Difficult problem at present

The gates of the Gahne Castle, where no foreigner has taken a step into since the new king took the throne, were opening.

There's gatekeepers who are not showing any skin, but they are not moving at all.

The gate opened by itself just from Ludfein-san placing her hand on it.

It most likely moved with the power of magic. It gives off that fantasy feel so much.

We have been called to the castle of the Gahne king that's super suspicious. Ilias and Mix are keeping their guard up the whole time by my side.

Rakura was looking around curiously, and Wolfe is hyped up here several times more than usual.

I can see agitation from Ludfein-san who is at the front.

She is most likely shaken because something like this hasn't happened before, and because she doesn't know whether what we are saying is true or not.

She is bringing along people from a foreign country to the king, moreover, with permission to be armed.

The order given to Ludfein-san was to invite us to the throne room. All 5 of them, no matter the conditions they desire.

That's already unprecedented, but the warriors Ilias and Mix are on edge here. It must be accentuating how abnormal this situation is.

If it turns into a battle, there's also the option of running away. But now that a seat for conversation has been presented, we can't just get cold feet and run away.

We could secure our safety and run away here, but if we do, what would have been the point of us coming to Gahne in the first place.

"That said, there's no one here, Ludfein-san."

"Yes. Only people who are allowed to have direct audiences with His Majesty like cabinet ministers and generals can enter this castle. I don't know the circumstances behind it, but it is always clean, and there's not even dust lingering in the air." (Ludfein)

Now that she mentions it, the air is extremely clean.

Even when I look at every corner of the corridor, I don't see anything resembling dirt.

It is so clean I might even believe this castle was built just yesterday from scratch.

"…I understand how you feel. We don't want to cause any scenes here, but…my two bodyguards…"

"It is natural for you to be on guard. I myself also advised him to do this tomorrow, but he said to bring you at once…" (Ludfein)

Ludfein-san sighs. Even though she should be able to feel the strength of Ilias and Mix with her skin… This composure of hers bothers me.

"It is…not like you trust us, right? And yet, you are not saying anything regarding bringing weapons. Is the king of Gahne really strong?"

"—I don't know. However, it is true that many people raised objections at the time when this was decided. Not only servants to look after his daily needs, he doesn't even have a single bodyguard. This is a first in history." (Ludfein)

"Must be. If I were to say I don't need bodyguards, there would be people who would hurl objections non stop even with my standing."

I feel like Ilias is glaring at me here, but let's ignore that for now.

"But His Majesty apparently called the generals and spoke to them. They all gave up assigning a bodyguard to him after that. We cabinet ministers also advised him to have attendants, but he said he didn't need them. Just how in the world is he maintaining this castle…? I think he is someone who excels in magic, but he is a person with a lot of mysteries." (Ludfein)

"I am impressed he managed to become a king despite having that many mysteries."

"The previous king suddenly nominated him. There were of course people against it, but the previous king gave out a royal decree after 1 year of seeing his results…" (Ludfein)

"And then, he managed to bring growth that no one could complain about, bringing us to the present."

"Yes. They had no choice but to acknowledge that his ability was enough for the previous king to nominate him." (Ludfein)

The sharp drop of criminals inside the territory, the increase in population and national interest; the dash of the Gahne king surpasses even the young and smart king of Taizu, Marito.

I have seen how great Marito is with my own eyes, but there are times when I think he is not human.

And you are telling me he surpasses him by leaps and bounds? I don't know if he is a human anymore…

"We are here. The throne lies ahead. I have not received permission to enter with everyone, so I will be taking my leave here." (Ludfein)

We arrive at a giant tall door.

An entrance that screams boss room. I wouldn't be surprised if a save point were nearby.

Ludfein-san bowed and left.

Even though she should have a lot of opinions about this… She is quite the dutiful person.

"…So, how do we open this?"

It is over 3 meters tall. There's a vertical line in the middle.

There's no handles on both sides, so it should be the type that opens by pushing.

Let's try pushing it for now.

It is a giant stone door. Of course it wouldn't even budge an inch.

