Elizabeth and Henrietta will certainly join forces. You can bet on it.
A strong cooperative system has already been completed between the two sovereigns. The moment I became certain of that was during the recent Frank civil war.
The Habsburg Republic had many knights who were of noble birth and had been forced into retirement. Consul Elizabeth sent them to Henrietta.
Elizabeth expels potential insurgents from her own domain. Queen Henrietta gains an excellent knightly force. It's a collaboration as elegant as it is efficient.
'Elizabeth and Henrietta.'
A bitter smile escaped me of its own accord. Sovereigns who should have been fighting each other for hegemony are working together in close coordination. It's the strongest paired with the strongest—a perfect ace combo.
Well, fans of Dungeon Attack might cheer at the sight. The fact that I'm the one standing against them, of all people, is no laughing matter. In terms of raw ability, I'm nothing more than a fly speck compared to either of them. I need to exercise maximum caution.
"...But exactly how would they cooperate, though?"
Paimon slowly fanned himself as he spoke during the war council.
"The Consul of Habsburg has declared a republic. The Queen of Bretagne, on the other hand, is a traditional monarch. It's hard to imagine the two of them openly conducting military operations together."
"There are plenty of ways."
For instance, sending volunteers. Though their political systems differ, we are members of humanity before we are members of any nation, and even loathsome monarchists must unite boldly against the Demon Lord's army...
That's roughly how she'd spin it. Elizabeth is a gifted orator.
"The only question is whether she can make it work in practice or not. If she pulls it off, she's competent. If she can't, she's not. And the Consul of Habsburg is supremely competent."
Barbatos and Paimon both nodded. Apparently displeased that they had nodded simultaneously, they each let out a "Hmph" and turned their gaze in opposite directions.
Did they not realize that even this was perfectly in sync, making them all the more endearing? The two of them kept sparring with petty jabs throughout the war council. I couldn't help but feel fond of them—an honest-to-goodness dad smile spread across my face before I knew it.
"Maybe the washed-up has-been who can't even use magic should just stay in the back room and jerk off?"
"My, my. Perhaps the mad dog who only knows how to charge should wait patiently until a plan is actually drawn up. And please, do try not to piss all over the campsite while you're at it."
...I take back what I said. "Endearing" doesn't quite capture it—they're actually kind of terrifying.
Eight people attended the operations meeting: Barbatos, Paimon, Gamigin, Marbas, Vassago, Brother Beleth, Captain Zepar, and Sitri. Barbatos and Paimon were sniping at each other, and Brother Beleth and Sitri were sniping at each other. That was the dynamic playing out.
"Shitting and pissing all over the place regardless of setting—that must be your specialty, Paimon."
Barbatos sneered.
"Honestly, your hair reeks of shit. Your faction's little minions didn't tell you? Oh, sorry. Not that your faction's been around for long anyway! My mistake."
"Bragging about headcount is a hallmark of lower lifeforms. It seems Barbatos's brain still hasn't finished developing. How pitiful. Why don't you add some wrinkles to your brain, the same way that shriveled lower lip of yours got so many from all the mouthing off? Though I suppose asking a lower lifeform who thinks with their lower half instead of their brain might be a bit much."
Did you two really have some kind of vendetta in a past life?
Nothing is quite as eerie as two gorgeous women hurling obscenities at each other without so much as blinking. Why can't they be this delightful in bed instead?
This was the most critical part of the plan to overthrow Bael: bringing the Plains Faction and the Mountain Faction together—formally or otherwise, by any means necessary.
Fortunately, Barbatos owed the Mountain Faction one. They'd sent reinforcements during the civil war. Despite appearances, Barbatos was meticulous about separating personal from business—he agreed to cooperate on the principle that a debt received must be a debt repaid. Not that he stopped spewing obscenities while doing so.
The problem was Paimon.
She radiated a death-before-cooperation-with-Barbatos resolve that could be felt from a mile away.
That was part of why she'd cooperated on the Heidelberg capture operation. I was Plains Faction. If it became known that the Plains Faction had significantly aided the Mountain Faction's operations, wouldn't a working relationship come more easily? That had been the hope.
But that alone hadn't felt quite enough, so I'd gambled on whether Laura's operation would succeed or fail. The result was a resounding success. Paimon had been forced into cooperation with Barbatos, bitter tears and all.
"Well, well! Has the Succubus stuffed a rag in her mouth? Compared to yours, my mouth is a smooth, barren hill. Wipe the squid smell off your lips before you start flapping them, old hag."
"Oh my, must be so nice being so brazen with that bratty little face. If you'd like, I could be your mommy and breastfeed you myself. Our little Barbatos is having such a hard time, isn't he? Dying for his mama's milk?"
Even now, at a point where both sides believed the Crescent Alliance Army's failure stemmed from Bael, emotional grudges still lingered between them... Well, they were in the thick of a spirited verbal brawl that happened every other day.
When it comes to things like this, whoever cares loses. Listen at the right angle and it's not even boring. Just sit back and enjoy the show.
"...I won't tell you to stop fighting, but could you at least try to behave yourselves?"
But this world didn't only contain people with nerves as thick as mine. Marbas pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered. Lately, Marbas looked like he'd aged a full ten years.
"This is the first time since the Third Crescent Alliance Army that the legions have moved together. You know as well as I do how much the Demon Realm's people are counting on this expedition. I humbly ask that you all do your utmost to ensure its success."
"Give it up, Lord Marbas."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"The fact that those two rode side by side at the last victory parade was a miracle in itself. There's no point expecting anything more—we'll only exhaust ourselves. Let's just ignore them and hold our meeting."
"If even you give up on mediating, there's nowhere left to turn."
Marbas sighed.
"Fine. I understand that the Consul and the Queen are cooperating. What do you think is the best way for our forces to move?"
