I shouted through the communication system.
'Trait!!!!!!!!!!!!'
[…I'll display it for you.]
=====
[Name: Lena de Feron]
[-Trait-]
[Martial Arts], [Leadership Lv.38], [Spirit of Sacrifice], [Courage], [Boldness]….
=====
Even at a glance, it was clear that this wasn't the trait of an ordinary maid.
Armonia quickly scanned the traits and explained.
[Lena de Feron, if she matches the information we have, is the first princess of the Grand Duchy of Feron.]
'Wow, she's amazing. I've never seen pink hair before.'
Lena de Ferron was about 170 cm tall, which was quite tall for a woman, and her pink eyes were a rare sight.
Even the way she bowed exuded grace and dignity.
However, despite her apology, the heavy atmosphere didn't lift.
Someone stood up from the dining table.
Thud… thud…
The one who approached Lena de Ferron, stomping with reverse-jointed legs, was…
"…I was in a very good mood today... Until I saw your faces."
It was the Demon King, Gardia, whose demeanour had completely changed from earlier.
Though his face was that of a goat, he had been laughing heartily and lifting the mood when we first met. Now, his eyes glowed red, and a murderous aura emanated from him.
The kid who had been so confident earlier was now trembling all over, having wet himself, and even the retainers at the table began to shake.
Just because someone was similar in size to the Demon King didn't mean they were equal in strength.
Among those present, only Viola and I remained unaffected.
Viola seemed to regard the murderous aura as nothing special, glancing around as if wondering if she should intervene.
'…How on earth did that hero kid raise Viola?'
[From my perspective, Guardian, you're no less impressive.]
'Well, I have the firm confidence that I'll survive, so it's fine.'
If things get bad, I can just warp away.
Aside from Viola and me, the only one who was holding up relatively well against the murderous aura was Lena de Feron.
She bowed gracefully and spoke again.
"I apologize, Demon King. I will ensure proper discipline. Please, show mercy…"
But even she couldn't completely control the slight trembling of her lips.
In the face of death, all beings are equal.
Suddenly, the space to Gardia's right distorted, and a massive black scythe appeared in the air.
The enormous scythe looked like it could slice through the massive dining table as easily as cutting through paper.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Suddenly, the sound of clapping drew the attention of everyone at the table.
It was Viola.
She had been clapping, but when everyone looked at her, she seemed embarrassed and whispered to me.
"It's amazing. How did he do that?"
"Well…."
Viola was staring at the scythe as if she had just witnessed a magic show.
But unlike Viola and me, the atmosphere around the three standing before Gardia was like that of a funeral.
The kid had fainted after wetting himself, and the lower-ranking demon looked like he had given up on life, on the verge of collapsing.
Even Lena de Feron had closed her eyes tightly, as if she had resigned herself to her fate.
"I've endured with patience until now, but today, I can't take it anymore! At the very least, I'll send your heads back to your homeland!!!"
Just as the Demon King raised his massive scythe to strike the three down, I shouted.
"Wait!"
My voice drew the attention of not only the retainers at the table but also the Demon King and Lena de Feron.
Gardia, still seething with anger, glared at me with his red eyes.
Since the chair was too high for me to stand up, I climbed onto it and spoke.
"We may not be much, but we were invited here as guests. It's a bit uncomfortable to witness such a cruel scene, so could you perhaps spare them this once? For our sake."
"…."
After hearing my words, Gardia let out a few snorts, then made the scythe he was holding disappear into thin air and looked at me.
"I'm sorry… I got carried away in front of such esteemed guests. My apologies for the unsightly display."
"No, thank you."
Gardia glanced at the three and said.
"Get that brat out of here!"
"Yes!"
The lower-ranking demon quickly picked up the kid and rushed out, and suddenly, several people began cleaning up the mess.
All of them were humans.
They ranged from children younger than the kid who had been dragged out to those around the same age as the princess.
After hurriedly finishing the cleanup, the servants began to leave.
As she left, Lena de Feron glanced at me.
Once they were gone, the demons began to lay out the food, unlike before.
While one or two demons flew in to serve Viola and me, the retainers next to us had multiple demons struggling to place their dishes on the table.
The plates were so large that Viola and I could have jumped on them and played around.
Once all the food was laid out, the meal began.
Although the meal had started, it didn't feel like we were eating together.
It was like watching ants nibbling at sugar amidst a group of giant humans.
Unlike me, Viola was completely absorbed in the food, not paying any attention to her surroundings.
I began to ask some questions.
"Can you tell me what happened after I left this place?"
"Hahaha! Of course. I'll tell you everything from the beginning."
The Demon King's army held a position similar to that of an empire.
It was a vast territory with many races living together under its rule.
The Demon King began explaining the situation before the war.
"We were originally maintaining peace through diplomacy."
"…."
Though he said they were maintaining peace through diplomacy, hearing only one side of the story made it hard to be certain.
After all, the one who strikes first tends to forget quickly.
"…But why did the war start?"
"It was the humans who launched a preemptive attack."
"Suddenly?"
"Yes… Everything changed when that damn guy appeared."
I had a feeling I knew who that "damn guy" was.
It was the hero.
When a real monster suddenly appeared and began sweeping through the monsters, the momentum shifted, and the goal became to eliminate the Demon King's army.
Although all human nations had been in opposition to the Demon King's army, they hadn't been at war.
But the humans had pulled together a justification and sparked the war.
The nations at the forefront were the Grand Duchy of Feron and the Kingdom of Bethel.
By the time I arrived here, the Demon King's army was on the brink of annihilation, pushed to the defensive.
