I'm back.

　Iris called out to him as she returned to a mansion.

　There was not a single noise in the mansion.
　There was no light, and the moonlight coming in through the windows was the slightest source of light.
　It was an eerie sight, as darkness seemed to be crawling all over the place.

''Huh, welcome back.

　As if such darkness was condensed, a shadow appeared.
　The demon tribe that rescued Iris and worked in the dark in the shadows.......Reese.

''Monica told me that you saved the Rain Shroud?
I'm sure it's all clear?
'Yes, no problem. My goal is to establish a relationship with you as an equal. Let's swear that we won't do anything to limit your behavior unless you act so recklessly.
I would have thought you'd be pissed off, but it's hard to get a handle on what you're doing.
I guess you could say I got one.

　Giggling, Reese chuckles.
　Iris is in an unusually good mood, and she's in an unusually good mood, huh?　He wonders.

'One question, if you don't mind.
Yes, what is it?
Why are you in such a good mood?　I helped Lady Rain and kicked off the brave man you were supporting. So I was wondering why you are happy about it.
As for answering that question, I don't mind, but I'm sure Mr. Illis has an idea of what you're talking about.
Well, if you say so, then I must be right.
Let's see if we can't come up with some answers.

　Rhys snapped his fingers and out of nowhere, a chair and table appeared.
　Wine and fruit are on the table.

　Rhys takes a seat first and drinks the wine.
　It was as if he was trying to show off that it wasn't poisoned.

'If you'll excuse me,'

　Iris also took a seat and brought the fruit to her mouth.
　The taste of the fresh flesh of the fruit spread and made her feel happy.

　I don't think it's indeed poisonous at this point in time.
　Even if there was a poison in it, though, it's almost impossible for a poison to be effective against the Heavenly Clan.

''With the last incident, Lady Rain's stock has risen greatly and the fame of a brave man has fallen to the ground. It would have been quicker to kill them in a crisp manner, but for some reason you don't do that.
'Oh my. Mr. Iris, you have some radical ideas.

　Reece says mischievously, but without regard, Iris continues to talk.

'I don't intend to kill the brave men. Then what is your real goal?　The answer is ... take sides, right?
Hmmm.... you're right.

　Like a teacher saying well done, Reese smiled.

''As Iris-san said, my goal is to get the brave men to side with the demon race.
''That brave man.... well, he's not a fragile human being, but that doesn't mean he's so broken-minded as to side with the demon race, does it?
That's why I had them fall in.

　Arios is far from being a saint...
　Even though he was disbarred, he's still a brave man.
　And he's a human.
　Normally, they wouldn't take the side of the demon race.

　But what about now?

　Disbarred from being a brave man, sentenced to death, fallen to the point of.......
　The only person he can rely on is Monica.
　And she really believes that it's Rain's fault that she's in this situation, and she's growing resentful and hateful.

　In other words, he's in a runaway state.
　He can't be expected to think intelligently.

　But if Monica can get in there and manipulate it........
　It would be possible to take the side of the demon race.

　........Hearing Reese's plan, Iris let out a sigh.

''Did you cause all that commotion in order to corrupt the brave?
'Of course. Mankind's most powerful being takes a turn for the worst and becomes its worst enemy. It's quite an interesting scenario, don't you think?
It's in bad taste.
'Hmmm, that's a compliment to me.

　Rhys smiled good-naturedly at the fact that the plan was going the way he wanted it to go.
　From what Monica had reported, Arios had fallen well.
　He had heard that it was only a matter of time before he crossed a decisive line that would prevent him from ever returning to the human side again.

　It was irresistible.

　His plan snapped into place like a puzzle piece and went exactly as he had envisioned.
　Reese was even ecstatic at the sense of accomplishment.

'What about the halfway point in getting to Lady Lane?
''That human is quite dangerous, you know. Although he's not as dangerous as Arios-san, he has a thick bloodline in his own right. And he has several of the strongest species with him. When it comes to enemies, it's quite troublesome. In fact, something like this happened, where the resurrected demon race was immediately killed.
He beat me, too.
''Yes. From the demon race side, they are the next most troublesome opponent after Arios-san. So, I thought of eliminating them if possible...''
"So you've gotten involved in the affairs of King's Landing,
You are correct.

　With a pause, Rhys continues to speak.

''It's only because the main dish is Arios-san. The primary goal is to corrupt him. If we fail, we will eliminate Rain-san. That's what I was thinking.
I see...
''I succeeded in corrupting Arios-san, so I left Rain-san alone. If I get too greedy, I might end up failing. Since we were able to achieve our top priority goal, I guess that's good enough for now....

　Did you prioritize corrupting Arios over eliminating Rain?
　The reason for this is because Arios has more god blood in his blood?

　I can't believe I missed Lane for that reason...
　Maybe Reese is surprisingly out of it.
　Iris thought about that.

　It was true that Arios might have more blood in his veins.
　But it's Rain's that's really troublesome.
　Once they were relative, they would understand.
　Rain has the power to surpass Arios.

　Reese made the wrong choice.
　He should have gone after Rain instead of Arios now.
　The true enemy for the demon race would be none other than Rain........Iris thinks.

　More.........

　Even if he thought that, he wasn't going to tell Reese about it.
　It's partly because he hasn't decided if he's going to be an ally yet...
　Before that, Iris would never sell Rain.
　He would never do it.

　Rain would risk her life to stop herself from running off.
　He taught me about the warmth of people.

　Although Iris has done a lot of things, but........
　I don't intend to fall so low as to sell out my benefactor.

''Well, let's talk about Arios-san so much. Even though we've almost succeeded.......we haven't yet reached the final stage, you know. We'll need to continue to monitor its progress.......it would be laughable if we were to be happy with it and then later say that it failed in the end.
'If I'm going to speak my mind, I think there's a chance I might fail...'
There's no denying that. No one is ever 100% sure about anything. But if you fail, that's okay.
Is that...?
'Let's just say that Arios-san has other uses for us other than asking you to join us........ We'll have more details when Iris-san is on our side.
...I see.

　It was obvious, but they didn't trust him completely, apparently.
　Iris felt that again, and she braced herself.

　Then Rhys stood up and offered his hand to Iris.

'Iris-san, is it time for you to give me an answer?　Will you join us in destroying the human race?
I don't...
"...Huh. Apparently, you're still confused.

　Seeing Iris lost for words, Rhys looks troubled.
　However, he quickly switched to a smile.

''Well, I won't be in a hurry, nor will I try to rush you. It can't be forever, but I'll wait patiently.''
I'd appreciate it if you would.
'Just ... you could at least do me a favor, right?