kscans

Chapter 189 - The Demon Lord Rescue Operation

The airship was heading toward the Demon Country.

Its altitude was about 600 meters. The weather was clear, a perfect day for flying.

Sonia was piloting the airship, while Ney and the members of the Treasure Hunter Guild were quite boisterous. They seemed to be enjoying the journey through the sky, looking down at the ground and pointing out this and that.

Among them, however, was a group with a slightly different atmosphere. Hayato, Relic, and the members of Black Rose.

"What do you mean, you're rescuing Lunaria-san?"

"As I have said many times, Lunaria-sama is currently confined to the top floor of the Demon Lord's Castle. Therefore, we will rescue her. This is a final decision."

"Weren't you the ones who confined Lunaria-san, Rosalie-san?"

Previously, Demon Lord Lunaria had embarked on a world domination campaign.

During the Stampede event, Ren had gone berserk and started an invasion of the world, which was announced via a world broadcast. Upon hearing this, Lunaria declared, "That is the role of a Demon Lord," and led the members of the Demon Lord's Castle to attack some country.

As a result, everyone got angry with Lunaria.

Perhaps it was something a Demon Lord should do, but in Lunaria's case, her motivation was usually just to "look cool," so there was no significant reason for it. Starting a war with another country for such a reason would naturally make people angry.

Some members supported Lunaria, but the war was called off by a majority vote. Lunaria, with her strange confidence as a Demon Lord, tried to proceed anyway, but she stopped after a voice chat with Hayato.

"Isn't it uncool to piggyback on the dragons' Stampede? Besides, I'm busy right now, so could you do it later?"

Hayato had his hands full with Ash and the others, so he had no time to deal with Lunaria.

Lunaria, agreeing that it was indeed uncool, called off her world domination. However, the Demonfolk and Rosalie, who had been dragged around by her antics, locked Lunaria in her room to teach her a lesson. And they were making her bake cookies every day. Lunaria had been getting a bit carried away as the Demon Lord recently, so it was also meant to admonish her.

"It is true we confined her, but we never intended to lock her away for this long. It is all because those Black Knights are keeping her confined to monopolize her… One day, I will beat them to a pulp."

"So for you and your group, Rosalie-san, the confinement has gone on too long?"

"That is correct. We were thinking about a week, but it has already been over a month. We have received cookies during that time, but we can barely even get an audience with her. So, we thought it was about time we forcibly rescued her. Afterward, we will negotiate with those Black Knights to win Lunaria-sama's freedom. Once that is done, we will return to the Demon Lord's Castle."

"I just had a thought. If we help with this, won't those Black Knight people hold a grudge against us?"

"If you do not help, we will hold a grudge against you."

"…Well, I'd rather side with you, Rosalie-san, than with some Black Knights I don't even know, but I've been making a lot of enemies lately… Some have been resolved, but I really don't want any more…"

It was safe to say the issues with the Bandit Clan and the Assassin Guild were resolved, but he was still being targeted by the hacking organization and the Ten Holy Demonic Swords. Hayato's honest feeling was that he'd rather not be targeted by yet another organization or group.

"Oh, it will be fine. Lunaria-sama and we will be staying at Hayato's base for a while, so you can leave its defense to us."

"…This is the first I'm hearing of this."

"Because this is the first time I have mentioned it."

"Could you please ask for permission first?"

"And if you do not grant it?"

"…No, I'll grant it."

(I wonder if we have enough rooms… The Black Rose people could share, two to a room… no, that's still not enough. We only have four empty rooms.)

The second floor of the base had twelve rooms, but one was a storage room and another was an indoor garden, leaving a total of ten rooms for sleeping.

Hayato, Esha, Ash, Ren, Rose, and Noat occupied six rooms, leaving four. Lunaria and the ten members of Black Rose would have to share them.

"Hey, could Lunaria-san and the eleven of you from Black Rose split the four rooms? Something like three, three, three, and two people. It'll be pretty cramped, but I only have four rooms to lend."

At Hayato's words, the eyes of Rosalie and the Black Rose members lit up.

"So, you are saying we are to eat and sleep in the same room as Lunaria-sama?"

"Meals are in the dining hall, but you'll have to sleep in the same room. I'll get new beds… why is everyone drawing their weapons?"

"This is a battle for supremacy."

"Don't reduce our numbers when we're about to rescue Lunaria-san… I know, it's not a room, but how about I prepare beds in the hall-like area? That way, everyone can be in the same room, and we can avoid a pointless conflict."

Everyone struck a thinking pose, then nodded.

"Then we shall go with that plan."

"I'm glad we could resolve this peacefully. So, could you tell me the plan? I don't know them well, but those Black Knight people are going to get in the way, right?"

"Very well, I shall explain the situation."

The boisterous Ney and her group were called over, and the outline of the Lunaria rescue operation was explained.

According to Rosalie's story, the ones who would interfere were the Black Knights, known as the Ten Dark Knights.

The Ten Dark Knights, like the Ten Black Rose Saints, were a clan that made it to the top eight in the previous Clan War, and they currently served Demon Lord Lunaria.

The members serving Lunaria were divided into two factions. One believed she should be allowed to act freely as a Demon Lord, and the other believed she should sit majestically in the Demon Lord's Castle. Both were befitting a Demon Lord, but their ideals were polar opposites.

The Ten Black Rose Saints belonged to the former faction, and the Ten Dark Knights belonged to the latter.

"The Demonfolk-samas have not said anything, but they are all very free-spirited, so they are more like us, I suppose."

"That's fine, but what are these Demonfolk-samas I hear about sometimes?"

