A fighting Queen for this Kingly Prince!
Part 1
"Make it stop! Make it stop?!"
The naked Tiamat said, while the Horned Rabbit chased her around and poked her butt with its horn.
I sent Poke in front of her and opened the pocket dimension. The Horned Rabbit jumped inside before the portal closed.
Tiamat sighed in relief, until she noticed that five minutes had passed and hadn't reached her castle yet.
"You bested me…"
She said, lowering her head in frustration.
"Oh? You're not gonna complain that I pulled off a dirty trick?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Anything is fair in battle. I admit my defeat."
I sighed in relief, which Iris shared. Komekko-chan wasn't having it, though.
"The Devil wants a proper match! I finally have a cool magic sword! Fight me properly!"
Tiamat blinked at Komekko-chan's challenge.
"You already beat me at the challenge, though…"
"I don't care about that! I just want to prove that I'm way stronger than you!"
This girl actually has some ego problems.
Iris stopped Komekko-chan from instigating another match. I went up to Tiamat and gave her my coat to wear. She thanked me for the coat as I wrapped it around her shoulders.
"So, Tiamat-sama, does this mean that you'll leave us alone now?"
She nodded and said,
"Indeed. I'll break my agreement with Maouko and have my army retreat. You won fair and square."
She raised her hand and yelled out to the skies.
"Dragons! I've been bested by the ruler of Elroad! Retreat at once!"
There was a pause before the dragons responded with angry roars.
"That can't be…! Tiamat-sama has lost…?!"
"I refuse to accept this…!"
"Tiamat-sama hasn't regained her true form! I cannot accept this outcome!"
Tiamat shook her head and responded,
"Fools! Your Queen is commanding you to stand down!"
"Never! My pride as a dragon refuses to surrender to a human!"
The dragons refused Tiamat's order and they descended down on us.
"Crap! This is bad?!"
Iris said, seeing the dragons come flying down. Her transformation was fading away, her blonde hair returning to blue.
"Yes! I like this development!"
Komekko-chan was all cheers as she watched the dragons coming down to conquer Elroad.
I turned to Tiamat and shook her shoulders.
"Oi?! Why are they attacking?! You're supposed to be the queen, right?! Why aren't they listening to you?"
She shrugged and said,
"I'm not in my complete form, as you can see. My control over them isn't perfect."
This useless dragon loli…!
I turned to the others and said,
"Quick, we should go back!"
Komekko-chan and Iris nodded. I let out a yelp as Komekko-chan grabbed me in a princess carry and jumped down, materializing her wings.
I couldn't get used to the high speed flying and let out a scream as we came flying down. Iris went down using her shadow threads, now that she returned to her Combat Priest form.
When we made it back, the troops below were panicking.
"T-The dragons are attacking?! Did Revi-sama fail the challenge?"
"Nah, but they're rebelling against their leader. What are you guys doing standing there?! Go into positions!"
"Eh?! But how can we deal with dragons?!"
"And you're wondering why you cowards don't get any funding?!"
I said, getting pissed off that these soldiers were refusing orders.
I looked at their equipment. They had on mundane crossbows and chain mail underneath the red tunics of the Elroad army.
Those crossbows wouldn't be enough to do any significant damage to the dragons.
"Go to the R&D department! The new gear is ready!"
I commanded the soldiers.
If they were equipped with the magic crossbows and the explosive bolts I was developing, they might stand a chance.
Plus, there was the Moguninin prototype armor I was trying to mass produce.
Eager to leave the battlefield, they rushed to the R&D department's building. Those guys are only organized when they're retreating.
I turned to Iris and Komekko-chan. I saw the Crimson Demons coming out, led by Arue-sensei.
"Can you guys handle things here? All you need to do is protect the castle! I'll come back with some useful reinforcements, I promise!"
Komekko-chan grinned and said,
"Heh! Leave the fighting to the Devil! I wasn't satisfied with the enemies giving up, so this is the ideal scenario for me!"
Iris was a bit less enthusiastic, but she drew her normal long sword.
"Go ahead, Revi. Bring out those fancy gadgets of yours."
I nodded to them and retreated with my soldiers.
I passed by Arue-sensei and the others and shared a nod with them.
With the Crimson Demons and everyone else helping, I didn't have to worry about the capital falling right away.
We ran to the R&D department. The scientists working there were surprised by the soldiers coming in.
"Don't panic, nerds! These jocks aren't here to steal your lunch money!"
I said, calming them down.
I ordered the soldiers to grab the magic crossbows and bolts, and to equip the prototype armors.
A researcher girl came up to me and said,
"Revi-sama, the magic crossbows and bolts are fine, but the Moguninin prototype armors are still unstable! They're not ready to be used in the field!"
I saw a soldier putting on the black and gray breastplate. The other armor parts materialized around them when they put on the breastplate. It seemed to be working properly, but there were some instances where the armored parts didn't appear properly.
I had this feature installed because I knew that it was hard to travel and march in full armor, especially for large armies trekking through enemy territory. However, since it was a new feature, the technology wasn't perfect yet.
"...Those of you who don't have working armor can stay behind! The rest with functional armor, go into the battlefield!"
The guys who lucked out and had failed armor sighed in relief, while those who had working armor groaned and filed out of the building.
