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'That's the human who fought our King…' Radius, disguised as an ordinary citizen who gathered here just like the others, thought inwardly as he watched Arnold being showered with applause. 'How will Madam Ekterina deal with such a powerful man?'
No, Ekterina hasn't shown any interest in Arnold at all ever since they committed to a truce, despite him taking up their former king's name, which is the height of humiliation for a demon. She's been moving on her own throughout the country, choosing to focus on preparing for her fight with the Hero. Radius was ordered to stay in the academy and report back any anomalies.
He was also tasked with identifying the Demon Shamans who's been calling out to them from this side of the barrier. They can help Ekterina with bringing over the Perdition Core terraformer. Since they act in the name of demons, they should have no issue with helping a demon lord.
'It irks me that I cannot kill the Hero Luke due to her instructions…' Radius recalled the conditions of the truce.
If there is so much as a disturbance in Luke's energy signature, Radius will lose his head.
There is much to gain by turning the empire into a terraformed land for demonkind since they will be able to summon more demons, including the demon lords. Even if they don't kill the Hero to avoid upsetting that man, he can only flee from his eventual downfall.
What Arnold is essentially doing is giving them the opportunity to get one step closer to their goal. The Hero is still in his infancy and even if he suffers grave losses and awakens due to this, the truce will end. But it's hard to say if they will be able to kill the Hero then.
This might be the most complicated truce Radius has ever been a part of and this isn't the first one. Demons are quite divided on who they choose to follow. Like humans, even they have political conflicts.
That said, Arsnoria hasn't ever attempted to stop these conficts, as if they don't bother her. She is the most powerful being anyway.
Maybe it's the same for that man… That Demigod human who befriended Valkyrie Queen Guinevere of all people.
Not only does he have his own strength on his side, he has ridiculously powerful allies as well.
So, even if they do succeed in terraforming the academy, they will have to face that man as well.
'I hate being used like this. That human left the awakening up to us!' he felt a little pissed at being used by a boy a thousand times younger than him.
When Arnold came down the stage with the angel, Hero Luke quickly ran up to him all excited and hugged him. If his eyes were magic lamps, they could illuminate the entire empire.
That boy definitely looks up to that man. But does the boy know how rotten and disgusting his soul is?
Radius noticed a girl next to the young hero. He's been watching the Hero a lot lately and found out that this girl was one of his most important "kin". While not to the point of sexual intercourse or other forms of loving intimacy, they seemed to be more than simply friends. As such, the girl might be a trigger.
Of course, Arnold is also important to Hero Luke from his findings. But since he's at least as strong as Ekterina, using him as a trigger is impossible even for a Greater Demon like him who can only use up to 9th-Rank spells.
As such, the second option is this girl.
'I wonder… What kind of face will you make when you see all the things I have planned for your little friend, Hero?'
**
Arnold was called over to the SDC office so Elizabeth and Ceru headed back to his room first. Since the mules were already in the academy, it's about time they continue where they left off.
He entered after knocking and receiving a reply.
Morwenne was the only one in the office.
"—Before we get started, I think it's my duty as a citizen of this empire—" she stood up from the desk, "—to thank you for fighting by our side. H-Hey, what's with that face!?"
Noticing him staring at her awkwardly, she threw a book at him.
"I just… wasn't expecting that."
"What? Do you think I'm ungrateful or that I hate you so much that I wouldn't bow my head to you even if you were a piece of shit in the past? Humph!"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. For everything."
"H-Huh? What's with that attitude all of a sudden…" she couldn't decide if she should be weirded out or taken aback by his attitude.
While he has no intention of changing his ideals that still hold firm, treating every person he's ever had a relationship with, like shit, will stop from today onward. He might not see himself as a kind person, but he knows how to be grateful to all the women who genuinely loved and cared for him.
Celeste as well, he knows it's wrong to push her away like he did in the past. He might not have feelings for her yet but he wants to give her a happy life. His relationship with the SDC president, however, is a bit shaky. She might not be that important of a person when it comes to the story and grand scheme of things but why would you ever need a reason like that to build a relationship with someone?
"What's on today's agenda, Miss Morwenne?" He decided to change the subject.
"A-Ahem, the mules have already been put in their classes as they came to the academy earlier than anyone else today. Here are their profiles." She handed a few documents to him, which had the info of the students on them.
"You said there were two last time, right? Why is there a third profile?"
"I heard from the janitor that it's because they want to get rid of their stock so the higher the numbers, the faster they move. I suspect they will send more transfer students soon if they can't already use some in the academy. They're thinking of moving again so we must hurry before the mules can make their deliveries this week. Fortunately, as you are the Hero of Eulia and a known womanizer, it should be easy for you to gain their trust."
"Something in there sounded personal."
"Pick whoever you want as they will avoid contact with each other anyway, minimizing the risk of being found out through connections. Preferably, get it done by the end of the day. You can do that, right? You've had first years in your bed by the end of their first day."
"…."
Seems like the venom will continue even if they talk strictly business.
"And don't take it further than kissing if you do succeed. We don't know if these girls are working willingly or are being threatened. It's possible whoever runs everything is a high-class noble or other important figure with the power to make things happen."
