The meeting was over. In the end, it had devolved into nothing more than a rally bashing how inferior the human species was.
It was pathetic. Overestimating the enemy led to fatal mistakes, but it was still far better than underestimating them. The rookie Demon Lords were diligently crafting the very conditions for their own defeat. They had their excuses, of course—they argued that boosting allied morale before the battle began was the proper course of action.
"Let's adjourn today's meeting here."
Vanguard Commander Zepar was visibly drained. And right—mine wasn't the only awful pick. Half of the subordinates he'd brought along looked like that, so his flagging morale was hardly surprising. If those rookie Demon Lords had been the enemy's vanguard, they would have pulled off a spectacular preliminary strike. What else could you call it? Before the battle had even begun, they'd already sapped our own morale.
I was holding back a sigh, about to leave the tent, when Zepar called out to me.
"Dantalion. Stay behind."
"Yes? Understood."
I sat back down, having already half risen from my seat. What was this about? The Demon Lords filed out, and the tent emptied in an instant. Only four of us remained: Zepar, his adjutant, me, and Raura. Zepar fixed me with a grave stare.
"The Commander of the Sixth Legion gave me a tip about you. Said you were reliable—that while you might not be confident in the art of war, your strategic mind was sound."
I gave a bitter smile. Barbatos again. One moment she was like a bratty little sister, the next a sultry lover, and sometimes a dependable big sister. In every guise, letting your guard down around her was equally dangerous. What a troublesome Demon Lord.
"I am nothing more than a humble schemer."
"When you took down Paimon at the Walpurgis Night, I was there as well. I should note that watching the seventy-first-ranked Demon Lord put Paimon in a bind was quite the impressive sight."
Was that a compliment? The old man's expression hadn't changed at all. This wasn't the kind of natural blankness Lapis had—it was the stony, immovable look that came from decades upon decades of authority and refinement hardening into place. People like that were generally awkward at expressing emotion. Honestly, I could take it as a compliment.
Or maybe it would be better to play it a little more humble… It seemed like Zepar viewed Barbatos not merely as a faction leader but as someone he personally revered. Complimenting Zepar himself would probably just come across as flattery. I'd do better to leverage the man's devotion.
"Thank you. But the hearing wasn't something I won on my own strength. If Commander Barbatos hadn't supported me so closely, I wouldn't have dared to defy Paimon."
"Hmm."
Zepar nodded. His tone sounded satisfied. I figured I could push a little further.
"The hearing opened my eyes to the fact that the Commander is far more serious than her reputation suggests. Could it be that she deliberately puts on a frivolous manner, lulling other factions into complacency…? She possesses both decisive action and deep foresight. Add to that the righteous cause of conquering the Human Realm and the might of the Plains Faction—there could be no one more suited to be a sovereign than Barbatos."
"I agree with your assessment."
For the first time in a while, I heard a cheerful *ding!* sound effect.
[The Demon Lord Zepar's Affinity has increased by 5!]
A faint sense of accomplishment spread through my chest. Figuring out what the other party wants and using it to my advantage. A simple contest, yet succeeding still felt rewarding. Thinking back, I'd always believed my true specialty was building Affinity. I'd never once failed a hunt.
Zepar spoke.
"I trust the Commander, and I also trust those whom the Commander places her trust in. However, those who wish to operate under my command must be tested in their own right. Dantalion—it was I who encouraged the bullying directed at you."
"I see."
I remained unfazed. If anything, Zepar's brow furrowed slightly.
"You're not surprised?"
"If I may venture an opinion, Lord Zepar—you are well aware of the Vanguard's mission. Discord among our own ranks is the very thing we must guard against most vigilantly. Yet for the first week after the march began, you refrained entirely from intervening in the power plays between the Demon Lords. I surmised you had intentions beyond simply restoring military discipline."
"Hmm. Precisely right."
[The Demon Lord Zepar's Affinity has increased by 2!]
Zepar fixed me with a deep gaze.
"Perhaps you are less a tactician than a strategist, and less a strategist than a schemer. And yet the Commander assigned you to the Vanguard—a reconnaissance force where tactical victories are paramount. Do you understand what that means?"
"……"
I hadn't considered it. I'd taken it as a simple invitation: go earn your stripes. That was the extent of it.
In any case, for at least the next two months I wouldn't be expected to intervene in military operations. It meant I had time to spare. The rank of 71st was, frankly, an unfavorable position for deploying stratagems freely—I'd have to build standing through military merit alone… Was there another purpose behind this?
As I fell into thought, Zepar spoke up casually.
"Regarding Amy—the 58th ranked Demon Lord."
I wasn't sure why he suddenly brought up Amy, but I listened in silence. He seemed poised to clear up the mystery.
"She was originally unaffiliated, but around the time the Crescent Alliance Army was formed, she voluntarily joined the Plains Faction. As a newly arrived Demon Lord, she has essentially no foothold within our faction. She joined the Vanguard to earn merit and use it to consolidate her position. A gesture of consideration on the part of Commander Barbatos."
"Ah. So that's why you spoke so forcefully."
I'd wondered why three newcomers were assigned to such an important vanguard unit — so that was the story behind it. Clearly, Barbatos and I had different priorities. What mattered to me was the overall state of the Crescent Alliance Army. But Barbatos, as the head of the Plains Faction, had to look after his faction members as well. I understood.
