Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?-The Last Two Options ②

Author’s comments: Demon King’s point of view 𝐟𝙧ee𝔀e𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝑒𝗹.c𝗼𝚖

「I see.」

When Felmina-chan rushed over out of breath to give her report, that was all I could say. To bring me the latest information, Felmina-chan had rushed over to such an extent that she was out of breath despite her training as a secret agent by Shiro-chan. That being the case, in order to acknowledge her performance, it is necessary to take immediate action. Despite thinking that though, it’s easier said than done to mentally shift gears. I had thought I had prepared myself for this long ago, but when confronted with actually putting this into practice, I feel shaken up. No matter how long I’ve lived for, I’m forced to feel that I’m still a little girl. But, I have to accept it.

The path taken by Gyurie and I, as well as the pope Dustin, has now diverged.

My relationships with Gyurie and Dustin have lasted a long time. It wasn’t a relationship where we could say we were perfectly aligned, but unlike the distant relationship I had with Potimas, I had intended to keep fairly good relationships with them. Sometimes there were conflicts over differences in policy. Even so, because it was clear what goal we were aiming for, there was never a decisive break. But, that also ends today huh.

「Ael.」

In order to conceal my mixed feelings, I try to focus on keeping my voice as level as possible while using Telepathy to communicate. The other party is Ael, a member of my family who was placed with Dustin as a liaison.

「Kill the pope.」

I give the order. With this, I can no longer turn back. Or rather. At the moment when Gyurie took action against Shiro-chan, it was no longer possible to turn back. The trigger had already been pulled. Then, with my order the course of events is accelerated further. I had thought that these events could still be postponed until later. Shiro-chan and I had thought we could postpone this until the last possible moment. However, it seems that D-sama didn’t like that. Once the course of events is accelerated, they can no longer be restored. The course of events will become turbulent and likely cause the last battle on this world to break out. That being the case, it is best to have Dustin exit the stage so that he doesn’t get in the way.

In normal circumstances there would be little meaning in killing Dustin. Due to the effect of his Ruler skill Temperance, even if he dies he’ll simply inherit his memory and reincarnate. It takes several years between death and reincarnation. From there even though it takes several more years until he grows to adulthood, the gigantic organisation known as the Divine Word Religion covers that gap, keeping the world in a stable condition. The gap left while Dustin is not there is by no means small, but it is not so large that it can’t be covered either. That much is evident from the fact that Potimas was never able to crush the organisation known as the Divine Word Religion. Whether Dustin is there or not doesn’t cause a significant change in its situation. f𝐫ee𝘄ℯ𝚋no𝐯𝐞l.c𝘰m

But, right now the circumstances are not normal. If Dustin is removed at this crucial point, it will result in the Divine Word Religion becoming a disorganised mob without leadership. Not only that, but it becomes possible to create an opening in the authority granted by the Ruler skill. Meaning that one of the keys to destroying the System, namely Ruler authority, becomes blank. Since there’s no way we can get hold of that authority it can’t become an advantage, but it does have the benefit of reducing a disadvantageous situation to being even. For that reason, now is the ideal timing in which to finish off Dustin. However, they should be aware of that as well.

「If you judge that it can’t be done then you can retreat immediately.」

I give Ael some supplementary instructions. It’s hard to imagine that Dustin of all people would not have made some kind of preparations. Amongst my family members, Ael comes after the Queen Taratekts in terms of strength. I don’t think she’d fall too far behind but, since Gyurie is in their camp, I can’t be optimistic. The fact that Gyurie is with them means that the dragon and drake species that obeys Gyurie will also become affiliated with their camp after all. Amongst them, the most difficult to deal with would be the ancient dragons. The chief of each of the elemental ancient dragons, will definitely be superior to Ael. If they are guarding Dustin, then it would be reasonable for the assassination attempt to fail.

I guess that’s the limit of what I can do to mess with Dustin huh. With the absence of Shiro-chan the Space Magecraft master, we are faced with the absolute barrier of distance. Considering the distance between where we are now at the elf village to the headquarters of the Divine Word Religion at the Holy Country of Aleius, the most I can do is to give Ael orders. Regardless of whether Ael succeeds or fails, we should also take action.

「With regards to Shiro-chan, we can only let her take care of it.」

There’s nothing I can do there. Considering the situation that Felmina-chan observed, Shiro-chan and Gyurie are likely fighting in a place we can’t enter. I don’t know where they teleported to. There’s even the possibility that they’re not fighting in real space. Even if they are fighting in real space, it’s not realistic to be able to find them in this wide world. We can only believe in Shiro-chan.

That being the case, what can we do?

「…… Okay. Then, let’s go.」

「Where to?」

Wrath-kun, who had been silently watching over the situation, calls out to me.

「That’s obvious. To gather the remaining owners of the Ruler skills in our hands. First off, is Miss Okazaki who is close by.」

The owners of the Ruler skills are key. They are the key to our objective which is to destroy the System. Conversely, it could be said that the owners of the Ruler skills have a way to lock us out. In other words, the preliminary battle in this war will be who can gather the most owners of Ruler skills. And at present, there are three owners of Ruler skills who do not belong to either camp. Miss Okazaki, who Shiro-chan refers to as sensei. Yamada-kun the Hero. Finally there’s

Princess Suelecia who is Yamada-kun’s younger sister who seems to have also acquired a Ruler skill. After our discussions here ended, Shiro-chan had casually left, but she said something along those lines at the time. Since Yamada-kun said he wanted to meet with Princess Suelecia, then it’s likely that Yamada-kun is with Princess Suelecia at the Holy Country of Aleius. From what Felmina-chan said, it seems that Yamada-kun hasn’t returned. In short, that means that Dustin has two owners of Ruler skills in his hands. Damn Shiro-chan. You messed up……

If Yamada-kun and Princess Suelecia are with Dustin, then it’s better to say that they’ll go to his side. In which case, it will become necessary to get the one remaining here, Miss Okazaki, on our side no matter what. Whether it takes eloquence or whatever, I gotta win her over. If that can’t be achieved, then she must be prevented from turning into the enemy. Since Shiro-chan seems to owe her a debt from her past life, I’d rather not have to get rough, but if the circumstances require it then I’ll use any means necessary.

This battle will decide the fate of the world. I have already discarded my emotions. So, Gyuie, Dustin. You better be prepared. Because I have prepared myself.