56 Make an irreparable choice at the moment.

I came back to the original world after observing the progress of the first round of each.

Rather than watching the scenery in real time, I was able to observe the fragmented scenes floating in space, and intuitively know what choices and consequences had occurred.

If you try to look more closely, the fragmented scenes will start to move and you can see the details, such as the battle between Iliad and Lord Raggedy-doo, which is very impressive - no, I almost didn't understand what he was doing.

I see, so the scenes in our virtual world were also such a horrible array of memorials and horrible results that if I tried to look at any one of them carefully, I would vomit.

"No, the amount of information flowing through my head is a little higher when I am observing alone. I had compressed the amount of information I could observe beforehand in consideration of the burden on you. You could say that she herself reduced the amount just in case.

So the scene we saw when we consciously looked at it was the default.

If she had been shown such a thing, she would have felt compelled to slap the person as soon as she got home.

But neither was your virtual world. They were, if anything, more basic.

"Well, the Iliad seems to be, and the Wulfe seems to have had the wisdom of Mix.

Iliad's first round was literally a wait-and-see approach.

Iliad's first round was literally a wait-and-see strategy, leaving most of the internal affairs to the automatons and maximizing the strength of the Ghanaian army.

Six months later, after the declaration of war, he was fighting to the fullest extent possible.

It was a world that highlighted the pure difference in strength between the two sides.

Ilias himself had the advantage of being able to take part in the battle, and the other knight captains were able to deal with him even though he had taken the lead on many occasions.

The general morale of the Tarsis was probably also taken care of by Marito, and the war was so one-sided that even the untrained eye could tell.

In contrast, the Wolfe were completely on the defensive.

The flow of events up to the declaration of war was the same, but after that, there was no advance from Garne.

The country that had declared war first did not attack at all, and the two countries stared at each other, wary of a trap.

However, as soon as it was judged that they were not going to attack, they started to invade Gurne.

After that, they were defeated by force.

Garne, which was outnumbered and focused on defense, was quite solid, making it difficult for the knights to attack.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to be doing.

I'm sure you'll be able to see the difference between the two of them.

Both Iliad and Mixu have lost enough to determine that they can't win in a straight fight.

From here on, it's important to change your mindset.

They may not be able to do everything outrageous, but they will need some kind of cleverness.

"Noooooo!

The Demon King of Gold suddenly cries out, holding his head in his hands and looking like he's just done the deed of a lifetime.

I don't mind the natural ones, but I personally prefer the self-made cultured ones.

There is a loophole in .......

Is that so?

If you, Lord, can use your methods to destroy the Taze, then anyone can do it by extracting you!

Oh, well, the most difficult one was this virtual world.

The person who cleared it is in both the Iliad and the Wolfe world.

In other words, there is a way to win the game lying around the world.

As I recall, records from other worlds can be accessed only in the past. I'm sure you'll at least notice that feature, and there's a chance you'll find it if you go around enough.

It's only a matter of time before the four of them come up with such an idea.

"...... can't be helped, I'll give up on that.

"You're not going to do anything about it, are you?

You are not going to tamper with it? Besides, you've already defeated me completely, so the number of victories and defeats doesn't matter much to me now.

"That's very impressive, though I'm sure you'll have a hard time with it.

Is that so?　I don't think you're that loyal to Taze, but he's been so merciless to you.

You're right, I owe Taze a debt of gratitude, but no loyalty.

I'm only staying here because the environment is good.

This virtual world began half a year ago, when Dokora had drifted from Garne and had begun to rampage, building a bandit alliance.

Not long after that, ordinary people from other worlds appeared.

At that time, he was going down the mountain alone and through the forest to Taze.

If he drifted into the Taze, it would be difficult to recover him, but before that, he was just a stranded vagrant.

There are a few problems, but ...... I hope Ilias and Wolfe will do their best to solve them.

"I was new to this world at the time and didn't know the way. If we had gone the other way, the first place we would have ended up would have been Garne.

"Huh?　I'd like to hear more about that. You're not busy, so tell me.

You won't give me any information, but ......, you're not on our side until we've won two games, are you?

