- Mariabell Rosso -
Mariabell was a reincarnated human, in her former life she dominated Europe, she manipulated the economy at will and even war was just a pawn in her plans.
Bullets rained down on the battlefield, women cried for their spouses and children, people murdered their own kind, she created a hell that was bathed in blood all so that her ambitions could be fulfilled.
And she succeeded.
She lived her dream life until she eventually died of old age.
Even now she lived a similar lifestyle, on paper she may be the princess of a small kingdom but her influence was anything but small.
She was the princess of a prestigious clan, the clan that ruled the Western Nations as their overlords.
This was a world plagued by monsters and Demon Lords, most kingdoms couldn't afford to casually wage war against each other for resources, after all they had true threats to humanity to worry about.
Due to this the Western Council was formed to make sure Humanity was strong enough to survive in this world, and it was all formed by a single man, Granbell Rosso, the Grand Elder of the Rosso Family.
Granbell Rosso single handedly controlled the entire Western Nations, even a princess under his direct lineage would be unable to meet him, her siblings were unable to meet him.
But of course she was different.
Her Unique Skill: Greed was one no man could underestimate, her intense desire to dominate is what manifested this Skill. Her Greed originated from the Seven Deadly Sins of man, it belonged to the so-called Sin Series Skills according to her grandfather.
These Sin Series Skills were special even amongst their own kind, they represented their user's desires. She was born the strongest among the Rosso, she was born with the ability to dominate, the ability to dominate other living beings.
She could see through anyone's desires, the more they desire the easier it was for Mariabell to control them through their desires. And everyone had some sort of desire.
There were two ways this could be done.
First she could use her own desires to overcome that of someone else's, causing the two to agree on a goal and become allies. Of course there was a drawback to this method, it could only be used during conversation and other long interactions. She needed to try multiple times for this to have an effect.
The second method was far faster, she just had to use her Unique Skill: Greed to forcefully dominate her target, she would inject all her desire and destroy the target's will turning them into a walking puppet.
Of course such a thing was still dangerous as it could take a few seconds to do, against a True Demon Lord like Rimuru she would be wary, after all he should theoretically be a match for her.
But this Demon Lord Felix should be easy, after all she will be bringing a body guard with her to this Festival, an A Rank bodyguard boosted by her Greed.
However she learned first hand that Greed could be resisted, she imagined that if she tried to deceive her grandfather back then he would have had her… removed. Of course she did not believe this Demon Lord was on the level of her grandfather.
Then there was the Chaos Dragon she would have close by, a Dragon even that god feared.
Besides if things went wrong she could always use her trump card.
She heard a knock on the door. "You may come in." She entoned.
The door opened and she was met with an older looking man and a young black haired man.
It seems it was time for the meeting to begin, she turned to the elderly man, Johann Rostia, one of the financial backers of the Freedom Guild, and the Duke of the Kingdom of Rostia. Of course he was also a descendant of Granbell Rosso.
He was also the current elder brother of the King of Rostia. Of course Johann himself held a far more powerful position as one of the Elders behind the Western Council.
They were currently gathered in the Kingdom of Siltrosso, her Kingdom. The location was perfect to fool the Western Council as they had their espionage organization located here, the best espionage in the entire West.
The Silt Foreign Investigation Bureau. This organization's focus was beyond the petty disputes of humans, no it was focused on the bigger threat, monsters and Demon Lords.
Every single agent was as strong as a B Rank adventurer at minimum. They were the elite among the elite, with such a force guarding this Kingdom infiltration was nigh impossible.
That was the reason this place was chosen for their meetings.
"Begin your report." She said.
Yuuki immediately began. "Okay. It seems Demon Lord Rimuru has grown more wary of me as his contact with me has been far less than before, of course this could be due to him being caught up with Demon Lord affairs but that is unlikely. He likely suspects that I had something to do with Hinata ambushing him but nothing more."
"Can you not come up with an excuse?" Questioned Johann.
"I can try but what if it doesn't work? Rimuru is a bonafide Demon Lord, someone even I would not want to fight. If I get on his bad side it would be like stepping on a tiger's tail." Yuuki replied.
