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“… Let’s start the meeting then.”

In that atmosphere, I declared the start of the Demon King’s Army meeting in a stern tone.

“Of course, since I just joined the Demon King’s Army, I don’t know the agenda of our meeting. So, I’ll have to ask Dmir Khan to direct today’s meeting.”

When I finished speaking, Dmir Khan, who had been watching me for a while, quietly opened his mouth.

“Yes, please leave everything to me.”

Unlike before, his attitude had become quite polite.

“”……..””

Not only that, but most of the executives were hesitating and staring at me. Thanks to their gazes, I struggled to maintain a calm expression.

‘For now, everything is going well.’

Earlier, when Dmir Khan asked me if I was the Demon King, I avoided his questioning and refused to give a concrete answer.

Because of this, the executives couldn’t ascertain my true identity, and couldn’t determine whether I was the Demon King, or just another strong individual.

If they served me as the Demon King when I was not, that would be disrespectful to the real Demon King. However, it would also be problematic if they treated me disrespectfully in the event that I actually turned out to be the Demon King.

Of course, that’s exactly what I wanted.

Since Dmir Khan mistook me for the Demon King, I wanted to adopt that role and use it to weaken the Demon King’s Army, but he had a way to contact the Demon King.

So, if I openly pretended to be the Demon King, I would soon be exposed.

However, if I dropped slight hints while not really confirming anything, they would come up with that scenario on their own.

Of course, because they couldn’t confirm anything, they would go crazy trying to verify it, but that was not my concern.

“Then, for the first topic on our agenda…”

While I was engrossed in such thoughts, Dmir Khan cleared his throat and announced the first topic of the meeting.

“The whereabouts of the Hero, who has recently appeared in the world again, is still unknown. Have any of you executives found anything in regards to this?”

The executives started looking at each other.

“It seems that no one knows. Then… I will ask those who have currently infiltrated the Church and the Imperial Family. How is the investigation going?”

Dmir Khan asked while frowning slightly. Then a woman with the name tag of ‘Intelligence Executive’ stood up and began reporting her findings.

“The Church of the Sun God is as incompetent as always. The paladins and priests go around the Capital and provinces every day to ask around, but instead of trying to find the Hero, they only take money.”

“Well, in the first place, the Pope is on our side, so they have no choice but to be incompetent.”

The Pope seemed to already be a member of the Demon King’s Army at that point in time, based on what Dmir Khan muttered.

The future of the Empire seemed quite bright, seeing that the leader of the largest denomination, which exerted influence not only in the Sunrise Empire but also on several other continents, supported the Demon King.

“However, there is a variable, the Saintess. What does she think of the Hero?”

Dmir Khan, who was grinning earlier, asked a question in a serious tone. The same question that I was pondering over as well.

As expected, the existence of the ‘Saintess’ remained a great trauma to the Demon King’s Army, thanks to the legend of the First Saintess from a millennium back.

“The Saintess said that she would go on a journey to find the Hero herself. Of course, it’s quite doubtful whether the ‘Pure-White Saintess’ will make a difference in the search alone, but she’s definitely trying.”

“It seems like she’s in quite a bit of a rush.”

With those last few words, the woman concluded her report and sat down. The man seated next to her then got up.

“The Imperial Family is struggling quite a bit. They spent a third of the Imperial Knight’s funds on the search quest for the Hero, and they promised a huge bounty to those who would manage to find him. They are also in contact with several guilds from the Underworld.”

Upon hearing that, Dmir Khan asked with a mocking expression on his face.

“Well, aren’t they in a hurry?”

“Well, if the Demon King appears, and the Empire collapses, the absolute power they’ve enjoyed till now will become meaningless. The Imperial Family does their best… when it comes to matters that threaten their authority.”

I truly agreed with the man’s word that I was nodding my head involuntarily. Then Dmir Khan asked one more question sternly,

“Then what are the chances of them finding the Hero first?”

“It’s not that high. The Imperial Family is more active than the Church, but they are mostly incompetent. However, we have to be vigilant against the ‘Imperial Knights’ and the ‘Third Imperial Princess’.”

After the report was finished, the man sat down as Dmir Khan turned his gaze towards me. He then cautiously asked.

“Uh… Do you have any advice for us, Lord Frey?”

“… Advice?”

Dmir Khan, who had suddenly asked me for advice, shook his head and began to explain further.

“Isn’t your family the ‘Descendants of the Hero’?”

After saying that, Dmir Khan and the other executives all turned to look at me with a slightly expectant expression on their faces.

“Well… I don’t really know…”

However, I couldn’t reveal the truth here, so I tried to change the subject, but suddenly, a good idea crossed my mind.

Of course, I wasn’t sure whether this would work, nonetheless, I decided to give it a try. And after a pause, I started speaking with a serious expression on my face.