Are these guys really soldiers or what?!
"Ah, Revi-sama, the alternate variants you requested are also ready, but…"
"Hm? What's wrong with them?"
"Well, we're not sure if the technology and features you added in will work or not."
I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be fine… You worked hard."
The researcher girl blushed.
"Y-Yes, Revi-sama!"
She led me to the room where they were working on the alternate variants. There were red, blue, purple and light pink armor available.
"...H-Huh? Why is that armor light pink?"
"Erm… Rorisa-sama, who provided her magical energy, requested the armor to be pink…"
"She's not the one wearing the armor, you know?! It's me?! What's so scary about a guy walking around in pink armor, huh?!"
"I'm sorry?! She requested hot pink, so this is actually an improvement?!"
I sighed and let go of the researcher girl. I summoned Poke and had her take the breast plates into the pocket dimension.
The researcher girl led me to a podium that had a belt on it. There were four different magic absorbing cores around the belt. The belt had an empty slot for the cores to be placed in. The magic cores worked the same as the crossbow given to me by Hyoizaburo-san, but there was already a substantial amount of energy inside these four cores.
The cores were red, blue, purple and pink, matching with the armor. I took the belt and wore it, while taking the cores and attaching them around the belt. I kept the red core in my hand and placed it on the empty slot. A recorded voice came out from the belt.
"Get… Set!"
I smiled and started jumping around excitedly.
"Ohhh! The voice feature works?!"
"...Is that what your highness is excited about? Rather… Why is that feature necessary in the first place?!"
"It's important, OK?! It's very important! Let's see… What was that phrase that Kazuma-sama and the other heroes were talking about? Oh, yeah… Henshin!"
With the core attached to the belt, I twisted it and did a cool pose.
"Devil Core… Installed!"
Poke opened a pocket dimension above me and the red breastplate armor appeared. It floated down while I was posing and, as if attracted to the belt, attached itself to me. The red Moguninin armor materialized around me.
"Whooaaa! It works, it works! So coool?!"
I looked at the red armor and touched the helmet on my head.
The Moguninin armor was more durable than adamantite plate but had considerably higher mobility.
Plus, these variants that I had made were infused with the energies that I had the girls provide. This red armor had Komekko-chan's devil energy infused in it, for example.
"Alright, I'm ready for battle!"
I took out the core from my belt and watched the armor return to its breast plate form. Poke opened the pocket dimension again and I watched the armor fly towards it.
"Eh? Why did your highness undo the armor transformation?"
I avoided her gaze.
"Erm… I want to conserve energy, of course."
"...Don't tell me you just want to show off the transformation sequence to the others?"
"Ahh…! I gotta go and fight now! Thanks for your hard work?!"
I ran off, feeling her judgemental gaze on my back.
Part 2
I arrived at the battlefield, armed with the Moguninin Armor transforming belt (temp name).
The other soldiers came out, wearing black versions of the mass produced Moguninin armor. They also had magic crossbows with them, armed with the explosive bolts.
When Komekko-chan and the Crimson Demons saw the armor the soldiers were wearing, they got excited.
"Ohhh! That's so cool?!"
"Hey, I want one, too?! Please?!"
"I-It's made out of Moguninin armor, right?! Hey, that's cultural appropriation!"
I turned to the general of the army and said,
"Alright, I gave your troops a bunch of powerful gear, now you have no excuses!"
He started getting nervous and said,
"W-Well, um… You still didn't spend enough on training! Even with powerful weapons, an untrained army is…"
"They have crossbows! How hard are crossbows to use, huh?! Don't tell me you were demanding funds until now, but now that you have a chance to prove yourself in battle, you're getting cold feet?!"
"I'm sorry! I'm not built for this! I just thought that it would be an easy job since this country never goes to war! I quit!"
He took off his coat that had a bunch of medals on it and ran away.
"..."
I stared blankly at the military general who just quit all of a sudden.
"Alright, nevermind him! Troops, remember the training I gave you!"
Iris, who I asked to teach the soldiers some Belzergian tactics, took over commanding them.
Since her transformation ran out, she would probably serve better in this battle in a commanding role.
The soldiers turned to Iris and saluted her. They showed discipline and uniformity that I hadn't seen from them before.
As expected of the princess of that military nation, she managed to gain the soldiers' respect in a short amount of time.
Iris organized the soldiers into a firing formation, lining them up. She held her sword and said,
"Ready… Take aim… Fire!"
On her command, the soldiers fired the explosive bolts. Fiery bolts streaked up into the sky, reaching the flying dragons.
Once the bolts hit their targets, they unleashed powerful explosions that made the dragons scream out from the damage they received.
"Hoh! It's working!"
The dragons roared and said,
"You dare to ruin our majestic scales?! You'll pay for that!"
They dove down towards the army, but Komekko-chan and the Crimson Demons moved to stop them.
"Light of Saber!"
"Inferno!"
"Cursed Lightning!"
A barrage of spells stopped the dragons from reaching the army. While the Crimson Demons were charging up for their next wave of spells, the army finished reloading their magic crossbows and released the next volley of explosive bolts.
Whenever a dragon managed to get through the projectiles, Komekko-chan flew up to deal with them. She manifested her devil wings and used her new magic sword to deter the dragons from getting through.
