Preparations - Part 2
The 70th Floor. It was the layer ruled by the Demon King Andromalius, and relations with Sitri’s adjacent 71st Floor were exceptionally poor. This stemmed from Andromalius’s original ranking. When Seir von Devata was still alive and before Sitri’s power had been sealed, he had languished at the very bottom—originally the 72nd ranked Demon King. Yet through a stroke of unearned luck, he had climbed to 70th, and ever since then he had tormented the weakened and sealed Sitri on the 71st Floor in every way imaginable.
Countless battles had already broken out because of it. The relationship between Sitri and Andromalius could not even be adequately described by the word “worst.”
“You’re going to launch an operation on the 70th Floor? I’ll help!”
Perhaps for that very reason, Sitri was remarkably enthusiastic. The moment Nahen mentioned his plan to move against the 70th Floor, she had stepped forward offering support in every possible way. The only problem was that the sight of her crawling across the lawn while making her case lacked any semblance of dignity.
When Nahen looked at her with a faintly pitying expression, Sitri noticed his gaze and snapped.
“Wh-what’s with that look!”
“It’s nothing.”
Today as well, Sitri was in the middle of training meant to land a blow on Nahen. Perhaps because she was adapting to the magic faster with each passing day, today her crawling speed had increased noticeably. At this point, he could confidently say he would no longer lose to a snail.
“Seriously… why is this damned magic so thick?”
As he watched Sitri grumbling, Seere hopped down from her chair with a light bounce. Nahen quietly observed her.
Once on the ground, Seere toddled straight toward Sitri.
“Hm? What is it… do you have something to say?”
Seere shook her head from side to side. It seemed she hadn’t come because she had something to tell her. Sitri looked at the child with a questioning gaze, wondering why she had approached. Then, at Seere’s next action, Sitri’s eyes widened in shock while Nahen couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Let’s do it together!”
With a soft thud, Seere flopped face-down onto the lawn—just like Sitri. She looked up at the succubus queen with a bright, beaming smile.
“They say it’s less tiring if we do it together!”
Sitri felt a touch of exasperation, but there was no way this pure-hearted child was trying to tease her. That innocent, carefree smile couldn’t possibly hide any ulterior motive. Though the action itself was rather comical, Sitri could tell it came from genuine concern for her suffering.
With a slightly embarrassed chuckle, Sitri thought to herself, Dealing with someone this pure is actually the hardest thing of all…
At that moment, Nahen, who had been watching Seere’s adorable behavior, reminded her of one important fact.
“Seere, your Whitey is going to get dirty like that.”
“Hweh?”
Apparently she hadn’t considered it at all. Seere jumped up in surprise. She stared at her plush bear now covered in grass and her face crumpled.
“Wh-Whitey got dirty…”
“It’s fine. We can just give him a bath.”
Watching Nahen deliberately use the word “bath” instead of “laundry” when speaking about the doll, Sitri thought with mild surprise, He really is used to dealing with children.
Nahen gently picked up the teary-eyed Seere and handed her to Kain. After soothing her with the promise that she could wash Whitey together, he sent her off. Feeling Sitri’s gaze on him, he asked,
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, it’s just… you seem pretty familiar with handling kids.”
“…It’s not that I’m familiar with it. I simply think about what would make Seere accept things more comfortably and act accordingly.”
At Nahen’s answer, Sitri felt a faint sense of dissonance. The man who had always been impossible to read was, for the first time, wearing an odd expression—as if he were hiding something.
“…Is that so? You always think before you act, huh.”
“Then does Your Majesty always act without thinking?”
“Hey! When have I ever done that!?”
“That’s how your tone sounded.”
“This guy really…”
Nahen snapped his fingers, withdrawing the magic. Sitri looked at him in confusion as the training was suddenly cut short.
“Let’s pause the training for a moment and continue the earlier conversation.”
“…Ah, that?”
The talk about helping with the 70th Floor operation. Nahen was asking for a more detailed explanation.
“I don’t know what kind of behind-the-scenes work you’re planning, but I’ll help with anything I can.”
“And the reason?”
“Because we’re allies… I suppose you won’t believe me if I say that?”
“You’re stating the obvious. I know your relationship with Andromalius is terrible, but even if we take the 70th Floor, there isn’t much benefit in it for Your Majesty, is there?”
“We were already preparing for war anyway.”
Nahen’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at her answer. Sitri grinned, clearly amused by his expression.
“What’s that? That ‘I just got hit’ face? You really didn’t expect it?”
“…I did anticipate that war would break out, but the timing is earlier than I expected.”
Nahen had known that Sitri was preparing for war against Andromalius. It had been revealed in the game’s story, after all. However, the war was supposed to occur much later than this. In fact, Nahen’s current plan to strike the 70th Floor had already accelerated the timeline far beyond the original plot.
Did my early intervention change the flow of events?
Completely unaware of the thoughts racing through Nahen’s mind, Sitri continued.
“So if your goal is also to take the 70th Floor, wouldn’t it be better to help each other as allies?”
