𝐈𝐃𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝟏

The room is inorganic rather than grand, and the furnishings, which are probably all high-end, give the impression of just being placed there.

It’s a room that feels devoid of human breath, and one could easily nod in agreement if told that no one lives there.

“It seems a star has fallen.”

The old woman said, staring at the crystal ball.

In a hoarse voice that instills unease and discomfort in the listener.

“Is it a good omen?”

The questioning voice is young.

It belongs to a young man with a majestic physique and sharp eyes.

“For humans, it would be a bad omen. It means the number of humans with the star of a hero is decreasing.”

“Then it’s a good omen for us.”

The young man laughs lightly.

“By the way, old woman.”

“What is it, Demon King Ingral?”

“Do we have to do this performance every time we do a divination?”

He says with a look of great distaste, waving his right hand.

Servants appear from nowhere, removing the dark curtains, carrying out the incense burner that continues to emit strange smoke, and opening the windows for ventilation.

The office of Demon King Ingral, which has regained its brightness in an instant, has lost its explosive eeriness from just a moment ago and is now very naturally functional and chic.

“What are you saying, Your Majesty the Demon King! Do you even understand the weight of tradition!”

The old woman begins to get angry.

The Demon King makes a very, very weary face.

“Besides, there’s no need to divine the movements of the human kingdom every single time.”

“You’re being dismissive! The previous Demon King and the one before him were always sharpening their fangs to invade at any time.”

“Your blood pressure is going to rise again, old woman.”

“Whose fault is that! Whose!”

The old woman stomps her feet in frustration.

Ingral mutters to himself, probably.

Neither his father nor his grandfather probably intended to fight with the humans. They were just posing as if they were going to fight.

The great wish of the demon race is to reclaim the lands of their ancestors that were taken by the humans.

However, in reality, he thinks there are only a few who are dissatisfied with the current life in the Demon King’s country.

Compared to the land they lived in over five hundred years ago, the climate is warm and the crops grow well. There are hardly any who die of hunger or cold.

What’s the point of invading the cold and poor human kingdom, giving up such a life?

There’s almost nothing to gain.

Who would be stupid enough to move to such a land, except to bring humans as slaves?

“It’s meaningless.”

‘Slaves need food and a place to sleep. What’s the point of increasing productivity by providing such things?

Even now, every year, we secretly export the surplus to the human kingdom.’

“Did you say something, Your Majesty?”

“Nothing in particular. Aren’t you hearing things?”

He casually brushes it off.

Adding an unnecessary comment like, don’t push yourself too hard because you’re old.

・・・

『”𝙰𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜.𝚌𝚘𝚖” – 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 “𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚞𝚙𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜” 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 “𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜”.』

・・・

“If you tease her too much, she might really die from high blood pressure.”

Watching the oldest elder leave in a huff, the secretary Milene shrugged her shoulders.

Her dark skin, silver hair, and the large, long ears on both sides of her face are racial characteristics of the dark elf tribe.

Of course, so is her radiant beauty.

“She’s always so noisy, I can’t help but want to say a sarcastic comment or two. To the old people.”

Returning to his desk, Ingral gives a wry smile.

I wonder if scratching his head means he’s somewhat remorseful.

He, like everyone else, belongs to the third generation of those who were driven off their land by humans.

Honestly, I don’t really understand the resentment towards the human race.

But it’s different for the elderly.

They fled south, barely escaping with their lives, after losing all their land and culture in the great war five hundred years ago.

They have vivid memories of it.

The eldest elder is even from that generation.

Even for the demon race and dark elf race, who live for hundreds of years, five hundred years is not a short time.

There’s quite a temperature difference between Ingral, who belongs to a generation that doesn’t know war, and the elderly, who clearly harbor resentment towards humans.

“I understand it’s a difficult situation. But the war is over. Not everyone can nod in agreement when told, ‘Let’s get along from tomorrow on.'”

“If they don’t nod, the war will never end.”

Even now, we are technically at war with the human kingdom… the Lintrite Kingdom.

Border disputes occur every few years.

However, Ingral has no intention of invading.

Of course, if we’re attacked, we’ll fight back with all our might, but there’s no reason for us to attack first.

Except for the grudges of the elderly.

In terms of productivity, our Masrur Kingdom is far superior. Both industrial and military power are higher. Even our land is much more fertile.

If we were to attack, we would probably win nine times out of ten.

But even if we win, the war doesn’t end there.

We have to rule. The humans.

“Just thinking about it is a pain.”

“It starts with resentment, just like the elderly.”

The ruled resent the rulers. And they are poor.

Naturally, they would have to take food and supplies from Masrur.

To feed those who resent us.

If someone doesn’t find this ridiculous, that person is rather a great philanthropist.

“I’m not a philanthropist, I’m stingy, so I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t make money, Milene.”

“Yes, I know. It’s much more profitable to smuggle surplus food and supplies from the country. It can also help the orphans over there.”

Milene chuckles.

The Demon King makes a subtle face at her knowing look.

Then, at that moment.

“It’s terrible! From the treasury!”

One of the attendants rushes in, his face pale.

Apparently, a magical tool has been stolen from the treasury of the Demon King’s castle.

The Dominance Jewel.

It’s a dangerous item that allows you to control monsters at will.

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