The Demon King Seems to Conquer the World - Chapter 294: Meanwhile, at the Royal Castle*

New chapter of The Demon King is out! (1/2 chapters)

Myaro Gudanvier finished her work in the royal castle’s office that day. After gathering the documents with a light tap, she put them away in the desk drawer.

“Irene, please bring me some tea.” (Myaro)

“Yes. I’m afraid it has become lukewarm, but please forgive me.” (Irene)

While Irene was preparing the tea, Myaro tidied up the scattered stationery on her desk, returning everything to its proper place. In the fireplace, flames were burning more intensely than usual. She was burning documents that she didn’t want others to see.

“…Phew.” (Myaro)

As she sighed and leaned back in her chair, Irene brought the tea. When she took a sip of the tea placed on her desk, it tasted unpleasant, perhaps because it was too cold and the extraction hadn’t gone well. However, it was convenient for drinking quickly. Irene sat in the guest chair and drank her tea as well.

“Irene, I’m sorry for getting you involved. You could have run away.” (Myaro)

“No, it would have felt wrong to leave you behind, Myaro-sama. Besides, it’s not as if we’ve been sentenced to death.” (Irene)

“…But we might suffer. Those people are awful.” (Myaro)

“I’m prepared for that. Well, as long as we’re alive, we can manage.” (Irene)

“Haa…” (Myaro)

Myaro let out a deep sigh.

“Honestly, what a foolish thing they’ve done.” (Myaro)

As soon as Myaro finished her tea, the door was violently kicked open, and knights in different uniforms burst in.

“You’re Myaro Gudanvier, right?” (??)

A man with a sneering, smug expression stood at the front.

“You must be Jano Ek. I’ve heard rumors about you.” (Myaro)

Jano Ek was a man who had worked in Suomi as a representative of the Hou Household, which had developed there as a base for the Hou Company. He was the nephew of Lakune Ek, who had committed suicide during the succession dispute following the death of Yuri’s uncle, Gouk. To preserve the prominent Ek Household’s name, he was allowed to remain in Suomi as a magistrate, but he was soon removed from his position after Yuri took power. Although he argued extensively, citing his excellent governance record, he was ultimately ousted by Yuri’s authority. While his governance had indeed been successful, it was entirely due to Suomi’s development as a base for the Hou Company, not his own accomplishments.

“Hmph. Those witches sipping tea! How disgusting!” (Jano)

Jano Ek swung his spear, smashing the tea set on the table in front of Irene onto the floor. The sound of shattered porcelain echoed through the room in an instant. Jano Ek stomped on the broken tea set with his boots as he walked toward Myaro.

“Hey!” (Jano)

He grabbed Myaro by the chest and lifted her up.

“Don’t think you’ll remain in one piece. I’ll throw you in the dungeon and make you regret being born a woman.” (Jano)

“What do you think you’re doing?” (Myaro)

Myaro furrowed her brow in confusion as she spoke.

“Hmph, it seems you don’t understand your situation. Do you think someone’s going to rescue you?” (Jano)

“No, I’m just wondering what your plan is.” (Myaro)

Good grief, he’s as incompetent as the rumors suggest. This is going to be troublesome.

Myaro thought.

“Even if she’s a woman, it’s rude of her to take the collar of someone who has graduated from the Knight’s Academy so carelessly.” (Myaro)

As Myaro said this, she trapped the arm that grabbed her chest with both her arms and forcefully twisted his elbow joint the wrong way. As Jano Ek’s posture crumbled, she slipped behind him, pulling out a dagger and pressing it against his carotid artery.

“Alright, everyone, please don’t move. Jano-san, you understand what will happen if you move, right?” (Myaro)

The dagger was pressed deeply into his neck. Even the slightest sideways movement would slice through his flesh, causing a fatal wound. Escaping without moving his neck even slightly would require a master’s skill.

“W-wait!” (Jano)

“You shouldn’t talk. This blade just came back from sharpening, so the vibrations from your voice alone will make it sink in.” (Myaro)

Hearing this, Jano stopped talking.

“Don’t worry. I don’t expect you to let me, the Prime Minister, escape with just one hostage. I only have one demand, and it’s a simple one.” (Myaro)

Then, Myaro stated her request.

