Episode 64
The atmosphere in the conference room was frigid.
"...Then, let us begin the meeting."
And amidst such an atmosphere, I declared the start of the Demon King's Army meeting in a low voice.
"Of course, since I have just joined the Demon King's Army, I am not aware of the agenda or the proceedings. Therefore, I will leave the overall conduct of today's meeting to Demirkan."
Soon after my words ended, Demirkan, who had been watching my expression for a moment, quietly opened his mouth.
"Yes, leave it to me."
Unlike before, his attitude was considerably respectful.
"..........."
Not only him, but most of the executives were hesitating and watching my expression. Thanks to that, even though I tried hard to maintain a calm expression, my facial management wasn't working well.
'For now, the desired effect has been achieved.'
Earlier when Demirkan asked me if I was the Demon King, I had avoided answering. In other words, I neither confirmed nor denied it.
Thanks to that, the executives who don't know whether the person before them is the Demon King or just a very powerful second-in-command are probably feeling like they're dying.
If they serve me as the Demon King when I'm not, that would be blasphemy against the Demon King, and if they don't serve me as the Demon King when I am, that would also be blasphemy.
Of course, that was exactly the situation I wanted.
Actually, since they've already mistaken me for the Demon King, I'd like to completely impersonate the Demon King and ruin the Demon King's Army, but Demirkan is contacting the Demon King through some method.
So if I openly impersonate the Demon King, it would be exposed before long.
However, if I give subtle hints without making a clear statement of position, they will create their own scenarios in their heads.
Of course, since they can't be certain, the executives will wither away, but that's not my problem.
"Then, for the first agenda item..."
As I was thinking such thoughts, Demirkan, who had cleared his throat, announced the first item.
"The whereabouts of the hero who recently reappeared in the world are still shrouded in mystery. Is there any executive here who has learned of the hero's whereabouts?"
Then the executives started glancing at each other.
"It seems no one has any information. In that case... I will ask those currently infiltrating the religious order and the imperial family. How is the investigation into the hero's whereabouts progressing?"
Demirkan, who had been watching them with a calm expression, frowned slightly and asked, and a woman wearing an information executive's name tag stood up and began her report.
"The Sun God religious order is as incompetent as always. The paladins and monks are going around the capital and provinces every day making inquiries... but instead of finding the hero they're supposed to find, they're just extorting offerings."
"Well, since the Pope is on our side to begin with, they can't help but be incompetent."
Hearing those words, Demirkan muttered quietly, and it seems the Pope was indeed the Demon King's pawn at this point in time.
The head of the largest religious group that has influence not only in the Sunrise Empire but also across various continents being the Demon King's pawn... the Empire's future is certainly bright.
"However, there is a variable called the Saintess in the current religious order. What stance is she currently taking regarding the hero?"
Whether he was thinking the same as me, Demirkan, who was smirking, soon asked in a serious voice.
Looking at that, it seems the existence of the 'Saintess' remains a huge trauma for the Demon King's Army thanks to the legendary first Saintess from 1000 years ago.
"The Saintess says she will personally go on a pilgrimage to find the hero. Of course, whether there will be any effect from the 'Saintess of Pure White' going on a pilgrimage is highly doubtful... but we are interfering to not allow even a shred of possibility."
When the woman finished speaking with those words and sat back down, this time the man next to her stood up from his seat.
"The imperial family is putting up quite a fight. They're using 1/3 of the imperial knight order's forces to search for the hero, promising a huge reward to anyone who finds the hero, and even contacting the underworld guilds - they're taking every possible measure."
Hearing those words, Demirkan asked with an expression that said it was ridiculous.
"Seems like their feet are on fire?"
"If the Demon King appears and the Empire falls, all the absolute power they've enjoyed would become for nothing. The imperial family does their best at least in matters related to their own power."
I agreed so much with that man's words that I found myself nodding and muttering without realizing it, and Demirkan asked in a sharp voice.
"Then, what is the danger level?"
"It's not that high. They're more active than the religious order, but just as incompetent. However, the 'Imperial Knight Order' and the 'Third Princess' require special vigilance."
After the man finished his report and sat down, Demirkan looked at me again and then cautiously asked.
"Um... by any chance, does Lord Frey have any advice to give?"
"My advice?"
As I was frowning and looking at Demirkan who was suddenly asking for advice, he bowed his head and began to explain.
"The thing is, Lord Frey, aren't you the 'descendant of the hero family'? So... I thought perhaps you might know some information or prophecy about the 'hero'..."
Saying that, Demirkan began to look at me with a slightly expectant expression, and the same was true for the other executives.
"Well... I also..."
However, since I couldn't come out as the hero here, I tried to vaguely brush it off, but then a good idea occurred to me.
