Chapter 31 — A Kind Face, But Not a Kind Attitude (4)
Chapter 31 — A Kind Face, But Not a Kind Attitude (4)
"...What?"
This time, the one who couldn't help but interject was Minoreus. He quickly shut his mouth with an "oops" expression, but the triumphant looks on Liron's and Shwikviena's faces crushed him.
Today, he was the loser of their wager.
Liron, Shwikviena, and Minoreus had a bet.
The first person to speak up in a meeting attended by His Majesty would buy the drinks.
Shwikviena had cannily chosen to say less, and Liron had grimly suppressed his retorts to avoid paying.
That was how they were growing accustomed to meetings with Roan.
The changed Emperor would explain things to the one who questioned him. There was no need to be afraid; simply wait calmly for the explanation.
As expected, Roan continued his explanation.
"The letter will contain a prophecy.
An Evirgio ship will happen to sail into the distant sea.
There, in that vast ocean, they will discover an Arteala merchant ship laden with wheat."
The ministers and Grünent, who had been intently focusing on what the Emperor might be aiming at, donned expressions of sheer disbelief.
"The demonkind are wicked. They will turn pirate, seize the ship, and drag it to the harbor of the North White Territory.
But by the Demon King's command not to kill humans, they will have no choice but to spare them."
Aranya and Grünent remained composed. The other three ministers ended up with their jaws hanging open.
The chancellor, having grasped the emperor's intent, picked up his thread.
"The brave humans would coincidentally be able to steal one of the remaining demon ships and make a successful escape. And that ship, as it happens, would be filled with the gold coins the Artealans love."
"As expected of the chancellor."
"That praise ought to be directed at you, Your Majesty."
"You are truly astute, Your Majesty."
Aranya's humble reply and Grünent's admiration followed.
When Affection reached +70, one began to shower affection on the other without caring about anyone else's eyes.
Grünent was now revealing emotions she would normally have concealed without any filter.
Her face, flushed with adoration and wonder toward Roan, was slightly aglow.
"Your Majesty already had a way to overcome this situation. I am truly in awe."
And her remark prompted the four members of the small council to think, "For a mere human, she certainly has an eye for the right things..."
"In that vein, there is an item you must prepare."
"What is it, Your Majesty?"
"That item from the East Yellow Territory I showed you last time..."
That was the moment.
"Chancellor."
It was the first time anyone had knocked on the door of the small council chamber. Roan closed his mouth, a look of surprise crossing his face.
But Aranya's eyes sharpened at the sound of the voice addressing her.
She glanced at Grünent once, then bowed her head deeply before Roan.
"Forgive me for interrupting. Your Majesty, an intelligence report has arrived."
There was no further explanation.
And the moment Grünent heard that, she turned to Roan.
"Your Majesty, this concubine shall take her leave."
Once again, her conduct earned the four ministers' favor.
Even a human who followed the Demon King did not need to be privy to every political matter.
Trust was not built overnight. Roan, understanding their reaction, gave a light nod, dismissed Grünent, and allowed the visitor outside the door to enter.
The person who entered the room with her head bowed was a member of the same Arachne species as Aranya.
With a face resembling Aranya's, she was Aranya's secretary.
"Report."
At the chancellor's permission, the secretary looked at the memo in her hand and began her report.
"Yesterday, among the ruin exploration missions Your Majesty ordered, the team heading northwest discovered traces of the intruder group that Your Majesty had separately commanded us to find."
And in an instant, a suffocating pressure descended upon everyone in the small council chamber.
"Hrk...."
The weakest person there, Aranya's secretary, let out a groan as if coughing up blood.
Only then did the 'Overwhelm' recede.
After a long while, the small council was starkly reminded of the power the Demon King truly originally possessed.
Minoreus, alone, having caught his breath, felt a sense of dissonance and sifted through his memories.
As a knight commander weaker than the Demon King, he could not accurately grasp Roan's achievements, but he was still a martial man.
He merely found himself alone, vaguely suspecting that his lord had grown even stronger in the meantime.
"My apologies. I was merely concentrating. Continue."
The secretary, hearing the Emperor's apology for the very first time, was partway through steadying her breath when her eyes flew open wide again.
Having committed rudeness out of fluster, she hastily lowered her head further and continued her report.
"They appear to have crossed the border one or two days ago and are moving along the mountain range. Accordingly, pursuant to Your Majesty's orders, the exploration team prioritizes the pursuit and capture of the intruders over the exploration mission."
Roan's gaze sank heavily.
They were crossing the border.
Grünent's rescue party.
'So, what is fated to happen, does happen.'
In the game, this was the quest where the Hero, still a mercenary, first set foot in the demon kingdom of Evirgio.
Through that quest, the player as the Hero first witnessed the state of the demon kingdom and also first met the main character who was the princess.
But Grünent was no longer in the dungeon.
That was why he had half-anticipated the rescue party's appearance as well, and had already tipped off the Gateway Expedition Team about a few locations they would pass through.
"We immediately requested the support troops that the Captain had prepared, and some of our clan's watchers are also shifting their mission to pursuit.
Once all forces have assembled and we have determined the optimal terrain, we will proceed with immediate capture. That is all."
The Hero was already a renowned mercenary of Merde. They could not be captured with shoddy troops.
If the Hero were alone, it might be possible, but that rescue party consisted of elite knights.
The strongest and swiftest knights of Merde's chief faith, the Church of Laurecia, formed the core of that rescue party.
And the main member of the rescue party.
Was the romanceable character, Helen.
The so-called 'Saintess'.
A friend so brilliant she could teach Grünent the ancient language, and a female knight who possessed holy power rivaling the greatest in the history of the Church of Laurecia.