Entire legions were wiped out by a single person, and key officers were cut down one after another.
Gardia himself had faced the hero but had often been severely wounded and forced to flee.
Just as they were about to reach the Demon King's castle, their last stronghold, a revelation came from the Demon God.
"Suddenly, we were told to advance."
"…."
Demon God?
'Armonia, what's this Demon God…?'
[It's Zodiac. They don't reveal their true nature completely but instead deify themselves and issue revelations to manipulate them.]
So they're playing god.
After receiving the revelation, Gardia took the lead and began sweeping through the opposing forces.
Just because Gardia had lost to the hero didn't mean he was weak.
He was strong enough to annihilate entire legions on his own, and with a single swing of his scythe, he could harvest hundreds of human heads like cutting wheat.
But the humans didn't back down easily.
With their survival at stake, the two leading nations rallied the morale of the other nations.
At the forefront of this vanguard was a woman.
"You might not know this, but that woman clung on stubbornly until the very end, making things difficult."
"Oh…."
Lena de Feron.
Though Gardia spoke dismissively of her, a closer look at his words revealed that he held her basic combat skills and leadership abilities in much higher regard than most of his officers.
Moreover, although it wasn't a one-on-one battle, she had managed to corner him.
'Wow! She's pretty and capable!'
[Someone of her caliber is indeed rare.]
Even Gardia, the Demon King, had only been able to grow this powerful because of the backing of the Zodiac.
But Lena de Feron had reached the pinnacle of human achievement through her own efforts alone.
I excitedly communicated through the device.
'I want her….'
[….]
It was like the heart of a child wanting a new toy.
But from what I heard, it didn't seem like they could win so overwhelmingly.
Even if the hero had disappeared, they had already lost too many troops, and with Lena de Feron's presence, it seemed like they could still lose.
But what ended the war wasn't the number of soldiers or the standoff between the two leaders.
It was rumors.
"Suddenly, rumours of the hero's insane actions spread throughout the human nations, and the alliance began to fall apart."
"Wow…."
Honestly, I hadn't expected that.
Even if the old woman was filled with rage, to spread such information during a war…
'Wow, she really exposed him during the war.'
[The old woman didn't have much time left, and her hatred for the hero was much greater.]
'Plus, if such rumours spread during a war, it's hard to handle.'
With the trust in the already vanished hero hitting rock bottom, the cohesion of the opposing alliance began to weaken.
Lena de Feron had tried to step in and somehow salvage the situation, but it wasn't easy.
"I took that opportunity to declare that those who surrendered first would be allowed to live as humans. However, the later they surrendered, the more they would be treated as livestock! Hahahaha!"
With Gardia's declaration, the smaller nations quickly surrendered, while Ferron and Bethel fought to the end and were defeated.
The butterfly effect is real.
I had one more question, so I asked.
However, I avoided using the term "hero" in case Viola overheard.
"So… what is he doing now?"
"During the war, we heard that he suddenly crossed the desert to another continent. And now, we've received new information."
Despite having new information, Gardia didn't look particularly worried.
"Oh? What is it?"
"He boarded a ship and crossed to another continent."
"…What?"
According to Gardia, the hero had crossed the desert and wreaked havoc in a country there, searching for someone.
It happened to be a place where the slave trade was thriving, so he went on a rampage…
Just as he was about to destroy an entire nation, he boarded a ship and left for another continent.
"From what I heard, he was looking for a woman, and the people in that country lied to him, saying she had been sold as a slave across the continent."
Gardia snorted and continued.
"But that fool believed it completely. If he survived crossing the continent, it would be nothing short of a miracle."
"But aren't you worried? What if he comes back…?"
Surprisingly, Gardia didn't look worried at all.
His answer cleared up my doubts.
"Think about it. Even if he were to appear right now, would there be any nation willing to help him? Moreover, this castle holds the children that every nation treasures."
There was no way anyone would welcome the hero who had abandoned them, especially with hostages in play.
If the Demon King so much as lifted a finger, all the humans would rise up to capture the hero.
This world had now become Zodiac's world, with no way to turn back.
"I don't know what methods you used, but I truly thank you. Thanks to you, we can laugh like this! Ahahahaha!"
The other retainers clapped along with his laughter.
"…?"
Viola, who had been eating, suddenly started clapping too, wondering what was going on.
'…All I did was seduce one woman, and it led to this aftermath. I guess I'm pretty amazing.'
[….]
'…Can't you praise me a bit?'
[You're amazing.]
Ugh, I shouldn't have said anything.
After receiving such a textbook compliment, I looked around.
Viola and most of the others had finished their meals.
Viola, in particular, had been so focused on eating that she hadn't joined the conversation at all.
Then, Gardia said something unexpected.
"Was his name Lian or something?"
"Who are you talking about?"
I asked Armonia.
'Who's Lian?'
[Lian is the hero's real name.]
'Ah!'
So that's my brother-in-law's name.
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, Viola looked up at Gardia in surprise.
"Do you know my brother?"
Viola looked at Gardia with a slightly uneasy expression.
'…Wait a minute. This is bad.'
I had planned to explain the situation later. But if Viola brought it up now…
"Wait…."
Before I could stop her, the conversation continued.
Gardia, not hearing me, laughed heartily and said to Viola.
"Haha, must be a coincidence! I was talking about the hero, Lian."
"Wait…."
"Ahahaha!"
Ugh, listen to me…
Viola responded with a puzzled expression.
"Yes, the hero, Lian… That's my brother, though?"
***
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