The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 6 - Chapter 77

CHAPTER 77

The Ex–Demon Lord Meets a High-Ranking Noble

Fortresses guarded the border of Laville and Asylas. Our destination was a high-security one. The quality and quantity of its guards were higher since its topography made it an easy target.

Apparently, the enemy hadn’t thought much of its defenses. Maybe they’d gathered intel on it? Either way, they had attacked while we were off doing our own thing. As soon as we teleported inside the fortress, we were greeted by injured soldiers. It was obvious they were still on edge after fighting, since they fixed their steely gazes on us, ready to kill.

“Who are they?!”

“Are we under attack again?!”

Their response was wild and violent, unlike the orc soldiers, but their bloodlust soon abated.

“H-hey. That kid… You, over there… Isn’t that Master Michel?”

“And Lady Ginny…?!”

As soon as they spotted them, the soldiers realized we were on their side. Ginny approached them confidently.

“You’ve accomplished a considerable task. I’m grateful for your hard work. We have completed our own duties, too. The barbarians from Asylas have been removed from the town,” Ginny announced as if she’d done it herself.

I imagined she wanted to give the credit to me, but…she was being mature and discerning. It was better for a known aristocrat to claim victory than some random boy. It would boost confidence in her soldiers.

“Ohh! As expected of Lady Salvan!”

“Even at such a young age, the Spencer sons are great generals in the making!”

“We’re going to be just fine for generations to come!”

Ginny, Michel, and Elrado were their future leaders, and proof of their competence was a source of military morale. These soldiers would fight fiercely to defend their masters who carried hope for the future and the stability of their hometown on their backs.

“…I’m sorry, Ard,” Ginny said. “I stole the glory that was rightfully yours.”

“Think nothing of it. You should be proud. You made the right decision.”

The soldiers—previously injured and beat—had sprung back into high spirits. I knew they’d be able to face adversity heroically from here on out.

“…Well, Ginny and Michel. Shall we inform your parents of our victory?”

“Yes. Master Michel’s father is Lord Gerald. And…my mother’s name is Sharon. I imagine they must be in the middle of a war council in the soldier barracks. I’ll lead the way.”

Ginny seemed calm enough…but Michel was sweating and trembling all over.

“Urgh…I don’t want to see Father…”

Based on this reaction, I could guess what sort of person the duke was. So the encounter was not going to be a pleasant one, I imagined.

I tried to shrug it off and followed everyone. Soldiers saluting us on the way, Ginny led us into a noticeably large barrack and stopped in front of a room labeled MEETING ROOM.

Ginny was right. They seemed to be in the middle of a heated war council. Listening to the voices coming from the other side of the door, she looked at Michel.

“Master Michel. Please knock.”

“Huh? N-no, but…”

“I’m a servant to the Spencer family. I cannot enter first. Go on. And make it fast.”

“Nngh…! A-all right…!” Michel was the type who hated attention. I could relate.

Trembling like a frightened puppy, he knocked before calling out. “Michel, second son of Duke Gerald! I have come to deliver a report!”

The voices behind the door immediately stopped, letting way for a dignified voice.

“Enter.” I imagined the deep voice that rumbled in our guts belonged to Elrado and Michel’s father, Gerald. Michel opened the door and entered the room, cowering in fear. We followed after him.

The space was devoid of frivolous decoration. Men and women sat around a circular table set in the center. A peculiar formality seemed to be in the air.

It wasn’t just because they were making decisions that would steer the course of their future… The root cause was a man radiating intensity.

“Report,” he ordered brusquely.

So this was Duke Gerald. I could see he was the perfect soldier. Elrado’s and Michel’s family had a long military history. Gerald’s features seemed to personify these feats: His hardened face was marked with scars, and his demeanor seemed soldierly. Even crying children would fall silent if they looked at him.

Although timid, Michel addressed the man. “W-we subjugated Samuel and recovered the occupied fortress!”

The faces of the people around the table relaxed slightly.

“Goodness…! It hasn’t even been ten days since we set out…!”

“A model son of the Spencers.”

“It seems the young lady of the Salvan family is quite capable as well.”

One of the old generals glanced over at a certain woman, an enchanting succubus sitting next to Gerald. She had peach hair, downcast eyes—a quiet beauty that reminded me of Ginny.

This woman had to be her mother.

The succubus looked over at her daughter without saying a word, knowing her own situation and rank.