“I see Your Majesty is capable of making such an excellent proposal. I’m impressed.”
“Hehe, right… wait, you bastard!?”
Only then did Sitri realize he had turned her words into an insult. She exploded in anger, but Nahen smoothly moved on to the next topic as if nothing had happened.
“There is no reason for us to refuse such an offer. Then, how exactly do you intend to help?”
“You really are shameless…”
“What do you mean?”
“…Never mind. So what kind of help do you want from me? You must have been thinking about it from the moment you heard me speak.”
At Sitri’s question, the corner of Nahen’s mouth lifted slightly. That confident smile—it seemed he already had something in mind.
If I had made a different suggestion, he probably would have shot it down again…
Sitri was gradually beginning to understand Nahen better.
Nahen told her what he had been considering.
“Please proceed with your war preparations as originally planned.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, engage in a head-on confrontation.”
“Wait, wouldn’t that put us at too much of a loss?”
“Do not worry.”
Nahen reassured her.
“Your Majesty will not suffer any significant loss of troops.”
“…So you’re telling me to just pretend to fight?”
“Oh, you catch on quickly. As expected of Your Majesty.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Watching Nahen applaud her in praise, Sitri felt an oddly ambiguous emotion. It was clearly a compliment, yet it somehow didn’t feel like one. She was incredibly confused.
“Can we really take the 70th Floor just by pretending to fight?”
“Because we won’t be the ones conquering the 70th Floor.”
“Huh?”
“Take a look at this.”
Nahen showed Sitri the same report he had previously shown to Lyn. She accepted it, began reading, then flinched and looked up at him sharply.
“Is this true?”
“It is.”
The contents of the report Nahen presented were as follows: Andromalius had publicly criticized a powerful faction within the 70th Floor he ruled, and as a result, their relationship had soured.
“I knew he was stupid, but I didn’t think he was this stupid.”
“Thanks to that, we’ve been given an opportunity.”
A Demon King’s rank was determined by personal military strength, the scale of their forces, and their influence. Naturally, maintaining amicable relations with one’s own faction was an essential virtue for any Demon King. However, Andromalius was not capable of such behavior. He had a tendency to overestimate his own power and was a thoroughly self-righteous individual. That was the main reason he had remained at the bottom of the rankings for so long.
“There’s no way that bastard would apologize with his personality.”
“Exactly.”
No matter how much of a Demon King he was, publicly denouncing a major power within his own territory was unacceptable. And there was no chance that the self-righteous Andromalius would offer a swift apology or remedy for the mistake he had made.
“We will use that point to conduct our behind-the-scenes work.”
The operation Nahen had ordered Lyn to carry out was also built upon this incident. The goal was to infiltrate the 70th Floor, meet with the influential figure who had been publicly criticized—Aaron Radius—and win him over. By recruiting him, they would pull his faction to their side as well, splitting the forces of the 70th Floor. Then they would seize the now-divided layer.
Having grasped the situation, Sitri nodded. The plan itself seemed sound. The biggest key would be successfully recruiting Aaron Radius, but…
“You’re telling me this because you’re confident the persuasion will succeed, right?”
“I sent an envoy who would immediately catch their interest the moment they met.”
“…I can guess who.”
There was only one person under Nahen’s command who possessed both the reputation and power suitable for such a task.
“Fine. I’ll start the war just like you said.”
“I will inform you once the recruitment is complete.”
“Got it.”
Sitri pointed at Nahen with her index finger.
“And the split?”
“From territory to funds, an even fifty-fifty split. How does that sound?”
“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d try to take a bigger share.”
Nahen gave her a gentle, benevolent smile.
“We are allies, after all.”
The alliance with Sitri had to continue. For that purpose, he could afford to accept a small loss.
It’s worth that much.
Sitri narrowed her eyes.
“…Didn’t you say you wouldn’t believe me when I said something like that?”
“Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to Your Majesty.”
Having told her to think whatever she liked, Nahen snapped his fingers. Thick magic immediately flooded the area once more, and Sitri flopped forward with a heavy thud.
“Ack!”
“Training resumes, Your Majesty.”
After finishing training with Sitri and returning to the castle, Nahen was greeted by Seere.
“Teacher!”
“Oh, Seere. You’ve gotten all clean.”
Whitey must have been washed in the meantime as well; the dirty parts had completely vanished, and the bear had returned to its pristine white state. Seere herself looked fresh and fluffy. Seeing her greet him with a bright, sunny smile, Nahen unconsciously broke into a fatherly grin.
“Here.”
When Nahen spread his arms, Seere dove straight into his embrace. Lifting her easily, he asked Kain,
“Kain, has Lyn departed?”
“Yes, she left just a short while ago.”
“Good.”
Still holding Seere, Nahen was about to head to his office when he noticed something in her hair and blinked.
“Seere.”
“Yes?”
“Did you dye your hair?”
Seere tilted her head in confusion, but Nahen had definitely seen it—amid her pure white locks, a few strands of red hair were clearly visible.