Chapter 29: Demon King’s Regulars

In the dining hall of the Demon Kingdom’s military, as usual, Decker and Cornell were sitting across from each other.

“The war between Admos and Weimar seems to have turned into quite a quagmire.” 

Decker said, poking at the leftover vegetables on his plate with a fork.

Cornell, sitting across from him, watched Decker with a bitter expression.

“…Tch. Being such a picky eater, how is it that you’re still so big?”

“Huh?! You’re responding to that?! And it’s my constitution, so it can’t be helped!”

“…Hmph, whatever. So, you’re talking about the war between the human countries, right?”

“Ah, you’re getting back on track… yeah, Weimar was just fighting us, but now they’re starting a war with a neighboring country. They’re a crazy bunch of battle maniacs.”

At Decker’s words, Cornell crossed his arms and started to hum thoughtfully.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Well. I get that the morale was high toward the end of the recent conflict due to the false accusations, but Weimar wasn’t always such a war-hungry country.”

“Really?”

Cornell was irritated—didn’t Decker know about the countries bordering the Demon Kingdom? But since it wouldn’t help the conversation, he held his frustration in check.

“Yeah, back when our country was going through internal strife with the royal succession and such, Weimar had the perfect opportunity to attack us. But they didn’t. Maybe it was because they were also holding back against Admos… but Weimar is generally known for its defensive stance, so I don’t think they would start a war on their own.”

“Ah, I see. Now that you mention it, that does seem strange.”

“Right? But I’ve heard that Weimar started the war against Admos. It doesn’t match up with the Weimar we knew. Something’s off.”

At Cornell’s words, both he and Decker started to ponder, “Hmm…” 

Then, their superior, Yaman, entered.

“What’s this? Another consultation between the two of you?”

Yaman sat down at the same table.

“Ah, Yaman-sama, thank you for your hardwork.”

“You’ve been working hard.”

“Yeah. So? What are you two worried about now?”

“Well, it’s about…”

Cornell explained the conversation he and Decker had been having to Yaman.

After hearing the report, Yaman, like the others, crossed his arms and started to think, “Hmm…”

“Now that you mention it, that is strange. From our perspective, we just assumed the countries sharing a border with us would be fighting each other, and we could sit back and watch for a while.”

“I thought the same.”

“Me too. But when Decker said that Weimar is a nation of battle maniacs, it raised some doubts. Was Weimar really such a war-hungry country?”

“Certainly, in my memory, Weimar was always focused on self-defense. They almost never started wars of aggression.”

“Except against us…”

“Yes. For the human countries, dominating the Demon Kingdom is almost an obsession, if not a full-fledged desire. But Weimar, as far as I know, had never waged war against a human nation before.”

Yaman sighed, then crossed his arms again to think.

“…We should investigate this further.”

Previously, when they looked into Weimar’s unusual movements, they uncovered some unexpected facts. Yaman thought that this time, they might uncover something new.

With that in mind, Yaman decided to send a reconnaissance team to Weimar.

A few days later…

“We’ve got the results from the investigation.”

Yaman called Decker and Cornell into his office.

“Calling us here means… this is some pretty classified info, huh?”

At Decker’s words, Yaman nodded slightly.

“While I can’t confirm everything, something has come up that we can’t ignore. Until we’re sure of it, it’s too risky to share this outside.”

At Yaman’s words, both Decker and Cornell tensed, holding their breath.

“So, what is it?”

Cornell asked, bracing himself, and Yaman dropped his gaze to the report in front of him with a serious expression.

“…Apparently, Weimar has submitted to Kenta Maya.”

“‘Huh!?’”

Both Decker and Cornell exclaimed at the same time.

“He’s controlling a human nation?! What does that even mean?!”

“I’m not sure.”

“…Perhaps he’s been targeted by the human nations and, tired of the hassle, decided to dominate them and make them subservient…”

“That might be the case, but we have no concrete evidence yet.”

Yaman was about to nod in agreement with Cornell’s opinion, but since the information was based on rumors and lacked solid proof, he refrained from fully agreeing.

However, Decker, believing Cornell’s words to be true, spoke up.

“Indeed, his power is said to surpass even the late King, who was the strongest in history. A human nation could easily be made to submit under him.”

“…The late, late King.”

Cornell corrected Decker’s words, and Decker clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Tch! I can’t accept a woman becoming a king! The late King was the late King!”

At Decker’s words, Cornell sighed deeply.

“Sigh… It’s because of people like you that Lady Meyleen was ousted from the throne and went missing. It’s a sad thing.”

“Huh?! You’re saying I’m wrong?!”

“Yes! You’re wrong! During the post-war turmoil, it was someone as intelligent as Lady Meyleen who was the right ruler! Yes, the current King is strong, but it took over a year to stabilize the chaotic domestic affairs! And it was all left to his subordinates! Do you have any idea how many bureaucrats resigned because of that?!”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care!”

“Both of you, enough already!!”

Yaman intervened with a sharp command, stopping the heated argument between the two.

“Decker. Lady Meyleen was once crowned as queen. Do not belittle her because you personally dislike it.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“And Cornell. Your previous words were disrespectful to the current King.”

“…That wasn’t my intention… I was just saying that Lady Meyleen was more suited to domestic affairs… The current King excels in battle.”

Yaman sighed softly after hearing Cornell’s words.

“Ugh… I understand that. I’m just saying, don’t speak those things out loud.”

“…Sorry.”

“For now, I’ll keep this matter to myself. From now on, avoid such comments.”

“Yes.”

“Good. You may go now. And about the earlier discussion—don’t mention it to anyone. It’s just a rumor at this point.”

“Yes.”

Decker and Cornell responded in unison and left Yaman’s office.

As Yaman watched them leave, he quietly muttered to himself, reflecting on their argument.

“Originally, it would have been best if the siblings had worked together…”

Yaman then looked out the window.

“…I wonder if Lady Meyleen is safe.”

When Meyleen was ousted from the throne, it was reported that she had fled the castle in nothing but her clothes.

A sheltered princess raised in the royal palace would never have been able to survive in the streets in such a state.

However, if she was still alive…

“She would probably become the spark for another upheaval…”

Yaman earnestly hoped that such a future would not come to pass.

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