…Next to her, Gerald didn’t so much as smile at the auspicious report. He stared at Michel with a hard expression and kept his words to a minimum. “Details.”

He was testing Michel. If his son recounted the events honestly, he’d be seen as mediocre. He was being called to prop up himself and his big brother, and to incorporate Ginny’s accomplishments, for good measure.

“E-Elrado and G-Ginny fought hard! B-but there was a dragon, and Ginny and I were captured—”

This little rich boy clearly had no idea how to think on his feet. He told the truth without changing a single thing. Coming from aristocratic backgrounds, Ireena and Ginny immediately picked up on this mistake. Even Sylphy knew it. Oh boy, he’s in for it, their faces said.

…The audience listening to the report winced.

“B-but thanks to Ard Meteor—”

“Michel,” Gerald called out, vein twitching on his forehead.

The man, who looked terrifying on a good day, was now properly enraged. Michel was frozen in fear.

Gerald then spoke in a voice, angry but subdued. “Get out.”

The order left no room for argument. “Eek!” Michel scrambled out of the room as if making a great escape.

After that, Gerald turned to me. “My sons owe you. Both Michel and…Elrado. It seems you’re connected by some strange destiny to my family.”

These were not words of gratitude. The look in his eyes could only mean one thing: You seriously make me sick.

That was the average duke for you. Someone who looked down on commoners, whom he would never consider the same species as himself. It seemed he lived by his own standards and nothing else.

…They could be so hard to deal with when you got on their bad side.

Better play it safe and get him off my back.

“Oh, the destiny of a commoner could never intersect with that of a duke…” I said with reverence, but this only pissed Gerald off even more.

Oh, this was going to be annoying, I could tell. It wasn’t going to matter what I said. He was going to be mad either way. I didn’t want anything to do with him, but that was impossible, given our circumstances. Unless I enlisted, it was unlikely I could expect this war to end anytime soon.

So I’d suck it up and play nice here.

“With all due respect, Lord Gerald, this is a serious situation. There’s no time to be concerning yourself with the peasantry. Please continue the war council. We would be most honored to participate.” I knew I was being a little forceful here. Almost everyone sitting there looked uncomfortable, Gerald included.

“Oh, this commoner has an attitude,” their faces seemed to say.

How can I persuade these noble elitists? I thought to myself.

“Let them sit in.”

The door opened, and a young man entered the room. Elrado.

When his eyes met Ginny’s, he looked a little embarrassed. Ginny’s expression was inscrutable. He averted his gaze, seeming glum.

To distract him, I asked Elrado a question. “You’re early. It hasn’t even been one hour since we parted.”

“I used that thing. The warp spell you showed me. I switched a few things around so even I can use it.”

“…Hmm.”

They used to call Elrado “a child prodigy.” When I knew nothing of the modern world, I saw him as a talentless hack…but my opinion of him had completely changed now. He could never hold up in the ancient civilization, but he was a modern prodigy. Copying and arranging spells was no simple task.

“Well, it’s not the same as its original form. You gotta get through a ton of relay points to get to your destination.”

“But it’s still impressive,” I said. “Though I guess I’m not surprised.”

“Quit it. You always sound sarcastic when you say that.” Elrado shrugged. He seemed to be in a better mood and turned back to his father. “As you know, Ard Meteor is the son of the Great Mages. And the elf here, Ireena Litz de Olhyde, is the daughter of the Heroic Baron. Also, this redhead…”

Sylphy straightened up, looking proud of herself.

Elrado started to sweat. “Um…… Who are you again?”

“Excuse you?!” Sylphy literally came crashing down.

I guess it made sense. Here, she was just a present-day nobody. They’d never believe she was the Raging Champion. Sylphy was starting to gather that from her past experiences.

“I feel like I’ve been getting the short end of every stick lately…” She pouted, upset.

“If Ard and Ireena join the war council, we can expect their parents to participate as well. I imagine you all realize the power of our great heroes, right?” Elrado didn’t let the stone-faced adults get to him; in fact, he spoke with authority. He really looked like the eldest son of a duke.

I wondered if his father, Gerald, was thinking the same thing. Although still disgruntled, he appeared to be convinced.

“…Sit down.”

The war council resumed, and Elrado was the first to speak.

“Looks like we were attacked while my group was in Samuel. How’s the army holding up?”

The generals remained silent. Sharon—Ginny’s mother—answered in their stead.

