Lately, people have been coming to my office quite often.
　There have been times when I've invited them, and other times when people have come to visit me unexpectedly.
　Today's visitor was the former. I had made an appointment in advance.

"Excuse me, Mr. General Staff.

Yes, Mr. Agares.

　A man in his late twenties, wearing a costume that resembles a tailcoat. He is a demon with silver hair brushed back and goat-like horns sprouting from both ends of his forehead.
　He is one of the Four Heavenly Kings and also a demon that is known as the 【Devil of Time】.

　He always seems to be a crisp, calm and collected man.
　He's also a gentleman who politely responds to me, who was suddenly selected as his chief of staff, and takes care of me in many ways.
　It's just.....

"Hello, Mr. Agares-san!

　Kash, the dog-eared sub-human who is the secretary of the General Staff, greets his guest with a cheeky smile.

Oh, Miss Kash. It's good to see you looking well again today. Oh yes, if you don't mind, would you accept this? You'll have it with your family.

　Mr. Agares took out an assortment of various cookies. There are many cookies in a beautiful box.

''...!　Thank you for everything. But I can't accept that.

　Kash, who is very popular with the demons of the Demon King's Castle, often receives various gifts from them. Agares-san, among other things, often seems to give us gifts.

You don't have to worry about it. It's a souvenir, of course there is one for the General Staff. It's not unusual for me to prepare one for you, right?

　Kash glanced at me.

'If you don't mind Kash, I think you can take it.

　Gulping and spitting Kash. She loves cookies. She says her sister and her younger siblings do too, so she must be really happy.

So, then. Thank you, Mr. Agares.

　Kash held the box carefully and a smile bloomed on his face.

　Mr. Agares' body shakes and he looks up to the heavens.
　Then he takes a deep breath and smiles.

'There's no need to worry about it. You're doing very well, despite your young body and the hardships you're going through. You don't have to be a direct boss to want to work on it.

　Kash is embarrassed by the compliment.

'Oh, I'll bring you some tea.

　Kash is on his way to prepare tea.
　I called out to Mr. Agares, who was watching his back.

Please have a seat.

'Oh. Well, but Miss Kash is truly amazing. It's inspiring to see her work so hard for her family.

Yeah, really. She's a good worker.

'I can only admire the depth of the Lord Chiefs of Staff's pocketbook for reaching out to her.

It was Mila who invited me.

You have to admire his judgment on that point.

'As it turns out, I'm glad too. When I was feeling down after leaving the party, Kash was helping me feel better, so I was hoping that I could help in some small way.

''Great. I, too, found the meaning of life by being approached by the Demon Lord once.

　Maybe that's where his loyalty began.
　I'm a little curious if there was a protective nature to the young one first, or if it sprouted in the wake of the Demon King, but I don't ask.

'Sometimes an encounter can turn your life around, can't it?

　In my case, I've been fortunate enough to meet people like Kash, Mira, my mentor...and Fenix, etc.
　If I had lacked even one thing, I might not have gotten to where I am now.

''Yeah, totally.''　

　Mr. Agares nodded deeply.

'Oh, by the way, thank you for the cookies,'

'It is good. It's a small price to pay for seeing the smile of a baby girl.

... ha-ha.

　Well, part of me was buying fruit just to see Kash's smile, too.
　Besides, Agares-san is a really good person.
　Well, to begin with, there's no way the demon king would hire a dangerous person to be his close associate.
　It's a good and good person, just a little insecure in his words and actions, but he is an excellent and good person.

''So, do you want to talk to me about it?

Yes, but first...

　After a while, I took a sip of the tea that Kash brought me.

'I'm sorry, Miss Kash. Could you give me a moment alone with the Lord Chief of Staff?

　I've never heard Mr. Agares say that before. If you want, he's even looking at Kash when he's talking to me.
　Kash nodded his head in agreement.

''Secret Council, right........''

　'Huh,' he said, his expression faltering.

'Yeah, something like that.

Yes!　So long, Sanbo, I'll be right next door.

Yeah, I'll give you a shout when I'm done.

　Kash, who made a crisp expression, promptly leaves.
　After confirming that, I nod my head.

'Is this a secret meeting?'

I didn't want to destroy a child's dream.

"Dreams?

'She thinks that the Lord Chief of Staff and all the demons are on the defensive, trying to annihilate the intruders, right?　I don't want you to know that there are those who aren't. Ego, perhaps.

Can I ask you a question?

　Mr. Agares uttered it as if he had been prepared.

'I won't be able to beat them.

　"They" were the adventurers.

I don't think so.

That's all right, Mr. Chief of Staff. Of course, I'm not giving up. That is not what this is about.

　...I know what he means.

'Mr. Aerial, is it?'

　He nodded.

''That one is in a different dimension. In addition to being a Four Great Spirit Contractor, the person in question also has tremendous fighting ability. The alias of being the strongest of the human race is probably not an exaggeration.''

That's the idea, yeah.

Having seen the battle on the eighth layer, I am convinced. This man is strong enough to keep Lord Fourcas from direct combat.　

　Mr. Fulkas is strong.
　If it's just martial arts alone, he will surpass Fenix.
　Still, if you fight, Fenix will win.

　And Aerial-san has the ability to compete with Fulkus-san in his martial arts.
　In addition to that, his magic skills and power are also outstanding.
　I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find the right one.

　--I'm not going to be able to get it right.

　I'm not sure I'm going to be able to say that, but I'm going to say that I'm not going to be able to say that.

But we can't afford to lose. No one (Nampito) can be allowed to defile the tenth layer.

Yes, sir.

　It was Mila who recruited me, and it was the Demon King who hired me.
　I want to reward you properly for your work.

　I won't let you capture the Demon King's Castle. I won't let you capture the Demon King's castle, no matter who you're up against.
　It doesn't matter if it's your best friend or your senior who you've always admired, it doesn't matter.

But the fact is, you can't change your reality with just one thought.

　Aerial-san has the strength to rip off a victory on his own.
　If you saw the scene where Fenix dismissed every floor boss and deputy in the tenth level, you'll know that the four major spirit contractors are messed up.

''I mean, consultations are...''

Yes, it's about the fight to get to the tenth layer. As shameful as this is...

No, that's not true. We are the friends of the Demon King's Castle. As long as we all win, that's all that matters. In fact, I'm glad that you trust us.

　Because it would.
　We will focus on reducing the number of enemies, not annihilating them.
　With the assumption that they will be breached, the people of the tenth layer will move to gain as much of an advantage as possible in the fight.

　That means that they think they can annihilate the enemy in the tenth layer.
　It means that they think it's worth leaving the victory to us.

''Say whatever you want. We'll be happy to cooperate.''

Thank you very much.

He's the chief of staff. That's part of his job.

I'll thank you for that.

Well, I'll take it. --Well, now, about the defense.

Yes, I would like to discuss with you the person with whom my magic is most effective. I've heard that the Lord Chief of Staff is very knowledgeable about these things.

'Oh, yes. Well, I think I know a lot about adventurers...

　That's how our discussion continued.
　The number of enemies left, the target of the supposed right of revival, who should be targeted and how.

　Mr. Agares said we couldn't win, but that didn't mean we wouldn't take it seriously.
　It means we're serious about winning, but we understand that our chances of winning are slim, and our first priority is to fight for the next one.

　The start of the ninth-tier fight was getting closer and closer.