It's good, I believe that you are from the same planet as Yugra, but I have no idea how you came to be in this world. If you have an opinion about you, I'm willing to share my knowledge with you.

Hmm, so the existence of earthlings is unique to the Demon Lord as well.

Fortunately, my personal relationship with the Golden Demon King is relatively good.

It's strange to say that it's good after making him cry, but ......, even if his current attitude is an act, he values us enough to make it necessary.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on. It's a little after the start of this virtual world. I was suddenly sent from Earth to the Mountain of the Kuro Demon Slayer.

"What?　You've landed in the nest of that demon eater?

I've never heard of this word, or perhaps it's the official name of that slime.

It's also a simple name that a second grader might respond to.

It's a slime that reacts to magic and eats everything, that's a name that fits.

Even a Demon Lord would find that slime dangerous.

What's dangerous about it? It's the one that destroyed the Kuro Demon Lord. Kuro is the strongest of all the Demon Lords.

The slime's position in the caste of life forms is finally stuck at the top.

If it is a demon that killed the strongest demon lord, you can understand the surprise of the people around it.

I thought he was a careless demon lord, but I didn't realize he was the strongest.

The reason why I was sent to this world is unknown, I was walking around the area when I was attacked by that slime. So I immediately fled the area.

Why are you still alive, my Lord?

I'm sorry you're alive.

That's not what I meant.

I miss this conversation.

It seems he's reacting to magic and vibrations. You're sensitive to magic, but not to vibrations.

"Hmm, in our world, magic is a natural thing. In our world, it is natural to have magic power. Lacking it, you are at a disadvantage and a benefit in many ways.

After that, he told me about how he went down the mountain into the forest, and how he was led to Tarz by his ally, the first Spider Cleaver's Sword.

That ally has already been burned as firewood and has been reduced to ashes, but his will has been carried on in this wooden sword.

"How could a stick-fight have led you to Táiz? It's a shame. What a shame.

Yes, there was a one-in-two chance that I would have ended up in Taize, but it's possible that Garne was where I started.

Considering the distance, I'd say he would have been killed by bandits along the way.

If he could speak the language, he could have taken a chance and joined the bandits with Dokora, but he was a rare beast in otherworldly clothing who could not speak without Maja's language translation and possession skills.

A lowly bandit would have come to kill him with an axe.　A lowly bandit would have come to kill him with an axe. 　

Even if I had been fortunate enough to make it to Garnets, I barely knew the language of this world. By now, I'm probably working as a maid in the first layer, studying the language. It is because I was able to skip that process that I am able to be here now.

"You certainly have an interesting spirit inside you. It's not easy to get a good education, even if you're lucky enough to be picked up by someone like Ludwig Fein. ......

The gold demon king sighs in regret.

I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've.

You'll be able to get a lot more information on this subject. A kind mistress would have at least picked him up and cared for him, curious about his appearance. If you throw in the word that you might be a citizen of the planet Yugra, you might find out. ......

"The more you try to make those past what-ifs into good imaginings, the more empty they become.

It's good that you can choose your future mistress, but you can't change the past. It is human nature to dwell on the past.

These are the words of a man who died once and became a demon lord, so they are very convincing.

If the past could be changed, what kind of choices would I have made?

It's almost time for the second round to end.

I look at the hourglass next to the table.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

I looked at Wolfe and the others, but no one was getting up.

The second round didn't work either. I'd like to go check it out, if you don't mind.

"Yes, then I shall go.

"By the way, I think it's time you got off your knees...

And then my consciousness falls away.

I find myself in the same result world as before.

The results of the virtual world that Ilias was challenging seemed to be playing.

The golden Demon Lord on my lap took me by the hand and I drifted through space.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

It seems so.

The first thing Ilias did in the second round was to rescue Wolfe.

As an adventurer, Ilias infiltrated Tarz and went to the village of the Kuro Wolves to rescue Wolfe.

He had never seen such a scene before, and he had hurt the Kuro Wolves quite violently.

The rescued Wulfe was very cautious and closed-minded towards Ilias.