Her sword could cut through the scales of the dragons, so they quickly retreated once they received damage.
Komekko-chan was grinning and laughing the entire time.
"Hahaha! The Devil is unstoppable! More, the Devil wants more of this power!"
The red devil energy around her was increasing in intensity, getting denser, as Komekko-chan became more feral in her movements. She always had a wild fighting style, but she was starting to get out of control.
She reminded me of the way I used to go out of control in the bedroom, back when I didn't know about my devil heritage.
Since she was unused to having this much devil energy flowing through her, it was affecting her personality.
I looked at the sword, which was glowing bright red from the devil energy coursing through it. It seemed to amplify and concentrate Komekko-chan's devil energy, through her pact with Hoost. It was giving her a tremendous boost in power and physical ability, but it was also making her more aggressive.
"Erm… Komekko-chan… Maybe you should calm down?"
I said, smiling nervously as I approached her.
"The Devil needs more power! Muhahaha!"
Ah, now she was starting to laugh like Vanir.
She turned around and saw her allies. She had a dangerous look in her eyes. She pointed her sword at her fellow Crimson Demons and attacked them.
"Eh?! Komekko, aren't we allies?"
"Ah… Is this that developement?! She's gone mad with power and now she's betrayed us?! Amazing!"
"Uoooh! Everyone, let's play along with Komekko-chan's roleplaying!"
She's not playing around, you idiots!
I got pissed off by these Crimson Demons, who were having fun with the development of Komekko-chan attacking her allies.
"Revi, what's going on?! Why is Komekko-chan attacking us?!"
Iris said, as she narrowly avoided a slash from Komekko-chan's sword.
"The devil energy is making her go berserk… Rori-san, are you here?!"
Rori-san popped out from seemingly nowhere. Was she using an invisibility spell.
"I'm right here~!"
"Can you cast an illusion to distract Komekko-chan?"
"On it!"
Rori-san created some illusory copies of magic swords. Komekko-chan stopped what she was doing and chased after the copies.
"Magic swords! Gimme! I want more power!"
The power hungry Komekko-chan chased after the floating swords that Rori-san kept out of her reach.
Komekko-chan was dealt with, but now we didn't have anyone to deal with the dragons who were getting through the bolts and the spells.
When a dragon got through, I thought that we were doomed when it opened its mouth to let out an elemental attack.
"You idiot followers of mine! Hiyahh!"
Tiamat-sama leapt through the air, wearing only the coat I gave her. She hit the dragon with a spinning kick to the maw.
"Oww?! Tiamat-sama?!"
"I already told you I lost, didn't I?! Why aren't you fools standing down?!"
"U-Us dragons would rather die than surrender! Since Tiamat-sama is stuck in that human form, you've gotten softer! No matter! We'll take this victory in your honor!"
Can't refute she looks pretty soft.
I sighed and turned to Tiamat-sama. I said,
"See what happens when all you worry about is power and conquest?! All your followers became dumb muscleheads!"
"Ugh… I can't refute that…!"
Tiamat-sama said, while looking at her followers who were disobeying her orders.
"Can I leave the frontline to you, Tiamat-sama? I have a rogue element to deal with myself…"
"Sure thing, monkey prince. I owe you one after all!"
The Crimson Demons were getting excited.
"Ohhh! An enemy becomes our ally! What an exciting development!"
"Meanwhile, one of our allies turned into an enemy! This is great stuff!"
"I wish we had some popcorn!"
I decided to ignore them while I headed towards Komekko-chan, who was chasing the illusions around.
Part 3
When Komekko-chan saw me, she charged at me with her sword and attacked.
She wasn't even rational anymore. She was just a wild beast swinging her sword around.
I managed to dodge it with Rori-san's help. She swooped in and flew me away, dropping me behind Komekko-chan.
"...Hmm… Maybe we should just leave her alone for now? She's not in the right state of mind…"
Rori-san said, while she watched Komekko-chan slashing her sword at empty air.
"We still need her to deal with the dragons. Tiamat-sama won't use lethal force against one of her own, and we don't know how long she'll stay at our side. She might realize that she doesn't want to go against her follower's wishes and turn on us. We need Komekko-chan to swiftly deal with them."
"...I see, but how are you going to get her to calm down? Let me tell you now that devil energy overdose is a serious condition. Humans who receive too much devil energy will go on a rampage."
Since she was a devil herself, she seemed familiar with the condition.
"How do you cure someone with a devil energy overdose? Can we absorb the energy from her with the magic absorbing cores?"
"Not really. Or rather, there's way too much energy for you to absorb. Since she's releasing so much at a constant output, it's like trying to dry up a waterfall with just a bucket. It's impossible no matter how much you try."
"What can I do, then?"
"Remember what we told you about devil society? We are strictly hierarchical. She's more like a devil now than a human. Once you beat her up a little bit and show your dominance, she'll be forced to obey you."
"...Is that so?"
I considered asking for help, but when I looked at the others, I saw that they were already too busy dealing with the dragons.
I sighed and turned to Komekko-chan. I held up a red magic core.
"I guess I'll have to test this out on you, Komekko-chan… Henshin!"
I equipped the core into the empty slot on the belt.
"Get… Set!"
I posed with my left arm over my chest and my right arm extended out.
