I see. In other words, Mr. Theon was deliberately attracting humanity to the area to help his men and himself grow. That's a thought that I've never thought of. I now understand what kind of people I can create and what items I can refine.

　Yatalou nodded repeatedly, impressed.

'Yataro, how many CPs do you need for defense?'
That's right.... If you don't need to create subordinates and train items, 1,000 will be enough.

　Yataro thinks for a while and then answers.

I understand. The only thing you need to do is to tell me the type and number of subordinates you need. As for replenishment, just report back to me via email as needed after the actual operation.
I understand. However, I am not familiar with the operation of the area that Master Theon has designed to control, called 'The Stronghold'. I plan to take over Master Theon's structure for the first time.
Finally, I'd like to introduce the main force defending the southern sector and the northern flank.

　I telepathically summon Izayoi and Saburo.

'I'm here,'
"Master Theon. You called...!　

　Izayoi and Saburo appear and Kanon immediately takes refuge behind me.

　Kanon.........don't go behind me. The pervert (Saburo) will be looking at me.........

'Yataro. This guy is Izayoi. Indoors, he's not much different from me in strength.
Come on. I'm not even close to Master Theon.

　Upon my introduction, Izayoi smiles and bows her head deeply.

'Izayoi. This is Yataro. I'm a former demon king. From tomorrow, I'll leave you in charge of the defense of the dominion territory.
"--!　You're putting a newbie in charge all of a sudden?
Yeah, I am. That's what I think. What's the problem?
No, sir.

　I give Izayoi a cold stare as she raises her voice, and she immediately changes her attitude. Recently, I've realized that Izayoi, Chloe and Leila - a trio of fanatics, it's smoother to tell them what I think than to theorize and explain it to them.

"I'm new here, but it's nice to meet you.

　Yataro is a quirky old man, I should say. He smiles softly and holds out his hand to Izayoi. Izayoi glances at my face and then squeezes back Yataro's proffered hand.

''This one........''
"My name is Dirkne--

　--Shut up!

'This is Sabraw. Intelligence, taste, proclivities, hobbies - all of them are disappointing, but I can guarantee my abilities. By the way, I'm a former Demon King.
Hmm..... Hi, nice to meet you....

　Yataro gives a drawn-out smile.

'Lord Sion!　May I ask one thing?!
Not good!　But what?

　Saburou shouts out.

'I'm told that you're appointing Yataro-dono as head of defense... what's the reason for that?
'Yataro is a former Demon King and is used to operating in the dominant territory. I plan to join the invasion more often in the future. We'll be splitting up the work.
"--!　Well, then!　Master Theon has another talented former demon king--
The canon is my search tool.
'Ka'nong-tan is an angel!　No, the other one!　Right in front of you!　This--

　--Firelance!

I'm sorry. The magic's gone haywire. So, what's wrong with my idea?
No, sir.

　With a whiff of pusps and well-done, Sabraw replies in a shaky voice.

'Well, that's all I have to say about the dispatch. Do you have any other concerns?
With all due respect ... what about the maples?
'The shadow demon--the maple is not going to be used for defense, but for other purposes.
Investigation...?
'Right. And while you're at it, I'll incorporate you into the invasion force and have you actively work on raising your level.
I'm afraid so, sir.

　Is there more of a bond between Yataro and the maple tree than he had imagined? Yataro's face was somewhat forlorn.

'Is there anything else?'
May I have one thing ... just one thing to be selfish about?
What?

　Will they say that the maple is safe...?

Random number creation!　Just one random number creation every two days!
What?
That is why I would like you to create a random number.
You don't know how to create random numbers, do you?
That's right. Therefore.........I would like you to ask the goddess to create a random number once every two days, instead of turning it yourself.

　I can't understand what the old man in front of me is saying. Turn?　Goddess?　Please?

Well, what is it... you want me to create a random number once every two days?
Indeed!
Why?
The Random Number Creation has a large part to play in my defense.
It's true that there was a wide variety of demons in Yataro's controlled territory, but if you have the demons you need, just tell me and I'll ask the invasion force to procure them, even though I can't get them all?
'Not so, by myself!　Surrender to the gods of random numbers?
Surrender to the gods of random numbers has nothing to do with defense?

　Random Number Creation consumes a lot of CP. It's not something that can be randomly generated without a clear reason.

"I mean... what can I say... me, me, me, me - I like gacha!

　--?

　I seriously don't understand what the old man in front of me is saying. Maybe I should reconsider the personnel of the defense chief........

　While I'm stunned, he's still talking nonsense like "it's the reason for living...", "old age is too short...", "suppa rare...".

''Well, you mean........Yataro likes gacha, so you want me to create 《Random Number Creation》?''
Yes!
-- rejected!
Oh, no...

　After much discussion with Yataro, I finally gave in and promised to do the "Random Number Creation" only once a month. To be honest, I was already doing the 《Random Number Creation》 at least once a month. It's just that the goddess of random numbers didn't smile at me.... So, although he promised, it wasn't a particularly big loss.

　After that, we discussed and implemented the restructuring of the control area with Yataro and Kanon. With my subordinates in place, my control area was newly renewed.


　◆


　《Pseudo Peace》 13 hours left.

　The process of reconstructing the dominant domain while discussing with someone else was more fun than he had imagined. Unlike Kanon, who mainly consulted with him in terms of assisting him with the knowledge side of things, the discussion based on his experiences was a very meaningful time.

　The next thing we needed to do was to gather information from Yataro.

　There were two things to ask.

　One, the identity of the maple tree - but I already had the answer to this question.

"Yataro," he said, "what is the true identity of the maple tree?
He's an SSR (Super Super Rare).
I see. By the way, besides the maple tree, who else is an SSR?
The only SSR is maple.

　Yataro is obsessed with the god of random numbers. So the Yataro is an SSR that can only be drawn once. The rate of release is pretty bad.

　In any case, the identity of the maple tree and the reason why so many different kinds of demons inhabited Yataro's area of control is now known.

　The next thing we should ask is--

Yataro. What is "Laplace"...?

　I asked a question about the mysterious words Yataro had uttered so many times.

　Then.........

What?　I know what "Laplace" is.

　Somehow, faster than Yataro could answer, Kanon raised his voice with a big smile on his face.