Battle Strategy
Satou here. In a mystery story, sometimes characters who seem really suspicious when they first appear are actually just red herrings to throw you off the scent. In reality, though, a lot of the time they really are the culprit.
“You know where the demon lord’s escaping to? Are you sure, Satou?!”
After I told Hayato what I knew, we moved to the meeting room on the dimensional submarine Jules Verne to discuss it with the rest of the hero party. My group came along, too, of course.
“Yes, we found a hidden passage in the area we were assigned to search, Den of Evil Six. There was a demon lord–worshipping cult hideout deep inside, and I overheard them talking. ‘The hero is setting out to kill the demon lord again.’ ‘Then prepare the altar so that our great demon lord can return at any time.’ That’s what they said.”
With help from my “Fabrication” skill, I fudged a bit of evidence to back up my theory that the demon lord could only teleport to Den Six.
In truth, I figured this out by checking the demon lord’s location in the marker list on my map, but that would be hard to explain without revealing my Unique Skills, hence the improvisation.
“Wait. So you made a point of using the Jules Verne’s meeting room because…”
I nodded at Princess Mariest.
“Aah, I get it…well, that’s a bit of a problem.”
Ringrande seemed to have caught on to the implication as well.
Most of our other party members looked like they understood, too.
“What’s that mean?”
“Beats me.”
Rusus and Fifi frowned.
“You two are the only ones who don’t get it.” Weeyari rolled her eyes.
“Huh? No way.”
“For real?”
“Pochi doesn’t know, either, sir.”
“It’s all Greek to Tama, tooo?”
When Pochi and Tama agreed with them, Rusus and Fifi only looked even more horrified.
“Satou’s worried that the demon lord has a spy in Parion Province.”
“Oh, now I get it.”
“I knew that. Really, I did.”
“Tama didn’t knooow?”
“Pochi didn’t know, either, sir! Fifi is amazingly amazing, sir!”
Fifi winced, clearly unable to admit that she was lying when Tama and Pochi looked so impressed.
“Satou, question.” Weeyari raised her hand. “I know that what they said about the altar implies that they were preparing a teleport point. Don’t we need to investigate whether that’s true or not first, though?”
“Yes, of course.” I nodded. “That’s why I had an intelligence expert of mine stay behind to keep watch.”
“You’ve got an intelligence expert?” Hayato cut in.
“I do. I’m afraid I can’t introduce you because they’re pathologically terrified of being seen by other people, but I can personally vouch for their skills.”
My “Fabrication” skill was really getting a workout.
“According to their reports, not long after our encounters with the demon lord in the Den of Evil and the Heavenly Room, the demon lord reappeared at the altar in question.”
“For real?!” Rusus exclaimed.
“Yes, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Then we’ve finally got the demon lord by the tail.”
At my response, Fifi grinned with a very Hayato-like declaration of triumph.
“Wait, before we celebrate, there are a few things we need to clear up.”
“Huh? Like what?”
Princess Mariest looked at me.
And completely ignored Hayato’s question.
“Satou, you’re saying the demon lord can’t teleport anywhere else?”
“Although I can’t say for sure, I think the likelihood is very high.”
“On what basis?”
“The demon lord didn’t use teleportation during the attack on the holy city.”
“Sure he did.”
“Didn’t you see him escape when the sage had him caught in that shadow?”
“No, what I mean is…”
“Satou’s talking about how he got into the cathedral in the first place.”
“Yes, Lady Ringrande is exactly right.”
The wall of the pontiff’s Heavenly Room had been broken. When I looked for eyewitnesses to the demon lord’s arrival, they confirmed that he had appeared from the desert beyond the airship docking area and charged toward the cathedral in a straight line.
I explained all this to the others.
“That answers one question, then. The other one being…”
“Is it, how are we going to get Sir Hayato to Den of Evil Six after the demon lord has teleported away?”
“No, that won’t be a problem. We have the Divine Talisman for that.”
Princess Mariest explained that Parion had given each of them an item that could summon the hero to his companions’ sides.
Well, that’s convenient. If I can figure out how to make them, I’d love to give one to each of my party members, too.
“Then what was your other concern?”
“The fact that we’ll have to chase him into an enemy stronghold. If we get interrupted by Sandstorm Soldiers over level fifty or high-ranking demons in the middle of fighting a demon lord, we’re the ones who’ll have to run away.”
“How come?” Rusus asked on behalf of the others. “Why’s that any different from fighting the demon lord in the middle of a Den of Evil?”
“A completed base is very different from one that’s in progress, that’s why.”
A base in progress…?
“Lady Mariest, you think that the demon lord has been going to other Dens of Evil because he’s trying to create new bases?”
“Yes, I believe he’s been making ‘pawn points’ to mass-produce more Sandstorm Soldiers.”
“…Ah, you mean spawn points.”
Hayato corrected Princess Mariest’s malapropism.
“Spawn points” are locations in games like MMORPGs where monsters reappear.
In this case, it must have been a magic circle or device that produced more Sandstorm Soldiers.
“What do you think the demon lord is trying to do by making more spawn points?”
