When I reached the transition room in Ivalice, I called Jiron as soon as I could.
　I wanted to know more about the situation.
　When I returned to my office, I rang the bell.
　It's a special bell.
　It's enchanted so that only certain people can hear it.
　When he hears the bell, Giron comes in a hurry.

　As soon as Giron, the orc chief of staff, opens the door to my office.

Husband, husband, it's been hard.

　I shouted.

　It was the usual dialogue.
　But this time, Cephiro, the commander of the 7th Legion, was in a tight spot.

　It wasn't hard to understand that feeling, but today Giron seemed to be breaking out in more cold sweats than usual.

　Is he in that kind of predicament?
　I can't help but feel my liver chill.

　Sephiro, as I recall, is currently invading the city of Alesta, northwest of Ivalice. It is a city that the 2nd Legion's Gelmoor had previously attempted to capture and failed spectacularly.

　He said that now that they had dealt the enemy a painful blow at the Battle of Arsenum, they could manage to drop it, but he didn't expect them to fail.

'Is the Commander now on a crushing run?　Are you safe?

　I couldn't help but ask, but it wasn't Giron who gave the answer, but someone unexpected.
　She said, in her usual tone of voice, her usual habit.


''--or is it?''


　And while her tone of voice was distinctive, there would be only one person in the world who would have that kind of habit otherwise.　

　I turned back to the voice and got down on one knee, curtsying.
　Sati also nodded her head reverently.
　Jiron was the only one standing there with Kyoton.
　Come to think of it, Jiron had never met the Demon King-sama.

　It's natural to be stunned.
　However, he didn't expect him to suddenly imitate such a rude manner.
　Jiron said to the Demon King-sama who came suddenly.


''C'mon, little girl, I don't know how you snuck in here, but this is not a good place for a demon race like your daughter to come. It's Ike-sama's mansion, the deputy commander of the 7th Legion of the Demon King's Army, Ike-sama. If you want to play, you'll be outside playing ayatollahs or trick-or-treating.


　I'm probably the one who got the most chills from hearing those words.

'Idiot.'

　I don't even have time to say that.

　This is because Jiron tried to carry the little demon king-sama and kick him out.
　I pitied Jiron, who would surely be roasted, but surprisingly, I didn't.
　The Demon Lord said blankly to me.

'You have some interesting subordinates.

''Well this is still rarely useful. Please forgive me.

　I apologized on Jiron's behalf, and I explained to him.

"-- This is Master Dirocten.

　Hearing those words, Jiron released the Demon Lord, but he still didn't seem to believe it.

You can't possibly say, "No way, mister, I'm not going to try to trick me. I'm not going to be able to say that I'm the king of the demon race. He should have more dignity.

Don't you think I'm a little undignified?

No.

　Giron stated flatly.

'Speaking of the Demon King, I heard that he has nine heads, each with a crown, six limbs, each with horrible claws, and three tails, each with a poisonous needle, a paralyzing needle and a sleeping needle. I can't believe she's such a little girl.

　Is this guy signing his own death warrant with his own tongue?

　I can't cover up for him anymore, I thought, but the Demon King-sama was surprisingly

So that's what my subordinates think of me. I don't know about that.

　He only let out a bitter smile.

　However, I can't let Jiron go free any longer.
　I'm going to force Jiron to transition.
　The location could be anywhere.
　When I transferred him to the farthest place within the range of my magical power, I apologized again to the Demon Lord.

''I'm sorry. It's my subordinate's mismanagement.''

Don't worry about it. Only a few demons know my face. There are only a few demons who know what I look like, and I'm sure there are some who would behave that way. In the first place, when you first met me, you were confused.

I blush.

　That's all I can say.

　Indeed, when I first met her, I had a similar impression to Jiron.
　I never dreamed that the Demon Lord of the Demon King's Army would be such a dainty girl.

　Well, I didn't spout stupid lines like Jiron did.
　When I was thinking like that, the demon king opened his mouth.

"First of all, I commend you for organizing the negotiations with Zenobia in my name.

　I bowed my head and said, "It's too good to be true," but it seems that the information was already in my ears.
　As expected of a demon king, he has hell ears.

'I also heard that Unu is going to take a wife. I'll send you something to tie up when you marry.

　........It seems that they don't want you to know, or even unimportant information is being passed down the tubes.
　If that's the case, all that's left to do is hand over the contract outlining the details of the trade treaty with Zenobia.
　But there was something else that had to be done first.　

'The details of the treaty with Zenobia will come up in a report later. For now, there's something more we have to do--
I know, it's one of Cephiro's.

　The demon king says to control my words.
　It seems that the purpose of her coming to the mansion is the same.
　She explains.

You'll be able to find out what's going on with the entirety of the Seventh Legion as well as the entirety of the Seventh Legion as well as the entirety of the Seventh Legion are currently attacking Alesta. With all but the Unu's Brigade in tow.'

But I didn't expect the Commander to lose.

　The Demon King corrects him.

''We haven't lost yet. You're still losing.

What do you mean?

'We succeeded in capturing Aresta with flying colors, but it was a trap.

In other words, the humans are deliberately luring the Demon King's army into the castle and besieging the Demon King's army on the contrary?

That's right.

　The demon king said shortly.

''The humans' wisdom is quite impressive. You've outsmarted that clever little Sephiro.

