Lately, I'd been spending a lot of time in the imperial palace's enshrinement hall.
This place, built solely for Paimon, was always quiet. Except for the palace maid who came at dawn each day to change the flowers, there wasn't a soul around. It was the perfect spot to come alone and lose yourself in deep thought. Well, there was the one mentally taxing aspect... but that could be ignored.
Of course, I wasn't visiting the enshrinement hall out of grief for Paimon. It was a political gesture. Paimon had been one of the most popular Demon Lords in the Demon Realm, and the Mountain Faction still mourned her to this day.
By not forgetting Paimon's death, I—Dantalion—spend most of my time in the enshrinement hall every time I visit the imperial palace. To their eyes, wouldn't that be rather admirable conduct?
"Just as I thought—you're here."
Someone was walking in from the entrance. I felt their presence and looked up to find Sitri standing there with an embarrassed smile.
"I stopped by your office, but you weren't there. I figured you'd be right here, hehe."
"It puts me at ease, being here."
"Yeah, I know. Me too. Here."
Sitri was holding a basket in her right hand. I took it and peered inside to find cute little sandwich-like snacks neatly arranged, along with two adorable steamed potatoes.
"Now this is quite the feast!"
"I-I made a lunch box. You probably haven't eaten lunch anyway, Dantalion."
"I never knew Sitri had a knack for cooking."
I let out an exaggerated exclamation. Whenever I saw Sitri, I felt endlessly depressed, so if nothing else, I could at least hide that by chattering away energetically. Whether my reaction gave her confidence or not, Sitri beamed with a wide grin.
"I've been taking bride lessons lately!"
"Bride lessons?"
"I feel like I've been acting too much like a tomboy all this time. So I've been learning from the maids and tutors. Hehe."
"...I see."
I forced a bitter smile.
Although Sitri called it bride training, it was in reality leadership education. With Paimon having passed away, like it or not, Sitri had to become the one to lead the Mountain Faction. There was no Demon Lord in the Mountain Faction with greater popularity than Sitri.
Though she herself probably didn't intend it, it was Sitri who had saved the Mountain Faction from the brink of disintegration after Paimon's death. By orchestrating a meticulous revenge in the Demon Realm, she had preserved the Mountain Faction's pride.
"What is the hardest part of the bride training?"
"Hmm. Dining etiquette, maybe? I've always eaten however I felt like, but my teacher says that won't do. Did you know there are dozens of different types of knives?"
Sitri grumbled like an elementary school student who didn't want to go to class.
As you could see, Sitri's general education was quite lacking. When Paimon was alive, Sitri hadn't needed any culture or refinement. Her role was simply to be the sword the Mountain Faction proudly wielded. But now, the situation was completely different…
As the head of the Mountain Faction, attending meetings, receiving influential figures who requested an audience in the Demon Realm, and engaging in political battles with the Plains or Neutral Factions—everything had to be Shouldered by Sitri.
For a woman who had lived her entire life on the battlefield, relying on nothing but a single sword, this burden must have been too heavy.
But Sitri accepted the education in the arts of rule without a single word of complaint.
No, she had actually requested it herself first.
"That's excellent, Sitri. Truly impressive."
I ruffled Sitri's bangs. Like a pet dog, she yielded to my touch and burrowed even deeper into my embrace.
"It's amazing. Every time Dantalion praises me, I feel so energized."
"…If it's too hard, you are allowed to give up."
"Mm. But Dantalion is holding up just fine, too."
Sitri did not flee from Paimon's death. Instead, she faced it head-on and accepted it. She fully recognized the fact that the Mountain Faction would collapse if she did not step up. And she was working hard not to lose a single part of the legacy Paimon had left behind…
"Because Dantalion is here, it's okay."
"…"
"Here. Aah."
Sitri picked up a sandwich and fed it to my mouth.
"Mm."
