Year 1507 of the Continental Calendar.
Scholars lamented in unison — across both the Human Realm and the Demon Realm alike.
The previous year, the Crescent Alliance Army war had begun and eventually reached a lull. But the moment that lull set in, humans and demons alike plunged into civil war. At this very moment, when unity was most desperately needed, why were both humans and demons busy fighting amongst themselves?
'If even one race had its act together, the continent would have been unified long ago.'
Scholars would sneer with cold cynicism.
In the Frank Empire, the Emperor faction and the Empress Dowager faction dragged in foreign powers to wage bloody battles against each other. In the Habsburg Republic, the Plains Faction and Agares clashed over territorial disputes. At the moment when harmony and integration were needed most, these people were turning their blades upon their own allies……
Of course, there was something excessively unjust about such criticism.
Who would order the Frank Emperor — stripped of all power by his own mother and reduced to a mere puppet — to 'sacrifice yourself for the sake of continental peace'?
Who would tell Agares — left chasing chickens while the dog got everything, after Barbatos seized all of his territory — to 'patiently endure for the sake of the entire Demon Realm'?
That was the situation. Just as scholars clung to their own perspectives while singing hymns to continental peace, so too did the Frank Emperor Henri, the Queen of Bretagne Henrietta, Demon Lord Barbatos, and Demon Lord Agares — every last one of them merely held firm to their own perspectives.
While all of them walked their own paths, a very small number of individuals occasionally looked not only ahead but also around them. And sometimes, they came to realize something.
"It's Dantalion."
Consul Elisabeth said.
Elisabeth was reading a booklet with her tired eyes. Fatigue had gathered thickly beneath them, but her gaze remained sharp.
This was the office of the Republic's Consul. Only the government's senior officials were permitted entry. Desks, documents, chairs — that was it. Every form of lavish decoration had been deliberately restrained, lending the room an almost cold impression. Elisabeth sat in a wooden chair.
"Hm?"
Hearing the name Elisabeth had muttered under her breath, the secretary seated nearby raised her head. The name was unfamiliar enough that her reaction came a beat late.
"I apologize, Your Excellency. I didn't quite catch that."
"Look at this."
Elisabeth tossed the pamphlet at her secretary. It was an uncommonly rude gesture for a Consul. Flustered, the female secretary fumbled to catch it. The booklet was rather thin. What about this could possibly have rubbed Her Excellency the wrong way?
"There's no title on the cover…"
"The author's name is listed."
"Jean Vollet? My knowledge is lacking—I'm afraid I've never heard of him."
The secretary carefully opened the pamphlet. It took her twenty minutes to read it cover to cover. Elisabeth asked.
"Uria. What do you think?"
"Yes. I personally consider it an excellent piece of writing."
The secretary gave her honest opinion.
"It would make a remarkably effective propaganda tool for spreading republicanism, wouldn't it? Jean Vollet—almost certainly a pen name—touches on many ideas that align with the ideology our Republic champions."
"I see. So you haven't noticed."
Elisabeth's lips curled upward.
At this, the secretary was startled all over again. Her Excellency the Consul was known for keeping her negative emotions under extreme control. Tossing the pamphlet aside had been unusual enough, but the mocking smile now playing at the corners of her mouth was entirely unlike the Consul.
Whether she noticed the secretary's confusion or not, Elisabeth turned her gaze toward the window and spoke.
"That was written by the Demon Lord Dantalion."
"Your Excellency. You're saying Bruno's Nightmare wrote this?"
"…Just a personal suspicion of mine. But I'm almost certain."
Even this was spoken in a voice unbearably frail by Elisabeth's standards. The Consul had always carried herself with perfect composure and dignity before others.
"Forgive me, Your Excellency, but is there grounds for such confidence?"
"Ever since that speech, there hasn't been a single night I've forgotten."
Elisabeth murmured in a tone of someone chewing on pain.
"His manner of speaking, his gestures, his way of words… everything is branded into my mind as vividly as if it happened just moments ago. Every night, Robert appears alongside that Demon Lord, Dantalion…"
It was closer to words she spoke to herself than to her secretary. Her complexion grew darker by the word.
"This pamphlet was sent by Queen Henrietta. Henrietta probably didn't realize it either. No—no one has realized it. But you cannot deceive me… Ah. Dantalion. Even if you hoodwink every soul in this world, at least I… you can never deceive me. Did you intervene in the Frank civil war? Do you hate humanity that much, enough to want to annihilate them?"
Before long, Elisabeth had slipped entirely into a monologue.
"There is someone who had Dantalion forge a priestly appointment. The temple authorities… the likelihood that Dantalion is connected to the temple is high. Or could it be Paimon… she may have served as intermediary for the link. Yes, that's entirely plausible… every sentence, every word—even in the spaces between, I can feel you. Robert. Absolutely not, at least not me…"
"Your Excellency."
The secretary looked at Elisabeth with a worried gaze. Perhaps she had simply been overworked lately and was exhausted. The fledgling Habsburg Republic had no shortage of matters demanding attention.
Sensing the secretary's stare, Elisabeth suddenly lifted her head.
"Hm? I'm sorry. I've gotten too deep in thought."
"Not at all. If I may be so bold, Your Excellency, might you not be feeling rather fatigued?"
"Fatigued? Me?"
The secretary nodded.
"Even today alone, this makes the third night you've gone without sleep. Your sleep cycle has completely fallen apart. You really need to start cultivating a habit of going to bed early and rising early."
"I know, I know."
Elisabeth waved her hand dismissively. She was clearly annoyed.