Arisa, who’d been listening quietly, grabbed my sleeve with a wide-eyed expression.
“Well, that’s obvious!”
“The demon lord’s building an army to take over the world!”
“Danger, dangerrr?”
“That’s very very bad, sir!”
“Master, we must quickly strengthen my sisters and the Pendora fighters to do battle with the demon lord army, I declare.”
I had to reassure several members of my group who took Rusus and Fifi’s joke seriously.
Let’s just pretend I didn’t snicker a tiny bit because Tama’s exclamation reminded me of an incoming boss warning from a retro shooting game.
“Well, it can’t be anything good, that much is for sure.” Summing things up, the hero steered the conversation back on track. “The real problem is how we’re going to tackle this base.”
“We could bring some people with us on the Jules Verne, like the sage and that Holy Sword user?”
“I don’t think that’ll happen.”
Mariest shook her head at Weeyari’s suggestion.
“Aww, why not?” Seina the scout asked.
“Since the demon lord attacked the cathedral, the cardinal will want to keep as much protection as possible for the holy city and the pontiff.”
“Who cares? There’s a demon lord spy in Parion Province anyway, right?”
“Yeah, exactly. I’d rather handle it ourselves than get stabbed in the back.”
“Right, there is the spy problem to contend with, too.”
Hearing Rusus and Fifi, Lilo the secretary wrote spy problem on the whiteboard.
“We can bring Ryukken as backup or something.”
“Maybe Rudoruu and Kwandoh could help, too, even if they’re a little low level?”
“Ryukken and them would help in battle, yes…but we’d likely have more losses, too.”
“…Right, since we’ll be fighting the demon lord for the second time in a row, in an enemy base.”
Miss Ringrande and Princess Mariest sighed unhappily.
“…Sir Hero.”
As a grim atmosphere filled the meeting room, Arisa, who’d been listening quietly and politely, stood abruptly.
“Please, leave all of the other enemies in the base to us.”
“To your group, honey?”
Hayato looked at Arisa, then shifted his gaze to me.
“Yes, just as Arisa says, we can handle the rest of the base. No matter how great their forces, we won’t let any of them near you and your party. So please defeat the demon lord without worrying about anything else.”
Hayato stared at me with a stunned expression for a moment, then suppressed a few snickers, and finally burst out laughing.
He was practically rolling around on the floor.
I guess maybe that sounded a little overconfident, especially for me.
“Ha-ha-ha…all right, I believe you, Satou.”
As I was trying to figure out how to convince him, Hayato finally stopped laughing and nodded.
“Hayato, are you sure?” Miss Ringrande asked.
The hero nodded. “I’m not sure why…but if Satou says so, I feel like I can trust him.”
Hayato wiped away the tears of laughter from his eyes.
“Then I’ll do everything in my power to live up to your trust.”
“Yeah, please do.”
Hayato held out his hand, and I shook it. Then Arisa put her hand on top of ours, and the rest of both our parties followed suit, swearing to defeat the demon lord.
“Sir Hayato, take this.”
Not wanting to forget, I handed the hero a list of demon-worshipping-cult Light of Freedom members in the holy city.
“What the…? Satou, where did you get this?”
“Shiga Kingdom has talented spies in many places.”
My “Fabrication” skill helped me give a vaguely convincing excuse.
“Mari, contact Bishop Shippunas and have his justice department prepare to…”
No, not him.
“Wait a moment, please.”
I stopped Hayato.
“What’s up? With my ‘Divine Analysis,’ I’ll be able to tell whether they’re Light of Freedom members in no time.”
As Hayato looked at me in confusion, I told him about the incident in the Shiga Kingdom royal capital in which Cardinal Hozzunas summoned the Evil God’s Spawn.
“Yeah, I heard about that. It was big news even in Parion Province.”
“And you’re saying that has something to do with stopping this investigation?”
I nodded at Miss Ringrande and explained that the cardinal had a divine recognition-inhibiting tool that could fool any analyzing skill.
“Don’t you know about Hayato’s ‘Analyze’ skill, Satou?”
“Yes, I’m aware. Sir Hayato, you’re familiar with the reason behind Arisa’s purple hair, are you not?”
Arisa once told me that Hayato was the one who taught her about the hidden features of the “Self-Status Check” skill she received from the gods, so he must be aware that she was a reincarnation.
“Who, honey? Of course… Ah, I getcha.”
Hayato’s expression of uncertainty quickly turned to understanding.
He must have figured out from my reference to Arisa’s purple hair, proof that she was a reincarnation, that there were some reincarnations whose “Self-Status Check” skill could rival even the hero’s.
“You have it, too, right, honey?”
“Why, yes, Sir Hero.”
Arisa put on her most ladylike demeanor as she nodded.
“And even she couldn’t see through Cardinal Hozzunas’s falsified status.”
“So you’re saying there are some people who might be able to fool even my ‘Analyze’ skill?”
“Yes, my preliminary investigation suggested that Bishop Shippunas in the justice department has the same kind of device as Cardinal Hozzunas.”
