When I tried to catch the soldiers of the Demon King's army at the bend, for some reason, there was the commander of the Third Corps.

When I broke the illusion magic that was applied to my head when I met him, he begged for his life with a terrified expression on his face.

 

"What's going on......

"Usato, is she the commander of the Third Legion?"

"Yes, yes...... Isn't it?"

 

Leona Mr./Ms.'s gaze turns to the woman sitting on the wall.

Twisted horns peculiar to the demon tribe that grew on his head.

Mr./Ms., a woman with light purple hair through one corner like a side tail, begins to tremble when she notices my gaze.

 

「…… Really?"

"That's right...... It is."

 

Is it too traumatic?

Seeing Hannah's frightened, Nea quietly talks to her.

 

"Well, it seems like I'm the cause of this guy being like this, so I'm going to interrogate him."

"Okay...... Bulllin, I beg you to search for me."

 

It spreads its magic power like a shadow from its feet and releases a bulllin.

She is even more frightened by Bulllin, who comes out as if summoned from under her feet, and Nea talks to her as she looks down as she crouches down.

 

"We saw each other again, didn't we?"

「…… Huh?"

"Oh, can't you remember? Then I think it's easier to understand this form?"

 

When Nea transforms into a black owl, Mr./Ms. steps away in surprise.

 

"Oh, the owl ...... that time!?"

"Yes, I'm going to ask you a few questions now, but answer them honestly."

 

Mr./Ms. nods frightened, and Nea, who has returned to her demon form, begins to ask questions.

 

"Say what you belong to."

「…… This is Hannah Romer, the commander of the Third Legion of the Demon Lord's Army."

"Why were you here?"

「……」

"Tell me, or can I leave it to the master behind me?"

"Here, here, I was trying to get out of here!"

 

Nea points at me with a big smile on her face, and at the same time, Hannah Mr./Ms. confesses.

I'm getting more and more unconvinced by the way I'm being treated, but it's more ...... than that.

 

"Are you going to run away......?"

"What do you mean? Explain it to me."

 

According to her, she was trying to escape before the battle between us and the Demon Lord's army was in full swing.

Why is she the commander of the Third Corps? I wondered, but it seems that the situation of the Demon King's Army--the Demon Tribe--the Demon Tribe, was worse than we thought, and she decided that there was no future, so she was caught by us when she was about to give up on the Demon Tribe.

 

"The Demon Clan ...... that far."

 

If you want to escape, stay here...... No, I should just ask for information.

In any case, if you don't want to harm us...

 

"Usato, don't underestimate it."

「…… Hmm?"

"I know what you're thinking right now, and I'm sure you're thinking that if you ask for information, you can miss it, but--"

 

Nea stares and turns to Mr./Ms. Hannah.

Mr./Ms. tries to avert her gaze by pressing both cheeks with her hands and forcibly making eye contact.

 

"Hmmm!?"

"He'll betray anything for his own protection, and even if he pretends to obey now, he might be forced to hold on to false information or let his enemies know where he is."

 

Her eyes sparkle for a moment when she sees Nea's eyes up close, but after a few seconds, she turns pale.

 

"Look, you tried to cast an illusion spell on me just now, didn't you?"

"Oh, no......

"It's not different, is it? But alas. It doesn't work because I'm a member of the devil's family."

"Uh-huh......"

 

What am I being shown?

Is it a villain vs. a villain? The one with the worse personality is likely to win.

Well, the reason why the illusion magic doesn't work is because Nea had cast a resistance spell beforehand.

 

"It's better to be honest with you, we don't have time. Sometimes I have to do what you hate the most...... I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Hi, hi......"

 

Normal scary.

I don't know what it is that I can't help but feel that I'm naturally incorporated into the content of that dislike.

However, I thought it was too much.

 

"Wait, Nea."

「…… What's that?"

 

Nea takes her eyes off Mr./Ms. and turns back to us.

 

"I don't think fear alone is enough."

「……?」

 

For a moment, Nea tilts her head as she says she doesn't know what she's talking about.

 

"The embodiment of fear says something."

