#055 Preparation
#055 Preparation
After leaving our meeting with Guildmaster Francis de Emery behind, we slipped out of the Adventurers' Guild and barely made it back to our lodgings without drawing attention.
"There were too many people who recognized us. It was dangerous. Phew. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Are you all right, Master?"
"I'm used to being the center of attention."
After closing the door to our lodgings, I kept a wary eye on the situation outside.
"Please, just let us meet him once!"
"Now, now. Calm down. This is disrupting business."
"We just want to thank him for saving us—!"
"Ha, good grief...!"
A flustered innkeeper, and people who simply insisted on meeting us.
"Either they don't think they're being rude, or they know they're being rude but have a reason they absolutely must meet us. Rosemas, which do you think it is?"
"Huh? Are you... asking me?"
"Yes. I'm more curious about an elf's perspective than a human's."
If I asked Lucius, he would obviously say people were coming to express their gratitude.
But that wasn't the answer I wanted.
Unlike Lucius, who always saw the good in humans first, Rosemas was...
"Seven out of ten harbor ill intent. Ah, let me correct that. By ill intent here, I mean..."
"You mean only three out of ten are coming with pure intentions of gratitude?"
"Yes."
According to Rosemas's assessment, most of those wanting to meet us had some kind of agenda.
"Most of them are people trying to use our power to accomplish something. Whether it's asking to form a party together as adventurers, trying to pull us into their faction—be it a noble house, a merchant company, or a guild—or trying to profit greatly from the fact that we saved people."
"Is such a thing possible...?"
"Of course. A bakery that sells bread Lucius enjoys eating, since he took down a Sandworm in a single blow. Just advertising that would make people stop by and buy bread as they pass."
Some came out of gratitude for being saved.
Some out of admiration for a hero.
And some out of fondness for Lucius.
"Lucius. The world has far more insane people than you'd think. I can't tell you every detail of their behavioral patterns, but you have to be suspicious of all humans from the start."
"What if they turn out to be a good person?"
"It's better to apologize and ask for understanding from a good person than to get stabbed in the back by someone who turned out to be bad. A good person will understand even if you doubted them."
Which was exactly why I was using Lucius.
Even if I revealed my true identity later, Lucius would defend me, shouting things like "Master isn't that kind of person!" or "There must be some reason!" or "The Great Demon King stole Master's body!"
Even if Lucius completely turned against me, he was still the type to hesitate when it came time to swing his sword at the decisive moment.
I could exploit that opening to seize Lucius's body, or switch to another body—I just needed to wait for my chance.
"If someone shows you kindness, be suspicious first... Understood. I've learned something truly important again today, Master."
"Right, right. Always be suspicious. Especially of women who approach you."
"...Pardon?"
"Because the moment a woman is even slightly nice to a man, he goes all googly-eyed and tries to hand over his liver and gallbladder."
A male wanting to impress a female is instinctual for all creatures that reproduce.
"Lucius, eight out of ten women who approach you are foxes trying to seduce you and use you like an obedient slave. Got it?"
"...Understood, Master."
The same went for females wanting to look attractive to males, but males also needed to recognize feminine wiles and deal with them.
"Rosemas, keep a good eye on him from beside him. Got it?"
"......Yes."
"Why is your face like that?"
"It's nothing. I'll... do my best to watch."
By now, Rosemas had a look of enlightenment in her eyes.
Still, whenever Lucius and Rosemas exchanged glances, something seemed to pass between them, and if their relationship improved, that was good for me too, so I didn't particularly mind.
"Rest for a bit. We'll need to move intensely tonight as well."
"What?!"
"Keep your voice down. What if someone hears?"
I drew my hand across my lips toward Rosemas.
"From now on, this is just between the three of us. Got it?"
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"A strategy meeting."
"...Are you making it sound that grandiose just for a strategy meeting?"
"Of course."
Rosemas fidgeted.
Did elves need to use the bathroom too?
Well, with that many people outside, going to the bathroom could mean getting accosted by strange people.
"Hmm... Next time, I should get a room with a bathroom inside."
"A b-bathroom too...!!"
"Why are you so surprised? Come closer. Both of you."
I was sitting on the bed, and going far was a hassle.
I gestured for the two of them to come near the bed, and they awkwardly shuffled closer.
"Listen carefully. From now on..."
I pointed out the window at the moon hanging in the night sky.
"I'm starting an emergency strategy meeting to prepare for the Demon King Army's second attack."
"...The Demon King Army?"
"A second attack?"
"Yes. The Demon King Army won't just sit still. Even if there's a Hero."
The Flame Hero.
And the swordsman who split a Sandworm in a single blow.
They would have factored these in when attacking a city of Normance's level.
A skilled fighter like Lucius would have been accounted for, but a Hero was like a natural disaster that just suddenly appeared.
"They'll still think they can proceed with the conquest of Normance. And they have reason to..."
