Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Volume Chapter 8

Hey, it’s me.

What, you thought I was dead?

Well, TOO BAD! I’m totally alive!

How did I survive, you ask?

By using the mini-me revival method I mentioned a while back, DUH.

The mini-mes might seem like clones, but they’re basically an extension of my body.

Even if you detach them from the original, aka me, they’re still a part of me.

And the “original” is just where my consciousness happens to be residing at the moment. Its makeup isn’t actually all that different from that of my clones.

Sure, there’s the question of whether it takes the form of a human or a spider, but that’s small potatoes.

What’s important is the soul inside it, not the details of the physical body.

And I’ve already transferred that soul from one vessel to another by way of egg revival before I was deified, so I figured there’s no reason it wouldn’t work now.

So when I was caught in a real pinch, I just ditched the body I’d been using all that time and transferred myself into one of my random clones. Boom! Instant resurrection.

Whew. I’ve still got plenty of extra lives!

Way more than that old dude in overalls who gets more lives when he eats green mushrooms!

If you see one of me, you better call an exterminator, ’cause there’s probably a hundred more where that came from!

So yeah, I basically can’t die unless something totally bonkers happens, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna go around using up my extra lives like it’s no big deal.

I don’t need to remind you that my clones are so weak that a single stomp could crush them.

And since I’ve lost my main body, that means I had to hop into one of those.

I can’t seem to do anything about how weak these clones are at the moment, so I’m doomed to get a lot weaker after I use this revival method.

Although I guess the one small mercy is that I’ll return to my original strength if given enough time. All I have to do is get through this inevitable period of weakness.

My palm-size body gets a whole lot bigger over the course of a couple of days, sprouts a human top half from the trunk, and eventually returns to my hard-won human form.

Pretty impressive recovery, or rather “regrowth,” if I do say so myself.

It’s far removed from any normal creature’s healing process, but hey, I am technically a god.

I’m sure this is totally super-normal.

…Then again, that means other gods are probably at least as immortal as I am, which is actually pretty scary.

But I gotta say, this revival period gave me the perfect excuse to avoid a lot of annoying post-battle chores, so maybe it’s not so bad.

Yeah. I let Vampy know that I’m more or less fine, but I won’t be able to move for a few days, so I basically dumped all the work on her.

That made things a whole lot easier.

The battle in the northern town pretty much ended while I was busy reviving.

Thanks in no small part to Mr. Oni, the mammoth task of capturing an entire town was accomplished in a relatively short amount of time.

The ringleader behind the rebels, the lord of the northern town, was captured, and the rebel soldiers have all been disarmed and gathered in one place.

There are still some rebels from other areas who hadn’t reached the northern town yet, but since the place that served as their main base has been thoroughly crushed, they don’t have the strength to put up organized resistance anymore.

It’s probably safe to say that the rebel army is over and done with.

Now all we need to do is rebuild the northern town and appoint a new lord, and this whole problem will be taken care of.

Okay, those tasks are actually a huge pain, but we can leave all that to Balto.

Once I’m done recovering, I can just stroll back into the duke’s mansion like nothing happened.

…But when I did return to the mansion, there was a summons from the Demon Lord waiting for me.

“Oh good, you’re here.”

After receiving the summons, I headed to the Demon Lord’s castle.

There’s already a small group of people gathered there in a large room when I enter.

The Demon Lord is sitting at the head of the table, the leader of the rebel army is standing in the middle of the room, and a bunch of other important-looking people are seated around a table facing him.

At a glance, the scene reminds me of a courtroom.

The defendant, the judge, and the jury.

And considering what’s about to happen, I guess my impression isn’t too far off.

We’re having a trial to determine the fate of Mr. Warkis, the leader of the rebel army.

But Mr. Warkis doesn’t get a lawyer, and of course, the presiding judge is the Demon Lord herself.

So it’s pretty obvious that he’s gonna get slapped with a guilty verdict, y’know?

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The participants in this more or less rigged trial are all big-name demons.

Sitting closest to the Demon Lord is our old pal Colonel, who serves as the First Army Commander of the Demon Lord’s army.

