Amon was currently buried in a number of piles of paper. Depending on the angle one looked from, he wouldn't even be visible.
But Amon wasn't studying for tests or anything like that, though he'd still have to do that later. All that was the work that had accumulated while he was in the Devil World. But it wasn't Amon's work.
"Aaah~ that was a good nap. Oh, hey, Amon. How's work been going?"
"Do your own work! I still have to study after this!"
"Don't say it like that. You also want to become Devil King, don't you? Think of this as getting experience, or getting qualified for the job."
Said the Devil King who always relegated his job to someone else.
Needless to say, the work Amon was doing was actually Barbatos' work. He'd done just enough to keep things going while Amon was away, but now that Amon had returned Barbatos could go back to dumping it all on him.
Even so, this was a lot more than usual. There's no way this much would have accumulated in roughly 2 months. And it was intentional. Barbatos wanted to keep Amon busy, and Amon had already noticed that.
"I don't get it."
"If it's something you can't understand then I probably can't help either. Depending on what it is, just throw it away and pretend you lost it."
"I'm not talking about the work. I'm talking about why you don't want me involved in the Devil King War. Also, don't just throw your work away like it's nothing!"
Despite being Barbatos' adopted son, Amon had taken little part in the Devil King War so far. That wasn't unusual for a Triumph Candidate, but it's not the kind of person that Amon is. When given a task, Amon immediately gets to it.
But he hadn't been able to do that for the Devil King War. Right before announcing the Devil VS Lovers Festival, Barbatos had sent Amon away to the Devil World, and didn't tell him about anything that was happening while he was away. Once Amon was back and wanted to investigate Lost, Barbatos tried to drown him in work.
But none of that made sense. If anything, shouldn't Barbatos want to support Amon? Yet here he was actively getting in the way.
"Hmm, let's see if I can explain my line of thought… Amon's strong, and with Fool's Arcana you have real chances of winning the Devil King War. If you were to fight with all you got, I think only Marchosias and Fleminar would be able to fight back, but if you made them underestimate you then you could seriously win the Devil King War in record time."
This assessment wasn't incorrect. If Barbatos hadn't interfered with Amon, this Devil King War would already be nearing its end, if it hadn't ended already.
"Then why?"
Barbatos had recognized that Amon could not just win the Devil King War, but even do so in record time. That made Amon even more confused. Should that be Barbatos' desired result? It's not like they're in a hurry, but quickly ending the Devil King War so they can start their next preparations should be the best decision, right?
"You know the answer to that yourself. Let's say I didn't get in your way and I let you fight from the start, what would you have done?"
"I would…"
Amon hadn't really thought about it so far.
If, rather than being sent to the Devil World, Amon stayed for the Devil VS Lovers Festival, he would have certainly taken Yuuto's side. Not only did Amon personally prefer Yuuto over Ibiza, for Amon's plans, Ibiza had about the same worth of a bent coin.
Maybe Amon wouldn't have done anything at the start, but as things developed Amon would have surely gotten fed up and killed Ibiza. That would mean that his fight with Yuuto wouldn't have happened, and in turn Yuuto wouldn't have gotten Cutting Connect or Infinite Lovers.
Amon would have also not let Yuuto lose precious time trying to save Reina if he had been around during that. If the situation was different then Amon would have even helped out, but knowing what he does know, Amon didn't value Reina's life over Yuuto getting stronger.
Also, Amon would have also noticed Lost's movements earlier. It's hard to say what exactly would have happened without knowing Lost's full strength or objective, but a fight was more than likely. Death's Group would probably not have been formed, at least not with its current members, since Amon would have already gotten rid of the more useless Candidates.
Thinking about this for a little bit, Amon understood what Barbatos meant, or at least, he thought he did. For one, Yuuto would be weaker if Amon had intervened. But that wasn't a problem as far as Amon was concerned.
Luckily, Yuuto's powers are quite convenient. He gets stronger by doing perverted stuff. So long as he managed to survive the Devil King War and showed he could be useful, Amon would have no problem giving all the women of both Human and Devil Worlds to Yuuto.
Of course, there were also the other points, but they were very minor, as far as Amon was concerned.
"So what? If someone's useless for the fight that's after this Devil King War ends, and they also get in the one of someone who can be useful, what's the problem with getting rid of them? It would make everything move quicker, and we'd be more prepared to fight when the time came."
"Amon… I get it. Let's do it like this then: my way has been doing fine so far, so let's just let things take their course for now. If, at some point, my way stops working and yours seems better, then we do things your way. I won't stop you and I might even help. Deal?"
Amon didn't expect this. No matter what, as long as he was Devil King, no one could force Barbatos to do anything. Amon expected his complaints to fall of deaf ears, but it seemed Barbatos had listened to him.
Of course, Amon would rather start working on what he viewed as important as soon as possible, but again Barbatos can't really be forced to do anything. Amon knew to quit when he was ahead.
"Alright, deal. Just don't regret not listening to me before that point."
"Heh. Anyway, you go back to work then. I'm going to go find something to watch."
In truth, Barbatos understood Amon's points, and it was hard to disagree with them, since he was technically right. But something inside Barbatos told him that route would only end up backfiring on them.
He regretted not learning how to use Star's power better, but it couldn't be helped. This bad feeling and knowing that Amon was prone to make harsh decisions on this subject was all Barbatos had to work with, so he'd have to make due. Barbatos couldn't let Amon do as he pleased just yet.
"Huh? Wait, this wasn't part of the deal! Come here do your own work!"
"Me doing my work was never part of the deal either."
In the end, Amon was just a Candidate and Barbatos the Devil King. Amon would be stuck slaving away until Barbatos' methods were proven wrong.
