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––Jessica’s Perspective

Nichol Jessica was reflecting.

During the attack on the Capital, the population was roughly halved. Only then did this battle, that would later be known as the “Royal Capital Disturbance,” come to an end.

The Royal Family, the Adventurers Guild, the citizens― all suffered grievous injury. But none so grievous as the Public Safety Force. With almost every member dead from Vice-Captain down, they were as good as annihilated. Having lost almost all her subordinates, the Captain, Remilia, was desperate to recruit in the aftermath.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the city were trying just as hard to fix their destroyed homes, and return as quickly as possible to normal life. None of the survivors had the time to be grieving.

It became known that the invasion was the work of a secret organization called the Malferands, and that they were the long-time enemy of Decarabia. Although a number of baffling points remained, such as huge spikes of mana observed here and there around the city, as well as the sudden retreat of the demon, the deaths of all the Decarabia members made the truth impossible to know.

The only thing they knew was that the demons had withdrawn, and that peace had returned to the Capital. Most of the residents believed that the desperate resistance of the human forces had repelled the demon attack.

But the truth was different.

All surviving individuals with enough strength or influence, found it suspicious. Why had the demons simply destroyed themselves? After the raid, these people now knew the strength of the demons, unwilling or not. The humans could not have won. They had already speculated that the mysterious deaths of the Malferand officers were likely the result of internal conflict within the demons. Nobody was optimistic enough to think that the humans had done the job.

But Jessica knew even more.

The efforts of one girl saved the nation. But this isn’t something I can tell anybody else. I still don’t know if I should. Even I’m not sure myself. It’s something I’ll need to think about.

That girl, the savior of our country, was Ms. Tilea. Is there some reason she isn’t aware of her unrivaled fighting strength?

I can’t say that I don’t want to know, but for some reason I’m afraid of pursuing it.

At any rate, it seems that Ms. Tilea is going to live in the Capital. She said that she was going to start working here because she was worried about her sister, but is she going to be okay?

Ms. Tilea is such an airhead that I can’t help but worry. But well, if there’s anything I can do to help her, I will.

In the end, I never got to meet Timu. I wonder if she’s as ridiculous as Ms. Tilea is.

I really wonder what kind of girl she is. I want to meet her. Well, I guess I can look forward to meeting her at school then.

And speaking of friends…

I hear that Edim is going to continue going to school, even as a vampire. Apparently the authorities don’t know about it. I have no intention of informing them either. If the Royal Family knew, she would be executed for sure.

But is this really fine? What if Edim isn’t the Edim I know anymore…?

Ms. Tilea told me, “Edim has her human heart back, so it’s fine.”

What’s the truth?

If she’s really still just a vampire, countless people will become victims again. No, I should stop this. I’m really just happy that my friend is alive. I don’t want a repeat of Lyris. I can’t bear to lose another friend.

Thinking about Lyris still hurts so much.

Why…?

For some reason, she feels like a friend I’ve spent years, no, almost all my life with. And who’s the “Aria” that she mentioned at the end?

I’ll find her. It’s Lyris’ last will. There has to be some meaning to it.

Jessica opened the door, and leapt outside.

Now then. Time for school.

There’s no proof that this will be the last demon attack. To defend the country from a second, or third attack, it’s vital to rebuild.

Certainly, there were a number of mysteries surrounding this demon raid on the capital. But there’s nothing to be done, except to be thankful that we’re alive, and to move forward, one step at a time.

◇　◇　◇　◇

——Camilla’s Perspective

Camilla Bo Malferand was agonizing over something.

The other day, I received some presents from elder sister.

Jessica and Edim, was it…?

With little strength, they would have little use in battle, but their appearances are not bad. More than suitable as toys. I’ll make sure to show them lots of love.

Elder sister has given me two such enjoyable toys. But whatever shall I give her in return?

Camilla was troubled.

Perhaps a nation? No, no, the entire world is hers to begin with. It would be ridiculous to gift her with her own belongings.

Mn!? But then if everything in the world belongs to elder sister, how could I possibly give her something? Truly a conundrum.

What should I do…?

Camilla was troubled. How could she please her lofty and magnificent elder sister? After thinking for a while, what she came up with was…

I know!

Elder sister once said that “the best presents are made by hand”.

Fumu. It stands to reason that I return her presents (humans) in kind (kin). I shall handcraft her the strongest kin to present to her. Elder sister will surely be pleased. I shall put all my heart into it. No more half-baked creations. I’ll use all my mana this time. After all, I already have plenty of foolish kin like Ortissio.

Camilla envisioned the strongest kin in her mind.

First is loyalty…

Naturally, this shall be set to the maximum. Those who would dare to rebel should be torn limb from limb. I will create a kin who thinks of elder sister first, and puts her even above myself, its parent.

Now then, what type should it be…?

A mighty hero, or perhaps a wise general? Shall I try asking elder sister indirectly?

“Elder sister.”
“Ye~s?”
“This may seem sudden, but may I know what your preferred type is?”
“Oohh! To think that you’d suddenly ask something like this.”
“Yes. I would very much like to know how you feel.”
“Hmmm~ This is kinda embarrassing, huh? Do I really have to say?”
“Yes. If possible, I would like to know, but…”
“I see~ To put it bluntly, an elf, I guess.”
“An elf…?”