“Shippunas, huh? Well, that’s not good.”
“Agreed. Having the device doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a member of Light of Freedom, but it’s certainly grounds to suspect him.”
Hayato and Princess Mariest grimaced.
“What’s it really matter, though?”
“What do you mean?”
Weeyari tilted her head at Fifi’s comment.
“If we hand in the report and the bishop lets the guys on the list get away, we know he’s a bad guy. If he captures and punishes them, he’s a good guy…probably. Either way, it works out fine, doesn’t it?”
“That’s true…”
Loleiya the priestess nodded thoughtfully.
“Whoa, Fifi actually made a good point. Wonder if there’s gonna be a rainstorm in the desert today…”
“’scuse me?!”
Fifi chased the teasing Seina out of the room.
“Then we’ll hand the list of members in to Bishop Shippunas, like Fifi says. Lilo, if you wouldn’t mind, could you make a copy of the list? I’ll have Ryukken lend us some scouting party members who are good at tracking and surveillance.”
With that, Princess Mariest began setting things in motion.
I left the rest to her, though I did put markers on all of the cult members just in case they escaped.
“Then Loleiya and Rin and I will get ready to put a survey team together.”
Hayato looked around at the rest of his group.
“Hmm, what should I do?”
“I’ll tune up the Jules Verne. Want to help, Rusus?”
“Nah, I’d probably end up breaking something. I’ll go outside and get in a workout.”
Weeyari chose to maintain the ship, while Rusus chose training.
“Pochi wants to train, too, sir!”
“Tama will do ninja practice, tooo?”
“Lady Rusus, could I ask you to spar with me?”
“Totally! It’d be good to practice with someone new for a change.”
“I wish to participate, too, I declare.”
“Let’s go, then!” Rusus led the beastfolk girls and Nana out of the room.
“They’re all such hard workers!”
“Practice, perfect.”
Arisa and Mia followed, and Lulu and I left the room as well.
Come to think of it…
What exactly was that doll that the demon lord came to get back?
The sage seemed to know something, and I needed to talk to him about Raito anyway. Maybe I should track him down.
“Leggo! Lemme go, I said!”
“Quiet, you dirty sand-brat!”
I parted ways with everyone and went to see the sage in the rear garden, where some kind of ruckus was unfolding.
It was none other than Raito, being seized by a group of soldiers.
“Mr. Noble!”
Raito spotted me and reached out for help.
Whatever was going on here, I couldn’t just ignore him. I went over to get to the bottom of things.
“Do you know this boy, Viscount Pendragon?”
“Yes, I was his personal guarantor when he entered the city.”
Conveniently enough, the soldiers seemed to know me, saving the trouble of introducing myself.
“Now, what did he do to warrant this treatment?”
“I didn’t do nothin’!”
Raito answered my question before the soldiers could.
“I just gave a thank-you doll to the pontiff ’cause an old lady with a bad leg asked me to.”
Ah, so it really was him who gave the demon lord’s doll to the pontiff.
“It seems you were used by some bad people, then.”
“Really? The old lady didn’t seem like a bad person to me. My ‘Intuition’ didn’t react, either.”
If Raito’s rare “Intuition” skill didn’t respond to her, there was a good chance that the old lady was just another harmless citizen being used by the real mastermind.
“Could I ask you to try to find this elderly woman? The real culprit might try to silence her.”
“Understood. I’ll bring someone who can draw a likeness.”
One of the soldiers ran off toward the station next to the cathedral.
“I’ll take the boy into my care until you find the elderly woman he described. Is that all right?”
“W-well, I suppose—”
“It most certainly is not!”
A shrill voice interrupted just as the soldiers were about to give me permission.
It was Bishop Shippunas from the justice department, the very same suspect who was using an item to disguise his status even to my AR display.
“…Take him away. Torture him within an inch of his life until he confesses the culprit.”
The soldiers saluted and restrained Raito again.
If I let them take him away now, he would almost certainly die in prison.
But before I could move to block their path, someone else stopped them instead.
“Sir Sage, why do you hinder us?”
It was the sage who blocked the soldiers’ path.
Behind him was Hayato’s secretary Lilo.
“The boy knows nothing. He was only being used, just as Sir Pendragon says.”
The sage must have overheard our conversation from nearby.
“Whoever targeted His Grace’s life would be someone who would benefit from his death, surely.”
That would certainly include his number two, the cardinal, or the person in the next position down—the bishop himself.
The bishop clearly caught on to this implication. “Are you accusing the cardinal or myself of making an attempt on the pontiff’s life?!”
“I said no such thing. However, you have many subordinates of your own, bishop.”
“None of my subordinates would ever aid a demon lord–worshipping cult!”
You’re just making yourself sound even more suspicious…
“The Light of Freedom can be cunning. In the past, they have forced people to aid them by taking their families hostage, have they not?”
“W-well…”
The bishop bit his lip.
“So, is it all right if I take him into my care now?”
“That is another story entirely. We have not enough evidence to trust you completely.”
I tried to take the opportunity to rescue Raito and was promptly shut down.
I guess I got a little carried away because the poor kid looked like he was about to cry.