Of course, whether it would work was unknown, but I decided to try it with an attitude of 'it's good if it works, if not, whatever,' and after pausing for a moment, I began to speak with a serious expression.
"...Ah, come to think of it, there is one phrase that has been passed down from generation to generation to the heads of the hero family."
"A phrase passed down to the heads?"
When Demirkan's eyes began to shine at those words, thinking I might be able to catch a big fish if I did well, I began to flesh out the story.
"Yes, since I only became the temporary head recently, I only learned of that fact a few months ago."
"So, what is that phrase?"
When Demirkan urged me, I made an increasingly stern expression and gave an order to the man sitting at the very end of the desk.
"You there, bring paper and a pen."
Then, in an instant, a cold air began to surround the area.
"L-leader, please don't get angry."
"That's right, if you get angry here, you'll be beaten to death."
Soon after, the colleagues around them urgently began to stop him, and I felt something was strange and asked Demirkan who was next to me.
"...Who is he?"
"He's the leader of the combat executives. One of the highest executives of the Demon King's Army and until just now, the third-in-command of the Demon King's Army."
"Ah..."
He was sitting at the very end so I thought he was a low-ranking member, but he turns out to be the leader of the combat executives.
Thanks to that, I thought about apologizing for a moment, but since the second-in-command of the Demon King's Army apologizing to someone who has now become the fourth-in-command would look quite unsightly, I decided to just push through as is.
"Are my words not reaching you? Didn't I tell you to bring paper and pen right now?"
When I urged him with an appropriately arrogant tone standing on the borderline between the Demon King and second-in-command, the man full of scars began to clench his fist tightly.
"Under...stood."
Soon after, the man answered in a trembling voice, slowly stood up from his seat, gathered paper and pen, and began to approach me.
"A cheap fountain pen. Make sure to prepare something better next time."
Having received the paper and pen from him, I ignored him completely and gave an order to Demirkan while gesturing for him to return to his seat.
"...Grr."
Then, the combat executive leader, who had been grinding his teeth for a moment, eventually returned to his seat emitting a vicious killing intent.
"You've seen this character before, haven't you?"
"T-this is...!"
Ignoring him and writing characters on the paper, I held it out to Demirkan, and seeing the phrase, Demirkan's eyes widened as he muttered.
"Isn't this the character used by the hero from 1000 years ago...?"
"Yes, phrases written in that character have been passed down in our family for generations."
"Then do you also know the meaning of this sentence?"
When I spoke with a serious expression, Demirkan asked me with a face full of expectation.
"Of course I know. Though it's very short, that is."
Having finished preparing to hook him, I cleared my throat and began to speak.
"The person the world must find a thousand years later is a woman, and she is an orphan. And..."
"And?"
When I trailed off, Demirkan urged me while breaking out in cold sweat, and looking at him, I shook my head and answered.
"Unfortunately, the phrase ends here."
"Ah..."
Then Demirkan let out a sigh of regret.
"It's because of my ancestor who put insurance just in case. But I do know a way to find out the content after this."
"Really!?"
When I gave him hopeful words again, Demirkan's eyes began to sparkle. And at that moment, sensing the success of my plan, I began to speak with a smile.
"Find out all the phrases in the 'Hero's Ruins' that exist on the western continent. That is the key to revealing the content after this."
"Understood."
Demirkan, who bowed his head at those words, declared to the executives who had been wearing blank expressions until then.
"It seems we will be ahead of everyone else in the hero search. Of course, for that, we need everyone's cooperation."
Having said that and taking a breath, Demirkan was about to continue speaking while spreading a map on the desk...
"From now on, we will..."
"Excuse me."
A woman with a typical demon appearance, who had been quietly listening, suddenly stood up from her seat and interrupted his words.
"Lemeruno, right now is..."
"Who are you?"
Demirkan tried to stop her, but I interrupted his words and asked her in a cold voice.
"I am Lemeruno, a pure demon in charge of the Demon King's Army's strategy and tactics."
"...I see."
Hearing her introduction, I used the 'Information Search skill' with shining eyes.
[Name: Lemeruno]
[Ability: Strength 6 / Magic Power 6 / Intelligence 9.2 / Mental Strength 5]
[Special Note: None]
[Disposition: Strategist]
[Goodness Value: -80]
'...So this is the one Serena kept beating up all the time.'
Having looked at her information, I recalled that she was the strategist who had engaged in battles of wits with Serena in the previous round.
'Well, rather than a battle of wits with Serena, it's no exaggeration to say she was intellectually assaulted by Serena.'
Of course, saying it was a battle of wits, but it's no exaggeration to say she was mentally pummeled by Serena.
According to the words of the ancestor written in the 'Book of Prophecy,' it's said to be similar to the relationship between people called 'Zhuge Liang' and 'Sima Yi.'
