Interlude
“…What did you say?”
A man’s voice echoed with displeasure in the dark room.
KWYWEEE.
The strange little bat-winged figure perched on the man’s shoulder let out a grating shriek. It was a demon known as an imp.
As the messenger trembled, a beastfolk servant rasped out an order.
“Repeat that for my lord.”
“O-of course. Our base underneath the royal capital has been destroyed.”
The man who the servant called “my lord” scowled more deeply. “Was it the kingdom knights?”
“N-no. According to my subordinate’s investigation, it was a magical attack.”
When the man tsked irritably, the messenger hastily continued.
According to his report, their base that had been stealing magic power from the royal capital was decimated by an unknown assailant through the underground vein, and it was impossible to tell from the remains what kind of magic had been used.
“My subordinate believes the magic devices in the base may have been destroyed by a sudden surge of huge amounts of magic through the underground vein, not direct-attack magic…”
“Huge amounts of magic, you say?”
“How much magic, exactly?!”
The servant supplemented the lord’s words.
“W-well, our calculations suggest it would have to be someone with far more magic than even a greater demon or demon lord…”
“Where could such a powerful person have come from?!”
“It could be the king of Shiga Kingdom using the power of the land, or perhaps…” Cowering away from the raging servant, the messenger voiced his conclusion but was interrupted by the lord himself.
“The hero of the Shiga Kingdom, eh?”
That unexpectedly powerful hero had brought down the Golden Boar Lord in the labyrinth beneath the old capital and even conquered the Dogheaded Demon Lord who appeared in the desert, all with relative ease; such a feat was surely possible for him.
“To think he would destroy our base that was vital to causing chaos behind enemy lines… He must have sniffed out our plot somehow.”
The lord was reflecting on how many of the sites they’d attempted to establish in the Shiga Kingdom over the past half year had been discovered almost immediately after creation.
That was why he had prepared this plan so thoroughly—and therefore he was surprised that it had now hit a setback from the very outset in spite of all those efforts.
“Do not worry, my lord,” the servant whispered to his furious master. “We have other strategies to distract the hero from our plans.”
He was holding a flutelike magic tool and a small cage containing a cricket.
These were samples of the props they had originally intended to use later in the plan.
“It is premature, but I suppose we have no choice…”
Murmuring in a low voice, the lord approved moving up the schedule.
There were too many uncertain elements in this move compared to their original plan, but they had no other options left.
“I expect great things.”
“I am unworthy of such an honor, sire.”
The servant bowed deeply.
“All is in the name of guiding the ignorant masses with the Light of Freedom.”
The lord’s words lingered in the darkness.
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