Chapter 86: On the Eve of Battle, Irine’s Concerns

—The Ass Demon Lord.
—That ridiculous, perfect butt.
—Miss Pristine Cheeks.

Such cries filled the midnight streets.

Everyone had initially gone silent, stunned by the Demon Lord’s outrageous declaration of war displayed in the sky—but naturally, the city had still descended into chaos.

Some panicked seriously, muttering things like “Wait, isn’t this bad?” Others wrote it off as a prank. A few even began calling themselves the Demon Lord’s Honor Guard, raising butt-shaped banners and starting a cult of worship.

The people didn’t know how to react, so they simply panicked in every way imaginable.

“…So. Let’s get down to it. Just how dangerous is the Demon Lord, Marquis Richwart?”

“…Uuh… I—I can’t even begin to measure it.”

Naturally, the banquet was canceled.

By royal decree, an emergency meeting was immediately convened, and we ended up attending as part of the flow.

“Then if I may, I, Irine Welmund, will speak.”

Since we were the ones who had actually fought the demonkind, there were things only we could explain. I rose to answer the king’s question.

Strictly speaking, Karl would’ve been the better one to report… but if he said something stupid and messed this up, we’d all regret it.

“Your Majesty. At the very least, even with my spirit cannon, there’s no way I could slice off a mountain so cleanly.”

“Hmm.”

“She unleashed that level of firepower using only beginner-level magic. If she used it with intermediate spells, the impact would be even more widespread… At present, it would not be unreasonable to describe Yury as a walking strategic weapon.”

“I see. That serious, then.”

Exactly.

Yury’s broadcast may have turned into a joke, dulling the sense of crisis, but the information she revealed was utterly insane.

For instance, let’s say she can add an absolute-severing property to long-range magic like the beam she fired at Yowin. That alone is terrifying.

Unless you can track the trajectory of her shot before it hits you, not even my Muscle Heaven can defend against it.

“Irine Welmund. This ‘forbidden spell’ you supposedly acquired in Yowin—could it be used to counter her?”

“…Not impossible, but I believe it would be extremely difficult.”

The king had just asked about my Muscle Heaven in a rather roundabout way.

Muscle Heaven is technically a state secret, so we can’t exactly blurt it out in public.

“‘Forbidden spell’? Your Majesty, is this spell something we, the rest of us here, are not permitted to know about?”

“Indeed. I plan to share it with the three commanders of the Royal Army, but… I cannot allow everyone present to know of it.”

A wave of unease spread through the gathered nobles. Seems they were shaken by the idea that I, just some minor frontier noble girl, had access to a state secret.

Probably shocked that the Welmund house was trusted to that extent.

If they want to know so badly, they should start seeing spirits. As we speak, this very conference hall is enveloped in Muscle Heaven.

It’s a countermeasure against Yury’s eavesdropping magic.

“Irine, tell us—how exactly is it difficult? With the right support, could we make it viable?”

“The ‘forbidden spell’ has a limited effective range… in other words, a short firing range. Most likely, it wouldn’t reach her spellcasting distance.”

“I see.”

Muscle Heaven shines when it traps enemies within its barrier. It can be used defensively like in Yowin, but realistically, I can’t maintain a barrier big enough to cover the entire capital.

Frankly, Muscle Heaven has short range. Probably about the same as an intermediate spell.

I haven’t measured it, but by feel, the area I can deploy it in is less than 100 meters. Once deployed, it seems to stay active even if I move away, though.

I don’t know the full range of the Demon Lord’s spells, but if she can wipe out a mountain, 100 meters is probably nothing for her.

In other words, if she starts bombing us from outside Muscle Heaven’s range, I’ve got nothing.

“…Then if we can escort Lady Irine within range to cast her forbidden spell, it might just work.”

“What? You’re suggesting we send Irine ahead of the rest, through a mob of demons?”

