So, I changed into my Demon Lord equipment and take a seat on the throne. Oh no, if I get caught for disrespect, I won’t be able to complain!
“Understood, Maito. I will follow your orders, but if you’re in danger, I’ll ignore all your commands! Got it?”
With those words, Senpai retreated to the back of the throne room.
Senpai’s role is to operate the royal castle like a trap house.
When I give the signal, we will activate them one by one.
…And if things get desperate, we have a ceiling trap. By the way, we don’t want anyone accidentally cutting the ceiling, so it’s divided into two layers to prevent any openings.
…Our only job this time, Senpai and I, is to buy time.
Until everyone rescues Hariu and returns, we’ll simply buy time and delay the enemy.
To achieve that, we’ve heavily skewed the balance of our forces for this purpose.
In the worst case scenario, as long as the Queen is here, the enemy will have to attack us as many times as necessary. If Senpai is safe, we can still hold them off.
With this in mind, I feel confident it will work.
Above all, we won’t run out of topics to keep Fukuyama-kun occupied.
Sitting on the throne for just a few seconds, a large group of people teleported into the throne room. In front of me stood Fukuyama-kun, along with around ten people who clearly looked like they were from another world, a few more who seemed like they could be from this world, and probably some locals as well.
The crowd murmured in confusion at the sight of me, who was obviously not the queen, sitting on the throne.
Especially Fukuyama-kun, who had seen the real “Demon Lord” before, seemed to be quite perplexed.
Now is the time to shine. I’ll say all the lines I wanted to say!
“We’ve been waiting for you, brave heroes.”
I casually played with my staff, putting on a confident smile, and immediately, the group of people who looked like heroes—yes, the ones from another world—reacted as expected. So easy to read!
“Who are you?”
One of them, with a bold attitude, was quick to challenge me. Well, it’s a good thing he didn’t attack without listening to my introduction. Yes, typical behavior of a brave hero.
“I am the Demon Lord, an unparalleled existence.”
As I spoke, I subtly floated the cause that I had been holding in my hand, keeping it out of sight. The heroes seemed to notice something off, but probably… they might think it’s the pressure of facing the Demon Lord or something. At least, there was no sense of “What have you done?” in the atmosphere.
“Where is the queen?”
Even so, the brave one who initially challenged me boldly continued to press with questions.
“Hmm… Well then, let me ask you in return. What do you think happened to the queen?”
I said it in a teasing manner, and as expected, their expressions changed drastically, probably misunderstanding it just the way I intended. Their exaggerated reactions are quite helpful. Yes.
“Now, think about it. Why do you think I am sitting on this throne?”
The answer is that the queen and the Demon Lord are good friends, but I doubt they would come to such a conclusion, especially the heroes.
As expected, each of the heroes began to prepare their weapons.
Well, if I start the battle now, I’ll be annihilated in an instant. I need to draw this out a bit more.
So, I’ll have to apologize to Fukuyama-kun, but I’ll let him delve into that trauma of his to buy some time.
“Well, there’s no need to rush. Since we’re all here, let’s have a little chat, shall we?”
Of course, I know they won’t just stop and chat, so I floated the second cause in the air.
Immediately, all the heroes froze in their tracks, and even the soldiers from this world standing behind them couldn’t move.
After they saw that, I grasped the second cause again in my hand.
“You, Fukuyama, was it?”
“Why are you mentioning my name!”
Fukuyama-kun and the others seemed surprised that I pointed him out by name. Well, with this, will they be more willing to listen to what I have to say?
“Because of you, a woman died, didn’t she?”
I said it with a smile, and Fukuyama-kun froze up in an interesting way.
“Hmm, after leading her to the Night Forest, you encountered a Unique Monster with no way to fight back, and then you abandoned her and ran away, didn’t you?”
“N-No, it’s not like that!”
I’m sorry, but I’ll have to keep this topic going a little longer.
“Oh, so you didn’t abandon her but used her as a decoy to escape, was it?”
Fukuyama-kun’s face turned pale, going beyond just pale to an ashen color.
“It’s laughable that someone like you is called a hero.”
By the way, the others are just looking back and forth between Fukuyama-kun and me, making a commotion. Yeah, it would be nice if they kept making a commotion a little longer.
“And then, not content with that, you killed another person, didn’t you?”
“Stop it!”
“I won’t stop. …The second person, you didn’t just let them die, did you? You killed them with your own hands, right?”
