Tell me again.

　The Empire of Draukos, the imperial capital of Calcada.
　That's what Alexis Grand-Dor Draukos, the current emperor of the Draukos Empire, said to Sherry McLean, the 'Seven-coloured Sorcerer', the first imperial sorcerer, who was kneeling there - in the gaily decorated audience chamber.
　Alexis is already at a mature age, but that doesn't mean he's deaf. There is only one reason for this.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. Raphas's city has fallen into the hands of the enemy.

What do you mean...

More than 10,000 demons are attacking the city at the same time.

What a...

　It's spooky and even daunting.
　The city of Rafas is by no means a strategically important base. Although it's located on the front line of the Orvans Kingdom, there is no history of being attacked by that kingdom as its borders are blocked off by the vast forest that includes the ruins of Rilkara.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family. But all of them should have been defeated by adventurers based in the city of Rapace.
　I never thought it would fall into the hands of demons.

I saw in my remote view an army of more than ten thousand demons. All at once, they were advancing on Raphus' city.

''........I thought there were S-ranked adventurers staying in that city as well....

Your Majesty the one who led the demons.

"Mm.

　Shelly is an adventurer, but her abilities as a sorcerer are quite high, and she holds the position of being the first Imperial sorcerer. She has signed a contract with the Empire to spend her time freely as an adventurer in the country as long as nothing happens and help the Empire in case of an emergency - such a contract has been signed.
　And one of the tasks given to Sherry is to patrol the country with the "clairvoyance" (remote view).
　It was just that once a month or so, 'nothing in particular' was reported.

''Drake's figure was there,''

What--?

The Drake who led the zombies and skeletons has been observed in remote view. During this time, he did not appear to be speaking a human language. It is assumed that the body was used as is.

You mean there is a necromancer!

Perhaps...

　Giri gritted his teeth.
　Likewise, Shelly also wrinkled her brow painfully, for as an S-ranked adventurer, Shelly had been teaming up with Drake, who was also an S-ranked adventurer, for a long time. There was no way he could feel good about being used for good with the corpse of Drake, who was such a fellow adventurer.
　And above all, necromancy is an abomination. The magic of manipulating corpses as one's own slaves is completely forbidden, at least under the aegis of the state religion, Mullerianism. Even bringing back the hair of a dead person's corpse is considered to hurt the dead and lead to their desecration, the strict Mullerian religion. Manipulation of dead bodies is not an acceptable act.
　Hence, there were cases in the past when the profession of 'necromancer' (necromancer) was presented at a ceremony of vocation, and the Mullerian priests who performed the ceremony of vocation were forced to cut it off on the spot.
　That is why necromancy is such an abomination.

"And, Your Majesty,

Um....

In the group that led the demons in that way was, well, Noah Whitefield.

-Oh!

''At the moment Noah Whitefield appeared, my [Remote View] was destroyed, so we don't know what he was doing after that. However.........if we consider it as circumstantial evidence, I think it's safe to assume that Noah Whitefield is leading those demons.

It's the Demon King.

　Noah Whitefield.
　It's a name Alexis has heard many, many times before. From Archbishop Lucidia Rhinophallus. And from two S-ranked adventurers named Shelly and Randy.
　Perhaps their true identity is the Demon King.
　A dependency of the Demon King Lil Cara, who once appeared in this land a thousand years ago, and that was the only way to think of it.

''Carmine, I suppose there's no problem with the example.

She's quite weak, but she's fine.

Hmm....I don't think the Demon King has any flesh and blood feelings for you.

'I don't know if you'll have the memory of living as a human being, but it'll be at least a bargaining card. Even if it's completely ineffective, it would be enough of a shield to prevent three attacks on His Majesty.

'I hope so, but...'

　As soon as Alexis received the report from the Demon King Noah Whitefield, he summoned Noah's three relatives, his father Noel, his mother Marissa, and his brother Hal, to the imperial capital and imprisoned them in the dungeons.
　If it were true, he had intended to execute them immediately, but he was stopped by Carmine, the vizier and the man known as the 'Wisdom of Draukos', the vizier and 'Wisdom of Draukos'. He said it might still be of use to him. When the time comes, if you threaten to kill your flesh and blood, there is a chance that the Demon King will be stopped.
　I didn't expect the Demon King to attack the Draukos Empire so quickly, though.

''Shelly.......tell the S-ranked adventurers that I'll be summoning them soon.

Yes, sir.

Good. Get back.

"Ha.

　Shelley slowly stands up and leaves the audience room with her back turned as it is.
　And there are only two people left, Emperor Alexis and Vizier Carmine. Alexis exhales heavily and rests his back deeply on the throne as it is.

''Carmine,''

"Ha.

What should I do? How do I put that demon king to death?

I have a brilliant idea, Your Majesty.

Say it.

'The Wisdom of Draukos'.
　Yes, Carmine is highly regarded because there is no one who is more wise than him in domestic and diplomatic affairs, as well as in military affairs. Although Carmine is already an old man, his abilities can be understood by saying that he had been a young vizier since his predecessor as emperor.
　Because with Carmine as Prime Minister, Draukos had gained a vaster version of the kingdom than ever before in its past history.

'Let's garrison one division of the Knights in Hydra's Guards. It's in a strong fort where it is said that the Demon King Rilkara's army was once held back.

But what do you intend to do about the territory west of the Hydra Sector?

"Let's make a sign to the people and get them moving. It's at the barrier of Hydra until we defeat the Demon King. We'll prepare a simple dwelling outside the imperial city and let the people stay there for a while.

''But is it really possible to defeat the Demon King?　The brave man has not been found yet.

''Even if we can't defeat them, we can stop them. The only thing you need to do is to make sure that Hydra's guards are firm, and the Demon King and the Kingdom of Olvance aren't afraid. There will be no small amount of damage to the knights, but in the meantime, we just need to find the brave men.

　The barrier of Hydra.
　It is the strongest stronghold in the Draukos Empire. Surrounded by steep mountains on both sides, it is easy to defend and hard to attack. Even if a dragon were to appear, it could be defeated by the installed ballista.
　Certainly, as long as you can fortify your defenses there, you may be able to prevent the Demon King from advancing on you.

''And one more thing, whether the flesh and blood affection is really effective against that Demon King we can confirm that as well.

What do you mean?

I'll send a team of men to garrison the Hydra Sector.

　With a grin, Carmine smiles.

''The Demon King's (him) brother the regular Knight Ray Whitefield.