“It’s not impossible. It has better odds than charging blindly through a hail of enemy fire to kill the Demon Lord.”

“Irine’s a mage! There’s no way she can fight in the middle of a melee! She should be positioned far in the rear, protected. If she dies, it’s a meaningless loss!!”

Lord MacCune Sr. proposed sending me ahead, and Papa snapped back, practically shouting.

That old man must be misunderstanding the forbidden spell as some ridiculous super attack. Charging in recklessly and casting it point-blank won’t do anything.

“Of course, I have no intention of wasting a valuable asset. If we thoroughly protect Lady Irine, she could make it.”

“We mages are delicate. Even a slight disruption in focus can cause our spells to misfire. Even if she’s technically being ‘guarded,’ can Irine really cast while surrounded by enemies?!”

“Then she’ll just have to concentrate. This is war.”

“My daughter only just turned fifteen!”

…

If Papa ever found out that I’m always the first one charging into the fray, he might actually faint.

“Father, please calm down. If we adopt that strategy, I will carry it out flawlessly.”

“Irine…!”

“But I agree with you, Father. I oppose that strategy. The demons are far too strong. Even with the support of the Royal Army, I believe it would be exceedingly difficult to push into their ranks while keeping me protected.”

To begin with… if we did go through with that, the Royal Army would probably just get wiped out.

Unless Inon, Karl, and Rey stuck to me like glue, there’d barely be a chance. But then there’d be no one left to protect Aldebaran.

Even worse, if we manage to activate Muscle Heaven and Yury simply walks outside its range, that’s the end. All it does is create a barrier that nullifies magic—nothing more.

So honestly, it’s not worth risking everything for. The better play would be to wait until Karl or Rey neutralizes the Demon Lord, then finish her off using Muscle Heaven as a follow-up.

“Oh, I agree it would be difficult, Father. I once fought a demon called a troll… That thing was truly a monster.”

“Oh? Explain.”

“The difference in physical ability was staggering. A casual swing of its club was so fast it couldn’t be dodged—instant death. I tried countering with my best lightning blade technique, aiming for the neck… but I only managed to nick it a few centimeters.”

“…What? Even our family’s secret technique couldn’t decapitate it?”

“In the end, the only way we could kill it was with Al’s magic or by suffocating it in a pit trap. It wasn’t just powerful—it was built different. It was the first time I felt like I was in a living nightmare.”

A troll? I haven’t fought one of those yet… Aren’t they a higher-class goblin? So Aldebaran actually fought something like that?

An instant-death strike too fast to dodge? That’s a horrible match-up for someone with my slow reflexes. Nope, I’ll be staying far away from those, thanks.

“Then what should we do? If we go in without a plan, we have no chance of winning.”

“How about we send in an assassin to knock her unconscious?”

“No, no. In a defensive battle, we should stick to solid, conventional tactics—”

“We could mobilize earth mages now and start digging moats around the castle—”

“Waa—waaa—”

As the nobles all began shouting over one another in heated debate, I stayed quiet, deep in thought.

What should we really do? What could possibly allow us to protect this city… from Yury?

Should I entrust Aldebaran with everything, and focus solely on guarding her?

“Your Majesty, may I take responsibility for this matter?”

“Oh? Count MacCune?”

In the midst of the discussion, one man stood up—his golden beard shining as he bowed respectfully to the king.

It was MacCune’s father again.

“Based on what we’ve seen and heard from Demon Lord Yury, I believe the most effective strategy would be a deceptive strike.”

“Oh?”

“We propose a false peace offer. She’s the type of Demon Lord who went so far as to issue an evacuation warning—if there’s a way to avoid conflict, she’ll likely take it. If we offer her a prime stretch of domestic land as territory, there’s a high chance she’ll accept.”

…He made that shameless proposal with full confidence.

“We then serve her a potion—one so potent it could knock out even a raging beast—and eliminate Demon Lord Yury while she’s unconscious. Once she’s gone, we simply crush the leaderless demons.”