Uh, what’s his real name again? Agner, I think.

He’s got such a commanding, militant presence that he looks way more dignified than the little girl who’s actually the Demon Lord.

Sitting opposite the Colonel is Balto, and right next to him is Deadbeat, who’s sitting there grumpily with his arms crossed.

And for some reason, Mera and Mr. Oni are standing behind them.

The rest of the jury is all people I’ve never met before…but I more or less know who they are thanks to the information I’ve gathered with my mini-mes.

The first one who grabs my attention is Boobs.

Yeah, I know. Not the classiest nickname.

But can you blame me?!

That’s the first thing anyone would notice about her! I can barely tear my eyes away!

Seriously, what the hell? Are those real?

Like, y’know how people normally compare a really big rack to melons or whatever?

I always thought boobs of that caliber existed only in the realm of 2D, so imagine my surprise when I saw them in real life for the very first time.

When they’re THAT big, well…it kinda just turns the whole thing into a joke, to be honest.

I can’t even bring myself to focus on her face or anywhere else.

Man, it’s a good thing I figured out how to use x-ray vision. Otherwise, everyone would know that I’m staring at her boobs.

Anyway, Miss Boobs’s real name is Sanatoria.

She might look like a sexy, sultry supermodel with nothing going for her but the aforementioned lethal weapons, but she’s the commander of the Second Army of the Demon Lord’s forces.

As you may have gathered at this point, all of the army commanders are here.

I imagine they don’t have a lot of free time, so since they’re all gathered at the same time, you can tell this rebellion thing was a pretty big deal.

The Third Army Commander is a muscle-bound behemoth—the total opposite of Miss Boobs.

He’s got a seriously ripped bod with visible battle scars. He’s the perfect image of a seasoned combat veteran.

…Buuut you can tell from his wimpy expression that he’s bound to be unreliable.

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Since he’s got the title of commander and all, you know those muscles aren’t just for show; he must be really powerful. But the way he’s absolutely oozing nervous energy, I can’t really take him seriously.

The Gentle Giant’s name is Kogou.

Number four is Balto, so we’ll skip him.

The Fifth Army Commander is a guy named Darad. To sum him up in a word, he’s basically like a foreigner’s poor misconception of a samurai.

Okay, that’s more than one word, but there’s no other way to describe it.

Like, I know he’s not actually cosplaying or anything, but for some reason, he looks like a Kabuki actor. And yet, he has the air of a straitlaced warrior about him.

What else would you call it if not a knockoff samurai?

He’s probably dead serious about that getup, of course, and it’s probably just a coincidence that his hair and outfit happen to come together and make him look that way to me.

Nobody else here ever makes any snarky comments about it.

Maybe it’s just because I have memories of Japan?

Either way, my private nickname for Darad is definitely Mr. Samurai.

Moving on, the Sixth Army Commander’s nickname is Shota.

Look, I get that demons live longer than humans, so they can look a lot younger than their real age, but this boy still looks especially young, hence my nickname for him.

He’s probably an adult, but to me, all I see is a little kid.

There are always people like that, who look impossibly young even when they get older.

I’ve heard that Japanese people’s features seem that way to most foreigners, but in the case of Shota here, his youthful face pairs perfectly with his short stature.

I gotta say, having just one person who looks like a kid among all these adults really stands out.

Huh? The Demon Lord?

Nah, she’s an exception. You’re not supposed to count her.

Shota’s real name is Huey

Which brings us to number seven, and guess what? The Seventh Army Commander is none other than the leader of the rebel army, Mr. Warkis himself.

Seems like most of the rebel army were members of the Seventh Army, too.

So we’ve got Colonel, Boobs, Gentle Giant, Mr. Samurai, and Shota. Plus the leader of the rebel army.

Geez, talk about a colorful cast of characters!

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By comparison, numbers eight, nine, and ten are pretty boring.

The Eighth Army Commander is a sheepish older guy, the Ninth looks like a capable office worker, and the Tenth is a dude who’s kinda handsome but looks like the unlucky type.

