Chapter 28 — A Kind Face, But Not a Kind Attitude (1)
Chapter 28 — A Kind Face, But Not a Kind Attitude (1)
The day had come for the first Grand Council since he took up residence in the Demon King's body. Once a month, all the ministers, including the four members of the Small Council, were said to gather for a meeting.
Most of the nobles holding positions of mid-level administrator or higher in the court attended, so the number was easily in the hundreds.
That figure excluded the military officials absent due to the war and the lords managing their own territories.
The demons' physiques varied widely. For that reason, the council tables and chairs were built generously spacious.
This was the Grand Council Chamber, designed to accommodate hundreds of them. As expected, it was vast.
In modern terms, it rivaled a large indoor stadium that hosted major sporting events.
And at the head of the room, facing the tiered desks arranged in a semicircle, stood the seat of honor.
The chair that had always been empty, placed at the highest point—its owner had finally appeared.
It had been years.
'It's a little intimidating when they stare at me with such wonder.'
Roan leaned back on the throne and looked down at the demons gazing up at him.
From spider- or insect-bodied beings like Aranya to beastmen like Minoreus, undead like Liron, and creatures straight out of traditional RPG monster manuals like Shwikviena—all of them faced the Demon King in luxurious attire, their faces filled with bewilderment.
'So they're not people-eating monsters, but literally just races like forest fairies.'
Though their forms and sizes differed, they were generally more uniform in size than the monsters in ordinary games. Even the largest specimens, like ogres or trolls, barely exceeded two meters.
Minoreus, who approached three meters, stood a full head taller than the largest demon here.
Could it have been related to the fact that their staple diet was a fixed ratio of grain and meat, with tastes similar to humans?
Among the lower-ranking nobility, some were seeing the emperor's face for the very first time today.
One might have expected murmuring at such an unexpected event, yet the vast semicircular chamber was eerily silent.
'For a day like today, I did spread "Overwhelm" a little, thinking I needed some dignity....'
However, the fear radiating from the 257 beings caught by "Detection" did not seem to stem solely from "Overwhelm."
Roan opened his mouth.
"... Chancellor."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Directly below the throne were the seats of the Small Council—positions that faced the nobles of the chamber with their backs to the emperor.
Among them, Aranya, who sat closest to Roan, bowed her head and answered the emperor's call.
Their conversation resonated throughout the chamber, since a voice amplification magic tool, similar to a microphone, was active.
"Was it always this quiet?"
"No, Your Majesty."
Aranya and Shwikviena smiled faintly.
The remaining nobles who caught this wore flabbergasted expressions.
'Why is His Majesty sitting there?! Were the rumors true?'
'Ugh..., I'm ruined! There's something I absolutely had to say in today's council...!'
'I'd better keep my mouth shut today....'
'They're smiling? They're smiling?!'
'Has the Chancellor finally lost her mind?'
All manner of bewildered reactions, in all manner of forms, reached Roan. He tasted bitterness.
He had done some work to freshen the atmosphere inside the castle, but these people had almost never spoken directly with the changed Demon King.
They had probably glimpsed him now and then in the castle, and they had probably heard the rumors, but staking their lives on that was too dangerous.
Roan sighed lightly and addressed the nobles seated before him.
"Do as you normally would. I will not harm you."
To humans, they were terrifying monsters, but seated before the Demon King, they looked like hamsters trembling in fear.
He had come to hear what they had to say, but this was the state of things.
Only the sound of Shwikviena, seated below the Chancellor, stifling her laughter reached his ears.
As the Correction Officer sat facing the noble officials, that sight of her was perfectly visible to all.
The Correction Officer.
A vassal who reported to the castle daily and could request an audience with His Majesty at any time.
In other words, an extreme profession.
... Was the Correction Officer alright...?
Could that rumor be true?
A soft murmur gradually began to rise.
Though the voices were hushed, with so many speaking at once, it grew into a tremendous noise, like a swarm of bees buzzing.
At that, the Chancellor deliberately put on a stern expression.
"Then, I shall commence the 936th Grand Council."
Roan looked down at the seating chart spread open on the desk.
On the chart, names and official titles were written in a tiny, cramped script.
He matched demon faces to names one by one, and whenever someone spoke, he took careful note of them.
It was a cheat sheet he had asked Aranya for a few days ago.
'The Demon King being a tyrant does have its advantages.'
Far from finding it odd that the emperor would request such a thing, Aranya had trembled with emotion.
― Your Majesty, heavens. This is so commendable... no, such gratifying news. Of course. If you need such things, please ask anytime.
Even though he had seen information like place names in the game, he knew little of the situation in Evirgio, which was not the main stage.
However, understanding the administrators' words was less difficult than expected.
The cheat sheet played a role, but the decisive factor was the skill he had acquired a few days ago: "Politics."
[— Politics Lv3:
A skill that aids the overall rise in ability for governing one's surroundings.
Understands the elements of the caster's surrounding situation and subjects, utilizes them to increase one's own power, and adjusts their interests to obtain desired results.
The scope of politics is applied infinitely, from small matters like interpersonal relations between individuals to large ones like projects between nations.]
Grünent's version of the skill even had an incredibly high level attached to it.
Level 3, the maximum growth level for skills in the game.
The playable time within the game was a little over two years.
While playing as the Hero, even using hidden items, raising a skill to level 2 was the limit.
If you poured everything into a single skill, you could sometimes reach level 3, but it was not a common occurrence.
But if Roan could only defeat the Hero, it might be possible to spend the time afterward and grow his skills even further.
He had information on hidden items, like the item book he saw in the library, and as Fiora said, he might be able to grow through practice.
In short, it meant he might even be able to possess level 4 or 5 skills, things never seen in the game.
