Well I didn't know Agni was going to get hit.

　
　I feel like saying good grief.

You can't even fulfill a job as a gatekeeper.

　Weiss' words didn't show any trace of compassion for his subordinates.
　Usable or useless.
　That's the only basis for judging everything.

　If it was Reese who had fallen, then Weiss might have had a thought.
　However, the one who fell was a demon, his own subordinate.
　Weiss wasn't compassionate enough to have a thought for such an opponent.

The only thing better than Agni........ It can't be helped, I will have to intercept them. It is unavoidable that we have to stop the work,

　Weiss took a step back, sighing again.
　The magic supply from Weiss was cut off, and the magic circle that had been deployed at his feet disappeared.
　That magic circle was created to cause a stampede....
　There was the problem of having to pour magic power into it at all times.

　In order to make Krios fall, they were going to generate stampede in two more places.
　By doing so, Weiss and..........................and Rhys' objective.

　However, it would be useless if Weiss was killed before they could achieve their objective.
　Although it's an abomination, we must stop now.

'Do ... what do you want?'
Oh, so you've noticed.

　Reese appears from the shadow of the pillar.
　It's a replay of the last time we met again.

'I've told you before. I will not let you mistake the signs of my people.'
I'm happy for you.
So what's going on here?
No, I just thought I'd help you.
Power?
We're under attack by the humans and it's not looking good. So I thought we should come prepared with some reinforcements.
"Hmm.

　As for Weiss, Reese's offer was somewhat irksome.
　

　However, it would be meaningless if he stuck to his strange pride and the plan itself failed.
　If that happened, he would be looked down on even more.
　That's not all.
　This plan is important to Weiss and others in its own right.

''........I understand. Although it's irksome, I'll accept Reese's reinforcements and all that.
Oh, you're more open-minded than I thought.
I can at least read the situation. Even though they are the most powerful species, I'm not going to let them beat me but there is still a chance that it could happen. In order to eliminate that unlikely possibility, I'm going to ask for Reese's help. It's a reasonable decision, right?
'Hmm, I like the way you calmly analyze the current situation and take reason instead of pride.
'I don't feel like I'm being complimented so what are the reinforcements?'
I'll take this one first.

　Rhys snapped his fingers.
　The shadows at Reese's feet spread out in a circle, and countless demons gushed out of them.
　How did he summon the demons?
　That's not lost on his compatriot, Weiss, either.
　Reese is often devoted to his fellow man, but on the other hand, he is secretive in not revealing his hand.

　Weiss is aware of this, so he doesn't want to question the source of Reese's power now.
　What kind of principle is that?　But I just let it slide and throw the words out.

'Are these demons your reinforcements?'
No. This is just a bonus. The real deal is here Monica.
Yes, sir.

　Monica continued to appear.
　Weiss was surprised to see that there was no sign of her earlier.
　He convinced himself that Reese must have had a hand in it somehow.

'It's nice to meet you, Mr. Weiss. I'm Monica Eclair. It's a pleasure to meet you.
The people Reese keeps...

　Weiss turned his eyes on Monica as if he were looking at something trivial.
　What good is a human being?
　Although he didn't put it into words, his gaze told her so.

'Sure, Monica is human, but she's very good, isn't she?
Human?
Yes, it's my favorite.
"Hmm.

　Reece is the best demon race among his companions.
　If you're going to let that Reese say that much, you might as well not insult him just because he's a human.
　Weiss changed his mind about that.

''Oh well. I'll let you lend me your strength, human.''
'Yes, sir. My Lord is Lord Rhys, but at this time, I swear I will risk everything for Lord Weiss.

　Monica bowed grudgingly.

''Well, Reese goes so far as to say. I'm sure this human is capable in his own right but I wish you would have sent a Heavenly Clan to listen to him anyway.
'Hmmm.......I thought about that at first. However, Iris-san is still confused......I'm starting to feel like it's almost impossible these days. I'm not sure it's going to be easy to get her to fight a human.
'What's that. Then you didn't have to help them, did you?
'No, no, that's not true. If you don't want to do it, you just have to make them do it.
And if that doesn't work?
You'll be ready when you are, and I'll be ready when you are.
You're inedible, you know that?
"Thank you for the compliment.

　Reese smiles at him.
　That smile was as innocent as a child's.......at the same time, the cruel side of a child's nature was also on display.



----------



Hmmmm.

　The top of the roof of the old castle.
　There was the figure of Iris.

　She sat down, using a small projection as a chair, and listened intently.
　He could hear the conversation between Weiss and Rhys.
　Since they are the strongest species, they have excellent hearing.
　They aren't using magic, nor are they using skills.
　It's so simple that it's unlikely to be detected.

It's not like Mr. Reese doesn't trust me. Well, that's to be expected," he said. You've been holding off on answering and yet you've been helping Mr. Lane from time to time.

　They didn't want to be trusted to begin with, and they don't trust us either.
　So there's no such thing as a shock.
　Iris was rather masterful.

''But........I'm curious about the other cues.

　What is Reese up to?
　Iris considered its purpose, but quickly abandoned the thought.

　There are too few decisions to make.
　I'd like to have a little more information.

''However, I'm also curious about Rain-sama... the demon race called Weiss. Why do you have so much confidence in him?

　He said that he didn't feel like losing even if he had to face multiple strongest species.
　Could it really be possible to do such a thing?

　Indeed, the demon race is an S-rank in the same category as the strongest species.
　An S-rank means a judgment that there is no more.
　So even if it's the same S-rank, there's a range from pin to pin.

　If Weiss is an S-rank that stands above the top, then Rain and the others might be in danger.
　However, Iris's impression would be that it's not.
　She doesn't feel like she is powerful enough to overwhelm them even if she were to take on multiple strongest species.
　If he has that much power, there should be a pressure that cannot be hidden, no matter how much he tries to hide it.

　Weiss can feel the pressure of a strong man as a demon race, but........
　It's not overwhelming.
　It's below Iris.
　Perhaps it's lower than Reese?

　Iris made such an analysis.

'But that didn't sound like a lie or an exaggeration, it felt like you meant it... so do you have a plan?　No. It shouldn't be your intention to be attacked inside the old castle. And the way to do that........is it skill?

　Mumbling to himself, Iris thought about the power of the Weiss.

　And so I've been thinking a lot about it...
　What do we do after that?
　I haven't actually decided on that.

　After you hit on Weiss's abilities, will you let Rain know about it?
　Or do you just turn a blind eye to it?
　Or do we fight together?

　The answer was not set in stone.

　I had almost lost all intentions of taking Reese's side.
　I owe Reese a debt of gratitude for his help.
　But that doesn't mean I'm going to bend my will to do something I don't want.

　Reese's goal is to destroy humans.
　In other words, to fulfill the Demon King's wishes.

　In the past, Iris also wanted to destroy humans, but........
　The feeling was cleaned off now.
　Fighting Rayne, listening to Rayne's words, looking into Rayne's mind...
　As a result, the vengefulness mysteriously disappeared.

　The thoughts that arose instead were........

Well, well, well. What can I do for you?