First Army Commander
Smooth sailing, no issues.
Second Army Commander
"Hee hee, I'm totally going to scheme something~"
Apparently she's got some kind of plan cooking.
Well, whether that plan succeeds or fails won't affect the big picture. Probably fine to leave it be.
Third Army Commander
"I don't wanna fight, dammit."
Give me a break.
The Demon King got a little ticked off.
Fourth Army Commander Melazophis's testimony.
"
Mera, so you were actually worried about your former superior's health all along, weren't you?
That's almost enough to bring a tear to my eye.
For the record, that former superior apparently thinks his former subordinate is creepy.
Fifth Army Commander
"Your Majesty! Let's do this! We've got this!"
"Yeah, yeah, good luck with that."
Sixth Army Commander Hyui's testimony.
"I'll do my best, so please don't kill me, seriously, I'm begging you."
His inner terror of the Demon King is absolutely off the charts.
Apparently the scene from that time when the Demon King gnawed on the breast alien's arm left him thoroughly traumatized.
Seventh Army Commander Blow's testimony.
"You're the Demon King? What kind of joke is this?!"
It seems he's finally snapped over his older brother Balto's nightmarish working conditions.
Well, honestly, that's fair to be angry about.
I mean, while Balto was working himself to the bone, the Demon King was just lounging around doing nothing.
That said, there's no need to blow up right here, right now.
Read the room, man.
A commotion broke out between the Fifth Army's warrior-wannabe and the thug, and the Demon King had to step in to stop it.
Ugh, could you guys take this somewhere else?
I just want to go home and eat something good.
I locked eyes with Oni.
Oni also seemed exasperated by this exchange, shrugging his shoulders.
Now, Oni's testimony.
"No problems."
...You're being way too casual about this, dude.
After I revealed what I'd been hiding, Oni seemed to have gotten something off his chest and had become noticeably more active.
He used the Eighth Army to sweep the surrounding area clean.
Small-scale Human race armed organizations — so-called bandits, adventurers, things like that — that had infiltrated demon territory were ruthlessly dealt with.
Not a shred of mercy was shown.
Everyone was killed.
The brutality of it was so extreme that even his own comrades began to fear him.
On top of that, his method of using soldiers as if they were disposable only made things worse.
Even Balto seemed to have some concerns about it.
From Oni's perspective, I suppose that's what true mercy toward the enemy looks like, but there aren't many who'd understand that.
The meeting moved on. Ninth Army Commander Kuro's testimony.
"No problems."
Yeah, well, if there were problems with your army, that'd be a world-scale crisis, wouldn't it?
Can't exactly have issues that even dragons and the god commanding them can't handle.
"Now then, the Tenth Army's report."
Whoa—!
Crap, that's me!
Stay calm, me. It's fine, me. I just need one sentence, me.
"The Tenth Army has no issues."
Done!
I said it! I nailed it!
That's everything I had to do here!
Nobody better bring up any new topics to me now!
My wish was granted, and the meeting wrapped up shortly after.
Now it's just a matter of advancing, and I guess the call was that everyone should head back to their respective armies and take command.
Unlike modern Japan, there are no useless meetings here — smooth and efficient.
After the meeting ended, Kuro slipped out immediately.
Kuro's Ninth Army had been decided to operate alongside the Demon King's personal forces.
In fact, from a military strength standpoint, they need to be held in reserve, or the humans would be in serious trouble.
If too much firepower is brought to bear, the damage on both sides becomes too balanced.
The Ninth Army is the secret weapon, you see.
"Oni."
Oni and Mera approached me.
Once the war begins, we won't be able to see each other so easily, so I suppose this counts as a last greeting.
I don't think Oni will die. And Mera is actually surprisingly strong — strong enough to go toe-to-toe with lower dragons — so she won't die either. So this isn't really a final farewell or anything.
"Hey, does this guy have business with you?"
The thug cut in between Oni and Mera.
Why is he here?
"He and I have matters to discuss regarding the advance. If you have no business, don't waste his time."
What now?
I never heard about any such discussion!
Oh, so we're going to talk about it now.
But... is there actually anything to discuss? Fermina handles most of it.
"Wouldn't a quick greeting be fine?"
"Then you're done, right?"
The thug treated Oni dismissively.
Why does this guy keep stirring up trouble around me?
Seriously, give it a rest.
"Not even a moment to talk? My, my. The Seventh Army really doesn't have much room to spare, does it?"
Oni said in a mocking tone, snorting derisively.
The thug gritted his teeth, and Mera held Oni back as he tried to keep provoking him.
"Shiro, with this nuisance around, let's call it here for today."
"Please take care of the young lady."
As he left, Oni whispered something to the thug: "You think she's going to pay attention to you if you treat people that way without caring about how they feel?"
...That was pretty sharp, even for Oni.
"Let's go!"
The thug, clearly irritated, strode off without even waiting for my approval.
That selfish attitude is exactly why he's not popular, and I have no idea why he can't realize it.
My favorability toward him only keeps going down.
The subsequent discussion about the advance and whatnot actually turned out to be surprisingly reasonable.
He's got a clear on-off switch when it comes to work versus personal matters.
Well, he is Balto's brother, so I suppose that much is expected.
The result: the Seventh Army takes the front line, while the Tenth Army handles guerrilla operations.
The thug apparently thinks the Tenth Army isn't made up of proper soldiers but rather special operatives who handle behind-the-scenes work.
Well, whatever.
Until the Hero shows up, I'll just kick back in the rear and take it easy.