'But you've taken the city of Aresta, which means you're holed up in the Citadel, I suppose. It'll hold for a while.

Hmm.

　She nodded.

'However, the enemy is not dumb either. They won't have left any food in the city. Cephiro will only have enough for the expedition. That means it's about time they ran out of food.

''Well that's not very nice. Because since ancient times, there has never been a case of a starving army winning.

'We won't be able to requisition, or even plunder, the humans. If this was a ruse, they would have taken food from the city dwellers as well.

'....You're cunning. We're both human beings.

But the effect will be immediate. There are hungry human soldiers outside the castle. There are hungry human soldiers outside the castle and hungry residents inside. If things were going badly, we could be attacked by both of them at the same time. Would I do the same thing if I were a human being?

That leaves very little time for that.

You're right. You'll have it in a month.

How many enemies do you have, by the way?

Five thousand.

Half of what we did to rescue Arsenum.

However, Cephiro's men are reduced by half and exhausted. And I don't have an army that can go to the rescue at the moment.

　''I'm sorry,'' the Demon Lord assured him.

''We are currently under simultaneous invasion in many places. The only troops that can move are the Unu Brigade.

'So you want me to take my brigade of 600 against 5,000 men?

It will.

　After saying this, the Demon King is silent.

''-- but I am not a demon. I'll give Unu a choice.

Options, sir?

Yeah. There are two ways. One is to go to Cephiro's rescue and crush him with him. The other is to abandon Cephiro and then you'll be the leader of the Seventh Legion.

..........

　I'm speechless.

''........It's a very demonic way of thinking.
I'm the Demon King.

　He laughed, but his expression was like a Noh mask.

'Just don't get me wrong, I don't want you to misunderstand me, I'm not abandoning or cutting off Sephiro. I just give up. On top of this, you'll let Unu die when you go to the rescue. That would be an incalculable loss for the Demon King's army.

''That's very troubling...'' said the Demon King-sama, making a girlish face for the first time.

　I wondered if she could make this kind of face too, but I didn't need her to offer me a way out, but my actions were determined.

'Cephiro is a miko-playing (joking) boss, but she's still like a sister to me. I can't just abandon her.

"...then we'll take the first road, right?

　The Demon King asked as if to confirm it, but I nodded silently.

''We must leave a garrison in this city as well. Then the number of troops Unu can prepare is less than five hundred, right?　With those men, you're going to take on an enemy ten times as large?

'Lamenting does not increase the number of men. ...so I won't complain.

　It was indeed true that the Demon King-sama was right.

　The number of troops the Immortal Brigade could move was five hundred, and even though they were elite, with 100 of them equipped with guns, it was too dangerous to hit an enemy ten times their size.

　No, it was too foolish.

　Not to mention, this time, he had to challenge the enemy to a field battle instead of a siege battle.
　Honestly, it would be a fool's errand to take on a ten times larger enemy head on.
　No ragtag general would do such a reckless thing.

　But I still couldn't bring myself to abandon Cephiro.
　When I said that, I said again.

'I'll manage with five hundred men.
　And--.

　Only to have someone deny it.
　An unexpected person interrupted the conversation.
　I see that Satie has arrived with Günther, King of the Dwarves.
　Satie apologizes to me.

'I'm sorry. Lord Günther asked me about you...'

　And Satie apologizes flatly.
　Günther says.

'She's not a bad girl,' says Günther. I forced her to talk to me. Forgive her.

　I blurt out, "Oh man.
　Because I can picture the scene at that moment.

　A girl named Satie is not a good liar, and she's not very good at hiding things.
　I hadn't kept my mouth shut, so it wasn't surprising that this was the case.

'Looks like I'm finally going to be able to repay your kindness, Lord Ike.

I've had enough of that, in the form of 'guns'.

It is not I who makes the guns. They are dwarven craftsmen.

　As Günther said that, he raised the battle axe in his right hand and cut the sky.


　Buan!


　It was so fast that you could almost see a crack in the air.
　It took tremendous physical strength to be able to hold such a large battle axe with one hand.

　The dwarves were known for their dexterity, but they were also known as powerful miners.
　Many dwarves could turn their ordinary pickaxe into an axe and become a top-notch warrior.

'This city is full of dwarven warriors as well as artisans. There are roughly a hundred of them, and if they join the fight, they will be of help to Lord Ike.

'Are you sure?　This is a war that has nothing to do with the dwarves.

No,

　Günther shook his head.

''If the Demon King's army unifies this world, they'll create a dwarf kingdom, won't they?

　Günther looks at me with sincere eyes.
　I glance at the Demon King-sama.

　She nodded silently.

''I promise to hang that matter on my name. However, as you may be aware, the Demon King's army is currently struggling. Or we may not be able to fulfill that promise.

The time was right. That would mean I wasn't seeing things the right way. I'll give it up.

　But," the Dwarf King continued, "it was Ike who gave them a place to stay when they wandered from place to place and could not find their place.

"It is Ike who has given a place to all those dwarves who wandered from place to place and never found it for themselves. We must at least return the favor. Dwarves are a race that never forgets a favor they have received.

　When I said that, he repeated the offer of reinforcements.

　I figured that even if I refused, he'd follow me on his own, so I asked Günther to shake his hand.

"Thank you for your help.

It's my pleasure to work for you.

　He returned the handshake emphatically.