The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King

We escaped the Count's castle, which was occupied by an army of ants, and we escaped from the Count's castle.

He immediately returns to his own camp and orders us to retreat.

''Aren't you going to attack us in one fell swoop?

Eve comes to visit.

''We don't know what they're capable of or what they want, so it's a poor idea to attack unprovoked.

You're Sun Tzu, like your husband always says.

If you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be in danger of being elected. I want to know what the ants are up to, their purpose, their chain of command.

For that, you must be Lady Kazuma Kotaro.

As I say this, Kazuma Kotaro appears.

I order him to investigate, and Kotaro disappears in silence.

''The rest is up to you, princess.

Eve looks at Jessica, who is still sleeping.

'Your daughter will be looked after in the castle for a while. We'll even assign a servant to her. She's the heir to the county estate.

Does that mean there is no more Earl?

Maybe. Not with that wound.

A light prayer of silence. But it was short-lived. I was alive, and I had a lot of work to do.

'First, assemble a private bodyguard for Lady Jessica and take her down to the castle. In the meantime, we will fall back solemnly. We will not be pursued by the enemy.

"As you wish.

Eve quickly begins to make arrangements.

The other officers also tell their own men to withdraw.

Thus, Ashtaroth's army was to withdraw from Count Ismalia's territory.

A week later, when the entire army was safely returned to Ashtaroth Castle, the identity of the ants that had appeared at Ismalia Castle was discovered.

Kazuma Kotaro solemnly explains.

'Their race is the Legion Ants. They are hive workers. Since ancient times, they have lived in the depths of this continent. They don't mix with humans or demons and have evolved in their own way.

What do you mean by unique?

'It's a world of ants themselves. We're building an organization around the queen ant.

So if we defeat the queen ants, we'll get rid of them?

You can't get rid of the queen ants until you kill them, if you ask me.

I see. That's tricky. Where's the queen bee?

'We don't know that. Legion ants are constantly moving through their nests, called hives.

'Always on the move?　You live in the ground, don't you?

'Yes, it's constantly moving through the ground. Perhaps, though, they were looking for an opportunity to build a hive underneath Ismalia's castle to invade.

So....

I stare at the floor of the War Room.

Behind it. I imagine a place far underground.

"Is it possible that at this very moment, they could be hovering underneath Castle Ashtaroth?

Yeah.

Can you find out how soon?

It's possible. I mean, I'm doing it.

They've sent Hanzo, a Kobold ninja, out on a geological survey.

That's my boy.

He concluded, "I have decided to do my duty as a practitioner until the results of the investigation come up.

'I will focus on internal affairs until the location of the Ant Queen is known. Each of you military officers must keep your troops in training.

Year Three, Jeanne nods.

I realize that Robin is alone and unavailable, so I call in him.

'Robin Hood will be leading the bow squad. At a later date, I will draw from each squad who knows how to use a bow. Organize your troops.

Yes, sir.

And Robin smiles fearlessly.

Seeing that smile is a relief. Robin Hood is the strongest archer in the West in another world. I'm sure he will organize a great bow unit.

After giving a warning to all of the military officers, you can now get down to domestic politics.

The bow unit is more expensive than expected. Making a bow is expensive and arrows are not free.

You're developing the town and enriching its finances.

'Ah, we've become richer with trade with the maritime city of Bernese, but there's still room for development. Now, a new kind of potato that I got from another continent the other day.

Oh, those delicious sweet potatoes.

I thought you gave out seed potatoes to farmers, how's that going?

Farmers are growing it and eating it, but it's not in the market?

Why?

There's a lot of ugly rumors out there.

Disgusting rumors?

"Yes. There's a rumor that potatoes are poisonous.

'What the hell, that's not nice. Yes, it's in the sprouts, but otherwise it's a nutritious and most delicious ingredient.

Exactly. We serve it at the castle and everyone eats it up.

Eve's hash browns are excellent.

But apparently it's an unknown food to citizens who have never seen a new potato before. 'I'm in trouble,' he said, twitching his head.

The flowers of the new potatoes are so toxic. Besides, the ones who ate the sprouts must have misunderstood what they were eating and that's how they got their reputation.

On your left, sir.

So, for the first time in a long time, we have a plot.

Are you going to settle this with a conspiracy?

