I Favor the Villainess

Now, let's begin the conference on countermeasures against demonic raids.

It was Philline who cut her lips off.

This is the conference room set up in Imperial Castle.

Philline, Dorothea, Joseph and Hilda, the Empire's humans, as well as Susie, Appalachia and Bauer's spiritual church.

Literally, the representatives of mankind are gathered together.

"First, let's check the current situation. Hilda, what is the status of the demons?

"Yes, see the map here"

Hilda showed a map of the Empire and its surroundings spread out on the wall with a stick.

The Demon Clan Territory is located east from the perspective of the Empire.

There appear to be six fortifications between the Imperial Capital and the Magic Realm.

"At present, the demons are trying to break through the second fort and not drop the third. Fort Three is commanded by a brave and well-known general, General Sasha, but it won't be long before the horse arrives earlier."

"You can't even hold Zasha down."

Dorothea roared.

According to Hilda's explanation, General Sasha is a famous general who has prevented the Devil race from advancing many times so far, and the Devil's army has never defeated him.

"An army of different sizes, it seems to contain many relatively intelligent monsters centered around goblins and orcs."

"Is that enough for Sasha to lose?

"No, it's like a goblin or orc that usually runs first if it's disadvantaged becomes a dead soldier. It's like you're scared of something."

"Hmm... don't worry."

A dead soldier is a soldier who prepares for death and fights for death in a frenzy.

At any rate, it seems that the human side is being pushed.

"I bet you the demons are serious about this raid."

Manaria is right, this raid is also important to the demons.

"Specifically, how long until the Imperial Capital?

His Majesty William asked.

"If we keep marching at this rate, we'll probably have about a week to go."

"Reinforcements from Bauer may not be in time..."

Hilda's speculation made a bitter noise.

As soon as Dolores learned of the demon raid, he asked Rod in Bauer for reinforcements.

Nevertheless, no matter how good Rod is, it will take time for the troops to move.

It seems that it is a delicate place to be in time or not.

"What fortress was Dorothea talking about with the installation magic equipment?

"This will be Fort Five. Between Fort Five and the Imperial Capital, there is only Fort Six left."

Hilda replied indifferently to Yu-sama's question.

In other words, the success or failure of the strategy at Fort 5 is directly linked to the safety of the Imperial Capital.

Are you ready for the installation magic equipment?

I also asked Mr Sein.

"Installation Magic Equipment - Full Name Magic Weapon Inferno is still operational. The question is whether we can successfully guide the enemy forces. Take a look at this enlarged map."

Hilda moved the indicator stick to the map next door.

"This is the map around Fort Five. As you can see, Fort Five is a natural hub surrounded by mountains. The only way to break through here is to make a major detour and invade from the northern part of the Imperial Capital, or to break through the fort in front of us."

If you take a detour route, it tastes bad, right?

Hilda nodded to my question.

"That's right. If the Demon army takes a detour route, its advance to the Imperial Capital will be significantly delayed, but Inferno will no longer be available instead. There is another fortress in the north, but we cannot install Inferno there."

"Then we must lead the Demons to Fort 5 anyway."

"Yes, it will."

The question is how to guide them.

"Is Inferno's information well kept secret?

I asked Manaria-sama to confirm it.

"Rest assured. The presence of Inferno is only known to a small part of the Imperial Army. I smelled that there was a powerful weapon on the demonic side that Dorothea was killing, but I kept a strict secret about its identity and location. It's unlikely to leak to the Devil's side."

Hilda promised that there would be no information leaks.

I wonder if it's true.

"If you ignore Inferno's presence, the route that bypasses from the north and the route that goes straight east should be slightly easier to tackle. If we don't do something about it, there's no point in Inferno the Tiger Kid."

Said Philline crushed the bitter bug.

"How about an army on the detour route?

His Majesty Sein tries to make a suggestion.

"We already have some troops on the detour route, but the more we make them give up the detour, the less straightforward the route is."