Sure, they’ve all got unique characteristics, but they don’t stand out much compared to the rest of this rowdy bunch.

And honestly, they don’t matter as much.

Sure, they’ve earned the title of commander, but these three don’t actually have their own armies to speak of at the moment.

During wartime, they had proper armies, but since the war with the humans is suspended right now, their forces were disbanded, since the demons don’t have a ton of soldiers to spare. While they’ve technically kept their posts, they’re not in charge of anyone at the moment.

So what do these three actually do? Internal affairs, it turns out.

They help run the government along with Balto, who leaves most of his army’s affairs in the hands of his little brother, Deadbeat.

Anyway, with all these guys in one room, it’s essentially a meeting of all the demon race’s big players.

“Over here, White. Have a seat.”

The Demon Lord directs me to a chair…right next to her.

Uh, isn’t this where someone really important normally sits?

Now all these people I’ve never met before are staring at me…

Stop it! Don’t look at me like that!

I shuffle over as discreetly as I can and have a seat.

“Okay, now that we’re all here, let’s get started.”

The Demon Lord begins the meeting, ignoring my dismay.

That means all eyes turn to the Demon Lord, which means they’re also looking at the person sitting right next to her, aka me.

Wow, I am super-uncomfortable right now.

“Okay. I’m sure you’re all aware by now that Seventh Army Commander Warkis was plotting a rebellion. Although it didn’t amount to anything, since our dear White here sniffed out his plans before he could make a move.”

On hearing that, most of the eyes in the room move to Mr. Warkis or me.

Just focus on the guy on trial here, pleeease.

“It appears that the rebellion was primarily made up of Seventh Army soldiers, but there were a few members from some other commands, too, apparently. Pretty weird, right?”

Uh-huh. There were soldiers from all over the demon territory.

So it definitely wasn’t just Seventh Army soldiers filling out the rebel army.

But we’re not sure if those soldiers were acting on their own or sent there by their superiors.

Either way, any of the armies that produced traitors are probably gonna be feeling real uncomfortable right now.

Although since these guys are pros and all, the leaders who had traitors in their ranks are all maintaining perfect poker faces, even while enduring the Demon Lord’s accusatory tone.

Oh, actually, Third Army Commander Gentle Giant is kinda sweating it out over there.

“Well, I’ll follow up with each force later. Right now, we’re here to decide how to deal with Warkis and the Seventh Army.”

The Demon Lord looks around at the commanders as she speaks.

But I dunno if that’s really a question…

“Although obviously, Warkis is gonna be executed.”

Yeah, I figured. He did try to start a rebellion, after all.

“Any objections? Hmm?”

Nobody makes a move to respond to this question, which seems to mostly be a formality anyway.

Even Deadbeat is watching in silence, although he doesn’t look too thrilled.

Of course he’s not gonna try to stick his neck out for the leader of a rebellion.

“All right. If there are no objections, then that’s settled.”

Just like that, his death sentence has been decided.

Geez, that was quick.

They sure don’t value life all that much in this world.

“Anything you’d like to say to defend yourself, Warkis?” the Demon Lord asks.

“Naturally.”

The defendant responds in a surprisingly strong tone.

He’s just been marked for execution, but he doesn’t seem the least bit shaken.

Is he seriously gonna try to defend himself?

I can’t tell if he’s being brave or what. Maybe he figures now that he’s got nothing to lose, he might as well give her a piece of his mind.

“Any fool who wishes to declare war on the humans without a single thought for the future is unfit to be the Demon Lord. I simply acted accordingly. That is all.”

Oh, wow.

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This guy just insulted the Demon Lord to her face.

Guess he’s feeling pretty defiant after all.

“A fool, am I?”

“Certainly. We cannot allow an ignorant brat who doesn’t even understand the demon race’s plight to continue to wreak havoc with our future.”

Daaaamn, tell us how you really feel.

Little do you know, this “brat” is actually a whole lot older than you.

Also, she understands the demon race’s plight extremely well; she’s simply decided to pit them against the humans anyway.