“…Your Grace. I cannot imagine that a vice-minister of tourism who has come to deepen the bond of friendship between Parion Province and Shiga Kingdom would belong to the Light of Freedom cult.”
For some reason, the sage backed me up.
“If you still refuse to trust him, let the hero take the boy for now. His secretary Miss Lilo is always in the holy city, so you can question him at any time if needed.”
The sage looked to Lilo for confirmation, and she nodded.
“Wait just a moment! I have approved no such thing! We know for a fact that this boy gave the doll to the pontiff. We cannot give him up to anyone until he has been thoroughly interrogated!”
The bishop was being very stubborn about this.
“Have you not analyzed the boy’s skills, Your Grace? He is no trained secret agent. If you torture him, like as not he will give you false information simply to escape the pain.”
The bishop growled in frustration at the sage’s logic.
“Better, then, to let him go and capture whomever tries to silence him,” the sage whispered to the bishop. “I intend to assign one of my subordinates to watch him. If that is not enough, you are free to assign one of your own as well. Or do you have some other problem with letting him go?”
“What if someone silences him and simply escapes?”
“I do not intend to assign a guard who would be unable to act in such a situation. You are familiar with my subordinates’ skills, are you not, bishop?”
The bishop went on grumbling but was unable to object; the sage’s subordinates must have been very skilled indeed. In the end, he left with one last indignant declaration.
“If they do get away, it will be on your head, Sir Sage! Do not think you can do as you please forever just because you have the pontiff’s favor!”
“I will take that to heart.”
“…Hmph!”
After the bishop stormed off, the sage settled the matter and put Raito in secretary Lilo’s care.
The sage headed to the cathedral to report all this, and a sketch artist arrived to take Raito’s description of the old lady while I stood by.
I wanted to go see the sage once this was done, but according to my map information, he was in the pontiff’s room. My questions about the demon lord’s doll and Raito’s father would have to wait until next time.
“Sir Hero, I understand you wish to search for the demon lord once again. But what if you track him down, possibly with great sacrifice, only for him to escape just as before?”
The next day, at a meeting with Hayato, the cardinal immediately opened with the same line of questioning we were expecting.
Secretary Lilo explained the countermeasures we had discussed beforehand.
“…A device that prevents teleportation with Space Magic?”
“Yes, Sir Pendragon borrowed it from an elf village.”
Although that did sound like the kind of thing they would have in Bolenan Forest, in this case it was just a front.
“We’ve already tested its capabilities and installed it on the Jules Verne. If Parion Province wishes to conduct tests as well, you are welcome to bring in your own Space Magic users.”
“What do you think, Sir Sage?”
“No need. I see no reason that Sir Hero would lie about this. You tested it with Saga Empire’s Space Magic users, correct?”
Hayato nodded.
“And this will really prevent the demon lord from escaping?”
“Yes, Bishop Shippunas, without a doubt,” Lilo replied. “As long as we can keep him within the range of its effects.”
“Is this just an excuse in case it fails?” the cardinal countered.
“We are dealing with a demon lord here. There are no guarantees. If Sir Hero trusts in this device, we ought to do the same.”
The pontiff quietly intervened on our behalf.
“If you believe you can prevent the demon lord from teleporting away, then I will join the fight as well.”
“S-Sir Sage? But we cannot say for certain that this device will work. And have you forgotten the demon lord’s attack just the other day?! If you are not here, who will fight the demon lord and protect the pontiff?!”
The cardinal sounded panicked.
“There is nothing to fear. His Grace has excellent Temple Knights at his disposal. It was they who protected him until I arrived in the recent attack.”
The sage’s response silenced the cardinal.
“If you are concerned, let the Temple Knights stay in the cathedral, save for Sir Mezzalt and his Holy Sword. He should be sufficient to earn glory for Parion Province, should he not?”
“No, Mezzalt should stay with His Grace as a last line of defense against the demon lord.”
“Cardinal, please! Surely you must realize that a Holy Sword is better suited for attack than for defense!”
Mezzalt, the Holy Sword wielder in question, nearly knocked over his chair in his haste to stand up and protest that he should stay on the front lines.
“Peace, Mezzalt,” said the bishop. “I agree with the cardinal.”
I had a feeling that he just wanted to keep the Holy Sword in the city under the guise of defending the pontiff because it was a threat to the demon lord, though.
“Your Grace, please give me permission to join the battle.”
“Mezzalt!”
“Enough!”
The cardinal and bishop shouted at the Holy Sword wielder as he appealed to the pontiff directly.
“…Your Grace.”
The pontiff nodded at the sage, then looked in turn at the knight, the cardinal, and the bishop.
“Dobbunaf, Shippunas, I truly appreciate your concern for my safety and that of the holy city. And yet I wish to grant Mezzalt’s request to go into battle against the demon lord with the hero, Sorijeyro, and company.”
“Your Grace!”
“Please reconsider!”
The cardinal and the bishop cried out in protest.
“Once the hero and company have set out, I shall use Goddess Parion’s protection and the power of the cathedral to protect the city with a holy barrier. Even the demon lord will not be able to break through so easily.”
