"Hehe, that was quite an interesting [Contract] for a change, wasn't it?"
In one corner of [Tempest], now draped beneath a black night sky.
Far from the festival taking place in the central city of Rimuruber, the two Arch Demons facing each other alone, Adelio and Ria, spoke lazily as they recalled what had happened only a few hours earlier.
"No matter how weak that [lycanthrope] was as a monster, he was still a [Demon Lord]. You could have demanded any price you wanted from him."
Carrion could not compare to the ancient [Demon Lord]s who had reigned as conquerors since the age of antiquity, but his status alone was still immensely valuable.
And yet Adelio had taken no compensation from him at all, even after Carrion had beaten Phobio half to death and attacked [Tempest], going so far as to form an alliance with them as repayment instead.
Ria, who had watched her lover with gentle eyes as he passed up chance after chance to name the price he wanted, let a captivating smile rise to her lips.
She had never once heard what Adelio truly wanted as payment, and yet for some reason, she felt as though she already knew.
"Could it be you've decided to accept the seat Guy offered you before?"
The seat of a [Demon Lord].
Once there had been only one. Then there were three, then dozens, and now in the present age only ten remained: a seat granted solely to the kings of demonkind.
Any monster with the strength and the qualifications to match could claim that seat, and once, Adelio himself had been directly offered one by Guy.
Even among the [Ten Great Demon Lords], said to be the strongest monsters in existence, fewer than half were monsters on the level of a [Catastrophe].
But—
"No. I've never had any intention of becoming a [Demon Lord], then or now."
—while Adelio did want a [Demon Lord]'s seat, he had not the slightest desire to sit on it himself.
"It's true that I want Carrion's [Demon Lord] seat. But that's only a means to an end."
With that, Adelio gave a wry smile opposite to Ria's and pointed toward a nation beyond the edge of the mountains where the sun had set.
A nation his lover knew even better than he did, and the very one his master feared most of all: without question the greatest power in the world today.
"...[Eastern Empire]."
At the word Ria murmured like a sigh, he slowly nodded, met her eyes, and continued.
"Before the Great War between heaven and demons begins, the [Eastern Empire] will move first."
The Great War between heaven and demons that came once every five hundred years.
Ordinary people thought of it as nothing more than the wrath of the angels, displeased by the world's growth. But Adelio knew what that war really was, and because of that, he could say it with certainty.
Within only a few years, the [Eastern Empire] would invade the West with its full strength, and its first target would be this great forest.
"The [Eastern Empire] will invade this place first because it wants to use Veldora. But there are still variables left."
The great forest was not the only land bordering the [Eastern Empire].
There was the puppet state of Jistav, the angelic nation of Fulbrojia, and Carrion's [Eurazania] as well.
Milim's [Dragon City] was the sole exception. With the [Scorch Dragon], who knew full well the overwhelming might of the one who ruled there, it would never be invaded. But the other nations, whose greatest military power amounted to no more than [Demon Lord Seed] level, would clearly fail to endure even a single day against the [Eastern Empire]'s assault.
So—
"I'm going to unite every nation still left around the great forest into a single power."
—whether by bringing them under Milim's command as originally intended, or by making them subordinate to [Tempest].
For the coming war against the [Eastern Empire], they had to start moving now.
Of course, there was also the option of simply standing by and watching Clayman fall for Milim's little "prank" and destroy himself.
...But Adelio no longer had the option of sitting back and watching Milim, who was as good as a dear friend to him, get struck around by nothing more than a mere clown.
"First, Clayman. I'll deal with that clown before anything else—"
He had no intention of listening to Clayman's pathetic excuses at Walpurgis, so he would kill him before he could get caught up in Milim's game.
"Second, I'll take Carrion and Frey's seats through [Contract]—"
After obtaining control over [Eurazania] and Fulbrojia, he would place them under Milim or [Tempest].
"—and finally, I'll hand those vacant [Demon Lord] seats over to Rimuru."
Make Rimuru a [Demon Lord], and through her, strengthen the power of [Tempest].
That was all.
"...Hehe."
In the end, someone who did not know Adelio might have judged that what he wanted, once again, was merely to let himself drift along with the flow.
But the White demon, who had watched Adelio more closely than anyone else in this world, had long since noticed that there was one part of the plan he had not fully convinced himself of.
'The important root of it is probably dragging three [Demon Lord]s from their seats and leaving only eight new [Demon Lord]s behind... but that isn't all.'
Ria then recalled the countless exceptions surrounding the seat of a [Demon Lord].
A fairy who had lost the power of a [Demon Lord], yet still kept her seat.
A fallen angel whose ideals ran counter to the [Demon Lord]s, yet whose seat had never been stripped away.
Even a half-demon, once a [Hero], who regarded the seat of [Demon Lord] as nothing more than a means of protection.
Unlike the image seen from the outside, the position of [Demon Lord] had many exceptions in practice, and among them was one like this—
"......"
'If Adelio were to "share" Rimuru's status... hehe, then a [Contract] even more interesting than today's might be born.'
—just as the Queen of Yama had once done, there was also the exception of two monsters simultaneously sharing the single seat of [Demon Lord].
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