Do you have human mercenaries on staff?

　The words were uttered by Giron, the orc's chief of staff who had returned before he knew it.
　At the same time, Lilith, the second in command of the succubus, also voiced her surprise.

''That means you're going to hand over your weapons to the humans and fight with them, right?

　Lilith disagrees forcefully.

'You don't know when you'll be poked in the side if you do that!

　Giron agrees.

'Lilith's sister was right. It's too dangerous. I'm very much against it. Doesn't Lady Sigan agree with you?

　Jiron asks the dragon man, Sigan, to encourage him to agree.

''--I'm not one to oppose Ike-sama's measures.

　Sigan had only one word to say.
　The troop leaders had a good point.
　I owe them an explanation.

''I'm sure you guys are aware of this. The Demon King's idea, no, my idea, is to coexist with humans.''

..........

　They are all silent.

''I can see that from the Demon King-sama's policies and Ike-sama's actions. But isn't it impossible for us to fight together?　Will the humans cooperate with us in the first place?

..........

　There was an unknown quantity about it.
　I've made a great prospect in front of the Demon King-sama, but we'll see what happens.
　In the meantime, I sent out a proclamation through the city's powerful people.
　Besides, I asked if there were any mercenaries in the neighboring cities as well, but how much could they gather?
　In the worst case scenario, we have to plan our strategy with the possibility of zero--.
　As I was thinking like that, Sati, the maid, came over in a hurry.

''Gosh, master, it's bad.''

　He was unusually flustered.

　That line had been Giron's habit, but he never dreamed that he would hear it from Satie.

　She wondered what was wrong, was it a cockroach, or did she see a mouse the size of a kitten?

　As I think about this, she pulls my arm, out of breath.
　Sati takes me to the window and points outside, "Look at that," she says, "Look at that.

　My mansion in Ivalice is in the heart of the city. In front of it is a square, which is usually a place for citizens to relax.

　However, it wasn't the citizens who were there.

''Yo, there are a lot of mercenaries gathered here. And all the volunteer soldiers as well.

　Lilith heard his voice and came up to him.

'It's true. There's a lot of humans here.'

　Lilith begins to count with a startled cry.

'Hi, fwiw, mii, ... oh my god, don't move, it's hard to count.'

Sister, you can't possibly count them. That's a lot of people.

Yeah, I'll give you a rough estimate of 300 people.

　Roughly, but not far off, I suppose.

'Will that all be on our side?'

　Lilith asks.

'Maybe.'

　The men, who appear to be mercenaries, are all armed.
　The citizens who look like volunteer soldiers are also all young or mature men.
　They all have dependable faces and bodies.
　When I confirmed this, I turned to Giron and said.

I turned to Giron and said, "Do you have enough weapons to give to the volunteers?

　Giron nodded, but still asked with concern.

'But are you sure?　The moment we give the humans their weapons, they might revolt, don't you think?

The time will come when it will. If they revolt here, it will be impossible for us to coexist with humans.

You are very bold, sir.

I guess I'm being open-minded in a way.

　In fact, he was right.

　If they would revolt the moment I handed them a weapon. I was that much of a man, I suppose.

　But there was a girl who could speak for my feelings.
　Sati, unusually, tells everyone her point of view.

'It's all right!　It's not going to happen. Those people don't look like such cowardly people. And I can't believe that anyone would betray their master!

　Unusually, Sati shouted so loudly that the troop leaders couldn't help but look at her, but she was still resolute.

　Anyway, to respond to her feelings, I headed to the humans gathered in the square.
　Talk about rewards,.
　Troop formation.
　Future plans, and
　We have a lot to talk about.

　There's not much time left for that.
　Even as we speak, the Seventh Legion, led by Cephiro, must be in dire straits.
　I wanted to go to her as soon as possible. I wanted to rescue her.




　Thus, the size of the Immortal Brigade had swelled.
　Originally a brigade of 600 men, it had grown to a thousand.


　The dwarf warrior brigade led by Günther, King of the Dwarves.
　They were small in stature, but they were all strong.
　They all carry battleaxes bigger than themselves.


　The mercenaries were all fearless, too.
　They were armed with longswords and great swords (claymores), maces and spears, but all of the mercenaries had the look of a strong man of the past.


　The volunteer soldiers were also eager to fight.
　They were residents of the city of Ivalice, and they all adored me and joined me as volunteer soldiers.
　They have no experience in battle, but their numbers are their strength.
　And the army isn't all about spear work.　
　You don't need to have any experience in warfare to be able to lead logistical support, supply units, etc.


　With that in mind, I decided to organize my troops.
　Lilith asks.

''After all, would it be better to organize the troops with humans as humans and dwarves as dwarves?

It's probably for the best.