"Hayato-sama, those are the members of the party Lunaria-sama was with before she awakened as the Demon Lord."

Relic answered Hayato's question. Rosalie nodded in agreement.

"You are well-informed. All who fought alongside Lunaria-sama are said to possess strength that rivals hers. They are all free, or rather, too free-spirited to be in the Demon Lord's Castle most of the time."

"Come to think of it, when we fought Agres Berion, there were some strong-looking people around Lunaria-san. Esha said they were from Lunaria-san's party, so those must be the Demonfolk. Ah, the Ten Dark Knights were there too. The ones completely covered in jet-black, heavy armor."

"That is correct. They are as stubborn in their defense as they are in their heads, and they are utterly inflexible. I also dislike that they share the color black with us. One day, I will dye their armor light blue. They can call themselves the Ten Sky-Blue Knights for all I care."

"Ah, yeah, good luck with that. I have a general idea of our opponents, but in the end, what should we, or rather, Ney's group, do?"

Hayato wasn't part of the combat force to begin with. He would be on standby on the airship. The operational unit would be Ney's group.

Rosalie's plan was this.

They would approach the sky above the Demon Lord's Castle with the airship and lower a rope to the top floor window. They would open the window, enter Lunaria's room, rescue her, and escape on the airship.

The so-called plan was as simple as that.

"Going in through the front is a hassle because we would have to defeat all the Black Knights. But if we go directly to the top floor room, we will only have to deal with the Black Knights in that room… probably about three of them. I think Ney and I can handle that. It would be troublesome if they called for reinforcements, though."

"If Rosalie has that much faith in me, then I'll live up to her expectations!"

"I am counting on you."

"If you're going down a rope, it's true only two or three people can go. Just to check, what happens if you two fail? Are we supposed to go rescue you?"

Thinking about failure before even starting might seem negative, but plans often go awry. Not considering that would make it a third-rate plan.

"In that case, I want all the members of Black Rose to charge in. In the worst-case scenario, we just need to get Lunaria-sama away, so please get at least her onto the airship and escape."

"Wouldn't the remaining me be pursued by the Ten Dark Knights? It would be a problem if they came to the base. What happened to the talk about defense?"

"Come to think of it, aren't Esha and Ash's group at that base? And that berserker maid, Rose, is there too, right? Honestly, you could call it an impregnable fortress."

In terms of combat power, that was true, but he didn't want to make enemies on purpose, and Ash and Ren couldn't participate in the defense. Still, he couldn't say no at this point. All he could do was pray the plan went well.

"Alright, I'll support you by making some production items right now. If you need anything, just say the word. Though I didn't bring many materials."

"That would be a great help. Also, could you send a voice chat to Lunaria-sama from your end, Hayato? Tell her we are coming to rescue her. The Black Knights are jamming our voice chats, so we cannot reach her."

"That's the first time I've heard you can do that, but I'll contact her now. Lunaria-san, can you hear me?"

Hayato sent a voice chat to Lunaria. A few seconds later, he got a response.

"Hayato-san, perfect timing. There was something I wanted to discuss."

"You sound surprisingly energetic. Um, well, I'll listen to your problem first. What is it?"

"I'm quitting being the Demon Lord and becoming a cookie baker. I'll learn the business know-how, so introduce me to a good shop. I may not look it, but my Cooking Skill is 80, and I've prepared a resume. I wrote 'world domination' in the hobbies and special skills section, is that okay? Oh, and please find a place that will hire a former Demon Lord."

"Let's just take a deep breath and calm down. I'll do it too. And I don't think anywhere will hire you with that hobby and background."

(I wasn't worried because I hadn't gotten any "help me" voice chats lately, but it seems she's pretty cornered.)

Hayato took a deep breath and sent another voice chat.

"Calm now?"

"I'm fine now. I changed the hobbies section to 'flower appreciation.' And I deleted 'Demon Lord' from my work history. I am a woman who has cast away her past."

"That's not what I meant. Let's move on from the cookie shop and the resume. We're coming to rescue you now, so please get ready."

"Coming to rescue me?"

"I'm not going directly myself, but Rosalie-san and Ney are planning to enter through your room's window, so I need you to unlock it."

"This is the top floor of the Demon Lord's Castle. I don't think it's possible to climb this high from the outside."

"Actually, I built a ship that flies in the sky called an airship. It was completed today, so we're coming to pick you up with it. It's not a white horse, so I can't fulfill a maiden's dream, but it's an airship made of World Tree Lumber, so I think it's pretty rare and cool."

He waited for a while, but there was no reply from Lunaria.

"Um, Lunaria-san? I think you understand the situation, so I need you to get ready to escape right away."

"Hmph, a simple task."

"Oh, you're back to your usual self? We should be there in a few minutes, so I'm counting on you."

"Yeah. I'll make cookies and wait."

"You don't need to make them. Didn't I just say to get ready to escape? We're taking you as you are, okay? You'll be staying at our base with Rosalie-san and her group, but please be aware that you won't be able to return for a while."

"Understood. Then I'll put my pillow and my chopsticks in my item bag. I think it would be cooler to set the room on fire when we escape, what do you think? The performance of escaping from a blazing room seems like it would go down in history."

"It'll go down in history for a lot of reasons, so don't. Besides, you're coming back eventually, so you can't burn it down. This is just a temporary evacuation, so absolutely do not set any fires."

"Got it. I'll save that for another occasion."

(…It's been a while, but this is exhausting.)

"I can see the Demon Lord's Castle!"

At Sonia's voice, Hayato looked in the direction the airship was heading.

In the distance, he saw a giant black castle.