After fighting to the death against Rosalia's army led by Eingoad, the Eighth Legion and I entered Regus after confirming Eingoad's death.

　If the report from the messenger is correct, Cephiro should have already captured Leezus and it belongs to the Demon King's army.

　Or rather, it was only because Cephiro occupied it that Cephiro's reinforcements arrived and succeeded in destroying Rosalia's army.

　In fact, the gates of the royal capital had been destroyed scattered all over the place.

''It's quite an angle, and the magic of the Meteorite Fall (Meteor Strike) was decided.

　Before the war, he boasted, "Look forward to the results of my research on the meteorite fall," but as expected of Sephiro, the Witch of the Black Peril. Just as he said, he seems to have destroyed the gates of the castle of Liethas with a single blow.

　When I entered the castle of Reezus, I was once again impressed by Cephiro's ability.
　The city of Liethas was filled with silence.
　There was not a single person in the city.
　Are they lamenting the fact that they were occupied by the Demon King's army?
　Maybe they are afraid of seeing the monstrous appearance of demons and demonkind.
　I've heard that this is the first time since hundreds of years ago that Lisas has been occupied by the demon king's army.

　Of course, they don't have any memories of that time, they are just confused by this first time event.

　However, it won't last for many years.
　All the cities that the Demon King's army had occupied until now were the same.
　At first they were feared and awe-struck, but after a few weeks, the citizens would begin their economic activities.
　And after a few months, they forgot that their lord was a demon race and returned to normal life.
　It was unlikely that this Lisas would be an exception.
　And moreover, this royal city would later be returned to the king of this country, Tristan.
　The grumbling would eventually subside.
　I've been thinking about this as I headed to the palace of the capital city of Lisas.
　This is the second time I've entered the palace.
　The first time was as an infiltrator, but the second time was as a conqueror.
　The gatekeepers were changed from humans to orcs.
　Everyone salutes when they see me.
　I ask the gatekeeper where Cephiro is.

'Master Cephiro is in the audience chamber.

　I thanked the orc gatekeeper and headed for the audience chamber.
　The palace was majestic and splendid, but I didn't get lost.

　There are many soldiers of the demon king's army inside the palace, and there are soldiers standing at every corner of the corridor.

　There is a possibility that there are still hidden soldiers inside the castle, so they can't relax their guard.

　As expected of Cephiro, his habit of being aloof is not so shrewd.

　After sending my admiration to my former boss, I opened the door to the audience room of the royal palace.

　The Audience Room is a ceremonial room where the throne is set and used for audiences with vassals and emissaries.

　In order to show the greatness of the king and the place of his authority, it was made more lavishly and needlessly floridly than necessary.

　The throne was probably also made by a master dwarven craftsman.
　It is lavishly decorated and velveted, gilded and encrusted with jewels.
　Cephiro sat there cross-legged, pretending to be the master of this royal palace.
　It looks like a queen who rules the country.

　--I'm sure the real queen would not have the temerity to cross her legs and show her thighs.

　When Cephiro saw me, he spoke to me in his usual casual tone.

'I heard you took out Ain't God. That was an impressive feat.

Thank you for the compliment.

　I matched her tone and returned it with a slightly playful tone.

'No need to be modest. You did an all-round job in this attack on Regus. You are the keystone of the demon king's army that no one can point to behind you anymore. You should be bigger than that.

'Then let me roast the Commander's nail polish and drink it.

　I didn't say that.
　I'm sure that's what Sephiro said, but this battle wasn't won by me alone.
　It was a victory that the entire Demon King's army worked together to win.
　There's no way to get ahead of ourselves if we treat ourselves now.
　If my grandfather were still alive, he would pay attention to that.

　In fact, even now, the Demon King-sama is holding off the enemy on the northern front, while the rest of the legion leaders are holding out on the western front.

　Besides, it's the witch in front of me who flipped from the Northern Front and dropped Leezus.
　I hadn't lost my decency enough to be proud of my own personal merit here.　　
　As I was thinking that, Cephiro unusually praised me.

He said, "Hmmm, you're the one who defeated Eingoed, and just when you think you're conceited, you're still you. You are as humble as ever. You are as humble as ever, and I wonder if my former boss, my mistress, has been giving you any good advice.

　I'm trying to be contrary, I was going to argue that, but the words didn't get fired off. It was because Cephiro had uttered the words to interrupt them before that.

''--Well, this victory. It is true that this is a victory for all of the Demon King's army, but I still think that you are the one with the most merit. It's a good thing that you're able to get the food from Zenobia, retrieve the country's seal, and propose a plan to attack Leezus, or else you wouldn't have been able to capture Leezus this time around.

　Cephiro said, and then regrouped his feet and continued.

'You will also insist that you are not alone in this,' he says. And the concubine (straw) will also preach that humility is not a virtue, so I will avoid any more sterile arguments. So, Ike," she said, "come here. Come here.

　Cephiro beckoned to him as he said this.
　Her attitude and tone was noncommittal.
　There was no attempt to disobey her and get good results when she had that kind of attitude.
　I will obey her honestly.

　I stepped in front of Cephiro fearfully, but she stood up and hugged me.

　My face is buried in her ample breasts, but I don't feel weird.
　Rather, I felt a sense of relief, as if my mother was holding me.

This is a treat for you, mistress. You haven't given her a hug in a while. You've done well, Ike. You are the pride of the Demon King's army, or rather, the pride of the mistress. We are very proud of you.

..........

　The hugs and words of encouragement I received from the woman who had been like an older sister to me since I was a child seemed to soothe my troubled heart on the battlefield.
　For a few moments, I indulged in Cephiro's goodwill.

　It only lasted a few dozen seconds, but I felt a warm feeling, as if I had been touching her heart for a few hours.

　I wanted to stay like that forever, but I was starting to feel embarrassed by the quicksand.

　It would be a shameful sight to see a good adult being hugged by a woman from the edge.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it," he said as he stepped back from the hug.

"Please don't treat me like a child,

　She replied to my words with her usual smirk.

To a mistress, you are a child. How old do you think I am?

　Unusually, she waved the subject of her own age and continued, "Well, maybe it's time to wean yourself.

'Well, maybe it's time to wean yourself off the milk. So, as a reward this time, I have invited a certain woman to this place. You can spoil her, make her do anything you want.

　Cephiro says this and begins to chant his magic.
　Her body loses its vague outline.
　Eventually, she becomes translucent, and when she becomes completely transparent, it turns out that the magic is a "transference" magic.

　She says, "There's more to do, mistress (Wara). You must be tired from battle after battle. You're probably tired from battle after battle, so rest for a while," and then she disappeared.

　As soon as she disappears, the door to the audience chamber is opened.
　The girl standing there was dressed in a maid's uniform.
　Apparently, she was the woman Cephiro had called.
　Sati ran up to me in a rare run, and she flew into my chest.
　Then, with a pretty smile that would make even a flower ashamed, she said

'Master, thank you for meeting me.

　When she said that, she hugged me with such strength that I would never let her go again.

　I've been told by Sephiroth that Ike almost died many times during this battle.

　Satie seems to have come from Ivalice, unable to stand still.

　When he heard about it, he was tempted to swear at his former boss's penchant for pranks, but he didn't put it into words.

　It was a conspiracy, but seeing Sati again was a comfort to me.
　In a different way than Cephiro, she was also the woman I needed to be with.
　For now, I'm grateful for Cephiro's care, but I'm also grateful for her warmth.