Then, I twisted the core that was attached to the belt.
"Devil Core… Install…!"
Poke appeared and opened the pocket dimension above my head. The red colored breastplate appeared and floated down, until it equipped itself over my chest.
The red armor materialized over my body, including the helmet.
I took out my magic crossbow and aimed it at Komekko-chan. I loaded it with an explosive bolt.
"Snipe!"
I launched the bolt at her. A Hoost arm materialized in place of her wings and smacked the bolt out of the way. It exploded harmlessly away from Komekko-chan.
"...Isn't she too strong?!"
I let out a yelp when Komekko-chan charged at me, aiming to cut my chest with her sword. Thankfully, the Moguninin armor protected me from the attack that would have cleaved through ordinary armor like it was butter.
The energies from the sword were also dispelled while making contact with the red armor.
"Heh.. Since this armor was made by the devil energies you donated, there's no way it'll affect me. Whoa!"
She kept hitting me with her sword. Even if the armor was protecting me, the defenses wouldn't last forever. I started running away while she kept slashing at my retreating back, creating sparks whenever she hit my armor.
"I'm scared?! I've never fought close combat before and I'm scared?!"
"Wah! Please don't run away?!"
Rori-san was flying above, begging for me to fight.
One of the stray energy slashes got deflected by my armor. I saw it flying up to the floating islands. I watched in horror as the stray energy slash cleaved through the entire floating landmass, splitting in half.
"Holy shit!"
If it weren't for the armor, I would have died a hundred times already.
I tried to use my crossbow to earn some space, but she wouldn't let up on her attacks.
"Geez! I guess I'll have to use this…?!"
I took out the magic scimitar I got from granny Shani, the Musou scimitar.
I held it up to block an attack from Komekko-chan, only to be sent flying back.
Not only was there a sheer power difference between our swords, she was also way stronger than me.
"...Eh? Fighting Komekko-chan with a sword? Surely you don't think that's a good idea…"
Rori-san said, as I barely managed to block another attack. I put my crossbow away, latching it to the back of my armor.
"What can I do?! She keeps chasing me, it's not like I can get a shot off if she's hounding me!"
I said, while I lifted up the scimitar to block another attack that almost made me fall down.
I observed Komekko-chan's movements. They were getting wilder and wilder with each second that passed.
Any semblance of sword technique was gone. She was just swinging her sword around, but the force that she did so was enough to overwhelm me.
"...Hmm?"
I remembered watching Iris and Komekko-chan practice their sword training.
Despite the difference in strength, Iris was able to overwhelm her with technique alone.
Even though I wasn't a sword user, I did receive plenty of fencing lessons as a child. I skipped a lot of them, but I still knew the fundamentals.
Besides, I was dealing with a wild beast rather than the real Komekko-chan. Maybe I had a chance…
While I was thinking about this, Komekko-chan was already charging with another attack.
I took a deep breath and took a stance, copying Iris's technique.
My perfect memory was useful in recalling the steps she took.
"En garde…"
I felt everything slowing down as I focused. I held Musou in front of me, waiting for Komekko-chan to get in range.
She released a wild swing without any technique, just pure power behind it.
My eyes locked into her wrist.
I caught the wild swing with my sword, then slid down to cut her wrist.
She let out a scream of pain. With another flick of my hand, I disarmed her, making her drop her sword. I slashed across her chest, watching the devil energy block most of the damage, but I still sent her flying down.
I kicked her sword away before she could reach it and planted a foot on her stomach. I pointed the scimitar at her.
"Yield!"
I said, putting as much authority as I could in my voice. I was surprised to feel a bit of my own devil energy pouring through my voice, lacing it with power.
Komekko-chan looked up at me with her glowing red eyes, the light of which began to subside as the energy around her died down.
She stared at me as I looked down at her.
"Kyaaa! You're so cool?!"
"...Huh?"
I took my foot off and she jumped and hugged me.
"W-Wow… Who are you?! That armor… It's you, Revi?!"
Komekko-chan recognized the armor that she helped create. I dismissed the helmet and showed her my face.
"Yup… Do you remember what happened in the last few minutes?"
"...Not really?"
I sighed and shook my head.
This girl is really quite the handful!
"...Can you fight? There's still some dragons over there!"
"Sure thing! …Wasn't I already fighting them?"
Just like when I lost control in the past, she didn't have any memories about what she did.
She grabbed the sword on the ground, which had transformed back into a toy sword. She infused her devil energy into it, transforming it into the glowing red blade again.
"Just make sure to control your devil energy. You don't want to get a devil energy overdose!"
Rori-san said, warning Komekko-chan.
"Pffft. I'm a Devil Summoner. As if I'm gonna make a rookie mistake like that!"
She's way too arrogant! Also, she's severely lacking self-awareness!
I thought, as I gave her a disbelieving look.
She took the sword, manifested her wings, and flew towards the battle.
I let out a deep breath and collapsed on the ground. I didn't receive any damage, but the shock of my first melee battle took all my energy.
"Good fight! Let's leave it up to them, now!"
Rori-san said, patting me on the head.
I nodded and watched the ensuing fight while sitting down.
Part 4
With Komekko-chan back to normal, she joined Tiamat in fighting the dragons.