Seeing this, Ilias tried pushing it too, but it looks like that didn't work.

"Should we break it?" (Ilias)

"Don't."

I stopped Ilias, who was about to grab her sword, and think.

"'Open Sesame'."

I tried saying the famous Open Sesame in Japanese, but no reaction.

"…Alright, let's go back."

Can't be helped if it doesn't open. It should serve as an excuse too.

I turn around and—

"Ah, it opened when I tried to move it to the side." (Rakura)

Rakura opened the door by sliding it to the side.

Looks like the vertical line was a substitute for a handle.

I shouldn't have preconceptions, yup.

The throne room is an oblong room with a high ceiling, and the illumination stones at the walls on both sides were lined up to serve as indirect illumination.

It is still dark, but it is bright enough to read a book.

There's a curtain to hide the king at the top of a few stairs, and I can faintly see the silhouette of a giant throne.

If he is already sitting on the throne, can he see us?

We can't turn back after coming this far. I doubt it will abruptly turn into a battle.

I brace myself and approach to a point where my voice should be able to reach.

As I got closer, I could tell that someone was sitting on the throne.

I can't see him clearly, but it feels like he is wearing a fancy outfit.

"I commend you for coming all the way here from Taizu—no, from a parallel world, traveler."

A voice echoed from the other side of the curtain -the voice of a woman.

The king of Gahne was a queen? Speaking of which, I didn't really ask.

"That wisdom that managed to see through my identity from the trial this one has set is truly interesting. Come, show me your face better."

The curtain slowly rolled up. There's obviously no one here aside from us.

An action like that won't surprise me at this point, but in this situation where my caution is heightened, I ended up reacting sensitively.

The king of Gahne showed up from the other side of the curtain.

"This one is the king of Gahne and also the Gold Demon Lord."

The one in front of me was a demi-human wearing a fancy outfit that reminds me of a juunihitoe**.

Her skin is white and pristine, and her hair and ears, as well as her giant tail I can see at her back, had shining golden fur to the point of being dazzling.

If Wolfe is a wolf, the one in front of me would be a fox?

"Umu? What's the matter, everyone? This one has shown my appearance as a Demon Lord. You should be trembling in awe—"

For an instant, what I saw in my vision was the Gold Demon Lord spreading her arms trying to welcome me —that sight switched to Ilias swinging her drawn sword.

I can tell even from this distance, Ilias came at her seriously.

However, that sword was stopped a few centimeters short from reaching the Gold Demon Lord.

"…Yer one hot-blooded knight, but that's a pleasant bloodthirst."

The Gold Demon Lord is not touching the sword at all. It looks as if Ilias had stopped mid-swing herself.

Ilias must have felt wary about that amused smile of hers, she quickly took distance and returned to our side in one leap.

"Ilias, weren't you seriously trying to cut her down there?"

"I was serious. Not only slice her, I poured enough mana to blow her away without leaving a trace behind." (Ilias)

"Isn't that bodyguard of yers too dangerous?!"

It seems like the Gold Demon Lord just noticed how fearsome that one attack directed at her was.

Meaning that that attack just now wasn't stopped by the will of the Gold Demon Lord.

Or more like, her charisma suddenly dropped.

"— *Cough* Now, calm down. It is not like this one called ya here to eat you up. That's why, that sword—"

Ilias once again swung at the Gold Demon Lord while she was talking…but the sword stopped clean in the middle.

"Didn't work!" (Ilias)

"Hey, hear me out? Come on."

"Ilias, stop trying to cut her down just because you see her full of openings. Your attacks are most likely being blocked not by the will of the Gold Demon Lord, but by the effects of this building."

"Wa, really?" (Ilias)

Ilias takes distance again. She swung her sword a number of times in place and confirmed the feel.

"It helps out a lot that yer perceptive. That's right, this castle itself is a barrier that protects this one. Even if ya try to bring harm to this one, it will inhibit yer power and erase yer attack."

"So that's why it feels like I exhausted twice of the mana I poured in, huh… Then, if I destroy this castle completely—" (Ilias)

"Sorry, but can ya calm down that person?!"

