by Fuse
“That’s unclear. She was carrying this odd-looking sword, however, so I doubt she is coming on friendly terms.”
Hmm. She’s armed, huh? Well, being armed was a given in this world, and it’s not like she would’ve marched to a demon lord empty-handed. It’d be rash to assume this meant she was in a fighting mood.
“I don’t know… That’s not enough to make a decision.”
“The Crusaders were fully armed as well…”
“Oh, really? Like, full-on?”
“Yes! Full-on, sir!”
Hmm. Full-on. Well, with those paladins joining Hinata ready for battle, I had a feeling a fight was coming up. It disappointed me. I was no fan of combat here. The move indicated that we were a thorn in her side, and she wanted a way to deal with it. But what did she want after that? If we didn’t try to understand each other, then one side would have to be eliminated. It’d be a huge, life-and-death struggle.
If Hinata declined to talk to us, we’d have to force our will on her in any way possible. She refused to look at the matter from our perspective; she refused to lend an ear to our words. I can’t really call that the high road, in any real way. Didn’t Hinata get that? She had never really listened to me since we first met, but I didn’t think she was that close-minded.
Was her Luminism the cause of it? Maybe she didn’t see why a monster like me deserved to be listened to. I’m sure her faith served her well in many aspects; it was important to her, but I wasn’t so sure blind belief was in her best interest. Anyone living in modern-day Japan would feel that way, given all the blood that’s been spilled in the name of religion. It’s important to use your eyes and ears—and think with your own head. Otherwise you’re just shutting off your mind, right? It’s stupid.
Regardless, it was up to her to use the information she had at hand. What would she decide on? How would she act? That was all her problem. If Hinata decided to be hostile to us, I was ready for it.
Bad news always comes in waves.
I shook my head, trying to readjust my thoughts. “Oh well. I’ll gather my staff and work out a plan…”
With Hinata potentially attacking soon, we couldn’t afford to be idle. Even if there were only five of them, those guys were nothing to sniff at. Whenever a demon lord was defeated, it was almost always by a Hero and their handpicked companions. I hadn’t set out to become a demon lord myself, but now that I was, I wasn’t going to sit here and let myself be defeated. We needed to decide who’d tackle those four paladins while I engaged Hinata.
Then Diablo appeared, a rather somber look on his face. “Sir Rimuru, I have a report,” he said, having trouble getting the words out.
“What’s up? Do we have a problem?”
It had to be that. Diablo’s usual confidence was nowhere to be found.
“Yes, we do.”
“What is it?”
“Reyhiem is dead. I am unsure of the cause, but he was likely killed. He was in perfect health the last time I saw him, so it was either an accident or murder.” He paused, looking apologetically at me. “This was my fault, Sir Rimuru. After all your concern about him being silenced…”
I did say something offhand about that, didn’t I? I didn’t think it’d actually happen.
We had no idea what had taken place; it all happened inside the barrier that covered the Holy Empire of Lubelius. Given the situation, however, Diablo seemed pretty convinced that he was killed. Things were starting to seem far more serious.
“There are rumors spreading around Farmus’s neighboring nations,” he bitterly continued. “They speak of a demon scheming to kill the archbishop. Someone is using magical means to disseminate the news, and the Temple Knights have been deployed in response. Once they are finished preparing in a few days, I believe they will join the forces of King Edward…”
This was not at all part of Diablo’s plans. In fact, it could have a seriously adverse effect on them. And of course it’s all happening just as Hinata goes on the move. No doubt about it—
Understood. It is thought that everything is connected.
Yeah, even I can see that. Did Raphael think I was so hopeless that I wouldn’t, or what? Come on! Heh-heh… Raphael can be such a pain sometimes.
But this was the last thing I needed. The Holy Church hadn’t marked me a divine enemy yet, but that was probably just a matter of time now. And once the official decree was sent out, it’d be impossible to avoid all-out war. They aren’t gonna say “Oops, our mistake” and take that back.
