“Now, then.”

Once more, I was in that darkness-coated room, my face hidden from sight. Indeed, it was the Demon Generals’ meeting room. It had already been a few weeks since we had returned to the castle, so I figured it was about time for the next step.

This time, I had personally selected the attendants of the meeting. Myself, my Demon Generals and the children—my bodyguards were a given, of course. In addition, Remiel, Saniel and Evyna were here, as well as Alpine and Nyx.

“As you are no doubt aware, our immediate goal—the creation of our own Claiomh Solais is reaching completion.”

We were in possession of three of the four key ingredients, capable of granting the sword the four elemental attributes. Darkness was a cinch—we had the Goddess of Darkness on our side, after all—and for light, there were a variety of potential sources, such as that mysterious divine fragment I possessed, or that blessing that used to belong to the Barrier Hero.

All we needed now was…

“All we need do is obtain the Mermaids’ racial treasure.”

My expression, as usual, was warped into a selfish sneer.

“Charlotte,” I said, “you have done some research, yes? Present your findings.”

“As ord’red, Your Highness.”

She rose from her chair and cleared her throat.

“Although the location o’ the M’rfolk is unknown at large, old doc’ments r’veal there was once a cov’nant with their nation.”

“A treaty? Of what sort? With whom?”

“With sev’ral o’ the then-existing tribes o’ monst’rs, Your Highness. They have since been subsumed int’ the nation… There were cov’nants o’ non-aggression, in addition t’ cov’nants o’ trade and oth’r such things.”

“In a certain way, I suppose it is only natural. Mermaids are aquatic. They have little contact with humans and the like, and are much more likely to encounter water-dwelling demons, instead.” I nodded in acknowledgement.

“Exactly. As a r’sult, I b’lieve amic’ble negotiations t’ be the best course o’ action.”

“Aye, I agree. In the first place, Cy forced my hand with the dwarves, but I would prefer to do things peacefully. It reduces the chance of trouble arising later.”

Lilith, across the table, raised her voice.

“Ehh~? That sounds like a pain, though… Can’t we just beat ‘em up and be done with it?”

“We will go with that plan, sure, if you are willing to deal with any trouble that arises from it.”

“Erkh.”

She looked away, an awkward grimace on her face.

“I trust there are no objections, then? Very well. In that case-”

“Ah, Master, there’s actually one thing…”

The one who had spoken up, interrupting me, was Tempest.

“What is it? You may speak freely.”

“I would like to request permission not to participate this time.”

“Wh-Tempest, hast thou gone mad?!”

“It is fine, Charlotte,” I said, raising my hand in a pacifying gesture. After all, Tempest had intrigued me—certainly, she was one of the less responsible, more selfish of my Demon Generals, but she usually obeyed my words without question. “Tempest. State your reasons.”

“I’d like as much time to myself as possible, to continue on my research.”

A heavy silence hung over the room.

“... I am almost afraid to ask, Tempest, but what kind?” I eventually managed to squeeze out of my throat.

“The new dwarven technology has exponentially increased our supply of magic stones. I’m very close to a breakthrough. If I could have a little more time…”

“Ahh… That idea of yours which involved using magic stones as an expendable resource, is it?”

My utterance, entirely casual, caused several people in the room to freeze up.

Specifically, Charlotte, Evyna and Saniel. It seemed they were the only ones who understood the implications of the concept.

“Yes. I believe that, should I be allowed to stay, I will have a functioning prototype by the time of your return.”

A functioning prototype of such a thing? To call it fast would be an understatement. After all, to put it simply—

If the entire war was likened to a single game of chess, this invention would allow us to grow our forces, an entire piece at a time.

“Ku… Kuhuhu…”

I was barely even conscious of the laughter leaking from my own mouth. I dropped my head forward, gazing at my lap for a moment, and then threw it back.

“Kuha… Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha, hahahahahahahahahahahaha! I see, I see… Aye, I understand. I will allow it, Tempest. Nay, I order you! Focus all your efforts on this. Let Crowley know to cancel your outfit, and then get to work immediately!”

Her speed as she stood up from her chair, saluted and left the room was unmatched. For just a moment, surely she was faster even than Charlotte. I simply watched her leave, still chuckling to myself.

With her gone, the focus naturally drifted back over to me.

“Didya say ‘outfit’, Master?” Lilith asked, tilting her head. “Ya probably didn’t just get one fer Tempest, but… I’m fine with what I have, y’know?”

“That is not true, Lilith,” I said, shaking my head. “With the exception of Alpine and maybe I, myself, no one in this room would survive our destination in our current garb. Charlotte. Explain.”

“Und’rstood. From what our r’ports and the aforement’oned cov’nants ind’cate, the nation o’ the M’rfolk is located west o’ the elv’n for’st.”

“Hmm? Somethin’ wrong with that?” Lilith asked, canting her head to the other side.

“Lilith… Consider, for a moment, where Mermaids might live,” I said.