“Stop it, I don’t want to hear this…”
“Hear it. …Your skill in throwing that blade and piercing their heart without fail, it was quite impressive, wasn’t it?”
I know it’s pitiful to keep saying more, but you guys captured and tortured Hariu, so there was no need for me to stall for time. If that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have done any of this. That’s why I’m saying it.
“Isn’t it a curious thing? Going out of your way to kill both sisters together. Could it be that you have a taste for murder?”
“No… no…”
“I understand, you know? The grudges of the sisters you killed. You must have thought they wouldn’t hold a grudge against you, right?”
By this point, Fukuyama-kun might already be unable to fight back. Oh, wait, there’s also a possibility he could enter a berserk state.
“Hey! You said you’re the Demon Lord, right? Enough with the nonsense, let’s just fight!”
The bold one, who was standing beside Fukuyama-kun, probably thought that it would be dangerous if Fukuyama-kun was subjected to any more psychological attacks and decided to intervene.
But if we start fighting, the time we can stall for will be very limited, so I want to drag this out as much as possible with my introduction.
“What are you saying? I was just about to propose a beneficial deal for this guy.”
“…D-Deal?”
Fukuyama-kun looked at me with a blank expression. Okay, good, he’s taking the bait.
“…Fukuyama, do you want to bring the sisters you killed back to life?”
The effect of that line was simply astonishing.
In an instant, Fukuyama-kun’s previously vague consciousness seemed to sharpen as he began to react.
“Is it really, really possible to bring them back to life!?”
“Don’t underestimate me. I am the Demon Lord, you know?”
With a smile filled with confidence, Fukuyama-kun’s face suddenly lit up, or rather, became intense.
“Please! Bring them back to life! I’ll do anything!”
“Hey, Fukuyama!”
“Fukuyama-kun!”
Oh, it seems like there might be a rift among the heroes too?
“I see, you’ll do anything. Well then, first you must choose. Will you bring back the older sister or the younger sister?”
It was a question to draw out the conversation, but its effect was remarkable.
“Ca-can’t you bring back both?”
“Hey, Fukuyama! Don’t listen to this guy! We need to hurry, don’t we?”
“That’s right! We have important things to do, right!?”
The other heroes tried to stop Fukuyama-kun. However, he just kept hesitating.
Yes, I want him to hesitate and buy us more time.
“You don’t have to bring back either of them, you know? Now, hurry up and choose. I may not be a particularly impatient person, but there are limits, you know?”
“Th-then… Um, the older sister…”
“Ho, I see. So you chose the one you left to die. I thought you would pick the younger sister. Do you have some attachment to your older sister?”
…I still need to buy a little more time. Aaargh, I should have attached a clock to this room or something.
“It doesn’t matter, does it? So, what should I do? How can I bring her back to life?”
Hmm, what should I do?
Pretending to hesitate a little, I eventually made this decision:
“Surrender. Give up on this country.”
Upon hearing that, everyone visibly tensed.
Well, of course they would. Surrendering is something that only Fukuyama-kun has a vested interest in.
“Don’t be ridiculous! We promised to return this country to its original king!”
“We, the students, will handle the mess caused by a fellow student!”
The previous king is quite beloved, it seems.
“I see. Well then, let’s forget about this conversation.”
I held up my staff, though it was just for show. I kept myself alert, ready to signal my plan to Senpai at any moment, while observing their reactions.
“Wait! Listen, everyone, let’s step back for a moment.”
“What are you talking about? If we miss this opportunity, there won’t be another chance, you know?”
“But, people’s lives are at stake!”
Fukuyama-kun seems to have a point.
“Don’t be stupid! There are lives at stake on our side too! Got it!? The people of this country are suffering because it was taken over! Can you just turn a blind eye to that?”
“But… Sorry! ‘Space Jump’! …Huh, why isn’t it working?”
…Oh? This is… This is it!
“Do you not know? You can’t escape from the Great Demon Lord.”
…Alright! It’s decided!
Haah, I want to say I have no regrets in my life as a Demon Lord, but this is where the real challenge begins.
I wonder how much time I can buy with this battle.
Now, how much longer until everyone returns?
“If you won’t come to us, then we’ll come to you!”
Someone is already charging in with their big sword. Please refrain from that.
Still maintaining a composed expression, I subtly move my staff and signal by manipulating the maid doll placed next to my senior.
“I’ve got you… Uwaaaah!?”
Yes, the floor gave way, and the hero who charged in with it, along with those who couldn’t avoid it, all fell down.
