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It was the day after the battle against Pollux, who had been manipulated by the Goddess, ended.

We had rented the inn’s most spacious room and almost everyone was gathered there.

The Twelve Stars and I were a given; the young boy Sei, Terra, Luna and even Benetnash were also here.

However, as you would have understood from the moment I said “almost everyone”, not everyone was here.

First of all, Leon. He left after the battle ended.

He had said that he had no intentions of getting along, but really, it was just like him to act in that way.

And there was one other person… Dina, who had disappeared right before Pollux’s raid, was also not here.

At the time, I had simply thought that she was having an awfully long toilet break and nothing more. Notwithstanding, she did not show herself even after the battle had ended and, needless to say, she was also not in the bathroom. Her whereabouts had become completely unknown.

Therefore, at this moment in time, with the exception of Leon and Dina, everyone was gathered in this place.

… And one more thing. Although it was a very joyful miscalculation, once the skill [Alkaid] was deactivated, compared to the activated state, “my” (ore) own thoughts and consciousness returned.

As I had predicted, that skill called and woke the real Ruphas up. Although I might get stronger, that skill’s trade-off was quite detrimental and self-destructive to me.

Overuse is no good – was what I would have wanted to say, however, it was a skill I would no doubt have to use when it was time to face the Demon King.

“In that case, you guys no longer have any intention of fighting against the humanoids anymore?”

“That’s right. Now that we know the true nature of what the demon race is, I don’t intend to participate in a rigged competition that I know I’ll end up losing.”

The one who answered my question was the Demon King’s son, Terra.

On another note, oi, this *******… he’s so handsome to the point that it’s irritating.

Even compared to the actual Hero, the young boy Sei, he had such a good looking face that it was as if he had “I’m the protagonist” written all over his face. It was as if he was completely overshadowing and eating up Sei’s presence.

Even the young boy Sei was muttering, “Wouldn’t it be fine if this person just became the Hero?” and seemed to have lost some self-confidence.

If we asked a completely irrelevant third party who did not know anything to choose who they thought was the protagonist after being told that our battle was a part of a fantasy game, they would most likely choose this guy. His face was just that noble and good looking.

Explode and die!

“You say that, but isn’t it actually just because you’re scared of Ruphas-sama?”

Aigokeros flamed Terra in a provocative way.

If I recalled correctly, previously, Aigokeros took a loss against Terra at Blutgang.

Either way, Aigokeros’s action was a little childish.

“That may be the case. It’s quite a miserable thing, but if it’s me, I wouldn’t be able to win against her.”

On the other hand, Terra easily admitted the possibility and did not show any sign of being caught up in the provocation.

Ohh, he’s such an adult.

He’s handsome looking on top of being calm and collected like a good adult, what is with this guy?

You make us look like a band of bad guys in comparison, so you can show off a bit more of your shortcomings, you know?

… Ahh, we actually are the bad guys.

“Ruphas-dono! Even though there’s someone from the demon race in front of your eyes, are you not going to kill them!?”

“If it was the me of the past, I would have killed them without a second thought, but the current me is not so cold-hearted as to attack an enemy who has already surrendered. If you really want it to be done, you can do so yourself.”

“E… no, that, umm…”

The elf nii-san was shouting something, but I swiftly brushed it aside.

Having said that, it was not like I was going to prevent the humanoids from defeating these demons. After all, looking at the current situation from their shoes, the ones in front of me were from the demon race… not to mention one of them was the prince himself, thus it might not have been easy for them to be forgiving.

That was why I would neither affirm nor deny the way they thought of things. If they really wanted to defeat them, then they could fight with each other themselves.

Yet the elf nii-san did not say anything else and quieted down.

Well, he must have been hoping that I would say something like, “The demons should be killed,” just as I did 200 years ago.

Or rather, because I now hold someone else’s point of view, I can say this, but the me of the olden days was just too cold-hearted. Or it could also be said that I gave no allowances.

I possessed the power to destroy the world, was merciless and not to mention cold-hearted… so let me say this clearly. It was only natural for me to have been betrayed, and only natural to have been abandoned.

The problem is… that I’m definitely closing in on that point.

“Libra, have you managed to locate Dina?”

“No. I can’t find her at all even though I’ve been searching for her since yesterday night. It is very possible that she is no longer in this city.”

“….. I see.”

Even using Libra’s detection ability, we were still unable to ascertain Dina’s whereabouts.

As Dina was able to run away to any location using X-Gate, it would be easy for her to escape out of Libra’s detectable area.

Due to the natural progression of deduction, the question of why she ran away at this timing came up and I suspected that answer had something to do with Pollux.

Perhaps Pollux possessed something… some sort of information that was detrimental to Dina. That was why Dina ran away.