Hmm… Wait, isn’t that worse?

“You call me a traitor. But from my perspective, it is you all, who continue to cooperate with this fool and lick her boots, who are the true traitors to the demon race.”

Mr. Warkis glares around the room at the other commanders.

Their reactions vary: Some look away awkwardly, some steadily return his gaze, some keep their thoughts from showing on their faces, and…

Uh, Deadbeat? Why are you nodding along like you totally agree with what he’s saying?!

Whose side are you on anyway?!

“Traitors, hmm…?”

Despite Warkis’s harsh accusations against the Demon Lord and her commanders, she seems totally unfazed.

In fact, she’s even smiling a little as she watches Mr. Warkis, who takes the opportunity to let his passions run even wilder.

“All of you! If you care about the demon race, what better time to act than now?! Surely, it is not too late to cast out this pretender and bring our race back to the proper path?!”

Hmm.

Depending on how you look at it, this moment could be the perfect opportunity to act on their grievances.

The Demon Lord doesn’t have a single guard, and everyone here is a powerful military commander.

If the majority of them decided to double-cross her right now, she’d have to fend them all off, with me as her only certain ally.

And several of the armies sent soldiers to aid the rebellion. If that was at the behest of their commanders, that means some of these guys are with the rebels.

They probably didn’t have time to make any arrangements beforehand, but they could very well answer Mr. Warkis’s call by drawing their weapons right here and now.

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…Although whether they’d actually stand a chance of winning is another story.

“Is that all you have to say?”

The first person to break the silence in this powder keg situation is none other than the Colonel.

“Lord Agner?!”

“Warkis. Whatever nonsense you may bluster about, they are naught but the meaningless excuses of a traitor. If you truly care for the demon race, as you say, then all that remains for you to do is take yourself to the chopping block and lay down your head. For a demon to speak out against the Demon Lord is inexcusable. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Ohhhh damn!

The Colonel’s got one hell of a presence.

Being recognized as one of the most powerful demons by the Demon Lord herself, he knows his words carry some serious weight.

And now that a big shot like him has shut down Warkis so firmly, the other commanders can’t really make any stupid moves, since the Colonel basically just declared that he’s siding with the Demon Lord.

It was already an unstable situation where the commanders were mostly stealing uncertain glances at one another, so things could have gone either way, but now that the Colonel’s cast the first stone, it’s pretty much guaranteed that nobody else is gonna make a move.

I’m sure he spoke up right away knowing full well what effect his words would have, too.

This guy’s good.

“But, Lord Agner, you—”

“I care deeply for the demon race, too, of course. But that has nothing to do with this. It does not justify turning against the Demon Lord.”

After this unwavering declaration by the Colonel, who holds as much or maybe even more sway in this room than the Demon Lord, Warkis’s shoulders sag as if he realizes that he’s lost.

Then he looks up at the ceiling and speaks in a quiet but determined voice.

“I still do not believe…that what I did was wrong.”

Hmm.

Here I thought this guy was just some small-fry who got used by the elves, but he’s got guts.

That sure casts him in a better light than the commanders who supported the rebel army but are now quietly hoping all the blame falls on him.

“Yeah, no. You were wrong, that’s for sure.” A cold voice cuts through Warkis’s bold declaration. “You just don’t get it, do you? I mean, seriously.”

It’s the Demon Lord. She’s still smiling as she looks at Warkis, but she seems kind of pissed.

“A traitor against demons? Ugh. You’re thinking way too small. How stupid can you get?”

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Warkis glares back at her, his eyes brimming with hatred, as she speaks in an unmoved voice.

But before he can open his mouth, she continues, her words low and heavy.

“If you wanna talk treachery, it’s you guys who are the real traitors. Against the gods, against the world.”

This isn’t an Intimidation thing.

The Demon Lord uses the Concealment skill to suppress the effects of her Intimidation skill, so it’s not active right now.

Her words are just that compelling.

“You called me a fool, didn’t you? But demons are the biggest fools in this whole world. The very culprits who mistreated a god, who violated a taboo, who nearly destroyed this planet, shouldn’t go around prattling about their right to live. They have no such thing.”