"If the enemy forces are going to cooperate anyway, striking them with a preemptive attack before they can join up would be most effective."
Vassago said with a somewhat nervous look on his face.
Every time Barbatos and Paimon got into a verbal spat, Vassago's expression would sour. He probably couldn't bring himself to humor them because they seemed so foolish. I wanted to advise him to enjoy life a little more.
"They don't know our plans yet. We march as fast as possible and take care of the Frank Empire and Agares first. Even if the Habsburg Republic's Consul is impressive, what can one person do alone?"
"Hmm."
Marbas stroked his beard. It was certainly not a bad idea. Defeating them in detail was always the best scenario, if possible.
But in this particular case, it could only be seen as somewhat naive optimism. Our opponents were not just the Consul and the Queen. Agares was also in the mix.
Among the Demonkin, there were undoubtedly those who supported Agares. It would be hard to believe that information about us hadn't leaked to Agares. We should assume that our movements had already been at least partly exposed.
"Dantalion. What do you think?"
"Well. It's not bad."
Vassago's eyebrow twitched. Did he think I was being condescending? Not at all—I was being sincere. Just listen quietly.
"Agares is cooperating with the Queen. Among the people of the Demon Realm, there are certainly those leaking information to Agares as well. We must assume that the fact we intend to subjugate Agares is already known."
"Mm."
Marbas nodded.
Vassago twisted his mouth into an unpleasant grimace. You know? Your face tends to show everything on the outside. That's why you never earn anyone's respect.
"More than anything, the biggest problem is that even if a defeat-in-detail succeeds, it won't benefit us at all. No — it'll actually benefit the enemy."
Marbas looked at me with a questioning gaze.
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple. Once our main force is concentrated entirely on the Frank front, the border facing the Habsburg Republic will be left completely bare. The Consul won't let this opportunity slip. Under the pretext of reclaiming the homeland, she'll invade immediately."
In other words, it becomes a two-front war.
On the Habsburg side, Barbatos rules as Regent. From the perspective of the humans living there, it's a Demon Lord wielding tyrannical oppression. The moment word spreads that Consul Elizabeth is coming to their rescue, they'll fly into a frenzy.
"Human revolts will break out across the Regency. the precious continental foothold we barely won from the last Crescent Alliance Army will be thrown into utter chaos. Even if we win in Frank, it means nothing if we lose Habsburg."
Marbas swallowed hard.
"Then 'we' would be the ones in trouble…"
As expected of Marbas. He understood my point precisely.
The Habsburg Regency might look like a single entity to humans, but from our perspective, it's divided into multiple territories. The territory held by the Plains Faction, the territory held by the Mountain Faction, the territory held by Gamigin, and the territories held by a few independent Demon Lords.
Now imagine this place coming under threat. Demon Lords, determined to protect their own domains, would desert the expeditionary force en masse. For most Demon Lords, keeping their territories intact matters more than defeating Agares.
The Crescent Alliance Army may appear to be a powerful, unified force, but it crumbles at the slightest provocation. Marbas had grasped my intention, which was why he emphasized the word "we."
"Then what should we do? Should we leave a defensive garrison behind in Habsburg?"
"No. That would only result in us getting fragmented further."
Frank has Henrietta and Agares. Habsburg has Elizabeth holding firm. In this situation, you want us to split our forces to deal with each separately? That's the most insane thing imaginable. We'd just become easy prey, to be picked off one by one in a defeat-in-detail.
"What bizarre logic."
Vassago spoke in an unpleasant tone.
"Concentrating our forces for a surprise attack is out, and dividing our forces to defend the flanks is also out. So what exactly are you proposing?"
"You're right that we need to combine our forces. In that respect, Lord Vassago's observation is correct."
Don't be so eager to pounce, Vassago. You look almost like a pet—how adorable. If you keep trying to be cute like that, you'll only make things harder for me.
"However, there's no need to insist on a surprise attack. Instead, we should march slowly, advertising our movements as loudly as possible."
"Ha. That's out of the question."
Vassago scoffed.
"What army in the world deliberately broadcasts its march? You'd only be exposing our movements and inviting danger upon ourselves."
"What if that army isn't the Demon Lord's army, but an army of the same human species?"
"What?"
I smiled faintly.
"Emperor Rudolf von Habsburg... is a puppet of Lord Barbatos. But I propose we elevate him to nominal Supreme Commander."
"...!"
The Demon Lords glanced at one another. They turned back to me with uneasy expressions.
"We won't be moving as the Crescent Alliance Army. We'll be joining Emperor Habsburg's forces. The human army will be 'crushing' the monstrous tyrant Henrietta de Bretagne, who has been collaborating with a Demon Lord called Agares."
With this, the face of the war would be completely reversed.
We wouldn't be attacking humanity as the Demon Lord's army. Instead, we'd be attacking the demons as an army cooperating with humanity.
"In this scenario, if the Consul cooperates with the Queen, it would look like he's collaborating with the Demon Lord's army. His legitimacy would take a massive hit."
"..."
"The Habsburg Republic is united by its sense of resistance against the Demon Lord's army. If the Consul himself were to ally with the Demon Lord's army, the very foundations of the state would crumble. The Consul's movements would be severely restricted."
The Demon Lords sank into deep thought with grave expressions. They must have thought it was possible. No—it would definitely work. If we actually used the Batavia Republic and mixed in some genuine human soldiers, we could produce a convincing replica of a human army.
You know this, don't you, Elizabeth.
War begins long before the first battle is fought — long before swords are even drawn. That is my way.
Will you prioritize humanity, or will you prioritize your own nation? You must choose one or the other. No matter which you pick, the outcome will be nothing short of despair……
I shall force you into that wretched position once more. Let us enjoy a fine waltz together.