'As expected, you need to be alive to do anything.'
It was while Roan quietly reaffirmed his resolve to survive.
"The next agenda item concerns the princess sent from the human kingdom of Merde."
At the Chancellor's words, the council chamber fell silent in an instant, as if doused with cold water.
A few individuals with strong political influence or wide personal connections stole a glance at the throne and then averted their eyes.
They were the ones who already knew for what purpose that princess had been sent to the Demon King.
However, the majority of the demons stared at the Chancellor with puzzled expressions.
And soon, their eyes flew wide open at the Knight Commander's words.
"Months ago, in the first month of spring, our enemy nation Merde sent prisoners for a truce treaty. They offered their first princess as a concubine to His Majesty, our great Iron-Blooded Emperor, and requested a ceasefire."
After a moment's silence, a chaotic clamor of voices resounded through the chamber.
Most of them, unable to hide their shock, were having conversations with the person next to them amounting to 'Did you know about this?!'
Amid all this, a few kept their silence and boldly glared at the Demon King's seat.
'... They're Erenier's kin.'
They were the family of the Dark Archduke, the lord who ruled the South Black Territory, and the clan of her daughter Erenier.
As if they had already known this news, they merely stared at the Demon King in silence, without a trace of surprise.
'Ho-oh....'
Skills like "Will" or "Politics" did not deliver their results in a visible form.
However, after acquiring "Politics," Roan could feel the intent behind an opponent's actions with greater clarity.
The South Black Territory was the most fertile in Evirgio.
Because it held the largest population, the largest force currently on the front lines was also the one led by the Lord of the South Black Territory.
They did not want Erenier's position to be threatened.
The Dark Archduke was a powerhouse whom even the Demon King could not treat carelessly, and the lord of the wealthiest territory.
Perhaps he was even aiming for the position of the next Demon King.
After all, anyone with power could covet the throne of the Demon King.
And the family of the main wife who produced a queen just before that could expand their power without unease.
"As it was an action by an enemy nation whose true intentions were unascertained, His Majesty deferred his decision. However, he intends to announce his decision at this council and hear your opinions."
Looking at it now, Minoreus was remarkably large even among his fellow minotaurs.
The Knight Commander, with his conspicuous bulk, read out the decision finalized at yesterday's Small Council in a voice as weighty as his frame.
"The enemy nation Merde foolishly sent a one-sided ceasefire proposal without inquiring about His Majesty's intentions, and this is an act that insults our great Majesty and Evirgio."
The Minotaur Knight Commander paused to take a breath, glanced back at the emperor on the throne once, and finished reading the decision.
"Therefore, Merde's proposal is not even worth reconsidering, and the princess they sent is nothing more than a human. As such, the plan was for her to spend a period of incarceration like the other human prisoners before being put to use as a slave. However."
The nobles swallowed their breath as they heard Minoreus's "However."
Everyone present knew perfectly well that the words following "However" were the main point.
"By the grace of His merciful Majesty, the human shall not be killed and shall remain intact as His Majesty's concubine. However, the status of royal consort shall not be granted to the former first princess of Merde."
The moment Minoreus finished speaking, everyone was seized with shock.
The words 'mercy' and 'His Majesty' could not exist in the same sentence.
But an official notice of 'Human Protection' had already been posted once inside the castle.
Once might have been a fluke, but if it happened twice...?
In everyone's hearts, the suspicion of 'perhaps' began to sprout, little by little. Some thought, 'If this was why he declared he would protect humans, then just how bewitching is that so-called princess?'
In the end, Grünent became the hottest issue on the lips of the demon nobles right after the Imperial Council of the first month of summer concluded.
However, the person in question seemed to think differently.
"If I had to say... His Majesty is the one with bewitching charm."
The princess hugged a cushion, her voice dreamy. At that moment, a strange, sensuous color rose on Grünent's face, and Barbara audibly gulped.
Carol and Peggy had been summoned to the servants' meeting. They were now officially servants charged with attending to His Majesty's concubine.
"B-Bewitching...?"
Barbara's face flushed as well as she asked carefully. The princess rolled around on the sofa, closed her eyes, and pictured Roan's face.
It was behavior that would have earned her a scolding had Carol been present, but only Barbara and Rauka were in the room.
"It means he's overflowing with charm no matter what he does."
"... This is serious."
When Rauka, seated curtly by the doorway, spoke up, Grünent turned to look at her and said,
"Rauka, you don't know His Majesty well. His Majesty is kind, merciful, and wonderful."
"What are you talking about? You just haven't seen what his army does on the battlefield."
"Ruling over one's subordinates cannot always be successful. But at least, His Majesty is making an effort now. And I believe he will most certainly change even that war."
Sensing a strange firmness in her words, Rauka stared intently at Grünent. But Grünent paid it no mind and cupped her own cheeks.
"Besides, in bed, he's even more tender... Kyaa! No, maybe he's rough! And his body is even more...! Kyaak!"
"...Hnn."
Rauka let out a groan, looking at Grünent.
She felt her own face heating up for no reason.
Damn it, now she was imagining it.
After a moment of silence, Rauka, who had been staring at Grünent, swallowed dryly and asked,
"That thing you do every day... in bed. Is it really that good?"
"...Huh?"
Grünent's face went blank for a moment, as if she didn't understand the question, then shifted into a smile.
It was the kind of smile one gives a small child.
"Rauka, I guess you still don't know the pleasures of an adult."
"...What?!"
Rauka snapped and shouted at the princess, but she couldn't hide the tips of her pointed ears turning bright red.
It was the first month of summer, the last day of July.
For the princess, it was a happy day.
But for someone who cherished her, it was not such a day.