††† (Demon King's perspective)

　After Ike accepts the girl's command and leaves the audience room, the girl and Cephiro remain in place and continue their conversation.

　I feel like I've been having more conversations with this witch lately, but the topic of conversation is solely about Ike.
　Even now, when I had the servant bring me a drink and snacks, the two of us started talking while holding a chess game together.
　I should be fond of Go, but there is no Go in this world.

　It's easy to make a go board and a go stone, but even if you did, there's no one to play on it because the rules are not widely known.

　Then, there is a way to make it, shogi (Japanese chess), but again, there is no such thing in this world.
　It is a product of compromise, so to speak, but if you try to play chess, it is very profound.
　No, it may be a good game to play while talking like this, because the rules are simpler than those of Shogi.

　I don't agree with the rule that you can't use your opponent's pieces as your own, but if you subtract that, it's almost the same as shogi.

　The girl took two steps forward with the soldier's (pawn) piece and spoke to the witch in front of her, "Now, Cephiro," she said.

'Well, Cephiro, what do you think of my Lord?'

　Cephiro was silent for a moment.

Am I allowed to tell the truth?

　He replied.

　'No problem,' the girl replied, and Cephiro gave his honest opinion.

'You're not very good at chess, Demon King, are you?
..........

　She was silent, partly because it was true, and partly because the answer came in a different form than the question she had intended.
　It was true that the girl was not a good chess player.

　It's not that I'm not playing to beat the opponent, I'm simply playing to consume time, so I'm confident that I would lose even if I were to compete against the gatekeeper there, but I won't be hurt by that.

　Chess is just a game.
　As long as you can kill time, that's all that matters, and victory or defeat was secondary to that.
　It would be a shame to lose an actual game, but he was not concerned about winning or losing a chess game.

That's not what I'm talking about. That's not what I'm talking about, I'm talking about Ike.

He's not very good at chess either. She's never lost a game.

　That's because Ike is losing in a way he cares about. If you take into account Ike's mild-mannered nature and Cephiro's competitive nature, you can come to that conclusion, but I won't dare point it out.

'That's not what I'm talking about either. I'm sure you'll be able to find a solution to this problem. That's what I'm asking.

　Cephiro finally got a serious look on his face when he heard that story.
　As soon as he made the tower (Luke) piece go straight ahead and took the girl's soldier (pawn) piece, he said

'Did the Demon King have Ike order the unfeasible?

　The girl replied that she would use the Queen's pieces to take Cephiro's tower (Luke).

Nothing is impossible in this world. However, there are many things that are impossible to achieve.

Indeed.

　Cephiro said, "It is against the chess rules to move the queen's pieces prematurely.

　He laughed at the girl's bad move.
　The girl replied, "I don't like joseki," she continued.

'Of course, that was in chess, and the strategy I ordered Ike to use this time may have been a bad move.

What do you mean?

Lately, I've gotten into the habit of relying on that young man for everything. We have set ourselves two very difficult tasks: retrieving the seal of state and getting food. I feel a little remorse for that.

''Even the weeping demon king has something to be reminded of, doesn't he?

　Cephiro chuckles and takes the Queen's (Queen) piece with the Knight's (Knight) piece.

'Hmm, I feel like I'm putting too much of a burden on just one legion leader.

Well, I won't deny it, because it's true.

Do you still think so, Unu?

I mean it.

　Cephiro said, and added as he moved his soldier (pawn) pieces.

'But I also understand how the demon king feels. I'm sure you'll find it useful, and it solves any problem you impose on it. I can understand how it feels to be useful.

Useful.

　As the girl muttered this, she remembered the face of the warlord she had worked with in her previous life to unify the country.


　Hashiba Chikuzen Mamoru Hideyoshi, the man who made him a daimyo from a crawler. He was a dexterous man who could be entrusted with anything, from working in war to strategizing to managing his domain.


　Ryokatsuke Shibata was an important vassal who served his father since his father's generation, and was the keystone of the Oda family. He was praised as a fierce general and brought many military achievements to the Oda family and was feared by his enemies.