“We were able to push them back this time, but we lost many soldiers. The generals survived, but…”

“A lot of our foot soldiers were taken down. Tch. Things are not looking good.”

The current situation had left the fortress understaffed. We needed to protect this territory, which was in the greatest possible danger.

I immediately thought of something we should do—

“Shouldn’t we round up people from other fortresses?” Ireena asked, vocalizing my idea.

Scraping up more men would be the fastest method, but it was easier said than done.

“I hear our enemy has more numbers and is very strong. They could attack all the fortresses at once in a wave. If that happens…,” I commented.

“You’re right,” Ireena said. “I guess we can’t pool everyone together. Even if this place is safe, the others will be taken by the enemy…”

If we gathered everyone together here, it would leave people in other key positions vulnerable. This wasn’t the only fortress we had to protect. Our main mission was to stop them from invading the country, so we couldn’t put all our eggs in one basket.

“We should ask the nearby aristocrats for help,” Sylphy suggested.

It was in the right direction, but we’d all determined it was impossible.

Elrado sighed. “They’re all a bunch of morons. They’ve got a jealous streak and refuse to let go of their pride. This combo has…kinda gotten my family in hot water.”

Elrado’s family had lived in this country since its founding and were dukes, at that. They’d been here for generations, proud of their influence over the nation.

Because of that…the Spencers had been lording over other families for decades.

“Like I said, they’ve got massive egos. You’ll never catch them openly admiring someone above them. You can bet your ass that they’ll be green with envy of their higher-ups and want to beat them at their own game.”

A clever family would weaponize that to trick people and use them for their own ends. The Spencers, however, were a proud military family—a bunch of meatheads—who thought doing so was beneath them. Instead, they had been ruling with an iron fist without considering crafty schemes.

Elrado’s cheek twitched before he let out a sigh. “We’ve sucked at negotiating for generations. The neighboring aristocrats consider us as an enemy. Even if we ask for backup, they’ll come up with some random reason to decline. …Sigh. We’re in this mess ’cause we’ve got no friends and no connections. This is your fault and mine, Father. Shouldn’t we make more of an effort to be nicer and get to know people?”

Gerald shrugged off his son’s critical stare. “There’s no need for cleverness. We’ve paved the way through military power. And we’re not going to change that now.”

“But we might not have a second chance… Lady Sharon, do you know when the next wave of enemy attacks will reach us?”

Sharon nodded, wincing. “Going by the information from our spies…they’ll try to take down this fortress in about ten days.”

It was just a rumor, but the Salvans came from a long line of skilled intelligence operatives. Succubi had a unique skill called Charm that could bend any target to their will and draw out information. Even the most hardened soldier who could endure any form of torture became a slave in their hands. So this information seemed credible.

“…I see. So basically, the enemy’s army will attack in ten days. We don’t even have what we need to fight back, so we must face the formidable forces from Asylas with next to nothing.”

Dire circumstances. We were almost guaranteed to lose, hence why the adults had been stealing glances at us for a while now.

They didn’t dare say this out loud, but it was clear what they wanted: for our parents, the Great Heroes, to help them out. Even though our parents weren’t as strong as before, they had once overthrown a resurrected Evil God. They were stronger than an army. Their aid might tip the odds to our favor.

“My parents and the great Heroic Baron,” I announced, “will not join the fight. I, Ard Meteor, will lead us to victory.”

Ireena, Ginny, Sylphy, and Elrado nodded as if to say I had a point, but those who had only heard rumors of my skills seemed skeptical. Gerald in particular was glowering at me.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, kid. What the hell can you do?”

“As I said before… I’ll lead us to victory.”

Gerald’s frown deepened, but for now, it seemed he was going to see what I could do. His eyes urged me to continue. I looked around at everyone, including him, and posed a question.

“How much time has passed since we lost the soldiers?”

It was Sharon who answered. “Three days.”

Hmm. Then I wouldn’t be able to resurrect them to bolster our army. An astral body was transported to the underworld after three days, where the dead were lost to eternity. Everything was within my calculations. We could win the war, even without an army.

First, we had to get into position. A map of the border was laid out across the round table. I used magic to form a long baton and tapped a point on it.

“You can’t just think the enemy, knowing our circumstances, is coming to crush us. That’s just too simplistic. Our enemy is no pack of fools. Asylas is skilled in the art of war. I believe they might have devised some clever tactic.”

