King's Capital Rethym, the Summer Palace.

　I was kneeling in the throne room before His Majesty the King when I was summoned.

"Hermes Cano, I have come to answer the summons.
'I've been waiting for you, doctor. I want to talk to you about something practical today, face up.
Ha!

　He looked up as he was told and stood up.

　I could see His Majesty the King sitting on his throne, his ministers lined up on either side of him.
　His Majesty, not so much, but all the ministers looked like they were biting down on a bitter worm.

''It was none other than the one who called the teacher. It's about the Demon King of Comotolia.
Yes.
''Let's start by checking. Demon King Kaori's move must have been aimed at your teacher.
Yes.

　His Majesty has already sent a messenger to confirm it.
　It's not a situation that can be falsified in the first place, so I answered honestly.

　A moment later, the throne room buzzes.
　Negative emotions swirl through the air.
　To sum up the words of the ministers as far as I could hear - it was "We're screwed".

　All of them are frightened of the Demon King.

''Your Majesty,''

　A man from among the ministers exited the line and turned to His Majesty and took a stance for a performance.

'What?'
The Demon King is no match for a human. Instead of resisting him unnecessarily, it would be better for you to surrender.

　The man who said that had little to say in opposition.

　Isn't this usually the kind of situation where the protesters and the surrenderers argue with each other?
　Why do you say surrender and no one tries to argue with you?

"I'm afraid I can't do that.

　Well, there was.
　The king almost immediately dismissed the argument that he should surrender.

'Your Majesty, the horror of the Demon King is--'
Of course I'm familiar with it. But I've been informed by this demon king.
You've been informed...
Mm-hmm.
'What?　Ah yes.

　I was a bit confused when he suddenly dumped me.

''An announcement from the Demon King. It's to guarantee the teacher's life.
My...?
Yes, I understand that if you are going to execute him as a criminal, I will kill every single person in the kingdom of Aegina.

　A groan runs through me.

'Politely, literally,' he adds.

　The groan grows even louder.

''The Demon King can do it. There are 30 million people in Aegina, but the Demon King could kill them all.

　Seriously.........

''After that notification, I did a lot of research, and I heard that the previous Demon King's will says that you must not move unless you find someone with power comparable to you.
Yes.

　I admitted frankly that if you've done your research, you can't just shrug it off.

　And then the ministers were staring at me.
　Is that what they mean when they say it's your fault?

"This is my guess, but the demon king is so excited to have a teacher as his partner that he can finally move.
Yes, that's what he told me.
"So,

　His Majesty huffed and gave a sarcastic smile to the minister who had just said, "Surrender is the same.

''Surrender is the same. The same as the teacher's execution, the same in terms of eliminating the purpose of the demon king, it's a backhanded thing.
Well, then we'll have to fight...

　The minister looks pale, His Majesty nods quietly.

'Sir, you'll have to take responsibility for this.
Yes.
So. Hermes Cano.
Ha!

　I got down on my knees right there.
　Now, how will I be held accountable?

''I'm ordering you to be the conquering demon general.
...What?

　I look up, and I'm probably looking like a complete idiot right now.

"Your Majesty, is that...?
'You will literally have to deal with the Demon King. The things you need to do to fight the Demon King, mainly military. I'll give you all the authority to do that, sir.
"Huh?

　Wait a minute, wait a minute, that's crazy.

"Heh, Your Majesty. It doesn't seem to me that that's a punishment, sir.
Who said anything about punishment?
"Huh?
All I told you is to take responsibility. And I gave you the technique to take responsibility. Isn't that funny?
...well...

　Isn't that ... funny ... or ...?

　No, no, but.

There's a better way.

　This is a big promotion.

　General, as Your Majesty has explained to me, he is the supreme military leader of this country.

　General Conqueror.
　His Majesty himself is a no-go, but other than that, even princes and princesses can be used to fight against the Demon King with their jaws.

　It's a huge promotion.

　The proof of that - see.
　The color of the eyes of more than half of the ministers who were frightened about the Demon King earlier turned to jealousy.

　I've heard that power is somehow delicious in many ways (...).

　On the other hand, it's too much trouble, too much trouble.
　Even a viscount or a swordsmanship instructor is troublesome, but a great general is the ultimate in troublesome.

　That's why I try to say no somehow.

''I don't see any other way,''
"Huh?
Or rather, it's a message for the Demon King.
What?
He is the Demon King who declared that if you remove him, he will kill all 30 million people. If that's the case, then placing him as the military chief - and also the chief of the Demon King - is a plan to protect the people from the Demon King.
Ggh.....

　That's.......right.
　I'm sure Kaori will be happy to hear that I've become a 'conquering demon general'.

　With this, I can move without disobeying my mother's (former Demon King) instructions.

''Huh........''

　I sighed.
　I gave up on the idea of declining any longer.

　In that moment, my head spun like never before.
　My brain was spinning more seriously than it had ever spun in my life to avoid trouble.

'Your Majesty, I have a proposal to make.'
Oh, you've already thought of that, Mr. White.
"which, if it were done, would probably result in the least amount of wear and tear on the people, on the men and the generals.
What's your plan? Let's hear it.
It's a martial arts tournament.
"Martial arts tournament?
"We will hold a martial arts tournament, with me and the Demon King as our respective leaders. And we will whisper to the Demon King.
What?
He said it would be too much trouble, and if there was a war, I wouldn't do anything about it.

　His Majesty was puzzled for a moment, but he understood the intent of my proposal.

　Kaori probably just wants to fight me in the end.
　If that's the case, if we get into a war, I won't go along with you and show you an alternative plan, you'll be on board.

　The truth is that such a proposal would be dismissed as ridiculous, but ironically, Kaori threatened me.
　If I'm not there, he'll kill all the people.

　On the flip side, if I go along with him, he'll be on board, even if it changes shape to some extent.

''That's my teacher!　Okay, I'll make a suggestion on that!

　And His Majesty in a groove.
　His Majesty's character is also factored in.

　If it's a martial arts tournament with the fate of the country at stake, then I'm sure His Majesty will participate.
　I'm sure you'll be able to take some of the trouble and get in the line of fire to His Majesty.

　My plan worked pretty well, and I was secretly gloating over it.

　　　　　☆

　A few days later.
　I was summoned again, and in the throne room were the ministers and, for some reason, His Majesty in a huff.

''The Demon King has replied. He said he'd drink the main idea from the doctor.''

　I'm a little relieved.
　The joy of having avoided the ultimate hassle of war spreads through my chest.

"But on one condition.
Conditions?
'Yes. This side - that is, the Aegina side - is the only teacher. You're the only one who'll play winner-take-all.
Why would you do that...
I think he just wants to fight his teacher.
Shh....

　So that's it.
　Huh........well, well, if we were able to avoid the war, then I guess it's just as well.
　At the moment when I was thinking that

"Your Majesty.

　A minister steps out of the line and delivers a speech.

'Viscount Cano has successfully averted the war.
Oh, that's right. I'm afraid I haven't thought of that.

　His Majesty tapped his own forehead with a peck.
　Huh?　What do you mean?　Careless what?

"Hermes Cano.
Oh, yes!
"You have done more than enough to save thirty million people from Aegina. From this day forward, I take you to be the first Earl of Aegina, one of the highest ranking viscounts in the world.
...eh...

　For a moment I didn't understand what was said.
　Apparently, the war avoidance had gone too easily, and that was how he got back on the scene.

　Oh my God.