After the blueprint for the Dungeon was drawn up, I found myself with nothing to do.
Even if I wanted to start building, Sitri had to provide the funds. Sitri couldn't move any money until the war with the Crescent Alliance Army was over. Which meant, until the war ended, I was completely free.
Sitri and I communicated frequently through the Crystal Orb. From what she told me, the situation on the battlefield was going pretty well for the Demon Lord's army. The only issue was a chronic problem of the Crescent Alliance Army — their food supplies were woefully inadequate relative to their troop count.
—We finally gathered everyone together, and now the legions are splitting off and doing their own thing again.
Sitri, projected from the Magic Crystal Orb, pouted. According to her, the supply consumption for a hundred thousand monsters was truly astronomical — the food stores that the Crescent Alliance Army's Sixth Legion had stockpiled were wiped out in the blink of an eye.
—Those sneaky humans just keep avoiding every fight we try to pick... ugh!
For a monster legion to obtain food, a large-scale battle was pretty much necessary. The human corpses generated in combat could be directly used as monster feed. Naturally, the humans knew this too. The human army did everything it could to avoid major contact with the Demon Lord's army, forcing a war of attrition instead.
An extremely unpleasant scenario was unfolding from the Crescent Alliance Army's perspective.
The human army slowly retreated their front lines while indiscriminately requisitioning all the farmland in the surrounding area. With a hundred thousand monsters swarming toward them, they chased the farmers off, telling them to flee. And of course, they "requisitioned" food supplies from the farmers — while tossing them a pittance in return.
The common folk who received even a pittance were relatively better off. There were countless others who received no compensation whatsoever and had all their family's possessions seized. The human army even reportedly burned entire villages to the ground.
Hearing about how the war was playing out, I blurted out a phrase that had popped into my head.
"Scorched-earth tactics, huh."
—Huh...? Clear-field tactics? What's that?
Ah. So this world didn't have the term "scorched-earth tactics." Usually, the words I used were automatically paraphrased before reaching the other party, but sometimes — like now — they got translated literally into something completely off-base. I explained to Sitri what scorched-earth tactics meant.
After hearing the full explanation, Sitri furrowed her brows.
—Wait, so what happens to their own people later?
"It's basically a strategy that doesn't consider the future. Which is also what makes it so effective... Human rulers are different from us Demon Lords. They can't feel the emotions of their own kind. That's why they inevitably fall short when it comes to showing consideration for their own people."
Even as I said this, I had to admit it was actually a pretty solid strategy.
Not only did it deny the monsters any food to forage, it allowed them to stockpile their own reserves. The key here was finding the right justification for seizing the wealth that the common folk had bled and sweated to build. "The Demon Lord's army is invading. A massive horde of monsters is bearing down on us."... There was no stronger justification than that.
"No, that's not all."
Immediately, two or three hidden motives behind the human army's strategy sprang to mind.
If I were the human army's high command... I would consider maintaining the army's morale above all else. That fellow Dantalion had spread plenty of poison during their verbal exchange. Discord must have been brewing between the rank-and-file and their commanders. When faced with this, how would you go about mending the rift within the army?
Simple. You instill a sense of shared guilt.
Let the soldiers pillage civilian villages to their heart's content. They're poor grunts. They'd throw themselves into looting more enthusiastically than anyone else. Fill their bellies and they'd feel good in the moment. But what about after the pillaging? Could they really blame only the nobles without any guilt weighing on their conscience...
They seize other people's property in order to survive. In that regard, the soldiers become just like the nobles. They may not trust the nobles any more than before, but at least they'll find it harder to voice their complaints openly. For the time being, there shouldn't be a mutiny born from plummeting morale.
And further still.
"If it were me, I would distribute Black Herb to the villagers who were robbed."
Last year, the human nations had cultivated Black Herb with all their might. Although the harvest fell far short of saving the entire land, they had gathered enough to treat their soldiers. There must have been a small surplus left over. Now was the time to use it.