"Ilias, relax, relax."

Ilias finally lowers her sword after I calm her down…but she isn't sheathing her sword.

I thought Mix would be lunging at her just like her, but she is not moving away from my side.

It seems like she is prioritizing protecting me rather than eliminating the threat.

But her bloodthirst has been leaking out and my skin hurts.

"But I am impressed that ya could tell. This one didn't feel any detection type spell."

"I have heard from Ludfein-san about how you managed to make the generals give up on assigning a bodyguard for you. And so, I simply inferred from your state and reaction just now."

"Hooh, so ya picked that up from the small details. By the way, it is the same if ya attack the castle. That said, it doesn't leave a good impression, so don't."

"Uhm, can Wolfe try it out too?" (Wolfe)

Wolfe raised her hand. The Gold Demon Lord made a shocked face, but she soon smiled and nodded.

"Umu, ya can try it just once. This one can understand the feeling of wanting to try it out yerse—"

The fist of Wolfe stopped right in front of the Demon Lord.

It is the attack that uses the magic emission function of the gauntlets to its maximum capacity, but it was completely erased.

"Oooh." (Wolfe)

"Let's not do that in the middle of someone talking, okay?"

Is it just me, or is she on the verge of tears here?

Having protection like this one probably means the battle proficiency of the Gold Demon Lord herself isn't that high.

Of course she would feel scared if so many attacks that could kill her in one hit were to be thrown without hesitation right in front of her eyes.

"This one would like to begin the conversation already. Is there anything else ya would want to test out? Don't try anything afterwards, okay?"

"It would be a hassle for me, so I'm fine." (Rakura)

"I myself would want to concentrate on protecting Mister Friend here, so I will refrain." (Mix)

"Alright, we are fine then?"

"Wait, I would like to test it out a bit. I will go even more seriously on the next one." (Ilias)

"Ya already went twice!"

I wonder what kind of face Ludfein-san would have made if she was here…

That said, I am interested in how amazing this barrier is.

I have seen fantasy scenes countless times now, but there aren't many occasions where I have felt it with my own body.

"Sorry, but can I test it out too? There's rarely any occasions like this one, you see."

"Ya too, huh… Fine. This one is benevolent after all."

The Gold Demon Lord walks here.

She is a bit smaller than Wolfe. Is this what they call a Demon Lord?

She looks just like a pretty girl aside from the fact that she is a demi-human.

I feel a bit apprehensive about swinging my wooden sword at full power against someone like that.

"Go ahead, come at me with everything ya have."

It would be embarrassing to end dryly after exerting myself. A light poke should be enough.

I grab my wooden sword and try to poke her head lightly.

"Ouch!"

"Ah, sorry. Did it hurt?"

"U-Umu, be gentle! …Hm?"

…Hm?

I tilt my head.

I try poking her waist gently next.

"Ouch! Wa, wait wait!"

"Why does it hit?!"

"That's what I should be saying!"

It seems like the barrier is not working.

I have experienced this often.

It must be that.

"…If it keeps in check the mana of the person, it means that if the other party has no mana, it won't be able to keep the other party in check and can attack?"

"…So it seems. That was a blind spot."

An awkward silence takes over.

The Gold Demon Lord boasts an absolute barrier.

That's why she allowed us to come armed and doesn't have bodyguards.

And yet, we have discovered her weakness right as we met.

"Alright, take my sword! Aim at her throat!" (Ilias)

"W-Wait wait! This one is not an evil Demon Lord!"

"As if there's good or bad in Demon Lords!" (Ilias)

"Calm down, Ilias. It is true that the effect of the barrier is not working on me. However, it is not like the Gold Demon Lord has no mana at all. Even if she fought back blindly, it would still be dangerous for me."

"…Ah!"

"…Ah!"

The Gold Demon Lord and Ilias were taken aback.

"T-That's right, this one's mana is like…super impressive, ya know!"

"—No problem. I will be your shield." (Ilias)

"A bodyguard shouldn't be trying to make their escort cross a dangerous bridge!"