One of the generals spoke up. “What? Those savages can come up with intelligent battle strategies?”

I shrugged. “Many nations call it a state of savages. Maybe that’s merited, but…I don’t think we should underestimate them.”

The Asylas were a bunch of barbarians who lived only for the thrill of disgracing their enemy. There was no doubt about that. But when you looked into their history…it was clear as day that they weren’t just dumb brutes.

“Until the current king—Dread Ben Hurr—united the nation a few years ago, Asylas had been in a state of constant civil war. Asylas’s past is a bloody one, which is why they have more experience in war than us,” I explained. “They’re eons ahead. We can start by accepting that. We’re in this dilemma because we failed to recognize this fact in the first place.”

The generals said nothing, so I got back to the subject at hand.

“This is where we are now. And the enemy has set up camp…here, correct?”

Sharon nodded, and I went on.

“As I suspected. They chose this location as their base to control how we think about this situation. This camp is supposed to make us think they have nothing up their sleeves and plan on ending this game by ramming into us from the front.”

Between us was a flat plain. Common sense would tell you there was only this route to this fortress. The enemy’s position seemed to announce they were going to charge in from the front.

“How should we take action? This is the important part: I believe we should intentionally slip up.”

No one was following. Even Ireena looked confused. I tapped a place with my baton.

“First, we’ll rush to this area and set up camp. Their army is guaranteed to pass through here, and it will be quite easy for us to attack them.”

The terrain in front of the fortress was hilly. It had steep undulations, which gave us key positions. On the battlefield, that meant high elevation. Annihilating the enemy with weapons and magic was easy from that vantage point. By setting up camp there, we’d be able to see all our opponent’s movements.

“Securing these key positions will give us a geographic advantage. Based on the last attack, this would increase our chances of winning compared with holing ourselves up in here.”

One of the generals tilted their head. “Where’s the mistake? I think it makes perfect sense.”

I shook my head. “It’s a fine plan. To win, we’d need to make camp at a high altitude and secure all critical locations. Of course…the enemy has figured this out.”

Ginny commented, “So that’s what you have in mind.”

Elrado and Sylphy seemed to piece it together, soon followed by Gerald and the generals. Ireena, ignorant of the finer points of war, didn’t seem to understand yet. I tried to enlighten her.

“Let me explain the enemy’s strategy. Asylas has laid the groundwork to cull our creativity. They want us to realize we’ll never win the war if they take these hills.” I indicated another area on the map. “Asylas will send a number of forces into the hilly region, but they’ll all be decoys. The main unit will detour through these mountains to fight and capture the unmanned fortress.”

This seemed to clear up her questions. Ireena nodded. The others, however, harbored new doubts.

“Those mountains are steep. Could an army really get through them?”

“It’s an impossible route, but our enemies are exceptions. An army of tough orcs might be able to get through it. Their race could cross the jagged mountains, easy.”

I really didn’t think I had to explain this.

Gerald’s next question got right to the heart of things.

“…Well then, Ard Meteor. If what you say turns out to be correct, what are we supposed to do? We have almost no soldiers ready for battle. If they’re coming from the hills and the mountains…we’ll lose on both fronts.”

It always seemed to come down to numbers, didn’t it? If we split our forces in two and sent them to different areas, we would lose. Gerald was right about that. It was a small army, so no amount of strategy could save us if we reduced it even further.

This left us with only one location. While that could help us on one of the two battlefields, the other would be left to invasion.

“We’re cornered on all sides, and nothing has changed. How do you plan on getting us out of this one?” Gerald asked, his eyes testing me.

I smiled calmly. “We will not split the army. As I mentioned before, we’ll establish camp up on the hills. That way, their spies will tell them that we’ve fallen for their trap. Then, we will fuse our troops and depart for the mountains.”

“…What about the enemy forces heading for the hills?”

“We’ll have no issues on that front,” I proclaimed, thrusting out my chest.

“I, Ard Meteor, will destroy them all on my own.”

Everyone needs downtime, even in the tensest of situations. Gerald seemed to understand this, and he ordered the staff to take a break before they set out.

We were granted a room in the lodge, then ordered to eat a hearty meal and get proper sleep, like real soldiers.

After the meal was finished, I headed to a separate room. Elrado’s, to be specific. I wanted to talk with him a bit before the battle. Standing before the room he’d been assigned, I knocked at the door.

“Ohhhhhh!”