They say the fact that the Sunrise Empire commanded by Serena ultimately fell is also a complete replica or something?
I don't know well, but it seems there was someone like Serena in the world where the ancestor lived too.
"It may sound disrespectful, but I don't think I can trust the information Lord Frey has given us."
Of course, Lemeruno is not incompetent. Even now, she's the only one raising objections to me.
The reason she was miserably defeated was simply because Serena was a 'totally broken character.'
"Why can't you trust my information?"
Feeling slightly troubled by this, I asked her in a low voice.
"Then I will ask you a question. Can Lord Frey share the decryption method for that character with us?"
Then she looked straight at me and began to speak.
"That's difficult. The letters left by the previous hero can only be deciphered by direct descendants."
"Why is that?"
"It's an ancient magic placed on the family. It takes a form similar to the 'Curse of Subjugation' of the Moonlight family or the 'Vow' of the Sunrise family."
Though it was an unexpected interrogation, I answered calmly, and Lemeruno frowned slightly and said.
"In that case, I ask for a detailed explanation of why finding all the characters written in the ruins on the western continent becomes the 'key.'"
"That is... something you don't need to know. You just need to follow what I instruct according to the basic rule of an 'army' - 'obeying superiors' orders.'"
I was about to make another excuse to her, but seeing Lemeruno looking at me with sharp eyes, I changed my plan to brazen it out.
Because this was her scheme.
By deliberately asking questions that are difficult for me to answer, again and again, she induces lies and excuses.
Then eventually inconsistencies appear in the statement, and Lemeruno, who had been waiting for just that moment, immediately digs into the inconsistency and destroys the logic.
So to not get caught up in her scheme, a perfect alibi or a coercive attitude is necessary.
Of course, in the current situation where only improvisation can be used, the best choice would be to use a coercive attitude utilizing the power from my current position to suppress her.
"That is exactly why I cannot trust Lord Frey's information."
But she apparently couldn't give up here either, and continued in a cold voice.
"Until now, our Demon King's Army has relied too much on uncertain information."
"Uncertain information?"
"Yes, we've only been executing unclear and ambiguous orders that seem to be given by a Demon King whose identity and true nature are unknown. Thanks to that, the morale of the Demon King's Army is only dropping further."
At Lemeruno's words, the executives began quietly nodding. It seems they had quite a lot built up against the Demon King.
"But if Lord Frey acts that way too, an 'information imbalance' will inevitably occur. And that will eventually make the Demon King's Army sick. So..."
"In the end, you're saying you can't trust Lord Frey."
When she continued speaking, Demirkan, who had been quietly listening, intervened in our conversation.
"Are you saying you cannot trust Lord Frey, the highest executive and second-in-command of the Demon King's Army?"
"...The Starlight family is a hero family that illuminates the darkness."
Then she added without backing down either, and as the atmosphere was flowing uncontrollably...
"Then, what should I do?"
"Yes?"
I quietly raised my hand to stop their conversation and said to Lemeruno in a low voice.
"Are you saying I just need to show 'evidence' that you can trust me?"
"That's right, if there's appropriate evidence... everyone would be satisfied."
When she answered and looked around, all the executives started looking at me.
In their eyes, clear suspicion was present.
'...She's quite clever.'
She seems to have chosen a strategy of planting 'just a little suspicion' in the executives while barely maintaining the appropriate line as a last resort.
If I leave them like this, someday that seed of suspicion will sprout, grow vigorously, and eventually threaten me.
The emotion called doubt arises endlessly and is a stronger emotion than other emotions.
That's why I will remove the seed of suspicion from now on.
By using an emotion much stronger than suspicion.
"Am I not already showing you that evidence?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Lemeruno, who heard my words, frowned slightly and asked.
Probably, she instinctively felt that her plan to notice my suspiciousness and plant doubt in everyone was going wrong.
Of course, even if she felt that, there's nothing she can do about it.
"Demirkan, you explain the reason instead."
Thinking that, I gave an order to Demirkan who was quietly bowing his head next to me.
He's a quick-witted and opportunistic person, but at the same time, if he's someone who shows blind loyalty to the 'Demon King,' he would understand well what I meant by 'evidence.'
"...The fact that we are alive is that evidence."
When Demirkan finished speaking, everyone froze at the same time.
And at that point, I smiled with satisfaction and asked the man who had given me the paper and pen earlier.
"You there, what is your position?"
"...One of the highest executives and the leader of the Demon King's Army combat executives."
"I see. Then, if you were to fight me... how long do you think you could last?"
Hearing those words, the man rolled his eyes and then said in a low voice.
"At first, I was expecting 3 to 5 minutes, but... seeing the battle earlier, I don't think I could withstand even a single exchange."
I watched the executives who looked shocked at those words with a relaxed expression, and tossed out a word as if it were nothing.