A paralyzing chill runs up my spine.

How much deep-seated hatred does it take to make a voice sound like this?

Maybe I don’t know the Demon Lord very well after all.

I always think of her as a good, softhearted person, generous enough to take a former enemy like me under her wing and secretly a font of bottomless kindness.

But that’s not all there is to her.

Of course it isn’t.

She’s a living witness to history.

As the oldest of the Ancient Divine Beasts, she’s lived in this world long enough to see the cruelty of man with her own eyes and feel the devotion of a god firsthand.

When I absorbed the soul of Mother, the Demon Lord’s offspring, I learned what that truly meant.

Or at least, I thought I did.

But knowing and truly understanding are two different things.

She’s not just some good-natured softy.

The countless years she’s endured have made the Demon Lord who she is.

Without a doubt, she’s the evilest, scariest demon lord to have ever lived.

She’s peered into the darkness of this world more than anyone else—enough that it’s a miracle she can still dredge up kindness from the depths of her heart.

“Okay, sooo! Let’s get this execution started!”

The Demon Lord says this next part in an extra-cheerful voice, as if to hide the darkness she’d let slip into her voice.

…Um, it’s even scarier when you say something like that in a cheerful voice, y’know.

Look, the other commanders are totally creeped out!

“Hey, Bloe.”

“Hunh?”

True to his nickname, Deadbeat responds to the Demon Lord’s summons with a grunt.

Next to him, Balto clutches his forehead. Must be tough having such a pain in the ass for a little brother.

Deadbeat, are you trying to kill your own brother with sheer stress or what?

“Execute Warkis for me.”

“Huh?”

Deadbeat gapes dumbly, as if he either doesn’t understand the Demon Lord’s order or maybe he just doesn’t want to understand it.

“Did I stutter? I want you to kill Warkis. Right now.”

“Wait, what? Hang on a sec! Why me?!”

Deadbeat stands up so fast, his chair falls over as he responds in a panicked tone.

Yeah, I guess most people would be alarmed if they were suddenly ordered to murder someone.

“Why, you ask? I would think you would understand that better than anyone, no?”

“Huh? No, I have no idea!”

Oh boy. He really doesn’t, does he?

I guess this guy is an idiot through and through.

Obviously, the Demon Lord is testing his loyalty.

I mean, Deadbeat makes no secret of the fact that he doesn’t like her or her plans.

So she’s forcing him to prove his allegiance by killing Mr. Warkis, who actually did rebel against the Demon Lord, with his own hands.

I guess this serves as a warning to the others of what happens to traitors, too.

“Bloe.”

“Brother! Come on—help me out here.”

Deadbeat seems to have interpreted Balto’s saying his name as a lifeline.

“Do it.”

But his brother simply tells him to obey the Demon Lord’s command.

“Brother…?”

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“You have to. Prove your innocence to Her Majesty the Demon Lord. Show that there is no doubt that you would never aid the rebellion.”

At this, Deadbeat appears to finally understand what the Demon Lord thinks of him.

Well, yeah. He’s always shown an attitude of blatant defiance toward her, and she mentioned at the beginning of the meeting that some of the other armies contributed soldiers to the rebel ranks. It’s only natural to put two and two together and guess that Deadbeat might have helped the rebels.

In reality, though, Deadbeat did no such thing.

It was a different commander who aided the rebel army.

And Balto knows that, too.

So I guess if he’s telling him to do it anyway, he must have his own opinions about Deadbeat’s attitude.

Maybe he thinks that at this rate, Deadbeat might try to start something, too. Or maybe he’s worried that the next time something happens, Deadbeat will be the one who gets sacrificed like Warkis to prove a point.

He’s definitely the easiest scapegoat, if you ask me. Given his usual attitude, everyone else would just think, Yeah, I figured as much.

“Wait a minute, Brother. I know he’s being executed, but does that really mean we have to kill him right now? Don’t we have to, y’know, interrogate him and stuff?”

Oof, buddy, that is not the best look for you right now.