"Is it a devil joke? I don't hate that.'

"Gua"

"Noisy little animals"

 

Oops, don't be a jerk here.

Taking a small, deep breath, he kneels on the ground to make eye contact with her as she sits down in place with Nea.

 

"Mr./Ms. Hannah."

"Ha, ha......"

"If you are honest with me, I will set you free."

「…… Huh?"

 

If her words are true, then she didn't want to be part of this fight in the first place.

I don't know why, but I'm sure it's disgusting enough to avoid fighting.

I don't want to imagine why she would want to run away with her strong magic called phantom magic, but if her words aren't lying, I think it's okay to let her go.

 

"If you want to get out of here, you can do it."

"Are you going to let me go......?"

"Yes, I'm not going to lie."

 

Smiling as naturally as possible, Mr./Ms. regains her composure.

Look, I'm not just being called the devil forever.

I'll let you know the information as it is.

 

"Hey, the terrain here--"

 

At that moment, a faint flapping sound of wings echoes overhead.

He reacts instantly, turning around and throwing a healing magic bomb in his right hand at the same time.

 

"There!"

 

The healing magic bullet that was released hit the wall with an explosive sound and disappeared as a green particle.

After that, a black feather fell from the sky.

After all, someone is watching.

 

"Don't think you can escape! I'm sure I'll drop it next time...... …… Oh, I'm sorry. So that's a continuation of what we were talking about earlier."

"Wow, I'll show you around! I'm on the side!! So don't kill them after you let them escape!!"

"What?"

 

…… Oh my gosh, I did it.

When I nodded to Mr./Ms., who was desperately trying to accompany me, Nea had a smirk on her face.

 

"That's right, you've done a great job! Yo, Devil!"

"I know I can't help it, but I'm usually scared of the change."

"Usato ......"

 

Ferm pulling and Mr./Ms. holding her forehead.

And Mr./Ms. Hannah is clinging to my leg.

After checking my situation again, I crossed my arms and closed my eyes.

 

"Alright, let's go!"

 

After thinking about it, I decided to keep going.

Only this time I decided to abandon my thoughts.

 

●

 

After that, following the guidance of a terrified Mr./Ms., we proceeded through the interior of the city, which had been rearranged by the magic of the Demon King.

Before leaving, Ferm suggested that he could manipulate Mr./Ms. with the power of Nea's vampire, but it seems impossible.

She has a magic called illusion magic, which acts on the spirit, and the same type of jutsu is less effective, and if she does it poorly, she will not be able to even speak.

That's why she's in the lead, but of course she also encounters soldiers on patrol.

 

"Hannah!? Why are you here!?"

「…… Wow, I'm in the process of searching for the brave myself. You must continue your search."

"Ha, yes!"

 

However, as expected, he is the commander of the Third Corps.

Naturally, he was able to part ways with the soldiers he encountered without being suspicious...... However, at that time, Nea puts a hand on the soldier's shoulder as they part.

 

"Do your best, okay?"

"Huh!? Ahh

"Well, then."

 

Nea casually waved to the soldier.

As she tilts her head at her strange behavior, Nea turns forward and grabs Hannah's shoulder.

 

"Didn't you do anything suspicious?"

「! I swear I didn't do that......

"Wow...... So what's this?"

 

What Nea showed me was what looked like a small piece of paper.

When Mr./Ms. saw this, she raised her voice, "Hihhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

"This was tucked into the soldier's armor earlier, what on earth is this?"

「……」

"Oh! If you look closely, it's a cloth! It's written in the form of forcibly torn off, and it says to help!"

「……」

"Oh my gosh! And if you look closely, the hem of your clothes is also torn, it's a big deal! I wonder why! It wasn't torn until a while ago!"

 

Facial pallor.

- She looks down without even making eye contact, but Nea puts her mouth to her ear with the same smile as before.

He put his arms around his neck so he couldn't escape.

 

"You'll know next time, won't you?"

「…… Wow."

 

I'm scared!

I'm scared of Hannah Mr./Ms., who asked the soldier for help without me and Leona Mr./Ms. noticing, and Nea, who sees it in an instant and threatens her!