"I can cut off all your heads just by swinging my sword once."
Of course, that's a lie.
Before I could kill everyone by swinging my sword, my life force would be completely depleted.
"Do you all want that?"
".........."
But the executives apparently didn't think so, and they all began to change to terrified eyes.
Of course, the fact that I had drawn my sword and was caressing it while wrapped in star mana also played a part.
"I know well that you all are suspicious of me. It's understandable that someone suddenly sits in the second-in-command position in a single day... moreover, a descendant of a hero family."
And looking at them, I began to speak in a low voice.
"You probably suspect that I might be a 'hero.'"
Of course, they would have suspected me of being a spy, not a hero. However, to them, who had lost their situational judgment ability due to fear... what I'm saying now would be imprinted as truth.
"But if I were really a hero, I could kill all of you just by swinging my sword once... so why would I not do that and deliberately play the role of second-in-command?"
When I said that and swept my gaze over everyone, the executives started avoiding my gaze.
"Therefore, withdraw your useless suspicions. If I've said this much and there are still complaints, I'll consider that a challenge to me."
When I finished speaking in a cold tone to them, all the executives began to bow their heads.
".....Ugh."
Meanwhile, Lemeruno, who was among those executives, was wearing a cold expression alone.
I suppressed most of the executives using fear, but as expected, Lemeruno seems to have complaints about me.
'Well, she's still useful so I'll use her for a bit... and if she plays tricks, I'll just kill her.'
Having finished that judgment and was smiling with satisfaction, I suddenly began to mutter to myself a thought that occurred to me.
'...For some reason, being the Demon King suits me quite well?'
As I was having such frivolous thoughts, Demirkan next to me coughed and brought up a topic.
"Then, for the next agenda item."
Saying that, I looked at the photo Demirkan had distributed to everyone and began to smile quietly.
"Soon at this slave market that will open, we will secure slaves for the Demon King's Army."
'...Not a chance.'
I still don't know what the Demon King's intention is in making me a highest executive, but I have no intention of being swayed by the system, variables, and the Demon King forever.
So, from now on, I will exploit the Demon King's Army thoroughly while hindering whatever plan she has established as much as possible.
While also relieving some stress, that is.
.
After the long meeting ended, and right after most of the executives had left the conference room.
"...Mr. Demirkan. Let's have a talk."
Lemeruno, who had remained in the conference room until the end, spoke to Demirkan, who had also remained until the end.
"I know well what you want to say."
Then Demirkan, who had been staring down at the desk intently, responded in a cold voice.
"Frey cannot be trusted. He's hiding too much..."
"What if, just what if... he is our Demon King, what will you do then?"
Lemeruno tried to urgently persuade him, but Demirkan interrupted her words and began to speak.
"The Demon Kings I have met until now have always hidden their identity. Their appearance, their status, and even their voice."
Since no one other than Demirkan had ever met the Demon King directly, Lemeruno, who had nothing particular to say, stopped speaking for a moment and began to listen attentively to his words.
"What I know is only that he has about the same height and build as Lord Frey... and that he uses the same arrogant and haughty tone as Lord Frey."
At those words, Lemeruno, who frowned deeply, said with an expression of disbelief.
"Are you saying you'll make a conviction based on such flimsy evidence? In the first place, such things can be..."
"Lord Frey is the first 'Magic Swordsman' to appear in history."
But hearing those words, Lemeruno quietly closed her mouth.
"Furthermore, both his swordsmanship and magical power have simultaneously reached the highest level. Something like that is impossible unless one is the 'Demon King.'"
"But, last time you said the Demon King erased your attack with just a flick of a finger."
Hearing Demirkan's assertion that followed, Lemeruno shook her head and began to rebut.
"The prowess Frey showed today was literally mythological, but it wasn't to the extent of erasing all attacks with just a flick of a finger. So..."
"That is exactly what I will tell you about."
But Demirkan, who interrupted her words once again, began to speak with a serious expression.
"A 'constraint' is placed on the Demon King."
"A constraint?"
"I don't know what kind of constraint it is... but seeing that the Demon King continues to hide his identity and doesn't share the hero's identity, as well as various other actions, it is certain that some unknown power is imposing some kind of 'constraint.'"
Having said that, Demirkan finished speaking in a tone full of conviction.
"And... the same goes for Lord Frey."
"What?"
"Didn't you feel it too? Earlier when Lord Frey was speaking about the hero's identity, he spoke in a roundabout way and avoided some questions."
"...Hmm."
Hearing those words, Lemeruno recalled the earlier memory and quietly fell into thought.
"Well, it's still too early to be certain... but if my guess is correct..."
And Demirkan, looking at such a Lemeruno, smiled and whispered softly.
"...Finally, the Demon King has revealed himself to the world."
It was truly the moment an unprecedented misunderstanding was born.