An emergency order was given to the drug store in the mountain of the demon territory, the foreign business unit of the Kuzunoha Company, to gather information in detail. 

Until now, they have been asked to not push themselves to go all the way to the suspicious places, but according to Rona, the Empire’s march is truly at breakneck speed, and their domain was getting dyed up in an instant. 

It really shows that the winter and the cold had been working as quite the barrier before. 

At this rate, if we gather information in a safe manner, our reports won’t be able to keep up with reality. 

Kaleneon has not made contact with both the Empire and the demons thanks to the barrier and brute force, but it is currently within the Empire’s territory of influence. 

This is a problem.

I thought that the Neo Kaleneon debuting to the world would be after a few years more, and the people of Asora involved with Kaleneon and the Ansland sisters also thought that. 

I don’t really want to accelerate this. 

Even I can tell that that country is charging up.

“It looks like it was the right move to have you be present.” (Makoto)

We had Rona enter the tatami room prison after we finished the talk, and Sari and I head to the room where Tomoe and the others are.

“I am honored to have been of service, Makoto-sama.” (Sari)

“The demons seem to have been pretty cornered here.” (Makoto)

“…I think there’s a lot of unavoidable circumstances. So I say, but with the history of demons, you could say it is the usual though.” (Sari)

Sari showed pain in her face for an instant, and her words were dyed in self-derision really quick.

So things not going their way is the usual for demons, huh.

That’s mostly the case for me, so I sympathize. 

The Empire’s maneuverability from their air force, utilizing their quite enhanced charm to full force, their intel gathering, and…explosives.

One of the means of utilizing gunpowder, bombs.

The Empire abandoned the mass production of guns, and instead implemented bombs into the battlefield.

Normal bombs may work against civilians, but it is hard to expect much against trained soldiers. 

However, not only does it combine with magic so that it shows proper firepower even in the battlefield, they have an abundant amount of it. 

The bombs thrown down from the sky, coupled with bombs inside the settlements were apparently accomplishing terrifying results in the battlefield.

“A tactic that incorporated the battle style of Tomoki on his flying dragon, huh…” (Makoto)

“The people who had fallen into the Charm of the Hero would live their life completely as usual in their settlement, and they would one day suddenly explode, dragging their surroundings with them. If what Rona says is accurate, it is one of the worst weapons of war.” (Sari)

“There’s no point in her hiding the truth there, so I would say it is mostly correct.” (Makoto)

“Yes, there’s no benefit in her hiding it.” (Sari)

Sari was answering my questions indifferently, but both of her fists were closed so tightly that they were trembling.

“…The Charm that propagates even without him being there. The betrayal of the citizens that would conceal themselves as weapons. I didn’t expect the power of the Hero to be on this level.” (Sari)

“I see. The demons have had a grasp of the powers of the Heroes from a very early stage. And yet, you couldn’t predict a situation like this?” (Makoto)

“The demons at the time when I was participating, they thought that they would be able to deal with both Charms of Otonashi Hibiki and Iwahashi Tomoki with the countermeasures they had found and displayed.” (Sari)

“So you repelled them saying those abnormal status effects won’t be working?” (Makoto)

It is true that if one were to learn that you can’t Charm them, and even if you managed to, they would soon treat it, that person would normally try to find a different method instead. 

Senpai and Tomoki are not one-trick ponies like me after all. 

Hibiki-senpai’s Charm is of a different type than that of Tomoki. It would be more accurate to call it Charisma, so I feel like it would be difficult for the demons to find a countermeasure for that though.

Hm, thinking about it in that way, Tomoki’s Charm would be more all-purpose? 

I don’t know right now, but the one of Hibiki-senpai felt like it was more exclusive towards allies. 

It simply raised morale, but it would be quite the troublesome thing if it were used to bring together an army. 

“Just as you have guessed, Makoto-sama, for the demons, the threat of Otonashi Hibiki was higher. Her Charm is the type that inspires her allies, so it was thought of as being more dangerous.” (Sari)

…She read my mind?! 

In that sense, Tomoki and I are similar; I am more like Tomoki than Senpai. In the sense that we don’t let go of the weapon we rely on the most. 

No matter how many countermeasures the other party were to make, you persistently aim for that one point. There’s cases when that applies to me. 

If the opponent is confident of their weapon, crush that. 

If it is a shield or armor, smash it. 

And no matter how many countermeasures are made, sweep them down with your number one weapon. 

I think that’s plenty good as one strategy. 

That’s why, if Tomoki choosing to perfect his Charm without a care for anything was the result of the situation now, you could say his strategy is the one that won.