So I ordered Soka to assemble my staff. All I wanted to think about was developing my nation. That no longer seemed possible.
It was time for an emergency meeting—all hands on deck, except for Geld.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t call for Geld as well, Sir Rimuru?”
“Yeah. He’s working hard on his project for me. This is a problem between Hinata and me. Whether it turns into a fight or not, we don’t need a huge army.”
This wasn’t some frantic border defense. It didn’t seem right to counter a team of five with our entire military. I mean, with the huge gaps between the weaker and stronger inhabitants of this world, numbers didn’t seem to even mean anything a lot of the time. The paladins coming our way would each be ranked an A or higher, so we’d need our main team on the front lines to fight back.
Besides, calling Geld and his entire team back here would be a logistical nightmare. I could use my transfer magic to bring them back, but it’d take too much time to get them were they needed to be. We would need someone to watch the prisoners, too; we couldn’t afford to be haphazard with that.
Accepting my reasoning, my staff sat there and listened to Soei relay the situation.
“All right. First, a party of five led by Hinata, captain of the Crusaders, is traveling toward Tempest. Her companions are all high-level Crusader troops, and they successfully eluded the attempts of Soka’s team to track them.”
Soei’s briefing sent murmurs across the audience. Soka and his men were all A level or so, too, and they still couldn’t keep up. That showed the kind of threat we were dealing with. They probably would’ve managed it if they were up in the air, but flying would make them too conspicuous. They were right not to push their luck, and thanks to the alert network we had built around town, Soei was already staying abreast of Hinata’s progress. Information is key to any strategy, as was making ample preparations so you didn’t have to freak out later.
I had to hand it to Soei, though. His intelligence-gathering skills were phenomenal. Hiring informants to feed him data, disguising his own Replications to send out on the field… I had taught him a bit about the ninjas from my world, and he’d plainly been developing that in his own style. I had called him my “shadow,” and it turned out he was an incredible fit for the job. Between that and the practical instruction I had Fuze give him, he was a professional spy by now. If everyone could take the weird Earth stuff I told them and leverage it to this extent, I’d never have anything to worry about.
Soei was training and educating Soka and the rest of his team, too, even using locals to gather information for him. By this point, he could handle all of that without me directing him to. Seeing him there, providing his briefing like it was his duty, made me feel proud.
“The Temple Knights in the Farmus area are being deployed to the border areas of its neighbors, effectively forming a ring around the nation. They are moving quickly, in small groups, and I believe they number over thirty thousand. Their mission is to destroy the demon, and they do not appear interested in meddling with the civil war itself. If this keeps up, however, we cannot expect much support for Sir Yohm from any of the powerful nobles in and around Farmus.”
Diablo grew notably paler. He had picked up on this same information, though, and it didn’t seem to surprise him. There was no doubting which “demon” was being referred to, and he was probably dying to know how word got out about him.
Thirty thousand, though… Funny how all these knights from the surroundi
ng nations—a few hundred here, a few thousand there—could turn into such a big force. That couldn’t be ignored, and they could also be indefinitely supplied from the villages. If this turned into a war of attrition, Yohm’s side would have the disadvantage.
“…However, the kings of Farmus’s assorted neighbors are not following the Western Holy Church’s lead. None of them have mobilized their armies. It would seem the Church has its own internal factions as well, which complicates the chain of command in the area. It would be easier to grasp the situation if we had a better idea of their internals…”
Soei shook his head, a little ashamed at the information lacking in his report. Yeah, they’re kind of a mystery group, aren’t they? Even Yuuki claimed not to know much about them. Plus, the Temple Knights seemed to be lower on the totem pole than the Crusaders.
“We should have asked Reyhiem about this,” a dejected Diablo commented. He was always pretty self-sufficient, never bothering to ask for feedback from someone he saw as lower than him. That came back to bite him here.
“Exactly! This is your failure, Diablo. It’d be better for all of us if someone more experienced, like me, took command!”