When civilian villages get pillaged by soldiers, the peasants will naturally blame the military commanders. That's when the monarchs step in and distribute Black Herb as a generous gesture. Not only does this provide some compensation, but it also preserves the monarch's own image.
And what happens then? The noble commanders can't be trusted, but our benevolent monarch can be... roughly that kind of atmosphere takes shape. The soldiers won't lift a finger unless the order comes directly from the monarch. Military authority naturally consolidates into the hands of a single ruler.
When considering the army as a whole, the loss of trust between commanders and common soldiers is undeniably a great harm. But if there's a monarch who can see far into the future even in times like these... they would recognize that this crisis is simultaneously an opportunity.
The nobles aren't fools either. The moment a monarch starts using this kind of tactic, they'll catch on right away. In other words, the only monarchs who can pull off such a move are those who have both the confidence and the resolve to face the nobles head-on.
Which nation's monarch would employ such a measure? Which nation is strong enough to gamble on it? I'll need to keep a close eye on those factors as the war unfolds.
Interesting. Personally, I think highly of Henrietta of Bretagne and Elisabeth von Habsburg of the Habsburg Empire. Perhaps this war will reveal the true caliber of these two. They were the two rulers who vied for continental supremacy in Dungeon Attack. Which one will come out ahead this time...
Now then, what should I do?
I decided to leak some information to Sitri.
"Lord Sitri. It's possible that the human army intends to abandon the entire northern region of the Habsburg Empire — no, the entire central region."
— What? What do you mean?
"If their only objective is to deplete our food supplies, there's no need to set the villages on fire. Monsters don't need villages anyway. They're the type that prefer staying outside rather than inside buildings. Yet they still set them on fire... that means they intend to wipe out the very function of these places as territories."
Princess Elisabeth loves her people. She will not hesitate to employ ruthless means if necessary, but her nature is gentle at its core. This is an era where killing one's own kin for power is considered unremarkable. Yet even so, the fact that she has spent her entire life tormented by guilt over killing a single younger brother tells you everything you need to know about the character of Elisabeth von Habsburg.
A princess like that would not destroy her own kingdom's territories for no reason. She would never allow such destruction. In other words, she has already given up on the northern and central regions of the Habsburg Empire. Could it be that she has resolved to hand half of the Habsburg territories over to the Crescent Alliance Army, and in return, rebuild the empire anew in the south?
"By now, a massive defensive line is likely being organized in the southern reaches of the Habsburg Empire. They must be planning to mount their final resistance there. If things move quickly, this autumn — if not, then winter, perhaps… The Crescent Alliance Army will face a full-scale counterattack."
The further the border is pushed back, the easier it becomes for other nations to send reinforcements. As the human army retreats south, additional allied forces from foreign nations will join them. How many will gather — I have no idea. How would I know what the population of this era looks like?
— Hmm? But if what you're saying is right, Dantalion… wouldn't the humans be more inclined to settle into a siege rather than launch a counterattack? The capital of the Habsburg Empire is an impregnable fortress. If they hole up in there and hold out for years, we'd have no choice but to give up on conquering the Habsburg Empire entirely.
"Oh. That won't happen."
I shook my head.
"They won't have the food for it."
— Food?
Sitri tilted her head.
— But autumn is just around the corner…
"For autumn to matter, there need to be humans left alive to harvest the crops. The Black Death has been cutting the population mercilessly, and on top of that, all the able-bodied adult men have been conscripted into the army. There is a severe shortage of farming labor. I can assure you — the human army will be facing a dire food crisis."
I smiled.
"That means they'll have no choice but to go on the offensive on the southern front. They'll probably aim for a decisive engagement, don't you think? Well, either way, it doesn't matter to us… but Lady Sitri. You need to withdraw from this war as quickly as possible."
— Huh?
Sitri could barely keep up with the conversation anymore, her face nearly crumpling. How cute. Something warm welled up in my chest, and I explained gently.
