The 7th Legion successfully repelled the enemy knights who had attacked Arsenum.

　The original plan was to drive the remainder of the force into Rosalia's royal capital of Reezus, but that plan was immediately dismissed.

　Apparently, the enemy army I just mentioned is only the advance party of the League of the Lords.

　The number of the Lords Alliance currently gathered in the royal capital of Rosalia is said to have swelled to tens of thousands.

　Of course, Cephiro, the commander of the 7th Legion, is not stupid.

He didn't need to suggest, "Let's just retreat and see how things are going," but ordered, "Each of you return to your posts.

　When I heard that order, I was the first to withdraw my troops and head home.　


　I returned to my mansion in Ivalice and quickly went into my office.

　Without saying a word, Satie bowed reverently and brought me a cup of tea and two cups of sugar.

　It was a scent and consideration I hadn't tasted in a long time on the battlefield.
　There were beautiful women on the battlefield as well, for one thing.
　They were a witch of indeterminate age named Sephiro and a whore named Lilith.
　These women were beautiful in appearance, but they were not capable of the attention to detail that Satie was capable of.
　I'm sure they can't make a cup of tea.

　And there is no way they could bake cookies as good as Satie's.
　With that in mind, I took a bite of the cookie that Satie had baked.
　The sweet and buttery aroma of the cookies spread through the air.

　In my previous life, it was so ordinary that I didn't understand the value of this food, but sweets are a luxury item in this world.

　Ordinary people can't just eat it.
　It's a small luxury for a ruler to be able to eat it every day.

　You can also enjoy the aroma of the tea, but you will miss the taste of the tea.

"Ah, I need coffee.

　Satie responds to the words.

'Coffee, sir?'

'Oh, you heard me. I thought I was muttering in a small voice.

Satie's ears will not miss a single little word from her master.

　Satie says with a smile.

''Well that's scary.''

　From now on, I'll have to be careful about talking to myself.
　With that in mind, I'm going to explain coffee.

'Coffee is an amber drink. It's a black bean that's roasted and, no, I heard it was originally red. Well, that doesn't matter. It's a delicious drink with a very nice aroma.

But tea smells good too, but...

There's a different smell to it. The tea is very noble, the coffee is more populist. It's more populist.

What, populist...?

　Satie seems to be unable to measure up.

　Well, yes. It's difficult to explain the aroma of coffee to someone who has never smelled it before.

'At least if you have the actual beans.
Are you going to produce coffee this time?

'No, that's not going to happen. Coffee can only be obtained in the south. I suppose it would be different if we could build a plastic house and magically heat it up, but that would be too costly.

Then why not import them from the South?
'If coffee beans existed, which I suppose they could,'
Doesn't it exist?
Probably not. I didn't see him in Rosalia's royal capital.

　I quipped, but an unexpected person denied it.

'If it's coffee, it's distributed in the South.

　And it was my boss, Cephiro, who came in with a side note.
　She didn't even knock, but entered the office without permission.

　Only selected demons are allowed to enter this building, but unfortunately she was a selected demon race.

　Hence, she is able to enter my office in this way with impunity, but I wanted her to at least knock.

''What's with that look on your face, you should at least knock,''

　And this guy has a keen sense of intuition.

　She shouldn't even be able to see her expression with her mask, but she seems to know my thoughts in her hands.

　In my mind, I raised my hands in surrender and asked the truth of her statement.

'Is it true that coffee exists?'

It's true. I have seen it before in Xenovia, in the south. It's a black bean-based drink. I drank it once, but it was bitter. It's not for a concubine's taste.

'That's it. Oh, so that's what we have in this world...
You like that bitter stuff?
Well, yes.

　I don't know if I can get through to this person to say that I miss caffeine.
　Apparently, lately, I've been getting sleepy in the afternoons.

　In a previous life, a cup of coffee would help me feel better, but unfortunately, tea doesn't provide a wake-up call.

'Anyway, it's good news that you have coffee. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed that scent.'

　Thinking this, I quickly called Giron and was going to instruct him to arrange for coffee.

　But my boss, the witch, stops me from doing so.

You depend on that pig for everything," she says. Don't you think you can do something on your own for a change?

'No, I'm the Lord of Ivalice, if you will. Besides, this is the front line. I can't leave you out here.

You know the quote, "You can't develop a subordinate with an overly competent boss"?

"...I know. It's all over my body.

　The relationship between me and the witch in front of me might be a good example of this.

　As I compensate for Sephiro's lack of motivation and laxity, I feel like I've become more diligent and gained a lot of experience.

　The point is, she's probably trying to say that if a boss does everything himself, his subordinates won't grow up.

''You've got some pretty good subordinates. That orc Jiron or something like that isn't very competent, but he's faithful to his duties and he's loyal to you. I've found some good men.

'Tell that to that man himself. He'll be happy to hear you cry.

