148 What's next?

Jestapha Heliodora's study, all the furniture is old, but carefully maintained.

It was an unpretentious room, but it was an ideal environment for someone who liked silence.

Jestaff grabbed a book from the desk at the back of the room and put it back on the shelf.

The young man seemed to be aware of my presence.

A synthesized voice, unidentifiable as either male or female, echoed in the study.

Jestaff knew that the voice was a spell used to conceal his identity, like the spell of invisibility, but he moved his ears slightly, the symbol of a subhuman, as if to show his displeasure at the sound.

The space shook and a new figure appeared in the study.

The figure was covered in a white robe and wore a flat mask with no peepholes.

He is my right-hand man, a slow-witted man, but more reliable than most. He's my right-hand man, and he's not the brightest, but he's the most reliable.

You're right, but you're not going to talk to your right hand man, are you?

I'm not the best at hiding things. He's not very good at hiding things. It's a waste of time to slow him down by giving him unnecessary information.

The Jest Staff Heliodora is quite fond of an individual, isn't she? You seem to have picked a good find.

You're the one who seems to be interested in him, aren't you?

Let's talk about it later. Let's get down to business.

Jestaphan's expression became very grim.

For him, this scheme is the greatest hardship of his life, as well as a long-cherished wish of his ancestors.

I heard that the person who suppressed the Blue Demon King is working with King Zenotta to search the guild.

It would seem so.

He seemed to be aware of me, Lobito and Chenillas. Why didn't they tell us?

"You're getting there. So it wasn't a coincidence that he had driven Raheit into the ground twice.

You're not answering my question!

Jestaff slammed the desk hard, but no one in the study was intimidated by his shout.

What's the point in telling them?　This project is a long-cherished dream of your family, and you've been acting with the utmost care.

At least I had Hassa backing me up, even though it would have cost me a man due to your ineptitude.

It would have been a necessary sacrifice, considering the likelihood of Raheit's successful escape.

What are you going to do, ......, if you keep talking like this, you're going to end up with your plan exposed?

Have you lost your nerve?　If you say you're out, we'll just get someone else to take your place.

Who said I'm out?

The karma of the Heliodoras runs deeper than that of the Morganides or the Goshenites. After all, they are the last of the subhuman royal bloodline.

When the Demon Lords appeared, the humans and subhumans who had been at odds with each other joined forces.

However, many subhumans chose to flee at that time.

The sub-humans, with their animal blood, had keen instincts and sensed the inevitability before the humans did.

In fact, it was impossible for both humans and subhumans to prevent the invasion of the Demon Lords.

However, there was one exception, the hero Yugra.

Yugra showed unparalleled strength to destroy all the Demon Lords single-handedly and brought peace to the world in no time.

The Heliodora family was the only subhuman royal family that did not flee, but at the time, humans had a very low opinion of subhumans.

With the advent of the Yugra religion, they were not persecuted as much as they had been during the war, but they were treated coldly.

Yugra gave the right to rule the continent to those who stayed and fought, and solidified the power of the nations.

The Heliodora family was not among them.

Nevertheless, the Heliodoras did their best not to be lost in the shadows of history.

They established guilds and tried to keep their power in a different form than the state, but that did not work out.

Factional conflicts with other guilds began, and to this day Riod has not been able to regain its supremacy.

On the contrary, even the nature of guilds began to change with the times.

The guild's founder's family was relegated to the position of advisor as the trend of meritocracy became more prominent and the better players took over the guild.

In a few more generations, even the current position will be lost.

His father, grandfather, and ancestors had left him a legacy, and Jestaff had lived with it from the day he was born.

I'm not royalty, and I'm not Heliodora anymore. That's why I have to end this fate.

As a member of the subhuman royal bloodline, I must leave this regret to future generations, but I must not let my own descendants suffer because of it.

The resurrection of the demon king is an opportunity of a lifetime, when the country is in turmoil, it is an opportunity to regain its former glory.

The people have gained power through history, and now they can fight well against the Demon Lord if all nations work together.

But they won't be able to do so unscathed, and they won't be able to keep their strength.

I'm going to take advantage of that.

"It looks like you're not going to be the first to drop out. King Zenotta can't touch us now.