“… Oh, come to think of it, there’s a phrase that’s been passed down from generation to generation to each Head of the Starlight Family.”

“A phrase passed down from generation to generation?”

When Dmir Khan heard that, his eyes gleamed as I began adding some details to the story, thinking that if I made it realistic, I could easily deceive them.

“Yes, I just found out about it a few months ago, as soon as I became the Provisional Lord of the Family.”

“So, what the hell is that phrase?”

Just as Dmir Khan began to urge me, I gave an order to the man sitting at the edge of the table with a stern expression on my face.

“You there. Go bring me a pen and paper.”

Instantly, an icy breeze began to blow in the conference room.

“Co-Commander. Don’t get angry.”

“Yes, if you get mad here, you’re going to die.”

Eventually, when the executives sitting beside him implored him to stop, I started to feel strange and asked Dmir Khan a question.

“…Who is he?”

“He’s the Commander of the Combat Executives. Not only is he one of the top executives in the Demon King’s Army, but he also used to be our Third-in-Command.”

Thanks to this, I thought about apologizing for a moment, but if the Second-in-Command of the Demon King’s Army decided to apologize to the now Fourth-in-Command, it might appear as a sign of weakness. Thus, I decided to double down instead.

“Can’t you hear me? Didn’t I tell you to bring a pen and paper?”

With my status now only being below the Demon King, I commanded him in an arrogant tone. Upon hearing that, the man riddled with scars clenched his fists.

“Understood.”

After a while, the man answered in a trembling voice, then slowly got up from his seat. After grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, he approached me.

“It’s a cheap quill. Prepare something better next time.”

I took the quill and paper from him, and without even sparing him a glance, I beckoned him to return to his seat and ordered Dmir Khan.

“…Huff.”

The Commander of the Combat Executives, who had been grinding his teeth for a while, returned to his seat, as he exhaled a hideous breath.

“Have you ever seen this text?”

“Hey, isn’t this…!”

Ignoring the Fourth-in-Command’s antics, I wrote a few letters on the paper and showed it to Dmir Khan. The moment he saw that letter, his eyes widened in astonishment as he muttered.

“Aren’t those the letters used by the Hero from 1000 years ago…?”

“Yes, this text has been passed down through our family from generation to generation.”

“Then do you know the meaning of this sentence?”

As I spoke seriously, Dmir Khan asked me a question with an extremely anticipated look on his face.

“Of course, I know. Only a little of it, though.”

After I finished my preparations to deceive him, I coughed and started talking.

“A thousand years later, the world must find an orphan woman. And…”

“And then?”

When I blurted out those words, Dmir Khan hurried me as cold sweat ran down his spine. I looked at him and shook my head sadly in response.

“I’m sorry, but the text is cut off from here.”

“Ah…”

Dmir Khan let out a pitiful sigh.

“The fault lies with my forefathers, who put a restriction on the text just in case. But I know how to find the remaining text.”

“Is that true!?”

When I uttered those hopeful words to him, Dmir Khan’s eyes began to sparkle once more. And at that moment, I sensed the success of my plan and started talking with a smile.

“Find all the inscriptions in the ‘Ruins of the Hero’ that exist in the Western Continent. That’s the key to uncovering the truth.”

“Understood.”

Dmir Khan, who bowed his head at those words, declared to the stupefied executives.

“At last, we finally have found a clue in our search for the Hero. Of course, that requires your cooperation.”

Having said that, Dmir Khan took a deep breath and opened the map on the desk as he began his planning…

“From now on, we will be mostly active in the Western Continent…”

“Wait.”

A woman possessing the features of a typical demon, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, suddenly stood up from her seat and interrupted him.

“Lemerno, wait…”

“Who are you?”

Dmir Khan tried to stop her, but I interrupted and asked her questions in an icy voice.

“I’m Lemerno, a pure-blooded demon in charge of strategies and tactics used by the Demon King’s Army.”

“… Hoh.”

After hearing her introduction, I focused my eyes and used my ❰Inspect❱ skill on her.

[Stats] Name: Lemerno

Strength: 6

Mana: 6

Intelligence: 9.2

Mental Strength: 5

Passive Status: None

Disposition: Strategist

Goodness Stat: -80

‘…She was the one who got crushed by Serena.’

After looking through her information, I recalled that she was the strategist who fought head-to-head with Serena in the previous timeline.

‘Well, she was more of a toy than an opponent for Serena.’

Of course, the battle was supposed to be a head-to-head fight, but it was no exaggeration to say that she was one-sidedly crushed by Serena’s brain.

According to the First Hero’s words recorded in ‘Prophetic Book’, their relationship is similar to the one between ‘Zhuge Liang’ and ‘Sima Yi’.

Even the fact that the Sunrise Empire commanded by Serena ended up being destroyed is similar.