A weird reply, but whatever. I turned the knob and entered.

“How does this feel, Master? Good?”

“I-I’ve never been better, Lilly! Right there! Press harder!”

I was greeted with the sight of…Elrado, lying on the bed, as his lovely maid stomped on his back.

“O-oooooh… Ah,” he said, noticing me.

“Take your time,” I replied, smiling politely. I went to shut the door and take my exit, but…

“Wait! Hold up! You’re taking this the wrong way! I bet you think I’m some kinda pervert that likes making my maids step on me!”

“Aren’t you?”

“I’m not! It’s a massage! That’s it! A regular massage!”

“…Is that a sexual euphemism?”

“No! I wouldn’t make Lilly do anything sexual!” Elrado was breathing hard, and Lilith spoke up while continuing to stomp on his back.

“Master Elrado is right. This is a normal massage.”

“See? Tell him, Lilly!”

“But… Master Elrado is a masochistic pig, so I do feel some sexual undertones.”

“Lilly?! What are you saying?!” Elrado panicked, but Lilith stared at him without a single shred of emotion. Her expression was empty…though I thought I could see some delight.

I sighed at their exchange. “You’ve lost weight in a shockingly short amount of time and returned to your old manner of speaking… But it seems old habits die hard.”

He looked just like the prideful Elrado I knew, but it appeared he’d kept the personality from when he’d been a little huskier. This had to be his real self. It felt like I was raining on his parade, but it was about time we got to the subject at hand.

“I came to speak with you about serious business. Is that all right?”

“Y-yeah! Bring it on!”

Elrado dismissed Lilith from her back-stomping duties.

“So? What’d you wanna talk about?”

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. Elrado, I would like for you to make peace with Ginny.”

Elrado’s face froze. “W-well, y’know… Bad timing and all that, so…”

“It isn’t a matter of timing. It’s a matter of whether or not you’re willing to face her.”

I thought back on when we reunited at the school festival. At the time, Elrado told me he wanted to apologize to her someday, though he was terrified.

He was under a lot of pressure from his family—most of it coming from his terrifying father. That triggered Elrado to torment Ginny, who was essentially his servant. Our initial meeting, however, had allowed him to see the error of his ways and fix his attitude.

That was why the guilt of everything he’d done to her weighed on him.

“After that battle, you began skipping school. At first, I thought it was because you were scared of me…but I was wrong. Elrado, you stopped coming out of consideration for Ginny, didn’t you?”

He nodded nervously, offering no objection. “…Yeah. Because we’re all in the same class. If I kept attending school, we’d run into each other every day. …I knew she didn’t want to see my face, so I thought I’d flunk out and repeat a year.”

I shook my head. “You shouldn’t do that. I won’t allow it, Elrado. In the very near future, I’d like you to… No, let me be more specific. By the time we resolve this, I would like for you to make peace with Ginny. And…please, come back to the Academy.”

Elrado stared at me, confused. “Wh-why are you peer pressuring me? Things are fine the way they are. Ginny looks happy. No need to worry about someone like me—”

“Don’t say that. I see you as my only guy friend.”

Elrado’s eyes widened.

I continued smoothly, if a bit feverishly. “At Megatholium, you said you hoped we could be friends. …That was my saving grace. I was more shocked than when I first met Ireena.”

We were all scared of things we didn’t understand, especially things more powerful than us. Any chance of friendship was lost if there was fear between the two of you, I had thought.

…But Elrado proved me wrong. He accepted my power even while fearing it. He even said we were similar in some ways and maybe we could be friends. He might not have thought too much about it, but these words changed my life.

“Elrado, I want to be friends with you. I want for us to go to school and events and make good memories. ……And if possible, I hope Ginny will be a part of that.”

I was sure Elrado wanted that, too, but he shook his head, seeming sad.

“…That’s a tall order. How could I face her now?”

I looked at him. “Face her as you are. Ginny isn’t close-minded. She’ll accept your apology and forgive you, I’m sure. All you have to do is go to her and make amends, and that’ll be the end of it.”

Elrado said nothing to this for some time.

“…Give me some time.”

He was still hesitant…but I could see there was a little glimmer of hope.

“Our friendship will begin as soon as you reconcile… I’m looking forward to it,” I replied.

And with that, I left his room. I sighed as I returned to my own.

Navigating human relations was much harder than winning a war.

I believed this to be true from the bottom of my heart.