Although inferior to a demon’s, elves certainly do have powerful bodies, and have long lives as well. Best of all, many of them are attractive. So this is elder sister’s taste.

“I see. In other words, elder sister desires a beautiful elf?”
“GUHAH-! That’s a very blunt way of putting it, but… I suppose so.”
“I understand, elder sister.”

Alright. Let’s go with an elf as the base then. A demonic elf I suppose we could call it.

“Then, this is my second question. Please choose your preference from the following list.”
“W-, What? A continuation of your previous question? Well, that’s fine I guess. Go ahead.”
“Yes. The choices are, the military general type, the mighty hero type, the wise general type, and the all-purpose type.”
“F-, For some reason this feels like a military simulation game.”
“Elder sister, what is this ‘melee Terry simyuleh shon geme’ that you speak of?”
“Eh, it sounds a bit annoying to explain, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, could you explain these types in more detail?”

“Yes. The wise general type advises the army, and forms plans and tactics. A strategist, you could say. The great hero type cuts through enemy lines, and forges the way forward. The military general type is skilled not only in battle, but in commanding troops as well. The all-purpose type is skilled in both martial and mental aspects, but there is the risk that they will be a master-of-none. You could say that the Household Guard, Nielsen included, all fall within the great hero and military general types.”
“Then my choice is absolutely the wise general type. Honestly, I’ve had more than enough of idio― I mean, martial enthusiasts, already. We already have plenty of them around.”

“I see. Then the wise general type it is.”
“H-, Hey, Timu. What’s all this been about? ―Could it be that you’re taking new applicants for the Evil God Army?”
“Huhu, elder sister, please look forward to it.”
“I-, I’m feeling a little uneasy, but… okay. I see. If it’s the wise general type, then I guess we’re recruiting smart people this time.”
“Yes. I will prepare an exceptionally wise general.”

“Haha, exceptionally, is it? Does that mean they’ll have intelligence points of above 90? Well, 100 is probably impossible.”
“Elder sister, how high is 100 exactly?”
“Oh, 100 points would mean an absolutely flawless strategist.”
“Absolutely flawless, you say!?”
“Yeah. But well, I bet nobody like that actually exists.”

So elder sister desires a flawless strategist. I must absolutely fulfill her wish.

“Elder sister, does a flawless strategist mean that they never once give a mistaken command?”
“Yep, that’s it. For example, if before a fight with the enemy general, they say the enemy will surely become your subordinate, then it absolutely has to go that way.”
“Could it be that in your past life, because of a strategist, you…?”
“Yeah. In my last life, back when I used to play a game like you guys do now, Timu, I―”
“As expected of you, elder sister. Even world conquest is simply a game to you.”

“W-, Well, strictly speaking, it was an online game, but… Anyway, that guy went and said, ‘He is surely awaiting your invitation, milord,’ but when I sent a messenger I was rejected! And then the guy even stole the famous gift horse! Honestly, hard to deal with.”
“What insolence! Not only did they dare trample on my elder sister’s invitation, but they even did something as foolish as taking your horse!”
“Right!? Right!? I saved and loaded so many times. All of it was because of that quack strategist’s fault.”

“A useless strategist brings all harm and no gain. In other words, you would have been better off without him?”
“Exactly. Honestly, that strategist was all talk. Everything always went opposite to plan. But well, I guess it was a bad idea to use a general with 80 intelligence as a strategist, huh.”
“I understand how you feel, elder sister. Please leave it to me. I shall create a 100 intelligence wise general for you.”

“I-, I see. Good luck with your recruiting.”
“Huhu, elder sister, he shall be an absolutely flawless strategist. No longer will you suffer mistakes that would deprive you of your horses. Or rather, the very moment anybody rejects your invitation will be the moment of their death.”
“Haha, if they’re dead I guess you can’t bribe them with gifts, huh.”

◇　◇　◇　◇

Tilea was troubled.

I’ve been thinking ever since it was decided that Timu would be going to school. I’m going to live here in the Capital. Although I want Timu to gain independence, she’s still only 14. It’s obvious that she’d be lonely living away from family. Or rather, I would be lonely. So I decided to find a job in the Capital, and work while watching over her but…

Reality is cruel,boo-hoo-hoo.

Relying on my skill as a chef, I asked absolutely every restaurant in the Capital to take me in, but I didn’t receive any favorable responses. It makes sense that you wouldn’t hire somebody whose origins you didn’t even know. There were even some rude people who seemed to be after my body. I immediately ran away though.

Hahh~ Looking for a job is so hard.

To think that I’d be experiencing this in this life as well…

Anyway, after suffering failure after failure, I decided that if I couldn’t be hired at a restaurant, I could just open my own.

Only, I unfortunately had no capital to start with. You’d need some millions of gold to start a restaurant. It’d be impossible for me to prepare. I don’t want to put a burden on my parents, but I can’t rely on Loser (Bizef) either.

Loser (Bizef) already spent quite a lot of money on the procedures to get Timu into the Magic Academy.

Any more than this is, you know…? I’m not a wicked woman anymore, and I don’t want to see him hang himself because of bankruptcy.

Aahh, I wish I had my own store.