Side: Yuki
"Alright, I'll explain my plan. If you see any concernss, please speak up."
I directed everyone, who had been huddled around the table map, toward the whiteboard at the front and pulled up the usual monitor. Every conference room had this setup, though only we could use it — both physically and operationally.
"This is no different from the map on the desk, though I can zoom in and out."
As I spoke, I enlarged the view of Weed until individual houses in the outlying villages were visible.
Liliana's face turned pale at the sight.
To a ruler or administrator, having the internal state of their domain scrutinized this easily is a threat—a source of pure terror. Well, on modern Earth, satellites keep everyone in a state of mutual surveillance. It's never fun being the only one being watched.
"Now, here's the plan."
I pointed to Weed on the monitor with a teaching pointer, then dragged it across to our final destination: the Demon King's residence, Raiet Castle. I traced the shortest route we had been taught.
"As we discussed, this is the main marching route for the army. You all understand that trying to blaze a new trail would be a logistical nightmare, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"However, that's not actually a problem. By exercising the authority of a Dungeon Master, I could create a straight path from Weed to Raiet. The DP cost is well within our means."
"Ooh!" Their eyes widened as if they'd just heard the perfect solution.
"But we can't use that strategy. While it would minimize military casualties, taking a castle without a proper struggle looks bad. No matter how much we enforce secrecy, word of this operation will eventually leak. If it does, a Weed that can suddenly conjure roads out of thin air will be viewed with extreme suspicion."
"Um, what do you mean?"
Riel tilted her head.
As always, she's a good girl who isn't afraid to ask when she doesn't understand.
"In short, defeating the Demon King is fine, but afterward, nations will start whispering: 'Weed uses the power of its dungeon to ruthlessly crush any potential enemy.'"
"And why is that a problem?"
"It leads to long-term backlash. Right now, everyone ignores the red flags because the benefits of allying with Weed are so high. But if we blatantly show the general public—or even just the soldiers—the full extent of the dungeon's power, it breeds fear. They'll start thinking Weed must be taken down, or rather, taken out before it turns into an enemy."
A heavy silence fell over the room.
"I see. Showing strength is important, but if we make it obvious that we can manipulate other nations' territory so easily, it will definitely provoke opposition."
Seraria catches on quickly. Cheats are convenient, yes, but to those who don't have them, they are nothing but a threat. Balance is key in everything.
"So we can't just send troops directly to the Demon King's castle..."
Tori's dog ears drooped dejectedly.
"Correct. The same goes for an underground route. In fact, an underground route is even more problematic because it implies we can invade people's basements without them ever knowing."
"I agree with Yuki-san," Sheila added. "I participated in the gate installation meetings in Gartz, and there was a huge amount of friction regarding exactly where the underground sections would be built."
Exactly. Even the gates we negotiated to install officially caused that much friction. If we said we could build them freely whenever we wanted, the countries definitely wouldn't look kindly on it. The three kings know we can create them on our own, but publicly we maintain the stance that other countries have to request dungeon construction.
"There's another reason. In order for the demon race to cooperate with other races in the future, this time we absolutely need to fight together with the allied forces. If we defeat the Demon King by ourselves and then try to form an alliance, the armies will feel unnecessary, and the motivated soldiers will become dissatisfied. Furthermore, there will be fewer opportunities for people to truly get to know the demon race, making the path to peace much harder."
"Ah, I get it! Fighting together helps people get closer. Even if they don't like each other at first, going through tough times together makes it easier to drink and celebrate afterward!"
As Riel says. Fighting together creates bonds and a unique relationship: comrades who survived the brink of death together. And if the elites of each nation are involved, the ripple effects are immeasurable.
"I see. So that's why you asked for the elite troops."
Rurua said, seeming to understand my intention.
"Exactly. If the elites vouch that the demons are good people, it will reach the people more surely than any declaration from a king."
I look at Liliana-san for confirmation.
"Even if I open the Demon King's castle with everyone's help and welcome the armies in... that would also be no good?"
"There are too many problems with us liberating it alone. Especially since you were overthrown by your own subordinates. The people who betrayed you won't have any room to accept such an operation."
If you look at the root of the problem, nothing would have happened if Liliana-san had been able to control her people. I had originally planned to secretly connect to Raiet and trade through two of the Heavenly Kings.
Essentially, even if Liliana-san wants peace, her track record for stability is currently zero. To put it bluntly: she's an entrepreneur who failed once and is now asking for a massive loan to try again. It's a bit bold, to say the least.
"...I understand. So, what is the plan? Everything up until now was just identifying the problems, correct?"
"Yes. Therefore, we must conquer the castle while clearing all these hurdles."
