The east wing castle wall was still under repair. Scaffolding was erected, fragments of dark crystal piled up, and the construction hadn't progressed yesterday or today. The calculation that repairs consumed thirty percent of the demon realm's annual budget clung to the corner of Radius's mind. The throne room. In the slanting purple light of the underworld lamp, Radius had the conquest plan open——a strategic document revised forty-seven times over twelve years but never once executed——on his desk. Today was the day. That was the plan. "Pardon the intrusion." The door opened, and Tel entered with greenish-black hair and thin horns. A bundle of miasma-seal keys hung from his uniform chest. A thin sheet of paper, offered in both hands. "Morning report." "Read it." He took it. His eyes scanned the lines. Last night, a self-proclaimed hero who lodged at an inn in the castle town left early this morning and began walking toward the castle gate——eyewitness account from the innkeeper. Estimated arrival time: approximately one hour. Radius kept the conquest plan open, mentally confirming positions. He would receive them head-on in the throne room. No need to deploy troops in the castle gate plaza. Face to face, one-on-one, to settle twelve years of stalemate. The hero's purpose was likely "direct confirmation" as Azur had predicted, but they needed to be prepared for combat if it came to that. "Prepare the visitor reception forms." "Already prepared." Tel produced the forms from his chest. Parchment folded with meticulous precision. Visitor name, purpose of visit, arrival time——all with blank spaces. ——Then. CRASH!! A sound from the hallway. Not a chair falling. The sound of someone jumping up with force. "Leave the preparations to me, Demon Lord!!" A voice from beyond the door. Short hair with white streaks, silver drooping eyes, a miasma tumor with a bluish tint on his left hand. Azur stood in the hallway in a commanding pose. He'd changed clothes, but one sleeve was still rolled up, his face still bearing the look of someone who'd just woken. Three seconds after his declaration, his expression shifted to one of sudden inspiration. "What if we ease the tension with a welcoming strike?" Radius set down his pen. "That won't be necessary." "Isn't it basic strategy to prevent the enemy from making the first move?" Saying something perfectly reasonable, Azur was already walking. Down the hallway, toward the castle gate. "Azur." He called him back. Azur turned. He smiled. "It's logical, this is." He rounded the corner and disappeared. The moment Radius started to stand, a water-colored long wave of hair cut across his vision from the opposite direction. "The hero person is coming again, right!? I'll go prepare tea!!" It was Naia. Her left eye gold, her right eye silver——mismatched eyes sparkling with excitement. Her small white horns glinted. Before he could even raise a hand to stop her, she was already running off in the opposite direction. His subordinates had scattered in two directions. Radius went still. He reached for a small bottle of stomach medicine, then stopped. No time to drink it now. "Which one shall I pursue?" Tel asked with a straight face, still clutching the reception forms to his chest. "All of them." He ran. Tel followed behind, forms in hand. ────────────────────── The moment he descended to the first floor, to the hallway of the main entrance. KABOOOOOOM!!!! The floor shook. The dark crystal walls trembled, fine sand falling from the hallway ceiling. Dust and debris rushed through like a wave, and Radius reflexively shielded his face with his arm. The dust cleared. The main entrance was gone. Precisely speaking, it existed. Except it had been blown away. The thick dark crystal gate doors had exploded outward from inside, leaving only the frame, and beyond it the castle gate plaza was completely exposed. The morning light of the underworld lamp streamed through the rubble. A figure stood in the dust. It was Azur. Standing commandingly in the middle of a pile of rubble, gazing beyond the blown-out entrance. His left hand's miasma tumor was just finishing its glow. "Much easier to enter now." He turned back, grinning. Radius glanced at the rubble. He had a feeling conquest plan ver. 47's pages had flown somewhere. It might have been his imagination. He hoped it was. He pulled a small bottle of stomach medicine from his pocket. One tablet. Into his mouth. Beyond the castle gate plaza, a figure stood. An armed young human——worn travel clothes, leather armor, shield at his hip, sword in hand. The self-proclaimed hero. Frozen mid-stance, sword half-drawn. He'd probably meant to charge through the gate, but since it had exploded before him, his timing was completely off. Then, from the side, Naia appeared carrying a tray. Somehow she'd procured it——two tea sets sat on the tray. She approached the hero with a bright smile. "Since you came all this way, let's have tea in the reception room first!" The hero's mouth formed the shape of "e……a……" The face of someone who'd lost the moment to draw his sword. Naia fell into step beside the hero and began walking naturally. The hero followed along. Tel caught up, breathing hard. Parchment unfolded, pen in hand, he called out to the hero's back as they walked. "We have no appointment scheduled for today——but for our records, might I ask your name?" The hero answered "w-well……" as he walked. Azur returned to Radius's side. "Shall we calculate the repair costs?" "I don't need your calculations." Immediate response. Gazing at the remains of the blown-out entrance, Radius put a second tablet in his mouth instead of sighing. ────────────────────── The reception room was on the second floor of the castle. A long table and six chairs. A small room with a view of the Black Fang Mountain Range's ridge line. Compared to the Black Wing Conference