In the deep night, I continued pushing forward with the administrative work.
At this hour, naturally, no new documents were arriving.
All that remained was to process the existing ones.
Inside the room, only myself, Grom, and Luciana were present.
The others were resting in a separate chamber.
I had ordered it so.
They would push themselves too hard otherwise.
They had hesitated to rest before me, but this was a matter of assigning the right people to the right tasks.
It was impossible for them, with ordinary stamina, to work as hard as we did.
It was better for them to maintain a regular schedule so they could exert themselves again tomorrow.
As the three of us worked in silence, the door suddenly opened.
The face peeking in belonged to Logan.
He wore an awkward expression.
"Dwight. Visitor."
His words made me stop.
Then, I felt like sighing.
(A visitor at this hour...)
There was only one person who could be visiting me.
No one else could possibly be the one who followed Logan into the room was exactly the person I had expected—the former Demon Lord, Diera.
She greeted us in her usual easygoing manner.
"Good evening. I've come to visit again tonight."
Diera paced about the room, then leaned in to peer at what I was working on.
She let out an exaggerated groan.
"What's this? You're still at your tedious little desk work, I see. Back in my days as Demon Queen, life was far more leisurely."
"All that extra burden just got passed on to the rest of us, you know..."
Luciana muttered under her breath. She shot a sharp glance at Diera.
Noticing the look, Diera protested, as if deeply wronged.
"Luciana, you too would call me a slacker? Absolutely not! I was merely maintaining the dignity of the Demon Queen..."
"Yes, yes, spare me the excuses. If you're free, help us out? We're short-handed."
Luciana, holding several documents, thrust them toward Diera.
Diera immediately shook her head in refusal.
"No thank you. I have no love for desk work."
With that, she circled behind me, placed a hand on my shoulder, and whispered.
"Come now, Demon King. Set aside this dreary labor and spar with me instead. I have a newly developed technique I'd like to demonstrate."
"If you're looking for a sparring partner, why not ask Henry?"
"I did invite that archer, but he turned me down, saying he had military training to attend to. For a man who looks so rough, he's surprisingly dutiful."
Diera spoke with a sullen expression.
Apparently, Henry was conducting military training even at this hour.
When it came to battle, his attitude was one of genuine sincerity.
The Demon Lord's army kept winning in other nations as well, likely due to his thorough and demanding training.
"You're the only one left now. Won't you please hear my wish?"
"I can't abandon my work halfway through. Ask someone else."
"What a bore. So stiff..."
Diera pouted her lips.
She still didn't seem satisfied.
At that moment, Grom rose from his seat.
He strode over in long steps and stood looming over Diera.
"Former lord. Do not trouble the Demon Lord. I will not hold my tongue any longer."
"Oh my. And what exactly do you intend to do about it?"
"Grr..."
Grom choked on Diera's retort, at a loss for words.
He hadn't thought that far ahead.
Diera, for her part, wore a malicious grin.
In half a year, they should have each other's personalities well understood by now.
She was deliberately putting Grom on the spot.
After a brief moment of thought, Grom's eye sockets flared with fire.
He clenched his fists and declared to Diera.
"I, Grom, will show you what it means to have your wretched life snuffed out!"
"Good resolve! Then let us see what you have!"
Watching the exchange from the side, I felt my energy drain at his words.
I barely stopped myself from clutching my head in frustration.
(...Why does it always turn out this way?)
Grom’s thinking had leapt far too far ahead.
Even calling it shortsighted was too lenient.
Having clashed with various emotions, he had arrived at some incomprehensible conclusion.
In the end, Grom and Diera dashed out of the audience hall.
Presumably to fight together now.
They had been neatly taken in by Diera’s sweet talk.
Luciana, who had observed the entire scene, let out an exaggerated sigh.
Resting her cheek on her hand, she asked me.
"Demon King, sir? Are you alright? If you like, I can go bring them back."
"No, it’s fine. Let’s use this time to finish our work."
"Okay~"
We resumed our paperwork.
Logan, left behind, headed for the door.
"I’ll go check on the situation just in case. I’ll contact you if anything happens."
"My thanks."
With Logan there, things shouldn’t spiral into anything troublesome.
He is the one who can calm any situation. Even if the other party is the previous Demon Lord, he is a man who can reprimand without hesitation. In truth, I had witnessed such scenes numerous times. His courage earned my respect.
As I worked alone with Luciana, a nearby window was opened. Entering the room was Yura, possessing her dedicated golem body. She halted before me.
"Reporting to Master—the entities named Grom and Diera are abandoning and obstructing their duties. I recommend addressing these two."
"...Issue a surveillance order. Keep watch over them."
"Accepting Master's command—commencing tracking."
Yura leaped out the window, then ignited flames from her soles to take flight. She then vanished into the night sky.
In the end, the reason for entering through the window remained unclear.
(Considering Yura's personality, she likely chose the shortest, most efficient path.)
I felt she was somewhat lacking in common sense. There still seemed to be much to teach her.
As I pondered this, Luciana chuckled softly. She stretched and exhaled.
"The Demon Lord's army has certainly become livelier."
"Indeed."
I agree.
It had grown into quite a large household to the point that I couldn't even handle clerical work calmly in the dead of night.
"Is it taking the shape you wanted?"
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this, but it's not bad. The Demon Lord's army is functioning well."
I state my honest opinion.
Although some unexpected figures had joined, there was no disadvantage. Rather, it was helping.
Luciana gazes at the ceiling and murmurs thoughtfully.
"I imagine the previous Demon Lord, Diera, would be impressed too. It's a sight unimaginable in the old Demon Lord's army."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Even though it was the Demon Lord's army, the structure back then was a crude thing. Powerful demonfolk were fighting as they pleased based on their own judgments. A proper command structure was only implemented for the direct organizations, wasn't it? You should know that well."
At her self-deprecating question, I nod.
Memories of days more than ten years ago surfaced in my mind.
When I was still human, in the era when I fought against the demonfolk for the sake of the world.
(Indeed, there was no unified command back then.)
I reflect on that time.
If the demonfolk had possessed excellent coordination, humanity would never have been able to win. It was precisely because of that aspect that we were able to exploit openings.
"Despite the previous Demon Lord being like that, to build up an army and territory like this in such a short time, you might really have the talent for being a Demon Lord. If you had defected back then, the outcome might have been different."
"...I wonder."
I give a vague reply.
Even if I had been on the demonkin side, the ultimate outcome would probably have remained the same.
Because the Hero—that person—would have blocked the path forward regardless.
She would have continued to protect the world, betrayal or not.
I knew very well what kind of person she was.
Even if it came to a fight, I could never defeat her.
—Or could I, even now?
The thought struck me suddenly.
I began to consider the answer, then stopped.
It was something I didn't want to imagine.
Even estimating the outcome felt terrifying.
"…………"
A dull headache prompted me to shift my gaze.
There, on a pedestal, sat a crystal.
Floating within it, the remains were still present, unchanged.