Everyone listened respectfully to the pontiff.
“And I believe Miss Lilo here, who will remain in the holy city, would be able to contact Sir Hero for aid if we have need of him.”
The pontiff looked at Lilo, who nodded.
“But if we put all the city’s power into protection, the crops and water sources…”
“Yes, it will be difficult to maintain them all. But we are at war. The people of Parion Province must support the hero, himself a chosen servant of Goddess Parion, such that he might battle the demon lord with all his strength. I believe this is precisely what the goddess would ask of us.”
On hearing this logic, the cardinal and bishop bowed their heads and accepted the pontiff’s ruling.
Still, the cardinal looked like he was glumly absorbed in the possible financial losses, and the bishop seemed bitter that he’d failed to weaken the anti–demon lord forces.
“Now then, Sir Hero, please continue…”
At the pontiff’s prompting, the meeting proceeded with the formation of the squads.
For the most part, it was the same as last time, with our group and the sage joining the hero’s team.
We were joining at the hero’s suggestion, while the sage was joining at his own personal insistence. I tried indirectly to get the sage to join the Temple Knights’ squad instead, since his sharp-eyed presence would make it more difficult for me to go all-out in case of an emergency; unfortunately, the Holy Sword wielder and black knight were on the sage’s side, so I was outvoted.
Incidentally, once we found the demon lord, Seina and I were going to rush to Den of Evil Six.
Then, once Hayato and company got the demon lord to flee, Seina would use the Divine Talisman to summon Hayato and the rest of the group on the Jules Verne.
We decided to set out in three days’ time, once the troops had rested and the funeral rites for the slain Temple Knights’ captain were completed. In the meantime, we would take a short rest as well.
“What’s with the crowd over there?”
After the long meeting, Hayato and I went out through the back of the cathedral and saw a large crowd.
I heard the sounds of metal clashing against metal amid the tumult.
“Sounds like some kind of sparring match.”
As we drew closer, I saw that my girls were training against some of Hayato’s party and the Saga Empire warriors.
“… ‘Quick Burst’—plus secret technique ‘Cherry Blossom Flash’!”
“It’s poor manners to use attack magic and secret moves in a sparring match, I declare.”
“You say that as if you didn’t block them all anyway.”
Nana was sparring with Miss Ringrande.
She seemed more serious than when she’d sparred with Sir Ipasa and me on the ship back to the old capital.
“Wow, nice moves. She might even be on par with the ‘Holy Shield’ Reilus of the Shiga Kingdom.”
Hayato followed Nana’s movements closely.
“Nana!” he called. “Your evasion is top-class. But your blocking still needs work. Try lowering your weight a little in the moment you receive a strike. That’ll let off some of the attack’s power. If possible, try adding another layer of ‘Body Strengthening’ right before you receive the attack, too. It’ll use more magic power, but it’s better than getting knocked back and hurting one of your allies.”
“Yes, Hayato. I shall put your teachings into practice. Ringrande, Explosion Magic, I request.”
Nana promptly put Hayato’s advice to good use.
“What a quick learner. She’s already getting the hang of it.” Grinning, Hayato walked closer to the fray. “You can use ‘Spellblade,’ right? Then instead of blocking lesser magic and individual shots, you should try cutting them away with your sword.”
Hayato had Miss Ringrande use Fire Shot and sliced it out of the air with his Holy Sword.
“Well? Think you can pull it off?”
“Yes, Hayato. I shall resume training, I declare. Ringrande, I request your assistance.”
“I know, I know. I’ll help you out.”
Nana began practicing cutting down magic spells, getting knocked back by Ringrande’s magic countless times in the process.
“How long does it usually take to learn?”
“It won’t be overnight. Rusus and Fifi got the hang of it pretty quickly, and even then it took around ten days. Rin was closer to half a month.”
Incidentally, aside from Hayato and three of his party members, there was apparently no one else who could master it completely.
While Nana was quickly able to get the hang of just scattering the magic with her sword, completely canceling out its power was a lot harder.
Still, I hoped she would master the technique, since it seemed very useful.
After watching Nana train for a while, I looked around to check in on the other girls.
“Very impressive, dodging my Zi-Gain-style slash!”
“Rudoruu! That girl’s a fierce one—she held her own against me in combat. Don’t let your guard down, or you’ll regret it!”
“Pochi is a sword-drawing pro, sir!”
Pochi was training with a Saga Empire samurai, while Liza was fighting Rusus nearby.
“Whoa, damn! Your strikes are as solid as Hayato’s.”
“Rusus! Hurry up and trade with me! I wanna fight Liza again, too!”
“Shut up! You can wait your turn till I’m good and done!”
Liza was holding her own against Rusus, maybe even edging out on top.
From the sound of things, she must have had a good bout with Fifi, too.
“Ho-ho, she’s got a serious gift, too.”
Hayato strolled over to the three and started teaching Liza some tricks.
Rusus and Fifi protested the loss of their exciting new sparring partner, until they were awed into silence when they saw the fiery face-off that soon began between Hayato and Liza.