“Hm.”

“For this task, I propose we send former Hero Karl. His name came up during the earlier broadcast, which suggests Yury trusts him deeply. If he plays his part well, the Demon Lord can be neutralized.”

A sneak attack to take out Yury.

It was—it was… certainly a plan with a high likelihood of success.

Karl, from what I could tell, was someone Yury had taken a liking to. That much had always been apparent.

“What do you think of this plan?”

“If we do it properly, it should work. I’ve traveled with her—so I say this with confidence: that strategy could fool Yury.”

Even Maika agreed.

It was underhanded, yes—but effective. Yury’s kind-hearted, naïve, and far too easy to deceive.

That’s exactly how she ended up driven into a corner, calling herself Demon Lord.

“Hm. Karl, do you have the confidence to carry this out?”

“…I—”

Well, that’s assuming the plan even clears its biggest hurdle.

“I refuse. Absolutely not. I won’t do it.”

“…What?”

“If you insist on going through with it, then have someone else do it without me.”

That trust—that belief that “Karl isn’t the kind of person who’d ever do something like that”—only exists because of his honesty.

“Young man… Humanity itself hangs in the balance.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”

“Hrrmph…”

Flat-out rejection.

Karl didn’t hesitate for even a second. He refused a command from a great noble like it was nothing.

“Is there no one here who can convince him? This is no time to indulge childish pride.”

“Name your price—if it’s money, we’ll guarantee a king’s ransom as your reward.”

“Listen, boy. Do you know how many lives could be saved if you just played along?”

“You’re dealing with a Demon Lord who wants to wipe out humanity! What are you hesitating for?”

Even as noble after noble tried to pressure him, Karl turned away with a cold, silent glare.

Well… just as expected. This guy was never going to stoop to something so petty.

“I don’t believe Karl could pull it off, either. He’s too honest. He’s never lied, and he’s lived his life straight as an arrow. Even if you made him lie, he’d mess it up.”

“Yury would believe his words. Absolutely. But only because he’s that kind of person. So yeah—no point trying to talk him into it.”

“Hmm…”

Well, personally I think that kind of virtue is admirable.

But from the looks of the nobles’ sour, frustrated faces, Karl’s probably earned himself quite a bit of hate here.

“Then what’s the plan? Face her head-on?”

“Are you stupid? Go up against that monster directly and we’ll be wiped off the map.”

“Then use someone else—make someone else the envoy, and stick with the ambush plan…”

The one halfway-decent plan was rejected by Karl himself, and the council dissolved once again into chaos.

No point dragging this out. Nobody’s coming up with anything better tonight.

“…It’s getting late. Everyone, take the night to come up with your own strategy.”

“…Understood.”

Sensing that the meeting had hit a dead end, the king issued his order.

Each of us was tasked with preparing our own plans—for the dawn that would come three days from now.

“We reconvene in the morning.”

And just like that, a whirlwind of a day in the capital came to a close.

---

“Your rooms have been prepared. Please, take your time and rest at your leisure.”

That evening, our party—Team Aldebaran—was granted permission to stay at the royal palace.

Each of us was assigned a personal maid and given a private room.

“The meeting starts first thing tomorrow morning. I suppose they didn’t want us commoners wandering in late from the civilian district.”

“…Wow. This room’s incredible.”

Apparently, the rooms we’d been guided to were the same suites used for state guests.

You could see the entire capital from the windows, and everything inside was made with the finest craftsmanship our country had to offer. It really was a beautiful room.

“Well, take your time and get some rest. Let the nobles worry about the complicated stuff.”

“Okayyy.”

“All we need to think about is what we always do—killing demons.”

With that, Hero Aldebaran headed straight into her room and started snoring like it was nothing.

Bold, or maybe just very her.

“Seriously… Karl is always Karl.”

“There’s no way I could do something that involves deceiving Yury again.”

