Marius and his party returned from their inspection. While they realized the importance of having a sense of responsibility as a lord, they couldn’t afford to leave the Demon Lord unchecked due to the continent-wide danger it posed. For the time being, it seemed they would have to diligently read the regularly sent reports, learn about territory management, and focus on improving their allies’ combat strength to prepare for the demons and the Demon Lord.
“Can I handle this…?”
Marius was skeptical of his own abilities. He had never been arrogant about that aspect. It seemed unlikely he would even have the leeway to develop Magic Items. Fortunately, Sail and the others would do their jobs properly if given instructions, and for strengthening allies, there was the reliable girl, Barra. He felt it would be a sin not to consider himself fortunate. Hearing that Barra and her group were at the Training Ground, Marius bid farewell to Lovisa and her party and headed towards the Training Ground. As Marius stepped inside, a large amount of Magic Power shot into the sky as a beam.
“What is this…?”
For a moment, he thought it was a strange phenomenon, but quickly dismissed it. He had a hunch it was Barra’s doing, and it wasn’t long before he knew his guess was correct. Barra, satisfied with successfully teaching everyone the Laser skill and having them master it, spotted Marius and ran towards him.
“Welcome back, Marius-sama!”
He reflexively started to say “I’m home” in response to her bright and lively voice and expression, but stopped himself at the last moment, then realized it would have been fine to say “I’m home” and gave a wry smile.
“I’m home. Are you instructing them in a new magic?”
“Oh, Marius-sama didn’t know either? It’s a skill that uses Magic Power called ‘Laser’.”
“I see.”
It was helpful that many words shared commonalities with his previous world in situations like this. Combined with the sight he had just witnessed, he could form a general image of it.
“How about you, Marius-sama? If you master it, you can defeat enemies with little Magic Power. It’s quite an excellent skill.”
“In that case, if you don’t mind.”
Following Barra’s instructions, Marius compressed his Magic Power and fired it. Despite his intention to compress it, a thick beam, several centimeters in diameter, shot into the sky and vanished. The witnesses, excluding Barra, were speechless. They understood that Marius had performed it at an incredible level, considering the effort they themselves had put in to master it.
“Was the compression not good enough…?”
Marius frowned. In his experience, he wouldn’t consider it compressed unless it was about one centimeter in diameter.
“That’s not quite right.”
It was Barra who corrected his misunderstanding. She explained that with Marius’s amount of Magic Power, it was unavoidable for there to be a certain width.
“There’s also an upper limit to the amount of Magic Power that can be compressed.”
“Is that so?”
In other words, Marius had succeeded immediately. Everyone praised him as amazing, but Marius couldn’t honestly rejoice. He already had an image of “Laser” from his previous world. It was only natural for his mastery speed to differ from people in this world who were encountering it for the first time. However, Marius couldn’t think of a good way to explain this point and decided to brush it off with a smile.
“By the way, Marius-sama, I have something to discuss.”
Marius was wary, wondering what Barra could possibly want to discuss when she brought it up, but his eyes widened when he learned it was about Catherine.
“Is… is it that strange?”
Catherine asked, looking up with a timid gaze. Marius thought her adorableness was enough to make someone with specific tastes faint. However, the topic at hand wasn’t her cuteness but her physical robustness. Barra said it wouldn’t be strange if some people became incapacitated. From Marius’s conclusion, there was nothing strange about it.
“No, it’s not strange depending on the job. If it’s a Berserker or a Berserk, or the so-called ‘frenzied warrior’ type, it’s a plausible story.”
Frenzied warrior-type jobs have drawbacks, such as being unable to learn magic and losing the distinction between friend and foe when they lose their reason. However, they also have the advantage of having extremely high resistance to magic. It was no exaggeration to say that a frenzied warrior of the same level was the worst possible natural enemy for a magician.
“I… I am indeed a Berserk, but…”
Catherine’s statement answered the question, but Marius was surprised. Berserk was the ultimate job in the frenzied warrior class, and reaching it required gaining experience in lower-level jobs. He supposed it might just be that in reality, unlike in games, it was possible to be born with a high-level job predisposition.
(Well, it’s not something I can say.)
In any case, he thought he had no right to comment, given his own situation of “I was just suddenly here with my current specs.” He decided not to dwell on it any further.
Marius left the Training Ground to study with Lovisa and her companions, which served as a cue for everyone to disperse. While it was inevitable for those who knew the full story, Barra and her group felt blindsided and experienced a sense of being outmaneuvered.
“Well, Marius-sama became a lord, so he has to study that, of course.”
Barra was venting her frustrations to the maid she had brought from her homeland, while binge-eating cake.
“Couldn’t he just assign an excellent civil servant and have Marius-sama order them? It’s not like someone with that much power would also be proficient in politics and economics; that’s just impossible if you think about it normally.”
The maid was fed up with the princess ranting like a flood, even while eating cake and gulping down tea, but she understood that saying anything careless would only make matters worse.
“Besides, if they want to monopolize Marius-sama, they should just announce the marriage already. If not, they should make arrangements for Marius-sama to interact with other countries. They shouldn’t neglect us.”
While her words weren’t entirely off the mark, her personal grudges were heavily laden, making it difficult to even nod in agreement. Despite her incessant rambling, her eating speed didn’t change, nor did she choke while shoveling cake and tea into her mouth. In a way, it was astonishing.
“Phew, complaints over.”
She washed down the last bite with water and shifted her mood. She was a person who never gave up.
“Hmm, in that case, I’ll just go for it head-on and break,” Catherine declared.
