In the dining room of Ivalice's mansion--
　Even now, the Demon King is still staying in my mansion.

　Normally, my meals are simple in the eyes of other legion leaders, but as expected, I can't do so while the Demon King is staying in our mansion.

　It's not a parade of sumptuous meals, booze and pudding, and all the seats in the house, just like human royalty and aristocrats, but it's a switch to a reasonably high quality meal.

　Although the Demon Lord is not a glutton, I should mention that her food expenses during her stay jumped up to six times the usual monthly amount.

　However, that was only talking about the level of the common people, and it wasn't a big deal when it jumped up to six times.

　If the yuan was small, it wouldn't make much difference even if the multiplier went up.

　On the contrary, it seemed to be too frugal an ingredient to serve to the Demon King who ruled the Demon Race.

　However, the Demon King didn't mind and didn't complain about what was served to him, he didn't complain about how he wanted to eat this or that and ate all three meals without being selfish.

　This might be thanks to Satie's cooking skills.
　She is a master cook.

　Even if she uses the same chicken, she prepares the best dish according to the parts of the chicken.

　If it's a fillet of chicken, she serves it with a sesame-grinded dressing, and if it's a breast, she uses it in a stew to bring out the flavor.

　If you want to use a good part of the meat, such as the thigh, you can coat it with spices, coat it with flour and deep fry it. That's all it takes to turn it into a feast.

　Even that day, when I served spaghetti with minced pork in meat sauce to the table, the demon king was taking it to his mouth in a delicious way.

　It wasn't dried noodles, but fresh pasta that Satie had kneaded. It was sticky and delicious.

　I ate it as if I were scraping it up with a fork, but the Maori master ate it elegantly with a fork and a spoon.

　That's the difference in the way I was raised.
　When I was thinking that, the Maou-sama suddenly spoke to me.

He was famous for his rough eating. Normally, he hardly eats food, but he ate a lot of food before the ikusa, so his retainers could tell when the ikusa was about to start.

　What is the point?　
　When I have such a look on my face, the Demon King-sama takes me by surprise.

Unu also shows this tendency. I've been eating more and more lately. I think it's time for you to have some fun.

...Did you eat that much more?

I'd say it's up by a factor of 1.2 or so.

Maybe that's because when the days of the ikusa approach, Satie's food is no longer available. And if you go to the battlefield for a while, the food will continue to be bad.

'Yes. When you can be such good food, food on the battlefield will seem like pig's food.

　The demon king said that.
It was a treat.
　He clasped his hands together.

　Sati saw the sight of him.
'And, no, sir. I've fed you poorly.
　I panicked.

'If this is poor food, then what the soldiers on the battlefield are eating is food that the cats are also eating.

　The Demon King assures Sati as he says this.

'Unu's cooking skills are Hinomoto. No, it's the best in the world. There's no doubt about it, since this I, the Demon King who controls half of the world, says so.

I'm sorry, sir.

　Sati is afraid, but the Demon King's words are correct in a way.

　I haven't eaten all the food in this world, but the food Sati makes is very good.

　The thought that I won't be able to eat this taste for a while again is depressing.

''It's also an idea to have a discerning palate. By the way, in the world that Maou-sama and I know, there's a strange army called the Italian Army. They brought ice cream machines to the battlefield, and dried noodles that require a lot of water to the desert, and there is a helpless army that has a lot of funny anecdotes about food.

That's funny. That army must have been very weak.

Yes, sir. Well, when it comes to soldiers, the one with no sense of taste has the advantage.

　Some people believe that Britain was able to dominate the world because of its taste buds.

　No matter where in the world they ruled, their food was better than their own. That's why he could go to the ends of the world and not be driven by a sense of nostalgia.

　I told the Demon King about this theory.

I see, it makes sense. That may be the reason why my Hinomoto didn't fly to the world.

People can be quite fussy when it comes to food.

　With that assurance, I decided to put my fork down and stop talking about food.

It's true that the League of Kings will be making a full-scale invasion soon. The foundations of Azuchi have been laid, and I don't think there are any more enemy troops sitting around.

　I guess it's because he guessed we were going to talk about military matters. Sati tried to back away, but the demon king stopped her.

Unu, stay here. I would like a glass of wine.

　When the demon king said that, Sati silently poured the wine to the demon king.
　It's possible that this girl has a sense of trust that she won't divulge important secrets.
　I'm sure he trusts me as much as I trust him.
　I was happy to see that.

I did. The enemy's offensive will begin in the west in six months. That's what I've been saying to Unu, but I think it's time for us to keep a close eye on the enemy's movements as well.

'Yes. Maybe it's not time to rest anymore.

'I'd rather rest forever anyway. Huh.....

　And the Demon King laughs.

'Talking and knitting with Sati is more fun than I thought it would be. No, I guess it was fun.'

'I would have enjoyed it a little more if I could, but from what Giron reports, that's not going to happen.

What do you mean?

　The Demon King-sama's expression, which had been playing around with him, became serious.

''Do you know someone named E. Rudre, sir?''

Never heard of it.

It's said that the League of Kings has its own general.

''The most powerful sorcerer in the Demon King's army is like that, so he must be quite a man.

'Aside from the single combat, you might be better than me when it comes to leadership. I fought him once, and his leadership was superb.

"A good general knows a good general. The enemy may feel the same way. --and what's up with this e-Redre guy?

Giron reports that he has been appointed commander-in-chief of Western Rosalia.

Yeah. That's a very serious problem.

So far, all we've had to do is give the papier-mâché army a flag of the Eighth Legion and the enemy troops will run back, but not if he's in charge.

So you're saying that Unu will have to come to you personally and take charge?

I will, sir.

　I assure her, and she looks at me.
　She always has that look in her eyes when I'm about to head into battle.
　Her eyes are filled with sadness.
　She looks at me as if I will never come back.

　Sati has seen me off every time I've gone to war, and I've always come back, but I don't know how long that good fortune will last.

　I guess that's what I know firsthand.
　That's what war was about. That's what fighting was.
　In fact, being a human, I never knew when I would die.
　God gives death to humans and demons alike.
　I will not be an exception to that rule.

　Of course, I'm giving Satie the benefit of the doubt.
You have nothing to worry about.
　I left words of concern, though.


　When I asked the Demon King-sama's permission, I wished for the Eighth Legion, as well as the Demon King-sama's forces, plus Cephiro of the Seventh Legion and Uruk of the Fifth Legion to reinforce the army.

　If the information Jiron brought to me was accurate, I knew I would need that much strength to defeat the enemy army.