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Notice: we are returning back in time a little bit.

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That day, Kufar’s mood was unusually good. He has been quite on edge ever since their failure from before they came to this city, so the three aids—Egan, Uno, Scudo, heaved sighs of relief.

Gathered in an inn cafeteria, the four had the usual conversation that should not be overheard.

“Kufar, are you in a good mood today?”
“Hm? Why do you think so?”

Kufar liked silence, so he normally disliked being spoken to unnecessarily. Even so, Scudo could not help but ask. Because his mood looked just that good. The reason why he was calling Kufar, their leader, without any honorifics, was because they were equals in face of the public.

“Well, you were humming, which is unlike you.”
“Ah, I see. Yes… I’m in a good mood today. I managed to give a good blow to an enemy that made me feel bitter for many years.”
“Oh?”
“More importantly, how is your progress going? Does it seem like they will dance as we please?”

Half-demons have spent days in discomfort ever since coming to this city. Such people were like brethren for them, but they did not want incompetent people. Anyone who was not suitable for summoning was incited and made to sow anxiety in the citizens.

Few people that were qualified had already been scouted, and once they were given fake identities, they were made to leave the city.

“No problems. We employed a few, and they each gathered a few hundred discontented elements to lead. In just two days, we can even distribute weapons.”
“Two days… If possible I want it to happen tomorrow.”
“That would be quite hard. They would be instantly suppressed without weapons.”
“I know that. But I ended up messing with a dangerous opponent too.”

He succeeded in dealing a fatal wound to Reid—no, Nicole. Since he had also succeeded in embedding a fragment of his body as well, she was bound to die in a few, no, less than three days.

A simple Slime fragment could be dealt with Purify or Antidote. But the ones embedded in her still held a link with Kufar. As long as that link remained, the fragment was considered a lifeform, and magic had no effect on them.

Since he could make the fragment move as he wanted, it was as if there was a living slime inside. If he wanted to kill Nicole, he could do it at any moment, but killing a mortal enemy so quickly felt wasteful.

Since that injury could not be healed, he wanted her to die while writing in pain. Thinking so, he had left the fragment without giving it any instructions.

“Nicole… Does that ring a bell?”
“If I remember correctly, she’s Lyell and Maria’s daughter, right?”
“Yeah, and I burned her face. And I also made it so it could not be healed. She would die within a few days.”
“W—What?!”

For them, Lyell was a sworn enemy that had gotten in their way over and over. Dealing a blow to his daughter was a great success worthy of cheers for them. At least for them.

“I can understand your happiness. But we can’t keep being happy.”
“Why?”
“Because the real deals will come.”

With Nicole getting attacked, not just Lyell, even Maria would make a move. And depending on the situation, even Cortina, Maxwell, and Gadius might join in.

People who held the strength of an army individually, as well as someone who was the worst opponent in the world when leading an army. Such people will come to hunt the criminals, in other words, them. And very soon.

“Thinking back, I was too short-tempered. But they should be busy with Nicole’s treatment now. Let us use that opportunity and cause the incident and make use of it to leave the city.”
“Leave… Isn’t that a little lacking?”
“Not at all. We managed to fill our ranks, and will be able to sow fear in the city. And letting us escape would completely ruin their image in people’s eyes.”

Being able to do nothing but helplessly watch as her daughter died. Even for Maria who was called a Saint, there would be no further humiliation. And Lyell, who loved his daughter greatly, would fall into despair. That alone was a plenty good result for them.

“Naturally, when that gets out, Six Heroes would also lose their fame. In essence, it will be a big win for us.”
“I see. Then we will hasten things on our side. Most likely the incited people will get slaughtered by the knights… but oh well, losing incompetent people would not be a disaster.”
“Do that. As for the flight routes. Uno to the west, Eagan to the east. Scudo commands the situation. Try to aim at the Pope if you can.”
“But will she really show up?”

There would be an emergency food distribution in the southern seventh ward held for two days starting from tomorrow. They had learned that the Pope planned to sneak away and help out with it.

They aimed for that time period to cause the riot and aim for the Pope when she showed up. That was their plan.

“Oh, she will. The present Pope supports the half-demons. There is no way she would not show up when those half-demons cause a riot. Aim for that opportunity, Scudo.”
“Leave it to me. This time, I’ll be the one to deal a blow to the World Tree religion.”
“In the southwest behind the secondhand clothes shop, there is a withered cavity in the World Tree roots, use that to escape.”
“Got it. I’m surprised you found it.”
“I was really lucky there.”

He planned to target this city eventually, so he had been gathering information since his previous life. When would he use that chance if not now? Kufar puffed his chest in elation as the rest of them looked proudly at him.

“The chivalric order in the northern side is even slower to act. I will escape from that side, so you guys escape from east and west.”
“I see. If the riot happens in the south, it would be the knights’ order located east and west of it to move first.”
“What about the southern knights?”
“They have been dispatched to a village a little away. Some epidemic had spread there, apparently.”

Kufar answered with a smile. Needless to say, it was his work.

“Our preparations are flawless. Our victory is guaranteed as long as we cause the incident. It would be the day the world knows of our power.”

The four raised their cups and made a toast.

Little did they know that their plan had already failed.

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