“Where… Ah! They live underwater, right! Yeah, I get what yer sayin’ now.”

I could sense that, behind me, the children were still not getting it. The former humans also seemed to be having a little trouble.

And indeed, separately, these two things were no big issue. The first was just a location, and the second could be solved in myriad ways. I, myself, knew a spell or two for water-breathing.

The problem was what happened when you put the two parts together.

“Evyna.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Going west from the elven forest, what is the first major body of water one encounters?”

She turned away from me, to the map, set up nearby.

“Uh… Th-the ocean?”

“Indeed. In that area, what surrounds the ocean?”

It clicked, for several people.

Because what surrounded that area of ocean was—

The Vauxshire Ice Fields.

An area of land that had once housed a splendid kingdom.

So splendid, in fact, that it was still named after that very kingdom.

But at one point, something had happened.

No one knew exactly what. But in any case, it was covered in a magical, cursed cold.

Even fire itself would freeze. No matter how many layers of clothing one wore, it would not be enough. Without the appropriate magically-warded materials, only those who were innately immune to the effects of frost would be spared.

Even Davna, whose inner flame would burn brightly no matter where she was, would not survive Vauxshire without appropriate protection.

Fortunately, on our side, we had one who could provide exactly that protection.

Although Crowley’s personality was certainly questionable in a number of aspects, his skills were the real deal. If he were to produce an article of clothing with the intent to make it heat-resistant, it could probably survive being dropped into an active volcano.

Already he was hard at work, presumably on my outfit.

I cleared my throat.

“Elves, drakonids, dwarves, and soon mermaids… Due to the races’ generous cooperation, soon, very soon, we shall complete our objective. That is…”

Not everyone in this room was aware of the plan at large. While that was not inherently a problem, there was also no particular reason to keep things that way.

“We shall complete the Demon Sword. And with that, even Claiomh Solais’s defeat will be inevitable, and thus, victory will be in our grasp.”

Of course, the entire plan relied on the supposition that I could not defeat the wielder of Claiomh Solais on my own, which was a laughable claim. In other words, the entire plan was useless. Without meaning. But it was the most… amusing way to win I could think of.

“The Heroes will lose, the king will die, the Holy Kingdom will fall, and thus, we shall have dominion over all the world.”

If I wished to offer her the world on a silver platter, it was a necessity, first, for me to claim it all for myself. One could not give away what one did not have.

“Of course, we will not abandon humans and beastmen either. They are to be our precious subjects, after all… So we must be sure to dote on them plenty. All of them, including our own demonkind.”

We would show them our love, with all the forms it could take. Whether those be trials by fire from a dragon, experimental improvements from a mad witch, the tender, all-enveloping embrace of a slime—all of it.

“That said… Davna. Navillus. I do not believe you have ever had Crowley make anything, aye? Go get yourself measured. Ah, you three, as well, Remiel, Saniel, Evyna. Ah, and Remiel?”

“Hm?”

“You have my permission to hit him if he tries to keep you for longer than he needs you.”

She pulled a face. Perhaps unsurprising.

“Off you go, then,” I said, gesturing to the door.

“What about me, Oberon?” Nyx asked, canting her head to the side.

It was cute, so I reached over and patted her head with my index finger.

“You bring up a fair point… You do not have a physical body, but I do not expect Vauxshire to care. Go find Crowley, too. He will be able to make you something, I am sure, even if you cannot wear normal clothing.”

“Understood~!”

She seemed rather excited—rather natural, considering this would likely be the first time she would be obtaining a change of clothing.

That left me in the room with the children, Alpine, Charlotte and Lilith.

“I do not have any particular orders for either of you until the start of the operation, so feel free to check by Crowley, too, if you wish to dictate parts of your outfit,” I said, addressing my remaining Demon Generals.

“That sounds like a paaaaain, so I’ll pass~,” Lilith said, instead sidling closer to me.

“I do not b’lieve such will be nec’ssary, Your Highness. Crowley’s pers’nality may be question’ble, but his sense f’r aesthet’cs is t’ be c’mmended.” Charlotte, on the other side, did away with the subtleness Lilith was exhibiting, instead using the shadows to her advantage to be at my side in a single step.

Lilith, in turn, also rose from her chair and made her way to my other side.

“... May I ask what the two of you are doing?” I asked, looking at the two of them in turn.

“What?” Lilith asked, narrowing her eyes. “Am I not allowed to stick close to the guy who swore he’d be my pops?”

“I did not swear any such thing.”

“Ah- Am I p’rhaps being a both’r to thee, Your Highness…?” Charlotte asked, already starting to slink away.

“Again, I did not say that. Just… Do as you like. I cannot be bothered to care any further.”

Out of nowhere, a certain someone manifested on my lap. “Do as you, like,” she said, “except here. This is… My spot.”

And with that, Entropy clung to me. Since I was sitting at a table, I could not have imagined my lap was a terribly comfortable seat, but…

Ah, to hell with it. Just let them do what they want.