After the military council was over, I instructed the main leaders, such as Lilith and Shigan, to head to Azuchi Town immediately.

　If my prediction is correct, the demons of the 3rd Legion, who have taken over the castle, should be looting the people living in the surrounding area. This is partly because they detest humans and consider them enemies, but they have a more compelling motive. Thwarting it will be the crux of this battle, and above all, the opponents are Basteo's former men whose misanthropy was walking around in armor. The line of slaughtering humans for no reason was also well thought out. At all costs, it had to be stopped.

　And he ordered Anemone to head to the World Tree Forest.

　There was something she really wanted to procure. After receiving the instruction, Anemone tilted her head with a strange look on her face, but she obeyed the order for the time being. That naive elf doesn't seem to fully understand the meaning of this battle. I'll have to explain it to him in a way that he can understand when he comes back.

　Then I threw all the paperwork to Jiron and I - along with Sati - headed for the city of Zenobia.

　A simple round trip would take about half a month to complete. Besides, the return trip was a lot of luggage. There was no need to hurry, and I was whipping my horse's ass to speed up its run.

''Does your master know how the people of the Third Legion, who betrayed you, will operate?
　And.

　Sati, straddling her horse next to me, asked me that.

'What makes you think that?　Satie.

'It seemed to me that Master was very sure of what they were going to do when he gave orders to Master Lilith and the others. That's why his instructions were very specific. Can Master read people's minds?

You can't do that kind of trick with your bare hands. I'm just making a prediction. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong.

But I have never seen my master deviate from his instructions.
It's just a stroke of luck. You never know when you might miss. That's what fighting is all about.

　Yes, there are no absolutes in my predictions.

　I'm just saying what is most likely to happen based on various information, rules of thumb, and other knowledge from my previous life. There is no guarantee that they will always do what we expect them to do.

　This is especially true this time. I never imagined that the Third Army would revolt again, this time openly.

　A battle that shouldn't be fought - I was running my horse to win such a reckless one.


†

Master Ike!　It's been a long time since I've seen you, I've missed you!

　When I arrived in Zenobia after a week's journey, I saw one familiar figure at the entrance to the city.

　Julia Octave. She was the daughter of Etria Octave, the daughter of Etria Octave, the ally of the Trade Federation and a trading partner for the Demon King's army.

　And she's also my fiancée.

　I have no intention of marrying her myself, and if I were to do so, my secret as a human would be exposed (and Lilith would likely go berserk), so I'm trying to figure out if I can't break the engagement. ...This is not going to work out for me.

　She's Eltria's daughter who's been getting to know me well, and it's hard for me to be able to do that easily and unimpeded.

　Julia shakes her beautiful blonde hair and runs towards me.

　........I haven't told anyone other than my subordinates and the Demon King-sama that I'm going to the city of Xenovia. Why was this person standing at the entrance of the city as if he had expected us to come?

''Yulia-san, why are you here?''

'I dreamed that Ike-sama visited Zenobia, and I have been waiting for you. It's destined to be a positive dream!

　Yulia, who has gotten excited by herself, hugs me as she gets off her horse.

　It's nice to be liked, and to be honest, it would be a shame to turn down a proposal from such a beautiful girl, but.............................I have a position in the Demon King's army. Besides, I don't have time to hug my fiancée and be happy to see her again right now.

''Mistress Julia, as I said before, it's not something a pre-wedding lady should do in public. And I'm sorry to be so quick, but is Lady Eltria here?

...Master Ike only speaks to your mother when he visits the city, doesn't he?

　Puffing out her cheeks, Yulia pulled herself away from me.

'Yup, Miss Yulia?'

I don't know. I would not have you meet your highness, who talks about business in front of his beautiful fiancée. Please return to your homeland.

　Maybe she's bent her navel completely, or maybe she's just turned her head away and won't make eye contact with me.

　Alas, it was a misstep.

　I've learned enough from my master's sources that angering a woman can be troublesome... but I didn't think Yulia was so depressed.

　It's true that every time I come to the city of Zenobia, I spend more time talking to its mother, Eltria, than to Yulia. It's not hard to imagine that this is not amusing to her.

''S-Sorry, Miss Yulia. Please put me in a better mood. One thing here........

.....
　And.

　Julia turned away and let out a laugh as if she couldn't bear it anymore.

''........Miss Julia?''

Hmmmmm. I'm sorry, Master Ike, I was just making fun of you. It's to be expected that I'm not so narrow-minded as to be jealous of your mother.

Well, mangling is in poor taste, Miss Yulia.

''Hmmm, I'm sorry, Ike-sama. But to tell you the truth, I am a little sad. Even though we got engaged after all this time, I'm still sad that I don't have much time to spend with Mr. Ike.

I'm sorry about that.

'No, it can't be helped. Master Ike has a job to do. If you are to be a merchant's wife, it is the highest virtue that you do not interfere with your husband's work. But.........Master Ike, may I make a selfish request?

Yes, I'm at your service.

'When you arrive home, I want you to see your wedding dress. It was custom made by the best craftsmen in Zenobia, who took over three months to make it. I'd like to get your impressions from Mr. Ike, who will be closest to you when you wear it.

Yeah, no problem. I can do that. If you don't mind me saying so...

'Yes. I'll let your mother know as soon as possible.

　Saying that, Julia leads us to the Octave family's mansion.
　.......................Just making fun of it, huh?

　I wonder what Yulia really thinks. Lonely and sad, is that all she really wants?

　If she displeases him, the contract between the Demon King's Army and the Trade Federation could be cracked. Even if it's only a temporary fiancée, she is still my fiancée. I've been thinking on my way to the mansion that it would be better to wait and see how Julia looks.