It's in your boss's power to assess his subordinates' abilities.

'Besides, the dragonborn named Shigan is a calm and competent commander. The girl named Lilith may not be smart enough, but she's strong enough to make up for it. And they still have a lot of room to grow. It wouldn't be a bad idea to leave this city to them for a while,

The point is, you don't mind letting them take care of it?

That's right.

　'I'm sorry,' said Cepheloe, 'but you're not going to send me on an errand to Zenobia, are you?

'You're not going to send me to Zenobia just to run an errand to get coffee, are you?

'No way. She's not that crazy. While you're at it, why don't you go buy me some milk that is good for your skin?

　Cephiro playedfully showed him, but he could tell immediately that he was joking.
　Because he immediately turned serious.

''--I want you to head to Zenobia, the southern trade city. As the Demon King's representative.

　I can tell right away by the look on his face.

''--I see, so you're saying that buying coffee is a pretext and that you have some secret purpose in mind.

There's your grandson, Romberg's grandson. You're getting the idea.

I've known the Commander for a long time.

So do you have any idea what it's about?

I'm going to guess, but do you mind?

Yeah, sure.

　She allowed me to speak in a teacher-like tone.

''The Commander, no, perhaps, but the Demon Lord would like to trade with Zenobia, the ally of the 'Trade Union' in the south?'''

Oh, and how do you know this?

"The Financial State of Our Military.

　I'll say it in one word.

''At the moment, our army's financial situation cannot be said to be plentiful. Although we have become much richer than in the past due to the rule of the Demon King, it's still not enough. The lack of food is especially noticeable.

"Thanks to you, Ivaris' agricultural output has ballooned.

'But it's still not enough to go to the whole army. Farming is a slow process that takes a long time to produce results.

Yeah.

''Besides, the land originally occupied by the Demon King's army isn't a very rich land, and it's more of an industrial city than an agricultural city. The war has devastated the fields and other areas. We'll probably run into a serious food shortage sooner or later.

Then you could just requisition, or rather loot, the inhabitants like a demon king's army?

''The Demon Lord would not be that foolish. I don't think he would be so foolish when the occupied territory is being managed so well.

'Then what do you think the Demon Lord is after?　No, what would you do?

　Sephiro's voice is more serious than ever.
　Or maybe this witch is also unable to grasp the Demon King-sama's true intentions.

　This person is also a rational and intelligent demon race, but he is still a demon race. That way of thinking must be based on the standards of the demon race.

''The Demon Lord probably wants to sell the surplus industrial products, especially the lapidary work and crafts made by the dwarven craftsmen, to the south, and use the money to obtain an ample supply of food for the south.

　When I say that, Cephiro lets out an exhale along with the words ".......hmm".

　I know the answer by his attitude, but I'll ask him, just in case.

''So, Commander, is my answer correct?''

　Cephiro neither affirmed nor denied it.

''--I don't like it. --I don't like it, but I'm saying the same thing as the Demon King-sama.

So the answer is 100 points, is that correct?

　Cephiro didn't answer that clearly either, but said in his usual childlike tone of voice

''Anyway, it's the Demon King's order. Ike, the deputy commander of the 7th Legion. Ike, the deputy commander of the Seventh Legion, go to Zenobia to the south in place of your mistress and sign a trade treaty with the leaders of the Trade Federation!

　Cephiro tied it off and turned on her heel, a little flustered.
　She leaves the words as if they were a throwaway line.

''Humph, if you fail, you'll have to start over again from scratch under your mistress (straw).

　And--.
　Then he chanted the magic of transference and disappeared.
　Seeing her figure, Sati, who was standing beside her, asked fearfully.

''Are you sure?　Lady Cephiro was pissed off, though.

'That wasn't angry. He's just sulking.

Are you sulking?

He bends his navel when I give him a model answer.

Why is that?　Your master came up with the right answer, didn't he?

You think I'm still a kid, don't you?

A child?

'Yeah, the Commander and I have known each other since we were kids. It's like he's still convinced that he needs to lead us,

'I see, that wasn't angry, that was sulking.

　Sati gave a look of understanding and then laughed reservedly.

'Indeed, you are indeed like a child, as your master said.

'At best, he's still a childish man. At worst, he's a bratty little boy.

　I let out that sarcasm, but Sati suddenly stopped laughing and let out this.　

'And yet--'

　Sati says, and continues.

'You knew your master as a child, didn't you, Master Cephiro?

Yeah?

　Hearing those words, Satie releases an unusual line.

''I'm a bit jealous of Cephiro-sama. No, I am jealous.''

Why?

I never saw him as a child, because I never saw him as a child. I can't help but imagine how cute he must have been.

It's cute.

　Is that a compliment?

　It's a word that doesn't sound like a mid-level executive in the Demon King's army, but I certainly had a lovely childhood, too.

　With that in mind, I prepared to head south.