(Chapter 5)
I am a Demon King who has acquired powerful soldiers.
This gives me several options, but I am a realist.
I don't want to fight recklessly.
There is a saying in the other world.
'If you know your enemy and know yourself, in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.'
Those were the words of a strategist called Sun Tzu, and I had a respect for him.
And so I would follow those words.
"I hear that there are other Demon Kings in this world, but are there also humans?"
"There are. And they have their own kingdoms."
"Are they strong enough to go against the Demon Kings?"
"If the humans united as one, then perhaps they would be able to defeat the Demon Kings."
"In other words, humans are not a monolith."
"That is so."
"Are there any Heroes? They typically exist in these worlds."
"There are. Or to be precise, there should be. There are 72 Heroes in this world with special skills that are 'Effective' against each Demon King. But I am not yet certain of the existence of a Hero who has a skill that is effective against you, my master."
"But he will be a threat if he does exist."
"Yes. And so all of the Demon Kings send their minions out into the lands to hunt these Heroes."
"They are too soft. They should deal with them while they are children."
"That is a splendid idea. Leave nothing to chance. That's a first-rate eye for strategy."
There were no Demon Kings in the previous world, but there was something known as 'games' in the world that I was researching. In these games, there were villains known as Demon Kings, and they were always killed by the Heroes. And from what I observed, these Demon Kings always underestimated their enemies.
They would scatter their forces and always put the weakest monsters near the village that the Hero lived in. It was like begging them to grind for experience.
Throwing your forces out one after another. And they would never strengthen their army after the Hero was discovered. Instead, they would just wait in their castle without doing anything. It was idiotic.
And many times there would be a powerful weapon placed right in the castle that was the Demon King's weakness. And so many stupid Demon Kings were killed by the Hero who used it.
And so I asked Eve.
"Eve. Is there any equipment hidden here that Heroes could use?"
Eve's eyes widened.
"How did you know? It is only recorded on a hidden page in our inventory."
"A hunch. However, we do then. Alright, I want you to dispose of it now."
"Di-dispose of it?"
Eve said with confusion.
"But that is something that you are supposed to keep safe here. All the other Demon Kings have them. They are a symbol of the castle."
"A symbol of your authority? How boring."
"It is also the source of your authority."
"And it would be laughable to be defeated because of it. Dispose of it now. And I don't mean that you should seal it away. Destroy it. Toss it into a volcanic mountain."
"…Yes."
There was a slight hesitation, but Eve obeyed.
She called a skeleton soldier and ordered it to dispose of the weapon in a volcanic mountain.
When she passed the sword to it, she no longer looked regretful.
She turned around to look at me.
"You truly are a Demon King. Keeping something here that can be a weakness is indeed dangerous. You must battle against the other Demon Kings from now on. The last thing you need is for some Heroes to pester you from the side."
"It is nothing to praise. The other Demon Kings are just too stupid. If we ever find a Hero who is targeting a different Demon King, we should leak whatever information we have and aid them."
"That is wonderful. Use them to fight each other."
"They do say that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. I must use whoever I can use."
"That is most admirable. So, shall I search for Heroes that are still children?"
"Yes. And when you do, I will deal with them directly."
"It is unheard of for a Demon Lord to kill a young Hero himself."
"I will not be bound by old practices. It seems that my own forces are by far the weakest among the Demon Kings. If I only follow the accepted methods, that gap will only increase. And so I will retaliate by taking the 'realist' route."
"Realist…"
"Yes, realist. Scheming. Increasing your power by any means and destroying your enemies. It is not my aim to become some saint-like Liu Bei. I will be a villain. Cao Cao, Cesare Borgia, Hojo Soun, Saito Dosan, Matsunaga Hisahide, they will be my references."
"These are great rulers of another world?"
"They are men who rose to the top through various methods. Instead of dying while screaming heroic words, I would rather live with tarnished hands."
And so I continued.
"I said that I would use any means necessary, so let's start right away."
"Start what?"
"I just thought of a little scheme that is in line with being a realist."
"A scheme to overpower large numbers with few soldiers?"
"Exactly. It may go against the art of war, but it fits my style. But first, I need you to gather information."
"What kind of information?"
"Information about the countries near here and the nobles. Also, I would like to know about the weakest Demon King that is near me."
"Count Ismalia's territories are the closest to yours. And the weakest Demon King would be Sabnac."
"You really are a walking database in a maid's outfit."
Her mouth formed the faintest smile at this compliment.
A most modest woman.
She rarely changed her expression, but when I gave her an outline of my plan, she looked visibly surprised.
Her mouth opened. 'Well'
The plan that I had suggested was bold and defiant.
She looked at me again and gave her opinion of it.
"You have such foresight, I am in awe."
Apparently, my realist plan was acceptable in the eyes of the secretary maid.
And so it was with much relief that I explained the finer details to her.