The reason for this was that Maja's language translation possession had transmitted our language to him.

Without that, it was impossible to communicate with Wulfe at a time when he did not know the language.

After that, Wolfe was placed under the protection of Garne Castle.

The next thing Ilias did was to acquire a language translation possession.

He must have realized the problem of not being able to communicate with us after the incident with Wolfe.

Since there was still some time before we appeared, he started training with wild beasts.

Lakra, who was able to give magic power to spirits, understood how it worked and conducted research through trial and error.

It's not that easy, because even with the support of a genius like Lakra, it's still the original magic of Archbishop Maja.

He tried to visit Tarz as an adventurer and have Maja herself teach him, but the current Iliad is the King of Garn and not the Iliad he had contacted in the past.

In the first place, Maja's condition was quite different.

It seems that Ilias's parents existed, but they were martyred in a battle with a demon in the past.

The existence of Ilias, the forgotten remnant of her best friend, must have had a great influence on Maja.

It was impossible to negotiate with Maja, who was not her usual aloof demeanor and was full of the dignity and sternness of an archbishop, without hiding the situation.

On the contrary, she became suspicious of these behaviors and had to flee from Taze.

Someone from the other world finally arrived while the acquisition of the possession technique was still incomplete.

Ilias, who was already lurking in the nearby forest, emerged from the forest and secured someone who was trying to paint graffiti on a tree.

Although he could not communicate with him, he conveyed his intention to rescue him through physical language with gestures and body language, and succeeded in bringing him back to Gane with food and water.

At that time, I was hoping to meet a decent person, and if I was lucky enough to meet one, I would have followed him.

He's a little reluctant, but so far, so good, isn't it?

No, this is probably a bad idea.

Huh?

We've succeeded in bringing him under the same protection as Wolfe, and Ilias is resuming his studies of possession while he studies the language.

After determining that it was too difficult for him to acquire it on his own, he mobilized the magic experts in Garne.

Thanks to Lacla's explanation of the theory, the language translation possession was completed shortly before the declaration of war, and he succeeded in possessing the two.

However, six months after the declaration of war, Garne was destroyed.

"This is ...... you, .......

"Oh, yeah, I knew you would.

The Iliad was betrayed to death by me, of all people.

------------------------------------

The second round of the world ends and the third round begins .

The second world ends and the third begins. "Mmm-hmm, the third begins.

As I sat dumbfounded on my throne, a small golden demon king sprang up and announced the third round.

"(Mr. Iliad, ......)

...... I know. I must have made a fatal mistake.

Most of my memories of the previous world have been compressed, leaving me with only fragmentary memories of the outcome.

It was good until I helped him with Wolfe and acquired the art of possession.

I had a lot to think about with Maja, but I got a lot out of it.

The problem was that he betrayed me and Garne was destroyed more quickly than in the first round.

He was the same man he had always been when he was able to communicate through possession.

After the war started and he agreed to help me, he suddenly became dyed-in-the-wool.

He began to live his life with those cloudy eyes that I had always avoided, and he never returned.

Then one day I was summoned out of the castle, and when I came to, he was dead.

He had somehow recognized me as an enemy and eliminated me in cold blood.

After that, the Tarzan Knights came in and destroyed Garn.

I sat up, leaned forward, and hugged my shoulders.

I couldn't stop the chills. Was it so horrible that he would become an enemy?

There was no doubt that His Majesty's overwhelming leadership and influence and Lord Ragdoll's absolute fighting power were more threatening.

But his fear was a different kind of threat. It was all about eliminating me alone.

It wasn't just a great sword that could kill anyone, it had mutated into a poisonous needle that could only kill Iliad-Lazzle.

The horror of being understood for the sole purpose of killing oneself was eerily different from any other horror I had ever experienced.

I wonder if this is what Docola and Parshero felt for him at the time of their deaths.

(I think Mr. Shosho was aware of my presence in .......)

He doesn't have such a peculiar ability, but it is possible that he was aware of it.

I didn't think I showed any such signs. .......

I could have brought him in, though. This should have been necessary.

