Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“We shall now commence the Senate’s highest confidential council. Be seated.”

“And what of the Zaria matter?”
“Mergio has been dealt with. That stubborn fool is surely regretting it in the netherworld.”
“His successor, Shatina, is an easily handled little girl. It will be simple to drive a wedge between her and the Demon Lord’s Army.”
“Casting suspicion of Mergio’s assassination upon the Demon Lord’s Army will be no trouble at all.”
“And if, by some chance, it fails, we can eliminate Shatina as well. The authority to appoint governors rests with the Senate. We will send in a suitable puppet.”

“However, there is a possibility the remaining citizens of Zaria might rise up and side with the Demon Lord’s Army…”
“Not impossible. But that is why we maintain a standing army, is it not?”
“The trebuchet legion stationed at the fortress city of Worngang will smash Zaria’s towers to rubble.”
“A city without walls can be dealt with however we please.”

“A report. The unit infiltrated in Zaria reports success in assassinating Mergio.”
“Well done. And what of Shatina?”
“That is… it is confirmed she fled under the protection of a Demon Lord’s Army unit, but there has been no contact since.”
“What do you mean?”
“If she fled, it seems our plot was discovered.”

“But we assembled nearly a hundred assassins and sent them in. Receiving no report whatsoever should not be possible.”
“Nor do I think they would defect to the enemy. Could it be they were all…”
“Impossible.”
“However, the diplomat the Demon Lord’s Army dispatched to Zaria is said to be that werewolf vice-commander.”
“Veit, was it?”
“That one… that accursed monster.”

“There is no cause for alarm. The trebuchet legion has already been ordered to deploy. We shall destroy Zaria and make an example of it to the south.”
“But if that werewolf is present, will it truly be so simple?”
“That has been accounted for. You know the master swordsman Vorzharb?”
“The greatsword wielder?”
“A candidate once considered for the Lanhardt Plan.”
“Just so. We provided him with the magic sword ‘Werewolf-Slayer.’ Should he meet the werewolf vice-commander on the battlefield, he was to strike him down with it.”

“But the greatsword ‘Werewolf-Slayer’ is the treasured heirloom of Governor Krauchen’s house. How did you manage to borrow it?”
“Borrow? It was requisitioned under Senate authority.”
“That’s… wouldn’t that be unwise?”
“What nonsense. Governors are but servants of the Senate. They must remember their place.”
“Hmm. Once the matter is concluded, we need only return it. A suitable commendation will suffice.”

“This is grave!”
“What is it? We are in a sacred session!”
“The trebuchet legion has failed in the assault on Zaria!”
“What!?”
“Impossible! Explain yourself!”

“According to the report, a werewolf of the Demon Lord’s Army calling himself Veit repelled them single-handedly. Neither volleys of arrows nor stones from the entire force were effective. They had no means to counter him.”
“Absurd. You would not know this, but werewolves are creatures of ambush. They have no strength to face two thousand troops head-on.”
“Yet in fact…”
“And what of Vorzharb? With his skill, even if it meant mutual destruction, he should have inflicted a mortal wound!”

“T-That is… Lord Vorzharb was killed in action. He challenged the werewolf to single combat, but was slain in a single blow.”
“Useless fool! His sword was recovered, I trust!?”
“No. As the army fled in rout, most of the equipment, including eight trebuchets,was abandoned on the field. It appears all has been recovered by the Demon Lord’s Army.”
“What a disgrace! Dismiss the commanders at once!”

“Calm yourselves. Now is not the time to punish our own. The plan has backfired completely.”
“We must prepare a renewed assault. Are there any other operational trebuchets?”
“Of course not. How many decades has it been since the unification war?”
“Then we must gather troops from the north.”
“Do not speak nonsense. They have just been ravaged by the Demon Lord’s Army. The northwestern cities are still rebuilding.”

“The northeast will not cooperate either. Krauchen in particular has shown increasingly anti-Senate movements of late. If we cannot return his family heirloom…”
“It cannot be helped. Have Schardil and Veiria organize a punitive force.”
“Are they truly still our allies? Given geography, Schardil is especially suspect.”
“Considering past history, Belrüsa and Lotzo will surely raise the banner of revolt as well.”
“The southern cities are too dangerous to rely upon.”

“Then what of creating a hero to save the nation and stirring up the people’s morale? It would make it easier to gather volunteers and funds.”
“Have you forgotten the lesson of the Lanhardt Plan?”
“The populace is not foolish. That trick will not work again for several years.”
“And it was that very werewolf who ruined that plan as well. Accursed…”
“Then even gathering troops will be difficult…”

“…Should we not, after all, inform the south of the matter of the Northern Wall Mountains?”
“And then ask for cooperation? Do not speak such folly. At this stage, we cannot show weakness to the southern rabble.”
“Quite so. We would only be attacked from north and south and face destruction.”
“The path of reconciliation was closed long before we ever took these seats. Regrettable though it is, we cannot turn back now.”

“Then shall we send an envoy beyond the Northern Wall Mountains?”
“What!? That would be self-destruction!”
“For what purpose do you think our ancestors fled here!?”
“But at this rate, the southern cities will avalanche into alliance with the Demon Lord’s Army.”
“Even so…”
“Enough. For now, we shall observe how the Demon Lord’s Army moves.”
“What do you mean?”

“Think calmly. Can those demons truly cooperate with humans forever?”
“The southerners are stubborn and ignorant of their place. And demons are arrogant and savage. They cannot possibly get along.”
“Precisely. The southerners will soon reconsider and come crying back to us.”
“I see. That may be so.”
“When the alliance between the Demon Lord’s Army and the south collapses, we advance at once. We exterminate the Demon Lord’s Army and liberate the southern cities.”
“At that point, the south will no longer be able to refuse submission to us.”

“Yet to sit idle and wait for the enemy’s self-destruction is the height of inaction.”
“In that case, should we not eliminate that werewolf called Veit while we still can? The troops are too frightened to be of use.”
“This matter makes everything exceedingly troublesome.”
“But the plan to brand him with the stigma of murdering a governor has failed.”
“Then just assassinate… ah, that too failed…”
“What shall we do…”
“What indeed…”

“No. If this man Veit has made such a name for himself, he must be ambitious.”
“Though he holds high office, he nearly always rushes about the front lines with only his personal retinue. He has likely not been granted significant military authority.”
“In other words, he is resented within the Demon Lord’s Army?”
“Most likely. Is it not the same within the Miraldia Alliance?”
“Indeed. With such achievements, if one does not crush him early, the positions of those above him become precarious.”
“Light that shines too brightly cannot be looked at directly. And it casts dark shadows behind those who behold it.”

“No one is easier to trip than an ambitious man.”
“Especially one whose treatment does not match his accomplishments.”
“I see. Bait him, let him overreach, then ruin him.”
“Just so. The wider the stride, the more spectacular the fall. The blow dealt to the Demon Lord’s Army would be immeasurable.”
“Very well. Let us at once begin devising a plan along those lines.”