It was good that Yuuki was not hiding this information, Johann may be superior to Yuuki in status but they had an equal business relationship as both sides stood to profit.
The Council funded the Freedom Association and in return the Association accepted the tasks the Council assigned them. Of course Yuuki knew who truly held the power here, after all without the funding of the Council the Association would fall quickly.
"Not even you can beat that Demon Lord?" Asked Johann.
Yuuki snorted. "Don't joke about that, he has over a hundred A Rank personnel not to mention that Demon Lord Felix may also send help. It is unknown what Demon Lord Felix's forces are truly composed of as any spy that is sent is quickly found and killed. He must have some extremely competent subordinates or be extremely competent himself, likely both."
"I see, that is wise then. But did you know that the Grand Elder has been inconvenienced because of you and your plan Yuuki?"
Indeed, Yuuki is the one who allied with Clayman and set up the rise of two new Demon Lords. If his plan succeeded they would have been able to trade with the East with far more ease than before, but because it failed….
Yuuki sighed. "You can't expect me to know everything, who would have known that Rimuru would be so strong, or that the Demon Lord Felix wasn't even present in Tempest during the attack?"
But still. "Why are you unable to defeat him Yuuki?" She asked.
"It is not possible, fighting one of those two Demon Lords would be difficult, let alone Veldora's possible interference. Veldora is a being no Human is capable of besting."
She nodded in understanding.
Another reason to focus on Demon Lord Felix first, Veldora will be a pain to deal with so she will first get one Demon Lord under her thrall.
After that they can come up with a plan to get Demon Lord Rimuru alone and deal with him.
Allying with Demon Lord Rimuru was a last resort, their ideals conflicted after all. He wanted Humans to thrive and get along with Monsters while she wanted to dominate everything.
She hoped to remove gold as the universal currency and shift it into paper, she wanted each Nation to have their own individual currency who's worth could be determined by that Nation's power.
And of course this power would be determined by the Council, or rather the 5 Great Elders. Weaker Nations would be taxed heavily or be forced to perform military service, through legal means they could be converted into vassals of stronger Nations.
The foundation for such a plan had been built up already, but because of Demon Lord Rimuru and his rapid expansion it was all coming undone.
"I see, then I shall bring this Demon Lord Felix under control, and then Rimuru and Veldora can be swiftly dealt with." She proclaimed.
"So you really plan to control a Demon Lord?" Asked Johann.
"Yes." She answered.
"How terrifying, though you managed to control Yuuki here even though he could rival Hinata the Saint when going all out. And statistically speaking there should be a chance for him to defeat Demon Lord Rimuru."
She smirked. "Yuuki had too much ambition, he was fairly easy to control all things considered. He hasn't even realized I am controlling him, he likely thinks all of this is voluntary."
"Indeed. What a terrifying ability." She could tell Johann was fearful of her Greed being used on him. He was not incorrect for having that fear.
"If I may." She turned towards Yuuki.
"Yes Yuuki?" She asked.
"You plan to control Demon Lord Felix White with your ability yes?" She smirked, even when directly talking about her ability to control others Yuuki could not make the simple connection that maybe he too was being controlled.
She nodded. "Yes, I plan to lure him alone at some point during the Festival."
Yuuki nodded in understanding. "I won't question your intelligence by asking if you have a backup plan in case he is stronger than we think. But if I may share my idea? It may help us with multiple goals."
Now she was interested, Yuuki was an incredibly intelligent man, his only flaw was his ambition.
She nodded. "Go ahead."
"You have the Chaos Dragon under control so why not make use of it? You can have it attack in the middle of the festival, it is more than strong enough to handle all of Rimuru's forces. The only possible match for it is Rimuru himself or Felix White should he be stronger than reported."
Such a plan would work, the Chaos Dragon is strong enough to easily break through the barriers Tempest has placed along those roads they created along with the barriers placed around the capital itself. As long as the Chaos Dragon could cause sufficient damage it would also prevent Tempest's rapid expansion, and it will ruin Tempest's reputation in the eyes of others.
She can also use the chaos that such an attack will cause to get Felix White's attention and dominate him swiftly with no one realizing otherwise.
However Yuuki is forgetting one thing. "What about Veldora?"
