose.

The human race will feel the need to rebuild the fortress and will do it. Without the fortress, there will be no invasion of demon territory by brave men.

　That's why the brave men never bypassed the Rasperda Fortress after dozens and hundreds of years of invasion.

　As long as they didn't get Lasperda Fortress, it would leave the brave men isolated in enemy territory and even cut off their retreat.

''Rasperda Fortress was originally built by the human race and was taken by the demon race after a battle. That's what they said.
Well, I'm glad you remembered it right.

　After all, it is good to be a student with a good memory.

Since then, Lasperda Fortress has become a symbolic place for the eternal war between the heroes and the Four Heavenly Kings. The long, long, never-ending battle has been maintained by the balance of power that Lasperda Fortress has created.
So now that Lasperda Fortress is gone.

　The battle between the brave and the Four Heavenly Kings will change fundamentally.

''I might have to think this far.

　If you look at it differently, there was a fortress, so the brave men also marched towards it, and the Four Heavenly Kings tried to stay there to protect it.

　If the stronghold was gone, they could freely pass anywhere to reach the Demon King's Castle instead of losing the route to stop by.

　Of course, there is a possibility that this won't happen.
　People are sad, but it's very difficult for them to get rid of their basic ideas.

　Even if the fortress disappears, it is quite possible that they will not be able to erase the stereotype that 'you can't invade the demon tribe's territory without a fortress' or 'you can't defend the brave without a fortress', and they will continue to build new fortresses and continue their defensive battle.

''Or rather, that possibility is definitely more likely, though.
I was consumed by that idea too until Dariel pointed it out to me...

　Droyer turned over to reflect on the situation.
　Point it out and he accepts it without resistance. He's a good student.

'The best thing is that another fortress will be built in the same place and we will continue to fight over it. In other words, the status quo.

　This fight is not going to end forever anyway.
　Then it's better to fit it into a certain frame of mind and proceed as it's supposed to, without causing any unnecessary damage.

''The problem is when someone notices the other options.
Is someone...?
Currently, the only person qualified to be that someone is a very brave man of your time.

　So it's Radie.
　Depending on how flexible she can be, the upcoming battle between the heroes and the Four Heavenly Kings will change dramatically.

　The battle between the heroes and the Four Heavenly Kings will change dramatically from a clichéd one in which they are trapped in a fortress and only clash there.
　The battle between the heroes and the Four Heavenly Kings will change dramatically from a routine one where they are trapped in a fortress and only clash with each other, to a more chaotic one.

''You might want to nail that.

　Even for me, I don't want my hometown to become noisy, so I want the battle to be as quiet as possible.
　In that regard, the battle for Lasperda Fortress was an ideal killing spree because the fire was not scattered in unnecessary places.

　Even if the fortress itself is gone, I hope it will continue in that form.

''........Come to think of it, Radey isn't here?　Where did they go?
What?

　Droyer rolls his eyes at Zebiantes' unintentional statement.

'I had to leave on a wild goose chase. I don't think he'll be back for a while.'
Nah, it's too bad I haven't wanted to hug you in a while.

　I'm not sure if they'll be coming back for a while.

　It's just that Radhi and the others have been living here for so long that they feel like part of the family.
　Mr. Alanczil stopped me from going, so I saw them off, but I really hope they come back safely.

Anatta, Anatta!

　Maleeka called me over.

'Sir, they want to see you.
'What?　Again?

　It's a busy day for us.
　Radey's back by any chance?
　It's hard to imagine them coming back so soon, but if you talk about them, they're also called shadows.

　However, when I actually met him, I found that the shadow that I had heard about and was shot at was an extraordinary shadow.

　One of the past Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army, Ida from "Heaven and Earth" was standing in front of my doorstep.