Now, what's this little idea you've got for me?

　The witch who sips green tea while holding my special teacup in both hands, cut me off.

　I suppose the strange plan refers to a way to persuade other legion leaders who might oppose the Demon King's transition plan.

　I explain to my former boss.

''Well, for example, Commander, what would you do if you were suddenly asked to marry me?''

To whom?

Or me, for that matter.

Good.

　The engagement was easily concluded.........
　Doesn't this man have any sense of chastity or something?
　No, this wasn't a good metaphor.
　I lightly cough and change the way I say it.

''Well then, let's say I went to the Commander to ask for money. Commander, can you lend me a thousand gold coins without an IOU? For immediate money.

Don't be a fool. The 7th Corps doesn't have that kind of extra money. If I had that kind of money, I'd spend it on research.

Do you want to do something for your cute ex-employee?

It's all about being pretty. Money and love are two different things.

'Well, normally, yes. So what if I said, 'Well, then, lend me ten gold coins right here,'?

Ten cards.....hmmm....

You're in trouble.　Well, I don't care if it's 10 cards. You'd think it would be in my wallet.

Hmm, I've got that much, for sure.

'Besides, the Commander has just refused to borrow a thousand gold coins. I owe him that debt. Well, didn't you think it would be okay to lend him ten pieces?

I thought...

That's what I'm trying to do. That's what I'm trying to do in these negotiations. First, I give them an unreasonable offer that they will never agree to, and then I give them a condition that they can somehow accept.

"Ho ho!

Then the other party will consider it better than the first unreasonable request. Or they may feel guilty for refusing the first unreasonable request.

Well, it's working wonders for a good witch like her, isn't it?

Yeah, well.

　I won't go into it too deeply. Even in my mind.

''But how are you going to apply that pettiness to the transition?

　She naturally asks questions.
　I answer that question.

''The demon tribe is unwilling to move out of Dvorberg first, right?

Of course. The Dvorberg is both the hometown and symbol of our demon race. No demon wants to leave his home for good.

But, as I said before, I think it's time to move on to new ground.

''An advanced demon race like the Demon King and his concubine would have come to that conclusion, though.

''And then there are the people who pretend to be demons. Now, back to the story, no matter how much the Demon King wants to move the city, there will be many demon tribe members who don't want to do so. Discontent will smolder.
Or worse, another mutiny.

Yeah.

'Well, then you and your army can subdue them with your concubine and your army. Just as we did in the past when we defeated Basteo of the Third Legion.

　At that time, I feel like I was the only one to solve the problem in the end, but if you ignore them, they will oppose you.

''We've lost the royal capital of Rosalia, but the humans' power is still very much alive and well. If we end the civil war here and now, we will fall into the same rut as the humans. They might take back the Reezus that we have occupied for so long.

Mmm, that's a problem.

'Right. In that case, it's best to convince them to be moderate here.

Hmm, so that's the trick I was talking about.

Yes, first of all, I will impose an unreasonable demand on the other corps leaders that they will never agree to. And then, after making them oppose it, they come up with a new plan as a compromise. That's my policy.

Hmm, you sound like a merchant of the Trade Federation.

Thank you for the compliment.

Your betrothed's mother will be pleased. My son-in-law is indeed a man born to be a merchant.

..........

　I didn't expect the name of Eltria, the head of the Trade Federation, to be mentioned here, so I involuntarily fell silent, but Cephiro looked into my mask as if he enjoyed it and continued.

'Well, Ike, the great merchant of the future. I understand the general plan, but how exactly do you plan to persuade those stiffs?

　He replied as he reworked the expression under his mask.

'Shall we not even tell the Commander about that?

Don't tell the mistress. You heartless man. She didn't raise you to be such a man.
I don't remember being raised by him at all.

I changed your diaper.

　If you can claim custody of your child just by replacing the diaper, you're going to have a tough time in court fighting for custody. That's what I thought, but I didn't say it, and I continued.

'The Commander's second least favorite thing in the world is boredom, right?

Yes, by the way, don't tell anyone about the first one.

　They say that a maiden has the right to keep at least one secret.

　In a sense, she is right, except that this is the word of a witch who has lived for hundreds of years, but when I politely ignore her, I insist.

'Then this is just an old woman's way of saying,' I said. Think of it as a sideshow to keep the Commander occupied. It's called a surprise. If you keep it hidden until the day of the event, the Commander will not get bored, right?

''Hmm, well, it's certainly not tactful to listen to a magician's tricks beforehand...''

　By the way, she seems to hate the word tactless about the ninth word.

　The witch, who understood my intentions and the entertainment, sat down in a chair in my office and crossed her legs without asking permission.

　It was a glamorous sight, but she didn't seem bothered by it, concluding.

'Now then, then, the guardians of the abyss have forgotten you. Successfully convince the other legion leaders to build a new Demon King's Castle in the heart of this continent!

　Her tone was as easygoing as if I were the brigade commander, but I didn't care.

　Now that we were on a par with each other by virtue of our positions, it was creepy to have this witch use polite language.

　If such a day were to come, it would be on a bad day, a Friday and an eclipse of the sun on the 13th.
　Or there could be a major natural disaster that would cause all the volcanoes on this continent to explode.

　--Or maybe I'll become a demon king.

　Since none of these things are possible, I dismissed that dream and immediately began to prepare to woo the other commanders.

　However, the preparations are not such an ostentatious thing, and just like Cephiro said, they are nothing more than a mere fraud.

　However, that's why I wanted to prepare carefully and make sure they succeeded.