Even if Hayato was holding back considerably, I was still impressed that Liza was able to keep up with him. Although I was a little worried that one of them might accidentally use one of their special moves in the heat of the moment, like when I sparred with the hero in the old capital.
Some distance away from Liza, I found Weeyari and Lulu sitting in the shade of a tree.
At a glance, the sight of a Japanese-style beauty and an elfin-eared girl seated under a tree together was so lovely that you might expect them to be reading poetry or something, but my “Keen Hearing” skill told me that their conversation wasn’t quite so delicate.
“Lulu, how do you read the air like that?”
“I just look very carefully. When the target is far away, I sometimes use Practical Magic for support.”
“Yeah? How so?”
I was a little curious about ace sniper Lulu’s shooting secrets, but I could always ask her about that some other time.
Next to them, Mia was playing a tune on the lute, while Arisa leaned against the tree trunk, engrossed in a book of forbidden spells.
“Hey, using a Fire Magic tool is playing dirty!”
“Not a toool?”
“What d’you mean?”
“It’s Ninjutsuuu.”
Tama was sparring with Seina the scout.
Tama had mastered the “fire shield jutsu” she learned on the journey to Kuvork Kingdom, which made use of fire stone powder, and the “wind shield jutsu,” which used wind stone powder. She was starting to get the hang of other ninja techniques, too.
“What an interesting technique.”
The sage was standing next to me; I hadn’t even noticed his approach.
“Is it a magic skill of some kind? I have never seen the like.”
“It’s a skill called ‘Ninjutsu.’”
“Is it? It is nothing like the Ninjutsu I know of…how very fascinating.”
Since the sage had the “Analyze” skill anyway, there was probably no harm in telling him the name of the skill Tama was using.
He watched Tama intently, as if he didn’t want to miss a single move.
Oh, right.
This was the perfect chance to ask about the demon lord’s doll and Raito’s father.
“About the doll incident from the other day—were you able to find the elderly woman the boy mentioned?”
“The bishop did not tell you? We were able to identify the person who hired the old woman, but they were killed before the justice department could reach them.”
I guess someone had to take the fall…
“And the woman…?”
“Is fine, not to worry. His Grace was worried about her, so I had one of my associates ensure her safety. She should be working as a maidservant in the cathedral now.”
Thank goodness. I’d hate for an innocent person to be killed over that.
“Do you know what that doll was exactly, Sir Sage?”
“I know not, nor did I sense anything strange about it. I suspect it was not a magical object but something that was of personal import to the demon lord before he fell.”
It was still precious to him after he became a demon lord…?
Something about this scenario bothered me, but I couldn’t quite remember what. Even with my ridiculously high INT stat, I still can’t recall details that I wasn’t paying much attention to at the time.
I should’ve marked that doll while I had the chance, though.
“Sir Sage, about the boy who gave the doll to His Grace…”
I explained that Raito had come to the holy city looking for his father, and that it was the sage who summoned his father to the holy city initially, finally asking if the sage himself knew where the man might be now.
The sage thought for a moment before responding.
“I am sorry to say that I do not recall. I traveled to many neighboring lands and recruited many talented individuals. Most of them came to the holy city. If he is not here, then either he returned to his village or received a role that sent him out of the city, I must imagine.”
Apparently, this guy had been headhunting all over the place.
“If it is not urgent, you could make an arrangement with the gatekeeper. I shall even put in a good word for you if need be.”
I appreciatively accepted his offer.
Thanking the sage, I went to relay this information to Raito, who was in Lilo’s care.
I explained that they might not find him right away, but that they should contact him as soon as his father returned to the holy city. He practically jumped for joy as he thanked me.
Evidently, he was currently working as a sort of messenger boy for Lilo.
After I slipped the gatekeeper some bribe money to contact us when Raito’s father showed up, I went to Bolenan Forest to craft some items for the upcoming demon lord battle.
I was able to complete just about everything, although I was sadly too busy to spend more than a few minutes flirting with my beloved Miss Aaze.
In the time leading up to the operation, all the Light of Freedom members on the list I provided were captured, except for two. Their collaborators were all exposed as well.
The two who escaped were high level, and had skills like “Disguise,” “Charm,” and “Spirit Magic” that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Secretary Lilo’s spy and the pontiff’s own masked investigators confirmed that Bishop Shippunas arranged for the pair to escape, and he was arrested as well.
This also brought to light his possession of the Brace of Stolen Divinity (counterfeit) disguise item, which led to a thorough search to determine if anyone else had one, though it yielded no other results. The disguise item was handed over to the pontiff, who sealed it away in a highly restricted location that only he could access.
All the Light of Freedom members, including Bishop Shippunas, were executed by hanging at the holy city’s public execution site.
Just seeing their dangling silhouettes from a distance was enough to upset me for a while.
Evidently, the two members that the bishop helped escape were found by the sage’s secret agents and executed as well.
The night before the operation was to commence, the hero’s party had a motivational feast for the defeat of the demon lord.
“I-it can’t be! Is that…CURRY RIIIIICE?!”