The place they fell into is filled with threads that prevent ‘transfer’ and a poison sea made by President. He said it wouldn’t kill them, so they should be fine.
Please understand that I had to resort to this; otherwise, I’d be the one dying.
Continuing with my signals to my senior, nets are launched from both sides of the walls.
They skillfully entangle those who dodged or used magic to stay airborne, creating chaos.
Meanwhile, I keep singing continuously. Of course, it’s the “Lullaby.” If any of the heroes have resistance to it, that would be troublesome, but this should render most of them powerless. By the way, the song is Schubert’s one. You know, because I’m the Demon Lord.
Surprisingly, even with that, some people remain awake and unfazed. Why? Ah! The doping gem!
Right, that makes sense. There’s no way the enemy wouldn’t have what our allies possess!
Damn, this was unexpected. If they won’t fall asleep, I’m really running out of options.
And now, even those who went into the poison sea are coming back. Are you guys zombies or what?!
“That’s low! Fight us fairly and squarely!”
I’m sorry, but fair and square is a luxury I can’t afford right now!
“You guys aren’t embarrassed to be ganging up on one person, especially when that person is powerless?!”
“Enough with your nonsense.”
Since I didn’t want them to keep coming back, I signaled to Senpai, and she closed the floor.
Now that’s settled. So, how many soldiers and about half of the heroes fell down?
The real problem starts now. The remaining traps are the hanging ceiling and the nets that come from above.
With just that, how many minutes, no, how many seconds can I hold on against around ten heroes?
…No, I will hold on. I’ll do whatever it takes to endure.
Without the ability to use mental attacks on Fukuyama-kun, it’s tough. Well, I’ll still give it a try, won’t I?
…And just as I was about to speak.
“We’ve kept you waiting.”
In an instant, reliable comrades appeared in the throne room.
“You made it back. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I felt like all my strength was about to drain away, but I’m the Demon Lord. I’ll keep a composed face.
“Is this all? What about the rest?”
“They’re beneath the floor.”
“Oh, then let’s clean up quickly. ‘Ice Wall!'”
With the magic of Hagasaki-kun, the second round of the battle begins, I suppose.
Well, I already feel like we’ve won, you know.
So, I changed into my Demon Lord equipment and take a seat on the throne. Oh no, if I get caught for disrespect, I won’t be able to complain!
“Understood, Maito. I will follow your orders, but if you’re in danger, I’ll ignore all your commands! Got it?”
With those words, Senpai retreated to the back of the throne room.
Senpai’s role is to operate the royal castle like a trap house.
When I give the signal, we will activate them one by one.
…And if things get desperate, we have a ceiling trap. By the way, we don’t want anyone accidentally cutting the ceiling, so it’s divided into two layers to prevent any openings.
…Our only job this time, Senpai and I, is to buy time.
Until everyone rescues Hariu and returns, we’ll simply buy time and delay the enemy.
To achieve that, we’ve heavily skewed the balance of our forces for this purpose.
In the worst case scenario, as long as the Queen is here, the enemy will have to attack us as many times as necessary. If Senpai is safe, we can still hold them off.
With this in mind, I feel confident it will work.
Above all, we won’t run out of topics to keep Fukuyama-kun occupied.
Sitting on the throne for just a few seconds, a large group of people teleported into the throne room. In front of me stood Fukuyama-kun, along with around ten people who clearly looked like they were from another world, a few more who seemed like they could be from this world, and probably some locals as well.
The crowd murmured in confusion at the sight of me, who was obviously not the queen, sitting on the throne.
Especially Fukuyama-kun, who had seen the real “Demon Lord” before, seemed to be quite perplexed.
Now is the time to shine. I’ll say all the lines I wanted to say!
“We’ve been waiting for you, brave heroes.”
I casually played with my staff, putting on a confident smile, and immediately, the group of people who looked like heroes—yes, the ones from another world—reacted as expected. So easy to read!
“Who are you?”
One of them, with a bold attitude, was quick to challenge me. Well, it’s a good thing he didn’t attack without listening to my introduction. Yes, typical behavior of a brave hero.
“I am the Demon Lord, an unparalleled existence.”
As I spoke, I subtly floated the cause that I had been holding in my hand, keeping it out of sight. The heroes seemed to notice something off, but probably… they might think it’s the pressure of facing the Demon Lord or something. At least, there was no sense of “What have you done?” in the atmosphere.
