Chapter 16

"Master, is something the matter?"

The maid, Sati, suddenly asked.

"…Huh? Was I looking troubled?"

Since Sati had been placed by his side, he had been taking off his mask and robe when relaxing, but now he was wearing the mask and robe, appearing as a strange figure.

Thus, it was impossible for her to read his expression…

"Recently, I've been able to tell what you're thinking from your small gestures and movements, Master."

"…That's kind of scary, this woman's intuition."

This is how women, from men's clumsy lies, can see through their infidelity.

"Mr. Jiron told me that you splendidly drove the enemy away."

"Yeah, well, that's true."

"Moreover, I heard that the enemy was the White Rose Knights, a legitimate knight order of the Rosaria Kingdom. I think it's amazing that you repelled them."

"I think it's amazing too."

He said it with a hint of a joke.

Honestly, he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

It was all thanks to his knowledge from his previous life, but even so, it went too well.

Often in novels, the protagonist uses their knowledge from their previous life to achieve great feats, but he was impressed that it was true in his case.

—But, not everything went perfectly.

He asked Sati, as if to confirm.

"Is it true that some of the enemy soldiers invaded the castle while we were fighting outside?"

Sati replied.

"Yes. But they were quickly repelled by the Demon Army."

She stated the facts.

It was consistent with the reports he had received from his subordinates.

It wasn't that he doubted Sati, but he wanted to confirm it again.

In fact, yesterday's battle was a complete victory, but there was one problem.

As Sati said, during the battle, the enemy invaded the castle.

Of course, the castle gates were not broken, and the walls were not climbed.

The human soldiers suddenly appeared in the town.

At first, he thought there might have been a flaw in the "anti-teleportation magic" he had ordered his subordinates to set up, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

He had them investigate frantically this morning, and Jiron's report was that there was "no problem."

If that was the case, the remaining possibility was that the enemy used a secret passage to invade.

"Is there such a thing as a secret passage in this Ivalice?"

"Not just in Ivalice. There are secret passages in Arsenam too, and everywhere. Not just in human towns, but in the castles of the demons as well."

"Why would anyone create such a thing? Wouldn't it be dangerous if the enemy found out?"

"Maybe they're thinking about losing."

"Losing?"

"Exactly, self-preservation. If you lose to the enemy and the castle is surrounded, the idea is to have a secret escape route to save yourself."

"So, did the enemy use a secret passage created by the previous lord, Lord Edward?"

Indeed, she was a sharp girl, quickly reaching the same conclusion as Jiron.

Unfortunately, that answer was incorrect.

"Jiron also thought it was Edward and tried to pressure him, but he was wrong. I'm not that foolish. The first thing I did was to seal off the secret passages created by the previous lord."

The previous lord, Edward, was a coward. He didn't need to be pressured; he told him all the secrets of the town in detail.

So, it wasn't possible that he had led the enemy.

"Then, how did the enemy soldiers invade the town?"

Sati, "Hmm," crossed her arms and began to think.

Her frowning, serious expression was adorable.

He wanted to watch her for a while, but out of pity, he decided to tell her the answer.

"The passage they used was one I recently created. It was just completed recently."

"You created such a thing?"

"Yeah. I'm also afraid of losing."

This was half serious, half a joke.

He was currently the lord of this city, but he couldn't be sure that he would rule it forever.

In the future, it might be ruled by another division leader, or he might lose the next battle.

So far, he had avoided defeat, but there was no guarantee it would always be that way.

He wasn't arrogant enough to think he was invincible or that he would always win.

He believed that if humans put in their best effort and took countermeasures, he would eventually lose.

When that time came, he would flee without any shame or hesitation.

Unlike the proud nobles, his previous life was that of an ordinary person.

He wasn't foolish enough to sacrifice his life for pride.

Moreover, all great generals have said the same thing: "A great general knows when to retreat!"

He completely agreed with this.

"However, it's one thing to create a secret passage, but for it to be used by the enemy so soon…"

"Did a resident of the city inform them?"

"No, that's not possible."

He stated this definitively.

"I'm not that foolish. The construction of the secret passage was done only by demons."

"So there's no worry of it leaking out."

Sati sighed in relief, but he muttered, "Well, I'm not so sure about that," quietly, so she couldn't hear.

To Sati, the Demon Army might seem like a consistently friendly organization.

Fortunately, there was no discord within his Undead Legion, but what about the entire demon race? As he had mentioned before, the Demon Army was not originally a monolithic entity.

Until the current Demon King,

"Lord Dairokuten,"

ascended to his position, there was a bloody internal struggle.

Currently, it has settled into a state of calm, but it could flare up again at any time.

In fact, it might be more abnormal for all the demons to be united in battle as they are now.

As he thought this, Sati looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Master, your appearance…?"

"Huh…? My appearance…?"

Looking down at his arm, he understood why she was surprised.

His arm was becoming semi-transparent.

"…Oh dear, again?"

He couldn't help but mutter.

It seemed to be another summons from the Legion Commander.

Doesn't he have any consideration for when people are in the bath or in the toilet?

"Well, since he doesn't, he can call so casually…"

He muttered to himself and told Sati,

"I'm going to meet my superior."

She seemed confused.

Bowing awkwardly, she said,

"Ah, um, please tell him that this Sati said hello. And, um, bring something as a gift… I, I'll bake some cookies now—"

He couldn't hear her innocent words to the end.

Before that, his body had become completely transparent.

The surroundings distorted, and a spatial distortion appeared.

Well, where will I be called this time?

While thinking about this, he decided to enjoy the surreal scenery.