Iris directed the troops and the Crimson Demons to offer support to the frontliners, making sure that the dragons never took advantage of blindspots and openings.
"Hmm… Why aren't the dragons attacking the rest of the city?"
Rori-san said, while she watched with me.
"They're prideful creatures. They want to take out the soldiers first before advancing."
If the dragons decided that they wanted to raze the city, there wasn't much we could do to stop them.
I watched as Komekko-chan manifested her wings and flew up, unleashing a series of slashes at a dragon, who roared out in pain.
Tiamat followed up and kicked the dragon away, making it retreat with a flap of its wings.
The dragons were receiving a lot of damage, but they weren't running away from us. They were only retreating to regain their strength, before joining the fray again.
"Hah… I'm getting tired of this! Hoost!"
Komekko-chan called for Hoost. With the greater control she had over her devil energy, she manifested a full body energy avatar for Hoost. The red energy clone of Hoost joined Komekko-chan in an attack rush that combined a flurry of steel and punches.
They assaulted a dragon in this way, until the dragon fell down, defeated. The Hoost double returned to Komekko-chan with a satisfied laugh.
"Hahaha! The Devil is unstoppable! I figured out how this works!"
I was wondering what she was talking about, when I saw that she released an energy slash that flew towards the dragons. They easily dodged it, but Komekko-chan's aim was to release the energy building up in her before she could get another overdose.
As expected of an instinctual learner, she figured out a way to control her new powers easily.
Tiamat smiled and looked at Komekko-chan appraisingly.
"Hoh… You have a lot of potential, devil monkey. If you can figure out how to use your magic and devil energy together, you'll truly become a formidable foe…"
"Huh? Using them together? That's pretty hard isn't it?"
"Indeed. It requires a lot of concentration to use both… But if it's a simpleton like you, your mind might be empty enough to accomplish such a feat."
"Gee, thanks!"
She's not complimenting you, Komekko-chan.
Tiamat pointed up at the dragons and said,
"I wish to see your true potential, devil monkey. Go and deal with my subordinates. I'll handle things down here in case they get through."
"Heh… It's time for the Devil to shine!"
Komekko-chan manifested the Hoost wings and flew up to fight the dragons.
We watched as she laughed while fighting the dragons, stabbing and cutting them down with her glowing sword.
She appeared as a red lightning bolt in the sky, releasing crescent slashes of crimson energy whenever she attacked.
The rest of the city saw her aerial battle, as she wielded the red sword that could cut through dragon scale. After the battle, Komekko-chan would receive the title 'Red Queen'.
…
…
The dragons eventually surrendered. They were prideful, but they weren't stupid.
Their leader had already ordered them to stand down, yet they were still fighting. Eventually they came to their senses and stopped fighting.
The soldiers cheered, experiencing their first victory on a real battlefield. Since they had the Moguninin armor, there were no fatalities, even if some elemental breaths got through Tiamat and reached the soldiers. The prototype armor was a success.
The Crimson Demons were also celebrating.
"Even mighty dragons can't stand against my ancient magic… Then again, I am the secret descendant of an evil dragon. Perhaps it's time for me to return to my original form?"
"Fufu… The dragon bane sorcery that was handed down to me by my ancestors proved effective. The legends are true… Huh? Very well, I'll accept my destiny as a dragon slayer…"
"Heh… I didn't even have to go all out… The Arch Devil that is sealed in my left eye is thirsty for blood, but these dragons aren't worthy of my true power…"
They were posing and saying all kinds of nonsensical lines. Even Arue-sensei and Rueka were getting lost in their own fantasies.
Meanwhile, I saw that the soldiers were lifting Iris up and tossing her into the air.
"Thank you for your guidance, Iris-sama!"
"Please continue to be our general from now on!"
"...You do realize I'm the queen of another country, right?"
Iris said, as she let them toss her up. She didn't seem to mind the praise.
Tiamat was talking to Komekko-chan, who was gloating about her victory. I went up to them and joined them.
"The Devil is victorious! Even this so-called dragon goddess can't stand up against me!"
"Hmm… Damn devil monkey…! Teasing a dragon goddess! You need correction!"
I stopped them before they could start fighting again.
"Alright, Tiamat, I hope you'll pull through with your promise."
She frowned at me and said,
"...You dare insinuate that I'd ever break a promise? I'll have my troops retreat immediately. I'll also withdraw my alliance with Maouko."
I didn't want to bring up the fact that she was essentially breaking an old promise to maintain a new one. Taking advantage of this, I said,
"Say, why don't you join our side?"
"Nice try, monkey prince. I won't betray my old allies. Did you think I was that easy to manipulate?"
I chuckled weakly while she gave me a glare.
"So… You want to build up your nation through peaceful methods, while avoiding war and conquest, huh?"
She said, bringing up what I said earlier.
"Yup. Does that seem stupid to you?"
"Of course it does. I'm the goddess of all dragons. The only way we demonstrate our power is through might and conquest. We were given wings so we could stand above all. We have claws and fangs, and when we breathe, we release flames and storms. We were built for destruction."
"Well, we humans have none of those things. Instead we have hands so we can do this."
I reached over and groped her chest. She looked down at them.
"...You're an idiot. But you're interesting."
She said, while chuckling.
