Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After returning to Lüenheit, I dive onto the bed in the bedroom at the back of my office.
I’ve had enough.
I’m definitely not doing cosplay ever again.
The citizens of the North were overjoyed, but I’m definitely not doing it again.
Even a frail old lady was happy, holding my hand, but I’m not doing it anymore.
…At least not this week.

While I was doing this entertainment-like activity, the other council members had been diligently working. Even though there are differences in values between the North and South, diplomacy between governors is still strong.
My capable aide, Kait, organized the documents and reported to me.

“As things stand, the four cities in the central region are favorable toward the Federation.”

The four cities he referred to were the religious city of Ioro Lange, which had been attacked by the Liberation Army; the fortress city of Worngang; the ancient capital of Vest, which had been forced into submission; and the agricultural city of Vilheim.
All of these cities have played important roles throughout Miraldia’s long history.
However, in the ranking known as the “City Hierarchy” created by Princess Eleora, they are placed toward the bottom.
Interesting, huh?

“Lord Veit, excuse me. I’ve brought the results of the live-fire test for the portable crossbows designed for dogfolks.”

Technical Officer Kurtze from the Dragonfire Engineering Corps has arrived, so I listen to his report and chat with him for a bit.
While Kait makes tea and attends to Technical Officer Kurtze, I find myself thinking once again about Princess Eleora’s strategy.

Princess Eleora likely intended to use the hierarchy to encourage the cities to compete with one another in their contributions to Rolmund.
But far from fostering competition, she’s actually provoked backlash from the lower-ranked cities.
Presumably, a crucial piece of her plan was missing somewhere. I don’t know why.

Just as I was thinking that far, my senior disciple, the Skeleton Mage Parker, showed up.

“Veit, have you seen Teacher? After finishing the deployment of the skeleton soldiers, she muttered, ‘I don’t want to see any more bones for a while…’ and just walked off somewhere.”

“Wouldn’t it be counterproductive for you—a skeleton—to go looking for her?”
“Unlike the skeleton soldiers, I’m still technically on this side of the world. This is a problem—it’s a real headache when Her Majesty the Demon Lord is missing. Veit, would you mind stepping in as the Demon Lord for about fifty years?”
“That’s not something you take on so lightly. And for fifty years, no less.”

Just as I was making a half-hearted retort to Parker, Garsche, the governor of the pirate city of Belrüsa, showed up.

“Hey, Veit, I stopped by while I was inspecting the land forces. The guys said they were missing the taste of the sea, so I brought some dried fish and shellfish.”
“Don’t leave it here—it’ll make the room smell fishy.”

The number of people keeps growing.
Since no one’s left yet, the crowd just keeps getting bigger.

Then Kurtze, who had spotted Garsche, stood up.

“Lord Garsche, I’ve put together the proposed improvements for the drainage pump you requested.”
“Oh, that’ll be a big help. Do you have a prototype?”
“Yes. We haven’t run durability tests yet, but based on the calculations, it should work fine even with seawater.”

They’ve even started a meeting that has nothing to do with me.

Just then, Big Sis Fern showed up. For some reason, she was carrying Master on her back.

“Veit, Her Majesty fell asleep when she was visiting me, so I brought her over…”

I was wondering where she’d gone—so that’s where she was.
Then, Parker stood up, looking delighted.

“I knew it! I figured if I stayed here, Teacher would come back!”
“Hey, Parker, you can’t do that. You’ll wake Her Majesty up.”

Before Big Sis Fern finished scolding Parker, Master woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Hm… what… hmm?”

She still seemed to be booting up. She must have been fast asleep.
As she was rubbing her eyes, Parker threw himself and clung to her.

“Teacher, if you’re going to sleep, you have to use the bed! I’ll play you my original ‘Ghost Counting Song’ or ‘Wraith Lullaby,’ so come on! Come on, come on!”

Master looked at Parker with a completely sleep-deprived expression.

“Mmh… hmm? Hmm?”

Then, as she brought her face close to Parker’s skeletal face, she frowned in disgust.

“Perish.”

