She fell on her face again. She waddled in the place to get up momentarily before deciding it was too difficult to do on her own and asked Suimei reluctantly.
“..... Suimei, I’m sorry, but can you lend me a hand? The clothes and the shoes are too big for me to get up by myself.”
“........”
“Suimei?”
Lefille called over with a curious voice as to why Suimei wasn’t answering― But Suimei didn’t have the strength to help her. He had his own troubles, laying flat on the ground.
“Uhhh…. You see…. I used too much strength, so I can’t move.”
“..........”
“..........”
The silence that oppressed the place. The awkward silence. Looking at the situation, nobody could move.
Dark future could be glimpsed and Suimei tried to smooth over the situation with a dry laughter.
“Hahaha….. What should we do?”
“Ha…. What indeed….”
…… Finally after some time, Suimei recovered to the point he could stand up and after pulling up Lefille who was tangled by her clothes, went down the mountain together.
***
―― At the same time. In the castle even farther north than the land people called “far north”, there was someone who was kneeling towards the throne.
He had the appearance of a human, but upon closer inspection, possessed several features different from a human and was definitely not a being one could call a human.
That being ― one of the Demonic Chief, Lishabam, stood up and paid respects to the one sitting on the throne. And knelt again.
The one who was sitting on the throne ― a girl wearing flashy clothes decorated with black, watched the man pay his respects and spoke with soft voice while supporting her chin with an arm lying on the armrest.
“.... What is it. I was just about to pleasantly doze off, but why are you here?”
When the girl asked, a man’s somewhat high pitched voice returned.
“I have something urgent to report to your majesty.”
“..... What is it.”
Then the kneeling Lishabam paused for a moment before replying to the girl’s question.
“Chief Rajas’ presence disconnected just moments ago.”
“Ho?”
Disconnected. As if that word was interesting, the girl erased her soft expression and leaned out from the throne.
“I ordered him to kill the hero that was first summoned, correct?”
“Yes, your grace.”
“Then it means the hero….. defeated him.”
“I believe the possibility is there.”
When Lishabam did not agree fully but used a politician-like expression, the girl slightly opened her eyes.
“.... Your way of speaking is still the same.”
“I agree with that.”
“.... Well, no matter. Hmm, is that the case… Rajas….”
When the girl muttered those words as if she was chewing on the information, Lishabam raised his face and asked a question.
“What do you plan to do, your majesty?”
“Yes…. I want to go myself, but that’s not possible. Since the vanguard was destroyed, I’ll have to tweak the plan.”
“What plan do you have in mind?”
“First, send Vishuda and Mura to the western area bordering us. Prepare them to attack the humans.”
“Will they move immediately?”
“It’s a deployment I have taken that into calculation as well. The more time I give them, more will be baited.”
When the girl smiled, Lishabam smiled like a response.
“As you command.”
After a short reply, Lishabam disappeared into the darkness. And only the girl was left in the room once again.
―― A subordinate lost. But there was no sign of sadness on the girl’s expression. She simply laughed out loud like a child who discovered something interesting.
“Kuhuhu, a hero summoned from another world. To think Rajas would lose. I look forward to seeing him one day.”
That was right. That girl ― Demon King Nakshatra’s laughter echoed throughout the Demon King’s Castle.