"Hehe… There's lots of beautiful things in the world. It would be a shame to destroy them."
I looked up at the floating islands of the dragons, majestic landmasses that defied gravity. They appeared as terrifying siege units while we were fighting, but now I could see the beauty in them.
"Don't you want to conquer all the nations and make these beautiful things yours? Women, treasures, natural resources… You can have all these things."
"Which is why my method is better. I want to preserve those things. War will just ruin them. Even if I win, what's the point when everything is burning down in flames?"
She looked up at her own landmasses, joining me in admiring them.
"But that's all we know. We can't create things like you humans. We can only destroy and steal."
"Then watch over us. You have those wings. Protect us and we'll show you beauty like you've never seen before."
I said, smiling and patting her head.
She was surprised by the gesture. She appeared angry at first, but her anger gave way to a smile.
"...You're an interesting one, monkey prince."
She walked away from me, moving her head away from my head. She turned to her followers and said,
"Oi! It's time to go! If you disobey my orders again, you'll regret it!"
"Y-Yes, Tiamat-sama…"
The dragons lowered their heads and followed Tiamat back to her castle. She didn't turn around to say goodbye. I watched her hopping up the landmasses, ascending to the castle above.
The dragons flew up, forming a parade behind her. Those of us who were stuck on the ground watched them fly up, until they were only specks in our vision.
"Alright… I guess we'll have to address the city… Sigh…"
I said, going back to my own castle.
Since this attack happened during the festival, lots of citizens almost got caught up in the crossfire.
I was fully prepared to deal with the consequences…
I went up to the main balcony where announcements to the people were usually made. I saw that the crowd had already gathered before the courtyard.
I took the voice amplifying magic item and prepared to make a bunch of excuses and beg for forgiveness. However, before I could say anything…
"Wooohh! Revi-sama! You saved us!"
"Where's Iris-sama the dragon slayer?! She saved us again!"
"The Crimson Demons are really useful, huh?!"
"Yeah, one of them was especially amazing! She was flying up in the sky and fighting the dragons with her sword!"
"Our soldiers were competent for once!"
Instead of boos and criticisms, I received cheers and adulation.
Komekko-chan rushed past me and grabbed the voice amplifying magic item.
"Muhahaha! I am Komekko! The Number One femme fatale of the Crimson Demon village! Remember my name as your savior today!"
The crowd cheered louder, while Komekko-chan began to take credit for the whole thing.
Part 5
After the defeat of Tiamat's army, the celebrations commence with even more enthusiasm than earlier.
More food and drinks were put out and the army, who was competent for once, were receiving praises from the people.
As for the general who ran away, he was captured for trial for his desertion.
Speaking of officials who are being tried for criminal actions…
"T-This can't be happening to me?!"
Lord Rickford, who fell for the trap I set out for him, was thrown to the dungeon for his betrayal. All the officials who were under his payroll, which my spies have been sniffing out until it was time to capture them, were also thrown in jail.
I patted Sonia on the back for her work.
"Hahaha! You seriously fell for that, huh, old man?! Who's laughing now?! You were acting so smug earlier, weren't you?! For your information, I knew about your stupid plan from the start!"
"F-From the start…?! Damn brat! I should have assassinated you when I had the chance!"
"But you didn't do so… Your loss!"
I laughed some more while mocking him.
Sonia gave me a blank look and said,
"You're really enjoying this, huh? So, what are you gonna do to him? Public execution? Torture?"
"Hiiii?!"
Komekko-chan, who was watching since she wanted to see Lord Rickford suffer, raised her hand excitedly.
"Oooh! Oooh! Uncle Vanir knows someone who's really good at torture! A devil named Maxwell!"
"A d-devil?!"
Lord Rickford was practically foaming at the mouth as he had a panic attack.
"Hehe… No, I have something else planned for him and his cronies!"
I took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Lord Rickford.
"...What's this?"
"It's a geas contract. If you don't know what that is, when two parties agree on something and sign that contract, and one of them breaks the agreement, they die a very painful death."
"...You're gonna make me sign a geas contract?! But that will make me your slave?!"
"Precisely! I'm gonna have you work for the kingdom until you die! You're supposed to do this kind of work, anyway, but you and your lazy, fatass friends have just been stealing funds from the kingdom instead of actually working. Well, now you're going to pay the kingdom back with your hard work!"
"Nooo?! I'd rather die?!"
"You'd rather die than do hard work?! I swear… This generation is…"
"I'm older than you, you know?!"
"Exactly, I'm dissing your no good, senile generation! Get to work, you lazy bum!"
I snapped my fingers. Several guards came to make him sign the geas contract. After they finished doing so, they brought him to an office to start on his paperwork.
His first task was to organize and fund the efforts for repairing the castle wall that got damaged.
After I dealt with the undesirable task of dealing with those disgraced nobles, I went to my next order of business.
I arranged a meeting with Vanir. Since Komekko-chan and Sonia were with me, I brought them over to meet with him. Since Sonia had the ability to use every artifact, it would be best if she came along, anyway.
I wanted to ask Vanir about the magic sword Komekko-chan awakened from its dormant form.
What was once a toy sword became a legendary weapon capable of easily cutting through dragon scale.
When we arrived at Vanir's store, he was yelling at Wiz-san.
