My name is Orba.

　I am the second in command to Lord Belphegamilia of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army, the Fallen.

　I am proud of my duties and my position in the army.

　Originally, the Demon King's Army is the strongest and fiercest army on earth.
　Just being the youngest member of that army is an honor of a lifetime, and yet you have risen to the position of Assistant to the Four Heavenly Kings.

　Of course, I'm not going to boast that it's because of my abilities.

　If it weren't for my own youthfulness and luck, I wouldn't have been able to achieve such an honor.

　The most fortunate thing for me is that I was born into a noble family in the Demon Land.
　They are a decent aristocrat, a family that owns the Fallen Sacred Sword Fiagelp, which has produced the Four Heavenly Kings for generations, and is one of their cronies.

　It was from that connection that I was allowed to take the position of deputy by one of the four heavenly kings of this generation, Belphegamilia-sama of the 'Fallen', and in essence, I was hired through connections.

　That said, I'm not ashamed of it, and of course I'm not proud of it.

　Now that I've encountered an opportunity in any way, I will do my best to seize it.
　I will fulfill the responsibility of the Four Heavenly Kings deputy and challenge the limits of my own abilities.

　This is the meaning of my fighting as a soldier in the Demon King's Army.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　* * * *.

　The mission I was given this time was to defeat the monsters that appeared in the demon territory.

Well, I'll be counting on you.

　My immediate superior, the Four Heavenly Kings, Belphegamilia-sama, always instructs me in this manner.

　Lazy, lethargic, impotent, and daylight.

　That's the way the world sees our Lord.
　In fact, Lord Belphegamilia has never taken an active role since he became the Four Heavenly Kings and has never done anything more than carry out orders from Demon King Zedan.
　Naturally, the spectacular war achievements that the other four heavenly kings have listed are not in the hands of Belfegamilia-sama, and it can't be said to be lackluster.

　However, to me, he is definitely a respected boss.

''You have been entrusted with an order, but I have accepted it. I will return to fulfill my duties in this body.''
Don't be so stubborn. Just be reasonable. ...It's just a patrol anyway, and if there's nothing unusual, it's better than that.

　And my boss, my boss, went straight into a nap.
　Lying down in the personal hammock I brought into the office.



　I'm not the one who will change my mind if I'm the one to blame now.
　I silently left the room with my mission in hand.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　* * * *

...He's okay with that.

　He led his troops into battle.
　While on the march, Balaam, my adjutant, who accompanied me, said.

　The Four Heavenly Kings usually have about four or five second in command, and Balam was my colleague.
　This time, the task of guarding the territory would be a joint effort with him.

''Making him look lazy and useless is his way of defending himself. In fact, thanks to that, we didn't get involved in a political war and we survived the recent reformation unscathed. Among the Four Heavenly Kings, he is the only one who has remained in office even after the reformation.
Yes, but...!

　However, two of the three who left the throne of the Four Heavenly Kings were married to the Demon King Zedan and became the Demon Queen.
　So to speak, it could be called ascendancy.

　The only one to be disqualified was the Ravilian-sama of Devouring, and judging by his position, our Belphegamilia-sama just didn't lose any points, but I didn't know he had a point...!

'The return is the other side of the risk. Just surviving is a noble victory. Besides....
And?
''From now on, in the Demon King's Army, a life like that guy's might be the best answer.

　..........?
　Balaam's words pierced my heart, and I guess I had a dim view of that.

''Demon King Zedan-sama destroyed the human nation and ended the war that had been going on for so long. It's probably the greatest achievement in the history of the demon race. But since he has done the greatest service, there's nothing left to follow.
Shall we take all the credit for this...?

　In fact, now that the human nation is gone, what do we have to fight against?
　There is nothing more empty than an army without an enemy.
　And will soldiers like us, who are only children of it, ever be given the opportunity to climb to the top?

　Considering such a bad economy in the future, I feel that a peaceful life like Belphegamilia-sama's is certainly more appropriate for the demon soldiers of the future.

...It remains to be seen.

　Was that what he said to himself?

''The demon race's enemies aren't just humans. Monsters. Some anthropomorphic monsters can be used by the demon race, but even so, the majority of species are unruly and rampage indiscriminately.''

　The reason for this sortie was because we received reports of such dangerous monsters being discovered, so we went to the site to investigate.
　If there were truly highly dangerous monsters, the Four Heavenly Kings Belphegamilia's direct squad was supposed to crush them with their power.

We are still needed. I'm sure we'll get some praise from Demon King Zedan when we defeat the monsters and take the credit for it.
Don't be in a hurry. You're just a good little boy. If you get killed in action, I'll have to apologize to your family.

　I was miffed when Balaam told me.

'Don't talk like that. I've declared that it doesn't matter where you come from while you're in the military!
The fact is, you're still a little boy when you talk like that. In fact, what's that under your armor?
!

　As long as I'm going on a combat mission, I'm well armed as well as prepared. The fabric peeking out from the gaps in that armor is the clothing worn underneath the armor. It's called "armor underwear" or "armor underwear".
　It's just like normal clothing that covers your entire body, but it's also an important piece of armor to protect your skin from direct contact with the hard armor and to protect the interrupted joints of your armor.

'It's super new and shiny under armor, isn't it? I'm listening. Your mother gave it to you right before this mission, didn't she?　I'm desperate for my beautiful, only son to make it back alive.
..........

　To be honest, my mother's thoughtfulness was a thankless nuisance.
　Even though she was often insulted that she had been brought up to be a lad, she was more and more conspicuous and ridiculed for wearing a shiny new suit of armor like this.

　Still, I'm not so much of a child that I can't understand my mother's concerns, so I can't not wear it....
　In fact, my previous armor underneath was getting pretty tired.......

''You were born into a noble family, so you have a role to play. You can't hope for an inferiority complex, and after you've done well in the military, retire quickly and take over the reigns. Get a wife and give birth to a child....
..........
The war with the humans is over. It's a peaceful time. This is a time of peace and tranquility, and that is more and more in line with the world. Let's just hope that this mission doesn't turn up any monsters and that the locals are wrong.

　Balaam is right.
　Little by little, the soldiers will now become a relic of the past.
　They will become useless and disappear from the stage of history.

　Come to think of it, what would she have done?

　She was currently the second in command of the Four Heavenly Kings Astares-sama, the Demon Queen.
　Perhaps it was because of her position as the Four Heavenly Kings' second-in-command, but they often saw each other when they had military meetings. It's only natural, or perhaps I should say, that I haven't seen her at all since her boss, Master Astares, became the Demon Queen.

　I've never heard of him being reassigned anywhere, or maybe he's retired from the military because of his boss's prosperity and his retirement benefits.

　He came from a commoner's background and had a real talent for rising from a bare handed fist to the position of deputy to the Four Heavenly Kings. As a well-connected person, I had a complex about him.

　As I recall, his family was in the clothing business, and he had said that he wanted to take over the family business after he retired from the military and open his own shop.

　Did the fact that he left the Demon King's Army mean that he had fulfilled that dream?

　That's fine too. Soldiers are losing the battlefield. Then it would be better to pursue the same dream but in peace.

I'm following my dream...!

　My dream is on the battlefield.
　For now, I just hope that the battlefield we're about to head into has stronger monsters than I've reported.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　* * * *

　I thought so, but I changed my mind as soon as I arrived there.

　It's true that I wished for a strong monster to come out, but everything has its limits.
　Or rather, what actually came out was not a monster, but an opponent far stronger and more dangerous than the monster.

　This is because it was a fallen dragon, the Lesser Dragon.