Yuuki shook his head. "Veldora will not be able to go all out or he risks destroying all of Tempest and everything Rimuru has worked for. We know that Rimuru has somehow tamed the Storm Dragon so he will not order him to intervene until it is safe to do so. During that time you can accomplish your goals. I know Rimuru, he will not risk his people's lives unless it is his last choice. He will attempt to fight off the Chaos Dragon first."
She smirked. Yes this plan will work. Her grandfather may not approve but the results will speak for themselves.
As the meeting was wrapping up she said. "Don't reveal what we talked about today to anyone."
"Of course not, I do not want to die just yet." Johann whispered causing her to smirk.
- Yuuki Kagurazaka -
Yuuki knew the plan he had suggested would cause a large loss of life, but it would all be worth it.
The Chaos Dragon was far stronger than Mariabell could imagine, in a one vs one with Rimuru against it he would bet on the Chaos Dragon.
Hopefully this plan of his works in his favor, if it doesn't kill Rimuru then it will weaken his political power and will weaken his overall forces. Not to mention it will sate Kagali, he's been having trouble giving her excuses why not to attack any of the Demon Lords directly.
- Felix -
I gave Lalatina a slap on the ass causing her to moan as I got up. Last night was wild, we went at it until the sun was up and I didn't want to go further since I had stuff to do today.
I planned to visit Arcueid first to see how everything is going, and then visit Rimuru if I have time. If I don't then I'll just head straight to the Ice Continent to see Guy, a meeting I'm finding myself somewhat excited for.
Maybe I can ask him for a spar? He seems to be the type to find amusement in such a challenge. I don't doubt that he would try to kill me if I disappoint, but I doubt such a situation will happen. I can copy some of his Skills if I get the chance to without risking my own being copied thanks to the cheat that is Odin.
It's a few hours before noon currently so Arcueid should be in her office, I double checked and she is indeed there.
I snap my fingers and appear in her office. I noticed there was a Dark Elf standing next to Arcueid taking some work from Arcueid.
"Ah! My Lord!" She turned towards the Dark Elf who immediately understood as she gave both of us a bow and left.
Arcueid turned to look back at me. "I thought you were enjoying your time with Lalatina." Arcueid asked with a serene smile.
Of course she knows.
"I had my fun with her, she's currently resting so leave her be for a bit."
Arcueid smirked. "I see, it is expected that she was not able to fully last. Would you like me to satisfy you My Lord?"
I shook my head, ordinarily I'd love to be balls deep in Arcueid, but today I am a dedicated man, I will get this shit done!
"Not right now, maybe later when I'm back from visiting Guy." Hearing what I said at the end Arcueid became serious.
"I see, so you will be visiting Rouge today then?" She asked.
"Yup, I just wanted to see if everything is going smooth on your end before I go. How are the ideas I've given you been going, I know it's only been a few days since then."
Arcueid gave me a pleased smile. "Your ideas were magnificent My Lord! Ever since we have announced that those who join the military will be trained in Magic and other useful skills there has been a boom in recruitment."
I nodded. "That's good. What about the other ideas?" I of course was referencing the cultivation style reward system.
"We have also spread some rumors about the Magic and Weapon Center you suggested, there are multiple levels to it with the two highest floors allowing access to a single Unique-Grade Equipment of their choice, or a Magic Spell of a similar tier."
I nodded. "I see, and what rank did you and Megumin set for access to that floor?"
"First Lieutenant for the lower tier Unique-Grade Equipment and Spells, and then Captain for the higher tier ones." Arcueid answered.
"I see, good work then." I praised. We can offer higher ranked weapons if necessary at a later date.
"I am glad that you are satisfied My Lord." Aruceid said with a proud smile.
I nodded. "Alright, I'm going to visit Rimuru for a little bit and then head off to see Guy, I should be fine so don't worry."
Arcueid nodded though I could see a hint of worry in her eyes, how cute.
"I shall await your return then My Lord."
And with that I teleported to Tempest.
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Author's Note:
This chapter ended up having more than planned so we get to see Felix meeting Guy next chapter. We got to see Felix and Megumin blow shit up as well, who doesn't like blowing shit up?
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