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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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We immediately went to the audience chamber to see the Demon Lord.
Perhaps because of Gav’s conspicuous appearance, the Demon Lord seemed to have been expecting us.
Seneca, the familiar goat-headed steward, greeted us, and the doors to the audience chamber, where the Demon Lord’s throne was situated, opened.
“Welcome, Patrasche.”
The Demon Lord, seated on his throne, looked unusually imposing today, a stark contrast to his usual friendly-neighbor demeanor.
Looking around, I realized why. The Four Heavenly Kings were lined up on either side of his throne.
The entire leadership of the Demon Lord’s army was gathered here.
They’re all here.
Mephisto, the Necromancer General.
Walter Leonhart, the Beast General.
Nick Iron, the Armor General.
Dorothea Gale, the Magic General.
It was quite a sight.
The Four Heavenly Kings were usually busy in their respective territories and rarely gathered in one place.
Nick Iron must have been summoned as well.
Dorothea, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, glared at me but remained silent, likely due to the Demon Lord’s presence.
Anyway, after a quick survey of the room, I stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and bowed my head.
“Patrasche, at your service. I have returned after successfully completing my mission of escorting Princess Ozma.”
A stern voice spoke from above.
“Raise your head.”
I looked up, and the gazes of the Four Heavenly Kings fell upon me.
But only a novice would feel intimidated by such attention.
Like a first-class mage, I put on a brave face.
The Demon Lord, meeting my gaze, got straight to the point.
“Patrasche, I have summoned you because the Hero who was imprisoned in the Demon Lord’s castle has been murdered. This has created a great deal of uncertainty, and I wish to discuss our next course of action.”
I listened calmly and then asked the most pressing question on my mind.
“Who killed the Hero?”
It was a crucial detail.
The fact that the Hero, captured through my betrayal, was still alive was a closely guarded secret, known only to a select few.
If this information had leaked, it would mean there was a traitor within the Demon Lord’s army.
But my worries were unfounded.
“According to the guard who discovered the scene, a prisoner on the same floor tore through the bars of his cell, killed the Hero, and then committed suicide. I didn’t believe it at first, but when I went to the scene, I saw that it was true.”
“…A prisoner killed the Hero?”
As far as I remembered, there were few prisoners on the third level of the dungeon besides the Hero’s party.
And I had heard that magic was suppressed within the cells, which meant the prisoner had bent the bars with pure physical strength.
Was that even possible? He wasn’t a gorilla.
“I’d like to examine the scene myself.”
The Demon Lord nodded gravely.
“I’ll inform Vanessa. You can go after the meeting.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
As my conversation with the Demon Lord concluded, Walter, who had been observing, spoke up.
“Then, to the next matter. What do you think we should do now?”
I turned to Walter.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard from the Demon Lord that you were the one who hypothesized that the next Hero wouldn’t appear as long as the current one was alive. So, you must have considered what would happen if the Hero died, right?”
“Well…”
I hesitated.
Not to build suspense, but because I didn’t have a plan B.
But I couldn’t admit that in front of the entire leadership of the Demon Lord’s army, so I quickly formulated a plan.
The Hero’s death, the birth of a new Hero.
The current political climate.
The fall of Hamburg Fortress, the mobilization of the Demon Lord’s army.
Various keywords flashed through my mind.
The Demon Lord and the Four Heavenly Kings were worried about the emergence of a new Hero.
And this new Hero would undoubtedly be much stronger than the previous one, as the previous Hero had failed to defeat the Demon Lord.
King Oscar would immediately summon the new Hero and form a new party to assassinate the Demon Lord.
The best-case scenario would be to conquer the kingdom before that happened, but it was winter now.
The army couldn’t move until spring.
The perfect conditions for a new Hero to rise.
Using the parallel thinking I usually reserved for sixth-tier spells, I simulated countless possibilities and came up with a brilliant idea.
“How about we send an assassin of our own?”
Walter’s expression turned to one of disappointment.
“Killing the Hero before he can grow stronger has been tried by previous Demon Lords. But it only served to strengthen the surviving Hero’s resolve. It’s a self-defeating strategy.”
It was a common trope: the Hero, driven by the loss of his loved ones or the destruction of his village, would become even more determined to defeat the Demon Lord.
But that wasn’t what I was suggesting.
“No, I’m not suggesting we assassinate the Hero.”
“Hmm? Then?”
“Who chooses the Hero?”
“Are you playing twenty questions with me? The Goddess of Courage, of course.”
“And who supports him, recruits a party, and sends him on his way?”
“The kingdom of Oz… ah.”
Walter finally understood.
“You’re suggesting we assassinate the King, not the Hero?”
“Exactly.”
I nodded and explained my plan.
“How long are we going to sit back and be the targets of assassination? Let’s send a proper assassin of our own.”
“…Our own?”
Dorothea muttered incredulously, but I ignored her and continued.
“Until now, the humans have believed they were the only ones who could send a Hero. We will exploit that… common sense.”
Walter, still skeptical, shook his head.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve considered sending an assassin to the human kingdom. And it has failed repeatedly throughout history.”
I argued vehemently,
“Why did it fail? Because we sent weak assassins. We should learn from our past mistakes and think, ‘Ah, we failed because we sent weak assassins.’”
Nick Iron, who had been listening quietly, interjected,
“So, you’re suggesting we send a small, elite group of assassins?”
“Exactly.”
I slapped my knee, and he muttered, as if he couldn’t comprehend my logic,
“Then how is that different from the Hero’s party?”
“Does it need to be different? As long as it gets the job done, it doesn’t matter.”
While Walter and Nick seemed unconvinced, the Demon Lord, surprisingly, seemed to find my idea plausible.
He stroked his long beard and asked,
“But if the king dies, the next in line will immediately ascend the throne. Will that really cause enough chaos?”
“For demons, a king is just an administrator chosen by the Goddess of Power. But for humans, the king is much more. The current king of Oz, King Oscar, is an old fox who has been on the throne for over thirty years. If he, the one who has controlled the kingdom for so long, suddenly dies, it will undoubtedly throw the kingdom into chaos, even with a successor in place.”
Having served as the face of the magic tower, I knew that alliances built on power were fragile.
And the corrupt nobles of the Oz kingdom would likely act exactly as I wanted.
A strong monarchy always breeds resentment among the oppressed.
“The king’s death will cause chaos. We can use that opportunity to swallow the Oz kingdom whole.”
“And the new Hero?”
“Who cares? The kingdom will fall before he even has a chance to grow.”
Instead of trampling on the sprout before it can grow, we would destroy the soil it grew in.
The Demon Lord, seemingly pleased with my plan, nodded and asked the Four Heavenly Kings,
“I think this plan has merit. What are your thoughts?”
The Four Heavenly Kings knelt in unison.
“As you command, Demon Lord.”
“So be it.”
The Demon Lord looked at me, his dark eyes filled with a deep wisdom.
“I’ll support you in this. Do as you see fit.”
“I won’t disappoint you.”
I bowed deeply.
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