Is everything alright, Lina?
You're doing well.
Oh, let's see.

　When Kanon hears my answer, he sits on my shoulder and watches the live video of Lina and her friends on his smartphone.

"d*mn, we can watch it while we fly, right?　Hmm?　Is it getting heavy?
What?　That's rude!　It's a growth spurt.

　It would be rude to stand on my shoulders, the Lord, but.... Well, okay. I interrupt the live footage of Lina and the others for a moment and search the internet news.

"What?　Why are you erasing it?

　I go through the exasperated canon and start looking up things that are on my mind.

　The search words are 'control area expansion', 'control area change'........ Other than that, it's a survey of the trends of the Demon King that exist in various parts of the country by patrolling anonymous message boards.

　Oh........the number is still increasing.

　103 Nameless Adventurer ID: masefse
　I thought the local area of control had disappeared and merged?

　107 Nameless Adventurer ID: sdeyhgt
　Are we in an era where not only cities, towns and villages are merging, but also dominant territories?

　108 Nameless Adventurer ID: lkseuhj
　The Demon King is also working hard to address the aging population and strengthen finances.
　It's heartbreaking.

　112 Nameless Adventurer ID: zsedfgk
　The liberation into the realm of control by the brave men and women across the country is also progressing daily. Ah!　Brave man, thank you for your daily efforts.

　114 Nameless Adventurer ID: fjdtxvc
　The merged control territory will have a higher hazard rank than before the merger, so maybe the Demon King is just desperate to survive.


　Reports of expansion of the territory under their control continue to come in from all over the country. Fortunately, there were no reports of territory expansion in Kanazawa, but there was one case in Komatsu in Ishikawa Prefecture.

　Noteworthy is the article describing the continuing expansion of the territories under its control in Tokyo and Kyoto.

　The total area of the area of control that continues to expand in Tokyo is estimated to be 50km2. It probably controls 7 or 8 control areas. The total area of the controlled territory in Kyoto is an estimated 40k square meters. This one is estimated to control six control territories.

　Sooner or later, this sign would spread to all over the country.

　The weakest Demon King will be eradicated and the strongest Demon King will increase his power.

　If I want to survive, I have to become the latter, the Demon King.

The number of Demon Lords controlling their territory is increasing. Do you feel like you're worried about your rivals?
'Rivalry I don't even know their name or face. What I'm interested in is what's going to happen.
What's the future?
What did Kanon think when he saw Lina and the others?
It's going well.

　Kanon answers my question with a twist of his head.

'Yes, it's going well. To put it bluntly, there's too much of a gap between our forces.'
''That's right. This one, aside from Lina-san, is made up of rank B and C subordinates, while the opponent is a rank E goblin.
'Yeah, well, I'm sorry to say the Demon King of District A, but I guess there's no way to resist.

　What I felt after seeing the invasion of Lina and the rest of the controlled territory - it was an easy win.

　What's the reason why the power gap between me and the Demon King in District A has opened up so much?　I think a lot of luck is involved, but I believe the answer is always preparation with the cutting edge in mind.

　For example, in online gaming, the race that is on the cutting edge of content, known as the cripple, is always competing with their peers around them, and with numerous tests and tedious preparations, they always stay on top.

　As it stands now, I'm hardly the most advanced on a global scale. However, we should always strive to be on the cutting edge. If we miss out on the cutting edge, we will fall to the weak and be eaten by the strong....

　On the screen of your smartphone, you'll see your men exterminating a horde of goblins. The scene cannot even be called a battle - in other words, a slaughter.

　If I didn't make an effort, or if I was unlucky, it wouldn't be surprising if I ended up in the same position as the Demon King of District A. Looking at the overwhelming number of subordinates, I felt a sense of crisis.


　The invasion situation of Lina and the others, which I had enjoyed watching at first, had now lost interest. There was no need to give them individual instructions, and there was nothing in particular to be gained by observing the scene of the goblin slaughter. It would take a little more time before I ran into the Demon King.

　I decided to draw up a plan of action for the future.

''Huh?　You're not going to check on Lina-san anymore, are you?
You don't need to see it.
What?　Isn't that a bit too cold?

　The search tool (canon) interrupts my thinking time. Doesn't this guy have a power source or something?　Seeing the comical canon in action, I seriously wish for the implementation of a power on/off function.

　I'd like to keep it away, but canon possesses knowledge that is essential for consideration. Is this what you call a dilemma?

I need to figure out a plan for the future.
Yes?

　Perhaps reading my emotions, Kanon quietly stops at my shoulder.

''The time when the Demon King will undergo major changes in the future--where do you think the juncture will be?''
A fork in the road?　Isn't the big change going to be when you reach level 10?

　When the level grows to 10, the Demon King can go outside of the dominion realm. And apparently, he will be able to turn humanity's land into his dominion realm. Indeed, it's a big change.

　However, the road to level 10 is long and steep.

　Yes, it's a long, hard road... What do I have to do to survive that long?

'Canon, how many Demon Kings do you think exist that are stronger than me?'
It depends on the criteria for strength, but as far as I can find out from the internet, I think Zion-san is in the top 10% in the country. I wonder if she is the best in the city?　Are you sure you're in the top 10 in the county?

　The canon gives a vague answer to my vague question.

'Then how about on the level?'
There are a lot of demon kings with levels of 3 and above.

　Level 3 and above - the existence of evolved demon kings has been confirmed in many places. Optimistically, even if a lot of Demon Kings are level 3, they will grow to level 4 before I grow to level 6. Realistically speaking, there will already be a number of Demon Kings who are level 5 or higher.

　Considering these days when the weaker Demon Kings have begun to be exterminated, the level of the surviving Demon Kings would become closer and closer.

　In that case, there would be no difference in strength between the Demon Kings.

　Differences in the personalities of the races would be created. Differences in the personalities of statuses, such as physical specialization and creation specialization, might also be created.

　Hm?　Does status make a difference in personality?

　Currently, B is the highest value even for the specialized types; it takes 50 BP to get them to grow from B to A. Even if I allocate BP to the same item, I still have to level 13 to get to A. Even if I got the same bonuses as me and Kanon, I'd still need to grow to level 11.

　What demon king would keep swinging BP on the same item until level 11 in the first place?　Even if there was a Demon King who tried, would he survive?　If it was a [Creation] specialization, it was possible.......but even so, he would need to grow his level to 11 to reach A.

　The ones who had an advantage in the early stages were the [Physical] and [Magical] specialization Demon King. Once they both grew to B, it wouldn't be easy to defeat them. But the current trend is...?

'Canon, what do you think the current trend is?'
What?　What kind of question is that all of a sudden?　Uh, uh......
What's the trend........
On the contrary, what trend did you hear about!
"Specialized Demon King Status.

　Suddenly, Kanon is asked a question and gives a misguided answer. I decided to take the trouble to explain to Kanon what I had just considered.

　It's a hassle, but I'm enjoying the conversation with Kanon somehow.