The plains fell silent.
It wasn't just the human army. The Crescent Alliance Army and the Demonkin had all held their breath as well. In particular, the five Demon Lords who had listened to Dantalion's speech from behind him—Agares, ranked second; Gamigin, ranked fourth; Marbas, ranked fifth; Barbatos, ranked eighth; and Paimon, ranked ninth—were all silent.
"Wow. She's a great speaker."
Gamigin's leisurely voice broke the tense atmosphere. She smiled faintly.
"She only had two days to prepare that speech. Impressive."
"Well, she's always been someone who can talk her way into anything."
Barbatos muttered.
"...But I didn't expect it to be this good. Memorizing that entire lengthy speech would be hard enough."
"It might actually be an improvised speech, for all we know. There are those in this world who are blessed by the goddess Polyhymnia, after all."
"Old man Marbas, I'd bet my entire fortune that's absolutely not the case. If that was made up on the spot, every orator in the world would bite their tongues and die."
The Demon Lords whispered among themselves. They generally agreed that Dantalion's speech would successfully drive the human army into confusion.
Demon Lord armies typically fought with commanders and soldiers united as one. The human armies they most often encountered—the Black Fortress garrison or the border lord forces—were similarly free from internal strife. As such, internal conflict within an army was a rather unfamiliar concept to the Demon Lords.
This was why the Demon Lords were generally not well-versed in stratagems or schemes. They led their united armies to face equally united enemy forces. While they were masters of tactical deception on the battlefield, they were decidedly unskilled when it came to driving opposing armies into internal discord or attacking them through political means.
But there was one exception.
"You all..."
There was one Demon Lord whose situation was different—one who had always taken a keen interest in humanity and who believed that the only way for Demonkin to survive was to cooperate with humans.
Paimon barely managed to speak, her voice trembling with barely contained passion.
"Have you all... failed to realize what that speech truly means?"
"Hm?"
Gamigin tilted his head.
"What do you mean? It was a brilliant stratagem."
"It's more than that! It's a revolution!"
Paimon's face flushed red.
"Humans are similar to Demon Realm society, yet different! The Demon Realm has its own hierarchy, but ranks can be overturned purely through strength! Even if you're born as a Goblin, you can rise to the highest ranks through enough training and magical cultivation!"
The goblin Torkel, a former executive of the Kunkuska Trading Company, was a prime example. Despite being a Goblin, he had risen to prominence through talent and effort.
"But humans aren't like that... everything is determined by bloodline! Even if someone is born with enough talent to become a knight, their ceiling is at best a minor landed lord. You can't transcend your blood! Dantalion pointed out that fundamental contradiction in human society! ...Ha!"
Paimon raised her eyebrows as though she had just realized something. She lowered her head and murmured.
"So that's how it was... so that's what happened! That's why he spread the Black Death... supplying Black Herb only to the upper echelons of the Human Realm, claiming the Margraviate of Brandenburg as his territory, destroying monster settlements... it was all a stratagem designed for this very moment!"
A chill ran through her entire body. After realizing Dantalion was a dangerous figure, she had mobilized her personal network and resources to investigate him. Of all the Demon Lords present, Paimon had a more accurate picture of Dantalion's movements than even Barbatos.
She had thought him clever. She had praised his wisdom. She regretted having attacked him rashly at the hearing. But she had always left room for doubt as to whether Dantalion had truly been the one to spread the Black Death.
That hearing had been far too peculiar. The moment Dantalion whispered something to him, Ivar Lodbrok, the chairman of the Kunkuska Trading Company, completely reversed his attitude as if nothing had happened. Even Torkel, his own trusted confidant, committed suicide. ...It would have been only natural to suspect something was off.
Now Paimon was certain. The one who had caused the Black Death to erupt was undoubtedly the seventy-first-ranked Demon Lord, Dantalion! But the Black Death was no true plague. The truly terrifying plague had just slipped from Dantalion's lips. This plague would swallow the entire continent in an instant. And it would drive millions — hundreds of millions — of people to their deaths. And they would do so of their own free will.
Paimon could no longer control the trembling of her body.
Yet at the same time, she felt a surge of joy.
The one she had believed to be an enemy's loyal servant had actually harbored thoughts much like her own. That all beings are equal. That any rational being should be equal, and that every one of them should be their own master.
Wise as he was, Dantalion had refrained from using words like "equality" or "freedom" directly. He had merely preached resentment against the nobility. That was why even the other Demon Lords had interpreted his speech as nothing more than "a ploy to sow division between nobles and commoners."
But how could Paimon fail to see it? Beneath it all, a vision of equality writhed like magma! He was a kindred spirit — an ideological comrade that even the Mountain Faction Demon Lords could never understand, nor would they ever try to.
If that was the case, things had grown urgent.
'He needs to be stopped from giving that speech — and fast!'
Paimon had planted a scheme in this representative speech. A lethal one. She could no longer watch Dantalion walk into that trap. She had to somehow convince the other Demon Lords and bring Dantalion over to her side—.
"Hey, whore."
That was when Barbatos sneered and spoke.
"I don't care if you act like a nutjob all by yourself, but the Black Death wasn't spread by Dantalion, was it? You got your ass humiliated at the hearing and you're still pulling this shit? While I'm being nice, why don't you drop the suspicion?"