'Oh, he's the demon king of intrigue. Now, Eve, order a large farmer on the outskirts of the city, a farmer who grows potatoes, to build a fence in a potato field. No, send out your goblins and orc man-feet and help us build a fence.

'That's easy, but why is that?　We don't have to fence it in or anything to keep the potatoes from being stolen.

'I suppose. But what happens when you spread these rumors among the citizens?　The new potatoes on the big farms are said to be very good. Rumors of their poisonous nature are being spread by the nobility to monopolize the potatoes. The potato fields are fenced in to prove it, and--

'I see!　If you can't pull it off, then the strategy is to push.

'Oh, if you can't explain it to me with your mouth, it's until it speaks to human greed. Make sure you have a deliberately thin spot on the fence.

'So the miscreants who stole the potatoes take the liberty of advertising 'this is good'?

'Correct. We'll spread rumors from the grassroots.

I said with a smirk, and Eve bowed deeply.

''As expected of the God of Conspiracy. His wisdom is probably the best among the Demon King.''

I hope so. Now, then, can you get on with it?

I'll hang my head again and Eve will do my plan.

A week later, I'll have the results.

Eve knocks on the door of my office with a look of joy on her face.

'Master, as soon as possible, the potatoes have been placed in the market. It's a crowd of people in Black Mountain.'

I see the word has spread quickly.

'Yes. Everything is paradise food, and they gossip that if you eat it, you'll go to heaven.

'From a demon king's point of view, I don't want to go to heaven, but I suppose the humans don't.

Yes, sir.

So you're going to push me over the edge.

Is it a no-go for you?

'Yeah, I actually asked Lord Godreeve the Dwarf to build a mobile stall for me.

Well, you're good at it.

'Oh, I'll offer you a huffy potato and fries there. It's a new kind of potato, and it's great when you put butter on it.

That's great.

Hmm. As well as butter, I'm going to prepare saltines, chili powder and honey mustard sauce.

Would you like to try some fried onions as a garnish?

That's great. That's the head maid of Ashtaroth Castle.

Eve sneered in admiration.

'Well, I'd love to go on a tour, but there's just one problem.

'Is there a problem?　Could it be that you mean the papers?

I look at my desk and see a swarm of unsettled papers. It's a backlog of paperwork from my trip to Ismailia Castle.

That too, but the paperwork will be done in one night.

That's my master. Then what is the problem?

I reply to Eve, who asks again.

'That means if you don't take the saintly lady to these events, you'll be whining and complaining for the rest of your life. I'm sorry, but could you wake up the drooling saint-sama in bed and bring her to me?

Eve chuckles at the answer.

'But I suppose that's true. I understand. I'll go wake up Jeanne.

When Eve said this, 30 minutes later, Jeanne appeared. As expected, she didn't have eye mites, but her hair was different from the usual. The hair is not tied up, but it is sloppy. I guess her appetite is higher than tying her hair.

It's typical for Jeanne to say this without pointing it out.

Well then, let's go to the market with the head maid and the saintly lady in tow. We'll have some fried potatoes there. Breakfast.'

Jeanne said, "Yay! He bounces around, but quickly changes his face.

'Ha!　Sheesh. I actually went to breakfast.

So that's why it took you 30 minutes. I'm lightly dumbfounded, but I admonish him.

'Then I guess this is your lunch. You can eat enough to avoid having to eat lunch.

What does Jeanne say to that?　I'll give you a look.

'Lunch is something else. Potatoes are a snack.

Jeanne said flatly and pulled my hand away.

Me and Yves, dismayed by Jeanne's bottomless appetite, headed to the market together.

There, the three of us eat fried potatoes in good company. I put butter and salt on the potatoes, Eve put mayonnaise and Jeanne put a lot of chili powder on them.

The potatoes were very tasty, but not very romantic, I thought. One of these days I wanted to take them to some of the finest restaurants in the big city.

When I mentioned this, Jeanne retorted.

'A meal with the Demon King is the most luxurious food in the world. It's the best restaurant in the world, even in the coldest weather, when you're with the Demon King. It's three stars.''

It was embarrassing for me to say this without hesitation, so I ordered a second batch of fried potatoes and handed them to Jeanne.

She smiled a holy smile and poured a generous amount of honey mustard sauce over the fried potatoes.