Neil Ryates led me to a room in the castle. By the way, there's ivy crawling all over this castle. I wonder if the Blue Demon King has a grass attribute.

"Shh! Shishou!

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea. I see, Marito must have chosen them. You'll be able to find a lot of people who are willing to help you. Wolfe's gotten pretty good at controlling his strength.

I'm sorry for worrying you. Well, I'm ...... sorry for everything.

　Wolfe is not the only one who is relieved, and the stares of the others are painful. I feel guilty, because I'm the one who did it, after all. Furthermore, the people here still have outdated information about the negotiations with the Blue Demon King. That's what we need to talk about first. At any rate, I turn my gaze toward Ilias.

I'm glad to see you're okay, but ......
"Don't worry about Wolfe. I've made other arrangements with the Blue Demon King.
Are you sure?
Yes, it's true. As soon as I told him, he tried to commit suicide and started negotiating with my king.
It's .......
The negotiation is to capture the demons that attacked Taze. Dead or alive?

　You said you'd get the heads, but you didn't confirm if we'd have to deal with them ourselves.

I don't mind if we take him alive if we can. That thing is strong enough in its own way, so you can kill it if you want. If it's still alive after we've neutralized it, we want it in custody.
"Yes, yes. And as a lookout, this Neillertes will be on our watch for a while.
Hmm. What is the time frame?
No, sir. My king doesn't like to make detailed arrangements. I'd say as long as I feel it's in order.
That's vague. It's all up to you, isn't it?
I have no intention of being absurd. As long as you show me the will to do it. I will, however, have some say in the training of your subhumans at the same time.

　If it doesn't work, just collect the Wolfe, Neillertes said. It's easy to deal with Neil Ryates personally, but in that case the Blue Demon King will definitely become an enemy of humans. Needless to say, how dangerous that would be. The reason why he doesn't make a detailed agreement is because of his own overwhelming power as a check. If you want to betray me, do so, but only if you're ready.

"The demons that attacked Taze: ....... But do you know where they are?
It's very likely that the demon who told Raitis about the bastard is that demon. I'm sure we'll be able to get to him while we're dealing with Raitis.
I see.
We'll have to settle this with Raheit. I'd better get back to Tarz as soon as possible. Marito's going to be very worried.

　After leaving the castle of the Blue Demon King, I flew through the demon world of Taze on the Daluagestia. I'm not sure what to make of it. Well, it's important for a demon lord to show off his power. In order to be on equal footing with humans, it is essential to have enough power to make them hesitant to make enemies. However, I feel that this is a bit too overbearing.

"But Tarzan's world is very unique. I'm surprised it's more natural than human territory.
"My people. Nothing's happened to you now, but you've had a rough ride here.
Yes, there were dragons everywhere!
Seriously. I'd like to see some dragons.
I can call them if you want.
No!

　Neil Ryates blends in as a matter of course. Some of them are still wary, though. For now, I'm going to go over the history of my capture by Rahite.

"Duvvreoris, you've saved my life. Thank you.
I was only saving my master's life.
Oh? But you did interfere with me, didn't you?
"......
Don't be too pushy. If I was conscious, I'd have made sure no one saw me, just like Marito and the others. It's not every day you get to see the horrors of your own people.
That's true. Even the misunderstood one ran off on his own to defeat the Demon Lord.
You've set a good example.

　Your gaze hurts. You're a good example, aren't you? It's going to be hard to fill in the gaps.



"Don't be too hard on me, compatriot. I'm still in need of you right now.
"That's right, Master Shoushou, you left your promise to me to die!
That's right! You're the one who neglected to thank me for being your mistress!

　You've neglected to mention your mistress! I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

We'll talk about that later. By the way, Cael, Marith sent you to me because you have other orders, right? Shouldn't you be done with that while you still can?

　I can't stand being accused by this many people. That's why I brought up the subject with Keir to muddle the waters.

"Wow, so you know me. ......
"Lord Léanor told me about you. Lord Léanor tells me you are a man of many skills, though your skill with a sword is still in its infancy.
Do my people know about this?
Yes. If it's all right with Cale, show him to the others.
Yes, yes! But it's a little embarrassing. ......