"How can you be so sure?

If he suddenly suppresses the guild's counselor without any solid evidence, the public will distrust the Zenotta king. And in order to intervene here, the fact that the Demon Lord is back must first be made public.

"I think assassination is fine if you just want to get rid of the dissenters.

That king is not capable of that. But if the King of Zenotta - or any other country - starts to publicize the fact that the Demon King is back, then we should move on to the next step.

Yeah, that's right.

I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what to do.

"So the course of action is to maintain the status quo?

Yes, you will continue to build up your power with impunity. We'll arrange the overthrow.

That sounds like a very treacherous offer.

With you, there's no need to betray us. We're here to find people.

It's always a stupid reason to overthrow a country, isn't it?

In exchange for preparing arrangements for Jestapo to take the country, the person in front of me demanded a general search for human and subhuman inhabited areas in the territory of each country.

But at this point, we're not privy to all the details.

What kind of people are we looking for, how many, why?

It's not a joke. It's necessary for our future, for the future of humanity.

The fact that you're not lying makes it all the more creepy. If we're just looking for people, why don't we just negotiate with the kings of the world?

"As I said before, the Yugoslavs have their hands in the countries now. A country that accepts people who believe in Yugra is not a country that can be trusted.

"You guys seem to hate the legendary heroes a lot.

If you're talking about Yugra's crimes, I've already told you to some extent.

"You're saying Yugra is the one who created the Demon Lord?

Yes, that's an undeniable fact. The countries that protect the position of the Yugra religion may announce the fact that the Demon Lord is back, but they will never reveal the sins of the Yugra that are hidden behind it.

"Well, there's no way you can say that. You can't say that.

If the status of Yugraism is degraded, the credibility of the major powers that widely accept Yugraism will also be degraded.

If we forcefully deal with the Jestaffs while they are still harboring hidden secrets, we have to be prepared for those facts to come to light.

In that case, even if the Jestaffs could be controlled, new forces would overthrow the country again.

They'll have to be passive. They'll have to be passive. All we have to do is make one irreversible move. Leave nothing to chance.

They may already be watching us, so if they asked me to move now, I would have refused.

If it's too obvious, we'll handle it. We'll set up a new channel of communication. That's all I have to say.

And with that, the person in front of you disappears again with the invisibility spell.

The door to the study opens and closes.

The door to the study opens and closes, and Jestaff watches, lights a cigar, and smokes.

"So that's it, you got it, Harkdoc.

◇.

"So that's it, you got it, Harkdock.

While I was cleaning the basement, I suddenly heard my brother and a mysterious voice echoing in the basement.

At first I thought it was a joke, but it seemed to be a conversation between my brother and the guy in the study.

I'm going to explain to you, in case you haven't figured it out yet, that there are several devices in my house. One of them is this one, which is activated by putting the books on the desk back on the bookshelf. It was originally intended to be used to spy on enemies when they enter.

Oh, so that's what the rule in my brother's study was, 'Never move a book'.

No one was usually allowed to enter or leave the basement.

That's all because of this mechanism. ...... Amazing, I don't understand the mechanism at all.

I'm not sure what to say.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

"Oh, yes, I see.

I'm sure you know everything about me, don't you?

I'm not sure what to make of it.

I'll tell you since you look like you want to know why. Your ability to sense danger is excellent, but your ability to handle danger is like garbage. But you're definitely the first one to move when the time comes. You need to know as much information as possible to deal with the situation. If you don't know what's going on, there's not much you can do. Take a step back and take in a wide range of information, and your instincts will help you escape down the right path.

So you're doing this for me.

You're right, relying on instinct without knowing anything will only lead to misery, just like when I ran into that guy.

You can leave my future to your instincts, but you can't rely on them all the time, he says.

He wants me to try my best to help him guide me.

"Okay!　I'll do my best!

"I'll do my best! For the time being, this will be your position every time a guest comes in here.

Hearing these words, I look around the basement.

The room is dimly lit with only candlelight, dusty and untidy, full of cobwebs, mouse droppings, and garbage.

Why hasn't anyone cleaned this place?

The reason I made the basement an open room is not so people would know the trick, it's because it's too dirty to clean. Good luck with that.

