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That night, the Demon Lord and I stayed up talking late into the night.

It seems the Demon Lord also faced countless hardships at the beginning.
To start, he tried solving the food issue with agricultural reform—but the dragonkin were mainly carnivorous, living off insects and meat, so cultivating grains didn’t help much.

“So I had no choice but to start beekeeping and breeding beetles.”
“Breeding beetles…?”

I briefly imagined the Demon Lord wearing a straw hat, digging through sawdust piles.

“The dragonkin were originally hunter-gatherers, so the idea of breeding creatures for food was entirely new to them.”
“That must’ve been really tough at the start, huh?”

The Demon Lord nodded deeply, closing his eyes in reminiscence.

“I only had scraps of knowledge from my previous life and no real experience. Just finding suitable species for food use was a challenge. Then I worked day and night with my engineers to establish proper breeding methods.”

Honestly, he could’ve just left the details for his subordinates to figure out… he really is a hands-on kind of guy.

“But thanks to that, we managed to turn larvae, which used to be a luxury delicacy, into an everyday food. With a stable supply of high-quality protein, we significantly improved the dragonkin’s health and physique.”

He looked just a little bit proud as he said that.

“Next, I’d like to breed a better kind of locust for livestock use. If it works out, I’m sure Baltze will be pleased.”

Yep. You’re totally enjoying this, aren’t you, Your Majesty?

The Demon Lord tried introducing various new technologies to the dragonkin, but it was rarely smooth sailing.
Just like with farming, many of the techniques didn’t take root. After all, their biology and body structure were very different from humans.
Even something as simple as swordsmanship had minor differences. Their shoulder and hand skeletons weren’t quite the same.

“Human culture and technology can’t be transferred to demonkind as-is. That’s why I changed my approach.”

So instead of forcing human methods on them, he decided to just introduce basic concepts and let the dragonkin develop things from there.
Kind of like unlocking a skill tree.
I don’t know if he played computer games in his past life, but I’m sure he was a strategy game kind of guy.

The biggest challenge in the military field was the lack of common standards.
Armor made for giants was too big for others. A day’s worth of food for a dogfolk would leave other races starving. And their dietary needs were totally different to begin with.
Ideally, he wanted a multi-racial army, but for now, he had to settle for species-based units.

Listening to all this, I found myself quietly admiring the Demon Lord’s personality.
He’s a serious, hard-working man.
He has no interest in personal gain or fame. He just wants his people to live in peace.
I’m glad he’s our Demon Lord.

Which is why I’ve decided: I’ll keep giving it my all, for this ridiculously earnest Demon Lord.
As his vice-command.

A few days later.
Dressed in ceremonial attire, Aylia stood in the central plaza and declared before the cheering citizens:

“Today, I declare that Lüenheit is seceding from Miraldia and entering into an alliance with the Demon Lord’s Army!”

Thunderous applause erupted.
Human citizens, city guards, werewolves, dogfolk, dragonkin—even vampires and centaurs had come from nearby towns.
Everyone was smiling.

“Today shall be Lüenheit’s Independence Day! Let us celebrate—eat, drink, and sing!”

As Aylia called out, the crowd responded with a joyful roar.

Being the Governor of Lüenheit, Aylia had been granted a title directly by the Demon Lord—Demon Ambassador, meaning One Who Bridges Demons and Humans.
She’s still technically a civilian, not a military personnel, but she’s been given privileges equivalent to a division commander.
Wait, does that make her outrank me?

As I sipped my celebratory drink, wondering just that, Her Excellency Ambassador Aylia came over.

“Congratulations, Lady Aylia.”
“Thank you, Lord Veit.”

She smiled as we toasted.

Until today, she’d been held hostage by the demonkind. From this day forward, she was officially an enemy of humanity. If the Demon Lord’s Army ever fell, she’d surely face execution.
I suddenly remembered the crucifixion platform I’d seen in Tubarn.
If I screwed up, that’s where Aylia would end up too.

But she already seemed perfectly aware of that.

“From now on, our fates are tied together, Lord Veit.”
“That’s right. Any regrets?”

She shook her head gently.

“None at all. I’m happy. Truly.”

What a weird woman, smiling like that.

Then she said with a grin:

“More importantly, Lord Veit—don’t forget, I outrank you now.”
“Ugh, you’ve got me there…”

She was being treated like a division commander, after all. And I was still just a vice-command.
Technically, I did get promoted—from vice-command of the Third Division to adjutant of the First Division.
My direct superior now was the Demon Lord himself.
Still just a vice-command.
I’m fine being a vice-command though. Yup.

“You’re a natural leader, Lady Aylia. People follow your example. As for me, I’m better off as a humble vice-commander. Ambition beyond my station would just ruin me.”
“Lord Veit… was that a joke?”
“Not at all. I’m just not as capable as you are.”

For some reason, Aylia sighed.

“Get it together, will you? You’re the Demon Lord Army’s top officer now.”

Am I really? Sure, I’ve become the Demon Lord’s personal right hand—but I honestly don’t feel all that important in the army as a whole.
The chain of command in the Demon Lord’s Army is kind of fuzzy, so even I’m not sure where I stand.

Anyway, from now on, Aylia and I will be working together to transform this remote trade city of Lüenheit into Demon Capital Lüenheit, a key base for the Demon Lord’s Army.
Honestly, I’ve no idea where to even begin, but this is where the real battle for the Demon Lord’s Army starts.
We have joined forces with the humans and taken our glorious first steps onto their map.

When I looked up, I saw the Demon Lord’s banner fluttering proudly over the Governor’s mansion.

“Let’s work hard together, Lord Veit.”
“Of course. I’m counting on you.”
“You’ll be pulling your weight for Lüenheit, alright?”
“Leave it to me.”

…Wait, when did I end up under her thumb?
I glanced over at Aylia, wondering that.
But she just kept smiling, full of joy.