That afternoon, I headed to the former Demon Territory.
What should have been nothing but a vast wasteland now held an enormous lake, stretching as far as the eye could see.
I had created it with magic.
Two large ships floated on the lake's surface, positioned at a modest distance from one another.
The ships had come to a stop, and between them, soldiers of various races clashed in battle.
It was a fierce engagement, but this was no actual combat.
It was a drill designed to simulate naval warfare.
Recently, nations beyond the continent had been crossing the sea and interfering more and more frequently.
Spy deployments, negotiations with nations on the continent, provision of supplies — these were the most common examples.
Apparently, most of it revolved around the Demon King.
That in itself didn't bother me.
It simply meant this generation's Demon King had finally gained recognition across the entire world.
Grom, for instance, had been so elated he was practically in tears.
Taking all of that into account, I decided to hold this training exercise.
If the Demon King's army was going to expand beyond the continent, it would need to be capable of fighting at sea as well.
I had originally planned to create the lake within the Demon King's territory, but at Diera's strong insistence, the location was changed to here.
She said she wanted to make effective use of the land.
Her reasoning was perfectly sound, so I went along with it.
The participants in the training were primarily soldiers of the Demon King's army.
Regardless of race, I had recruited only volunteers for the time being.
Compared to usual, their equipment was lighter, giving everyone a more agile appearance.
The soldiers distinguished their sides by wearing red clothing or blue clothing.
The objective was to seize the flag mounted on the enemy ship while battling between the two factions.
"Ku-hahahahaha! Out of my way — I'm coming through! Anyone who wants to die, come at me!"
On board one of the ships, Diera — clad in red — shouted at the top of her lungs.
She danced nimbly about, firing the firearms in both hands wildly in every direction.
The blue-clad soldiers flinched as they were struck by the rounds, stumbled, and the unlucky ones toppled into the lake.
Even her own red-clad allies occasionally caught fire.
They scrambled to get out of her line of fire.
Diera was a terrible shot on top of being careless.
She was probably pulling the trigger without thinking much at all.
As a result, both sides feared her equally.
For the record, the rounds being used were non-lethal, made primarily from resin.
They stung quite a bit upon impact, but wouldn't kill anyone even if they hit.
Most of the soldiers were equipped with the same weapons.
Diera was fighting with obvious relish.
She had offered to help with the training, but that had clearly just been an excuse to have fun.
Looking at her now, there was no room for doubt.
She had also obtained permission to create unusual terrain features going forward.
The former Demon Territory truly had nothing in it.
It was nothing but wide-open space, and nearly all of it sat completely unused.
The only changes were the occasional scattered rubble here and there.
Nothing had been put to any practical use — that was the status quo.
Every time a training exercise was held, another playground popped up for Diera, so she probably had nothing to complain about.
"Is there no one who can stop me?! I'll welcome any challenger, no matter who you are!"
Diera darted about in every direction, using her chains of light to pull off three-dimensional maneuvers.
It was hardly what you'd expect from fighting on a ship's confined deck.
Her talent for combat really was in a league of its own.
Then, a high-output magical reaction appeared behind her.
Diera grimaced and sensed it instantly.
She drove one of her light chains into a ship's pillar and swung like a pendulum, rocketing away at high speed.
An axe flash passed through the spot where she had been standing a moment ago.
"Oh-ho, not bad at all! That's more like a former Demon King. Heh heh, the pirate blood is boiling!"
Laughing with evident enjoyment was Dolda, the dullahan.
He was toying with his axe, crackling with violet lightning.
He was wearing blue clothing.
The wolf's head attached to his neck bared its fangs in a grin.
Since a while ago, Dolda had been speaking with a fluency that was utterly unimaginable from his usual manner.
Normally he would only regain his senses for a brief instant, but for some reason, this time it wasn't fading.
His skill was as sharp as ever.
He charged at Diera with glee, keeping the fight evenly matched.
(If it came down to pure combat ability, Diera was unquestionably the stronger of the two.)
And yet, their power was dead even.
Diera wasn't holding back, either.
The situation of fighting atop a ship must have stimulated Dolda's instincts, drawing out his full potential.
It was a scene that made it easy to understand why he was called a great pirate.
No wonder the former Demon King's army had never tried to suppress him.
"The moment he set foot on a ship, he kept his composure. His blood as a pirate must be surging," a voice said from beside me.
I looked to find Logan, the elf chieftain, standing there.
He was drenched from head to toe.
On top of that, his expression was noticeably sour.
Logan had just climbed out of the lake, which explained why he was soaked.
I addressed him.
"The training seems to be going well."
"It'd be perfect if Diera and Dolda would calm down."
Logan pushed his hair back as he answered.
His disapproving gaze was fixed on the two of them fighting on the ship.
He was making no effort to hide his annoyance.
I had witnessed the whole thing — Logan had been struck by one of Dolda's attacks and sent flying into the lake.
If he hadn't used spirit magic for a defensive barrier at the last second, he would surely have been seriously injured.
That said, Dolda showed no signs of remorse.
It might be worth giving him a word of caution later, but by then he would have lost his reason again.
Meanwhile, the other soldiers were fighting hard as well.
Grappling hand to hand, they threw themselves at the effort to board each other's ships.
Firearms exchanges were lively, too.
The battle between both factions was reaching its climax.
"Obtaining latest battle situation report — updating orders. Second unit, stand by. Third unit, maintain the front defensive line."
At the edge of the ship, Yura was directing operations for the blue faction.
She wasn't going to the front lines herself; instead, she appeared to be learning how to manage her subordinates.
I had heard she was receiving advice from Henry, and it looked like she was taking it seriously.
The once-clumsy Yura was steadily growing.
Dolda was also issuing directions at key moments, displaying an exquisite sense of coordination.
Incidentally, the commander of the red faction was Logan, but in his current state, he was of little use.
With Logan out of commission, the command structure fell into disarray, and the red faction was being driven into a disadvantageous position.
The commander-in-chief, Diera, was doing as she pleased and probably hadn't even noticed that Logan was gone.
She was completely absorbed in her fight with Dolda.
The soldiers who had fallen into the lake climbed back onto shore one after another, then began watching the rest of the fight.
Having been eliminated, they mingled freely regardless of which side they belonged to, chatting and laughing together.
Some were even heckling and having a grand time.
They were honing themselves through the training while also getting a decent bit of recreation.
The climate around here was mild.
Moving your body at full tilt and then getting to splash in the water — it must have felt great.
After that, the tide never turned, and the blue faction captured the flag, bringing the training to a close.