Late into the night, I continued to push through the mountain of paperwork on my desk.
By this hour, new documents had finally stopped arriving. It was now simply a matter of processing what remained.
Only Grom, Luciana, and I were left in the room. The others were already resting in a separate wing.
I had ordered them to do so. If I hadn't, they would have certainly overexerted themselves. While they had been reluctant to turn in before me, this was a matter of putting the right people in the right places. It was impossible for those with ordinary human stamina to keep pace with us. It was far more beneficial for them to maintain a regular schedule so they could work hard again tomorrow.
As the three of us worked in silence, the door suddenly swung open. Logan peeked his head inside, wearing a somewhat awkward expression.
"Dwight. You have a visitor."
I stopped my pen at his words, feeling a sudden urge to let out a heavy sigh.
(At this hour...?)
I could only think of one person who would visit me now. There was no one else it could possibly be.
Following Logan into the room was exactly the person I expected—the previous Demon King, Diera. She greeted us with her usual carefree air.
"Good evening to you. I have come to play again tonight."
Striding across the room, Diera peered over my shoulder to see what I was doing. She let out an ostentatious groan.
"What is this? You are as stiff and formal as ever. Back when I was the Demon King, I lived with far more leisure than this."
"And that burden just ended up falling on us, didn't it...?" Luciana grumbled in a low voice.
She shot a sharp glare at Diera, who protested as if she had been deeply offended.
"Luciana, do you also mean to call me a slacker? You are quite mistaken! That was a necessary part of maintaining the majesty of the Demon King, and—"
"Yes, yes, enough with the excuses. If you're so bored, why don't you help? We’re short-handed."
Luciana held out a stack of documents toward her. Diera immediately recoiled, shaking her head in refusal.
"I decline. I have no fondness for desk work."
Having said that, she circled behind my chair, leaning in to whisper near my ear.
"Come now, Demon King. Leave such tedious work aside and cross blades with me. I wish to show you a technique I have newly developed."
"If you want a mock battle, go find Henry."
"I spoke to that archer as well, but he turned me down, saying he had drills to oversee. That man... he appears rough, but he is surprisingly dutiful, isn't he?"
Diera spoke with clear dissatisfaction. It seemed Henry was conducting military training even at this hour. His dedication to combat was truly sincere. The reason the Demon King's Army continued to triumph over other nations was undoubtedly due to his rigorous instruction.
"There is no one left but you. Will you not grant my request?"
"I cannot simply abandon my work halfway through. Look elsewhere."
"Dear me, what a stiff fellow you are..." Diera pouted, clearly not yet ready to give up.
At that moment, Grom stood up from his seat. He walked over with heavy strides and loomed over Diera, confronting her directly.
"Predecessor. Do not trouble the Demon King further. I shall remain silent no longer."
"Hmm? And what do you intend to do about it?"
"Urgh..."
Grom faltered at Diera's retort. He likely hadn't thought that far ahead. In contrast, Diera wore a malicious smirk. They had clearly grasped each other's personalities over the past six months; she was undoubtedly pushing Grom's buttons on purpose.
After a brief moment of intense deliberation, the flames in Grom's eye sockets erupted. He clenched his fists and shouted at Diera.
"...This Grom shall put an end to your life here and now!"
"A fine resolve! I shall accept your challenge!"
Listening to the exchange, I felt the strength drain from my body. I barely resisted the urge to bury my face in my hands.
(...Why does it always come to this?)
Grom's logic had taken a massive, irrational leap. Calling it "short-circuited" didn't even begin to cover it. In the clash of his various emotions, he had arrived at a completely baffling conclusion.
Ultimately, Grom and Diera went dashing out of the audience chamber together. They were likely going to fight now. He had been completely goaded by Diera's silver tongue.
Luciana, who had watched the entire scene play out, let out an exaggerated sigh. Resting her chin on her hand, she looked at me.
"Demon King-sama, are you okay? If you want, I can go drag them back."
"No, it's fine. We'll finish this up while they're gone."
"Oka~y."
We resumed our clerical work. Logan, who had remained by the door, turned to leave as well.
"I'll go keep an eye on them just in case. I'll let you know if things get out of hand."
"My apologies."
If Logan was there, things likely wouldn't descend into a total disaster. He was the only one capable of settling things down—a man who could scold even the previous Demon King without a hint of hesitation. I had witnessed such scenes many times before. I felt a genuine sense of respect for his grit.
A while later, as I worked alone with Luciana, a nearby window was pushed open. Yura entered the room, having possessed her dedicated machine golem. She came to a halt in front of me.
"Reporting to Master. Individual Name Grom and Individual Name Diera are engaging in abandonment of duty and obstruction of business. I suggest dealing with these two individuals."
"...I order you to monitor them. Keep an eye on the situation."
"Master's directive accepted. Commencing pursuit."
Yura leaped back out the window, emitting flames from the soles of her feet as she took flight. She disappeared into the night sky in an instant. In the end, her reason for entering through the window remained a mystery.
(Given Yura's personality, she likely chose the most efficient, shortest path.)
She was still significantly lacking in common sense. It seemed I still had much to teach her.
As I pondered this, Luciana let out a soft chuckle. She stretched her arms over her head and exhaled.
"The Demon King's Army has certainly become a lively place."
"Indeed."
I had to agree. The organization had grown large enough that I couldn't even focus on paperwork in peace, even in the middle of the night.
"Is it turning into the world you wanted?"
"I didn't think it would take this specific shape, but it isn't bad. The Demon King's Army is functioning well."
I stated my honest opinion. Although several unexpected individuals had joined our ranks, they hadn't caused any real problems. If anything, they were a help.
Luciana looked up at the ceiling, her voice thoughtful.
"I think the previous Demon King—Diera-sama—is impressed, too. This is a sight that would have been unthinkable in the old Demon King's Army."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Even though we called it the Demon King's Army, the structure back then was a mess. Powerful demons just fought however they pleased based on their own whims. A proper chain of command was only really enforced in the units directly under her control. You should know that better than anyone, shouldn't you?"
I nodded at her self-deprecating question. Memories from over ten years ago surfaced in my mind—the days when I was still human, fighting against the demons for the sake of the world.
(Indeed, they were never unified.)
I looked back on those times. If the demons had possessed superior coordination and unity, humanity wouldn't have stood a chance. It was precisely because of their internal discord that we had been able to find an opening.
"Even though the predecessor was like that, you've managed to build an army and a territory of this scale in such a short time... maybe you really do have a talent for being a Demon King. If you had defected back then, the war might have ended very differently."
"...I wonder."
I gave an ambiguous response. Even if I had sided with the demons back then, I doubted the final result would have changed.
Because the Hero—that person—would have stood in the way.
She was the kind of person who would have continued to protect the world regardless of my betrayal. I knew her character better than anyone. Even if it had come down to a fight between us, I could never have defeated her.
(—Would that still be true, even now?)
The question suddenly crossed my mind. I began to follow the logic toward an answer, then forced myself to stop. It was a scenario I didn't want to imagine. Even attempting to weigh the outcome felt like something terrifying.
"........."
I felt a dull ache behind my eyes and shifted my gaze. Across the room, resting on a pedestal, was a crystal. The remains floating within the crystal were there, as they had always been, unchanged even now.