"That's right, Lady Ratzel! Our utmost priority is the safety of Mister Friend!" (Mix)

"Kuh, I want to kill you!" (Ilias)

I don't need your 'kuh' filled with killing intent.

Ilias lost her parents in a battle against monsters.

She must hold a lot of hatred towards the Demon Lords that are the reason the monsters were born in the first place.

That said, we won't be able to achieve our objective here like this. I try to calm down Ilias again.

"Listen here. We came here to have a talk. Even if we were to subjugate the Gold Demon Lord here, it is not something we could explain to the citizens of Gahne, right?"

"That's…" (Ilias)

"That's right, that's right. There's no one who knows the identity of this one, ya know! If ya kill me, it will end up in a war against Taizu, ya know!"

"Nuguguh…" (Ilias)

"Good grief. Trying to kill the frail me. What a bunch of savages. Ain't that right?"

"True. It is always like this."

"Oi, who do you think you are hugging? Don't hold hands." (Ilias)

Oops, I went too far with the joke. Gotta reflect.

"By the way, this is my first time hearing about the Gold Demon Lord. I thought for sure the Scarlet Demon Lord would be here."

"What. It is true that Scarlet created the Nether that's in contact with the territory of Gahne, but they are not so eccentric as to rule a human nation, ya know?"

You are saying it yourself?

But now that she mentions it, I have heard about Demon Lords attacking human territories in the past, but I have not heard of them ruling those places.

"I have also not heard of the existence of the Gold Demon Lord…" (Ilias)

"You haven't either? What about you, Mix?"

"No, I don't either." (Mix)

Both Ilias, who knows a lot about history, and Mix, who is a network of affairs, don't know about this.

Is it a new species of Demon Lord?

I don't know if a Demon Lord can have a new species though.

"What about you, Rakura?"

"No, not really… Aah, could it be the Yellow Demon Lord?" (Rakura)

Yellow Demon Lord. I have certainly been taught about that one by Maya-san.

It is the Demon Lord that, just when they were about to create a Nether in a country somewhere, they were defeated by Yugura.

The purification of that Nether has already been done and there's no remains of it.

"Ya bastard, don't speak of that name!"

"Hieh?!" (Rakura)

The Gold Demon Lord suddenly got angry as if she were a different person.

I don't feel any killing intent, but the hairs on all her body are standing.

I can tell she is pretty angry.

"Argh, ya annoying Yugura! Telling the humans the wrong name! If only this one had been defeated after raising my reputation more, I could have etched that name in the whole nation!"

—Yellow and Gold… Aah, so that's how it is.

Looks like she calls herself as Gold, but the Hero Yugura subjugated her as the Yellow Demon Lord and that was engraved in history.

The person herself must like the fancy gold.

Lord Fohl from the knight division in Taizu likes yellow over gold and uses yellow as his motif though.

"Aah, it is okay to just call you Gold Demon Lord, right? It is true that with your beautiful golden fur, that way of calling you suits you better."

"—Umu, umu! Ya really do get it! I like ya. This one doesn't mind making ya my demon, ya know?!"

She gets in a good mood with the snap of a finger.

But a demon, she says?

I might end up achieving the objective of Raheight before him.

Also, Ilias is glaring at me with quite the face, so can you please not say stuff like that?

"I would like to begin the serious talk already."

"Oh, right. Then, stand there. This one will go…here."

We return to our initial positions and the Gold Demon Lord sits back at her throne.

"But this has been super tiring. Maybe we should leave it to tomorrow?"

"Whose fault do you think that was? No, the origin was my bodyguard though."

"*Cough* Then, let's begin the talk. The reason why this one called ya was simply because I was interested in ya and wanted to have a talk. Ya sent a message like that to me because ya wanted to have a talk too, right?"

"Yeah, I am grateful that you have accepted to have a talk. What I want to know is the identity and objective of the resurrected Demon Lords."

"What, so the book really had that stuff written there."

She doesn't seem to be that surprised. Well, the person herself has resurrected and we have already confirmed that this is true.