“Where is the queen?”
Even so, the brave one who initially challenged me boldly continued to press with questions.
“Hmm… Well then, let me ask you in return. What do you think happened to the queen?”
I said it in a teasing manner, and as expected, their expressions changed drastically, probably misunderstanding it just the way I intended. Their exaggerated reactions are quite helpful. Yes.
“Now, think about it. Why do you think I am sitting on this throne?”
The answer is that the queen and the Demon Lord are good friends, but I doubt they would come to such a conclusion, especially the heroes.
As expected, each of the heroes began to prepare their weapons.
Well, if I start the battle now, I’ll be annihilated in an instant. I need to draw this out a bit more.
So, I’ll have to apologize to Fukuyama-kun, but I’ll let him delve into that trauma of his to buy some time.
“Well, there’s no need to rush. Since we’re all here, let’s have a little chat, shall we?”
Of course, I know they won’t just stop and chat, so I floated the second cause in the air.
Immediately, all the heroes froze in their tracks, and even the soldiers from this world standing behind them couldn’t move.
After they saw that, I grasped the second cause again in my hand.
“You, Fukuyama, was it?”
“Why are you mentioning my name!”
Fukuyama-kun and the others seemed surprised that I pointed him out by name. Well, with this, will they be more willing to listen to what I have to say?
“Because of you, a woman died, didn’t she?”
I said it with a smile, and Fukuyama-kun froze up in an interesting way.
“Hmm, after leading her to the Night Forest, you encountered a Unique Monster with no way to fight back, and then you abandoned her and ran away, didn’t you?”
“N-No, it’s not like that!”
I’m sorry, but I’ll have to keep this topic going a little longer.
“Oh, so you didn’t abandon her but used her as a decoy to escape, was it?”
Fukuyama-kun’s face turned pale, going beyond just pale to an ashen color.
“It’s laughable that someone like you is called a hero.”
By the way, the others are just looking back and forth between Fukuyama-kun and me, making a commotion. Yeah, it would be nice if they kept making a commotion a little longer.
“And then, not content with that, you killed another person, didn’t you?”
“Stop it!”
“I won’t stop. …The second person, you didn’t just let them die, did you? You killed them with your own hands, right?”
“Stop it, I don’t want to hear this…”
“Hear it. …Your skill in throwing that blade and piercing their heart without fail, it was quite impressive, wasn’t it?”
I know it’s pitiful to keep saying more, but you guys captured and tortured Hariu, so there was no need for me to stall for time. If that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have done any of this. That’s why I’m saying it.
“Isn’t it a curious thing? Going out of your way to kill both sisters together. Could it be that you have a taste for murder?”
“No… no…”
“I understand, you know? The grudges of the sisters you killed. You must have thought they wouldn’t hold a grudge against you, right?”
By this point, Fukuyama-kun might already be unable to fight back. Oh, wait, there’s also a possibility he could enter a berserk state.
“Hey! You said you’re the Demon Lord, right? Enough with the nonsense, let’s just fight!”
The bold one, who was standing beside Fukuyama-kun, probably thought that it would be dangerous if Fukuyama-kun was subjected to any more psychological attacks and decided to intervene.
But if we start fighting, the time we can stall for will be very limited, so I want to drag this out as much as possible with my introduction.
“What are you saying? I was just about to propose a beneficial deal for this guy.”
“…D-Deal?”
Fukuyama-kun looked at me with a blank expression. Okay, good, he’s taking the bait.
“…Fukuyama, do you want to bring the sisters you killed back to life?”
The effect of that line was simply astonishing.
In an instant, Fukuyama-kun’s previously vague consciousness seemed to sharpen as he began to react.
“Is it really, really possible to bring them back to life!?”
“Don’t underestimate me. I am the Demon Lord, you know?”
With a smile filled with confidence, Fukuyama-kun’s face suddenly lit up, or rather, became intense.
“Please! Bring them back to life! I’ll do anything!”
“Hey, Fukuyama!”
“Fukuyama-kun!”
Oh, it seems like there might be a rift among the heroes too?
“I see, you’ll do anything. Well then, first you must choose. Will you bring back the older sister or the younger sister?”
It was a question to draw out the conversation, but its effect was remarkable.
“Ca-can’t you bring back both?”
“Hey, Fukuyama! Don’t listen to this guy! We need to hurry, don’t we?”
“That’s right! We have important things to do, right!?”
The other heroes tried to stop Fukuyama-kun. However, he just kept hesitating.