'...And on top of that, a very remarkable character.'
Roan knew Helen's face only from CGs. And the majority of those CGs reflected rather unique sexual preferences.
Helen was a masochist.
According to players who had categorized her specifically, she was a 'slave'.
A lover of being reviled, and a lover of being trampled.
Therefore, the Helen Roan had seen in the game was....
'...a violence enthusiast.'
Of course, that meant she liked receiving it, not doing it herself.
'Well, sexual preferences can be diverse....'
Didn't everyone harbor a little latent sadism or masochism? Everyone's fetishes were different, after all.
Roan decided to try to understand her tastes.
Now, she was not merely a game character, but Grünent's friend, a human he needed to win over.
No matter how strong the Hero, the Saintess, or the Holy Knight Order might be, they had no means of winning a one-hundred-to-one fight.
Moreover, Roan had already informed the exploration team of their identities, skills, and abilities.
So, in the end, they were bound to be made to kneel before him.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Roan slowly parted his lips.
"Without fail."
It was the Demon King's voice, more resolute than ever before.
The waiting secretary bowed her head.
"You must succeed in their capture, without fail."
A glint of interest shone in Aranya's and Minoreus's eyes. What did His Majesty intend to obtain from them?
Yet one thing was clear.
Whatever His Majesty sought, it would not be something for His Majesty alone.
Unbeknownst to them, faith in their sovereign was slowly growing in their hearts.
Therefore.
We must succeed.
The one who answered as if taking a vow to Roan's command was the chancellor.
"Yes,
Your Majesty. We shall most assuredly carry out Your Majesty's orders."
*
"How was it today?"
"Hm?"
"...I am referring to this concubine."
Initially, Grünent had been far removed from coquettishness, but love brought drastic changes.
For the first time in her life, she found herself wishing to look adorable to someone.
The small round table set in Roan's office.
Though there were several chairs, Grünent deliberately stood beside Roan.
"Hmm."
Roan smiled faintly and wore an expression that said he had no idea what she meant.
Because Grünent's aegyo was precious.
Growing a little anxious, Grünent hesitated, then launched a back-hug on the Demon King!
Her full breasts pressed softly against Roan's shoulders.
"Your... Majesty...."
She drew out her words, nuzzling her cheek against the Demon King's hair. Her unpracticed aegyo was painfully awkward, but her single-minded desire to be praised by Roan was stronger.
At the sight, Roan chuckled, kissed Grünent on the cheek, and stroked her head.
"Yes. There was no need to fret after all, Grünent. Well done."
How he regretted that there was no camera! He would have to ask later if there were any magic tools with such a function.
"...Tsk."
Startled by the Demon King's laugh, Rauka unconsciously glanced at Roan, then scowled and averted her face again.
Yet, amusingly, the Affection figure floating beside her was -85.
Rauka, who had been criticized by Roan about her escort attitude, had chewed over that criticism several times.
In the end, her Affection had risen the moment she reluctantly reached the conclusion, 'Even though I absolutely don't want to because it's you who said it, I have no choice! Damn it!'
It was also because Grünent had been steadily feeding her the words, 'His Majesty is a good person! Just not in bed!'
Roan's prediction that drumming into her the duty to guard Grünent and keeping her close would raise Affection had indeed hit the mark.
'He had already learned from Diobe that 'once it rises above -90,'
the rest is relatively easy,' and so he decided to take it leisurely.
"Grünent. Come sit down now."
At Roan's gentle words, Grünent sat down beside him like an obedient child.
On the table were writing instruments prepared for composing a letter and her personal seal.
"A letter of recommendation format will suffice, yes?"
"Yes."
Grünent had an acquaintance in Arteala.
They possessed a magic tool with her seal already registered.
And Grünent planned to seal both the letter written by Roan and her own, then send them to Arteala.
'Every time I see it, magic really is astounding.'
Since this was a magic tool that had been referenced in text many times within the game, Roan's anticipation grew.
They said that once you finished stamping the seal, wrote down the coordinates of the magic tool you wanted, and used the magic to convey the letter, a magic bird (!) would appear and carry the letter off.
The speed was not very fast.
They said it took several days to reach Arteala.
But they also said it could carry parcels of considerable weight, so it was greatly useful.
Above all, the incredible thing was that an item between mutually registered coordinates was delivered 'without fail'.
Even modern-day courier services occasionally lost packages.
Naturally, while people had followed the magic bird partway, they never saw where it rested.
Everyone ultimately lost track of it midway, they said.
"Your Majesty, might I have the letter?"
Roan placed the letter he had written in advance and a small bundle before Grünent.
It was a flat, square object about the size of a palm.
Accepting the thin wrapping, Grünent marveled at its lightness.
"Is this that East Yellow glass?"
"Mm. As a sample."
Inside the letter, besides the prophecy he had spoken of to the small council, he had also written of his wish that Evirgio and Arteala continue trading,
that Evirgio possessed an abundance of resources that Arteala desperately needed,
and that Evirgio was willing to exchange those resources for something else.
Grünent, who had been stamping her seal and inspecting the envelope, suddenly looked up at Roan.
"Now that I think of it, Your Majesty, how is that matter you mentioned before proceeding? About giving humans work. I am looking forward to it."
"Ah, yes. I have ordered them to watch for the proper time to implement it. I also wrote in the letter about what is needed for it."
Grünent's eyes glinted with intelligence.
She spoke as if encouraging Roan.
"I believe it shall go well, just as Your Majesty has said.
you shall be able to change the lives of the people and of humans as much as Your Majesty desires."
Not long ago, Grünent had tossed out an interesting idea. It happened to be exactly when Roan was also deliberating on the full-fledged utilization of humans.