Eight days after the founding of the Astor Imperial State.

　Within the dominion realm that had become a country as the Astor Empire, the changes within the dominion realm had been drastic.

　With the addition of human technology and knowledge to these two projects, the infrastructure environment within the dominion realm was rapidly developed.

　Other than that, perhaps the daily declaration of the founding of the country was successful.......a small number of humans, though less than 100, began to offer to surrender.

　If you visit the residential areas, you will see the territorial residents plowing their fields with happy faces. If you visit a school, you will see children working at their desks with smiles on their faces. As a result of the vastly improved dining environment, their men and women also look somewhat happy.

　The enemy of humanity - the Demon King.

　The Thirteen Deadly Stars that plunge Japan into the depths of fear.

　The public's opinion of us is scattered, but if we show this, there will be no needless fighting. If I did that, it seemed easy to achieve my goal - to survive.

　But humanity will continue to invade my territory of control. Even if I repelled humanity, the Demon King would still invade, seeking to expand his dominion territory.

　In the end, as long as we don't continue to grow we won't be able to have a peaceful future.

　Now, let's do our best to survive.

　I returned to my room where my subordinates were waiting for me.

　When I returned to my room, I found Lina's troopers and Kanon waiting for me.

''I'm sorry you had to wait.

　I give a shout-out to my men who were waiting for me and sit down in a chair.

"The reason I called you here is so that we can go on this expedition together.
Expedition?　Aren't you Himi?
"It's Komatsu City, not Kanazawa City!
"Your expedition with your master you will not hesitate to use me as a shield for your meat.

　Takaharu, Sarah and Hibiki are the first to react to my words.

'Lina, you're giving me a hard time.
Don't worry about it.
"What do you mean by that?

　Takaharu and Sarah join their voices beautifully as they thank Lina, the leader, for her labor.

''Um........why was I called in as well?''

　Then Kanon asks me a question in a reserved manner.

'Hmm?　Didn't I tell you that?
Yes, sir.
This expedition includes canon.
...What?

　Kanon is stunned when he hears my answer.

'The purpose of this expedition is--leveling. The goal is to improve my level. The next step is to level the canon.
Whoa!　Wha, you mean my leveling?
This expedition is in Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture, our dominant territory.

　I go through the astonished canon and tell him my destination.

'Tonami City?　There should be lands ruled by humans along the way, as well as dominant territories ruled by other demon kings, right?

　Lina frowns when she hears where we're going and asks, "What do you mean?

'I will ignore all humanity and the dominant realm that exists along the way.
They don't ignore you, do they?

　Now Takahara asks.

'It depends on the route. I've asked the maple trees to investigate, and if we follow the route over the Kutchanga Pass, we can reach our destination without being obvious.
Over the pass?　Seriously, no!

　Sarah stands up and starts to complain.

'Don't worry. We'll take the car as transportation.
Is that a bus?　Wouldn't it be conspicuous to travel by bus?

　Kotetsu asks. Since the Great Transformation, the only means of transportation is the car. However, buses and other forms of transportation are easily seen by mankind, and in some places, checkpoints have been set up.

"We're not going by bus. Not a bus, but a Hiace.
Hiace?　But then the number of people...

　Hiace. It is a small private freight vehicle that has been used in Japan for a long time. The number of passengers exists from 6 to 10.

　Although it can accommodate up to 10 people, the basis of the invasion is a 24-person organization. Even if you pack it in and board, it's impossible for 24 people to get on board, including the living mail.

Therefore, the members of this expedition will be eight people, including me, plus canon.

""--?

　We're all appalled by my announcement.

　It's a ten-seater, but when you factor in the space to load equipment and food, eight is the limit. The canon is small, so no count.

'Is that okay?'

　Lina asks me on behalf of everyone.

''The Demon King of the dominant realm of the expedition destination is 【Creation B】, 【Refinement C】. The number of dominant realms we control is 13, the depth of the hierarchy--level is 12, and since there are no sightings of the Demon King yet, I'm assuming that the ranks of 【Body】 and 【Magic Power】 are not too high.

So who are these eight guys?
Me, Lina, Kotetsu, Takaharu, Sarah, Hibiki, Cain, Setanta... and canon.
"Wha, I am...?

　Abel, the only one not to have his name called, lets out a heartbreaking cry.

I want Abel to stay. I need you to follow Yataro's instructions and help me with this new endeavor.
I'm sorry, sir.

　We don't intend to liberate the dominant territory in this expedition. Hence, there will be few opportunities to fight strong enemies. If so, our strategy is to see and kill the enemy (Search & Destroy). Continue to take out miscellaneous fish with overwhelming firepower to gain experience. The logic is unclear, but the fewer people you challenge at the same time, the more experience you gain per player. Most importantly........Abel's huge man was a bit too big to board the High Ace, which was one of the factors.

''Canon, keep your canon as a healer.
Yes!
'Sarah, make sure you put your recovery before your attack!
"Ri.
I'm going to bring you more pills just in case you all get overwhelmed.
Hey! I'm on it! Yes, sir! 'Mm.' 'Yes.' 'Awesome!'

　As we listened to the replies of each of our subordinates, we moved to the area of control that faced the Kutchan Pass.