Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Volume Chapter 3

“Now, let’s get this meeting started. Balto?”

“Indeed.”

With the exact same wording that she used before the war, the Demon Lord begins the meeting.

However, the meeting’s participants have changed since then.

Specifically, they’ve decreased in number.

There were originally ten seats…

But now three of them are vacant.

“Now, let us begin with status reports from each army. The First Army’s leader, Commander Agner, has been killed in battle. The army itself also suffered catastrophic losses. We have since redistributed the survivors into other armies.”

I flip through the document in my hands to relay more information about the First Army’s current situation.

As it happens, this document also contains the reason for the First Army’s demise.

However, I make no mention of that.

Everyone here already knows the reason, and the meaning behind it, too.

The First Army was destroyed in battle with the humans.

However, it was certainly not destroyed by human hands.

The First Army was attacking an important point: Fort Kusorion.

As the most geographically advantageous of the human side’s fortresses, it was formidably built and garrisoned with forces to match.

Which is precisely why we sortied the best troops of the demon army to attack it.

At first, our forces seemed to be evenly matched.

The humans had the edge because they were able to fight from behind their fortifications, but under First Army Commander Agner’s brilliant direction, our army was able to hold its own despite its smaller numbers.

However, the humans gradually began to gain the upper hand thanks to their advantageous position. Then, just as the First Army was beginning to consider retreating, it appeared.

The legendary-class monster, the living calamity: the queen taratect.

Within moments, the battlefield was transformed into the very picture of hell itself.

The queen taratect trampled demons and humans alike, landing devastating blows on both armies.

If anything, the humans likely suffered greater losses with the destruction of their fortress, but it was still nothing to celebrate.

The rumor among the humans is that the demons summoned the unruly queen in a desperate attempt to make a last-minute comeback.

But the truth is far darker than that.

Right from the beginning, that queen taratect was summoned with the intention of destroying both armies at once.

In order to get rid of First Army Commander Agner and his men in one fell swoop.

It was only when I was sorting through his belongings after the battle that I discovered evidence that he’d been secretly colluding with the elves.

For some reason, the Demon Lord had ordered me to take care of his things personally.

Before long, I found plans that involved trying to avert the war with humans, account books documenting profits from contraband trade with the elves, and more damning evidence.

At that point, I realized why the Demon Lord had ordered me specifically to go through his belongings myself.

The Demon Lord knew that Agner had betrayed her and had been working with the elves.

Then, she saw to it that the queen taratect appeared without warning on the battlefield and just so happened to kill him.

But she was making no attempt to hide any of her involvement.

In fact, she made a point of guiding me to information that would lead me to that conclusion.

This could mean only one thing.

She’s declaring that she has no intention of forgiving any traitors.

How could anyone rebel against a Demon Lord who can control legendary monsters as she pleases?

“Now then, a report from the Second Army, if you would.”

“Of course.”

After concluding my detailed report on the First Army, I turn things over to Second Army Commander Sanatoria.

“The Second Army is currently keeping watch from nearby Fort Okun to ensure that the anogratches do not leave the fortress. At present, no such incidents have occurred, and we have suffered no casualties.”

Sanatoria reports smoothly.

Her army hadn’t suffered a single loss in that battle.

That would be because she released monsters called anogratches into the fortress and let them lay waste to it.

Anogratches are a race of primate monsters that form huge swarms to seek revenge if a single one of their kin is killed.

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More frightening still, they never stop attacking until either the murderer who killed one of their own is destroyed or the entire swarm is wiped out.

Sanatoria leveraged their instincts by sending in a single captured anogratch to be killed by one of the fortress’s humans, inciting the rage of the rest of its brood.

Before long, a huge throng of anogratches overwhelmed the fortress, crushing the garrison easily.

The Second Army didn’t even need to lift a finger.

In fact, because the anogratches remain in the fortress, the army can’t afford to move at all.

If the anogratches start to migrate into demon territory, they’re bound to cause damage.

The Second Army has to stay near Fort Okun to ensure that doesn’t happen.

At least, that’s the official story.

In truth, this is actually just an excuse for Sanatoria to keep her army close at hand.

Most of the other armies suffered major losses in the previous battle and are currently in the process of reorganizing, making the Second Army the only force still completely intact.

Of all the remaining armies, Sanatoria retains the one with the most power.

Power to oppose the Demon Lord.

“Say, how would you like to betray the Demon Lord and join me?”

The memory of Sanatoria’s proposal to me comes unbidden to my mind.

“If we keep following that demon lord, eventually we’ll only get used up until there’s nothing left of us. But if we conspire with the elves to coordinate a surprise attack, we should be able to bring even her down.”

After Agner’s death, it seems that the elves forged a new contact with Sanatoria.

With that, she inherited the flag of rebellion by joining hands with the elves.

In response to her invitation, I advised her to drop such foolish ideas immediately, and I turned away.

“Surely you must have some feelings about what happened with Bloe, no?”

I clenched my teeth at her parting words as I left.

As I listen now to the commanders’ reports, my eyes drift to the Seventh Army Commander’s seat.

A seat that is now empty.

Not long ago, my younger brother, Bloe, would have been sitting there.

But that will never happen again.

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Bloe fought the hero head-to-head and lost.

Then, immediately afterward, Tenth Army Commander White defeated the hero.

Very easily, at that.

It’s clear to me, as it should be to anyone, that White deliberately let Bloe die.

She looked on silently as Bloe was killed, even though she had the power to slay the hero instantly.

As if she had been waiting for Bloe to die from the very beginning.