I couldn’t be sure, but I believed that there was someone like Serena back in the world where my ancestor, the First Hero, used to live.

“It may sound disrespectful, but I don’t think I can trust the information you gave me.”

Of course, Lemerno is not incompetent. Looking at her now, isn’t she the only one who is protesting against my claim?

The only reason she lost so horribly to Serena in the past was because Serena is a ‘Cheat Character’.

“Why can’t you trust my information?”

Thanks to her, I felt slightly on edge, and in a low voice, I asked her a question.

“Then let me ask you a question. Lord Frey, could you please share with us how to decode that text?”

Then she looked straight at me and said that.

“It’s difficult. Only direct descendants can decipher the letters left by previous generations.”

“Why?”

“There is an ancient magic cast upon the Starlight Family. It is a similar magic to the Moonlight Family’s ‘Curse of Obedience’ or the Sunrise Family’s ‘Oath’.”

When I calmly responded to such an unexpected question, Lemerno asked while frowning slightly.

“Then, please tell us why the ‘key’ is knowing these specific characters in the ruins of the Western Continent.”

“That’s… you don’t need to concern yourself with. You just have to follow the basic rules of the ‘military,’ and follow my orders.”

I tried to make excuses once again, but when I saw Lemerno, who was looking at me with squinted eyes, I changed my strategy and opted for the strategy of shamelessness.

Because that was her goal.

Deliberately asking and repeating questions that were difficult to answer, eventually goading me into a web of lies and excuses.

In the end, a flaw would inevitably be created in my story, and Lemerno, who was aiming for that moment, would immediately catch on to that flaw and break apart my lies.

So, in order not to get caught up in her schemes, I needed either a perfect alibi or an overbearingly brazen attitude.

Of course, in the current situation where I could only improvise, it would be best to take advantage of the power that came from my current position and force her to drop the matter.

“That’s why I can’t trust your information.”

However, she refused to back down and responded in an icy voice.

“Until now, our members kept relying on uncertain information.”

“Uncertain information?”

“Yes, I have only carried out these unknown and ambiguous orders that are believed to be issued by the Demon King, whose identity has not been revealed. Thanks to that, the Demon King Army’s morale continues to decline.”

Upon Lemerno’s words, the other executives began to nod their heads quietly. Apparently, there must have been quite a lot of restlessness due to the Demon King.

“But since you are also providing unreliable information, there will be an ‘information imbalance’. And that will eventually make the Demon King’s Army unstable. So—”

“Are you saying you can’t trust him?”

As she continued her story, Dmir Khan, who had been quietly listening, interrupted our conversation.

“Are you saying that you can’t trust Lord Frey, the highest-ranking executive in the Demon King’s Army and the current Second-in-Command?”

“… The Starlight family is a Family of Heroes who lights up the darkness.”

When she said those words, the atmosphere began to go out of control…

“Then, what should I do?”

“Huh?”

I quietly raised my hand to stop the conversation between the two of them and spoke to Lemerno in a solemn tone.

“Can I earn your trust if I show you the right ‘evidence’?”

“Yes, with the right evidence… Everyone will be convinced.”

As she answered and looked around, all the executives began staring at me.

A clear suspicion dwelled in their eyes.

‘…They certainly are trying hard.’

As a last resort, she seemed to have chosen the strategy of instilling doubt in the executives while pretending to be doing the right thing and sticking to her place.

If I didn’t address it, the seeds of doubt would eventually start to grow and endanger my authority.

Doubt is a feeling that is more powerful than any other. A feeling that inevitably arises without end unless it is completely crushed.

So, I had to remove those seeds of doubt.

Using an emotion that was far stronger than the feeling of doubt.

“Aren’t I already showing you the evidence?”

“What do you mean?”

After hearing my words, Lemerno frowned slightly and asked.

Perhaps she already instinctively sensed that her plan to instill suspicion in the executives was going awry.

Of course, even if they felt it, nothing would change.

“Dmir Khan, tell everyone what the evidence is.”

With that in mind, I gave an order to Dmir Khan, who quietly bowed his head next to me.

He was a cunning and opportunistic person, but at the same time, he showed blind loyalty to the ‘Demon King’, so he should have already understood what I meant by ‘evidence’.

“… The fact that we are still alive is proof enough.”

When Dmir Khan spoke, everyone present in the conference room froze at the same time.

Then I gave them a beaming smile and questioned the man who handed me a pen and paper earlier.

“There, you, what’s your rank?”

“… I’m one of the top executives and the Combat Executives’ Commander of the Demon King’s Army.”

“Alright, so if you fight me… how long do you think you’ll last?”

Hearing those words, the man pondered for a moment and then responded in a low voice.

“At first, I was expecting to last 3 to 5 minutes… but after witnessing your duel, I doubt that I can withstand a single strike.”