Yes, I want him to hesitate and buy us more time.
“You don’t have to bring back either of them, you know? Now, hurry up and choose. I may not be a particularly impatient person, but there are limits, you know?”
“Th-then… Um, the older sister…”
“Ho, I see. So you chose the one you left to die. I thought you would pick the younger sister. Do you have some attachment to your older sister?”
…I still need to buy a little more time. Aaargh, I should have attached a clock to this room or something.
“It doesn’t matter, does it? So, what should I do? How can I bring her back to life?”
Hmm, what should I do?
Pretending to hesitate a little, I eventually made this decision:
“Surrender. Give up on this country.”
Upon hearing that, everyone visibly tensed.
Well, of course they would. Surrendering is something that only Fukuyama-kun has a vested interest in.
“Don’t be ridiculous! We promised to return this country to its original king!”
“We, the students, will handle the mess caused by a fellow student!”
The previous king is quite beloved, it seems.
“I see. Well then, let’s forget about this conversation.”
I held up my staff, though it was just for show. I kept myself alert, ready to signal my plan to Senpai at any moment, while observing their reactions.
“Wait! Listen, everyone, let’s step back for a moment.”
“What are you talking about? If we miss this opportunity, there won’t be another chance, you know?”
“But, people’s lives are at stake!”
Fukuyama-kun seems to have a point.
“Don’t be stupid! There are lives at stake on our side too! Got it!? The people of this country are suffering because it was taken over! Can you just turn a blind eye to that?”
“But… Sorry! ‘Space Jump’! …Huh, why isn’t it working?”
…Oh? This is… This is it!
“Do you not know? You can’t escape from the Great Demon Lord.”
…Alright! It’s decided!
Haah, I want to say I have no regrets in my life as a Demon Lord, but this is where the real challenge begins.
I wonder how much time I can buy with this battle.
Now, how much longer until everyone returns?
“If you won’t come to us, then we’ll come to you!”
Someone is already charging in with their big sword. Please refrain from that.
Still maintaining a composed expression, I subtly move my staff and signal by manipulating the maid doll placed next to my senior.
“I’ve got you… Uwaaaah!?”
Yes, the floor gave way, and the hero who charged in with it, along with those who couldn’t avoid it, all fell down.
The place they fell into is filled with threads that prevent ‘transfer’ and a poison sea made by President. He said it wouldn’t kill them, so they should be fine.
Please understand that I had to resort to this; otherwise, I’d be the one dying.
Continuing with my signals to my senior, nets are launched from both sides of the walls.
They skillfully entangle those who dodged or used magic to stay airborne, creating chaos.
Meanwhile, I keep singing continuously. Of course, it’s the “Lullaby.” If any of the heroes have resistance to it, that would be troublesome, but this should render most of them powerless. By the way, the song is Schubert’s one. You know, because I’m the Demon Lord.
Surprisingly, even with that, some people remain awake and unfazed. Why? Ah! The doping gem!
Right, that makes sense. There’s no way the enemy wouldn’t have what our allies possess!
Damn, this was unexpected. If they won’t fall asleep, I’m really running out of options.
And now, even those who went into the poison sea are coming back. Are you guys zombies or what?!
“That’s low! Fight us fairly and squarely!”
I’m sorry, but fair and square is a luxury I can’t afford right now!
“You guys aren’t embarrassed to be ganging up on one person, especially when that person is powerless?!”
“Enough with your nonsense.”
Since I didn’t want them to keep coming back, I signaled to Senpai, and she closed the floor.
Now that’s settled. So, how many soldiers and about half of the heroes fell down?
The real problem starts now. The remaining traps are the hanging ceiling and the nets that come from above.
With just that, how many minutes, no, how many seconds can I hold on against around ten heroes?
…No, I will hold on. I’ll do whatever it takes to endure.
Without the ability to use mental attacks on Fukuyama-kun, it’s tough. Well, I’ll still give it a try, won’t I?
…And just as I was about to speak.
“We’ve kept you waiting.”
In an instant, reliable comrades appeared in the throne room.
“You made it back. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I felt like all my strength was about to drain away, but I’m the Demon Lord. I’ll keep a composed face.
“Is this all? What about the rest?”
“They’re beneath the floor.”
“Oh, then let’s clean up quickly. ‘Ice Wall!'”
With the magic of Hagasaki-kun, the second round of the battle begins, I suppose.
Well, I already feel like we’ve won, you know.