Sure, he’s not wrong. There’s no real reason to carry out the execution right away, and it’d be a smart move to try to squeeze information out of him first, too.

But by saying that now, Deadbeat will make everyone think that he doesn’t want to kill Warkis.

Even though he doesn’t actually have any ties to the rebel army, you can’t blame people for suspecting him with that kind of attitude.

He probably really does sympathize with Warkis, emotionally speaking.

“Bloe!”

All too aware of this, his brother, Balto, snaps a warning.

If he doesn’t shake any suspicions off Deadbeat now, it’s possible that he’ll be suspected of involvement, too, being his older brother.

“Urk…!”

Hearing the tension in his brother’s voice, Bloe appears to realize his own error.

But he’s still not moving yet.

“Ahhh, I guess it might be tough unarmed, huh? Here, use this.”

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The Demon Lord tosses a knife over to Deadbeat; it lands on the table in front of him with a thud.

Deadbeat stares at the knife, then raises his head to look at Warkis, who looks back at him in expressionless silence.

“I don’t—”

“I’ll not be reduced to experience points for this fool!”

Just as Deadbeat is about to speak, Warkis lunges forward with a shout.

He runs over to Deadbeat, grabs the knife, and stabs it downward.

For a moment, no one can move.

No, I guess a few of us probably could, but no one did.

I guess I fall in the latter camp.

“For the future…of the demon race…”

The knife sinks deep into Warkis’s own stomach.

He then goes as far as slitting his own throat before jabbing the knife into his heart.

I guess since there are stats in this world that make people harder to kill, suicide methods have to be a lot more extreme.

Which makes Warkis’s manner of death all the more dramatic.

And, at the same time, heroic.

I always thought that you’d have to be an idiot to take your own life.

If you have the good fortune to be alive, and you decide to give that up of your own volition, there’s something wrong with you for sure.

From that perspective, Warkis’s actions seem really stupid, too.

But beneath the part of me that feels that way, I also feel the urge to commend him for the way he lived.

Mr. Warkis had convictions and pride.

He didn’t just meander through life—he dedicated himself to his principles, to what he believed was right.

But no matter how much pride and conviction you have, you also need the strength to see them through.

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And if you have strength but no pride or conviction, you’re just violent and dangerous.

Take Potimas, for instance. He’s got plenty of power, but he lives without a code, so he’s nothing but a plague.

Power and pride.

You gotta have both.

Without the former, you’ll just fall on your way to the top, like Warkis, and without pride, you’ll just be a pest like Potimas.

Life is tough like that.

But Mr. Warkis stuck firmly to his beliefs until his dying breath.

Taking your own life might not align with my personal beliefs, but I still want to show respect for the way he lived.

“Bloe.”

The Demon Lord’s voice echoes through the frozen silence of the room.

Bloe, in shock with Warkis’s blood splattered over him, looks up in a daze.

“Out of respect for Warkis, I won’t press the matter any further today.”

Deadbeat grimaces at her detached tone, but before he can say or do anything, Balto pushes his head down and bows alongside him.

“We deeply appreciate your generosity, O Great Demon Lord.”

I can’t see Deadbeat’s expression, since Balto’s holding him in a bow, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s grinding his teeth.

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, you can take over as Warkis’s successor, then, Bloe.”

The Demon Lord delivers this finishing blow to Deadbeat with a wicked smile.

“Release the captured members of the Seventh Army and use them along with your own men. It’d be a waste to execute that many soldiers at a time like this, so we’re gonna put ’em to good use.”

In other words, she’s putting the rebel army in Deadbeat’s hands as is.

Deadbeat already resents the Demon Lord, and she’s putting him in charge of a bunch of guys who already rebelled against her once before.

Yikes, what an awful combo. Even Balto looks disturbed.

“To that end, you’ll be making the northern town your base. So take care of restoration and stuff, too.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Again, before Deadbeat can protest, Balto speaks up for him.

You can tell he doesn’t intend to let his little brother say another word.

“Balto, you’ll be in charge of the Fourth Army for now, but I’ll probably find someone else to take it over for Bloe soon so you can focus on administration stuff.”

