“The Demon Lord…?!”

“Yeah.”

Bella stared at Trinity.

Her grip on the sword tightened unconsciously.

The enemy of humanity.

The absolute villain.

The ruler of demons.

The one who brings destruction to the world…

Countless descriptors explain what the Demon Lord is.

The most dangerous being in the world, unparalleled.

And today, Bella met a demon who declared she would become that being.

It was hard to dismiss her as just a self-absorbed lunatic, given the extraordinary power she displayed.

The defense soldiers were helpless against her inexplicable attacks. Moreover, the aura emanating from her shadow was akin to facing monstrous beasts.

Trinity, as if reading Bella’s thoughts, spoke.

“No need to be so tense.”

“…How can I not be tense in this situation?”

“…True.”

The opponent was a demon who had single-handedly invaded a castle guarded by a massive Imperial Army.

The defensive magic formula to protect the castle wasn’t complete yet, allowing the intrusion, but even if it had been, she likely would have broken through alone.

Even Bella, a wielder of light magic, felt cold sweat running down her back in the presence of this demon. It was like facing a bottomless abyss.

But she had to dive into that abyss. Just as her ancestor, the hero Alonso Izakhel, had done.

Demons threatening humanity must be eradicated.

“I don’t know what your goal is…”

Bella adjusted her grip on the sword.

“…but I will stop you.”

“Stopping me would be troublesome. I didn’t come here to fight.”

“…What?”

Trinity flatly denied Bella’s resolve.

“Put away your sword. I came here today to warn you.”

“Warn us?”

Bella, puzzled, clenched her teeth.

“What do you demons think of us humans? Killing humans out of nowhere and calling it a warning?”

“Killing?”

“Ha… You didn’t even realize you killed humans? You just slaughtered the defense soldiers and have the audacity to call it a warning…”

“…Look closely. They’re just unconscious.”

“Huh?”

Startled, Bella looked around and saw that the fallen soldiers were merely groaning in pain, just as Trinity had said.

“…Even so, was all this necessary?”

“I don’t like anyone touching me.”

“Just for that reason…!”

“It may be trivial to you, but not to me. And it wasn’t me who attacked first. I merely retaliated.”

“What?!”

Infuriated by Trinity’s audacity, Bella pointed her sword at her and shouted.

“Well, you invaded on your own, so it’s only natural!”

“Who told you to let me invade so easily?”

Trinity retorted indifferently.

Seeing her arrogant, prideful face, Bella felt an inexplicable irritation.

What is this? This annoying yet familiar feeling?

Why does this woman remind me of that man?

‘No way, that can’t be…’

Bella looked at the villainess before her.

A cold impression that even an eyemask couldn’t hide. That much was expected, but Bella, having known him for so long, could tell.

Especially those obsidian-like eyes… They were too similar to his.

Though it was impossible, Bella couldn’t help but voice the question.

“Are you perhaps…”

“Gotcha!”

At that moment, the castle wall exploded with a deafening roar.

No, it was more accurate to say it detonated.

The spot where Trinity stood burst into flames as if a bomb had gone off.

“Ugh! Did I get her?!”

“Leon?!”

The man who caused the explosion was Leon Peiriguris, the Imperial Army’s general and head of the Seven Stars.

Perhaps he had rushed here upon hearing of the attack.

He wielded a mace larger than himself. Flames flickered at the tip of the mace, clearly capable of devastating power.

Known as the “Holy Flame of Victory,” it was Leon’s primary weapon, having slaughtered countless enemies. The mace was scarred and dented from prolonged use.

The smoke and dust spreading across the castle wall attested to the mace’s destructive power. Trinity, caught off guard by the fiery ambush, surely couldn’t have survived.

Or so it should have been…

“…If it weren’t for that line, I might have died.”

“Ugh?!”

As the dust cleared, a dark shadow flickered. From the murky, slimy substance, Trinity emerged unscathed, frowning at Leon and Bella.

“I have no intention of fighting you.”

“Hmph! You might not, but I do!”

“Leon! Wait! Let’s talk first—!”

Ignoring Bella’s plea, Leon swung his massive mace at Trinity again.

“Uoooh! I’ll cut you down!”

“Where exactly are you cutting?”

“If you swing a club fast enough, you can cut through anything! This is my new swordsmanship technique! Cutting an egg with a rock!”

“…I don’t know about that swordsmanship, but I agree with the sentiment.”

Trinity remained unfazed as the mace flew through the air, merely shaking her head.

“But that speed won’t cut it.”

“Ugh?!”

The next moment, Leon’s massive body was lifted into the air. No, not lifted.

For a brief moment, Bella’s trained eyes caught it.

Something incredibly fast shot out from Trinity’s shadow. Leon was struck repeatedly by the unknown entities and sent flying.

“At least this speed is necessary.”

“Hahaha! Indeed! You’re right!”

Despite being countered, Leon laughed heartily. His mace now bore claw marks from a beast.

In that short moment, Leon’s agility in wielding the massive mace to block the attacks showed his considerable skill.

But if even Leon’s attacks were ineffective, just how skilled was this woman…?

As Bella pondered, a gust of wind blew behind her, and a voice called out.

“Princess!”

“We’ll join you.”

“We heard a demon appeared.”

Patrick Wolfbert, Ariel Rizeute, and Laura Elsink landed on the castle wall. Ariel must have used wind magic to swiftly bring the commanders.

Among them was someone Bella was glad to see.

“Count…”

“…So the demon who invaded the castle is that woman.”

