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While Borchu, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, was temporarily away, I asked my party.

“Is it possible that the Satan I know is the same Satan?”

“If the subject is indeed correct, doesn’t it mean that the second-in-command of the Demon World is now in the vicinity?”

“That’s right.”

With Demon Lord Belphegor here, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the strongest figure of the Demon World has emerged.

“It could be an impersonation.”

“Still, would someone impersonate a demon lord’s name in the Demon World?”

“They might only be borrowing the name. Or…”

The worst-case scenario.

“Perhaps Asydia is commanding Demon King Satan.”

“…Is that even possible?”

“If it’s a summoning using the true name, it’s not impossible. No matter how much of a demon lord they are, being summoned with their one and only true name makes it difficult to resist. This was also true for the Great Demon Lord, Belphegor, 500 years ago.”

“…….”

Demons have a serious weakness known as a true name.

Of course, one can tell if it’s a true name summoning before responding, but it’s not uncommon for demons blinded by the prospect of being summoned to the intermediate realm to come over regardless of whether it’s a true name contract.

Satan, that composed gentleman, doesn’t seem like the type, but you never know.

“I’m going crazy. At this rate, won’t all the demon lords jump out?”

“…Does that mean even the Great Demon Lord could appear?”

“That’s the most likely scenario. Who is Asydia? They were the henchmen of the great demon lord. It’s highly probable that they summoned the Great Demon Lord based on their experience and data from summoning the other demon lords.”

They may have successfully summoned the Great Demon Lord based on the know-how gathered from summoning the other six demon lords.

“It’s too early to make a hasty decision, but thinking that Asydia might be behind Satan is actually comforting.”

“So what should we do?”

“It comes down to one of two options.”

I pointed to both my left and right.

“One is to quickly visit the Sky Island, secure Lucius’s Spirit Device at top speed, and somehow rush back down to defeat Demon King Satan.”

“The other would be the opposite.”

“Exactly. With our current strength, we defeat Demon King Satan and Satan’s army first, then leisurely head to the Sky Island afterward. What we choose between these two paths is solely up to us.”

“Hmm….”

I could feel my party’s struggle.

Though they had a tough time dealing with Demon King Leviathan in Belselphia, the presence of a much stronger demon lord seemed to make them visibly tense.

“I’ll follow Lucius’s suggestion.”

“Me too.”

“I’m the same.”

The three members of the party left the decision to Lucius.

Since that was their opinion, I had no plans to disagree.

It was simply a matter of choice.

“…It’s hard to think about the affairs of the kingdom and principality, and to make matters worse, we now have to deal with the Demon King’s army. Sigh.”

Lucius turned to me with a bitter smile.

“Master. What would you do?”

“Me?”

“Yes. I’ll just take it as a reference.”

“…….”

Saying it’s just a reference doesn’t mean they won’t do as they wish.

I felt concerned that bringing this up might burden Lucius and the others, but to express my honest feelings…

“Aren’t there Holy Sword Heroes in the Empire? Wouldn’t they handle something like the Demon King’s army? Do we really need Lucius to take action?”

That’s my sentiment.

“Even among the currently available Holy Sword Heroes, there are five. If a demon lord appears, it should be enough to summon Bearnes and Liriez. And the Empire has Holy Sword Heroes too. Ignoring the whereabouts of the elusive Light and Phantom Heroes for now, the heroes in the Empire should be able to take care of it.”

I chose my words carefully.

It was a clean up job.

“Or a hero who can come might handle it. If not, well… then we’d have no choice but to split the party.”

“Split the party…?”

“Yeah. While Lucius and I go to the Sky Island, the three of you could face the Demon King’s army.”

That would be the efficient way to allocate our members.

But as soon as I brought it up, their gazes changed, making me wonder how we could split the party.

“No matter how powerful Satan is as a demon lord, if it’s truly not necessary for us to intervene, then I think we shouldn’t need to.”

“Shouldn’t we…?”

“Exactly. No need to.”

However.

“If we ignore the people right in front of us being killed by demons and just leave for the sky, wouldn’t that feel terrible?”

At my words, the four of them exchanged glances and nodded.

“We don’t need to rush to find the Spirit Device to prevent the destruction of this world. The Spirit Device is just a vessel to wield power better. In fact, the Spirit Device is merely a supplementary tool for those who can’t better wield the Holy Sword.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right. For a hero who can handle the Holy Sword to the extreme, a Spirit Device is just a fine steed. It’s like a mount.”

I feel bad for the Spirit Device, but to the ‘ultimate hero,’ who can handle the Holy Sword to its extreme, it’s just a splendid specialized mount.

Of course, if Lucius insists on riding it right away, what can I do?

“Lucius, what will you do? Will you go to the Sky Island, or will you defeat the Demon King’s army?”

“…Now that I think about it.”

Lucius looked briefly up at the ceiling and continued.