Shion preyed upon the chance, of course. She must have hated seeing the “new guy” get a big job like that. And as ready as he usually was to fire back at her, Diablo remained silent this time. Ah well. Maybe I’ll ask her instead.
“…Actually, Shion, if I let you handle the Farmus invasion, what would you do?”
Maybe—I mean, it’s not impossible—maybe she actually had a decent strategy in mind.
“I would lead an army into the kingdom and kill everyone in the noble classes, Sir Rimuru!”
Maybe not.
“No! No, all right?! You dumbass!”
If we killed everyone in the ruling class, the power vacuum would lead to a complex, multisided civil war. Without someone to support, you’d have all kinds of would-be warlords vying for power. The best way to keep casualties to a minimum was to retain the current system, replace the figurehead up top, and slowly let the new one take hold. That was why I had the more intelligent Diablo handle this. Shion just wasn’t up to it.
“No…? All right.”
Even she must have realized how foolish it was. She fell silent, standing up straight behind me. I wish she hadn’t bothered to say it if she was aware of how stupid it’d make her look, but I wasn’t sure she really wanted Diablo’s job anyway. Or maybe this was her way of helping Diablo put this behind him.
Either way, Diablo was still my man for this.
“Look, Diablo, everybody makes mistakes. Not even I thought Reyhiem would get himself killed. Plus, is it really that big a deal you’ve been found out?”
“Wha? But, Sir Rimuru…? With all this talk about a demon on the loose, I could hardly…”
His concern mainly seemed to be about getting relieved of his position in this drive.
“Listen. When you make a mistake, it’s vital to think about how you can make up for it. Anyone can just throw it in and say ‘I quit’ if they mess up, all right? That’s the easy way out! And besides, the general public already knows Yohm is connected to me. You’re a demon, but you’re also a member of my staff. Who cares what people around Farmus are saying? What matters right now is who killed Reyhiem, right? If we can prove it wasn’t you, then we’re all good. You don’t have to dwell on it that much.”
I’m literally a demon lord. Of course I’m going to have a demon or two on my payroll.
“You’re right,” said Shuna. “And I doubt you wanted to replace him with Shion anyway.”
“You’re wrong, Lady Shuna! If it were me, I would turn the Kingdom of Farmus into a wasteland of…”
Shion’s voice trailed off as Shuna gave her a withering stare. Those eyes were just too sharp for her to deal with.
“…He wasn’t going to,” Shuna continued in her strong but stern voice. “I appreciate your encouragement, Shion, as clumsy as it might have been. We are all part of Sir Rimuru’s staff. We cannot allow small mistakes to plunge us into depression.”
“Lady Shuna, you are making too much of this demon’s meager talents. As first secretary, I was simply teaching this upstart about the gravity of my post!”
The sneer she gave him had a little bit of shame tossed in. Maybe that was meant as encouragement. A little hard to follow, but that’s Shion for you. Shuna picked up on it better than I did. Sometimes that dunderhead can be really smart.
“Well,” Benimaru said, “there you have it. The need for reinforcements will depend on our strategy. If worse comes to worst, we’ll bring Geld back, and I’ll take the front line.”
Numbers didn’t concern him very much. What did was how they were going to use their forces. There wasn’t a trace of doubt on his face; he looked like he was ready to take on every Temple Knight on the planet. I was glad I could trust him.
“So you want me to continue with the current plan…?”
“Of course, Diablo. I’m gonna have my hands full with Hinata, so it’s your job to handle the Farmus takeover. I’m the one who gave you permission to send Reyhiem out in the first place. I’m partially at fault, too. So I want you to see this to the end for me, all right? Or is it starting to look like that won’t be possible? In that case…”
“Oh, no, not at all! You were kind enough to give me this work, Sir Rimuru, and I hope you will let me take it to its conclusion.”
“Can you do it?”
“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh… Of course!”