If I thought in that way, everything would be resolved.

“Then… let’s talk about Dina first. After all, fortunately for us, there’s someone who knows about ‘Venus’ in this place, mm?”

“Dina… you say?”

In response to my words, Pollux tilted her head.

From the looks of it, she had not heard of the name before.

When Pollux responded in this way, Libra took out a piece of paper and started drawing at a rapid speed.

And what was created in the end was a drawing of Dina’s face elaborate enough for a person to mistake it for a black-and-white photograph.

You… could do something like that?

Pollux received the piece of paper and looked at it seriously.

And she started cold sweating quite heavily.

“……… Ruphas-sama……… This person… was around you until recently?”

“That’s right. She named herself as the advisor that had been with us since 200 years ago. Though, honestly, we already knew that was a white lie.”

“Wha, wha, wha… what were you thinking!? This… she’s the Goddess’s avatar, you know!? Other than the fact that she’s wearing different clothing, isn’t her outer appearance completely the same as the actual Alovenus-sama?!”

Wha, what did you say –!?

“Or more like, the person who sealed you, Ruphas-sama, is none other than her! I personally saw her help out Alioth and the rest in the battle 200 years ago by using the Subspace Seal technique!”

Wha, what did you say –!?

Or rather, I didn’t expect that at all.

Honestly speaking, I was fairly sure that Dina was the Goddess’s avatar, but to think that, let alone help out, she was the very person who sealed me.

Ahh, I see now, no wonder Dina ran away.

The moment that woman (*****) felt that Pollux was closing in on us, she ran away at full speed.

Even assuming that she had a thin presence, I could say that it was too careless of me.

“Or more like, why did you even appoint a person like that to be an advisor!? If you knew that it was a lie, you should have dismissed her!”

“Well, no, I thought I’d let her play for a bit…”

“Are you stupid!? You’re stupid, right!? You only let a person play around if the other party doesn’t notice that you’ve already figured out their lie. If they know you’ve already figured it out, then it’s meaningless! Libra, you too! Why is that even though you’re with her, you allowed such a dumb thing to take place!?”

“I’m in such a deep state of apology that I’m high above the mountains.”

“You’re not repenting, are you!? Let alone being ‘deep’ in apology, you’re climbing high above the clouds!”

“Soon, I’ll leave out of the atmosphere.”

“You piece of metallic trash!”

In front of Pollux’s very scary and angry look, I was in such a deeply emotional state that I did not even know what to say.

Image from Light Novel Volume 6

Ohhh… she’s a very decent individual. Nothing like the “decent (LOL)” people that we had until now. She’s someone with actual common sense and a normal way of thinking.

This is it, this! The thing that the Twelve Stars were lacking.

Such a well-executed retort (tsukommi) just then. She must be the one that I was searching for.

“…… Ruphas-sama, if you have some time afterwards, can you let me know of everything that has transpired up until this point from the time of your resurrection to the extent that you can remember? Knowing you, Ruphas-sama, you’ve probably, no, actually, you’ve definitely overlooked some things. Here.”

Pollux took out a piece of paper from her pocket and started noting things down.

I used my peripheral vision and lightly peeked at what she was writing, but from the looks of it, she was organising all of the information that she had gained from the conversations that we had up until this point.

What a competent person she was, this Pollux.

“Seriously… Even though I know Ruphas-sama has always been a muscle brain, it still makes my head hurt. You guys too! Instead of affirming and enabling everything that Ruphas-sama does, give her some proper advice. Why exactly do you think the Twelve Stars exist?”

“Of course, to use my whole body and everything that I have to fulfil all of the wishes Master has…”

“Silence, goat. The duty of the Twelve Stars is to make up for the areas that Ruphas-sama lacks in. Ruphas-sama might possess an overwhelming amount of power, but she’s not omnipotent. That’s why, to cover for the things that she can’t do, all sorts of idiosyncratic individuals were gathered and formed into the Tyrannical Twelve Heavenly Stars so that they could serve as her own limbs.

In particular, when it came to her actions, ever since the past, Ruphas-sama has always been a hot-blooded muscle brain who just charges straight in without thinking. So someone at her side has to act as her ‘brain’, but of all things, to think that she had infiltrated into that very position of the ‘brain’…”

Pollux spoke in a very irritated sounding way then started to look at the Twelve Stars in a reproachful manner.

Meanwhile, I was made aware of quite an important new fact and was feeling quite surprised by it.

I see… so it wasn’t just me that was a hot-headed muscle brain, but also “Ruphas”.

On the other hand, the Twelve Stars who were made to suffer Pollux’s reproachful looks responded without feeling ashamed.

“But… I’m not that smart…”

“Me too.”

“There’s no way this mistress would object to what Ruphas-sama does, would I?”