It had bacon, tomato, and crisp lettuce in it. The lettuce's crunch against the richness of the bacon was perfect. The fact that tomatoes were used made it obvious a human hadn't made this food. For some reason, humans called tomatoes "bloodsucker fruit" and refused to eat them. They claimed tomatoes were red because they secretly drained the blood of corpses underground. Superstition still ran rampant in this era.
"Is it good?"
"Yes. Very good."
"T-then how about this one?"
Sitri held up a second sandwich. Unlike the other sandwiches in the basket, this one alone was clumsy-looking. The tomato jutted out awkwardly, and there was obviously far too much bacon.
Well, well.
Despite everything, I'd survived these past eight years on nothing but street smarts. I caught on immediately. A woman who suddenly showed up with a packed lunch, a single sandwich that looked like a mess, and Sitri watching me with eyes full of inexplicable anxiety…
Sure enough, that was it. Come to think of it, they might have taught her about dining etiquette in her imperial education, but there was no way they'd taught her how to cook. I ate the second sandwich at a leisurely pace, as if savoring the great truth of the world.
"Hmm."
I deliberately chewed slowly, as though testing the flavor. With every passing second, Sitri's expression grew more and more anxious. I was now certain.
"Wh-what do you think…?"
"It's delicious. No, it's even more delicious than the one from before."
"Really?!"
Sitri's face bloomed into a radiant smile.
"I can't quite put it into words, but how should I say this. It's made with care… Yes, I can feel the care that went into it. It's like there's something hidden inside that goes beyond mere taste."
The scenario was obvious.
Sitri had probably cooked for the first time today. Making a sandwich-like snack for the first time as well. Naturally, it hadn't turned out well.
Sitri was despairing over her own skills and had gone to the imperial palace chefs for help. But she couldn't give up on the desire to share something she'd made with her own hands, so she'd secretly hidden away exactly one sandwich—the one she'd made herself. That was the particularly ugly one.
"The snacks from earlier felt a bit mechanical and overly professional, but this one's just slightly misshapen. It's much more comfortable, somehow."
"Heh, heheh... Really? I'm glad."
Sitri smiled, her cheeks flushing red as if she were embarrassed.
Heh heh. A truth of this degree was easily revealed right before my eyes.
We ate our snacks in an atmosphere that had grown wonderfully warm and cheerful. The sight of Sitri blowing on the steamed potato with her breath to cool it, then splitting it in half and handing one piece to me was beautiful enough to be worthy of being transposed onto a masterwork painting.
I finished eating quickly and lay down on Sitri's lap. Sitri hummed a little tune as she brushed my hair.
"Lady Sitri!"
Just then, a butler-clad member of the Tiger Tribe came rushing into the quarters.
The moment the butler approached, the warm and cozy atmosphere shifted in an instant. The gentle smile vanished from Sitri's face without a trace. In its place emerged a cold, hardened expression. Sitri stared at the butler with eyes that held a murderous edge.
"This is where the deceased rest. Lower your voice."
"Y-Your apologies... I have an urgent matter to report..."
The butler halted his steps. Upon seeing the two of us, he seemed to finally realize the mistake he had made. The butler bowed his head deeply and spoke.
"As commanded, we have captured the Demon Lord Belial. He is currently kneeling in your office, Lady Sitri."
"Good. What about the comrades of the Mountain Faction?"
"They are all gathered."
Sitri's voice as she spoke with the butler was entirely different from before. It was the voice of a ruthless, merciless leader. Sitri whispered quietly into my ear, too softly for the butler to hear.
"Dantalion."
"I understand the situation."
I rose to my feet.
Sitri had reorganized the Mountain Faction, but it was far from perfect. There were even Demon Lords who had plotted to defect to another faction, claiming there was no longer any hope in the Mountain Faction. One such was the former sixty-eighth ranked Demon Lord, Belial.
The Demon Lord Belial had once received a debt of gratitude from Barbatos during the early stages of the Eighth Crescent Alliance Army campaign. Barbatos had saved the Demon Lord's Castle from being overrun by the human forces. That must have been why. The moment he sensed the Mountain Faction was growing a little unstable, he had quickly switched his allegiances.