"Think about it. The humans throw themselves into battle desperately, regardless of how much damage they'll suffer. Once the other Demon Lords learn this, do you really think they'll eagerly step up to fight?"
Let me say this in advance — very few Demon Lords genuinely want the Crescent Alliance Army's expedition to succeed. The most you'll get are the Plains Faction Demon Lords, and those war lunatics who are confident they can go toe-to-toe with the Supreme Demon Lords. Everyone else just wants to fight enough to win enough. Moderation in both effort and victory.
The Eighth Crescent Alliance Army has already won enough.
"Everyone's been hanging back, waiting to see who gets stuck with the short end of the stick first — and now they're going to get blindsided. Well, not really. Everyone actually wants to take at least some damage. Once they've suffered losses, they can use that as an excuse to quietly slip away from the Crescent Alliance Army."
And in the meantime, they'll be hammering home all the great deeds they've accomplished while carving up the territory.
"Staying in a place like that will only bring you greater losses."
— Ugh… sorry. I don't really get it. What am I supposed to do?
"Being straightforward is your strong point, Sitri."
I gave a cheerful grin.
"Just go fight any random human army out there. Take some more damage while you're at it. It'd be best if the battle is flashy — oh, right, an encirclement and annihilation battle should work nicely. If you pull off a fight like that, you'll be able to withdraw from the Crescent Alliance Army ahead of the others."
— Got it. An encirclement and annihilation battle, right?
"You need to sustain a moderate amount of damage. Moderate."
— Alright!
Sitri nodded vigorously. She clenched both fists as though swearing she would see my plan through no matter what. She looked so enthusiastic it was almost endearing. As long as Sitri's forces remained intact, I'd be in a stronger position too. After all, she was my ally.
That was the only event worth remembering.
I completely stepped away from the Crescent Alliance Army and spent my days in leisure. With nothing to do, I was about to enjoy yet another stretch of wild nights and days with Laura, but this time she put up fierce resistance. She complained that being cooped up in a cave day after day left her with nothing but dirty thoughts in her head.
"Go outside and do some farming! Work up a sweat and you won't have the energy for intercourse anymore."
"But I hate moving my body around…"
"Would my lord be fine even if a young girl hanged herself?"
Laura asked that in an utterly dead-serious voice. She genuinely looked ready to go through with it, so I had no choice but to step outside. I had a villa built in Parsi's village and spent the whole summer there.
I obtained a separate plot of farmland and started cultivating it. On a whim, I brought some monsters along and set them to swinging pickaxes — and it turned out to be absurdly effective. The villagers gaped in stunned amazement at the spectacle of monster-farmers they'd never laid eyes on before.
"Well, I'll be — a single creature doing the work of six able-bodied men!"
"Y-Your Highness. If you happen to have any spares, might I borrow one for my household…"
"You impudent wretch!"
But the only impressive thing was the monsters.
Parsi taught me farming, and every time he watched me swing a pickaxe, he snickered.
"Your lordship is quite hopeless with manual labor, isn't he?"
"……."
According to Parsi, my efficiency was apparently worse than a twelve-year-old village brat. Damn it all.
But efficiency wasn't the real issue. The fact that a lord of my standing had gone out and actually worked the fields apparently made a surprisingly deep impression on the villagers. They had been keeping me at arm's length until now, but gradually they began to approach me with genuine warmth.
"Oh, Lord Demon King, are you heading out already?"
"Yes."
"Have you had your breakfast? Why not join us for lunch later? My wife, for all she may seem, is a real master with bread."
Whenever I ran into the farmers at dawn on my way to the fields, I received greetings that were polite yet warm with affection. How should I put it — it was a strange feeling.
Watching the wheat grains steadily sprout and grow, I somehow felt that all the frantic running around I had done until now was pointless. What had been so important that I scurried about like that, anyway… Was this how farmers saw the world?
And so, summer passed.