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"That is the Demon Lord."
"Mm-hmm."
"That is Miss Shirina, the most capable maid in the castle."
"Mm-hmm."
"That is Mr. Rainbow Shell, the leader of the insectoid tribe."
"Mm-hmm."
Five little fairies were whispering amongst themselves during the morning meeting, introducing the leaders of the Demon Lord’s domain to a wild fairy. It seemed this wild fairy was a representative and needed to quickly familiarize herself with the affairs of the Demon Lord’s territory.
"What about that human?"
The wild fairy asked, referring, of course, to Ira—after all, he was the only human present at the morning meeting.
Fairies could always distinguish between liches, humans, and vampires.
"He is Lord Ira."
"He’s very powerful."
"A good person."
"He makes pudding."
Though Ira had no idea why the fairies had defined him as a "powerful, good person who makes pudding," he didn’t pay much attention to it and instead listened to the reports from the other leaders.
"Yesterday, at Lord Ira’s command, we launched an extermination campaign against the striped giant hornets. These hornets had taken over the non-Demon Lord-controlled fairies' dwellings. They have now been completely eradicated, and we have made good use of the queen hornet. Does anyone require materials from the giant hornets?"
The Blackflame Headless Knight reported the incident. While most present already knew about it—Satania had been there, and the headless knights had dragged back the hornet corpses, which had since been stripped for materials—it was still necessary to formally inform any colleagues who might not yet be aware.
Though the Demon Lord’s domain did not adhere to excessive formalities, out of respect for fellow leaders, reports were still customary during morning meetings.
"We all saw it."
The Royal Black Knight spoke in a deep, steady voice. He nodded seriously at Ira and said, "Thank you for rescuing the fairies. I have always believed that all lesser creatures deserve to be treated with kindness."
With his warm and gentle voice, the Royal Black Knight seemed like quite the gentleman. He turned to the Blackflame Headless Knight and said, "I would like to claim some of the remaining flesh and blood you’ve gathered. The Black Knights can take whatever you don’t need."
Shirina noted his request in her notebook and responded, "Understood."
"I need one... No, two."
Vera, who had not participated in the battle, raised her hand and requested, "I need them for research. If possible, I would like to obtain some of the queen hornet’s tissue."
Shirina: "Granted."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mr. Lime chimed in—though his request was hardly necessary.
"If you don’t need the honey and royal jelly, just send it all to the kitchen—"
Shirina: "It already belongs to the kitchen."
"Should we reserve some as trade materials?"
The ghostly girl with glasses adjusted her spectacles and suggested, "I’m not sure of the exact value, but setting aside about ten of them for trade might be a good idea."
Shirina: "That makes sense."
After the ghostly girl finished speaking, neither the vampire girl nor the construct had any particular need for the giant hornets.
This further proved that Shirina was not just an ordinary maid—given her involvement in managing and distributing resources, her role was more akin to that of a grand steward.
"Well then, Demon Lord?"
Shirina turned to Satania for confirmation. Satania nodded, finalizing the matter quickly.
If this had been the Empire, such a discussion would have dragged on for at least three morning court sessions.
"……"
"Ira’s suggestion of using succubi’s charm abilities to lure shellfish out of hiding along the shoreline has been quite successful. Shellfish stocks are now replenished in the Demon Lord’s domain, and they can be distributed among the monsters.
Though I still don’t understand why it's called 'clam digging.'"
Mr. Lime reported this information. Everyone had heard about this plan during the barbecue queue, so it wasn’t exactly new. Normally, Shirina or the fairies would have been responsible for reporting it, but since Shirina was busy taking notes and the fairies were occupied with the newcomer, Lime took over.
"Hmm, I see."
Satania nodded.
"As for diplomacy—"
The vampire girl spoke. She was officially in charge of diplomacy between nations, but she found it ridiculous that dealing with rebellious monsters also had to be called "diplomacy."
"The tribute caravans have already departed. They will arrive throughout the quarter."
"By the end of the quarter, we will be able to see how many traitors there really are, won’t we, Demon Lord?"
Satania furrowed her brows at the vampire girl’s question. She pondered carefully before saying, "At the end of the quarter, we will begin issuing final warnings, starting with the small territories that have betrayed us nearby."
After pausing to structure her words, she continued, "We will inform them that if they continue to remain outside our jurisdiction, they will be considered traitors. Does that sound acceptable?"
As she sought the group’s opinion, her gaze fell on Ira.
"……"
Why are you looking at me? Hey, do you trust me that much?
Why is the vampire looking at me too?
However, whether due to Ira’s unfamiliarity with the Demon Lord’s domain or because no one else had objections, the vampire girl simply nodded, confirming Satania’s decree.
With that, there didn’t seem to be anything else to discuss.
At this moment, Shirina, having finished organizing the matters that needed handling, rejoined the meeting and said,
"If Lord Ira and Mr. Rainbow Shell do not require the spoils from the giant hornets, then they should be rewarded."
Indeed, the two of them had performed outstandingly in the battle against the giant hornets and deserved a reward. Notably, only Rainbow Shell, the insectoid leader, would receive a reward—none of his subordinates would.
The rationale was simple: all lesser monsters belonged to Satania as her property. No matter how meritorious their efforts, they were merely fulfilling their duties.
It was hard to say whether this system was good or bad.
"……"
Satania, however, wore a look of helplessness that clearly said, Eh? A reward? What do we even have to give?
And indeed, that was a legitimate question.
"I do not require anything."
Rainbow Shell, the insectoid leader, declined.
"Nor do I."
Ira also expressed his stance.
Had this been the Empire, Rainbow Shell’s quick refusal would have put Ira in an awkward position. But here in the Demon Lord’s domain, and given that he didn’t need anything anyway, it didn’t matter.
The Demon Lord’s domain was already poor enough.
"Mr. Rainbow Shell’s salary will be doubled next month."
Shirina decided.
After getting nods of approval from both Rainbow Shell and Satania, she turned to Ira and, with a teasing smile, suggested,
"As for Lord Ira, I propose the establishment of a new, independent title and position—Magister of the Demon Lord’s Realm, granting him the authority to freely participate in governance."
"……"
No one objected.
Everyone understood that this was not simply a "reward"—in fact, it was questionable how much of a reward it really was.
Understanding this as well, Ira smiled wryly, then nodded seriously.
"Alright."
- Writer
