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I said as if it were not important at all. And then told him to bring the messenger to me.

Eve began to whisper once the goblin had gone.

 

“The Kingdom of Deprosia is a great country to the west. I do not have a good feeling about what they could want.”

 

“While it may not be good news, we must hear it nonetheless.”

 

Bad news was best heard as soon as possible.

 

“In any case, make preparations to entertain this messenger.”

 

“Certainly. What level of ‘entertainment’ would be best?”

 

“Indeed. Let us go with B.”

 

“Understood.”

 

I had ranking system for entertaining guests. Rank B was an ordinary level.

Rank A involved the services of succubuses.

Rank S was reserved for state guests and would involve the entire city.

Deprosia was a great country, but it did not seem wise to appear subordinate from the beginning.

I had to discover what it was that they wanted first.

If they were hostile, then I would send the messenger straight back to them.

If they just wanted to observe, then perhaps I could cajole them with the succubuses.

 

“Now, what could the king of Deprosia be thinking?”

 

I muttered as I changed my clothes and headed to the audience hall.

 

The messenger was already there, waiting.

A young knight.

This would be easy, I thought.

These young men were all the more susceptible to the charms of succubuses.

But it started to seem less necessary.

This was because Deprosia were not our enemies. They wanted cooperation.

Or so the young knight explained.

 

“Were you aware of the Necromancer who lives in the western lands, who captures the people to be used for evil experiments?”

 

“…”

 

My momentary silence came from indecision over whether or not I should tell him about our victory over Sharltar.

But there really was no need to keep that hidden.

Besides, he would probably think that I was the same kind of man as Demon King Eligos if I lied about what happened.

And so I told him.

 

“Yes, we killed that Necromancer. Is that a problem?”

 

“It is not a problem at all. That man was formerly a palace sorcerer. He killed his own comrades when defecting to that Demon King Eligos’s side. You did well to kill him.”

 

The knight gave a bow.

He had all the modestly you would not expect of a knight from a great kingdom.

But it spoke well of his character.

He was perhaps the kind of man who wouldn’t be susceptible to a succubus.

As I considered this, the knight went straight to the point.

 

“Our king was going to destroy Sharltar, but learned that the Demon King Ashtaroth had already done so. His Majesty was overjoyed by this, but his anger has not completely settled. He now wants to be rid of Eligos as well, as he was the one who was controlling Sharltar.”

 

Eve seemed to sigh with relief upon hearing this.

In any case, we were clearly not to be enemies with the Kingdom of Deprosia.

 

“And so here is our request. His Majesty wishes that you fight with us in battle against the army of Eligos.”

 

“…My army?”

 

“You are Demon King who boasts a thriving army. Eligos will be no match for us with your involvement.”

 

“While that is likely true…”

 

Only a third-rate king would readily nod at this point.

 

After all, what if the king of Deprosia was only trying to weaken mine and Eligos’s armies? Just as I had once done with Sabnac and Count Ismalia?

 

I would be the laughing stock of the entire world to fall for that.

Still, you could not easily reject the request of a great kingdom.

And so I decided to make a compromise.

I humbly explained to him of my troubles.

 

“While my army has indeed seen growth, we are still very weak. I do not think we would fare well against Eligos’s host. However, if the knights of Deprosia would attack his lands from the west, we might be able to prevail. As we could attack the enemy castle while he is distracted.”

 

I assumed this proposition would be rejected immediately, but that did not happen.

 

“Very well. Of course, that will mean that we will take the western regions for our own.”

 

“That is fine. I just want the castle and materials.”

 

And with that, it was decided that we would help the army of Deprosia.

 

There was no written documentation for this alliance and it was only a verbal promise. However, the young knight swore on his honor that things would be carried out as we discussed.

 

And I had a feeling that I could trust him.

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