“Call Liao Rube here.” (Myaro)

—

After a while, Liao arrived.

“You’ve finally arrived. Yes, thank you for your efforts.” (Myaro)

Myaro removed the dagger from Jano Ek’s neck and shoved him away with her whole body.

“You bastard!!” (Jano)

His face flushed red with rage, Jano clenched his fist and swung at her.

This guy is hopeless.

Myaro mentally dropped her evaluation of the foolish man in front of her to the lowest possible rank.

As she dodged, she slashed with the dagger that had just been against his neck, cutting a deep line across Jano Ek’s fist.

He’d already been beaten once, and now he was attacking someone who was already holding a dagger. His brain must have been stuffed with sponge. His face was also dyed bright red like a lie. Once he was overcome with emotion, he was probably the type who couldn’t think rationally at all. He reminded Myaro of an octopus that had been soaked in vinegar.

Jano Ek pulled his fist in pain and seemed frustrated that nothing was going his way.

“Damn it, hey! Kill this woman!” (Jano)

He glared at his subordinates and shouted.

“What the hell are you doing?!” (Liao)

Suddenly, Liao delivered a strong kick from the side, sending Jano crashing into the wall.

“I ordered you to treat Myaro Gudanvier with respect! What are you doing?!” (Ryao)

“Liao-dono, but this woman is…!” (Jano)

“Are you saying you won’t obey my orders?!” (Liao)

Liao drew his dagger and pointed it straight at Jano Ek.

“Then I will execute you for disobedience! Don’t think you can get away with ignoring my orders!” (Liao)

“…Tch.” (Jano)

“It seems you need to be reminded of the hierarchy here. I’ll summon you again later. Until then, patrol the castle town!” (Liao)

“…Understood.” (Jano)

Jano clicked his tongue at Myaro before reluctantly leaving the room. While bringing his subordinates along with him, his dissatisfaction clear on his face.

“This place is fine now. You all leave as well.” (Liao)

“Yes, Milord!” (Knights)

Liao ordered the Rube Household’s soldiers to leave, and the room was left with just three people.

“Good grief… the road ahead looks tough, doesn’t it, Liao-san?” (Myaro)

Myaro said this as she sat down in her favorite chair. Though she had plenty of resentment and complaints to hurl at Liao, the first words out of her mouth were surprisingly gentle. Even Myaro was surprised by herself.

Irene got up from her seat, took out a broom and dustpan from the cleaning supplies closet, and began to clean up the broken pieces of the tea set that were scattered on the floor. Liao took her place and sat down heavily on the guest sofa.

“…Indeed. What a bunch of them.” (Liao)

Liao rested one elbow on his knee and placed his fingertips against his forehead, clearly troubled.

While I thought it served him right, I couldn’t help but think it must be hard for him.

“Even if you had to team up, wasn’t there someone a bit more decent? That guy was disobeying orders like it was second nature.” (Myaro)

Needless to say, the military is an organization with an abnormal emphasis on hierarchy and obedience to orders. The strictness is such that military law, separate from general law, is necessary.

Why is such severity required? It’s because, without it, war is impossible. The order to attack the enemy always carries the implicit nature of being exposed to the enemy’s attack. There’s always the fear of death, and in reality, the risk of death exists.

When about to charge into a death trap, no one is without fear. If soldiers were given the option to flee, the act of war itself would be impossible. And this is something any commander would know. It’s one of the basics of war. However, Jano Ek seems to be disregarding it.

“I don’t know how he became one of your allies, but if he disregards even the basic rules taught in the first year of the Knights Academy, he’s no different from a bandit.” (Myaro)

“I understand. He’s a hastily formed ally we just teamed up with yesterday. I’ll tighten the reins soon.” (Liao)

“We’ll see.” (Myaro)

Myaro frowned in discomfort, sighed, and leaned his weight back against the chair. Recently, Irene had been warning me that she was sighing more frequently, but today she was sighing more than usual.

I’m already so busy with work every day, but now a whole new level of trouble has piled up on me like a landslide, and I feel like I’m suffocating in the dirt. What on earth could this man in front of me have done, why did he start doing something so stupid?

