The Duke's Request
The Duke's request to hand over Gunter. Everyone frowned at Erich's demand.
"That is something we must discuss among ourselves first, Duke Müsel. It is not a judgment we can render here on our own."
Lopez's words were less a genuine statement and more diplomatic rhetoric—a polite refusal. He doubted Erich's claim that he would impose severe punishment. Yet the uninvited guest had no intention of backing down.
"That would be proper, of course. But consider this carefully. No one knows better than we demons how to inflict suffering upon our own kind. Holy power? It is certainly unpleasant, but we possess far more efficient methods."
But being able to do something and actually doing it were two different matters.
"How are we supposed to trust your claim that you'll deliver harsh punishment?" Ethan asked. It was the thought lurking in the hearts of most people present. How could they believe mere words about severe punishment? If Regensraum broke its promise and covered everything up, the alliance would have no way to verify it.
"You may believe those words," Altair said. Ethan looked at her in surprise.
A demon who declared they were staking their soul was absolutely bound to uphold it. If the one who spoke those words broke their promise, their soul would be literally destroyed. Altair briefly explained this point.
"She is correct," Asia added, vouching for the claim. As a former member of the Hero Party and a priestess of the Church, her words left everyone with no choice but to believe.
"I failed to consider that some might not understand the meaning of staking one's soul. My apologies. I overlooked that our common sense as demons might differ from yours."
Having said that, he paused briefly before speaking again.
"I implore you. It would be best if I could take this one with me. This is a sincere request from me, Duke Müsel."
Erich bowed his rather imposing frame slightly. He truly wanted to take Gunter. Only then could the wretch serve as an example to all the other disobedient fools through proper punishment.
Lopez, who had been deliberating, finally opened his mouth.
"Then so be it."
"Dean!" Professor Etuane cried out in shock.
"If what he says is true, it seems better to leave the handling of someone like this to them."
"Even so, we should at least discuss..."
"To be honest, Etuane, I don't trust that the alliance could properly deal with that bastard." Lopez gestured toward Gunter. An old memory surfaced in his mind. The alliance had captured a high-ranking demon before. Opinions had been divided on how to handle it. Eventually, some opinions clashed, leading to fights—all because of pride and self-interest. Even a demon who had lost all his power was more than enough to fracture people's hearts.
"I'll take full responsibility, so stop making that face like you've bitten into shit."
"Actually, I was thinking the same thing. Haha." Etuane nodded. Once he took that stance, no one else opposed it.
"It seems decided, then. In that case, I will gratefully take this one with me."
"Duke Müsel..." Gunter looked at Erich with hollow eyes. Erich regarded him as if he were nothing more than a fallen leaf on the roadside.
"I did it for His Majesty the Demon King..."
At those words, a wrinkle formed between Erich's brows. He flicked his finger, and Gunter suddenly vanished.
"He's gone?" Natang's eyes widened into perfect circles.
"We have caused you significant trouble. As I mentioned earlier, we will soon issue a formal apology. This is not something that can be hidden."
Erich looked at Ditrua.
"Princess, we will soon send an envoy to Solentia. I hope your heart may be eased."
"There's no need." At Ditrua's refusal, Erich looked at her with curiosity.
"I don't want to get entangled with demons anymore. Whether it's an apology or anything else."
Her voice trembled, yet it was resolute at the same time. Erich stared at her quietly for a moment before nodding.
"If that is your will, then so be it. I will convey your words to His Majesty. He will undoubtedly respect your wishes. However, I hope you will recognize that my desire—no, Regensraum's desire—to apologize is sincere."
His gaze now turned to Altair.
"Altair, was it?"
Altair glared at Erich without answering.
"It seems we may become entangled quite often."
With those final words, Erich vanished in the blink of an eye.
Some time after that incident, Erich's face appeared once again on the front page of the newspaper.
Bald, stiff-headed, unlucky and filthy old bastard... The guy who can't even turn his head freely when sleeping because of those horns...
The article contained a polite apology along with a detailed compensation plan for this incident. The compensation was far more lavish than I had expected.
Just how much am I supposed to save if I don't spend a single penny?
Well, she was the princess of Solentia, a core nation of the alliance. Given that Ditrua was involved, such compensation was probably only natural.
"Did everything really wrap up nicely?"
Something still felt off. Gunter had probably been dealt with properly by the Regensraum bastards, and surprisingly, none of the students had been seriously injured. It seemed the emergency response manual had been followed better than expected.
Though there was that incident with Ditrua.
Still, that disobedient princess had fully recovered by now, so whatever. On top of that, everything regarding Marius—that headache of a man—had been handled. After making a complete recovery, he had apparently confessed every truth, including his own crimes, with the help of several special potions.
When I thought about it this way, it seemed like everything had been resolved well. But...
Erich.
That ugly bastard's face kept floating up in my mind.
Could I defeat him as I am now?