Undoubtedly, my younger brother was killed because the Demon Lord planned for it.

No one will ever understand the pain I felt the moment I realized that.

It felt as if something were boiling over in my stomach, yet I had no choice but to push that down and continue to serve the Demon Lord.

After all, no one in the world can stand against her.

Even if Sanatoria is preserving her army’s strength and colluding with the elves, none of that will mean a thing.

Because the Demon Lord has the power to destroy them all single-handedly.

And yet, certain parties with no understanding of the situation have somehow come to the conclusion that the Demon Lord is weak.

She has yet to fight in a single battle since she became the Demon Lord, leading to rumors that she may not be as strong as she seems. For some reason, a few of my fellows have fallen for it completely.

Sanatoria is one of them.

The reason that the Demon Lord hasn’t been fighting directly isn’t because she’s weak.

No, it’s because her strength is too great, turning any battle in which she participates into a one-sided massacre.

And the Demon Lord doesn’t want that.

She wants the demons to fight and take as many lives as possible while they do it.

That’s why she uses the armies instead of doing it herself, despite the fact that if she really wanted to, she could forgo everything else and trample her enemies entirely on her own.

On top of that, that very same Demon Lord has White at her disposal, who was able to kill a hero instantly.

Why would I ever pick a fight with someone like that?

To avenge my brother?

She did let him die, yes, but the hero is the one who actually struck him down.

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I cannot resent the Demon Lord for that.

If I ever displease her, it would be tantamount to giving up on the fate of all demons.

In the end, I must swear my allegiance to the Demon Lord.

Compared to the fate of our entire race, my personal feelings are scarcely enough to tip the scales at all.

Sanatoria simply doesn’t understand that.

“Next, the Third Army Commander, if you please.”

My voice is cold as I address the Third Army Commander, Kogou.

This man is secretly working with Sanatoria.

Sanatoria tried to hide the fact that she was collaborating with him, but did she really think I wouldn’t find out?

If so, she’s more naive than I thought.

“Th-the Third Army’s current status is, erm, as follows…”

Kogou stutters through his report.

His fighting abilities are quite high, but his intelligence is not much to speak of.

I’m sure Sanatoria simply sweet-talked him into cooperating with her.

Perhaps she even took advantage of his gentle personality and aversion to war.

Barely listening to his report, I look over at the seat of the Sixth Army Commander.

This seat, too, is vacant.

If he were alive, the seat’s former occupant, Huey, would likely be working with Sanatoria as well.

While he was still around, Huey was very close with Sanatoria.

If he heard that Sanatoria was working with the elves, I have no doubt he would have joined her without hesitation.

He was a childish commander, both in looks and personality.

I heard that his army came up against forces led by Ronandt, said to be the strongest human mage alive, and was struck down by the magic of Ronandt himself.

To my knowledge, he’s the only commander so far who lost purely to the strength of the human army and not because of the Demon Lord’s machinations.

Still, it’s not as though Huey was particularly weaker than the other commanders.

Though he may have been a bit immature, his strength and intellect made him worthy of his position.

It was simply that Ronandt was even stronger and wiser.

Rather than speaking ill of Huey for losing, it would be wiser to commend Ronandt for winning.

Even if he did survive, considering that Sanatoria may have been using him, it’s possible he was better off dying on the battlefield after losing to such a skilled opponent.

“The Tenth Army has finished reorganizing.”

The short statement brings me back to reality.

White, the Tenth Army Commander, has given the final report.

She seems to have no inclination to give any further details, as she says no more after that brief sentence.

I have very little idea of the movements or composition of the Tenth Army.

Most likely, the Demon Lord gives her orders to White directly, using the army in her own particular way.

I look at White again.

Truly, there is no other way to describe her but “white.”

She doesn’t look like someone who could obliterate a hero effortlessly, but the Demon Lord herself is proof that appearances have no connection to strength.

This girl is the Demon Lord’s ace in the hole, her greatest vassal.

“All right. Guess that wraps up the reports, huh? Let’s get down to today’s main topic, then.”

Deciding that the reports have reached a good stopping point, the Demon Lord clears her throat.

Unaware of the circumstances, most of the commanders seem surprised to hear the Demon Lord speak of her own accord.

In most meetings, she leaves everything to me and hardly speaks at all. They undoubtedly find this development suspicious.

“Basically, I’m going to take command of my army, the Fourth Army, the Eighth Army, and the Tenth Army to go destroy the elves now.”

This unexpected declaration shakes the commanders to their core.

No doubt Sanatoria and Third Army Commander Kogou are the most distressed by the news.

The two of them are secretly colluding with the elves, after all.

“Yeah, I’m kinda sick of them, so I figure it’s about time to have them disappear. Until we get back, the other armies are to reorganize and maintain security. And make sure the humans don’t try to attack us or anything. Got it?”

The Demon Lord’s tone is light as ever.

Sanatoria and Kogou must be panicking on the inside.

“Oh, but don’t think you can get an attack of opportunity on me while I’m busy with the enemy, ’kay? ’Cause that won’t work.”

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As if to deal a final blow to their rebellion, the Demon Lord shoots off her last comment with a smile.

Sanatoria and Kogou turn visibly pale.

See? It’s exactly like I told you.

Don’t even try.

The Demon Lord outmatches all of us not only in raw power but in every way imaginable.

She’s monstrous in ways that we could never begin to measure.

There is no way to defeat her.

If that demon lord says she’s going to destroy something, it will surely be destroyed beyond recognition.

The fate of the elves is already sealed.