"Thanks for the addendum ......, but if you keep up the good work, you'll find it more comfortable than my room!

Living in a basement is pretty exciting!　I'm not going to live there at all.

I'm not going to live in a basement at all, but the excuse that I couldn't get into the conversation because my room was dirty is no better than a third-rate excuse.

I roll up my arms and brace myself, let's do it!

First, I'm going to wash this dirty cloth, which looks good for a mattress, and then I'm going to wash it.

I'm not sure what to do.

I'm not sure what to do with it.

.

King Zenotta has a very interesting look on his face.

I've just visited Quama Castle to give a progress report and to explain that the guild's advisors are working to overthrow the state.

It's a very serious situation ...... that we can't afford to take any chances with.

The faction is expanding its influence for now. You can't move without concrete evidence.

We can't use the information from the third camp as evidence.

You can't use the information from the third camp as evidence. If you announce that you have the cooperation of a camp that has three Demon Lords, the reputation of King Zenotta will be ruined.

Worst of all, there would be people who would stand up and say, "Don't allow the king to serve the Demon Lord! There will be people who will stand up and say, "Don't allow the king to rule over the demon king!

What should we do?" "......

I'm glad you can rely on me to be honest, but King Tarz will think about it some more.

"I don't want to be compared to the Wise King. A king of another country is a king of another country, it's natural that there are differences.

King Zenotta has a rather nice personality, too.

Didn't you consult with Archbishop Serraes?

He's working on something else right now. He's working on something else now. He's organizing a team of clerics to prepare for the Scarlet Witch King's invasion. The Yugra religion belongs mainly to the Mejis, but it would be better to have clergy in each country.

Every party needs a healer, right?

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to get the best out of it.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

They won't make a move until the Scarlet Witch King does, after all. I'm not sure what to make of it.

If we solidify the protection of the country, ......

The Scarlet Witch King will overrun the neighborhood. I'm not sure what to make of that.

I'm not sure what to do.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. I'm not sure what to make of that.

In the event that you've got a lot of money, you'll be able to use it to buy a lot of things.

What about the individual demon lord's strength?

The three of them will lose in a tie-up with Ilias over there.

Ilias nodded his head, looking slightly proud.

The human race is getting stronger. ......

No twilight there.

We can't make a move, and if we fall behind, we'll be in trouble. Do you have a better idea?

Well, if King Zenotta would just use his magnificent sword on his hip to strike back at the adventurers that come at him, all would be well.

"That would be very picturesque, but my sword is a decoration, I wear it on my hip because it makes me look good, but it gave me a bad back the other day.

"How dare you surround us with that?

That's because I thought it was after ......?

I think he could get along with the money, or at least he could.

But if they collude, the trouble will definitely increase.

The first thing we should do is to release information about the Scarlet Witch King's resurrection and invasion. Sooner or later, the three countries of Taze, Mejis, and Garne will announce it.

"Yes, the people are quite anxious at the time of the invasion of the Blue Demon King. I think we should release some information before speculation starts flying.

I'd like to know more about the third camp as well.

Are you sure you want to go to ......?

I'd like you to refrain from giving any information about me personally, but it would make me feel a little better if I knew that the three Demon Lords were already neutral.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

You'll be able to find a lot of people who are interested in your company.

"Mm, okay. As for the date of the announcement, I'll get in touch with the kings of the other countries and set a date. So, is there anything specific you can do?

Yes, I do. It's a good idea.

Yes, I do have an idea. - An idea?

So I explained to King Zenotta the plan I was thinking of.

Ilias, who was standing beside me, was also listening attentively.

When the conversation is over, both of them have wonderfully twisted faces.

"...... This is insane. Is that what the people of the planet Juglar are all about?

I can't deny it. I can't deny that. Yukura Seiya's pretty much the same.

But it's ...... certainly effective. ...... No, no, no, no. ......

It's okay, King Zenotta.

I don't get the feeling you're all right.

No, I mean that King Zenotta doesn't have to worry about it, because the means are at our disposal.

...... Okay, I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. I've got some serious business to take care of!

In a way, this old man is more suited to be a politician than Marito.