“Me is also not good at thinking about things…”

“Well yeah, I’m also not in charge of having to intelligently think through things, so.”

“I’m also not good at those kinds of things.”

After hearing Aries, Aigokeros, Scorpius, Karkinos, Castor and Sagittarius answer, Pollux held her head in anguish and muttered, “All these muscle brains…”

When she did, this time, Virgo shrivelled up in a pitiful state. Seeing that, Pollux became flustered and quickly followed up with, “Oh, it’s not your fault, okay?” Pollux really was the type to worry, I see.

Following this, Pollux proceeded to stare down Libra, but Libra turned her head 180 degrees and avoided her stare.

“Libra. The only one who could have acted as the counsellor while I was away was you, isn’t that right? Why did you let Ruphas-sama go astray?”

“An issue has occurred in my hearing system. I am unable to hear what you are saying.”

“What a convenient system you have right there, huh? You piece of metallic trash maid!”

Pollux sighed out loud like she had gotten past the point of exasperation, then turned towards me to stare me down.

“Ruphas-sama.”

“Y, yes?”

“Now that I’m back, from now on, I’m going to be managing your actions. So when you plan to do something, you must first discuss it with me. Do I make myself clear?”

“Eh? No, but…”

“Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?”

“……… Yes.”

In terms of simple fighting prowess, Pollux had nothing on me.

Yet, for some reason, I was unable to raise my head in front of her.

In all likelihood, even 200 years ago, I was scolded by her for countless things and she was the one holding the reins.

Ahh… So this is a (true) advisor, huh?

Now that I had a feel for it, I understood how much Dina had been slacking in her role as an advisor.

“Having said that, this is actually a point that we should reflect back on a bit… of all things, to think that she was the very person who sealed Ruphas sama. This mistress didn’t even notice that and was playing cards together with her… haa… haaa…!”

“I didn’t notice it and was discussing the proper way to make black tea with her……!?”

“You guys are just too carefree…”

Scorpius and Aigokeros’s fists were shaking as their anger flared up.

Nonetheless, the contents of what they were saying were actually quite stupid.

The other Twelve Stars were also in similar conditions and each showed some kind of complicated facial expression.

As for Aries and Virgo, from their expressions, rather than anger, it seemed that their sadness from being deceived was stronger. On the other hand, Libra was showing an expression as if to say she had predicted this from the very beginning.

Now that I recalled correctly, the one who had doubted Dina the most was Libra.

“In that case, if we can catch and get the information out of her, we will be able to close in on the Goddess in one go. …… We weren’t acquainted with each other for that long, but she didn’t seem like that bad of a girl to me.”

“Be vigilant, older brother. Women are monsters. They can easily put up all sorts of fake outer appearances.”

Against Castor, Pollux presented him with the reality of the world.

Yeah, she might be right. Women are really scary.

Although… in terms of what they are, Scorpius and the like are actually monsters.

“Humph. It’s you after all. You probably left her alone whilst saying, ‘I don’t know what she’s thinking, so it might be interesting to leave her as a subordinate,’ isn’t that right? You being soft on the people you’re acquainted with is the same as before I see, Mafahl.”

“Guu…”

Being stabbed right where it hurt with what really did happen by Benet, I was almost taken aback.

Yeah, you’re right on point, dammit.

“‘An advisor who may be hiding some secrets,’ I think that’s interesting on its own. In a way, to have someone dangerous as a subordinate is an exciting scenario.” ……… That’s the carefree remark I made after that one battle against Dina. What foolishness.

But yeah… for some reason, I can’t think of her as an enemy, however hard I try.

“In any event, largely speaking, there are four main things that we need to do from now on. First of all, we have to find the two remaining Twelve Stars, Aquarius and Pisces. Then, we have to track down Dina who has disappeared. And lastly, we have to search for a way to transmigrate the demon race into a fairy race… huh.”

“It seems like there’s a need to split into four groups.”

“Yeah.”

Normally, splitting apart the military strength was a bad move.

But yeah… well, there’s probably no issues whatsoever. Honestly speaking, this line-up is too good. It has an overabundance of fighting prowess.

The Black-winged Supreme Ruler (me), the Vampire Princess (Benet), the prince of the demon race and his close aide, the majority of the Twelve Stars and as a bonus, the Hero and his party.

Thinking about it, what is with this chaotic party?

Honestly, with something like this, we could have taken over the world in a single day.

And, as a side note, if the goal wasn’t ‘domination’ but ‘destruction’, it’d be done in an instant. So scary.

“Of course, I will be joining the group which will search for a method of transmigration. After all, if I’m not there, nothing would even begin to get done. … Besides, there’s something that I’m curious about.”

“Allow Luna and I to join in on that too.”