There was no sign of him in the first round, but he's not dead, so he's probably in Tarz.

If he had been able to establish friendships with the knights of Tar's and beyond, he could have appeared as an enemy.

Even if he could break through the overwhelming knights of Tarz, he would still be waiting for him.

It would be necessary to collect them.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will help you out.

Yes, he was the reason why the bandit alliance in Dokora fell apart.

In the first round, they had already been swept away, albeit a bit late.

In the second round, he was still alive and well when war was declared, and it is said that the bandits interfered during the war.

But that alone is not enough to make a decision, we still need his help.

The first thing to do is to have him research the art of language translation and possession, and since he doesn't remember any details, he has to start almost from the beginning, but he still has the method and the successful results.

It would be a good idea to have them study it from several directions so that they can find the shortest way.

The next step is to rescue Wolfe in parallel.

When I first saw her devastation with my own eyes in the first round, I almost killed all of the Kuro Wolves.

In fact, some of the Kuro Wolves I hurt would never be able to hold a weapon again.

He regretted that, but since he couldn't speak the language, he had to take a strong stand. Since there was no need to fight, he decided to sneak in during the night and retrieve her quickly.

And the good news is that I have perfected the art of verbal possession before he appears in this world.

This would allow me to take a little more time to negotiate with him carefully.

I decided to use the possession technique on Wolfe and let her rest.

Her talents were too good to leave behind, but there was too little time for her to make it in this world.

Her training with Ragdoll's knights is what makes her strong now, and her growth rate against Garne's generals is far from practical. 　

Besides, she won't open her heart to me in this world.

He may have freed her from the village, but the way he did it must have had a profound effect on her.

The second time around, Wolfe was still hiding behind him.

In order to truly save her, I need to get him to that village, but without Kara and the others to help me, I'm not sure if it will turn out the same.

He'll be next. ......

And now, I'm going to pick him up in the forest of Taze.

I ride my horse alone, disguised as a passerby, and proceed to meet him.

I thought about using possession on him right away, but it would take some training for me to acquire it.

I thought about bringing in one of Garne's magic experts who'd developed it, but he'd be suspicious if I set things up that conveniently.

So I had him perform the possession on me.

In the past, I found Wolfe in the village of the Kuro Wolves and took him out because of the harsh environment.

It's a form of kidnapping, but I was on my way back to the village to use the language translation possession to talk to her.

To make sure I wasn't lying, I went to the Kuro Wolf Forest again and had the village chief interfere with the possession technique.

They were surprised by my sudden appearance, but the conversation went smoothly.

There was no accusation that I had taken Wolfe away, and that alone made me angry.

As an adventurer, I couldn't bridge the gap with Taze, so that was the end of the conversation.

Now, it's time for him to come out.

I timed it the same as before and found him safely.

He wandered out of the forest, elated that he had found his way.

He was so distracted by this that he had not yet noticed our approach.

He then tries to draw graffiti on a nearby tree, and so far, so good.

"Hey there, you don't look too good, are you okay?

I call out to him. He looks back in surprise and makes a happy face.

Now I'm under possession, but I can't speak the language of his world because his magic hasn't penetrated our spirit.

But I'm sure the spirit can translate and understand his words--

"----?

What?

I can't understand a word he says. Did the possession technique fail?

No, I definitely heard the black wolf's words.

It matches his statement.

--Well, he's got very little magic.

Spirits are supposed to be able to sense the other's magic and speak a language familiar to that magic.

So it's safe to assume that the spirit can't recognize his words without magic.

If you can possess him, you can talk to him, then you can bring him home.

I gave him food and water, gestured for protection, and put him on a horse to take him back to Gane.

"Well, thank you for your help, Mr. Ilias.

The possession technique was performed in Garne, allowing us to communicate with him.

At this point, he is grateful to me, so we should be okay so far.

(I still can't get used to the fact that Shosho-sama's response is different.

It's true, how much easier it would be if the relationship was as easy as usual. .......

The memory of the second round comes back to my mind and I get nervous.

The first thing you need to do is to establish a friendly relationship with him, treat him as if you were meeting him for the first time and give him accommodation.