"I finally retired the nanny, and now my secretary has become the new nanny to nag me. Uriel, staying up through the night has been a habit of mine since I was twelve. You think scolding me about it now is going to change anything?"
"But Your Excellency hasn't even turned twenty yet. You haven't even begun life as a woman."
"As a woman? What a surprise to learn that a life as a woman was ever set aside for me."
Elisabeth gave a faint smile.
"If you're harboring some delusion about marrying me off to someone, abandon it immediately. I am already married to the state."
"Sigh. To think you were born as the most beautiful woman on the continent..."
The secretary placed a hand on her forehead, her head throbbing. There was no one more troublesome to serve than a boss obsessed with work, and Consul Elisabeth fit that description perfectly.
"I've been curious for some time. What kind of man would the Consul have to appear before you even consider marriage, even slightly?"
"Hmm. A man who could pin me down in bed."
Elisabeth played with her side hair as she spoke.
"At the very least, he'd need to be someone capable of bringing back the heads of all the Demon Lords, wouldn't you say? For someone of that caliber, I'd willingly surrender my virginity."
"That means you're never getting married!"
"Just kidding. Hmm-mm."
Elisabeth stretched leisurely.
"Well, someday, I suppose I'll also enter into a political marriage. If the right candidate appears, I'm quite willing to tie the knot. But it feels wasteful to spend my strongest card this early. I am the head of state. Even at twenty, even at thirty, that value won't diminish."
"Your confidence is truly... immense..."
The secretary, who had long passed her prime marriage age, muttered in a disgruntled tone.
"Does it feel unfair? Then why don't *you* become the Consul?"
"I humbly decline. I have no desire to be garroted for treason. Consul. Please, get at least a little rest."
Fine, fine, Elisabeth said as she rose from her seat. She was practically shoved by her secretary into the bed in the room adjacent to her office. It had truly been three days since she last slept.
However, Elisabeth sprang from the bed less than twenty minutes after lying down.
Beads of sweat dotted her pale forehead. She gasped for breath, covering her face with both hands. An uncontrolled groan escaped through her fingers.
"...I'm sorry, Robert. I'm sorry... your sister... your sister, Robert..."
It had been months now.
Since the day Dantalion had humiliated her on the Bruna Plains, Elisabeth had not slept for two consecutive hours even once. Whenever she fell asleep, she was inevitably tormented by nightmares. It had been that way before, but recently it had grown worse.
As it was supposed to be.
A man was meant to appear and save Elisabeth. He was supposed to cut down every Demon Lord on the continent, and devote his entire being to the queen alone. Elisabeth, in turn, was meant to receive comfort from him and reclaim nights free of nightmares.
But one person had turned everything upside down. Now she was no longer a princess or a queen — she was the Consul of the Republic. And the man who was supposed to bring her salvation had also embarked on a path far, far removed from the one intended.
"...Dantalion."
Through the gaps between her fingers, her gaze burned with fierce intensity.
"No matter what happens to me, absolutely... absolutely..."
Elisabeth continued to mutter words devoid of meaning. She repeated the same phrases over and over until exhaustion claimed her and she collapsed onto the bed. Then, thirty minutes later, she would bolt upright once more. In a place where no one could enter, the same cycle repeated itself for hours on end.
Once the affair had settled down, I returned to the Demon Lord's Castle.
The diplomatic campaign had gone reasonably well. I had helped the Plains Faction secure victory and put a leash on Gamigin. Not perfect, but I could call it a half-success. No — truthfully, there was no such thing as a perfect victory. In that sense, I had succeeded.
There were things I had come to realize, too.
The more I stepped into the spotlight, the higher my chances of defeat became. Conversely, the more I hid in the shadows, the more likely I was to win.
"Oh, why would I, of all people, go picking fights with heroes like some grand strategist? I should just rest like an old man in a back room."
If I had to put it simply, I had learned my place.
Queen Henrietta and Demon Lord Agares were both tactical weapons of mass destruction. I had lost to the former and won against the latter. Once a war entered the tactical dimension — especially in a world where something like Aura existed — the number of variables was simply overwhelming.
"I'm telling you, I've figured it out for sure. From now on, I'm done with tactics! Just try to get me out on a battlefield waving a command baton again."
"A wise decision."
Lapis took my overcoat from me as she spoke.
"You have many matters to attend to beyond just warfare, Lord Dantalion. It would be more efficient to leave military affairs in Miss Laura's hands. Going forward, I would strongly advise you to avoid leaving the Demon Lord's Castle whenever possible."
"That's what I'd like too. If only the world would cooperate for once."
I let out a long sigh.
"So. While I was away, nothing came up?"
"Everything is proceeding according to plan. However."
Lapis furrowed her brows, ever so slightly.
"It's the villages, as expected. They seem to be struggling to adjust to the new laws."
"Ah. Why? Is the judicial system not running properly?"
"The residents are making an effort, but..."
Perhaps there will always be difficulties when it comes to accepting something new.
I stretched out with a good yawn. Ugh, after work, there was nothing but more work.
"Of course they are. Leave it to me. I'll have it sorted in three days."
"...You've just returned from the Demon Realm, and yet you're brimming with enthusiasm."
Lapis said, sounding surprised.
I grinned from ear to ear.
"Today I'm taking a day off. I've been working pretty hard, you know. As the wise ones say, don't push onto today's me what can be done tomorrow."
"..."
Lapis let out a soft sigh. The atmosphere practically screamed "there he goes again."
What's with that look? Don't be like that. I really am living an honest and diligent life, you know?