Chapter 72

I was now with General Farneze in the same tent we were in yesterday.
As we knew that Miralda would likely teleport again, we kept our guard up as we waited.

However, just waiting with excitement and anticipation was bound to be tiring. And so I spent the time thinking.

For instance, about General Farneze.
In terms of mana, the General was said to have an amount that made her the closest to being a Lesser Demon King in the whole country.
Close to a Lesser Demon King… In other words, her name was not on the Tablet of Control yet.

“Where can one find the closest Tablet of Control from here?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I’m bored. And I was just thinking about where it might be.”

“While they are scattered all over the Demon World, there is unfortunately none in our country.”
“So where are they?”

“Usually in the countries of Demon Kings and Great Demon Kings. I don’t really know about the others. I have no interest in that.”
“I see. But I wonder how many there are in all.”

“Who knows? They can be found all over the Demon World. Perhaps over forty? I doubt anyone has counted all of them.”

The residents of the Demon World weren’t completionists, and no one had bothered to investigate, apparently.

“Have you ever seen one, General?”
“A couple of times. It was so large that it just looked like a shiny black wall.”

It was said that it was impossible to move or destroy a Tablet of Control.
Of course, that would just make people want to prove their power. However, judging by the fact that there were never any stories about people successfully doing so, it was likely true.

The tablet was aware of the mana level of all residents of the Demon World. I thought that it must be some kind of receiver device.

In that case, perhaps the Orb of Control was the transmitter.
Perhaps the residents of the Celestial World wanted the ‘magic stones’ because that feature was necessary, and not just the stored mana.
Well, it was all just my own imagination.

“I heard that you have enough mana to have your name written on the Tablet of Control.”
“That’s what they say.”

“You don’t know?”
“I just hear people say that I am not much different compared to some whose names are written, and so I’m inclined to believe it.”

I see. That’s what she was going on.

“So, you will be able to declare yourself a Lesser Demon King soon.”
“I don’t know about that. This country is small, and there are not enough people. And since there are no plans for that to change, I have very low expectations.”

“You’re talking about the receiving of mana through the Orb of Control?”
“Yes. Unlike other countries, the roof cannot be raised, so it will be difficult to increase it by much.”

We residents of the Demon World had mana storing stones in our bodies.
As for why they were called Orbs of Control…

It was because subordinates used these stones to give some of their mana to their superiors. That’s where the ‘control’ part came from.

And while it was just a small amount, if it was from hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, it would become an immense amount.
Unfortunately, such a boost could not be expected in Lesser Demon King Melvis’s country.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Miralda said as she popped out of a cardboard box… I mean, teleported in front of us.
I suppose it was a special ability that dragons had. I was jealous.

“Let’s continue where we left off.”
Miralda would have things move at her own pace this time.

“…It won’t do.”
That is what Miralda said when we suggested she could listen to our requirements instead of just accepting the demand as it was.

“I know it will be difficult to move your armies. We are not even asking you to cross the borders. We just want a diversion.”

“And I am saying that it won’t do. If we send troops to the west, the north and south will become more aggressive. The battles will heat up even more.”

Hmm. And so we were rejected.
It had seemed like a reasonable enough request to me.

“Say these battles with the other Demon Kings do heat up. What kind of losses are we talking about?
Perhaps we could compensate. It was worth considering.

“Indeed. It would probably result in each side losing about ten ‘Lesser Demon King’ class officers.”
“…”

Well, that sounded very heated indeed.

This country only had Melvis, but in other countries, people of that rank could easily die in battle.
Clearly, there would be no way to compensate them for that.

That was a problem.
Without any other solution, the whole business would have to be forgotten.
That being said, I couldn’t think of anything else…

—Clank!

Suddenly, General Farneze got to her feet.
“!? What is it?”
She looked pale. Something unusual must have happened. But what?

“Nehyor…”
“The Corps Commander?”
Why was she talking about Corps Commander Nehyor now?

“He has escaped control.”

“What!?”

Escaped? He’s fled?
Did he revolt?

Oh, I could sense it too…

“There is no place…to take the gathered mana.”

I…and all of my subordinates…were no longer under Melvis’s control due to Nehyor’s disappearance.

…Everyone in the village must be very shocked right now.

It was a catastrophe I suppose, but that was the first thing that came to my mind.

Next Chapter

Makai Hongi