But they were careless. Following my advice, Sitri had placed surveillance on each of the Mountain Faction's Demon Lords one by one. She had bribed maids, gardeners, coachmen, even the servants' children, spinning a web of surveillance as intricate as a spider's thread. The fact that the Demon Lord Belial had secretly met with Brother Zepar was quickly uncovered.
Brother Zepar was practically the second-in-command of the Plains Faction. In times like these, secretly meeting the opposing faction's number two was just about the perfect recipe for being branded a traitor. There was no room for excuses.
"I'll go as well."
"...Will that be alright?"
"I'm allied with Sitri. There's nothing strange about it at all."
Sitri gave a nod.
We left the mortuary and headed for Sitri's office. Originally, Sitri hadn't had a separate office of her own, but she was now using the one Paimon had occupied. Inside the spacious room, every single Mountain Faction Demon Lord had assembled.
The air in the room was tense and foreboding. The Mountain Faction Demon Lords all wore dark expressions, as though they could sense that something unpleasant was about to unfold. The moment Sitri entered, the Demon Lords bowed respectfully at the waist.
"We greet Lady Sitri."
"Everyone, thank you for gathering on such short notice."
Sitri raised her right hand to dispense with the formalities.
The Mountain Faction Demon Lords raised their eyebrows upon seeing me follow in, but no one actually objected. The tears I had shed when Paimon died, the way I periodically visited the mortuary to pay my silent respects afterward—because of these things, the Mountain Faction Demon Lords were relatively well-disposed toward me.
"L-Lady Sitri."
In the center of the office, the Demon Lord Belial was kneeling on the ground. Both of his arms were tightly bound behind his back. The moment he saw Sitri, Belial began to plead desperately.
"I don't know what this is about, but it's a misunderstanding! I'm truly innocent! You know better than anyone how hard I've worked for the Mountain Faction!"
"..."
Sitri merely glanced at Belial from the corner of her eye without offering him a reply. Her gaze had shifted not to Belial, but to the other Mountain Faction Demon Lords. Sitri opened her lips.
"We're facing an unprecedented crisis. Sister Paimon is dead, and the Plains Faction is still going strong. We've left everything to Sister Paimon up until now, so it's only natural that we're thrown into panic when confronted with this situation. Honestly, I don't know what to do either."
"..."
"But one thing is clear. The more we panic and fall into disarray, the happier someone else will be."
Sitri didn't name a specific person, but not a single Demon Lord of the Mountain Faction was unaware that she was pointing at the Plains Faction.
"Think back to Sister Paimon's funeral. Not a single one of them even shed a tear. They just nodded their heads in front of the coffin, then turned around and walked out as if that counted as paying their respects. All except one."
Sitri briefly shifted her gaze toward me. The Mountain Faction Demon Lords nodded in agreement.
"I don't want to make those kinds of people happy. I'd like to hear my comrades' thoughts on the matter."
"Your words are most wise, Lady Sitri."
"We cannot let ourselves be trampled by those who can't even show basic decency in the face of death."
The Mountain Faction Demon Lords voiced their agreement in unison. Ten Demon Lords of the Mountain Faction took turns voicing their approval. With each passing voice, Belial's complexion turned paler and paler.
"Then, we're all in agreement."
"Lady! Please, listen to me! Th-this is a frame-up! I never did anything—"
Before Belial could finish speaking—
Sitri drew the longsword from her waist and swung it with lightning speed.
A bright red spray of blood burst into the air. Belial's head thudded lightly onto the lavish golden carpet. Moments later, blood stained the carpet crimson. The Mountain Faction Demon Lords watched the scene in silence.
Sitri swung her sword once more, shaking the blood from its blade.
"I will never tolerate traitors."
"..."
"The three of us—all of us—will protect Sister Paimon's legacy."