“You must not break, Princess,” Catherine was admonished by Moruto. The nobles, who had been assigned to her as her confidantes, tried to prevent her impulsive actions, sensing her childish yet feminine sense of crisis that she would be overshadowed.
“Mmm… but but, when it comes to marriage, Princess Barra has the biggest advantage.”
“There’s a saying that you should choose substance over reputation,” Moruto gave her advice, feeling a sense of illicit thrill as he corrupted the innocent girl.
“Substance over reputation…?” Catherine, not understanding what he meant, asked with a blank look.
“Yes. In short, it’s a plan where Princess Barra or Princess Lovisa might be the official wife, but you are the one truly loved.”
“That’s wonderful!”
Catherine’s face lit up with joy.
“It won’t be easy. We need to thoroughly plan every detail.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best!”
Watching his young mistress’s smiling face, Moruto felt a sense of happiness, but also patted his stomach and thought, “At least one more…” He was aware it was wishing for the impossible.
“Eh? Barshark, Misra, and Vester are forming an alliance to attack Hordia?”
After their study session, Marius, who had been formally informed as a Royal Court Magician, widened his eyes. He wondered what they were thinking at a time when the shadows of demons and Demon Lords were beginning to loom. He felt a mix of disappointment and bewilderment, unsure of his own emotions.
“Hmm…”
Bernhardt III also wore a grim expression. He completely agreed with the sentiment of “Why now of all times?” The voices within the country that had expected “retaliation against Hordia” had quieted down considerably as the threats of demons and Demon Lords became more palpable.
“Their reasoning is that they cannot trust Hordia unless the Mad King is dealt with, and thus cannot fight the Demon Lord and demons together. I understand their feelings, but…”
No matter how insane one was, at a time of existential crisis for humanity, they shouldn’t have the luxury to plot against other nations. However, the three countries refused to budge, stating, “We cannot say that for certain.” Bernhardt had to restrain himself from shouting at them to stop.
“Personally, my biggest concern is that the Hordian side is not panicking,” said Figo, the new head of intelligence.
“Well, from their perspective, they likely expected to be attacked once the period of non-aggression after the Demonplay ended, so they might be fully prepared,” said the Chancellor, Falk, in a tone as if discussing personnel. However, Figo was not convinced.
“With all due respect, the combined forces the allied side will mobilize are between 300,000 and 400,000. Even if Hordia is a major power, that’s not a number they can be complacent about.”
“That is true.”
Figo, emboldened by receiving agreement, continued his argument with enthusiasm.
“Of course, I’ve only recently taken office, so they might have been making preparations before my tenure. In that case, wouldn’t the allied forces be in danger?”
“I can’t jump to such a conclusion so easily…” Lucas offered a dissenting opinion.
“Hordia is currently undergoing a nationwide reorganization. If they had predicted this, wouldn’t attacking at this time be strange?”
“That… is…” Figo hesitated, unable to immediately refute him. Hordia’s potential mobilization force was the greatest on the continent, but at present, it was impossible to deploy it.
“They did it intentionally… that can’t be right, can it?” Marius attempted to support Figo but immediately negated his own statement. However, Marius agreed that the Allied forces might be in danger.
“Actually, I’ve heard whispers that the sealing ground of the Demon Lord Decarabia is in Hordia.”
When Marius brought this up, no one was surprised and waited for him to continue.
“By luring them to the sealing ground, they aim for the Demon Lord and the Allied forces to destroy each other, and then strike with their main army. I believe they are capable of planning something like this.”
A grave atmosphere fell upon the room. After a few seconds of silence, the King opened his mouth with a groan.
“Even if I wanted to say that’s too wicked a deed… Hordian King might actually do it.”
No one disagreed. It provided an explanation for their composure despite being in a desperate situation.
“How about sending a messenger to warn the Allied forces?” Falk’s proposal was met with a nod from the King.
“If the Demon Lord revives, the Allied forces will be annihilated in an instant… Even if it’s not the Demon Lord, it could be luring them into a dragon’s nest. It’s definitely better to warn them.”
Of course, his true desire was for them to reconsider the expedition. If they were going to attack Hordia, it wouldn’t be too late even after the threat of the Demon Lord had passed. However, he had a feeling this warning wouldn’t stop them. Their focus was likely on what would happen after a successful conquest of Hordia. Bernhardt III hoped for victory from his allies but wished to avoid a crushing defeat for either side.
“Three fools are attacking,” Asteria said after dropping a sugar cube into her mouth and crunching on it. “Fools are those who cannot understand even with a kind and thorough explanation. Filat, your efforts were in vain.” She wore a scornful expression, one she no longer showed to her people, but it was mixed with a degree of pity. If Mireille, Vanessa, and Ign were present, they would have interjected that Asteria herself had never explained anything properly. However, they, along with Isabella, were not present. Only Asteria’s direct subordinates were there, and aside from Isabella, she didn’t even know the names and faces of most of them.
“How is everyone doing?”
“Y-es, there is no particular disturbance among the people. The army is awaiting your command.”
Despite their somewhat casual response given their relationship, Asteria accepted it calmly.
“Does everyone trust me?”
To this peculiar question, her subordinate responded immediately.
“Yes.”
Upon hearing the reply, Asteria wore a strange smile. It was neither joy, sadness, anger, nor a wry smile or scorn, but a smile that could only be described as strange.
“I see.”
Her subordinate could not fathom the thoughts contained within that single phrase. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, illuminating Asteria and her companions. The moon did not reveal what expression Asteria wore.
