302 That's why it's your turn.

"Dear Hilmera, I'm back.

Welcome back. Is that blood?

Master Hillemera often behaves strangely in her room. Sometimes she's surrounded by statues, laughing eerily, and other times, like today, she's painting a picture of Washekht, remembering him. ...... And she's not very good at it.

"Yes, do you want to use it for paint?

"No, I wouldn't use impurities to paint my brother. Oh, but it's not a bad idea. ....... But I can't ask you to share your brother's blood with me. ......

I don't want my blood.

Your blood is not impure either. My blood is barely acceptable.

I'm a little afraid of Master Hilmera, who is looking at her own arm. She has no hesitation when she makes a decision. Perhaps it would be better to have the maids who take care of her get more bandages.

If you're going to do this, please be prepared to stop the bleeding first.

"Hmm, I guess not. You see, the red color is used for the base of the skin tone, right? If my blood gets mixed in with it, you can't call me your brother, can you?

Even if I used my own blood, I don't think I could call myself Master Washekht with Hilmera-sama's skills.

You don't understand art. You don't understand art. A painting is not just a copy of what you see.

You don't understand art. You don't understand art. It's not a human figure by any stretch of the imagination, and even I would scream if I ran into such a figure at night.

There is madness in the painting, but I don't feel any madness in the painting itself. The figure is distorted, but I can understand that it is a kind of mental form that represents Washekht for Master Hilmera.

I can understand what you are trying to say.

"Yes, you do. You do.

But, Miss Hilmera, this kind of abstract painting is a technique used by those who are experienced in figurative painting. But, Miss Hilmera, abstract painting is the work of those who have mastered figurative painting.

"I will now paint your picture as a figurative painting. I'm going to need a barrel of your blood.

Wow. Your paintings are amazing. I can feel the feelings you have for Washekht.

Hilmera silently throws me the knife she uses to spread the paint. It's a good thing I caught it, but my fingertips are now stained with paint. At any rate, please stop aiming at my face.

"So, you're a little cranky today, aren't you?

"Oh, you know what? Actually, he was almost killed.

I'll make a quick report. I'm sure it's good news for you, Lord Hilmera, that you were able to cut down the other princes' pawns in the dark, but for me, the result is unsatisfactory.

Even though I had planned for him to be attacked from the start, I felt like jumping out of my skin when he was actually caught in the collapsing building in front of me.

Now he could fully understand Hilmera's dislike for the princes who used him.

"Do you think he was serious?

"Pretending, yes. I think they want to break his heart.

If he had guards who were familiar with magic enhancement, there was no way they could kill him with a collapsed house. They want to make him feel that his life is threatened and kill the agent who was in close contact with him right in front of him.

Do you think that will break the angel's heart?

I'm sure he's hurt. But it wouldn't have broken .......

Isn't that what you want?

If it's just a wish, then it's as if you don't care.

He would definitely be traumatized by Topala's death. He must have foreseen that Topala would be used and tried to distance himself from her at some point.

But it was too late. I underestimated the princes' lack of hesitation in dismissing useless incompetents. I didn't fully understand those who saw no point in respecting human life.

So, are you finally going to get serious?

I'm sure he will.

That's how he had been living his life, with his heart worn out. He had almost burned out at one point, but this world had brought his smoldering heat back to life. He has a fever for someone else, and he goes on burning himself. That fragility is what I was attracted to, and what I should have wanted.

But even with that result, my heart is in turmoil. More than anything, I've become emotionally attached to Ilias, who continues to stay by his side.

Since I meant it, there was nothing wrong with him knowing it. The problem lies not in that, but in the feelings that I am now nurturing in my heart.

The impatience I felt when the thought of losing him crossed my mind, and the thought that I would be fine with being a bystander, ...... gradually turned into.

I'm not sure if I'm that bad at drawing, by the way.

The only thing you look good at is drawing.

This time, the board came flying at me.

The board flew away.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's a little confused.

If he was only grieving over Topala's death, we could console him. If she was blaming herself for his death, we could tell her that she was wrong.

If I had seen anger, if I had seen impatience, one of us would have said something to Shisho. But none of us opened our mouths. I'm sure the reason for this is the same as what I'm feeling.

"Ilias, did you get any information?

"Oh, yeah. Just before we evacuated that place, I smelled blood. There was--

Ilias told Shisho about his meeting with Mursht after that. If at all possible, I'd like Shisho to avoid talking about him now. .......

After Shishou checked the dark package he had received from Iliad, he turned to us.

"Well, and ...... this attack, they didn't really mean to kill us. If they knew what Ilias and Wolfe were capable of, they wouldn't have thought that they could kill us with just a house collapse and arson. The specific aim would be to kill Toppala in front of my eyes to put psychological pressure on him.

What about you, who made that decision?

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that.

It worked. I'm not sure what to make of it.

You don't look too bad for that, do you?

If crying out would make things better, I'd start crying right now.

You don't look like you're doing that, and it's not like Shishou to say that. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm not sure what to make of it either.

"...... So. So what are you going to do after this?

If we continue to gather information at this pace, the princes will probably focus their interference on us instead of on me. I don't want that.

"You can't afford to be selective, can you? I'll always use my power if you want me to.

...... might not be such a bad idea.

The most surprised look at the words was the one who proposed the proposal, Murasaki himself. It's a good idea to take a look at the actual information on the web, as well as to make sure that you're getting the most out of it.

I'm not sure what to make of that. I'm a little surprised, aren't you?

It is true that I wanted to deal with the problem within the limits of human power if at all possible, because it is a problem between people. However, I can't afford to sacrifice myself because of my obsession.

Yes, I agree with you.

Purple, since the princes are wary of us, we cannot cage them all at once. We'll have to attack them one by one. But if we take a hard line, some of the remaining princes may think of fleeing. There's a good chance that some of them are collaborators of Raheit and the others. In order to find out where they are fleeing to, it is necessary to deploy demons near the Serende border and prepare for their pursuit. How many days will it take to complete the arrangements?

"We'll need to set up multiple squads with Butler Army as their commander, right? Seven days is plenty of time, if you include jurisdictional sharing and terrain awareness.

"Then get ready.

Wait a minute, please! I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm not sure what you're talking about. The Shishou has explained the dangers of using the power of the Demon King to solve problems many times before. Even though the power is immense, the impact of the result can be a double-edged sword.

With everyone's lives at stake, we've decided that we need to set a time limit.

Time limit?

"It's not that I've given up on solving the problem with human power. But if we're stubborn and don't give up, another sacrifice may be born. That's why I'm going to use the next seven days to finish the job.

"So you can do it?

Shishou closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was thinking. Then he slowly opened his eyes and said clearly.

You can do it if you're ready. And I've already made up my mind.