“There, there… Well, that’s your conviction, isn’t it?”

“Ugh, I feel gross. I’m going to bed.”

Despite having just made enemies of half the nobility, Karl didn’t seem shaken at all—he stormed into his room in a huff, angry rather than afraid.

That kind of nerve might be another prerequisite for being a hero.

“Well then, goodnight, Irine.”

“Yes. Goodnight, Sakura.”

And with that, I parted ways with Sakura and was left alone.

“…Haaah.”

Rather than returning to my room, I sat quietly on a bench in the hallway, gazing up at the moon.

---

To be honest, I was still torn about fighting Yury—no, Ilyu, our former companion.

Why did she bother declaring war at all?

It probably wasn’t for any real strategic purpose. I’m sure she simply wanted those who didn’t wish to fight… to run.

In other words—

“…It’s because we came to the capital.”

Yury had spoken from the sky—directly to Karl.

Which meant she knew we hadn’t chosen to flee. She knew we had resolved to stand and fight.

—And so, on the very day we arrived in the capital, she made that public address.

Maybe… that broadcast wasn’t just for the people.

Maybe it was also for us.

…Please, run. Don’t make me be the one who has to kill you.

Maybe that’s what she was trying to say.

“…Can we even win?”

Can humanity really prevail against the demons?

Where once we had many heroes, only one remains this time.

And the Demon Lord is a former Hero herself—one who’s even absorbed Karl’s power.

This battle will likely be the most one-sided humanity has ever faced.

“…Should we even win?”

But Karl won’t lose.

That man… when his comrades’ lives are on the line, there’s no way he would.

Even when he’s backed into a corner, he’ll rally—and he might very well defeat Ilyu.

Ilyu, for her part, won’t surrender. She carries the weight of the entire demon race on her shoulders now.

Between us humans… and demons who feed on humans… reconciliation is impossible.

We humans have slaughtered and oppressed them far too much. And they’ve killed too many of us in return.

There’s no resolution left but for one side to be destroyed.

Which means—this battle’s “victory” would be us sealing Ilyu away again… and subjecting her to eternal agony.

“There’s no need to hesitate… Just as Lord Garius said—Ilyu chose the path of wiping out humanity.”

…No room for sympathy. This is a battle for survival.

Ilyu’s coming with that resolve. And I—I can’t let her kill my family. Not my father. Not Ilya.

And yet… why is it that I…

“…Hmm. That’s quite the serious look, Irine.”

Someone spoke to me—someone who’d found me still lingering in the corridor.

So I’d been seen. Embarrassing. I really should’ve gone back to my room before getting lost in thought.

“You’re surprisingly dense, you know. If something’s bothering you, talk to someone about it instead of brooding alone.”

“…Dense? Did you just call me dense?”

“I did. Absolutely.”

That unbelievably arrogant phrasing made me whip around without thinking.

Calling me, the ultra-beautiful, flawless lady that I am, a fool? You’ve got guts. Who dares speak like that to a perfect, refined noblewoman such as myself—

“…Ah.”

“Hey. It’s been a while.”

Standing there was a petite girl.

Sleepy eyes, short white hair. We were in the royal palace—hardly the kind of place to show up with bedhead still intact.

Maybe trying to hide it, she wore a loose, fortune-teller-like hood pulled low over her head, and smiled at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“You’re…”

“I’m the ‘Observer of Eras’—no, now I go by ‘Harmonizer of History.’”

It had only been a few weeks since we last met, but it felt like so much longer.

“…”

“Lacking in talent as I am, I’ve come at Lord Garius’s request to lend my aid in this time of national crisis.”

She stood there, wearing the same clothes, the same expression as when we last parted.

That’s right—Aldebaran mentioned it before. That she, too, was heading for the capital.

“Now then, if something’s weighing on you, speak. Solving problems is my job, after all.”

The genius born in Yowin. The dependable fortune-casting mage.

I had reunited with Yuri.