229 Sly

Well then.

Secured permission from the riffraff and seized the right to eat three full meals daily.

Now I can lounge about—no, focus entirely on my own tasks, without a care.

Of the scattered units, the Elro Great Labyrinth Expedition is nearing the opposite entrance.

Still, since there is moderate traffic of humans, each must be deployed carefully, ensuring no single one is noticed.

In fact, this may take longer than actually clearing the Great Labyrinth.

Incidentally, the Beasts have already begun returning to their original dwelling.

I will reunite them with the Guard protecting the Queen in stasis and allow them to roam freely within the labyrinth for a time.

Unlike the fragments, they have already formed independent entities from me. Granting them some degree of autonomy is necessary.

Then, there is the task of gathering intelligence within the Demon Realm.

The Seventh Army is making unsettling movements, much like a street gang being diverted.

They’ll handle the situation, but just in case, I’ll provide backup support from behind.

It’s unwise for the Demon Clan’s ranks to become disordered at this time.

Moreover, those operating behind the scenes in this matter must be excluded.

The ones who incited General Workis of the Seventh Army to stage a coup.

I connect to one of the fragments monitoring the Seventh Army.

There, Workis and the masked man.

The innermost chamber of the lord’s manor in the city where the Seventh Army is stationed.

"Arms shipment will be complete shortly. Preparation is nearly finished."

The man with the unmistakably villainous expression speaks to the masked man.

A clearly defined underling, a third-rate antagonist.

The scene unfolds too clearly—already, the expression on his face screams greed, and one can almost picture him being easily swayed by a suggestion like, "Interested in the Demon King's throne?"

Third-rate, or rather, Workis Seventh Division Commander, inhales smoke with a conspicuously villainous gesture.

"Thanks to you, I can act sooner than expected."

"Mutual interests. No gratitude necessary."

The masked man replies flatly.

This is him.

The true mastermind behind this coup.

The one who supplied weapons and equipment to the Seventh Division, controlled information, and set the stage.

Frankly, this coup was a predetermined farce from the start.

Acting alone with the Seventh Division alone shows no foresight.

A short-term campaign is assumed, but advancing under fatigue from marching, facing an unscathed Fourth Army, and launching a disadvantageous siege is unavoidable.

Delaying means reinforcements will arrive from other cities and suppress the uprising. Even without that, victory remains unlikely.

Even if everything proceeds as planned, the Demon King’s power alone can scatter a full army with ease.

The Seventh Division had no chance of victory from the outset.

Yet I leaked this information to the street thugs—because of the existence of this masked man.

He reeks.

He uses fragmented sentinels for surveillance, but they are always disrupted mid-transmission.

My sentinels cannot be deceived. He must be escaping via spatial magic.

Only a few can wield spatial magic.

In this world, perhaps only a handful possess the skill.

Spatial magic is that difficult.

Even with system assistance, mastery is not achieved so easily.

The only practitioners of spatial magic I know are the Demon King and that mage who sought apprenticeship.

The Demon King possessed the spatial magic skill, but at a low level, rendering it ineffective.

Thus, the only known user of spatial magic in my knowledge is that mage.

Such rarity exists.

I myself used it frequently, so I never perceived it as scarce.

Likewise, the Black One used it extensively.

The mere fact that one can wield spatial magic warrants caution.

Additionally, the objective remains unclear.

Continued surveillance revealed that the masked man provided information to the Third Prince, including the Demon King's existence.

In fact, this coup appears to be preparation for eliminating the Demon King.

The reason for such actions remains unknown.

Yet what matters is that this masked man knows of the Demon King’s existence—something only a few humans should be aware of.

The skill to bypass my surveillance and expose the Demon King’s presence.

Since the Demon King’s domain came under my control, I have perfected the system of surveillance through fragmented consciousness.

Any suspicious individual in the Demon King’s domain would not escape my notice.

Therefore, the only possibility is that the Demon King’s existence was known from outside.

How?

The most plausible explanation is that surveillance began prior to entering the Demon King’s domain—during the journey itself.

If so, the masked man’s identity becomes clear.

An Elf.

Considering the circumstances, the Elf leader figure, Pono something, had known of the Demon King since the time I rescued the Vampire Child.

Given the Demon King’s power, it is not surprising that those moving in secrecy would be monitored.

I did not expect, however, that this level of surveillance would remain undetected by me.

It makes sense, if I’ve been under constant surveillance all along.

Perhaps the elves did not recognize the Demon King as a Demon King. They may have simply been monitoring him as the oldest divine beast.

Upon arriving in the Demon King’s territory, they formulated the hypothesis that the oldest divine beast had become the Demon King.

They then perceived this existence as an obstruction and schemed to eliminate it by inciting the Seventh Army.

This explains the basic sequence of events.

Yet some things remain unclear.

If they understood the Demon King as the oldest divine beast, they should also understand his power.

They could not have believed they could destroy him by deploying the Seventh Army.

There must be another objective.

Or perhaps the Demon King is a secret weapon designed specifically to defeat the Demon King.

In either case, caution is required.

Therefore, I initiated a strategy of having the low-level operatives act first—disrupting the enemy’s plans preemptively.

First strike.

Now I will observe how they respond.

The elven leader cannot be killed. They say they revive like my egg does. Eliminating them won’t yield much effect.

Then, draw out all their plans—expose every move—before crushing them.

Simple. Clear.