"You useless storekeeper! You're somehow even more useless than that useless goddess back in Axel! Why are you giving discounts now?! Don't you know that everyone in this city is filthy rich?!"
"B-But, those men were dressed in rags and said that they were very poor!"
"Use your brain for a second, or did that rot along with the rest of your undead body?! Why would beggars wearing rags have enough money to buy magic items, even on a discount! And they bought in bulk! They were just greedy merchants disguised as beggars, you half-wit!"
I knocked on the door to get their attention.
"...Is this a bad time?"
Vanir switched back to his usual self.
"Muhaha! Thou hath come to moi for guidance! This won't be free, be warned!"
"Yeah, sure. Here."
I dumped a huge bag of coins on the store counter. They both silently stared at it.
"Um… H-How can this lowly devil help you, Revi-sama?"
"That character change is too drastic!"
I got unnerved by Vanir's sudden change in attitude.
Was the state of their store really that bad?
"I told you that I wanted information on the magic sword Komekko-chan found, right?"
Komekko-chan held out the sword, which was in its toy form.
"Yeah! By the way, I named it Devil Sword Dande…"
The Crimson Demon naming sense always managed to confuse me.
"So, is it some lost artifact from a fallen hero?"
"Hm? Not really. Moi sees that it is a failed experiment from a certain inventor that hailed from the country of Norse…"
"Eh? Wasn't that the old name of Regina-sama's country?!"
The country of Norse, now known as Uroburos. Regina-sama said that there were many factors that led to its downfall, but one of those reasons was that it was razed to the ground by the out of control creations of a certain inventor.
"It's that same inventor?!"
Vanir nodded and said,
"Indeed! The reason why I say it's a failed invention is because… It was originally supposed to be used by the Crimson Demon clan! It was made for them, actually!"
"...Huh? Then how is a failure? Komekko-chan can use it, so doesn't that mean that the weapon is being used as intended?"
"Fufu… You underestimate the delusions of that clan! You see, they actually fooled themselves into thinking that their namesake had an element of reality in it! They said things like, 'I had demon blood all along' and 'devil power courses through my veins'. For that reason, they asked the inventor to create a weapon that awakens and amplifies the devil energy within them…"
I understood what Vanir was getting at.
Based on the information I got from the Moguninin facility, Crimson Demons are nothing more than enhanced human beings who have superior magic powers. They asked for additions like glowing red eyes, but that was just a cosmetic alteration.
"It was considered a failed weapon since no one from the Crimson Demon clan actually has any innate devil energy, huh?"
"Indeed… But this child over here is a different story, of course!"
Komekko-chan grinned and stuck her chest out.
"Muhahaha! Praise this Devil! I knew I was special!"
"Indeed you are, my apprentice!"
"You've raised this little Devil well, Uncle Vanir!"
The two of them started doing a weird victory dance.
I got the explanation about the weapon. As for how it got to Elroad, the Crimson Demons probably decided it was worthless and sold it to a merchant. However, since no one was able to activate and use it for its original purpose, it kept changing hands until it ended up here, in Elroad.
And with that, we solved the mystery of the Devil Sword Dande.
As for its true powers, Komekko-chan was more than happy to try out her shiny new toy in the practice grounds.
Part 6
Since it was the perfect time to do so, and I had effectively gotten rid of all my opposition in court, I prepared my own coronation.
After a short ceremony, I sat on the throne and as they lowered the crown on my head.
Iris, Komekko-chan and Regina-sama received crowns as well to show to the audience. I wanted to establish them as my wives to show to the people. Everyone else who were my concubines were given tiaras to wear.
When we came out to the crowd, the announcer was proclaiming our titles.
"Revi-sama, King of Elroad! Iris-sama, Queen of Belzerg! Regina-sama, Goddess of Uroburos! And Komekko-sama, Queen of Elroad!"
The crowd was surprised that Komekko-chan was announced as the Queen of Elroad, but they received the news with cries of joy and praise towards Komekko-chan!
"All hail the Red Queen!"
The crowd started cheering as they chanted the title they had given her, Red Queen.
Komekko-chan was shocked to hear this as well. She turned to me and said,
"Ehh?! I'm actually the queen of your kingdom now?!"
She looked at Iris, perhaps thinking that she would be upset by the news. Iris said,
"It was my idea, don't worry. I can't abandon my title as queen of my own country, can I? There's a spot open for the queen of Elroad, and I wouldn't have anyone else but you taking it."
Komekko-chan didn't have her usual arrogant smirk anymore. She actually looked touched by the gesture.
Yet another feast and more celebrations followed after the coronation. It was expensive, having consecutives feasts, but it was important to keep the morale high as much as possible.
I noticed that Vanir predicted Komekko-chan's popularity and started selling Komekko plushies to the crowd.
After the feast ended, I met up with the council members, who now had new members.
Looking very nervous to be there was the village chief. He was there as a representative of the Crimson Demon clan. Joining him as new members were young nobles who I interviewed for the job. There were some prominent merchants in the council, and there were even some peasants who proved that they were a cut above the rest.
I wanted to do away with the idea that only those who had the birthright could climb up in society and become decision makers. When choosing new council members, I made sure to prioritize talent and results.
"Alright, thank you for gathering, everyone!"
One of the peasants said,
"So, what are you planning to do, Revi?"