“Tomoki seems to be going in no questions asked right now, so that means he is free to do intel gathering, betrayals, and suicide bombing. It seems like he would be a problematic opponent to have just like Senpai.” (Makoto)

Not only have they been cornered in their territory greatly, there’s also the high firepower of the Hero, moreover, the main locations they should be protecting are being bombed from the inside and destroyed. For the demon lord army that’s inferior in numbers, there’s no doubt their fighting spirit has been scraped away with this. 

At worst, they could even doubt the family or friends they are having a meal with…

That the hyumans can do all this even when it is a war is because the hyumans have an overwhelming advantage in numbers. 

Or could it be that they are only using the charmed demons? 

I doubt Tomoki would use demi-humans aside from the hyumans and demons that he has charmed.

Whichever the case, it is certain that this is not an ethical strategy.

If it is a powerful Charm that even Rona would fall for, they must have gotten quite the detailed and good quality information as well.

…Yeah, the Charm of Tomoki has grown to a dangerous degree.

“To think they would improve the gunpowder at this point in time and make it to a level where it works on the battlefield… The shrewdness of Princess Lily makes even demons shudder.” (Sari)

“The Emperor is already a puppet, right? The Gritonia Empire is in essence moving with the two tops being Lily-san and Tomoki then.” (Makoto)

My memories of the last time I met Tomoki were honestly not good ones. 

That Tomoki told me to give him Tomoe. 

Princess Lily was researching guns while saying she would support the Hero. It seems she is currently working as the tactician of Tomoki.

I doubt it is a coincidence. 

That’s what I thought when I saw that woman. 

It would be best to think of it as her pretending as if she were moving away from the political field, and her arranging the stones in order to benefit through the Hero. 

I don’t know what they are thinking, but their determined purpose of eradicating the demons has not changed, huh.

If they have already dropped the Emperor to their control with the power of the Charm, I thought that he would be jumping into the throne himself since we are talking about him here, but…his objective of eradicating the demons first… No good, I can’t get a full picture here. 

“By the way, Makoto-sama, about the fact that I went ahead and said on my own that you would be accepting the demons to this land…was that not displeasing for you?” (Sari)

“No…” (Makoto)

“Thank you very much. The demons are already in the middle of war. I have not been away from this land, so I don’t really know what’s going on out there, but…if there’s a number of demon refugees that have had their home taken away…” (Sari)

Sari looks at me. 

Yeah, she really hasn’t proposed migration until now.

That’s a relief. I thought that was wiped out of my memory or something. 

“What do you think about accepting them into these lands, Makoto-sama? Actually, I have been curious about this…” (Sari)

“If they can get along well with the people here, I do intend to accept even demons, you know.” (Makoto)

“!! Really?!” (Sari)

“Yeah. Lime has also asked me to accept orphans after all. Even if I have my grievances because of my personal beliefs, I don’t intend to reject others because of their race.” (Makoto)

…That’s what I think.

I personally can’t imagine what kind of emotions will arise from me when the time actually comes to having hyumans move here though.

Maybe I will be surprised there and I won’t be feeling anything. 

“! Is that so? It is not like my work was acknowledged, huh… Also, even hyumans…” (Sari)

“Hm?” (Makoto)

“No! I am moved by your accepting thoughts.” (Sari)

Sari looked down and mumbled something…

But refugees, huh.

Looking at the attack of the Empire, I would say there are already quite a lot. 

I feel like they would flow into Tsige too. 

Risui told me just recently that she had come to Tsige and the Ends of the World a long time ago to investigate whether they could become the new land of the demons, so it feels like a possibility. 

“Demon refugees, huh.” (Makoto)

“Makoto-sama?” (Sari)

“It certainly is troubling. Sheltering them in Kaleneon for now would be an option too… No, hmm…” (Makoto)

“…”

“Until just recently, I was thinking about the future of Tsige, but now because of Rona, there’s suddenly the matter of the demons and the empire and all other things… I have a bad feeling about this…” (Makoto)

“! That’s…” (Sari)

Sari overreacted when I said I had a bad feeling about this. 

No, I am not Mio, you know.

I would say my instincts are mediocre. 

“I think there’s a lot of overlap. You know about that feeling, right? It is called a spiral. I am sure this alone isn’t going to be the end of it…” (Makoto)

“…”

Sari gulps.

If possible, I would like Tomoe and Shiki to refute it cleanly. 

“Sorry for the wait.” (Makoto)

I opened the door to the room where my 4 followers were waiting in. 

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