I passed along the information I'd heard from Guildmaster Francis to the two of them.
"Normance's forces will be pulled away to close the Portal at the northern lake. So what should we do?"
"We protect Normance?"
"Right. We have to defeat the Demon King Army... that attacks Normance."
Phew.
Out of habit, I'd almost spoken from the Demon King Army's perspective without realizing it.
'Does it really matter?'
For now, a quick patch-up.
"If I were a strategist for the Demon King Army, I'd launch a surprise attack on Normance while their forces are away closing the Portal. At the Demon King Army's favorite time for raids."
"There's such a thing?"
"Yeah. It's a truly shitty time from the humans' perspective."
3:48 a.m.
On average, the time when humans are in their deepest sleep, and the crossover point when those who've been awake all night start to feel fatigue.
If you time an attack for that moment, humans crumble easily.
How do I know?
Statistics.
* * *
"Should we just attack tomorrow?"
Malphas agonized as he looked down at Normance.
"The Demon King said it. If you launch two surprise attacks on a human city in the same day, about one time in seven, you should take it easy and rest for about three days."
The Great Demon King Belphegor's tactics were legendary.
-Great Demon King! Are we attacking the human city again?!
-No. They learn too. They'll be preparing for our attack.
-Then what should we do? Should we crush them to show them who's boss?
-No. Open the storehouses. Let's drink, eat meat, and hold a festival.
-Pardon?
-We just have to avoid being detected by the enemy. While they're running themselves ragged, we'll be inside roasting meat. Got it?
-I see...! A strategy to restore our troops' morale while draining the enemy's stamina!
-Right. And when the humans start to relax, thinking "Did they retreat?", that's when we launch a full assault.
-Gah...! Understood! We'll eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves as you command!
-Right, right. Ah, don't come to my tent today. Heh heh, then follow me.
-A leash for the Beastfolk queen...! Gah, as expected of the Demon King!!
"In reality, the humans couldn't even manage a surprise attack."
The humans, who'd spent three sleepless nights fearing an enemy raid, were defeated far too easily.
If he used that same tactic, surely he could deal a heavy blow to the humans.
"If we abandon the Portal and lie in wait, then intercept them..."
"What are you so worried about, Malphas?"
"You...!!"
The old man in a black robe who had appeared before Malphas cackled as he fiddled with the scythe in his hand.
"I hear you got thoroughly thrashed by the Flame Hero and your rear ambush failed. What's there to hesitate about?"
"Shut your mouth. A brat like you who never even experienced the 'Great Fall' wouldn't understand."
"Heh heh heh. Even a crow's jawbone clacking is a delicacy. I don't know how long you plan to live on old stories, but old-timers should quietly stay in the back room."
"You bastard..."
Malphas couldn't muster a rebuttal.
Not because Acedia's tactics were beyond reproach, but because his opponent was the Demonfolk who had supplied him with the Sandworms.
"I lost one of my pet Sandworms, so I must have revenge on the humans. I plan to launch a surprise attack tonight, at dawn, when humans sleep deepest. Will you join me?"
"...Fine. Good. I'll run a diversion. I'll knock on the north gate again. What will you do?"
"I'll... cut down everything in my path. Heh heh."
The old man licked his sharp scythe with his tongue and smiled greasily.
"I, Furcas, will cut down the Hero."
"How will you get inside?"
"You draw their attention from outside. In the meantime..."
Furcas tapped the ground with his foot.
"I'll rise into the city from underground."
"...A 'tunnel network,' then. Understood."
"However, I will prioritize the Hero."
"The Sandworms?"
"I'll leave them to you."
"Understood."
The two Demonfolk began reviewing their operation in earnest.
* * *
"Master, how exactly did you fight 500 years ago?"
"At night, we split into three shifts to sleep."
"Three shifts?"
"Yes."
First, Shift 1 slept as deeply as possible and woke up groggy but quickly fought at full condition.
Second, a shift that slept in rotation while standing watch.
And third.
"The all-night shift. Dividing it like this lets you prepare for enemy attacks."
"Um... Witch."
Rosemas raised her hand.
"Rather than organizing shifts among ourselves, wouldn't it be better to first inform the Adventurers' Guild?"
"I did consider that. But there's a problem."
Common sense said you should warn others about a possible enemy surprise attack.
"I already went and told them. But they didn't listen to a word I said."
Francis de Emery.
"He was convinced that because Bareness had dealt with so many of the crows, the enemy wouldn't be able to break through Normance's magitech anti-aircraft cannons."
"...That's not entirely wrong."
"If the only enemies left were the crows."
If I were the Demon King Army, I would never end the battle with just this.
"There will definitely be a next wave. Definitely. We need to prepare for it. So Lucius, Rosemas. You two..."
I pointed at the bed.
"You two sleep first."
I'd take the all-night shift, and the two of them could sleep and wake up at full condition.
Because I didn't need sleep.