—An upscale residential district in northern Babel.
Here gathered the sons and daughters of royalty, nobility, and wealthy merchants from across the globe. Even within Babel, it was an ultra-exclusive enclave where only a chosen few were permitted entry.
In a room of a magnificent, sprawling mansion, First Prince Gilbert Loto Amelia of the Holy Amelia Kingdom kicked over a round table.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all! I am a prince! How dare someone like him—a worthless incompetent—do this to meeeee?!"
He raged in blind fury.
Gilbert was a royal prince, yet he had suffered such utter humiliation in public. Naturally, Kai Heinemann deserved nothing less than death.
Yet on the grounds that he had merely gone too far, Kai had received only a stern warning and a fine, along with his master, Rose.
Conversely, Gilbert's side had been deemed primarily at fault for the entire disturbance, resulting in him being placed under house arrest for a week.
"Rose's Royal Guard, Kai Heinemann, huh? Your senior knight was, um, let's see... Ah, Tamushi—no, that's not it—right! Tanishi, was it?"
A refined man with red hair styled in an undercut snapped his fingers and called out, but—
"It is Senior Knight Tamuri, Holy Knight Lord Hijiri."
A blonde woman with her long hair tied back promptly corrected him.
"Right, right, Tamuri. He was kind of Gil's favorite, and he was reasonably strong, wasn't he? So does that mean Kai Heinemann, who overwhelmed him, is actually strong?"
With their curiosity piqued by Hijiri's observation, the people in the room began talking among themselves as they pleased.
"Isn't Kai Heinemann that Gift Holder with some joke of a Gift called 'The Most Incompetent in the World'?"
"Yeah, an incompetent apostate despised and forsaken by God. And someone like that supposedly beat a senior knight? I find that impossible to believe."
"He most likely resorted to some underhanded trick, didn't he? Which just means Tamuri was far too incompetent."
The refined man with the undercut clapped his hands twice and turned around.
"So? Satoru, what do you think? You met him once, didn't you?"
When he asked the handsome, black-haired boy with keen interest, the boy pouted and barked,
"He's small fry! When the King ordered him to fight Geralt, he was shaking so badly he couldn't do a thing."
"So he's at least weaker than Geralt, huh? Then there's no way he could beat us. Right, Mashiro?"
Hijiri sought the opinion of a beautiful girl sitting nearby with long, glossy black hair.
"Yes. For the time being, I don't believe it will hinder our plans."
The black-haired girl, Mashiro, calmly asserted. At this single statement from her—
"As expected of Lady Hero! How reassuring!"
"With this, our victory is certain!"
"We can eradicate the demon race without leaving a single one alive!"
Sighs of relief rose from all around the room.
"So? What do we do about Kai Heinemann?"
To Hijiri's question,
"Naturally—"
Gilbert began to speak, but—
"Leave him be."
Mashiro cut him off, declaring flatly.
"Don't screw with me! That bastard showed an unforgivable amount of disrespect to me! I will kill him! Otherwise, I'll never be able to save face before the lords!"
"No. Kai Heinemann is Lena and Keith's childhood friend. If we kill him, we risk turning the two of them against us."
"Then just assassinate him in the dark or something!"
Mashiro let out a heavy sigh in exasperation.
"Listen. Have you forgotten that you caught the Prime Minister's attention because of your reckless actions? If you try to assassinate Kai Heinemann right now, you will fail nine times out of ten. If that happens, it will become public knowledge. We will irrevocably lose Lena and Keith's trust, and the two of them will leave our team."
She spoke down to him as if reasoning with a small child.
"Damn it!"
Furious, Gilbert dropped onto a sofa and began violently stomping the floor.
"Lena and Keith are the cornerstones of the war against the demon race. They are assets we cannot afford to lose. If you have a personal grudge, you can purge him to your heart's content after you succeed the throne and we eradicate the demons. Once that's done, we'll lend you all the strength you need."
Having said her piece, Mashiro looked around at everyone present.
"Our objective is the extinction of the demon race and monsters—nothing more. That is the shared mission of all humanity!"
She raised her voice. The knights placed their hands over their chests in unison.
"Kill the demons! Destroy their cities and burn their fields! Women and children make no difference if they are of the demon race—eradicate every last one of them! Justice lies with us!"
In response to Mashiro's decree, a fierce roar went up from the knights.