What shot from her fingertips was a magical blade that slices through spirit bodies. It’s used for pinpoint extermination of spirits, but it works on more than just spirits.

“Whoa!?”

Parker dodged the lethal close-range strike by voluntarily blowing himself to pieces.
Scattered across the floor, the skeleton’s bones clattered as it shouted.

“Teacher, it’s me! Your beloved disciple, Parker! I’m not a skeleton soldier or an evil spirit!”
“You’re an evil spirit, aren’t you?”
“Veit, just shut up for a second!”

It was a truly rare sight to see Parker playing the straight man like that.

After making a strong cup of tea for my still-sleepy master, I let out a light sigh.

“With everyone gathered here like this, how am I supposed to get any work done?”

My office has long resembled a lounge for the Demon Lord’s high command, but lately, with more humans around, it’s become even more chaotic.
Because of that, I can’t get any of my own work done.

That’s when Rasie showed up.
She looked around the room and spotted Kait gathering up Parker with a broom.

“Kait, I found the grimoire you asked for. Oh, wait, this isn’t it…”
“It’s the wrong one?! Wait, isn’t this a cookbook?! How could anyone mix a cookbook with a grimoire, Rasie!”

Just as things were getting completely chaotic, Aylia the Demon Ambassador arrived to deliver the final blow.

“Looks like everyone’s here. Sir Mao brought me a bribe, so why don’t we have some tea while I interrogate you all?”

A bribe? Could that possibly be that huge pile of pound cake?

Mao, who arrived late, looked sulky.

“Thanks to a certain someone, my main business has gone completely downhill, so I came to petition you with a bribe to support my employees. But I was brushed off.”

Who’s this “certain someone”? I don’t know anyone like that.
But I might have just a tiny bit to do with Mao’s business not going well.

“Mao, while you’re here, why don’t you talk to Lord Garsche about the salt fields? We’re setting up to increase production, so trade volume is likely to go up.”

At that, he twitched his eyebrow and flashed a brazen grin.

“Oh? Is that okay?”
“You know every last secret in my ledger, I’d put myself in hot water if you were to betray me. But if you try to monopolize the profits unfairly, I’ll bite your head right off.”

Mao gave a theatrical shrug.

“You’re a fearsome man, Lord Black Wolf.”

Damn right I am.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Mao spoke up.

“I reported this to Lady Aylia earlier, but according to rumors from the north, Princess Eleora is trying to mobilize the garrison forces at Worngang.”
“Is that true?”

I don’t think she’s foolish enough to rush into war over this, though.

As far as I know, she has almost no regular Rolmund troops under her command. But if she pits Miraldians against each other, who knows what might happen.
Military action here doesn’t seem like a very good strategy.
However, Mao continued with a serious expression.

“There were some suspicious movements regarding the delivery of preserved food, salt, and other supplies. That’s as far as I could investigate on my own, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”

The military in this world has underdeveloped logistics, but Princess Eleora places great importance on them. That’s why, by keeping an eye on the supply chains like this, we can sometimes detect their movements.

“Understood. I’m acquainted with Lord Donéva, the Governor of Worngang. Just to be safe, I’ll check with him through the Governor of Vilheim.”

When I wrapped up the conversation and looked around the room, I saw humans and demons mingling haphazardly in the not-particularly-spacious office, munching on snacks.
A skeletal mage and a human mage were exchanging knowledge, while a draconic engineer was discussing new equipment with the human governor.
When I leaped through the window of this very mansion, I never imagined a day like this would come.

It’s a problem that I can’t seem to get any of my work done, but it’s also true that my office is serving as a hub for information exchange and interaction among the various departments.
Thanks to that, even while I’m out in the north on my cosplay tour, the Southern Federation continues to develop rapidly.
When I think about it that way, this might not be so bad after all.

“Lord Veit, stop daydreaming and let’s eat!”

The dogfolk soldiers tugged at the hem of my robe, snapping me back to reality.

“Hmm, ah. You’re right.”
“Here you go, have some cake!”
“Thanks.”

After taking the plate of cake, I suddenly realized something.
When did these guys come in?