We are genuinely horrified by the fact that something like a battle is going on outside of our consciousness.

 

"Your familiars are scary."

"yes, I think he's probably scarier than I am."

"......, yes."

 

Mr./Ms. Leona, what is the silence now?

Worried about her reaction as she walks next to her, I follow Mr./Ms.'s guidance.

Arrive at the most open place.

It's still surrounded by a black wall, but there's something like an iron door on the ground in the center.

It's about three or four meters in size...... It's pretty big.

 

"This is the entrance to the underground castle, but it takes a man-"

"Usato"

"Yes, yes."

 

Insert your fingers into the large door and gather your strength.

…… I don't need dark magic for this.

 

"Hmm!"

 

Lift the door and let it fall to the ground as if it were turned over.

When I looked at the place where I left the door, I saw that there was a staircase at the back.

 

"Okay, I'll put it in."

Let's go, Leona."

"Oh."

「……」

 

Pushing Hannah Mr./Ms.'s back, which has a dot in her eyes, Nea and Leona Mr./Ms. descend the stairs that lead to the basement.

A short walk down the stairs leads to an old-fashioned passage lined with stone pillars and cobblestones.

 

"It's been a very old-fashioned place."

「…… This is in a castle that has been rebuilt. The Demon King is on the upper floor of the castle...... I'm at the bottom right now."

 

If that's the case, I'll have to go down to the bottom.

If the black thing I let loose is going to monitor our movements, we should stay there as much as possible.

 

"Okay, show me around."

「…… But as expected, if I walked here, I would be suspicious...... Oh, yes! I'll show you around!"

 

Perhaps thinking the same thing as me, Nea is rushing Hannah Mr./Ms..

Use Bulllin's abilities to search for enemies, walk through the corridors, and descend the intricate staircase as you steadily advance underground.

Is Mr./Ms. Nagi safe fighting Nero Argens?

Will Kazuki, who is fighting in the sky, be okay?

Did Senpai and Amako get into the basement properly?

When I walk in a place where only the sound of our own footsteps resonates, I can't help but think.

 

"Mr./Ms. Hannah."

"What, what?"

"I want you to tell me why you tried to get out of the Demon King's army."

「…… Ah, Anatano Seides."

"Hmm?"

"It's nothing!"

 

After a moment's stiffness, she muttered something to herself, and when she tilted her head with a smile, she shook her head and corrected her.

For some reason, I slammed the healing decopin into the nea that erupted just behind Mr./Ms. and listened to her words as I took a small deep breath.

 

"The Demon Clan has been gone for a long time."

「…… Is it over?"

 

In a sense, it may be the first time you have heard about the inner workings of the demon tribe.

Ferm was so careless, and I should ask him while I can afford it now.

 

"The land of the Demon Lord's Territory is dying, and I don't know how long it has been, but the land is losing its fruit, and it is steadily leading us to destruction."

「…… I didn't see any signs of that before we got here."

 

Say so as if to confirm.

Here, do you want to make the story that was only speculation accurate?

 

"That's it...... That's because until recently, the Demon King was channeling magic into the earth and bringing fertility. The Demon Lord, who used his power to let us escape in the last battle, ......"

"It's too weak to let its magic flow through the earth, this is as Falga-sama guessed."

 

At Hannah Mr./Ms.'s stagnant words, Leona Mr./Ms. nodded in agreement.

To let the demons escape?

I guess that's the fireball I dropped at the end.

 

「…… The truth is, unless the Demon King wakes up...... We may have perished without dreaming."

 

…… Until now, Mr./Ms.'s words and actions had been frightening, but now that she had spoken, she was a little different.

A face overwhelmed with despair that can't even imagine the future.

From the first time I encountered him, I had the impression that he was a cunning and cowardly manipulator, but this time that impression had changed drastically.

_________________________________________________

The Demon King and Ciel caught Usato's appearance for a moment with a magical familiar.

Ciel could see Usato looking down at the frightened Hannah with a smile.

In the next moment, Gurin! He turned his head and made eye contact with Usato, who changed his expression to angry.