As I watched the executives’ faces turn pale in shock, I blurted out a statement nonchalantly, acting as if it were nothing special.

“I can decapitate all of you with one swing of my sword now.”

Of course, it was a lie.

Before I could swing my sword and kill them all, my life force would run out.

“Do you want that to happen?”

The executives, who obviously didn’t want that to happen, began to look frightened.

Of course, they must have noticed that I was already fiddling with my sword as I swathed it with stellar mana.

“I’m well aware that you are suspicious of me. In one day, a human became the Second-in-Command of the Demon King’s Army… not to mention, he is the descendant of the First Hero.”

Seeing them murmuring, I started talking in an even deeper voice.

“Perhaps you may even suspect that I am the Hero.”

Of course, they must have suspected me as a spy rather than a hero. However, for those who lost their ability to judge the situation due to their fear, what I say now will be engraved as the truth.

“But if I were the real hero, I would have already killed you by swinging my sword once… Why would I bother becoming the Second-in-Command of the Demon King’s Army?”

Having said that, I looked at everyone as the executives began avoiding my gaze.

“So curb your unnecessary doubts. If you continue to argue even after this, then I’ll consider it as a challenge to my rank.”

When I concluded my declaration in a cold tone, all the executives bowed their heads in front of me.

“…….Ugh.”

Now, among the executives, Lemerno alone held a cold expression on her face.

Most of the executives were suppressed by fear, but Lemerno seemed to be unhappy with me yet again.

‘Well, she’s still useful, so I’ll use her until she becomes too big a hindrance… If she keeps getting in the way, I’ll kill her.’

After making up my mind, I smiled proudly and muttered the thoughts that suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘…For some reason, working in the Demon King’s Army is quite suitable for me, isn’t it?’

While I was engrossed in such absurd thoughts, Dmir Khan, who was next to me, faked a cough and continued with the meeting.

“Then, the next topic.”

Seeing the image that Dmir Khan showed to everyone, I started smiling quietly.

“In the slave market that will be opened soon, we will secure slaves for the Demon King’s Army.”

‘… Like I would let that happen.’

I still didn’t know what the Demon King’s intentions were to make the Chief Executive, but I had no intention of ever being swayed by the system, variables, or the Demon King.

So, from now on, I would disrupt the Demon King Army’s plans as much as possible.

It was a good thing to do, and it also relieved some of my stress.

.

.

.

.

.

Shortly after the meeting, most of the executives left the hall.

“… Sir Dmir Khan. Can you spare me a moment of your time?”

Lemerno, who remained in the conference room until the end, spoke to Dmir Khan, who had also stayed behind.

“I know what you want to say.”

Dmir Khan, who was looking down at the desk with a piercing gaze, answered in an icy voice.

“I can’t trust Frey. He’s hiding so much—”

“What if he’s our Demon King? Then what will you do?”

Lemerno tried to persuade him urgently, but Dmir Khan interrupted her and began speaking.

“The Demon King I have met so far has always been hiding their identity. Their appearance, status, and even their own voice.”

Lemerno couldn’t say anything because no one except Dmir Khan had ever met the Demon King in person. So, she stopped speaking for a moment and began listening to his words.

“All I know is that person has the same height and build as Frey… and uses the same arrogant tone as him.”

Lemerno, who frowned at those words, said with an absurd expression on her face.

“Are you trying to convince yourself with such weak circumstantial evidence? From the beginning, such things could easily be—”

“Frey is the first ‘Magic Swordsman’ to appear in history.”

But upon hearing his following words, Lemerno quietly shut her mouth.

“Both his sword skill and magical prowess are simultaneously at the pinnacle.”

“But, last time, you said the Demon King erased your attack with just a flick of a finger.”

After hearing Dmir Khan’s statement, Lemerno shook her head and tried to refute him.

“While Frey’s battle today was literally mythical, it took more than lifting a finger to erase your attack. So—”

“I have something to tell you about that.”

However, after cutting her words off once again, Dmir Khan started speaking with a serious expression on his face.

“The Demon King has a ‘restriction’.”

“A restriction?”

“I don’t know what kind of restriction it is… Seeing how the Demon King continues to hide their identity, the fact that they don’t share the Hero’s identity, and various other actions, it is clear that an unknown force is putting some kind of ‘restriction’ on the Demon King’s actions. “

Having said that, Dmir Khan finished his speech with a confident tone.

“And… It’s the same with Lord Frey.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you feel it too? When Frey talked about the Hero’s identity earlier, he intentionally avoided the topic.”

“… Ummm.”

Hearing those words, Lemerno looked back on her memories and fell into deep thought.

“Well, it’s too early to be certain… But if my guess is correct…”

Looking at Lemerno, Dmir Khan smiled and whispered gently.

“…Finally, the Demon King has reappeared in the world.”

Truly, it was the moment when an unprecedented misunderstanding was born.