The Demon Lord glances over at Mera and Mr. Oni.

Maybe that means they’re the top contenders to lead Balto’s army.

Ohhh, so that’s why they’re here. I knew she must’ve wanted to introduce them to the other commanders for a reason.

“I’m planning to put together a proper army for the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth soon, too. But I want you guys to keep helping with domestic affairs, so I’ll probably make other people the commanders instead. That means you’ll lose the title, so your pay’s gonna go down, but you’re fine with that, right?”

The three army-less commanders nod silently without so much as an unpleasant face among them.

Well, yeah, I wouldn’t put my life on the line to complain about a pay cut, either.

“All right, I think that’s about it. You’re dismissed! Oh, White and you two over there, hang back for a minute.”

The Demon Lord breaks up the meeting but gestures for Mera, Mr. Oni, and me to stay.

The Colonel stands up and starts to walk toward Mr. Warkis’s body.

“You can leave that there. I’ll clean it up later.”

At that, the Colonel stops his march, turns on his heel, bows silently to the Demon Lord, and leaves the room without another word. The rest of the commanders file out after him.

Deadbeat looks furious—You’re gonna keep disgracing his body like that?! is written all over his face—but Balto drags him out forcefully before he can say anything.

Once all the commanders are gone, Mera quietly closes the door.

As soon as he’s done, the Demon Lord deliberately opens and closes her mouth.

Just like that, Mr. Warkis’s body is gone from the floor, without a speck of blood left behind.

One look at the way the Demon Lord’s mouth is munching answers the question of where it went.

She must have used her Gluttony skill to consume the corpse.

If Deadbeat saw this, he’d probably lose his mind, but it’s not really like that at all.

My Parallel Mind, the former body brain, fused with the Demon Lord. So I know exactly what that gesture means.

It’s probably not clear to anyone else but me, but the Demon Lord isn’t eating Warkis’s body as a mockery. In fact, it’s the opposite.

She’s eating him without leaving a single drop of blood as a sign of respect. I know that without a doubt.

As I watch the Demon Lord chewing in silence, there’s not a trace of the smirk she wore throughout the meeting. A certain emotion shows through her expression, to the point that you might suspect she was a different person entirely.

She’s brimming with sorrow and grim resolve.

“You okay?”

That’s right. It’s so bad that I actually open my mouth and say something.

The Demon Lord looks so startled by my spoken question that she accidentally swallows what’s left in her mouth.

Mera and Mr. Oni stare at me with surprise, too.

H-hey, I talk once in a while, and I worry about others on occasion, too, okay?!

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Don’t look at me like this is some earth-shattering revelation! It’s insulting!

“Pfft!”

The Demon Lord snorts, possibly noticing my annoyance.

“Heh-heh…ah-ha-ha-ha!”

Now she’s laughing her head off.

Which only makes me scowl even more.

And Mera and Mr. Oni clearly have no idea how to react.

“Okay, okay. Sorry for laughing. Really. Uh…yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.” When she finally catches her breath for a moment, the Demon Lord shares a word of gratitude. “Yeah, I’m okay. Really. I made up my mind to deal with all this a long time ago.”

With that, she returns to her usual smile.

I can tell it’s not just an act because of the look in her eyes.

…Man, she’s strong.

And I don’t mean her stats or skills. If anything, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

No, the real source of the Demon Lord’s strength is that heart of hers.

She feels guilt for having to box the demon race into a corner like this, but she still has the pride and conviction to stick with it.

She’s an incredibly kind person deep down, yet she’s resolved to walk the thorny path of a villain.

Even if it means trampling her own conscience, she’s got the inner strength to keep going.

Warkis may have had pride and conviction, but he didn’t have power.

The Demon Lord has all three of those things, in far greater supply than Warkis ever did.

So what about me?

I’ve got strength, that’s for sure. But what about pride and conviction?

…I’ve lived a pretty reckless life so far.

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Almost everything I’ve done was to make sure I could stand and face enemies who threatened my very existence, instead of running away.