One of the original council members slammed his hands on the table.
"Fool! Do not speak unless the king has given you permission! Also, don't casually call him by his name!"
I raised my hand and said,
"Relax, I don't care about that stuff. You guys can speak freely, otherwise, what's the point of having a council? You're here to give me ideas and new perspectives. But for the sake of decorum, I'll have to ask you to call me 'Revi-sama' or 'your majesty', at least."
I said, while giving the peasant a kind but firm gaze. He nodded his head in understanding.
The council member who spoke out was happy with the outcome and nodded as well.
I made sure that both sides received a warning. It wasn't like I favored the peasants over those who got the position because of birthright.
The council members who remained are those who weren't influenced by the corrupt actions of Rickford and the other disgraced nobles. That meant that they were loyal to the throne. They were valuable assets who should be treated as such.
"As for your question about what we'll do now… Well, why don't we officially go to war with the Demon King army, hm?"
The room went quiet at my words.
The council member who spoke against the peasant said,
"T-That's… Forgive me, your majesty, isn't that rather hasty? We only just survived an invasion…"
"And we didn't receive significant damage. Our morale is at an all time high. Now is the time to strike. We'll never have such good conditions again. Besides, there's a strategic purpose to this."
I pointed to the map. There were various pieces out, representing Belzerg, the Demon King army, and Elroad.
"This information was only given to a select few, but now that the snakes are gone, I'll tell everyone now. We've successfully been sneaking in supplies to Belzerg through a secret tunnel system we found."
"I-Is that so?!"
I nodded and took out a pointing stick to trace the delivery routes we had been using.
"The Demon King army doesn't know this. They think that the capital will fall at any moment, and that everyone inside is starving and looting stores. Even if they try to spy from overhead, they will only see actors that were instructed to play as beggars on the street."
Since I saw that some individuals from the Demon King army could fly above and observe the capital, like that angel, I made sure to instruct Claire-san about ways to deceive them.
"If they think that the capital will fall soon, then…"
"That's right. They'll go all out on the offensive and risk getting pushed back. And they will be pushed back. We've started to send over our new mass produced weapons and armor to Belzerg."
Now that the crossbow and Moguninin armor was tested in an actual battle, I felt confident about sending them over to Belzerg in their efforts to push back against the Demon King army.
"The Demon King army will be caught off guard, thinking that it'll be an easy battle. They'll be pushed back here…"
I pointed to an area, a flatland caught between two large hills.
"The Belzerg army has been ordered to keep driving the Demon King army here. Once they're caught in the flatlands, we'll pincer them from behind…"
I moved the pieces representing Elroad to one of the hills, showing the Demon King army caught in between Elroad and Belzerg.
"...I see! If this works out, can't we finish them off in one fell swoop?!"
"Ah, no, not really. They have a fallen angel, after all. Our army can't win against that guy."
"T-Then, why is your majesty planning to go to war if you know that?!"
I grinned and gestured to myself.
"Leave the angel to us. I've got the Queen of Belzerg who wants revenge, and the Queen of Elroad who's dying to test out her new toy."
"I-I see… So this battle will depend on whether or not Revi-sama and his party can defeat the angel…"
"Yeah, but even if we beat the angel, I don't think the Demon King army will lose. This whole operation is only for taking out the strongest guy."
I took out a piece that represents the angel and placed it on the map.
"...Is it really wise to invest this much resources for one individual? We'll be showing our hand, too, revealing our supply route to Belzerg."
"We don't really have any other option. Once we kill the angel, both sides will retreat. The Demon King army will be forced to chase one side, or else they'll be split apart. If this Maouko is as competent as advertised, she won't do that."
I made the pieces move on the map, with Belzerg and Elroad retreating back to their territories.
"...But if Maouko chases one side, the other side can go in for a pincer."
"No, because she'll focus her efforts into heavily injuring one side while we fight. We have to assume she's already thinking what we're thinking in that scenario. When she's surrounded, she'll focus her efforts on dealing as much damage as possible to one side, so she can chase them and finish them off later on."
I knocked over half of our own pieces.
The Crimson Demon village chief raised an eyebrow and said,
"Um… Why is your majesty implying that we will be the one to lose the most pieces? I get that Belzerg has more talent and experience than our military but…"
"You said it yourself. There's no way our weak army can outlast Belzerg. The Demon King army will undoubtedly chase us."
"T-This plan only benefits Belzerg! They'll pursue the Demon King army and take all the glory!"
"Not necessarily. Maouko will finish us off in one fell swoop, then she can use the morale boost to rally her troops and finish off Belzerg's side."
"If your majesty knows that much, then why are you still planning to go to war?!"
Since the future that Vanir saw was one filled with doom, I knew that going to war would just lead to our downfall.
After all, he saw other futures where we all lost to the Demon King army on the battlefield. They were simply too strong to face head on.
If we wanted to break free from this doomed timeline, we needed to be a bit more creative than our alternate timeline counterparts.
"Don't worry, I have a plan!"
"A-And what would that plan be?"
I grinned and pointed to Uroburos. Since it wasn't part of our official maps, I had to write the name of the city and draw a shitty sketch on the map.
"Alright… Listen carefully…"
I told them about my plan to end this stupid war in one move.