But three of them? That was too many. This was the vanguard unit that would decide the opening battle of the 8th Crescent Alliance Army. Was Barbatos really so optimistic that a ragtag group like this would be enough?
Zepar studied my expression, then let a faint smile slip. The wrinkles on his face settled naturally into dimples — the kind of smile only a man who'd aged handsomely could pull off. If I were the type of woman with a thing for dandies, a single smile like that might have been enough to win me over.
"You still haven't grasped the commander's intentions, have you?"
"Pardon?"
"He has given you the opportunity to recruit subordinates."
Subordinates? What was he talking about?
When I stared at him with a look that said I hadn't the faintest clue, Zepar spoke.
"It's advice from the commander. How long do you intend to keep helping me from the shadows? Build your own power base before the real battles begin. ……You really do have Commander Barbatos's trust, Dantalion."
"……!"
My eyes went wide. So that was it! That was what he meant!
Barbatos hadn't sent me to the vanguard just to rack up military achievements. The three Demon Lords who'd recently joined the Plains Faction and had weak standing — he wanted me to use them as the foundation for my own power base.
What if those three Demon Lords hadn't been lumped together into the vanguard but instead distributed across different units? They would have sought out someone to protect them — a higher-ranking Demon Lord — and pledged allegiance on their own. The Plains Faction wasn't the kind of place where Barbatos ruled like an emperor. Beneath him, various Demon Lords had already formed their own smaller factions. The three newcomers would have been absorbed into those factions in an instant.
But instead, he had deliberately bundled the three of them together and sent them to the vanguard. Even including Commander Zepar, the vanguard consisted of only six Demon Lords in total.
Three out of six — and all in similar situations …… Naturally, they would gravitate toward each other.
Zepar, as the commander, was content to remain Barbatos's loyal aide without building his own faction. The other remaining Demon Lord wasn't particularly high-ranking either. There was no one in the vanguard who could lure the three newcomers into joining their faction.
The three of them no longer had the option of joining some faction for protection. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't. Their only objective — their absolute and sole goal — was to rack up as many military achievements as possible and solidify their positions. With nothing else to do, what else could they aim for?
In short, three Demon Lords with no established position had appeared within the Plains Faction, where the balance of power was already set.
For someone looking to build a new power base, there could be no more perfect opportunity. No — Barbatos had created that opportunity himself, all under the perfectly reasonable pretext of "giving the newcomers a chance to earn merit." He wanted me to swallow all three of them. Build a power base — not just lurking in the shadows, but standing right beside him to support him ……!
A shiver ran through me.
Barbatos's finesse far exceeded my expectations. Perhaps, somewhere in the back of my mind, I had been looking down on Barbatos. A young lady lured into our scheme by wine — could I have unconsciously seen him that way… What an idiot!
'Damn it. He'd already laid out the entire blueprint for the war, and I let my guard down.'
I admitted it honestly. I had thought there was no rush to pursue a power base — that I could do it after the war ended. But in Barbatos's eyes, I appeared as someone who needed to build up forces as quickly as possible, someone who would be in serious trouble if I didn't. It was others who perceived the urgency more acutely than the person himself.
The new Demon Lords were at least trying to establish their own positions. If they were nothing but fools, then what did that make me? A fool beyond fools — an absolute idiot. I had done nothing but mock their stupidity, never once stopping to consider why those very fools had been assigned to the vanguard…
"Your expression has changed."
Zepar said. I bowed deeply. This time, it was genuine.
"If it hadn't for you, my lord, I would have remained a fool until the war's end. I will repay this debt with military achievements, without fail."
"Don't worry about it. The Legion Commander asked me to let you observe tactics firsthand. Take this opportunity to see for yourself how combat against the humans unfolds."
Oh — so Zepar had even been dispatched as my personal tutor… My awareness lagged far behind Barbatos's. If the vanguard was nothing more than a preliminary skirmish in my eyes, to Barbatos it was the very beginning of the war itself.
My chest felt tight. Suddenly, Zepar's words from the meeting came back to me.
'Our mistakes are not the failings of a single unit — they become the errors of the 6th Legion, and beyond that, of the entire Crescent Alliance Army. Right now, we represent the whole of the Crescent Alliance Army! The 6th Legion's vanguard must act as one. Solo actions cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.'
I had thought that warning was aimed only at the new Demon Lords. I was dead wrong. I was the one who needed to sear those words into my bones more than anyone. Self-loathing crept up my spine and spread through my entire body. What had I even been thinking? A mere level-21 wretch entertaining a sense of superiority — 'I'm different from those guys'? What trash.
Zepar's words were exactly right. Our vanguard represented the entire Crescent Alliance Army. Looking down on our allies was simply unacceptable. Not only did I need to earn military achievements in this vanguard battle, I also had to win over all three Demon Lords into my power base. There was no room for carelessness in any of this.
That was why I saluted Zepar with the most intense resolve I could muster.
"I, your subordinate, will most certainly learn your command, my lord."
"Mm. You may go."
As I stepped out of the tent, I thought to myself.
Yes. This was Barbatos's surprise gift. If I couldn't even accept a gift properly, I had no right to call myself a proper adult. And when that gift had come from a young lady, there was even less need to say it.
Fine. Just you wait — I'll grow exactly as you expect, Barbatos. I'll shock you before this is over… And that will be my surprise gift to you, the finest reply I could ever give.