In the end, the vampire girl never bothered me about helping exterminate the apes until she'd finished them off on her own.
She'd apparently figured out that making a move on the Demon King's aide at this point in time wouldn't end well for her.
If she could go one step further and realize what it meant that the Tenth Army's corps commander — the one leading that rumored intelligence-specialized unit — had come here alone, that would be great, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
I'm subtly telling you that everything you do is wide open, you know.
Well, whether she actually understands that much is anyone's guess. The fact that she asked "Shall I send reinforcements for the ape extermination?" at least means she's trying to play nice for now.
For the record, I turned down the reinforcements.
If they sent help carelessly, it would cause collateral damage.
And the vampire girl would get fewer Experience Points.
Once the vampire girl finished wiping out the apes, I relayed that to the Boob Alien and asked her to handle the fortress cleanup.
The fortress was absolutely covered in ape corpses, after all.
That was going to be a LOT of cleaning.
I could've just dumped everything into a pocket dimension all at once, but when I weighed the food we could salvage versus the effort involved versus dumping the work on the Second Army, I gave up on the food and decided to let the Second Army do the heavy lifting.
From now on, the soldiers of the Second Army would have to work hard clearing away the ape corpses, cleaning up the fortress, and taking occupation.
More work for everyone!
And apparently, no bonus was coming.
I teleported to the fortress ahead of schedule and collected the vampire girl, who was drenched head to toe in blood.
Her eyes had gone dead-fish blank, but she'd be fine.
I tossed her into the bath at the Demon King's castle for the time being.
That needs cleaning too.
"So that's what happened."
"Yeah. I would've appreciated a proper report on that sort of thing."
Several days had passed since the vampire girl's ape extermination mission.
I'd been summoned by the Demon King and asked to explain the overall outline of the operation.
"Hey, Shiro-chan. When was that again, exactly?"
"A little while ago."
"That was ages ago! Why did you just go and do that without saying anything?! Put yourself in my shoes — I'm getting an unsolicited report on the results of an order I don't even remember giving! Think about how I have to sit there poker-faced and say 'Well done' without understanding a single thing!"
"You don't actually say 'Well done,' do you?"
"No, but still."
Apparently, the Boob Alien had gone to the Demon King's castle and reported on the ape extermination and the fortress's current situation.
She'd apparently realized she couldn't keep using the excuse of "the apes are gone now but we're still too busy with cleanup to come report" much longer.
Word was they'd managed to burn most of the ape corpses and had gotten the fortress back to barely habitable condition.
"So? From your perspective, Shiro-chan, is there any chance that woman will make a move?"
"If I can make her believe there's no chance of winning, she won't act. Even if I can't, as long as I keep flashing pressure at her, she'll probably make excuses about bad timing and drag her feet."
That Boob Alien was extremely timid and petty.
She wouldn't pick a fight she couldn't win, and being the coward she was, even a hint of surveillance would make her freeze up in terror.
Honestly, you could practically ignore her half the time.
I'd been popping in for the occasional "inspection" visit, and that alone was enough to keep her unable to sleep day or night.
Her heart is way too fragile.
"I mean, yeah, if someone powerful enough to kill a Hero was teleporting in at random hours day and night for surprise inspections, you wouldn't be able to sleep either."
Well, if I specified a time, it wouldn't be a surprise inspection anymore.
And with teleportation, there's no advance notice, so she can't hide evidence or anything.
Though honestly, even before all that, everything she does is wide open through the information network anyway.
So far, the Boob Alien hadn't done anything particularly strange beyond making light contact with the elves.
Well, "hasn't had time to" is probably more accurate.
Or if you want to get specific, I'd say I've kept her busy enough that she hasn't HAD the chance.
"Haah. Well, whatever. From now on, if she does anything, report it properly. Spinach is important. Got it?"
I reluctantly nodded at the Demon King's slightly forceful tone.
Damn it.
You're the one who's a NEET CEO.
Standing there spouting common sense like you're all high and mighty.
"Well then, next up — the fun stuff! Shiro-chan, that thing is scheduled to arrive today!"
The Demon King let out a gleeful "Gufufu."
"That thing"!?
"No way!?"
"The very way! The Premium Kri-kta Set!"
"Ohhh!"
I clapped my hands together for no particular reason.
The Premium Kri-kta Set was a luxury sweet I'd been pestering the Demon King to get me.
Kri-kta was a fairly common fruit.
HOWEVER, the Premium Kri-kta was different from ordinary Kri-kta. It was the king of all Kri-kta — made from carefully selected seeds, fertilizer, and growing environment.
Because of this, production was limited, and even the Demon King couldn't just snap his fingers and produce one. It was a high-end delicacy.
"We can't just stand around! Let's go!"
"Roger that! Right behind ya, sis!"
For some reason, we both set off in high spirits, and I followed the Demon King with the same inexplicable enthusiasm.
Our destination was the goods receiving entrance.
We strode over there triumphantly, only to find
"Oh hey! Balto! What's up?"
The Demon King addressed Balto cheerfully.
In that split second as he turned, I didn't miss the tension that shot through Balto's body.
It wasn't the tension of someone hiding something — it was pure, straightforward fear of the Demon King.
"Well, well. Bustling away as always, I see. Hard work, hard work!"
"If you think so, then perhaps lend a hand."
"I refuse."
The Demon King laughed, teasing Balto's exhausted expression.
I couldn't keep wasting Balto's precious time with idle chatter any longer.
So, thinking I should get to the point quickly, I tugged on the Demon King's sleeve.
It was because I was worried about Balto, of course. Not at all because I wanted to get my hands on the Premium Kri-kta ASAP.
Not at all. Seriously.
"Oh right. Balto, did the shipment arrive?"
"Shipment? The supply delivery was completed earlier, yes."
"Awesome! Shiro-chan, we can't just stand around! Balto, there was a package addressed to me in there, right?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Hmm?
Something felt off.
"For reference, what's inside?"
"The Premium Kri-kta Set."
"Oh."
When the Demon King asked, Balto let out a dopey, uncharacteristic sound.
Apparently he did know where it was.
"Oh? You know where it is. So, where is it now?"
Under the Demon King's interrogation, Balto couldn't maintain his usual poker face and pulled an awkward expression.
Was I the only one getting a really, really bad feeling about this?
"Er... I gave it to Sarnathria."
"Why?!"
"I'm sorry. Sarnathria has always been fond of Kri-kta fruit, so I mistook it for being meant for her."
"What... did you just say...?"
The moment I heard that, I was already running.
I left the Demon King behind and charged full speed toward my destination.
I knew exactly where she was.
In fact, she was in the room right nearby.
I arrived in essentially a single instant and kicked the door open.
"Wha!? What!?"
The first thing I saw when I kicked the door open was an empty plate.
My keen sense of smell picked up the faint lingering scent of sweetness still lingering in the air.
Then, an empty box that clearly had held something.
"A-ah..."
How could this happen! How could this POSSIBLE!?
"Haaa..."
"Shiro-chan!?"
From the sheer shock, I blacked out.