第３９８堀：駄目神が動いた結果 (Part2)
If they learned the truth, it wouldn't just be a matter of cooperation; it could genuinely lead to war. After all, this was the origin of the Demon Lord campaign that caused such immense devastation.
Granted, Hifi herself wasn't deeply involved at the time, but she would undoubtedly be held responsible for supervisory negligence. As for Comet, it wouldn't be strange if she were demanded to face execution-level punishment. As things stood, we couldn't possibly accept that, which meant we, Weed, would likely end up stepping in and triggering an all-out war.
That was, by any measure, an unacceptable outcome.
That was why I had played my trump card. The volatile, potent drug known as Luna.
Fortunately, based on the information gathered so far, I had judged Noble and his people to be rational. Honestly, I’d even thought they might be better than Hifi. Before collecting the data, I’d assumed they were as bad as or worse than her, and since it would be dangerous if they decided to handle things themselves after being called out by me or Luna, I hadn't intended to involve them. But there seemed to be room for negotiation, and since we had secured Ex and the dungeon ourselves before Luna could even issue a summons, any attempts at escape or counterattacks would be negligible.
The preparations were complete, so we had begun to move.
"Well, fortunately, everything is ready, so we'll manage."
"...Is that so? However, when did you manage to seize control of the dungeon? I thought you had only finished mapping it out by last night?"
"Ah, I was wondering about that myself."
"Er... I'm not sure how to put this."
"Is there a problem?"
Yeah. I was genuinely at a loss for how to explain it. As Hifi said, the dungeon infiltration team from last night had been tasked with mapping. I had intended to coordinate with Mino-chan’s exercises to seize key locations all at once and gain the upper hand.
And the result was this. In other words...
"By last night, we had finished exploring the entire dungeon and had finished pinpointing all key locations and the whereabouts of every major figure."
" "...Yes?" "
I think that reaction is perfectly normal. We had literally finished everything by yesterday. We were in a state where a single order would be enough to pacify the entire place.
"To put it simply, it was a perfect game."
In terms of the disparity between our forces and theirs. If I had to describe it, it was like the difference between a top-tier character and a low-level grunt in a fighting game. It was the result of blowing past our best-case scenarios.
"Since we had already investigated everything during the night, all that was left was to take control of the dungeon and secure the key individuals. Using Mino-chan’s exercises as a decoy, we placed a core in the upper levels to create a foothold and just kept pressing the advantage. Surakichi-san and the others had already infiltrated the room of the Dungeon Master, some guy named Sacri, and since we seized the dungeon's core in the blink of an eye, we didn't even need the foothold from the upper levels. As for the magic sword and zombie production factories, Narjia-san’s sabotage worked so well that they’ve started producing green onions and durians instead."
" "..." "
The person who set it up had said that green onions were a joke weapon that could substitute for swords, and that the King of Fruits, with a scent rivaling that of zombies, would be a perfect replacement. Regardless of the magic sword factory, I’m pretty sure you’d die if you entered the zombie factory without a gas mask. I heard that the leader of a mercenary group called Schmidt was twitching on the floor there before Steve and the others dragged him out.
"Now you understand the situation. From here on, Luna will act as the moderator, and we’ll review everything and explain the situation through a quiz."
"A, a quiz!?"
"Wait a minute. I’m supposed to be Yuki-kun’s collaborator this time, right?"
"Comet!! How could you be so cowardly!!"
"Don't worry. Comet will be Luna's assistant moderator. Hifi will participate as a contestant, but it won't be *that* terrible. I think."
I looked at Hifi’s face and couldn't bring myself to say it with certainty. I mean, we're talking about that overly-enthusiastic, useless goddess, right? Defying my expectations is her specialty.
"I, I beg of you!! Is there any way you could withdraw my participation!!"
"Ah, I’d love to do that for you, but we have to tell Noble and the others what you guys did during this quiz. If they see you undergoing such a brutal punishment game, they’ll be less likely to hold a grudge, don't you think? You realize that yourself, don't you?"
"...Th, that's..."
"Are you a demon? I feel like I'm losing something essential to being human."
"Th, then, at least don't record it..."
...I couldn't say anything more. Because, behind her...
"What are you talking about? You have to record something this interesting!!"
"Lu, Luna-sama!?"
"I wondered why you hadn't shown up yet, and here you are throwing a tantrum like a child. Get moving!! We can't start without you!!"
With that, Hifi was dragged away.
"Er, I suddenly have a stomach ache..."
"I can't let you just run off on your own."
I grabbed Comet by the scruff of her neck and dragged her along.
"H, hey!? One sacrifice should be enough, shouldn't it!?"
"You heartless woman!! In that case, Comet is coming with me!! If we're going down, we're going down together!!"
Friendship is a beautiful thing.
Now, all that's left is to wait for the opening of hell.
*The current story is undoubtedly a continuation of the death match in the Royal Capital of Ex. This is not a broadcast error. Please continue to enjoy the story. Hifi’s hell is just beginning!!*