Lazy Morning Court Session
1128 Words
When Ira opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling made of stone bricks. After a brief moment of confusion, he remembered that he was in the Demon King's castle…
And that he would be staying here for a while as the Demon King's teacher.
But before that, he needed to attend the morning court session.
It seemed that in every world, as long as it involved a "King," there would always be something like a morning court. Perhaps this was an inevitable part of history…
Regardless of the country or era, the pattern remained the same.
Kings always needed officials to manage the nation, and officials needed officials of their own. Each of these officials had their own responsibilities and required a time and place to gather and discuss matters. And more often than not, decisions required the king's final say.
Thus, morning court sessions became a necessity.
With the creaking sound of the door opening, Ira looked up and saw Shirina entering without knocking. The moment their eyes met, she greeted him:
"Good morning, Ira. How did you sleep last night?"
"Not bad, thanks for asking."
As he responded, Ira draped his coat over his shoulders. While adjusting his clothing, he instructed her, "After the meeting, please have Vela mend my coat."
"For Miss Vela? Mending?" Shirina looked puzzled. "She doesn't seem like someone who can sew."
Ira, now properly dressed, casually explained, "Vela knows the ‘Fabric Animation Spell.’ Restoring clothing to its original state isn’t difficult for her."
Then why not just wear a new one?
Shirina kept this question to herself as she led the way. As they walked, Ira mentioned, "Last night, Satanya came to me alone with some desserts. You should keep an eye on that."
Ira had intended for her to pay attention to royal etiquette, but Shirina clearly misunderstood. She smiled and replied, "Are you referring to weight control? The Crimson Dragon race doesn’t need to worry about that."
That’s clearly not what I meant!
Does anyone in this castle even care about the ‘dignity of the Demon King’…?
Carrying these thoughts, Ira followed Shirina to the hall from the previous night. Below the hall lay a spatial rift connecting to the "Demi-plane Prison"—a design that seemed rather dangerous.
Ira appeared to be the last official to arrive. He calmly stood in the corner while Shirina took her place beside the empty Demon King’s throne, waiting for Satanya’s arrival.
The number of leaders present was smaller than Ira had expected…
— A towering beetle-like insectoid male
— A high-ranking vampire girl
— A lich who had defected from the Empire
— A mutated slime chef
— A succubus maid
— A black-flamed headless knight
— A construct
— A royal black knight
— A bespectacled ghost girl
— Five tiny fairies
That was it.
Compared to the Empire's vast number of officials, this was undoubtedly a pitiful sight. Though, considering how most cities had stopped following the Demon King’s orders, it wasn’t surprising.
And was it just his imagination, or did everyone seem way too relaxed…?
They even had chairs to sit on?
As Ira was pondering this, Satanya descended the stairs from the back, supported by two maids. She looked drowsy and let out a long yawn:
"Ha~~~ah~"
Did she just yawn?
At that moment, Ira fully understood the difference between the Empire and the Demon King's court…
If he had to choose, he would say the Empire's discipline and structure were more reliable. But he had to admit… he liked the atmosphere here much more.
"Eh? Ira doesn’t have a seat?"
Hearing Satanya’s question, Vela, who was lounging in a chair with her legs crossed, chuckled, "Ah, he probably just isn’t used to it yet. Let him stand."
Why are you so relaxed in the Demon King’s court?!
"Ohhh, is that so?"
Satanya sat up a little straighter, finally making an effort to appear somewhat regal. Then, she asked, "Does anyone have anything to report?"
Wait. Shouldn’t Shirina be the one asking that?
Why are you saying it yourself, Satanya?!
While Ira was still processing this, the towering insectoid was the first to step forward with his report—without any formal prelude like "Your Majesty, I have a matter to report."
"We have observed a slight decline in the Empire’s offensive. Their main forces seem to be withdrawing from the battlefield."
The insectoid glanced at Ira before continuing, "Ira's intelligence was accurate. Our thousand-year war with the Empire may soon come to an end."
"In truth, it’s not ending, merely pausing," Vela interjected. Under everyone’s gaze, she added, "Our losses were also severe. Our controlled territories have shrunk by about twenty percent compared to before the war."
At that moment, all eyes turned toward Ira again—after all, it was his strategies that had led to the Demon Army's repeated defeats and retreats.
"A majority of the races that defected left the battlefield immediately. However, some of them have reestablished contact with us, claiming that their tribute was simply delayed and will arrive in the coming days. This seems to be an attempt to re-declare allegiance."
The vampire girl spoke as she twirled a parasol. Then, looking at Satanya, she asked, "What does the Demon King intend to do with these traitorous turncoats?"
"Hmm…"
Satanya made a sound of contemplation and looked at the gathered leaders, awaiting their opinions.
"Slaughter them. Kill any who resist and enslave the rest," the insectoid declared.
"That would leave us no room for negotiation," the bespectacled ghost girl countered. "Other defectors will see us as enemies."
"That’s true."
The insectoid nodded and looked back at Satanya, awaiting her decision.
The others, however, remained silent.
At this moment, Ira finally understood what Vela meant when she said Satanya lacked decisiveness. Even now, she was hesitating, unable to make a decision.
Meanwhile, Vela was winking at Ira for some reason.
"…"
Truthfully, Ira did want to say something, because…
From any perspective, the only viable option was to act as if these races had never rebelled in the first place and accept their ‘allegiance’ as if nothing had happened.
However, Ira shouldn’t be the one to speak right now. His position wasn’t appropriate for it.
If Satanya wanted his advice, she should wait until after the meeting and consult him privately in a chamber like the imperial study. A proper ruler would simply move on to the next topic for now.
"Ira, can you help me?"
"…"
!
Ira froze.
She forgot. Satanya wasn’t a proper ruler.
And her wording—"Help me?"
At the very least, even in the worst-case scenario, she should’ve said, "Ira, what is your opinion?"
But…
Why did it feel different this time?
- Writer