As soon as the hero saw the curry laid out on the table, he jumped up and shouted at the top of his lungs.
I wished he would keep the volume down a little bit, even if we did have the whole inn rented out for ourselves.
He whirled to look at me so fast that I thought he might break the speed barrier, so I nodded.
“Yes, it’s the real thing. I made katsu curry in keeping with tradition.”
In Japan, people often ate katsu curry or katsudon before a big match or test, since the word for “cutlet” also sounds like the word for “win.” I even used imported pork from the Saga Empire, not boar meat, making it a true tonkatsu curry.
“Oooh, you’re the greatest, Satou! A fellow man of culture!”
Since the hero looked like he was ready to burst, Arisa quickly pressed her hands together and signaled the start of the meal with a “Thanks for the food!”
“Aaaaagh, real live curry!”
The hero was outright moved to tears as he scooped the curry rice onto his spoon.
I was a little worried that he might fling it everywhere in his eagerness, but I guess I didn’t need to worry.
“YUMMMMM!”
Bellowing after his first bite, the hero promptly began shoveling it down like there was no tomorrow.
“See? Curry is totally a beverage.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.”
Before Arisa smugly lured me into a debate, I urged the rest of the hero’s party to eat as well.
“What is it, some kind of strange-smelling stew?”
“It’s spicy but damn good.”
“I can’t do spicy food…”
While Weeyari and Rusus seemed to be enjoying the curry, Fifi took one sniff and pushed the plate away. The smell must have been too strong for her wolfish nose.
“Oh, really? But it’s delicious.”
Loleiya tucked her hair behind her ear and daintily nibbled on the curry.
Her gestures were oddly provocative.
“If you’re not gonna eat yours, gimme it.”
The hero swiftly stole Fifi’s rejected plate.
Um, I’d give you seconds if you just ask like a normal person.
“Aah, so this is the legendary curry!”
“The illusory dish that the first hero spent a lifetime pursuing, and it’s ours for the tasting…”
Miss Ringrande and Princess Mariest seemed so struck with awe that they couldn’t bring themselves to take a spoonful.
“Miss Fifi, if you don’t like spicy food, please take this instead.”
“Ooh, now that smells good.”
I held out a normal-flavored omurice, and Fifi’s wolf ears twitched with interest as she peered at the plate.
“Hmm? An egg-based dish? It looks like the omelets they make in Saga Empire.”
“Omelets! Wh-what do you suppose this red sauce is? Carrots?”
Seina and Lilo, who had already finished eating their curry in the hero’s shadow, sped over impressively fast to surround Fifi and peek down at her dish.
“B-back off, this is my meal!”
Alarmed, Fifi covered the omurice plate protectively with both arms.
“Fifi, please give me just one bite.”
“I want one, too!”
The secretary and scout pressed closer to Fifi.
“I can’t trust you guys’ ‘one bite.’”
“How rude! Seina is one thing, but my bites are small and adorable.”
“Heeey, my bites are cute, too, ya know!”
It was nice to see that their party was so close.
“All readyyy?”
“Seconds here, sir.”
My enjoyment of the three’s fierce exchange was sadly cut short when Tama and Pochi arrived with more plates, bringing the battle to an end.
“Looks like there’s seconds for the omurice. Would you two like some as well?”
“Yaaaay!”
“You have a mean streak yourself, Sir Pendragon.”
Seina immediately dug into her dish, while Lilo cast me a short glower before calmly taking a bite from her own plate.
“This isn’t carrot, is it? What sort of sauce is this?”
“Tomatooo?”
“Catch-up, sir!”
“Tomato catch-up, you say?”
Lilo seemed to have taken Tama’s oddly fluent pronunciation and Pochi’s more stilted addition as a single term.
“It’s a sauce called ‘ketchup,’ which is made from tomatoes. They’re a local specialty of Lady Ringrande’s homeland, Ougoch Duchy.”
“…A local specialty? Satou, I’ve never heard of this sauce.”
Miss Ringrande looked confused by my explanation.
“Mmm, Satou.”
“Master developed it, I explain.”
“Wow, I guess that’s the ‘Miracle Chef’ for you.”
At Mia and Nana’s explanation, Miss Ringrande called me by a nostalgic title.
“Thank you for waiting. The next course is Ohmi beef sukiyaki.”
Lulu and Liza brought in a trolley with a large sukiyaki pot.
“Sukiyaki, you say?!”
Having leveled his fifth plate of curry, Hayato swiveled toward Lulu as Loleiya wiped the brown sauce from his face.
“Yes, it’s another dish from your homeland, Sir Hero.”
Lulu didn’t seem too nervous talking to the hero.
I imagine she probably saw anyone who enjoyed her food so enthusiastically as a friend.
“Would you like a raw egg, sir?”
“Yeah, sure!”
Liza, on the other hand, looked uncharacteristically nervous as she handed Hayato a small plate with raw eggs.
At least I hoped that her hand was shaking out of nerves, not eagerness.
“M-meeeat?”
“It’s meat, sir. But we were ordered to stay, so we have to wait, sir.”
