GalaxyTL
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“Haa, haa, haa……”
In the royal capital of the Ashgo Kingdom, far from the glamorous main street, deep inside a back alley, beyond a garbage dump, inside a sewer tunnel.
In that place filled with a stench, there was now a man breathing heavily.
He seemed to be in his 40s.
Wearing a robe like a rag, he was gaunt and emaciated, yet his eyes were shining eerily.
The man’s name was Maqueterra Lotten.
He was once a person who even held the rank of viscount in this country.
Why is such a man in a shabby outfit, hiding in the sewers?
To put it simply, it’s because he is currently a wanted man.
This country, where the throne has been vacant for a long time, is very rare within this Golden Continent in that it is run by a council made up of nobles.
Why? Because the previous king was assassinated.
His two sons also fled in fear of assassination and their whereabouts are unknown.
In other words, there is no one of royal blood to succeed the king.
The duke of the south, who has royal blood…… is a person who is, how should I say, unsuited for politics to the extent that he was despised even by the previous tyrannical king who was feared.
And he also has no children.
Therefore, this country has maintained this form of government for nearly 50 years.
But, however.
Although the Ashgo Kingdom’s council aimed for righteous politics, taking the treatment of the people by the tyrannical king as a negative example…… even the purest water stagnates with time.
Gradually, corruption progressed, and various injustices by the nobles became rampant.
The symbol of that corruption is none other than him, former Viscount Maqueterra Lotten.
Maqueterra once wielded power as the head of a major faction.
He sometimes even acted like a king, as if nothing would go against his wishes.
Law?
Reason?
What are those?
Living each day selfishly, arrogantly, and tyrannically to increase his own profit, he once responded to a deal with a certain person.
That was none other than the mid-ranking commander of the Demon Lord’s army, the huge Dodecabombo!
Dodecabombo, a demon who excelled not only in military might but also in intelligence, whispered to Maqueterra.
“I’ll make you king,” he said.
The conceited Maqueterra thought.
That it was the right thing.
Blinded by the throne, Maqueterra thus became a collaborator with the Demon Lord’s army and gradually began to undermine this country called Ashgo.
However, there was a person who put a stop to Maqueterra’s machinations.
It was none other than the hero chosen by the Holy Goddess, Torch, who happened to be visiting this country!
Hero Torch, who had gotten to know the nobles of the faction opposing Maqueterra through various circumstances, quickly noticed the shadow of the Demon Lord’s army behind Maqueterra.
And through various circumstances, Maqueterra’s collusion was exposed, and he desperately confronted Hero Torch’s party together with Dodecabombo, but was defeated.
He was easily arrested.
However, this Maqueterra is not a man who gives up easily.
Maqueterra’s magical skills, as he was once a top-class mage in his youth…… had certainly not declined.
With the help of his last-ditch effort, Maqueterra escaped from prison one day.
He then disappeared, and that brings us to the present…… this story.
“Aah…… damn, damn, damn, damn!!”
Rummaging through garbage, slurping mud!
Maqueterra stomped his feet and cursed while thinking about these days of humiliation.
“But, however…… gufu, gufufu……!”
And then, he suddenly started laughing creepily while drooling.
What on earth happened to him?
Maqueterra nonchalantly lifted his tattered robe and raised his left arm, which had become nothing but bones and skin, to chest height…… and pressed a button on a wristwatch-like device on his wrist.
The next moment!
Light radiated from the wristwatch-like device to the sewer wall, and there…… a noise-filled video was projected!
Although the video quality was poor and only rough silhouettes could be discerned, it showed…… a person sitting in a chair!
It was a video call!
“Hey! I did what you told me to do!”
Maqueterra shouted at the person in the video while cursing.
“As ordered, in the First Plaza on the main street?”
“Yeah! Gufufu, I’m a genius at magic! It’s not a big deal for me to hide that purple sphere in the plaza while concealing myself from the guards!”
“For someone who says that, you seem to be breathing heavily? Did you almost get caught and hastily run away?”
“Shut up, shut up!! Be quiet!! I definitely did not do such a thing!!”
Being hit where it hurts, Maqueterra became enraged.
However, the person in the video didn’t seem to care about his anger and remained seated leisurely in the chair.
Although their expression couldn’t be seen in this video…… this person was undoubtedly mocking Maqueterra.
“Hey! I did as I was told! With this…… with this, this royal capital will really be destroyed, right!?”
And Maqueterra, without noticing the mockery of the person in the video…… spoke such terrible words!
What on earth is this man, Maqueterra, doing!
In retaliation for losing his power!
He’s trying to destroy this royal capital by involving innocent people!
“Of course, Maqueterra-dono! What you have planted for us is a transfer magic origin sphere created by gathering the essence of our proud magical technology! It’s our trump card that can directly send troops even inside cities where magical defenses are constructed, like that town over there! Leave the rest to us, and everything will go well……”
“You say that and that Dodecabombo or whatever you mentioned wasn’t of much use and died!?”
The moment Maqueterra cursed like that!
The person in the video fell silent…… and fidgeted.
And flapped their wings…… intimidatingly!
Yes, that person had wings like a dragon on their back……
Sharp horns also protruded from both sides of their temples, and their hands were abnormally large and pointy.
Although the details couldn’t be grasped in the noisy video, even the silhouette alone made it clear that the person had a deformed appearance.
Such a deformed person suddenly fell silent.
There, Maqueterra sensed anger and, despite the other party being on the other end of the video call, he became frightened, his face turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
“A-Anyway…… I’ll leave the rest to you. There’s nothing else I need to do, right?”
“……That’s right, no, there’s just one thing.”
The person in the video didn’t show their inner anger on their face…… and after pondering with their deformed right hand on their chin, they spoke the following words.
“Honey.”
“……Huh?”
“The operation will be carried out on the night before what you guys call the ‘Dawn Day’ three days from now. At that time, you will smear honey somewhere on the castle walls protecting the royal castle.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You don’t need to know the reason. After all, it’s because of your carelessness that Dodecabombo’s scheme fell apart. Unfortunately, it seems dangerous to give you too much information.”
“Guh……”
Being countered like that for his previous cursing, Maqueterra groaned in frustration.
“Anyway, Maqueterra-dono. You just need to act as I say! Then, as you wish, we’ll destroy the royal capital of the Ashgo Kingdom and whatnot!”
The person shown in the video, while sneering at Maqueterra’s state, lightly brushed up their bangs covering the left half of their face with their deformed left hand and declared!
“Kukuku…… Kukakaka…… Kukakakakakaka!!”
And, while roaring with laughter!
They revealed their name!
“I, the mid-ranking commander of the Demon Lord’s army…… Deogandai the Puppeteer!!”
——
【Deogandai the Puppeteer】
A mid-ranking commander in the Demon Lord’s army.
A person skilled in the art of manipulating magical creatures.
Has a strong desire for promotion, is arrogant, and has a bad personality.
Previously interfered with by the hero and others, he failed to capture the fortress city of Liheid.