272 The meeting dances
Today, or perhaps one might say so—though for now, it's the third chapter.
Testimony of the First Army, Lord Argner.
No issues detected. Proceeding smoothly.
Testimony of the Second Army, Lady Sanatia.
Ufu fu, I'll be plotting something.
Something resembling a strategy appears to be in motion.
Regardless of whether this strategy succeeds or fails, it will have no impact on the larger outcome.
Can be left unattended, perhaps.
Testimony of the Third Army, Mr. Kogou.
Don't want to fight, man.
Don't joke.
The Demon Lord is slightly irritated.
Testimony of the Fourth Army, Mr. Melazofis.
Bart, please don't worry.
Mel, you've been fussing over your former superior's health all along, despite your complaints.
It's touching.
Incidentally, that former superior appears to regard his former subordinate as an unsettling individual.
Testimony of the Fifth Army, Mr. Darado.
Demon Lord! I'm doing it, I'm doing it!
Ah yes yes, keep at it.
Testimony of the Sixth Army, Mr. Hyoui.
I'll do my best—please don't kill me, I'm serious.
The level of fear directed inward toward the Demon Lord is extreme.
The image of the Demon Lord devouring the arm of that breast-planet man from before seems to have left a severe trauma.
Testimony of the Seventh Army, Mr. Brow.
You're the Demon Lord? What kind of joke is this, huh!
The elder brother, Balt, has finally snapped under the crushing labor conditions.
Yeah, he had every right to snap.
After all, while Balt was working himself to death, the Demon Lord was lounging around.
Still, no need to snap here and now.
Read the room.
A sudden argument erupts between a pseudo-samurai and a thug from the Fifth Army. The Demon Lord intervenes.
Just go somewhere else and fight.
I want to go home and eat something good.
Made eye contact with Oni-kun.
Oni-kun appeared to have grown weary of the exchange, shrugging his shoulders.
Oni-kun’s testimony.
Problem nonexistent.
Lightweight, really.
After revealing what I had concealed, Oni-kun seemed to have cleared his mind, moving with renewed vigor.
Using the Eighth Army to clear the surrounding areas.
Small human armed groups—so-called bandits, adventurers, and others infiltrating the demon territories—were eliminated without mercy.
No leniency granted.
All killed.
Such cruelty instilled fear even among allies.
Worse, the way he treated soldiers as disposable only deepened the unease.
Even Balt seemed to regard it as a concern.
To Oni-kun, this was likely the very essence of mercy—yet few could comprehend it.
The meeting proceeded. Testimony from the Ninth Army, the Black family.
No issues.
Yeah, if there were problems with your legion, that’d be a global-scale issue.
We can’t afford problems that even dragons, or gods leading dragons, can’t handle.
"Then, report from the Tenth Army."
Oh—!
Oh no, that’s my turn.
Calm down, me.
It’s fine, I’m fine.
Just one sentence, that’s all.
"Tenth Army, no issues."
Got it!
Said it clearly!
Now that I’ve done what I needed to do here, it’s all finished!
No one’s going to bring up the topic of me again, right?
My wish was heard—the meeting concluded shortly after.
Just need to advance now. Probably a decision to return to our respective legions and resume command.
That’s a nice change from modern Japan, where there are no unnecessary meetings, and everything runs smoothly.
After the meeting ended, Black left without delay.
The Ninth Army of Black is scheduled to operate alongside the Demon King's personal forces.
In other words, conserving strength is necessary—otherwise, the human faction will be in serious trouble.
Overextending forces results in uneven casualties across both sides.
The Ninth Army is a secret weapon, after all.
"Shiro-san."
Oni-kun and Mel arrive.
War will make meeting again difficult—this is likely the final greeting.
Oni-kun won't die, I'm certain. Mel is also unexpectedly strong—capable of holding her own against a lower-tier dragon. Neither will die. So this isn't truly a farewell.
"Hey, you need something?"
A thug blocks Oni-kun and Mel.
Why?
"He has matters to discuss with me regarding our campaign. If you have nothing, don't waste my time."
What?
I didn’t hear anything like that.
Ah—so that's what we're discussing from now on.
No, but what’s there to talk about?
Fermina-chan usually handles most of it.
“Isn’t a greeting enough?”
“Then it’s already done, isn’t it?”
Rude delinquent treating Oni-kun casually.
Why does this guy always stir trouble around me?
Enough already.
“Don’t have time for a little talk? How interesting. The Seventh Army seems to have plenty of leisure.”
Oni-kun spoke mockingly, snorting through his nose.
The delinquent gritted his teeth. Mela restrained Oni-kun, who continued to provoke.
“Shiro-san, there’s an intruder. We’ll end it here for today.”
“We’ll look after the young lady.”
As he left, Oni-kun whispered to the delinquent.
“You think you’ll get a second look if you don’t even consider the other side?”
…Uncharacteristically sharp for Oni-kun.
“Let’s go!”
The delinquent marched forward without so much as a glance back or a nod of approval from me.
Why can’t he see that this selfishness is why he never gets a second look?
My好感度 continues to drop, despite that.
Afterward, the discussion on troop deployment turned out to be surprisingly reasonable.
He maintains clear separation between work and personal time.
Then again, he is Balt’s younger brother—such competence is expected.
As a result, the Seventh Army would take the front line, while the Tenth Army would serve as a mobile unit.
Within the delinquent’s circle, the Tenth Army is perceived not as a proper fighting force, but as a specialized unit handling behind-the-scenes operations.
Well, whatever.
Let’s just relax in the rear until the hero arrives.