Hall where executive meetings were held, it was cramped, but it was sufficient for today's purpose——or rather, Radius was increasingly unsure what today's purpose even was. When he opened the reception room door. The hero was sitting in a chair. Naia sat across from him, beginning an explanation of the tea. "Human realm tea is completely different from the start, in how you choose the leaves! The owner of Reena's confectionery taught me——the temperature of the water changes the taste completely——" Tel stood by the wall, pen moving. Azur was sitting in a chair near the entrance. His eyes were already narrowing. Radius took the head seat. He breathed deeply. Twelve years. A chance to face an adversary directly. To demonstrate the will to conquer, to force a choice between negotiation or combat——there was a way a demon lord should be. His deep purple eyes narrowed. Miasma filled the room. The underworld lamp's light wavered as if pushed back, and the temperature dropped. The same as twelve years ago, facing the Twelve Lords. That sensation where all sound converged. The hero finally reached for his sword. He tried to assume a stance—— Click. Naia set the tea set in front of the hero. "It's hot, so be careful." The hero's hand stopped. His gaze went back and forth between sword and tea. "Move that tea aside." "But I just poured it." "I said move it." "It'll get cold." The speed was increasing. The pace of their back-and-forth. The hero's eyes made three round trips between sword, tea, and both their faces. Zzzzzzzzz——. Azur's snoring began. Completely asleep in the chair by the entrance. Tel stopped his pen. He paused for a second. He wrote on the parchment——"Supreme Commander of Unified Forces, strategic rest period." The hero looked at Azur. At Naia. At the tea. At Radius. And then, with a straight face, he said: "……Isn't it wrong to fight these people?" ────────────────────── Silence fell. Real silence. Naia closed her mouth, Tel's pen stopped, and only Azur's snoring filled the space. Radius looked at the hero. Early twenties. Eyes that looked straight ahead. A face caught up in comedy, but something beneath it. Not resignation, not anger——pure confusion. "It's not wrong. Come." He spoke it aloud. Tel picked up his pen again. The air in the room changed——Radius felt it himself. The hero stood up properly. Drew his sword again. This time it was genuine. "I came to settle things with the Demon Lord." Radius stood as well. Two figures faced each other. Across the table. Between them, for the first time, real tension was born. ——In that moment. Something ran through Radius's mind. A memory. Twelve years ago. The final phase of the unification war. The night they completely encircled the strongest northern lord, the Frost Fang Duke's army. His subordinates moved at a single command. No one questioned it. Troops deployed in calculated positions, with calculated forces, at calculated timing. Everything meshed perfectly. Like gears turning. Like machinery. He didn't need to wonder why his subordinates wouldn't move. Didn't need to worry about attendance rates. Didn't need stomach medicine. The difference between then and now was quietly calculated while looking at the hero standing directly before him. Miasma rose. He was about to release it fully—— "Deploy to the right flank." It was sleep-talk. "Right flank, understood." He responded reflexively. Tel looked surprised at himself. "The right!?" Naia ran toward the right side of the reception room. Clatter clatter clatter!! She hit the corner of the desk. "Ow!" came the cry. The tea shook. Radius's concentration shattered into pieces. The hero laughed. He laughed out loud——then suddenly went serious. "Sorry, I don't think I should be laughing right now." Radius put his hand to his forehead. His hand reached for the stomach medicine bottle. He'd stopped counting how many tablets today. ────────────────────── Naia, holding her desk corner and teary-eyed, was quietly led away by Tel. Azur remained asleep, his breathing particularly peaceful after the sleep-talk. Once the room had settled, the hero looked at Azur. "Is that person……all right?" "No problem." He answered, then paused. "That's just how it is." The hero heard that one line. He seemed to sense something, and fell silent for a moment. "Are all your subordinates……like this?" Radius didn't answer. Tel spoke quietly. "The personnel present today are the three you see here." He stated only facts. He said nothing unnecessary. Radius turned his gaze to the window. The Black Fang Mountain Range's ridge line sinking into the underworld lamp's light. A question rose in his mind. Twelve years ago——he would have replaced non-functional subordinates on the spot. There was no reason to keep those who couldn't contribute to the war effort. He kept only what was necessary for victory. That was war. Why doesn't he replace Azur now. Why doesn't he replace Naia. A rational answer wouldn't come. The fact that it wouldn't——for the first time, it bothered him. A question that hadn't bothered him for twelve years suddenly surfaced in this moment. "Radius, your tea's getting cold." Naia's voice broke the silence. He turned. Naia was pushing her tea set at him. Both hands offering it. The eye she'd hit on the desk corner was still slightly red. Radius accepted it. Tel saw the gesture and, without a word, ran his pen. He wrote very small on the edge of the parchment——"Demon Lord accepts tea." The hero watched the scene unfold. For a while. Then he stood quietly. "……I'll come back another day." "Give me a reason." "I have something I need to think about." He headed for the door without turning back. "How shall I record this meeting?" Radius set the tea set on the desk. "Undecided." ────────────────────── Back in the throne room. Purple light from the underworld lamp streamed through the window, casting shadows