At night, in some bar.
Ginsei Academy's oldest student, currently at 35 years old, Marchosias Oinomori was drinking. Of course, given his age, he hardly looked like a student, even in his uniform.
This was a bar he'd been regularly showing up at for the last 20 years. Ever since his defeat 20 years ago, Marchosias would show up almost daily. It's not like he came here to get drunk, it was only a place of memories for him.
"Oh, Oinomori-kun. Mind if I sit with you?"
"Suit yourself."
Fleminar had shown up. She hadn't known this was a bar Marchosias used to frequent, but it was a nice coincidence that she met someone she knew. Not that they were especially close before or after the previous Devil King War, but they also weren't complete strangers.
She sat down on the same table as Marchosias and made her order. Unlike Marchosias, who was there to drink, Fleminar was there just to grab something to eat, but she imagined he'd enjoy the company.
"… Has Oinomori-kun been studying for the tests? I can help you study if you're having trouble."
"You do know that the reason I'm still a student is because I wanted to take part in the Devil King War right? You can't possibly think I've actually failed the same grade for 20 years. … But I guess it was meaningless, since you were also chosen again."
"I thought I'd make the offer just in case. I just wanted to start a conversation."
Both Fleminar and Marchosias are survivors of the previous Devil King War, but they weren't much more than acquaintances on a personal level.
They also had chosen to follow completely different paths after the previous Devil King War. Fleminar eventually graduated from Ginsei Academy and continued her life. Marchosias meanwhile decided to stay in hopes he could enter the next Devil King War, so he focused on becoming stronger for those 20 years, never 'moving' from where he was, since he didn't know the criteria to be chosen as a Candidate.
"But this is a good chance. I want to talk about the current Devil King War."
"I'm listening."
"Let's be honest, we're the only ones with any chance of actually winning this. No matter how quickly those children get stronger, they'll never be able to close a gap of 20 years. That means you're the only one who can fight me, and I'm the only one who can fight you."
Fleminar understood where Marchosias was coming from. It was logically correct, but she also felt it wasn't entirely right.
Marchosias wasn't really paying attention to the events of the Devil King War. Similarly, Fleminar wasn't looking into everything, but she was more aware than Marchosias, which is how she knew about rumors such as Death's Group.
That's why she thought that, while they are clearly the strongest Candidates, they could still be defeated if they lowered their guard enough.
"I want to ask you if you have any interest in the Devil King position. My only goal is to fight Barbatos, so I'm willing to concede that to you if you want."
"I lost interest in becoming Devil King at the end of the previous war. Also, it's bold of you to assume you'd be the one conceding anything, Oinomori-kun. I seem to remember there was no winner between the 2 of us 20 years ago."
"For 20 years, I've been training to defeat a Devil King. I'm clearly stronger now."
"Would you like to test that?"
Despite their words, it didn't seem like a fight was going to break out. They were both grown adults, so they could take a few insults without resorting to violence.
It was a very valid question though. They were both much stronger than 20 years ago, but who was the strongest between them?
"But that's troubling. I didn't want to deal with being Devil King, but I suppose there's no other choice."
Fleminar didn't really understand why Marchosias was hellbent on defeating Barbatos. As far as she knew, they knew each other before becoming Candidates and were even friends. But maybe that's the reason.
In any case, just like Marchosias, Fleminar didn't really feel like winning the Devil King War and becoming Devil King. In that case, maybe she should try to find someone suitable and give them her support, so that the power doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
Fleminar's food arrived at that moment. She began to eat, so silence settled for a few minutes.
But then Marchosias remembered something he'd heard earlier today. He wasn't much for conversation, but it was a strange rumor and this was a good chance, so he figured he'd ask Fleminar, since it was directly related to her.
"By the way, is it true you've been getting closer to Lovers' Candidate recently?"
"Hm? Yes, I suppose you could say I've been getting close to Morioka-kun."
Ever since she helped deal with Reina's problem, Yuuto has been occasionally talking with Fleminar, as well as helping her give her lessons. Naturally, by spending time together like this, the 2 of them have been getting closer.
But Fleminar didn't understand what Marchosias was getting at. If he was going to say Fleminar shouldn't speak with Yuuto just because he was human, she'd pick her plate and sit elsewhere.
"It's just that today I heard you defeated him in a sex game, so I wanted to know if it's true. Defeating a human is nothing much, but defeating Lovers in sex is quite a feat."
"Aah… that's a false rumor. When I met Morioka-kun today, he already looked drained. Actually, why is there even such a rumor?"
Fleminar had asked for Yuuto's help today, but he looked dead tired, as if his very soul had been drained. Knowing he was Lovers, everyone assumed he'd simply had sex until his stamina gave out. Fleminar assumed he'd overdone it with his Cards.
Of course, no one knew that the real reason Yuuto was like that was because his Healing Lovers were suspended until after the tests were done, so all he could do was study. All that left him like his soul had been drained.
"I see. I thought it was strange when Lovers was defeated in a sex battle of all things."
Seeming satisfied with himself, Marchosias asked for his tab to be closed. It's not like he wanted to get drunk, so this much was already enough.
"I suppose I'll see you at the finals, if nowhere else before that. Until then."
After saying those words as goodbye, Marchosias left. Fleminar almost said "if we're not taken out before that" but decided to keep that to herself.
Fleminar finished eating her meal and then paid her bill. She also decided it was about time to call it a day.
"... Well, I guess I can take on 1 more project while I have all this free time."
Fleminar decided she'd start viewing the other Candidates as possible Devil Kings. If nothing else, she could avoid cases similar to Ibiza. And besides, it's not like she's especially busy anyway.
So Fleminar started choosing who she'd support as the next Devil King.
