277 Resumption of Covert Operations

Second entry of the day

Corrected the previous entry, where Blow had appeared in disguise.

Now, a fresh start—must resume covert operations.

For now, entrusted the Demon King with securing a sweet treat and arranging a meeting with the Sacred Word Church.

Regarding the sweet treat, received a firm assurance: "Leave it to me!"—so I will wait with anticipation.

The Sacred Word Church awaits their reply.

Currently, one mannequin spider is deployed there—communication is straightforward.

They may not be ready for immediate negotiations, having just concluded a war. No choice but to wait patiently.

Besides, we ourselves have not yet completed full retreat or advance—cannot move freely either.

Thus, the only ones currently able to move freely are myself, the Vampire Child, and Fermina-chan.

The Demon King could move if he chose to, but the commander-in-chief cannot be seen staggering about like this.

Huh?

What about the Tenth Army?

Leave it to Wald-kun.

He’ll handle it more accurately than I could.

Thus, we begin with what can be done by those still mobile.

First, have the detached unit responsible for system maintenance investigate whether the goddess can be prevented from further manipulating the system.

If possible, proceed with that.

Destroying the Hero System is impossible.

The system cannot be destroyed without exploiting the brief window during a Hero’s transition.

Forcing it otherwise would negatively impact the current Hero.

That is, Yamada-kun.

Additionally, destroying the Hero System would require an enormous expenditure of energy—completely inverted priorities—so we refrain.

Then, my main body will reunite with the Vampire Child and Fermina-chan.

Retrieve the Potimas Body and store it temporarily in a separate dimension.

Analyze it later.

For now, I must prepare to resolve the situation in Yamada-kun’s homeland.

"So, I’ve been infiltrating the Empire."

"What exactly do you mean by that? I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Despite giving instructions to the Vampire Child, it fails to comprehend my words.

What a useless one.

One must sense the intended meaning through instinct, not through language.

My words are not the issue.

They are not lacking at all.

The upper echelons of Yamada-kun’s homeland are already infected by Potimas.

I do not know Potimas’s intent, but continuing to ignore this will lead to no good outcome—this is obvious. It’s time to act.

Specifically, eliminate the subordinate fragments of Potimas operating in secret, and kill those already being consumed.

The king, for example.

Rescuing a human once consumed is not impossible.

Theoretically possible, but requires significant effort. Only one might be saved.

While saving one, the others will likely be killed.

Thus, it would be easier to abandon hope from the start and eliminate them all at once.

This will inevitably result in a major incident.

And since they must all be eliminated simultaneously, the event will be highly conspicuous.

Delaying the elimination will alert Potimas.

Therefore, I intend to have Natsume handle the primary perpetrator.

I considered eliminating them myself, but I prefer to keep my presence hidden from Potimas.

The Vampire Child will certainly learn of my existence after killing the Hero, but they cannot possibly anticipate my true nature as a god.

It is preferable that Potimas believes our greatest force is the Demon King.

The Black will not move regardless of circumstances—treat it as non-combatant.

The one selected as the focal point is Natsume and his younger sister.

Use Natsume, who has gone berserk, as disposable. Let his sister control him.

This way, public attention will focus on Natsume, diverting it from me.

Ideally, the Demon King’s movements will be obscured by this as well.

Natsume is a prince of the Empire.

Therefore, exploit that connection to the maximum extent possible.

The forces Natsume can directly command are limited. Use the Vampire Child’s charm to manipulate the Empire’s upper echelons and support Natsume.

Natsume himself possesses the highest tier of allure—lust—so why not seize control of the Empire from within at this juncture.

That way, sending the Demon Army to the Elf Village will be far easier.

Hmm.

An excellent plan, even by my own standards.

Somewhat extreme, yes.

But what difference does that make now?

I explained this in painstaking detail to the Vampire Child and Fermina.

Phew. More effort than defeating a Hero.

"Understood. Then let me meet this younger sister of yours."

What's with the 'then'?

Vampire Child, didn't you learn to explain things clearly, from start to finish?

Read my mind?

I'm not an ESP user—how could I possibly do that?

Honestly, today's youth lack proper expression.

Well, we might work together in the future. If you insist on meeting, I’ll arrange it.

I’ll have the detached fragment observe the younger sister.

Her elder brother, Yamada-kun, suddenly acted strangely during class and left. She’s been anxious ever since.

She’s back in her room, but pacing restlessly in circles.

So concerned about her brother, are you?

Ah, I see.

Then, let’s突击 the younger sister’s dinner.

We’ll teleport directly into her room.

“!?!”

The younger sister freezes in shock at our sudden appearance.

The Vampire Child stares at her without blinking.

Fermine watches the younger sister with an expression full of pity.

I do not understand.

“Would you like to know what happened to your brother?”

The younger sister flinches at my question.

Clear enough. That will do.

Then, let us begin the pact with a deity not of demons, but of abomination.