"Ah, didn't the Empire prepare for the demonic march?

What Lily wants to say is that there are too few soldiers to prepare for this situation.

"Lily Lillium. The Empire's enemies aren't just demons. Beginning with the existence of the Demon King, the rest of the sincerity is not yet known to the surrounding countries. If we loosen the troops around the border now, there is a danger that the surrounding countries will march."

"... don't you deserve it?"

It was Misha who spilled softly, but I think that's exactly right.

"There is no word to return if you say so, but the status quo does not change even if you do nothing. Think about what you can do now."

"Ha ha ha. You're right, but you look great everywhere."

Yu-sama poisoned her with a smile.

Well, that's what you're going to want to say.

"Let's get this over with. The problem is how to lure the Demon Army to Inferno. Do you have a plan?

Philline rescheduled the agenda.

For a while there was silence.

"There's one thing that comes to mind."

It was Claire who broke it.

"How, Claire?

"All you have to do is hang the food in front of your eyes so that the demons can't ignore it."

Claire's tone is faint, but her expression is harder.

I had a bad feeling about it.

"What is food, Claire-François?

Dorothea asks to represent everyone's doubts.

"Feed is... me."

"Hey, Claire!?

When I changed my blood phase and stood up, Claire continued to control it by hand.

"Once upon a time, one of the three great demons said: It's over, Claire-François. Destroy, all the culprits."

That was when Aristotle attacked.

"I don't remember anything at all, but it seems that the demons have a reason to target me. That's enough for the three demons to go out on their own. I think that if I were you, I would be able to lead an army of demons."

That's what Claire said and laughed invincibly.

"I disagree! It's too dangerous!

I disagreed fiercely.

What makes you sad must sacrifice Claire?

I usually get a bad feeling.

I thought Claire was sacrificing herself again.

"I can't help it alone, so Ray will come with me."

That's how Claire laughed at me.

Oh, I see.

Isn't Claire trying to sacrifice herself?

We have a math that will bring us back together.

"Honestly, I can't command an army. I don't have any experience. So I'll leave it up to the experts. Together with Ray, I will devote myself to provoking the demons. It's easy for both of us to get around, and it's light when we run away."

Claire says that instead of targeting the entire army, we will decoy until we are full.

"... and yet, I disagree. I can't believe I'm pushing this big on Claire and Ray."

Filine disagreed.

You may send people to battle.

I would disagree with that.

"Farewell, Philline. Do you have a counterproposal?"

Dorothea asks low.

Those eyes are as harsh as forgiving sweetness.

"... no"

"Then keep your mouth shut. Emotional objections without countermeasures are the most unnecessary in this situation."

That's what I came here to say to Dorothea, who cut Philline and threw it away.

"Really?

"What are you saying, Ray-Taylor?"

"Neither Claire nor I are from the Empire. If Philline were a man like you who would push her back into the kingdom in peace, wouldn't she just abandon the Empire and return to the kingdom?

Why do you demand dedication as a matter of course?

"This is not only a battle for the Empire, but for the survival of mankind."

"We don't have to fight here. It's okay to say that while the Empire was being ravaged, we fought in Susie, Appalachia and Bauer, and then we came to the duel."

"... mmm"

Dorothea kept quiet.

"If it's for a country where people like Filine are emperors, you might want to cooperate a little bit. I don't mean anything but a cold logic, Dorothea."

"... that makes sense. Forgive me, Philline."

"Mother... Thank you, Ray."

Filine seemed a little impressed.

No, I'm just saying.

"Looks like we're done here. It's no surprise to me, but I'll let Claire and Ray sweeten it here. Instead, I won't forgive you if you die. Be sure to come back."

"Yeah, I'm not going to die, either."

"No matter who you abandon, Claire alone will take you home."

Therefore, the anti-demon raid tactical meeting lasted until late every night.

Three days until the final battle of Fort Five.