Tama and Pochi drooled as they admired the beef in the sukiyaki pot.
Hmm? I didn’t give them any orders…
“I thought we should let Hayato and the others eat first.”
Apparently, Arisa was the culprit.
“Well, don’t worry about that. I prepared more than we could possibly eat.”
In case three whole Ohmi cattle weren’t enough, I also had the meat of a gigantic ox-like monster that was in a floormaster area. While not quite as top-quality as the Ohmi beef, it was good enough that you couldn’t tell the difference in a heavily flavored dish like sukiyaki.
“Besides, I also asked Lulu to prepare another dish. That should be coming out soon.”
Even as Arisa finished speaking, the door opened and several maids carried out hamburg steaks and deep-fried food.
“Hambuuurg?”
“It’s the real Mr. Hamburg in the flesh, sir!”
Tama and Pochi looked to me with silent pleas for permission; I nodded.
“Yaaay?”
“Pochi’s battle has only just begun, sir!”
Tama, Pochi, and the other girls all began eating, too.
“Is that stuff any good?”
“But of cooourse?”
“Gimme some, too, please.”
“Of course, sir! Mr. Hamburg is generous, sir!”
Having finished their curry and omurice, Fifi and Rusus offered their services in the battle to conquer the hamburg mountain range.
Meanwhile, as Liza fought on the yakitori front, she found backup from Seina and Loleiya, the latter of whom had acquired a bottle of dragonspring liquor.
The mushroom and veggie dishes that we cooked at Mia’s suggestion thoroughly captivated Weeyari and Lilo.
“Young Master.”
A waiter whispered in my ear.
He was actually the former Phantom Thief Pippin in disguise.
“I’m here on Lord Kuro’s orders. Some idiot tried to poison the food, so I took care of it. He’s tied up in the linen room now if you wanted to deal with that, preferably soon.”
With that, he left as seamlessly as he’d entered.
I was glad that I brought him along as a last line of defense against poisoning. He seemed to be doing his job well.
I took the non-drinker Kwandoh along with me to retrieve the would-be poisoner, and put him and his subordinates in charge of dealing with the culprit.
“Satou, want some?”
“Yes, please.”
Miss Ringrande offered me a glass as I watched my party and the hero’s peacefully intermingling.
It appeared to contain Saga Empire whiskey.
“Thanks for this, Satou. Hayato’s been brooding over the failed attempts to defeat the demon lord lately. I was worried about him.”
“Yes, he finally seems to be back to his usual self. You were just the reinforcement we needed.”
Although I could barely tell the difference, his companions must have been worried about his recent state of mind.
“I’m honored,” I responded to Miss Ringrande’s and Princess Mariest’s flattering words. Then, with a brief toast, I drained my glass.
…Whoops.
As soon as I drank the last drop, I regretted it.
I should have taken my time and savored it more.
“This is excellent liquor.”
“Yes, well, it is the only whiskey to be given the ‘Saga’ epitaph, which means only the royal family can drink it.”
“Are you sure you should have given me something so valuable?”
“Yes, it’s still more common than the dragonspring liquor Loleiya is keeping all to herself.”
That made sense. No amount of money could buy more dragonspring liquor.
“Would you like some, too?”
I produced another small bottle from Storage by way of my breast pocket.
“I smell some very tasty liquor.”
I felt a soft sensation against my back, coupled with a sultry and slightly slurred voice.
Turning around, I found Loleiya’s flushed face directly next to mine.
She was trying to reach for the bottle over my shoulder, making for a very pleasant feeling.
“Loleiya, calm down a little, will you?”
“You’re bothering poor Satou.”
Princess Mariest scolded Loleiya, and Miss Ringrande took my hand and pulled me away from her attack.
“Oh?”
“Eek!”
I wound up getting pulled face-first into Ringrande’s lap, dragging Loleiya along with me, possibly thanks to some kind of pervy god’s blessing.
Of course, I could have avoided it if I really wanted to, but I decided to respect what was clearly a divine will and enjoy the softness that surrounded me on both sides. The iron-wall pair seemed to be busy enjoying their food and chatting with the hero, anyway.
As the night grew late, the feast began to turn into a drinking party, and I sent my kids off to bed so the adults could enjoy a little social hour.
Arisa attempted to join in as a chaperone, only to accidentally drink some alcohol and get shipped off to dreamland along with Liza.
“Satou, you think we can win?”
As Hayato gazed out the window at the night sky, I saw a trace of anxiety in his profile.
“Of course. We’ve got you on our side, Sir Hayato.”
This next Den of Evil venture was supposed to put an end to the demon lord for good. We had to win, no matter what.
As long as we could prevent the demon lord from escaping, I was confident that Hayato and his party were strong enough to defeat the demon lord.
“Yeah? Well, in that case, I feel like we’re gonna win this thing for sure!”
“That’s why you’re the hero of the Saga Empire.”
“Yep, you know it!”
The hero’s bright smile lit up the whole room and relaxed the rest of his party as well.
With everyone in such high spirits, defeating the demon lord would be a piece of cake.
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