　Nagahide, the guardian of Niwa Echizen, was a step ahead of the others in his work in battle, but he was the best at comforting his people and making his castle built.


　Takigawa Iyomori Kazuyoshi, a master gunner and a brilliant general who was also skilled in intrigue. He was known as Takigawa even when he retreated and Takigawa even when he advanced, and he was also a first-class man when he led the navy.


　He was also a top-notch man to lead the navy. --He was betrayed in the end.　


Although the girl had met many great generals in her previous life and in this other world, the young man named Ike seemed different from all of them.

　It doesn't mean that he is inferior in ability. In some areas he is better than them in some areas and in some areas he is inferior to them.

But if there is one thing that is different from them, it would be their personalities.
　The young man named Ike was different from any other general the girl had ever met.
　He doesn't work for his family or his career like the warlords do.

　On the other hand, it's not like the knights of this other world are fighting for honor or being intoxicated by loyalty like the knights of this other world.

　But he seems to be someone who genuinely dreams of creating a world of peace and tranquility.

　Hypothetically, if the girl had broken the order of this world and waged war only for her own personal gain, he would not have rallied to the Demon King's army.

　If the girl privatized the Demon King's army and began to govern badly in the future, Ike would mercilessly turn against the girl.

　Even if you know you will never win--even if you know you will never win.

　In that sense, he may be the most dangerous person among all the great generals I've come in contact with so far.

''.........''

　As I came to such a conclusion and often kept my mouth shut, the witch in front of me spoke to me.

''Demon King, do you have something on your mind?''
...a little bit.

　For a moment, I thought about telling the witch about my earlier thoughts, but I stopped.


'If Ike were to stand in front of me, which side would you side with if you were Unu?'


　I was tempted to ask that, but it would be safer not to.
　This witch.
　He would answer without pause: "Of course, Ike.


'Of course, it's Ike.'


　And....
　You can see from the outside that their bond is that strong.
　And then there's the matter of this witch. I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not.
　It was a fool's errand to ask such a question of such a witch.

　If you ask a foolish question, you will get a foolish answer. That is the way of the world.
　The girl doesn't want to lose Ike, but she also doesn't want to lose the witch named Sephiro.

　In order to keep Ike and Cephelo under her control, she had to be a ruler who would not give up on them.

　The girl once again made up her mind, moved her knight's piece and said: "Check" - "Check".

The girl moved the knight's piece and said, "Check.

　Hearing those words, Cephiro stared at me in frustration and said, "Are we not going to wait? He asks.

　The girl replies shortly.

'None.'

　I could have at least forgiven this competitive witch for her mood, but unfortunately, the girl was also a competitive witch.

　Besides, for the first time in a long time, she was able to play against an opponent who was weaker at chess than her. She wanted to enjoy this feeling of superiority for a while.

　The girl stood up and looked down at the chess board, looking down at the witch who was still twisting her head, wondering why she had lost.

　When the witch noticed the movement, she looked up at me and asked.

''Demon Lord, where are you going?''

　The girl replies.

'I'll start getting ready for battle.'

　Ike has not yet regained the seal of state and the issue of food supply has not been resolved?

But Ike still hasn't reclaimed the national seal or solved the issue of food supply?

　The girl returned the question with a slight smile.

'Cephiro, does Unu think Ike will fail?

　Cephiro chuckled and shook his head as he realized the meaning of the girl's words.

''That's true. Then let's go back to Barenzere and start preparing for battle,

　Cephiro stood up in response and followed behind the girl.
　As the girl left the private room with Cephiro in tow, she blurted out, "Well, it's been a while since we've won a chess match, but I wonder how the duel with Rosalia will go.

''Well, it's been a while since I won the chess game, but I wonder how the duel with Rosalia will go.

　Although there are many talents in the Demon King's Army, there are surprisingly few pieces that can move around freely like the Queen and Ike.
　It was the effort of the girl who was the king to make full use of those few pieces and win the war.