My name is... a secret.
I am not such a fool that I would give my name away so easily. That is because I harbor a desire to rebel against the Demon Kingdom. For now, you may simply call me a man of the Demon Race.
I had a grievance. In the old days, the Demon Kingdom attacked the human nations relentlessly, crushing them and expanding our territory. Yet, for the past dozen or so years, the front lines have remained stagnant. No, they have been retreating. Even after we significantly shaved away the territory of the Fullhart Kingdom in the last war, we pulled back our lines as if we were abandoning that very land.
The official reasons given were vigilance against the Elf Empire, the reorganization of our battle lines, and the strengthening of our logistics. A dozen years ago, there was a global food shortage that didn't spare the Demon Kingdom, so at the time, I accepted the necessity of pulling back.
But things are different now. The food situation in the Demon Kingdom has improved dramatically over the last few years. The fortresses on the front lines are overflowing with provisions. The Elf Empire, which we once feared, has been annexed by the Demon Kingdom. The Garlet Kingdom, which supports Fullhart, is in total chaos.
Now is the perfect time to invade the human nations! Or so I believed. I voiced my appeal to the Demon King and the upper leadership, hoping to see this realized. But I was ignored.
If they will not act, then I must. I will defeat the Demon King and become the new ruler myself.
Of course, I was not so conceited as to think I was stronger than him. The Demon King is powerful; I admit that much. My frustration stemmed from the fact that he refused to move despite possessing such strength. To defeat a man like that, a frontal assault was out of the question. A surprise attack was my only option.
But when would he let his guard down? When does a Demon King become careless? I didn't know. So, I continued to watch him, waiting for that one moment of vulnerability.
Currently, I was staying in Beton Village. It was one of the settlements located between the Royal Capital and Shashato City. Its only notable feature was the presence of a Teleportation Gate. The population was small—barely a hundred and fifty souls.
Out of those hundred and fifty people, about fifty were my comrades. These were the ones who had agreed with my criticisms of the Demon King’s leadership back in the Royal Capital. Yes, they came from the capital; they weren't original residents. We had migrated to this village under the cover of the chaos surrounding the Teleportation Gate’s construction.
As the leader of those fifty people, I had secured a position as an influential figure in the village. I could have become the Village Head if I had used the recommendation of my comrades, but I declined. I wasn't so idle that I had time to look after a whole village. I still did my share of the work and participated in village events, of course. Maintaining good neighborhood relations is essential. Since the locals had accepted a suspicious group of fifty people, I had to play the part properly.
However, I had a grand ambition. I was destined to defeat the Demon King and destroy the human nations. I couldn't be tied down by the duties of a Village Head. Besides, if a newcomer used sheer numbers to force their way into power, they would only be hated.
As a side note, there was a reason we fled the Royal Capital for this village. A sudden "Cleaning Operation" had resulted in the capture of many of our comrades who were lurking in the back alleys. Supposedly, it was a move to smoke out spies and assassins from the human nations, and we were simply caught in the crossfire. Unforgivable human scum! Just remembering it made my blood boil, and I renewed my vow to wipe them out.
One spring day, the Demon King’s parade finally marched past us. I had been told about it in advance, and the Village Head of Beton Village had been summoned to participate, so the event itself wasn't a surprise.
What did surprise me was the scale. It was much smaller than I expected. The Demon King appeared far earlier in the procession than anticipated. Because of the Teleportation Gate, I couldn't tell how many were following behind, but the King was clearly the center of attention.
Was this carelessness? His escort was conspicuously small. Could I do it now? No, the elites of the Royal Guards were there, and they were carrying shields. They were clearly prepared for a surprise attack.
I watched, but then I fell into a state of confusion. The units following directly behind the Demon King were armed with agricultural tools. Were they actually going to fight? Or were they just farmers? Before I could make sense of it, the Demon King was already passing through the gate to the next location.
I didn't have time to dwell on it. I looked toward my comrades. Among them were men stronger and more battle-hardened than I. I wanted to rely on their judgment.
Wait... where did the Comrade who Boasted of Bravery go? I turned to a nearby subordinate.
"The Comrade who Boasted of Bravery went to Village Five to scout the parade, didn't he?" the man replied.
