[Shiroi's Perspective] "Messenger, I'm afraid I don't quite understand. Might I hear the details?"
What did you just say!?
Th-this guy.
Of all the people, he wants ME to give a lengthy speech!
Is he trying to kill me!?
I barely managed to think through and articulate what I said before teleporting, and now...
Wh-what do I do?
[Aagna's Perspective] She won't answer.
I thought there might be an opening the moment she opened her mouth, but her defenses are tighter than expected.
She managed to teleport right under my nose without me catching on — that much is certain proof of her skill.
However, it would be premature to move to eliminate her simply because she opened her mouth.
If this girl truly is an envoy of the Demon King, then I'd be the next one to face elimination.
Challenging an unknown spatial magic user is dangerous enough as it is, and even if I won, making the Demon King into an enemy would be far too great a disadvantage.
I'd like to at least gauge this girl's strength somehow, but the Appraisal Stone is inside my desk.
Is there a way I could sit down without it looking unnatural?
Perhaps I should try something — a feint to test the waters.
[Shiroi's Perspective] "Unable to answer, then? In that case, allow me to draft a letter to the Demon King on your behalf. I shall have it delivered to the Demon King at a later date. In return, please provide a formal written appointment and bring it back to me."
What!?
Aagna smoothly sat down in his chair, pulled out paper and pen, and began writing something.
Hmm.
Send a message to the Demon King on his behalf?
That's inconvenient.
I really don't want the Demon King to find out about my covert activities. Especially regarding this matter.
It would become a competition over the quarry.
I don't know what happened between the Demon King and
If I move to eliminate him, the Demon King might interfere.
That won't do.
I'm the one who's going to kill him.
That's already decided.
So, ideally, I want to keep anything related to the elves contained to just me.
Tch, I have no choice.
My thoughts aren't organized, but I have to keep talking!
[Aagna's Perspective] "That won't be necessary."
This reply only deepened my suspicions.
This girl clearly didn't know that I had met the current Demon King.
There's no way I'd trust a suspicious stranger at face value.
Whether she truly was the Demon King's envoy or not, I decided to act as if I knew nothing about the Demon King — and if she was genuine, she would surely correct me.
She didn't.
That gave me doubt that she was the real thing.
If she truly were the envoy, she would have been briefed on my background before coming.
We haven't met once since she returned to the Demon King's territory, but even so, something about my words should have felt off.
The fact that she didn't correct me planted the seed of doubt that this girl was an imposter.
And now she was rejecting my proposal.
As if me contacting the Demon King would be a problem.
If my assumptions are correct, this girl is not the Demon King's envoy.
Then who is she, and what is her objective?
*Become a double agent.* What did those words really mean?
Could it be... has that matter been leaked?
No, that's impossible.
I've been exceedingly careful.
Only trustworthy people know, and I've kept everything secret even from within.
It's hard to imagine it leaking outside.
If it did, it would have to be through carelessness on their side.
But knowing those shrewd elves, that seems unlikely too.
What should I do?
In my hand is the Appraisal Stone.
I picked it up naturally when I reached for the pen and paper.
If I activate it, I can read her power level.
But doing so carries the risk that she'll realize I've used Appraisal on her.
If that happens, this battle of words turns into a fight to the death.
It's still too soon for that.
If I stall for time, someone might notice something is off and barge into this room.
While she's not yet inclined to act, should I try to get her to talk in order to gain whatever information I can?
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Aagna asked.
"I am the Demon King."
[Shiroi's Perspective] What am I saying!?
Uh—ah—um.
Why did I blurt out something so nonsensical?
Even I don't know!
I don't know, but I've already said it. There's no taking it back.
I just have to roll with it!
"Oh ho. So you're the Demon King. I see. Then there's no need for a letter after all. After all, I have the real thing right here. Claiming to be an envoy — you do enjoy your jokes. Then allow me to ask again. What exactly did you mean by that earlier order?"
"I meant exactly what I said. Since you have ties with the elves, infiltrate them and dig into their internal affairs."
[Aagna's Perspective] Sweat nearly broke out on my back.
How does this girl know about that?
Where did it leak?
I can't imagine there's a traitor among those involved.
I'd like to blame the elves for the leak, but I doubt that cunning race would be careless enough for that.
And yet, this girl has exposed it.
Moreover, she's clearly certain it's true.
She wasn't just bluffing — her attitude makes that obvious.
What do I do?
Pretending ignorance won't work well here.
This girl, from some unknown source, is holding concrete proof. I'm certain of it.
What on earth is she?
The moment she called herself the Demon King, the theory that she was a genuine envoy vanished.
But I still can't read her true identity or intentions.
She wields spatial magic with ease, and she's produced information I thought was kept hidden.
She's no ordinary person, that's for sure.
But I can't think of anyone matching someone of this caliber.
Being able to use spatial magic alone would be enough to generate rumors, and yet nothing has reached my ears.
If this continues, she'll seize control of the conversation.
I need to stop making weak excuses and instead shift the subject to seize the initiative.
It's a bit heavy-handed, but I do have pieces to play.
Even if it breaks the balance of the standoff, there's nothing to be done.
"Now you're making unreasonable demands, you fake who calls herself the Demon King."
[Shiroi's Perspective] He's onto me.
Well, obviously.
I'm not the Demon King.
I never even intended to say that.
It was just a slip of the tongue from getting flustered.
It's not my fault.
"I have personally met the real Demon King. Did you think you could get away with such a lie now, when the Demon King's identity hasn't yet been made public? Girl — what are you, really?"
Eh?
You've met the Demon King?
『Of course. After I inherited the Title of Demon King from my predecessor, I kept in touch with him now and then. Anyway, I briefly got on the same page with that old-timer Aagna and a young pup named Balt who leads the current Demon race. But just as I was about to step onto the stage as the Demon King, some unknown someone launched an impossibly powerful attack, so things have been stalled.』
Oh.
I remember now — the Demon King said something like that once.
Careless.
What do I do?
Well, even if he sees through me, I really am connected to the Demon King...
Ah—oh—ah.
This is exactly why I hate talking to people!
Fine, if it's come to this, I might as well go all in!
"At what point did you start mistaking yourself for the Demon King? If that's so, then what am I? What do I look like to you? Looking through your eyes — which one of us is more fitting to be the Demon King?"
I don't even know what I'm saying, but I'll try intimidating him.
I opened my eyes wide, and casually summoned some of my clones to peer through from another dimension.
With a smile thrown in for good measure.
[Aagna's Perspective] What—!?
What is this!?!
Those eyes.
Grinning in a warped arc.
Within the room, they appeared without warning — eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes!
Countless glowing red eyes stared down at me, as if peering in from the depths of Naraku.
I dropped the Appraisal Stone from my hands without thinking.
But I couldn't bring myself to pick it up.
I didn't need such a thing. The gap in our power was already plain to see.
There was no chance of winning.
This was beyond even the Demon King I once met.
I cannot resist.
If I resist, I will be killed.
I understand.
I have been made to understand.
This one is the true Demon King.
In my wretched, insignificant state, all I can do is beg this one for mercy.
Otherwise, my beliefs and ambitions will be forcibly brought to ruin, cut down before they could bear fruit.
"I... I understand. From this moment forward, I shall revere you as my Demon King and act accordingly."
For now, I will bend my knee.
I will submit, and bow before this monster who wears the guise of a terrifying young girl.
[Shiroi's Perspective] I should have just done this from the start.
Intimidation is so easy.