There's no point in confirming whether resurrection is possible anymore.

"Judging from your personality, I can tell that Raheight is not your subordinate. If possible, I would like to hear information about that too."

"Nfufu. But this one is the Gold Demon Lord. Don't think ya can easily get information from me."

If not for the memory of when she was a complete mess, the smile of the Gold Demon Lord would look like that of a master tactician.

That said, it doesn't seem like she will tell me the information obediently.

"When talking, this one should answer yer questions or we wouldn't be able to have a fruitful conversation. However, ya don't think ya can obtain the information of other Demon Lords from me without a price, right?"

"If you have some sort of side-show, I am prepared to accept it, so please explain quickly."

"I don't hate ya being so perceptive, but slowly enjoying the intimate meetings between a man and a woman is the key for a long lasting relationship, ya know? Well, fine. Let's take our time deepening that part in the future. My apologies, but can everyone move around 5 steps back?"

We move back as told.

When we did, a big table phased up from the place we were standing on.

There's a giant diorama set on top of the table. Is this a 3d map with Gahne as the center?

It is replicated in an extremely detailed manner, and there's humans smaller than grains of rice set outside the houses.

The Gold Demon Lord stood up from the throne and walked to the opposite side of the table.

And then, she placed that hand on the diorama.

When she did, the diorama began to move in front of our eyes.

I can tell that the detailed facilities were moving.

Not only that, even clouds began appearing in the sky.

The diminutive humans were moving busily inside Gahne and managing the country.

It can't compare to reality, but it feels as if I am watching the screen of a city management game.

"Let's begin with an explanation of this one. I am the Gold of Ruling. Ya can think of me as a Demon Lord that excels in ruling. This is the world that I have created which is necessary in my ruling."

"Wold? Not a diorama?"

"Nfufufu. This one's power is to create an imaginary world and see its future."

A half transparent hologram of the same scale as the diorama appeared in the air as well as from the sides.

They were all moving respectively.

"I can observe several possibilities at the same time, confirm their results, and learn of the best result. After that, this one just has to apply that to this world and it will result in a ruling without issues."

"…How accurate is it?"

"There haven't been any wrong predictions until now. Impressive, right? Its fast forward feature is also perfect."

"Yeah, it is impressive."

The power of the Gold Demon Lord is without doubt an inhuman power. She is without doubt worthy of being called a Demon Lord.

"Excuse me, Counselor-sama, is this amazing?" (Rakura)

"Political inspections are done at the desk as well though?" (Ilias)

It seems like Ilias and Rakura don't really get it.

But Mix…understands. As expected from royalty, she is aware of just how incredible what's unfolding in front of her eyes is.

"I would like ya to explain to them this one's greatness."

"Right… Ilias, Rakura, there's two men right in front of you. One is rich, the other poor. If you were to marry one, who would it be?"

"Do I have to choose from those two?" (Rakura)

"This is a hypothetical after all. It is between one or the other."

I tell them there's no need for jokes like 'I would choose you' here.

"In that case, it would obviously be the rich one." (Rakura)

"Rakura would marry the rich one. However, that man was actually a crazy mass murderer, and you were killed without your knowledge. You miss."

"Cruel!" (Rakura)

"I will choose the poor man then. A simple lifestyle isn't bad either." (Ilias)

"Ilias marries the poor man. However, he felt a sense of inferiority from the gap between your social status, and as years went by, he grew more negative, and you spend the rest of your life without being able to form a happy family. You miss."

"Oi!" (Ilias)

The two look at me begrudgingly.

"Both were misses!" (Ilias)

"Now, wait. Let's ask the question once more. Who will you marry?"

"If it is the same result, I won't marry either!" (Rakura)

"That's right. You can do that. Right now you made a choice and learned the result. You learned the flow of events for both sides. In other words, you are guided to a 3rd choice, or an improvement in the choices. If you marry the rich man and kill him soon after, you can get the inheritance. If you marry the poor man and help him be promoted, or change his sense of worth, the result will change."