　As he said this, Cale took out a foldable drawing board from his pack, unfolded it, and stuck a piece of parchment on it. He then began to draw a picture with a charcoal pen in his hand. The drawing drew the attention of everyone around him, including Ecdysius.

"Is this a drawing of the ...... dragon? You've managed to draw it in great detail.
"In my spare time, I like to draw. ......
I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea. I'm sure Marito chose you to record the information on the terrain and demons of the Tarzian world.

　As for the strength of the army, Exoik and Ilias are more than enough. If you take a strong-hearted knight with you, there's a good chance that the negotiation itself will be difficult. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

I'm sure you're not the only one.
You'll find a lot of people who'd like to know more about you. I don't have precision drawing skills.

　Nice looking dragon, by the way. I would have liked to have seen it in person if I could have, but having Neillertes call it here would have been more than a little painful for the rest of us. Cale drew a few pictures of the demons he had observed in the Taze demon world, and then drew a rough map of the Taze demon world.

It looks like a circle, right?
"Yes, it is. It's spread out around my king's castle. But would you normally show it to me?

　Neil Ryates is watching the scene with admiration.

'You've negotiated with me. I'll show you some cards.
'Is that how it is? If I may say so, don't you think I'll consider it hostile and terminate the negotiations?
Not at all. I understand that much.

　I'm aware of Neil Ryates' character. She is a fanatic. She will never act to the detriment of the Blue Demon King, even if her whims are mixed up. What we should consider is the standard of judgment from the perspective of the Blue Demon King. The Blue Devils will not be hurt or itchy by this level of information leakage.

"...... is a creepy person.
"I'll take that as a compliment. I'll take that as a compliment, but the Blue Demon King's appearance did surprise me.
Some of you have said some strange things about him, by the way. Did he look like someone else?
Yeah, I was surprised too, compadre. I didn't expect you to look so much like Marito. What's going on here?
Considering the age of the Blue Demon King, he must be an ancestor of the Taze royal family.
I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

　The Tarz royal family is a royal family that was entrusted with the territory of Tarz by Seiya Yukura in the past. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it.

"I see. So you're the bloodline of my king. That's why I thought you were like the woman I hate.

　And with that, Neillertes turns his cold gaze on Mikus. It may be that there was a woman in the past who was similar to Mixu, but I don't want to pry into that matter because it might be a minefield.

"Oh, is that me?
"Well, you're lucky. If you had been alone, I would have killed you without hesitation.
Take it easy on me, .......

　I don't sense any lies in Neil Ryates' words. What did the Mix look-alike do? I'll give you a hunch.

"So, Neil Ryates. Can you tell me what you know about this demon race, if you can?
"That's true. His name is Nektohar. He was one of my king's servants before he became the Demon Lord.

　When the Blue Demon King became the Demon King, he made those who served him a demon tribe. Nektohar was the right hand man of the Blue Demon King and also the one who was involved in the research of the bastard. Nektohar was ordered by the Blue Demon King to search for bastards born in the human world. One day, he found a bastard child and brought him to the Blue Demon King. The Blue Demon King took a great liking to the bastard and ordered him to become his own demon, but the bastard refused the offer and fled to Tarz territory.



"(It's you, Darkness, isn't it?)

　By order of the Blue Demon King, Nektokhar went after him. However, he disappeared without saying a word. It is possible for the Demon Lord to know the state of the demon race, and he has confirmed that Nektohar is alive, but he has not responded to any of his calls, and in fact, he has deliberately severed the connection.

Is that possible?
My king is a man of great research, and he has thoroughly investigated the knowledge of the demon race. Nektohar had received various magical wisdom from my king. It is almost certain that Nektohar himself broke the connection with my king.
The motive is unknown, but after that, he joined forces with Raheit and others to collect bastards, right?
He was an ambitious man. He was a man with ambition, and I'm sure he had some nefarious plans.

　I got some idea of his character. I'll try to figure out the details of his purpose from now on. Anyway, we've been dealing with Demon Lords, but now we're dealing with Demons. The order may be different, but we can't be too careful. Nektohar has teamed up with the humans and has blended in well with this society. In terms of intelligence, they should be seen as a more troublesome opponent than ever. And then there are Rahite and Ritual. A good number of bastards will be his enemies.