Vampire Princess, the Former Hero, and the Dragon Tribe
Translated by AmaLynne
『Lean, Yomi, Come help.』
It was one day, about three months after Yomi had killed Mia, that I heard the Demon Lord’s weak voice, which I had never heard before.
It was while I was reading a book, back to back with Yomi.
『…What’s wrong, Demon Lord?』
『I’m sorry to interrupt your vacation. Anyway, come to the castle…I’ll tell you the details there…』
The telepathic conversation ended there.
「I wonder what’s going on. Could it be that the war is going badly…?」
「I don’t know. But for the Demon Lord to sound so weak like that, it must be something more than that. Let’s go, Yomi. We have to save the Demon Lord.」
「Yes, of course.」
I and Yomi…Yomi is especially indebted to the Demon Lord.
She may look small, but she is a very important person.
The Demon Army should be her sword and shield, and we are the best of them.
If there is anything that could disturb Her Majesty’s heart, we will shake off any sparks of fire. That is us.
With unprecedented tension in our hearts, Yomi and I headed for the Demon Lord Castle.
◆◇◆◇◆
「………………………Excuse me, could you repeat that?」
Demon Lord’s Room.
I think I may be the first person to make such a stupid voice in this place, which is not an exaggeration to say that it is a sacred place for the Demon King’s army.
Yomi next to me also has a blank expression on her face.
「…………Right…………That’s the face you get…………」
The demon king sitting in the innermost chair looks at us with a face as if to say,「right~」.
And Demon Lord, with an apologetic, dignified look on her face.
「Luz has shut himself in. Do something about it.」
She said the same words as before, without missing a single word.
「……You heard me correctly.」
「I was hoping I was mistaken.」
「You’re not joking or anything?」
「I rather hoped it was a joke.」
I wonder what happened.
「Well, for now, let’s talk about it in detail…」
Luz Dragley is currently the third-ranked executive in the Demon Army and is known as the『General of the Flame』.
He is a man with a fighting maniac temperament, which is rare in the Demon Army, where most people are mild-mannered.
He is a prince of the Dragon Tribe and is one of the strongest among the Demon Army’s top executives.
「…Why did that Luz-san become a shut-in?」
「That man is short sighted……thoughtless……I thought he would never do such a thing, because of his bold and open temperament.」
「Yomi, I admire your choice of words, but could you make a little more of an effort to hide the words that come to mind? Also…how did you know such a difficult word?」
Well, to be frank, he is an idiot.
He is the type of person who doesn’t think ahead, or rather, he is the type of person who moves before he thinks. He is a different type of idiot from Aron.
I heard that he challenged Gray-san to a fight when he had just become an executive in the Demon Army and was beaten to a pulp.
Demon Lord put her hand on her forehead, exhaled deeply, and said,
「……And for why……In the war, he went toe-to-toe with the Twelve Holy Apostles and lost.」
I see. He was a skilled fighter, so he was indeed unbeatable on the battlefield.
But he lost the battle, so he was shocked and withdrew from the battle.
「Mental weakness! Lost just once? I and Lean used to lose to the executives a hundred times!」
Oh, come on, what the heck, Demon Army executive!
That’s how you abandon your job and debut as a hermit!?
「That’s right…I never thought he would be so weak-minded…The wounds he received should have healed by now, but he hasn’t come out of his room for a week…」
「H-He didn’t kill himself inside, did he…?」
「No, he seems to be eating well. Sometimes there are notes on the dishes after eating that say what he wants you to buy for him…」
「He’s just a『NEET』you idiot! The maid taking care of the NEET is also irritating! Let’s break down the door and drag him out!」
「About that…The Emperor of the Dragon Tribe…In other words, Luz’s father, the Dragon Emperor.『If possible, would you wait for him to heal? It’s not like he likes it and he’s staying away, we’ll do everything we can to help him』, he said. The Dragon Emperor is a former executive, and I have relied on him a lot, so I can’t just ignore his wishes…」
「Don’t be deceived, Demon Lord, that is the statement of a bad parent who depends on a bad son!」
It’s not good if things continue as they are.
After all, Luz-san was an excellent executive of the Demon Army, and he was also a brilliant commander.
If Luz-san were to leave at this rate, the war situation would change more than a little. Of course, it would be bad for us, the Demon Army.
「Ignore such things. I don’t care if it’s a mental shock from long-term bullying or something, but to be a shut-in because of the shock of losing once, that’s no joke. For such people, it is best to knock down the door and drag them out into the sun before it is too late. Living creatures generally get better when they are in the sun.」
「I know you mean well, but Lean is a vampire loved by the moon, isn’t she?」
Yomi, no unnecessary charades.
「…Hmmm. Well, I thought it was the only way. That’s why I called you here.」
「Speaking of which, I don’t remember if we have been told why we were invited to this meeting. I think that even an ordinary soldier, let alone an executive, could have broken down the door. Why us…and both of us?」
「…The reason is that this mission has a high probability of failure unless two of the Four Demon Generals take on the challenge together. And Sakura is not a good fit for this mission, and Gray is a different matter. That’s why I called you here.」
………?
Why would a mission to pull a single shut-in become such an extremely difficult quest?
「Let’s see…Is the Dragon Emperor, who is said to be an ex-executive of the Demon Army, going to interfere?」
「No, he doesn’t have the power he had in his prime. Of course, he’s still strong, but only in a way that even a regular executive can handle…The problem is the loose maids.」
Maid?
What, a battle maid like Sherry-san, the semi-executive dark elf?
「Her name is Fleuretia. She was one of the oldest members of the Demon Army.」
…………………………………………………What?
「Umm, the oldest…what do you mean?」
「Hundreds of years ago, the strongest dragonman who created the Demon Army together with me. That is Fleuretia. She is also one of the people I have known the longest.」
「You mean to say that she is the oldest member of the Demon Army in the true sense of the word?」
「Why is such a dangerous-looking person working as Luz-san’s maid?」
「I don’t know what she likes about him, but she’s a slacker… I didn’t even know she was going to be a maid. Well, she resigned from the executive a long time ago and retired, so I thought it was fine…I didn’t think it would be the worst obstacle ever to come along here…」
Saying this, the Demon Lord held her head in her hands.
Is she really that strong, this Fleuretia?
That strong, isn’t it? The oldest Demon Army member, just hearing about it gives me goosebumps.
「By the way, how strong is she?」
「She’s about even with the current Gray, or maybe even a little bit better.」
…Hee, that’s a bit heartbreaking on its own, but maybe it’s not unwinnable?
We have Yomi. If it’s two against one, we should be able to beat them.
If I stick to magic and let Yomi handle the melee, we can probably push her with a hit-and-run strategy…
「One thing I would like to say is that if you are going to challenge her with a strategy that relies on magic to support your attacks, it won’t work. Magic will not work on her.」