At the same time, I explained the situation of Wolfe and asked him to take care of me.

At first, he showed some resistance, but as soon as he was introduced to Wolfe, he agreed.

She didn't let her guard down with him either, but it didn't take long for them to get to know each other.

They didn't have a master-disciple relationship, but they got along like brother and sister.

(I'm jealous, I want to pet Wolfe's fluffy fur too!

"I know how you feel, but you won't have a body until this game is over.

(Ugh, if I were a participant, I'd go to ......)

I'd be happy to take your place if it would help me achieve my original goal.

I'd like to establish a friendship with him as Ilias-Ratzel, but right now I'm the King of Garn.

As long as Rudfein and the others perceive me as such, I have no choice but to treat them as such.

He was surprised, but I was still able to get within a certain distance.

Your Majesty could have made friends with him much sooner. ......

"(Iliad, you have a very limited circle of friends.)

That hurts my ears. ......

And finally, the war with the Targs begins.

The declaration of war from Garne is made automatically, but the content can be set in advance.

But this is the most difficult problem.

Originally, Taze and Garne had a good relationship when he was the previous king, but after he was replaced by the Golden Demon King, they became estranged.

Then, he suddenly declares war on them, and there's no good reason for it.

In the second round, I begged him for his approval, but he betrayed me.

In the second round, I asked him for his approval, but he betrayed me.

In order to truly win him over to our side, we would need to have something to convince him of this.

I'll consult with Lakra and come up with a reason.

You can't talk to Ludfen and the others about this, they will only accept it even if they are repulsed.

...... So, this is where it's happening?

(Hmm, maybe.)

The King of Ghanai suddenly declares war, and the ministers around him obey quietly.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

...... I can't come up with a good idea.

I'd rather have him ...... beheaded by Lord Ragdoll again ...... than this.

(That's right ......, why don't we talk to the Shosho-sama himself?

How can I talk to him? ...... He won't believe me in this situation.

"(Well, Master Shosho is very perceptive.) (Well, Master Shosho is very perceptive.) "You never know.

Now that war has been declared, Taze will be on the move before long.

There is only so much time to convince him.

There are no odds or anything at the moment, but if the third lap ends with a long thought, the rest of the laps will be the same.

Let's talk to .......

This might make him see me as an enemy.

It's excruciatingly unpleasant, but something might come of it.

If I'm not prepared for the heartache, he won't get it.

I summoned him to the throne room and told him the whole story.

He was surprised but listened in silence the whole time.

In order to win the war against the Demon King in this virtual world, I must destroy the Targs of this world. ....... But I don't have the power to do that, but you in the real world have made it possible. So I need your help.

"...... Oh, I see. Give me a minute.

He ponders for a moment, but his face is not puzzled.

The eyes he's looking at me with are already cloudy, and I'm guessing his friendship with me is already gone.

Even if the man in front of me is just another being in a virtual world, it still hurts my heart.

I want this to end. .......

"So, in the other world, you're close to me, huh?

"Yes, I'm originally a knight and your bodyguard. I share a home with you, Wolfe, and someone called Lakra, who is not here.

"...... So that's why you helped Wolfe, who didn't need it. All right, I'll believe everything you say. Then we'll cooperate.

"Are you sure?

The words came out of his mouth, but he couldn't really be happy.

But I can't be truly happy, because his cloudy gaze is still fixed on me, and nothing has changed.

First, explain to me all the features you can use, and I'll give you all the information I can find. Then we can make a plan.

Now that he knows what's going on, he's got nothing to hide.

He can't see the little gold demon king, so I explain to him over and over how to operate it on the spot.

He pulls out all the information he can get, and even asks what the Golden Demon King looks like.

Not only that, he was repeatedly asked what had happened since his encounter with him in the real world, and what he had said to him.

I guess they were checking to see if there was any discrepancy with his own intentions.

After the conversation, he went back to his room to think for a while.

Two days later, he reappeared in the throne room and told me his plan with even murkier eyes.

After that, the third cycle of Garnets died and I arrived at the fourth cycle of thrones.