Our party had fought five-on-one against Kaiser, one of his subordinates whose combat strength was supposedly similar to Erich's. In other words, to defeat Erich, I would need to be stronger than the combined power of our entire party back then.
No matter how much stronger I've become...
When asked if I was now stronger than the five of us combined from that time, I couldn't easily say yes. Of course, right after inheriting Master's power, I had fought those wretches in a big brawl, but...
From their perspective, I was absent from the fight.
Moreover, Asia's holy power had been no help at all. It had essentially been Jin, Edgar, Saren, and me against three opponents. Comparing it directly was difficult since the numbers differed by two.
The only good news was that those three had improved noticeably compared to five years ago. If the combined strength of those three now matched the five who fought Kaiser back then...
It would mean I could win with strength to spare.
But that was far too optimistic a thought. There had also been something during the battle with Gunter that didn't sit well with me. That bastard had scattered a small part of the night sky I had manifested. If I had perfectly executed the Yacheongeom, such a thing could never have happened.
I had held the advantage throughout the match and faced no real crises, yet a corner of my heart still felt uneasy.
I need to become stronger.
The war would resume someday. The truce had been made on the Demon King's whim, but...
There's no way it ends like this.
A massive war that had lasted for hundreds of years could not end so abruptly. I recalled those vicious bastards.
The demons.
Those beings who suddenly appeared on this star declared it theirs and started a war. Massive nations like the Solar Empire crumbled easily under their assault. Half of this star became the demons' territory. The countries that still remained had survived only because they prepared while the others fell. The Hero System only appeared after those ancient nations had been destroyed.
In the end, we all owed a great debt to those long-lost countries.
There's no way lunatics of that caliber would be satisfied with this.
I fiddled with the Moonlight Blade and Holy Light Sword. To prepare for them, I needed to draw much closer to Master than I was now. I'd have to cut back on sleep and reduce my tea-drinking time from now on.
I should spend that time training instead.
To unfold a more perfect night sky. To fulfill Master's long-cherished wish. To properly educate those demon bastards.
"It looks like things have mostly been settled."
Solentia Kingdom's king, Oquilian VII, rubbed his face with both hands. The massive incident involving the daughter he had sent to the academy had now been largely wrapped up.
"I feel like I can finally breathe."
The major event of the day was the arrival of the massive compensation that Regensraum had promised. Various gold, silver, treasures, and artifacts from afar. Even as king of a great nation, the sight was enough to make his eyes widen.
That carriage that moved without horses or a driver was particularly incredible.
But he had no choice but to reluctantly refuse a considerable number of them, holding back tears.
Always so full of worries.
Oquilian VII pouted and grumbled.
"Can't we keep any of this?"
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty! If we accept everything they offer, it will damage Your Majesty's dignity! Furthermore, all the artifacts are dangerous!"
The Prime Minister frowned deeply.
"We don't know what kind of sinister magic the demons might have placed on these artifacts. They must all be returned!"
"We could have experts examine them..."
"Just refuse them when I tell you to refuse them! If we accept all this, it will look like we're succumbing to their gift offensive!"
Thinking about it now, the one damaging my dignity is you, Prime Minister, with all this verbal abuse toward your king.
I should have said that back then.
His clenched fist trembled. Why was he so weak in verbal arguments?
Should I hire a verbal argument instructor?
So he wouldn't lose to that Prime Minister bastard? As he sat there with a thoroughly sullen face, a knock sounded.
"Your Majesty, it is Avia."
"Enter."
The door opened and a beautiful woman with golden-blonde hair tinged with red entered.
"Sit here."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The woman who sat before him was the Second Princess, Avia. She resembled Ditrua quite closely. If one removed the venom and madness from her younger sister, then added gentleness, a degree of tolerance, intelligence, maturity, and about ten other virtues...
She would become Avia.
That was what her creator, Oquilian VII, thought.
"The reason I called you is to consult about Ditrua's situation." Among Ditrua's siblings, Avia was one of the very few who maintained a decent relationship with her. Avia nodded at the king's words.
"What should we do?"
"When you say 'what should we do...'"
Faced with such an open-ended question, Avia pondered where to begin her answer.
"Should we tell her to quit the academy and return?"
"No." Avia shook her head. She knew how desperately Ditrua had wanted to leave the palace.
"For Ditrua's safety, there is no need for that. I understand Your Majesty's concerns, but this incident was extremely..."
"Avia."
At the king's stern expression as he called her name, Avia's face hardened as well.
"Yes."
What mistake had she made? Though her father sometimes seemed frivolous, he was undeniably the king of this nation.
"Didn't I tell you to call me Dad when it's just our family?"
"I'm at an age now. Can't we compromise with 'Father'?"
"No. It's Dad, no exceptions."
Avia frowned at those words.
"I don't like it either."
Oquilian VII let out a sigh. Just where had this world begun to fall apart?