For the quest "Liberation of the Occupied Town"—to liberate Northtrale City from the demon monsters belonging to the Demon Lord’s army—Shiori and Chika began a strategy meeting with Kairi and the others.

"It seems the leader of the demons is here, in the mayor’s house. Furthermore, several demon monsters acting as lookouts are stationed at key locations throughout the town. There might be others, but... we couldn’t determine that for certain from investigations conducted outside the town."

"I see..."

"If that’s the case... then..."

According to the information Kairi and the others had gathered, Northtrale City was a rectangular town surrounded by an outer wall. There were three entrances total: one in front, and one each on the left and right sides near the front. The mayor’s house, where the demon leader was said to reside, was located right in the center of town.

The briefing continued, focusing on buildings facing main streets and other large structures where the subordinate demon monsters were positioned. From the types and number of pieces placed on the map, Shiori and Chika were able to deduce approximate locations.

Kairi and the others continued talking.

"The demon monsters are quite strong and formidable. To be honest, we can’t even take on a subordinate demon monster one-on-one. All we can do is buy time. Therefore, we will fully follow your judgment regarding the attack strategy. What should we do?"

"We will follow you."

"I’ll take on any mission. Order me as you please."

"I don’t mind if it’s dangerous."

"The liberators have come under your command."

Kairi – Lv30

Kouki – Lv25

Suchan – Lv25

Hosha – Lv25

Chirus – Lv25

Ryachi – Lv25

"Please decide on a strategy."

The other men nodded emphatically in agreement with Kairi’s words. Following that, an indicator appeared showing that they were now under command, along with a prompt for Shiori and Chika to decide what instructions to give them.

"Oh, so it turns out like this..."

"Suddenly...? ...Oh well."

Was it really okay to entrust the entire strategy to people they’d just met, whose personalities and abilities they didn’t fully understand? That seemed to be the case. But this was the world of a game, and having decided that any event designed to build trust at this point would only be troublesome, Shiori and Chika readily accepted it.

Perhaps because it was time for the players to decide on their strategy, the men fell silent. Taking advantage of that, the two boldly began discussing how to get them to cooperate.

"What should we do, big sister?"

"Yes..." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Shiori and Chika began to think as they observed the skill levels of Kairi and the others, now visible under their command. Considering that the recommended level for this quest was a record high of 50, the demon monsters were expected to be correspondingly strong. Given the situation, Kairi and his teammates’ skill levels were frankly unreliable—as they themselves had admitted, they couldn’t be expected to contribute significant fighting strength.

However, since Shiori and Chika’s goal was to lose, they had no complaints about the men being weak. Even if they decided to try clearing the quest again later, it would be fine as long as the two of them worked hard; if they needed more manpower, they could always create NPC companions at the Guild to increase their numbers.

"It seems like the best course of action is to have them cause some kind of disturbance first, and then let them escape."

"Yeah, we could have them cause a commotion at one of the side entrances, then sneak in from the other side and storm the mansion."

Therefore, Shiori and Chika decided to use them as decoys. They explained the plan to Kairi and the others, then immediately put it into action.

"Well... I wonder what will happen."

"I wonder what will happen."

The location changed. Shiori and Chika were now hiding near the left entrance of Northtrale City. When Kairi and the others charged in, they would detonate a bomb to signal Shiori and Chika to infiltrate, while also attracting the attention of the demon monsters. They were waiting for that explosion.

"...! Here it comes!"

"Okay! Let’s go, big sister!"

A few minutes after they started waiting, a loud explosion echoed from the right entrance. Hearing this, Shiori and Chika waited about thirty seconds before running out and storming into the town.

"Um... that way!"

"Let’s hurry, big sister!"

Driving down a street lined with houses and closed shops, Shiori and Chika headed toward the large mansion visible in the center of town. Shouting and sounds of fighting could be heard from the right entrance. It seemed that all the demon monsters in the town had headed in that direction.

Because they had waited a little while before charging in to avoid encountering enemies mid-movement, Shiori and Chika saw no signs of the enemy ahead.

"I told them to value their lives, so they won’t do anything too dangerous. They’ve probably already run away by now... but if they die, it’ll leave a bad taste in my mouth. So we have to go and defeat the leader as quickly as possible, big sister."

"Yes, we have to hurry...!"

As Shiori and Chika ran, the sounds of battle continued from the right entrance. Listening to that noise, they were determined to get there quickly—and soon arrived at the mansion’s entrance.

"Okay... let’s go...!"

"Yes, let’s go...!"

A subordinate demon monster was believed to be stationed as a guard at the mansion’s entrance, but perhaps it had been lured out by Kairi and the others’ diversion—there was no sign of any guard. So Shiori and Chika continued straight without stopping, forcefully opening the door and stepping inside the mansion.

"Ah...! You are..."

"!"

As soon as they stepped forward, Shiori and Chika stopped in their tracks and immediately raised their weapons. Because there, in the hall just inside the mansion, a monster was approaching from the back of the area.

"Oh...? I was wondering who might show up... I never expected it to be two women."

In a word, the monster looked like... a demon. A large, muscular, humanoid physique exceeding two meters in height. Four arms total—two on each side. A sword-like object hung from his waist. There stood a fearsome-looking monster with red skin and a single sharp horn extending from his forehead.

"Are you the leader of the monsters that took over this town?"

"We’ve come to defeat you!"

Seeing the demon monster appear, Shiori raised her rapier, and Chika prepared to cast a spell at any moment. At first glance, they seemed to burn with fighting spirit as they made their declaration.

"Oh... so you’ve come to defeat me. I see, I see. Hmm... I suppose you must be confident in your abilities to have charged this far on your own... but you’re quite naive."

The demon monster put his hand to his chin in response to Shiori and Chika’s words. He nodded, then placed his hand on the sword hanging at his waist.

"I’ll fight back and defeat them. What... I won’t kill you. I was just thinking I wanted some new girlfriends. Women with such beauty and figures as you two. And with those similar faces... you must be sisters, right? Having two beautiful sisters like you would be wonderful. Alright, let’s go. I, ’Demon Lord Rowville,’ will give you two plenty of love...!"

As he slowly drew his sword, the demon monster—Rowville—declared loudly. At the same time, the words "Oni-man Rowville Lv50" appeared above his head.

"Ah...! Chika, let’s go...!"

"Yes, let’s go, big sister!"

This monster was undoubtedly strong. While feeling the pressure emanating from Rowville, Shiori and Chika challenged him to a fight.