"That's…" (Ilias)

"That's the power of the Gold Demon Lord. You can learn of the results of several choices you make, and then you can choose a new method after learning about that one. There's no absolutely correct choice when ruling a nation. Being able to know the result is massive."

If you know the result, you can choose the comparatively better one, and by dealing with the issues that are brought forth from this before they sprout in full, you can increase the quality of that choice.

Also, the Gold Demon Lord said that the verification results of the simulated world and the real one have no differences.

"Umu, thanks for the easy to understand explanation. I like people who understand my greatness. Ya have my praise."

"As long as there's the limitation of time in the real world, even if it takes time to verify, choose, and reconsider, this power is priceless for a ruler."

"U-Umu. I am impressed that ya know even about its faults."

"Judging from how you have been defeated by Yugura in the past, your ability to see the future must have a cooldown. It probably can't predict the actions of the people who have outstanding power either, but even so, it is still impressive!"

"Can you not expose this one's secrets too much?!"

She told me to explain, so I just did though. What a demanding Demon Lord.

However, it is true that she has a power that's close to omnipotent for a ruler. But I don't know why she is using that power to make Gahne flourish.

Demon Lords create Nethers. In that case, shouldn't she be using that ruling power to rule the Nethers?

Well, she most likely will just say 'if you want me to answer questions regarding that, you will have to…'.

"*Cough* Well then, allow me to explain. I would like to test out whether ya are worthy to talk with this one. I am thinking of using this simulated world for the sake of that."

"I think he has already shown his quality though." (Ilias)

"I want to make this a proper match. Also, even if he is okay, I would like to gauge the quality of the others too. This one is filled with dissatisfaction from being attacked, I'll have ya know."

"Nunuh…" (Ilias)

No 'nunuh', Ilias-san.

You normally wouldn't want to talk to a savage that jumps at you with a sword in hand after all.

"Now, I will explain the rules. This one will leave the ruling of Gahne to you. Of course, the Gahne of the simulated world. I will have you enter it and rule in my stead."

Fumu, so she wants us to show her our political skills?

But everyone aside from Mix are more than beginners.

Rakura would just indulge in alcohol and debauchery. Well, she would be too embarrassed for the debauchery though.

"I will leave the management to the 5 respectively to decide victory or defeat. In order to win, ya just have to fulfill the conditions this one presents. The loss condition is…10 times. If ya let Gahne fall 10 times, ya lose."

"That's quite a lot of lives. That's great though."

"There wouldn't be a shred of fairness if I were to leave the management of a country to a novice and keep it at one time, right? Each time it falls, ya have to redo the conditions for victory again. However, I will accept redoing it 10 times at most. Won't be doing more than that, so be careful, okay?"

Manage Gahne and fulfill the winning conditions.

If Gahne falls, you redo it. If it falls 10 times, you lose.

A playthrough where you either clear all winning conditions or fall, without any saves.

This really is like a videogame.

"This one's position hinges on the result of ya people. If more than half of ya win, I don't mind declaring myself as yer ally. However, if not, I won't become yer ally. I don't plan on becoming yer enemy either, but that possibility will be haunting ya."

"You are leaving quite the important decision to the result of a game."

"That's just how this one is after all. Aah, even if ye have more losses than wins, it is fine if ya become mine."

"Thanks for the offer."

But with everything laid out, the winning conditions are suspicious.

I have spoken to the Gold Demon Lord for a decent length and understand her.

To the point that, after showing my ability, and depending on the result of the fair match, I wouldn't mind her becoming an ally.

However, when I think about the other side of that personality…I am led to one answer.

"The stage will be…the Gahne of half a year ago. The time when it was already developing favorably from this one's hands. A civil war won't happen as long as ya don't mess up big after all. It works great as a scenario for ya to concentrate on fulfilling the conditions. And so, for the winning conditions…"

"Destroy Taizu, right?"

The Gold Demon Lord made a shocked face at what I said.

However, her face soon warped into that of a fox seeking entertainment.

A ruler twisted by her desire for amusement; that is the true nature of this Demon Lord.

"Nfufu. That's right. I will have ya all destroy yer own nation."