“Not only Demon King Satan, but capturing the demons of Satan’s army will yield magic stones, right?”

“Well, that’s the idea.”

“If we gather those magic stones and put them into the Bride Ship’s storage, we could use them if Kraken’s Magic Core breaks down or something, right?”

“…That certainly makes sense.”

The mana used in the Bride Ship is more considerable than one might think.

No matter how much they efficiently extract magic power using ancient civilization technology in the engine room, having spare magic stones when heading to the Sky Island certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“If we defeat the Demon King this time, let’s obtain food and magic stones as compensation.”

“…Bel points: 20 points.”

“What?”

“If you had just said you’d help, I would have deducted 10 points. If you had rashly said, ‘I can’t just stand by while people are suffering!’ without any plan.”

“…Didn’t you teach me that one shouldn’t be used without a cost? Even if someone utilizes you, think about getting something in return.”

“Good mindset. Hehe.”

Lucius possesses the proper demeanor a hero, or rather a human, should have.

‘Makes me think of the past.’

There was once a hero who delayed resolving a village crisis for an entire week, leaving without being compensated for the funds spent during that week, which led to unbearable financial distress for the party.

The more a person’s integrity shines, the darker the shadow behind it grows.

Compared to that dreadful time, Lucius has the balance of being honorable while also being astute in practical matters.

“Alright then, hero. What’s your choice?”

“…….”

Lucius closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

His somewhat prolonged breathing suggested he intended to firmly make a decision with this declaration.

“I will support the Anari Principality and defeat the Demon King’s army.”

“There’s a chance the Holy Sword might be revealed?”

“If it turns out that I’m a Holy Sword Hero, shouldn’t that mean I can gather even more magic stones?”

That’s correct.

“Alright. I’ll take care of the rest. You guys…”

I pointed towards a hallway in the reception room.

“Go there and rest as a group of four. Since it used to be a royal castle, it should be quite comfortable. Oh, of course…”

I indicated Lucius’s Holy Sword.

“Don’t forget to put up the Barrier of the Holy Sword around your room. So no one can see your room. Got it?”

“Understood… Ah.”

Lucius’s expression tightened.

“Why?”

“…Does that mean we won’t be able to go to the Bride Ship for a while?”

“Yeah.”

“……Sigh.”

Something.

Lucius bit his lower lip and closed his eyes tightly.

His eyelids trembled slightly, as if trying to suppress some indescribable anger.

Well, it must be uncomfortable compared to staying in the Bride Ship.

In that place, Lucius is treated like royalty.

“Rest comfortably. I’ll handle the annoying stuff.”

I got up and left for another location.

“Borchu, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Lead the way.”

“Yes.”

Borchu, who had been waiting outside, led me somewhere.

Most likely inside the palace.

The one responsible can be considered the person who must formally welcome the hero party.

The Grand Duke.

“Pleased to meet you, Sorceress of Crimson Lotus. I am Huritas Anari, the leader of this Anari Principality, a Grand Duke of the Empire.”

He looked older than I anticipated.

When I thought about how he changed the kingdom to a principality and claimed that position, I assumed he might be a young ambitious person, but he appeared to be an elderly man.

“Before we speak, I would like to ask you one thing. Are you indeed the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus who gathered the Holy Sword heroes to defeat the Demon King 500 years ago?”

“I won’t deny that.”

“I see. Before discussing matters with the Saintess and the other heroes, I have a personal question for you. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, please bring it to me.”

“Yes, Your Highness Grand Duke.”

Borchu disappeared somewhere and soon returned, holding something with both hands.

It was.

“This is the treasure of our principality, known as the ‘Glory Hall.’ It’s the scabbard of the sword that has been passed down in the principality.”

“…A scabbard?”

“That’s right. Although it has been passed down since 500 years ago, it’s an object we modern people can’t confirm.”

As soon as I saw the item called a scabbard, I realized that the curse hanging over the Anari Stick, or rather the replica of the Holy Sword, wasn’t limited to the sword itself.

“Is this truly the treasure of our principality… no, of this Anari that used to be a kingdom?”

“……It is.”

“Goodness.”

The Grand Duke showed genuine disgust.

“It seems the Demon King was correct.”

“The Demon King?”

“…Excuse me. I don’t mean the king of demons. Um, I’ve been saying the ‘Magic King’ for the past three days, and it just won’t leave my mouth. Let me introduce.”

As the Grand Duke reached out, a door beside him opened, and someone appeared.

“The future of our principality, the hope of the principality. The alchemist who brought about a magical revolution in our principality, Magic King Endymion.”

“Pleased to meet you….”

The woman with green hair.

“……What The Fuck….”

She uttered an indescribable exclamation and laughed at me.

“You, Bitch.”

“…….”

Magic King Endymion.

Magic King Endymion.

Mami-on.

…Mammon.

 

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