Yeah, if he does then he'd be taking advantage of them. There's nothing shittier than seducing a woman and making her think she's won you over with her charms. He's learned his lesson. One of these mules may even be one of the Death Flags he's trying to avoid triggering.
'Let's see…' he turned the pages to take a look at them.
"Huh? Isn't this…" he noticed a blonde girl with tanned skin and fierce eyes with thick eyelashes, as well as heavy makeup. From a glance, you can tell that she bleached her hair since it didn't look natural.
Oh, and she had big cat-like ears on top of sharp teeth.
What do they call these types of girls again? Gyaru's, was it?
"Yes, that's Ms. Shirley's little sister, Fallene."
Like Shirley, Fallene was adopted by the Lion King. But unlike her, Fallene isn't an important NPC in the game. That said, she does have a questline that involves her nation. If a player wants to do the Beastman Questline, you need to gain her trust as she becomes the new monarch of the Azek kingdom in the base MMO. She's already part of Luke's harem by this point since the MMO takes place years after Luke decided to help her.
She's not a Transcendent like Shirley so Arnold threw out any plans to make her an ally. Yes, he is planning on making Shirley an ally since she has that ancestral ability of hers. Of course, Arthur is in the picture at the moment…
"Why would she do this? Become a mule?"
"Who knows? I told you before that it's either money or thrill. She's a princess from the Beastman Kingdom so she's had a lavish life until now so I assume it's the latter."
"What thrill is there in this line of work for a princess of a kingdom? She can just use her status and money to find other thrills in life."
"Well, that's true."
"There might be a third reason."
"Power?" she guessed right but then seemed confused, "Using the underworld to gain power sounds more difficult than simply coaxing your people into supporting you."
The problem is that she has no actual talent to speak of, something her race values more than anything else. Having talent means you have potential to grow stronger. Shirley isn't aiming for the throne so no one is backing her at the moment and she hasn't been able to use beastification yet. However, their eldest brother, a lionkin just like their adoptive father (but not his blood for reasons mentioned before), has the ability to summon a spirit breast. This alone made him the one most likely to succeed his father.
Fallene is just a twenty-something child of the Lion King that he adopted and she has nothing special going for her.
But how did she ascend the throne? Well, Luke was the reason whether she would've liked to admit it or not. But present day Fallene probably won't get his support.
"She probably wants to get dirt on every faction and connection the current leading heirs have." Morwenne said exactly what he was thinking, "By doing this, she can use that information against them. Or maybe she will create scenarios in the future that will allow her abilities to shine while sabotaging her siblings. Aside from those two things, she may even plan to murder every heir."
"All three seems likely. It depends on how ambitious she is."
"That's the issue… We don't need to dig into her intentions. But maybe she will be more willing to help us due to her circumstances. Don't take my word for it, though. Stick to the plan and avoid doing anything that will ruin things."
"I know that…"
"Oh, and things are going smoothly so far. We just need Fallene to meet with the supplier so that we know who to go after."
"It's possible the people in charge will use a decoy to throw us off. That will just prove their suspicions right and make it even harder to infiltrate next time."
"…You sound way too nonchalant about this. Have you forgotten what that drug did to Rachel!?" she hit the table.
"…No. All I'm saying is that we should remain vigilant even if things look easy."
"Ugh, you're right. Doing all this of this by ourselves has put too much stress on me… I haven't even slept for three days since I have to read every report and draft up plans… Having someone in a high position help us seems so tempting but we can't rule out that they're working for the masterminds."
Now that she brought it up, she didn't look exhausted—droopy eyes, unfocused pupils and constant flutter of her eyelids.
"Once we succeed, let's go to a resort this weekend—my treat."
"What? You, if you think I'm still so easy to—Ack!" he poked a pen through her open mouth, making her jump.
"Calm down. I'm talking about all of us. I need a break anyway since I have some important stuff to do soon."
"…Humph, I'm going to drain your bank account dry with all the food I'll order and activities I plan on doing. We'll go to where I want since I am your leader." She said as if it was her decision.
"Ugh…" she's always acted like a spoiled brat who used to buy so much stuff on their dates, he thought she had something against him. But she's from a small noble family so they always had to be wary of what they spend their money on.
But a rich boyfriend who was going to be a duke? He was practically swimming in an endless pool of coins.
He's going to be her ATM once again.
Dammit, why did I offer to treat them!?
Anyway, if he ever intends to get the demihuman kingdom under his control, he can use Fallene so this little talk of theirs was more important than he previously thought. Since the Halo can somewhat read memories, he can just find out her circumstances on his own then plan accordingly for the future.
The first bell rang, signaling the end of their meeting. Morwenne made sure to remind him where he can find her classroom. Even if he did show up there, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary or arouse suspicion, as previously mentioned, since he's known to gobble up the first years. In everyone's minds, he saw them as fresh prey.
Arnold hopes those rumors stop since first years are practically kids to him… But it can't be helped since this is a mission that concerns the academy's reputation and it's an SDC responsibility.