I’ve lived my life with pride in my own way…or at least, I thought so.

But looking at folks like Warkis and the Demon Lord, I’m not so sure.

In the end, did I really have any pride and conviction, or have I been living simply to survive?

I wish I could deny that with more certainty, but it’s hard when the Demon Lord sets such a shining example. When I see the way she lives her life with such pride and confidence, I can’t help but look up to her.

And if I’m looking up to her, that means we’re not on the same level, y’know?

I can’t help but be drawn to that glow of hers.

“Okay, White. I had you stay back because I wanted to share some information with you. Although the matter in question is a little bit troublesome.”

Hmm.

If the Demon Lord’s calling it “a little bit troublesome”…doesn’t that mean it’s actually a pretty big deal?

Mm, I can’t think of many things she would be that worried about, though…

If anything, maybe it’s those damn elves again? But I’ve got a decent idea of what’s going on there already… In fact, I’m the one who trespassed on Potimas’s property.

I crushed the whole base that was connected to the northern town, including Potimas, although it was kind of a draw, since I lost my own body in the process.

But I’m sure that Potimas wasn’t the real thing, so he’ll probably pop up to bother us again.

I even had the Demon Lord put on a little act so Potimas thinks I’m actually dead.

Sure, there’s a chance he might see that as an opportunity to attack us with everything he’s got, but knowing Potimas, I don’t think that’s too likely.

That guy’s all about being cost-effective, y’know?

He probably figured he could use the rebel army as a vehicle to deal some damage to us, but since the rebellion came to an abrupt end, and I even crushed a base of his and caused him some major losses of his own, I’m almost positive he’s gonna keep to himself for a while.

Plus, since I destroyed his precious teleport gate, he doesn’t have a convenient shortcut into the demon realm anymore.

Physical distance is a deciding factor in this world, so it’d be tough for some no-good elf to try to invade a territory located at the far end of the world.

Especially when the Demon Lord’s already ordered elves to stay out of demon territory.

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So it’d be pretty tough for any elves to get up to no good in the demon territory undetected.

I guess it’s possible he had other teleport gates or something, but after this incident, Potimas is probably being extra careful about not letting any information leak.

So if he has any other valuable teleport gates, he’d probably be extra careful not to do anything to draw attention to them… At least, that’s my optimistic outlook.

Besides, teleport gates are super-valuable, so I’m sure he doesn’t have that many of them lying around.

…Right?

Okay, I guess I’ll have my clones investigate just in case.

But overall, that still means that it’d be difficult for elves to get up to anything else in demon lands right now.

Which means the effort involved would far outweigh any possible benefits.

That’s the worst possible situation for someone like Potimas, who’s obsessed with being cost-effective.

And since he thinks he’s killed me, that’ll probably satisfy him enough to keep him from going after us too intently for a while.

Although I’m alive and well, thank you very much!

Which means this probably doesn’t have anything to do with the elves… So what could the “troublesome” topic be?

“We’ve found a new reincarnation.”

Oh, so that’s it, huh?

That explains why she wanted to keep it to this group in particular, then.

Mr. Oni is a reincarnation, and Mera has ties to them by way of Vampy.

“I’ll remember to tell Sophia about it later, but I couldn’t exactly have her come here, y’know?”

Yeah, I guess bringing a literal child to an assembly of military commanders would be a little weird.

“I’ll have Wrath take it from here, since he’s the one who found out firsthand.”

With that, the Demon Lord looks to Mr. Oni.

Hmm? Mr. Oni met a reincarnation?

What? Where?

Thinking about it, when could he possibly have had the time to find a reincarnation? While he was blowing up the rebel army?

Besides, finding another reincarnation might be a troublesome topic for those of us directly involved, but why would the Demon Lord be that concerned about it?

It doesn’t really have much to do with her. Why would she call it “troublesome”?

Uh-oh. I’m starting to get a really bad feeling about this.

“I met our teacher. During the battle. She was fighting alongside the rebels in the northern town. As one of the elves.”

……Huh?

…What?

Whaaaat?!