　I reply.
　Günther agrees.

'Demons have their own way of fighting and dwarves have their own way of fighting. That would be appropriate.'

　The King of the Dwarves, a brave man of successive battles, agreed with me.
　Lilith nodded, but then she made this suggestion.
　She whispers in my ear, her tone of voice and suggestion was like a little devil.
　No, it's actually a little devil, though.

"Let's put the humans on the front lines. "Let's put the humans on the front line, they will be our shields. Also, if they run away or betray us, we will create a specialized unit that will be ready to pounce on them at any time.

..........

　Or rather, this guy still doesn't trust the humans.

　Lilith is proposing to create a 'Viceroy's Squad' that will monitor their own troops from the rear and attack the fleeing soldiers if they run away or betray them.

Can we do this like the old communist bloc?
Kyuukyo Sanken?

　Lilith gives him a strange look.

'I'm saying it's inefficient and useless. Anyway, for now, you just have to trust the people you've gathered.

　I piled on and warned Lilith, "Don't get in trouble," I said, "Don't get in trouble," I warned Lilith.
　Lilith said, "Yes," and left to get her unit ready.

　I look behind her and think.
　Now, I wonder if this battle will go well - or not.

　With the addition of humans and dwarves, the Immortal Brigade's numbers quickly swelled to nearly a thousand.
　Its strength could be described as half an army.
　In terms of numbers alone, it was one of the largest in the Demon King's army.
　However, in return, they would have to bear the disadvantage of having demons and humans fight together.

　According to the demon king, this is the first time since the history of this different world began, but will I be able to handle this great responsibility?

　When I was thinking like that, a girl came up to me as if she read my thoughts.

It's a good thing that you were born of human and raised by the demon race. No, who else can do it but you?

　The owner of that voice was the Demon Lord of the matter.
　She was straddling a pitch-black Demon World Sun Horse.

''Demon King-sama, where is that horse?''

This is my favorite horse, 'Oniashige'.

'I didn't mean to ask you that, but...'

'Never mind that it's black fur and reedy. It's a trivial matter.

　By the way, Oni Reige is the name of a famous horse that a man named 'Oda Nobunaga', who is thought to be her previous life, rode. It doesn't matter, why did she come riding a horse?

　I have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but I'm going to ask her.

''I don't think it's possible, but are you saying that the Demon King is also going to follow you into battle?''　

　She nods silently and says, "Ding dong.
　I stop her calmly.

'I thought it was dangerous for the general to go into battle himself.

　This girl, no, the Sixth Heavenly Demon King's ability is one of the best in the demon race.

　If she joins our allies, that's exactly what we can expect to see in a single combatant, but just in case.

　The demon race is strong, but they are not invincible.

　A stray arrow might hit them, and it can't be said that there isn't a possibility that there are 'brave men' mixed in with the enemy who can oppose the demon king.

　It's a good thing that you have a lot of experience in this field.
　That is what warfare is.
　That is what warfare is all about.
　I'm not so stupid as to not understand that, but...
　When I was thinking that, the girl opened her mouth.

I'm not going to fight. This time I just want to see you fight up close and personal.

　Then he continues.

I won't help the Unu fight in any way. I just want to see it happen. I just want to see how you fight, how you live.

　'Besides,' she concluded, her mouth twisting slightly.

Whenever I feel like I'm about to lose, I'm the first to run. I'm much better at running away than you are.
..........

　Perhaps she is talking about the Battle of Kanegasaki, where the Asakura clan was defeated.

　When she defeated the Asakura clan, the guardian daimyo of Echizen Province, she was betrayed by her brother-in-law, Asai Nagamasa, and fell into a difficult situation.
　She turned her subordinate Hashiba Hideyoshi and his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu into her army (shingari) and fled to Kyoto alone.

　This is not a story to say that Nobunaga was cowardly or incompetent, but it is a proof of his ability.
　As I have said many times, a "great general" is someone who knows when to back down.

　Probably, if I lose and decide that I am in danger, this person will gallantly drive that horse away from the battlefield.

　--Then there would be no problem in accompanying this person.
　With that in mind, I decided to ask the Demon King-sama to follow me.
　However, I had no choice from the beginning.
　She is the commander-in-chief of the Demon King's army.
　There's no choice but to disobey her.
　But in the end, I made a final offer to her.

"If anything should happen to you, please leave immediately.

　She smiles when she hears the words.

'Huh, no need to be told.'

　He concluded with a grim smile.

"Well, I suppose there's no such thing as an eventuality.

　Does it mean that he thinks that I can't lose, or is he confident that I can get away with it?
　Or is he confident that he can get away with it?
　It's hard to tell which is which, but I decided to head to Aresta to help Cephiro.