“Why did you stay? You had a chance to escape, didn’t you?” (Liao)

“I stayed to prevent those bandit-like people from destroying the bureaucratic system that Yuri and I built. If I had left it alone, they might have trampled over the fledgling bureaucrats I trained and set fire to the castle.” (Myaro)

Liao’s Rube Household army suddenly invaded the border without prior notice and rapidly marched towards Sibyaku, where they confronted the royal guards near the northern area where a great battle once took place. However, the bigger issue was not the Rube Household army, which was relatively easy to monitor, but the ragtag army of former knights who had infiltrated Sibyaku’s city center.

Problematic knights who had been expelled from the Hou Household, such as Jano Ek, and former members of the Boff and Noza Households who had held certain rank, were staying in the city of Sibyaku with their retainers, and they had all risen up in rebellion. Since they were commoners, there was no law prohibiting them from staying in Sibyaku. Though they were considered troublesome domestic elements, it was thought that, in the long run, they would assimilate with the populace, especially if they ran out of money and had no choice but to work.

Rebellions by such rogue knights had occurred sporadically in the past and were always easily suppressed. They had been so easy to deal with that no one had considered the need for proactive measures against them. This rebellion, too, could have been easily crushed by the royal guards under normal circumstances, but the Rube Household army’s presence tied down the northern forces, allowing the rebellion to erupt. As a result, the nearly defenseless royal castle was thrown into a crisis.

While burning documents related to the New World, Myaro commanded the small number of royal guards stationed at the castle and initiated a defensive battle. Later, she led a limited offensive to recapture the Eagle cage.

Myaro had the opportunity to escape during that time but chose to remain at the royal castle.

The bureaucratic system she and Yuri had built still remained intact in the castle. If she let the political affairs fall into the hands of the ignorant beasts before her, there was a real chance they would massacre and ravage the castle.

The bureaucratic system was the organization responsible for managing the affairs necessary to run the country. A small village might not need bureaucrats, but when it comes to ruling vast lands in a large nation, it was impossible for just a king and a prime minister to govern everything. Bureaucrats were their limbs. However, this behind-the-scenes work was often difficult for the public to understand. To those idiots who had never governed properly, bureaucrats often appeared to be nothing more than parasitic pests feeding off the nation, especially to older knights, who often viewed bureaucrats as synonymous with Witches and despised them.

Still, if the bureaucratic system was destroyed due to such ignorance, the reins of control over the vast territory would slip out of their hands. In particular, large Kuran organizations still existed in the lands of the former Galilia Union. If the bureaucratic system collapsed, the eastern region would fall out of control, Shantinion would be lost again, and the country they had worked so hard to expand would disintegrate.

That was why Myaro chose to stay at the royal castle and continue commanding the royal guards.

Surely, Liao Rube understood the necessity of bureaucrats in governance, and the Rube Household’s regular army should behave decently. Myaro had to protect the royal castle from the ignorant beasts until they arrived.

After receiving word from the royal guards locked in a standoff with the Rube Household army, informing them that the Queen had escaped, they surrendered. When Liao Rube finally arrived, the garrison at the castle surrendered as well.

However, the first person to visit Myaro’s room wasn’t Liao.

“I figured you’d be curious, so I’ll tell you. Her Majesty the Queen escaped on the back of an Eagle. I don’t know if this was part of the plan, but Yuri-kun had begun training eagles.” (Myaro)

When I first heard that little Shulika-chan had started eagle-riding training, she thought, “What? Why?”, but in the end, it’s already come in handy.

Lucky or not, who knows.

“I know. The soldiers saw her fly away.” (Liao)

“Is that so? Well then, there’s no need to ransack the castle looking for her. Congratulations.” (Myaro)

“Yeah.” (Liao)

Irene finished cleaning up the broken tea set, placing the fragments into a paper bag and wiping the spilled tea from the floor with a cloth. Liao glanced at her, then stood up.

“I’ll be back.” (Liao)

Was it difficult for him to talk in front of Irene?

“Please supervise your idiots carefully so they don’t mistreat my bureaucrats. If they’re gone, you’ll be the one in trouble.” (Myaro)

“I know.” (Liao)

With that, Liao left the office.

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