“Good. I know you can make up for this.”
Diablo nodded, his ease and confidence returned. He ought to be fine now.
“Sir Rimuru,” Shuna said as she smiled at this, “I have a suggestion.”
“Oh? I don’t hear suggestions from you very much. If you want to say something, go right ahead.”
“Why don’t we try seeking the advice of Adalmann? He was part of the Holy Church, albeit several centuries ago.”
Adalmann?
Understood. Adalmann is the wight king who defended Clayman’s castle…
Ohhh! Right! The undead guy Shuna made friends with. I think he’s just a regular wight now, what with his power gone. He looked totally wowed when we met, going on about how much of a god I am or something; I guess he’s the type to go all-in on an idea once it creeps into his head. If he was part of the Church, maybe he knows something about its inner workings. Things must have changed between now and then, but there’s no harm asking.
“That’s a good idea. Let’s bring it up with him.”
At the moment, Adalmann was working with Gabil, handling research and security duties down in the Sealed Cave. I sent a Thought Communication Gabil’s way, ordering him to send Adalmann up at once. He was with us in seconds, using teleportation magic to whisk himself to our meeting. Even as a wight, he apparently could still cast the magic he learned during his living days, and it was pretty high-caliber stuff. In terms of magicules, he may only rank a B, but you couldn’t afford to downplay his strength too much. He’s intelligent and magically gifted enough—maybe I should give him some better work.
Of course, he was basically a walking skeleton, and his force of undead was weak against sunlight and incapable of speech. You could communicate with them, more or less, but work around town might be a little tough. Let’s think about that later, then.
Regardless, it was time to listen to him.
“…Being granted with the tremendous good fortune of an audience with you, my lord, is the greatest honor that—”
“Enough!”
He had been heaping praise upon me the entire time I was thinking about him. I was ignoring it, but it didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, so I finally yelled at him to shut up. Pretty intense guy. Shion liked him (“You have potential, I see!”) and Diablo gave him an approving smile, but the rest of my staff were a little put off by the display.
“That’s good for now, Adalmann,” Shuna said. “We all know you are hap
py to see Sir Rimuru, but we are short on time right now, so please go on with your business.”
Thanks, Shuna. If it wasn’t for you, he might start openly praying to me next. With that kind of dogged faith, no wonder he was so strong. It kind of made sense.
So on to Adalmann…
It turns out that he was actually a Holy Church cardinal, one of the highest positions in the whole bureaucracy. Lubelius wasn’t a real powerhouse of a nation at the time—the Church wasn’t the juggernaut it is now—but we still learned a great deal from him.
First, he told us that the Holy Empire of Lubelius is a religious state with the god Luminus at the peak. The Holy Emperor was considered the official spokesperson for this god; her identity and appearance was unknown. The imperial throne may or may not be passed down from generation to generation, but Adalmann, at least, never saw that happen.
The nation’s day-to-day operations were handled by the Papacy, the main ruling authority. In Adalmann’s time, the entire Western Holy Church was merely a division of this Papacy. “The Church began strictly as a missionary group to spread the good word about Luminism,” he explained. “It had no standing army at all.”
However, due to the danger involved with their field work, the Papacy formed the Temple Knights, working out agreements with the world’s nations to build troop stations in their area of activity. They all welcomed the Knights (especially since the Papacy was paying the tab) and promised to cooperate with them. Protecting the Luminus faithful from monster threats also helped keep the general public safe, so their generosity was understandable.
As these relationships with foreign countries grew, there naturally began to be friction in certain areas. That created a need for the Master Rooks, a division that worked under the more direct control of the Holy Emperor. “I call it a division,” Adalmann said, “but in the beginning, it was a small handful of people. They all boasted tremendous strength and had the right to give orders to the Temple Knights. As a group, they pledged their loyalty strictly to Luminus and the Holy Emperor—even the most powerful consuls in the Papacy could no more than ‘request’ their services, not order them.”