"Hmm, let's see. Based on what we've discussed..."
Ratz walked to the whiteboard and began listing the objectives:
* Minimize Allied Force casualties on the land route.
* The obstacles are wild monsters and the checkpoint.
* Forge a "comrades-in-arms" bond with the demons.
* Capture the castle.
* Time limit: Must be settled before Roumel annihilates or routs the invading demon army.
"Ratz wrote it out, but this looks..."
"...Like an impossible task."
Eris and Milly finished, looking at the board in dismay.
"Alright, I'll explain the solutions one by one."
I pulled everyone's attention away from the board and back to me.
"First, I will seize control of the land and gather intel. Once it's under dungeon control, we'll know exactly what's where and in what numbers."
Information is everything.
As for the Roumel Kingdom issue, we still can't touch it yet, so we're leaving it alone for now. Increasing the amount of information unnecessarily would only cause confusion. Weed isn't fully stabilized yet either, so in a way, it's perfect timing.
If Tanaka is pulling strings in the background, it would make sense, but since he's currently stuck on the front lines in Roumel, there's likely no hidden agenda—he's just pinned down. He'll probably ignore me until things settle down over there, so I'll do the same. Since neither side knows the full situation, meeting up prematurely would be a mess.
"Next, the wild monsters along the route. We'll use two platoons of slimes and goblins to reduce their numbers. If we completely wipe them out, it might look suspicious or they might think it's a trap and slow their advance. I'll leave command here to Slakichi-san, so there shouldn't be any risk of our monsters being wiped out. Honestly, their timing was perfect."
"Yeah, that's for sure. I still can't beat that thing, even now." (Derieu)
Wait, you're still losing?
"As for the checkpoint, we'll have Liliana-san incite an internal revolt. Then, we'll have a messenger from the rebels reach the Allied Forces and say: 'No reinforcements needed! Save your strength. We will handle the gate. Please, take care of our fellow demons!' How do you think they'll react?"
"That's ruthless. Saying that to people who have already resolved to save the demons thanks to my speech would have the opposite effect. They'll become desperate to rush in and save the demons at the gate." (Seraria)
Exactly. The exact wording doesn't matter—just enough to fire up the Allied Forces.
"Please wait. I am currently a wanted fugitive in Raiet. There may be people willing to cooperate with me, but I doubt they will risk themselves on something uncertain..."
Liliana looked frustrated, as if she felt she had almost no value left.
But she's mistaken.
"It's fine. You'll be bringing the Demon King's head to gather people for the internal revolt. They'll definitely listen to you."
"Eh?"
"In other words, we'll be the last to conquer the checkpoint. The army will go for it first."
"What do you mean?"
I guess it's still a bit much to grasp.
"Listen, everyone. If we can make the fall of the gate look like a joint effort with the demons, conquering the Demon King's castle becomes easier, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"That's why, in order to secure that cooperation, we alone will use an underground route to reach the Demon King's castle first, capture it, and take the Demon King's head. We'll hand it to Liliana so she can use it to call for the internal revolt."
"""!"""
Everyone's eyes went wide.
"I see... So Yuki-san is going to turn the capture of the gate and the castle into a staged performance."
Eris' mouth twitches as she catches on.
"Well, even if it's a performance, we'll still have real casualties on both sides."
"Is it really necessary to go that far...?"
Elju, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. It was better than her previously shooting everything down.
Before I could answer, Liliana stepped forward and explained to Elju.
"If I bring the Demon King's head, I could probably take the castle without bloodshed. However, that would mean letting the fools who betrayed me and called for the extermination of all non-demons go unpunished. The internal revolt is for sorting them out, correct?"
"That's right."
"And it will also become the trigger for the demon race and other races to join hands. I have no intention of letting traitors ruin that opportunity."
After Liliana's explanation, Elju still didn't seem fully convinced but backed down.
"So the remaining issues are: our preemptive strike on the castle, and how to welcome the Allied Forces once they arrive."
Ratz lists the remaining issues. But those are even simpler.
"First, we'll turn the castle into a dungeon and master it. We'll summon monsters to eliminate the hostile factions. If all goes well, we'll have the monsters take out the Demon King himself."
"Uh... Onii-san, your methods are really underhanded..."
"The factions supporting Lilianna are probably already imprisoned, and the servants will just flee. We just need to thoroughly defeat those who resist. We don't need to take unnecessary risks ourselves, but we'll stay nearby just in case."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Sorry, Demon King-san. Don't go thinking you're going to have a flashy one-on-one duel with a Hero like in some storybook.
Heh heh heh...
...Wait. Why do I feel like I'm the villain here?