"No, it's not that! A hundred and fifty thousand humans heard that speech. A hundred and fifty thousand — and armed citizens at that! The history of the entire continent is about to—"
Just as she raised her head to pour out another impassioned argument, Paimon noticed. The four Demon Lords were staring at her with utterly expressionless eyes.
'Ah.'
She realized.
'They think I'm...they think I'm slandering Dantalion.'
It was hardly surprising.
She was, without question, the most hostile of all the Demon Lords toward Dantalion. From the Walpurgis Night where Dantalion first debuted before the Demon Lord council to the present representative speech, Paimon had relentlessly tried to drag him down.
The Black Death hearing had officially ended with Dantalion's acquittal. Paimon had apologized for it. In truth, merely being let off with an apology was an extraordinarily lenient outcome for Paimon. She would not have been out of place feeling grateful to Dantalion. And yet she had continued to push him into trouble.
From the other Demon Lords' perspective, it was only natural for the words 'Can you just stop already?' to come to mind.
Barbatos spoke in a cold voice.
"So that's why you gave Dantalion the representative speech slot."
"Huh?"
"So you could pick apart anything he says and tear into him? Ha, this whore's lost her mind. Hey. I was generous enough to let your mockery of our Plains Faction slide, and now you think I'm a pushover? You really want to throw down?"
Paimon's heart raced with panic.
"I had no such intention—"
"Intention, my ass — shut your mouth and stay quiet, you bitch. It wouldn't be strange if I cut your damn throat right now."
"Barbatos."
Paimon called out her rival's name desperately.
"Please believe the girl's words. You need to stop Dantalion from giving his speech right now. If this goes on, he'll be in danger."
Barbatos's expression didn't change. Her golden eyes stared hard at Paimon.
"I believe I told you. Shut up."
"......"
Paimon bowed her head. If she couldn't even convince the Plains Faction leader, there was no chance. Dantalion would go on to face the Human Realm's speakers as the representative orator....
It was ironic. Among the two hundred thousand humans and Demonkin gathered on this vast plain, only two people — Princess Elisabeth von Habsburg and Paimon, the Mountain Faction leader — had seen through Dantalion's true intentions. His fiercest rivals were the ones who understood him.
Paimon had doubted Dantalion again and again before finally realizing he wasn't her enemy. But it was too late. She wanted to save Dantalion from danger, but she couldn't. Once the speeches were over, Dantalion and she would become complete enemies. After all, the trap he was about to fall into was one she had dug herself.
Paimon squeezed her eyes shut.
If only she had realized a little sooner — even just a little.
"It seems the Human Realm's representative speaker has come out."
"Wow, she's gorgeous! Who is she?"
"Who knows. The only women worthy of representing the human forces would be the Habsburg princess or the Queen of Bretagne. It must be the princess in this situation, right? Damn. She really is beautiful, though. Fuck, I'm so hard right now. I'd like to have her."
"...Barbatos. I don't wish to pass judgment on your tastes, but perhaps you could show a bit more dignity in how you speak."
The Demon Lords murmured among themselves about the human representative's beauty. Princess Elisabeth's silver hair shimmered like the locks of a goddess. Even Demon Lords who had lived for thousands of years marveled at the beauty the princess possessed.
Only Paimon was excluded from the conversation, left alone with her head bowed. There was nothing she could do. She could only hope that Dantalion would find his way out of this crisis wisely. It wasn't much of a wish coming from the very person who had set the trap. But Paimon had no other recourse....
Princess Elisabeth had become a massive projection and was looking their way.
Elisabeth von Habsburg — born as the third princess, she would later become the Empire's Empress and rise as a conquering queen who subdued half the continent. Military strategy and politics, dueling and scheming, public sentiment and diplomacy — a genius at everything. Any fan of Dungeon Attack would acknowledge her as the greatest heroine.
Without her, the Hero — the protagonist — would have lived and died as nothing more than a strong young man. In this era, the lot of a commoner who had lost their family and village was beyond pitiful. The Hero was even a former slash-and-burn farmer. Practically a slave.
Princess Elisabeth took that protagonist and elevated him purely on the basis of his talent. Even when those around her fiercely objected, the princess backed the protagonist to the very end. As a result, the Demon Lord's army was driven from the continent in its entirety... She could not possibly be regarded as an ordinary ruler.
I had been fond of her, too. Seeing her in the flesh stirred something deep inside me. She looked far younger than the illustrations in the game, but that pure-white brow, those silver locks, those firmly set lips, and those keen yet refreshing eyes — they were unmistakably Princess Elisabeth.
A great raptor yet to spread its wings. Or a dragon yet to come into its own.
But now, she was nothing more than an enemy I had to bring down completely.
"Elisabeth von Habsburg — the Empire's third princess, and Countess of Evartrier. You are every bit as beautiful as your reputation as the finest beauty on the continent. A pleasure for the eyes."
Elisabeth's eyebrow lifted ever so slightly. Was she surprised that I knew who she was?
Her expression hadn't changed at all. Just as composed as ever. It was almost disappointing — I had wished she would show even the slightest flicker of unease... A tiger was a tiger, even when young. She was no pushover.
But that said, the atmosphere itself was stiff. Well, it would have been stranger if she were nonchalant after that speech just now. If she didn't respond with a bit more composure, she would lose the initiative to me, Princess of Habsburg. Are you ready for this?
"I have duly admired your magnificent string of lies."
"Oh? My words are lies, you say?"
The princess nodded.
"Indeed. Your tongue, from beginning to end, has done nothing but spit out deceit and falsehood."