“If Pollux is going, then I’ll also tag along with that group.”

“Then me too… I mean, I’m not really useful as a fighting potential, so…”

The first detachment group to be decided were the fairy siblings, Virgo and the demonic pair of Terra and Luna.

I supposed, considering their end goal, it was only natural.

Furthermore, rather than sending Virgo to a dangerous location, if we could send her with the fairy siblings and have her on standby together with them, it would make us feel more relieved. Therefore, there was no problem with this.

“If I recall correctly, Aquarius is in the scorching region of Muspelheim, right? In that case, the members who are resistant to fire would be optimal to send there. … Okay, Aries and Scorpius, you guys go. In the one-in-a-million chance that it turns into a battle, Karkinos, who’s a good match with Aquarius, you go with them too.”

For Muspelheim to be named the scorching region, it must have been a place that was really hot.

Although every one of us here was resistant to heat to some degree, if it continued for a prolonged period of time, we might end up suffering from something like hyperthermia.

As such, sending individuals like Aries and Scorpius who had high resistance to fire was optimal.

As for Karkinos, well… he would serve the role of countering Aquarius. If it was just the two individuals who possessed a fire attribute, then they would be an absolutely horrible matchup against Aquarius.

“Ehhh!? That’s so cruel! This mistress wants to travel together with Ruphas-sama!”

“Scorpion-zama.”

“Librrraaaa, you!!”

As usual, Scorpius complained, but I decided to ignore it for now.

Recently, I had been getting more and more used to dealing with her.

Next was a search party for Pisces whose location was unknown, but I could address this by sending the two individuals who excelled in search and detection.

“To find Pisces, I am sending Libra and Sagittarius. As support, I will add Aigokeros. I doubt it will lead to a battle, but just in case, make sure to stay vigilant.”

“I have understood the mission, master. I will make sure to bring back Eros.”

Be nice to him and call him Pisces!

Well anyway, that should be fine. With Libra and Sagittarius there, they should be able to find him.

“As for the Hero and his party, please move according to your own discretion. I mean, you guys aren’t really my subordinates. So it’s fine for you to take the action you believe would be best.”

“Y, yes!”

I purposefully did not specify the young boy Sei’s actions. It was because I believed it would turn out better that way.

He… how should I put this? He acted in a way that was out of the expectations.

An idea like wanting to reconcile and come to amicable terms with me was a prime example of that. It was something that the other people probably would not even have come up with.

I wanted to bank on his trickiness arising out of him being from another world and his ideas which were not bound by common sense.

The last thing that remained was the matter about searching for Dina, but I deliberately wanted to go by myself.

There shouldn’t be any problem in terms of battle potential and I actually want to sit down and talk to her properly.

… At least, that was what I was thinking, but.

“Oi, Mafahl. Haven’t you forgotten about me?”

“…… You… intend to come along?”

“I mean, even if I stay behind in Mjolnir, it’s boring. I feel like it’d be more interesting to tag along and observe your movements.”

From the looks of it, it seemed Benet wanted to come along.

Eh? Is this… going to be alright? She’s not going to start spontaneously attacking me, right?

I don’t particularly hate Benet and, if anything, I actually respect her. But she’s actually scary because I don’t know when she’s going to start attacking me.

In any event, with this, splitting everyone up into teams was done.

What was left was to figure out our modes of transportation so that we could go about reaching our respective destinations.

If I were to remodel Tanaka and Suzuki, it would be enough for two teams.

After including the Hero’s party, I wanted transportation for at least two more teams. In the worst-case scenario, Benet and I could just fly to our location ourselves.

Although… in Benet’s case, it’s jumping rather than flying.

“What’s left is the means to get to our destinations, huh.”

“In regard to that, please leave it to me, Ruphas-sama.”

“Hmm?”

Whilst I was thinking that I might create another golem, Castor confidently interjected himself, causing my thought process to be cut off.

It seemed he was in possession of some ride that could fly in the sky.

Castor matched his sight with that of Pollux’s and she nodded lightly in return.

“Let’s do it, Pollux!”

“Alright, older brother.”

“Collaboration skill – [Flagship of the Heroic Spirits]!”

Castor and Pollux held each other’s hand and held them up into the air.

When they did, light overflowed from their hands and rose high up into the air, slipping past the ceiling.

The light did not seem to possess any destructive power as the ceiling which it had passed through did not break.

Following a brief period of time after this, light gathered in the sky above and an enormous flying ship materialised in the air.

The people of the city were gazing up into the sky, wondering what was going on after they witnessed the irrational scene of a flying ship appearing out of nowhere.

This is… amazing.

In RPG games, it was a popular staple trope for a flying ship that could travel across the world map to appear near the end of the game. To think that they could actually make such a thing happen, I was stumped for words.