That’s right. Had he not returned?
"Apparently, he spotted his arch-nemesis from the Angel Race there and decided to settle the score on the spot."
I see. In that case, I couldn't hope for his survival. I offered a moment of silent prayer for our fallen brother.
Then, what about the Comrade who is a Magic Beast Tamer? He was missing as well.
"He went to Shashato City."
Was he scouting too?
"Something like that."
"Be specific," I demanded.
"He heard a rumor that Inferno Wolves were in the parade and said he had to see them..."
What a fool! The Inferno Wolf is a ferocious disaster-class beast. There was no way such a thing would be in a parade. They were clearly just taking some common wolf-type monster and calling it an Inferno Wolf to sound impressive!
"He also mentioned wanting to see the Dragons and Wyverns."
How could Dragons and Wyverns possibly march in a parade? They were obviously just taking similar-looking monsters and slapping those names on them!
"That may be true, sir... but he hasn't come back."
Captured, then. Blast. To lose two of our best combatants like that... But I still had other comrades! What happened to the Comrade who is a Unicorn Cavalryman?
"His unicorn ran away, and he’s fallen into a deep depression."
What? It ran away?
"Around the end of winter, apparently. He said it just vanished one day."
He was talking about that unicorn with the broken horn, wasn't he?
"Yes, sir. The one that was captured by humans, whom he protected and raised. He said it just disappeared."
Well, I suppose his lethargy was justified. Still, I hoped he would snap out of it soon.
"As do I, sir."
I set the cavalryman aside for now. "Right. What about the Comrade who is an Assassin?"
"He was captured in Shashato City."
In Shashato? Was he scouting as well? Are we certain he was caught?
"You know how we heard the parade was delayed by a day? Apparently, he went to investigate the reason. He disguised himself as an artisan to get close to a VIP, but he was nabbed by the Goroun Company's guards. The person who was with him brought back the news."
Damn it all...
"Also, just to let you know, the Comrade with the Alias of Scholar has also been captured. He was taken by a young girl in Shashato City."
A young girl... Magistrate Ifuls’s aide? That girl was the one who dismantled our Shashato branch. Along with the Magistrate himself, she was someone we couldn't afford to underestimate. But the Scholar knew how dangerous she was. I didn't think he would be taken so easily.
"According to his companion, he was so engrossed in watching a public experiment in the city that he completely forgot himself..."
Ah, right. That man loved his research. He had even been babbling about finding a way to sneak into Ifuls Academy. But still... the timing was atrocious.
Fine. We would skip the assassination attempt on the Demon King this time. By the time I made that decision, the King had already passed through the Teleportation Gate, but I didn't let it bother me. There would always be another chance.
"C-C-Comrade! Look!"
"What is it?"
"O-o-over there!"
I looked toward the Teleportation Gate leading from Shashato City. Countless beings that looked exactly like Inferno Wolves were pouring through the gate.
I could tell just by looking at them—they were the real thing. So, those were Inferno Wolves. Beings capable of laying waste to an entire city alone. And there were... innumerable. There were more of them than there were people in this entire village.
Hahaha. If the Demon King had this much military power at his disposal, he could conquer the human nations whenever he pleased. There was no need to even give those kingdoms a second thought. So that was how it was.
"I see," I whispered. "As expected of the Demon King."
With that thought, I lost consciousness.
The Comrade who is a Unicorn Cavalryman, having finally woken from his faint, could not take his eyes off a unicorn pulling a magnificent carriage.
That unicorn... was mine. It had a horn now, but there was no mistake. It looked toward me, happily waving its horn as if in greeting.
I see... its horn was healed. That was good. Truly, that was a relief. At the same time, I understood that it would never return to my side. A unicorn with a healed horn wouldn't be content to stay in one small place forever. My days as a cavalryman were over.
That night, the former cavalryman drank the last of the expensive sake he had hidden in his room.
However, a few days later, the unicorn returned. It had a look on its face as if to say it was back in his care.
The progress of the parade is as follows: Currently, the main body is moving from Shashato City to the Royal Capital. The Wyverns have flown ahead and are on standby in the Royal Capital. The Dragons are currently on standby at Draim's Nest.