Tristan Ruelberta, the black-haired noble, ignored Bella and glared at the intruder on the castle wall. Though slightly hurt, now wasn’t the time to show it.

Not just Bella, but the representatives of the Seven Stars readied their weapons, channeling magic power to face the mysterious demon.

Considering their individual combat abilities, this was an excessive response to a single demon.

But Bella felt this level of force was necessary to counter this woman.

As everyone displayed hostility, Trinity calmly spoke.

“Calm down. I have no intention of fighting humans unless you attack first.”

“What?”

“I came here to deliver a message.”

Everyone except Bella looked puzzled.

Trinity had indeed been advocating for dialogue. But a proper conversation between two hostile races was unlikely.

“Hmph! Foolish! How can we trust a demon’s words?”

“Ah, don’t trust me then. I’ll just say what I need to and leave.”

“Ugh?!”

“The Forest Demons are now divided into two factions. One is led by me, and the other by a man.”

Trinity tapped the castle wall with her foot, revealing shocking news.

“That man plans to attack this castle.”

“?!”

The commanders stirred.

Regardless of the truth, they couldn’t understand why a demon would reveal such crucial information about the forest’s situation.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Bella spoke.

“What are you talking about?”

“I told you. I’m warning you. That man, unlike me, despises humans.”

“…So you’re a demon friendly to humans, is that it?”

“Quick to understand.”

Trinity nodded in satisfaction.

“I don’t know the exact timing, but it will be soon. The demons might attack this castle as early as tonight. If you understand, be careful.”

Crack!

“…Don’t test my patience unnecessarily.”

“Tch…”

Trinity’s shadow expanded, shattering something invisible around her.

It seemed Ariel had tried to trap her in a barrier but failed. As a senior professor at the university, Ariel was a veteran in magic formulas. Creating a barrier unnoticed should have been easy.

But it was detected.

“One more warning. It’s better to act straight with me from now on.”

Trinity’s icy gaze was chilling.

“You’re starting to annoy me.”

The voice, filled with palpable ‘wrath,’ made Bella and the other representatives hesitate.

“Ah, just a heads-up… Whatever that man says, it’s not the will of all demons. If you take his words at face value and attack ‘us,’ we won’t stand idly by.”

Trinity lightly leaped onto the castle wall. A cliff was right behind her, but she didn’t seem to care.

“That’s all I have to say. I’ll be going now. Do as you please.”

“W-wait!”

Finally catching her breath, Bella strained her voice to stop her.

“Why, why are you, a demon, telling us this? What’s your reason?”

That was the common question in everyone’s mind. Given the relationship between humans and demons, this was an impossible scenario, so Bella represented them in asking.

“Reason…? Well…”

Trinity’s answer was simple and clear.

“Because I’m the woman most suited to be the Demon Lord.”

With those final words, the black-haired villainess slowly fell backward, down the steep cliff.

“W-wait?!”

The startled group rushed to the edge of the castle wall, but Trinity’s figure had vanished without a trace.

*

“Good work.”

“Not at all.”

In the temporary barracks made of snow, Blanshe handed me a palm-sized object.

“It’s my first time using it, but it seems truly remarkable.”

In my hand were two identical hand mirrors.

I had wisely asked Albert from the workshop to make an extra hand mirror.

All of this was prepared for today’s act.

Earlier, I had appeared before the Imperial Army as Trinity. While I played the role of the mysterious demon, Blanshe used a ‘mirror’ to transform into my appearance and appear alongside the other heads of the houses.

Ah, of course, Helga volunteered for this mission, but I rejected her. While she might be good in combat, Blanshe was far more suited to play Tristan’s solemn and serious demeanor.

My judgment was correct, as Blanshe performed my role flawlessly.

Well, she mostly just stood there and kept her words to a minimum, but if Helga had done it… it would have been a disaster.

Imagining that horrifying future, I couldn’t help but feel grateful to Blanshe.

“Thanks to you, I survived. Blanshe.”

“Not at all. Without you, Count, this operation wouldn’t have succeeded. You… performed your role excellently…”

Blanshe averted her gaze, slightly embarrassed. I chuckled at her reaction.

“…You’re not good at flattery.”

“N-no, it’s not flattery! I just…!”

“Enough. You must be tired. Go rest.”

Given her consistently businesslike demeanor, she wouldn’t be able to relax fully around me. So I wanted to let her rest early, but…

“Count.”

“…What is it?”

“…How was my performance?”

I was caught off guard by the sudden question.

What? I pondered for a moment before answering.

“…If I had to choose between good and bad, it was good.”

“I see. It was good…”

Blanshe nodded quickly.

But asking about her performance? She’s curious about the strangest things.

“Then I’ll go now—”

“Wait a moment.”

“? Do you have something else to say?”

“Yes.”

Blanshe took a deep breath and looked straight at me.

“…I worked really hard for this mission.”

“You did.”

“To perform as you, I observed every action of yours.”

“…I see.”

“Yes. I spent a lot of time internalizing it.”

“…Did you?”

“Not only that, but I even deceived Miss Bella, who is very dear to me.”

“……”

“What do you think about this?”

Blanshe continued to speak in her usual businesslike tone. But the intent behind her words was clear, very blatantly conveyed.

I sighed.

“…I get it. What do you want?”

“Well……”

“?”

Not knowing what she wanted, Blanshe hesitated for a long time before finally speaking in a mosquito-like voice.

“I request… a personal reward.”