Bullet is now in my trap. His only remaining ally is the Grantsbach Empire. Of the three countries, two will not receive any manner of retaliation or be forced to pay some sort of compensation so long as they hand over Bullet. They will gladly offer up Bullet as a sacrificial lamb if it means they won’t face any consequences for attempting to attack the Dioral Kingdom. 

Grantsbach Empire Diplomat: “Princess Flare, are you not being a little bit too tyrannical?”

The Grantsbach Empire is Bullet’s only remaining ally. Or rather, Bullet is afraid that the Grantsbach Empire will give a testimony that attributes the entire war to him and offer him up as a sacrifice. Freya just keeps smiling.

Flare: “Tyrannical you say? There was an unjust declaration of war on the Dioral Kingdom and we were the victims of an aggressive and undeserved military invasion. It is only natural that we would want to punish the person who is responsible for this. And, the Dioral Kingdom does not seek reparations from you, because you are a victim of Bullet too. You were deceived by the [hero of the cannon] and should not be punished for the crimes of others. That is why the Dioral Kingdom is willing to be generous in their treatment of you. Or, is it that the Grantsbach Empire wanted to wage war against the Dioral Kingdom? If that is so, it will be impossible to forgive you.“

The expressions worn by the diplomats from the three countries were frozen in shock. ‘It will be impossible to forgive you’. They are not so stupid as to be unable to comprehend what that entails.

They are envisioning their royal capital being decimated like the army that they had tried to use to invade the Dioral Kingdom.

Flare: “Not to mention, while I was travelling here from the Dioral Kingdom, I was attacked many times by people who pretended to be bandits. And when I captured them, they told me something very interesting. Let’s ask them to come out and see what they have to say.”

Freya carefully looked each diplomat in the eye. And as expected of the diplomats, they all have quite stoic faces and do not change their facial expressions in the slightest. 

But, that trick won’t work on Ellen or I. I signal to Freya to delay bringing out the assassin. The diplomats would not want this to go public and return Freya’s gaze while nodding. With this small exchange, we have confirmed that the diplomats from the two countries will support the Dioral Kingdom’s demands in exchange for not bringing up the attacks.

In a way, it’s kind of amazing. Freya isn’t actually all that impressive, she’s merely acting out the super impressive script that Ellen wrote. In fact, this entire meeting has been playing out exactly as Ellen expected. 

Flare: “Well, we can listen to what they have to say another time. What’s important is recognizing that you too, are victims.”

Diplomat: “Yes, that’s right. We wouldn’t have done this had we not been deceived.”

Diplomat: “Even though the Dioral Kingdom is the shield that protects humanity… To think that we did something so reprehensible. Regardless of how much we were deceived, it is an irreparable mistake.”

The Grantsbach Empire is the only country that hasn’t folded yet. It’s a very tough decision to make. If not for this meeting, the Dioral Kingdom would have already crushed the Grantsbach Empire beyond repair. Everyone is waiting for the decision from the Grantsbach Empire and all eyes are pointed towards their representative. 

The Grantsbache Empire needs someone to blame. 

Before long, the representative has given up and said that he will drink to the conditions. It seems that the Grantsbach Empire had not been expecting this and had choked on their words.

It was when one of the diplomats opened his greasy and sweaty mouth for a drink, that the door opened and a new participant entered the room. The participant was a large black man with a shaved head. He wore priestly robes that seemed to be on the verge of ripping due to his bulging muscles and there was a young boy with a neutral look on his face beside him. 

Bullet: “Since you’re talking about me, I thought that I’d join you. Kind of rude to talk about me behind my back, no? Anyways, this is an interesting development.”

Flare: “[Hero of the cannon] Bullet, you have no excuse for your behaviour.”

Bullet: “Relax, why don’t you hear me out first and then make a decision? Actually, I was listening to this meeting from the room next door. It’s actually rather sad to see these things, for you to abuse your overwhelming military advantage to bend justice to your whims, and for you spineless cowards to sell your souls to the devil in order to save your own hide. Where did your precious vow to defeat the Dioral Kingdom and restore peace and order to the world go?”

After listening to Bullet’s speech, the diplomats from the three countries changed their expressions. 

Diplomat: “You bastard! What are you planning to do?!?”

Diplomat: “What an unsightly display!”

Everyone here, not just those from Dioral Kingdom, are shifting the blame onto Bullet. 

Bullet: “Hmm. I wasn’t expecting that reaction. I guess what I’m trying to say is that regardless of the political implications, you should just tell the truth. This matter concerns people from other countries as well.”

Suddenly, the room is abuzz with the sounds of angered diplomats. Everything had been going so perfectly, until this man showed up. Everything would have been just fine and dandy had this man not decided to ruin it. 

Freya signals to me asking for instructions, and I tell her how to proceed.

Flare: “Speaking of telling the truth, hero of the [canon], Bullet. Why not do that yourself?

Bullet: ”Well then, I will graciously accept your offer and do so. The previous Dioral King, while acting as humanity’s shield, was secretly working with the demon king behind the scenes. Moreover, he was given power by the demon king, and was corrupted and eventually swallowed by it… becoming a monster that bared its fangs at all of humanity.”

That much is true and accurate. But what’s the point in saying that?

Flare: “Yes, it is true that my father received power from the demon king and it broke him. That is why I teamed up with the hero of [healing] and the kensei, who is now the hero of the [sword], in order to defeat my father.”

Bullet: “Yes, that much is known. You saved the world. And the hero of [healing], Keyaruga, has defeated the demon king. Yes, he defeated both the Dioral King controlled by the demon king and the demon king… What a hero!”

Bullet looks right at me. His eyes are not those of a desperate man trying to save himself, but those of a predator looking at prey. The people in the meeting ask me to explain, so I stand up.

Keyaruga: “Thank you very much for the compliments, but, what exactly are you trying to get at?”

Bullet: “The point is this, the hero of [healing] will soon follow down the same path as the previous Dioral King. After defeating the previous demon king, the hero of [healing] installed a new demon as the demon king, meaning he has a connection with the current demon king. Although maybe connection is a weak term, after all, the hero of [healing] and the demon king love each other! As the personal swordsman of the demon king, how long will it be before Keyaruga, the hero of [healing], bares his fangs against humanity as well? Before that happens, the Dioral Kingdom must be defeated!”

The room becomes filled with the sound of noisy diplomats talking to each other. It’s a bit strange that the third party country has not intervened at all. They could have cut him short since it’s merely an allegation but they didn’t.

Keyaruga: “I admit that I am in love with the demon king, but don’t misunderstand the situation. I am not a tool of the demon king, we are equal partners who share the same dream. I defeated the previous demon king and made her the demon king in order to make this dream a reality. We have one purpose: peace between humans and demons. We have been fighting together for a very long time in order to end the war between humans and demons.” 

If anyone other than me had said this, it would merely be a faraway dream. However, with my record of superhuman feats, I have the credibility to say that I can accomplish this goal. That’s why it can be taken seriously.

A royal from the third party country raises his hand. He is the prince who said that Ellen was out of control, Prince Casta of the Enritte Kingdom. 

Casta: “I am very surprised, hero of [healing], Keyaruga. I find it very hard to believe that there is a demon who wishes to live in harmony with humans, much less, a demon king who is also the lover of a human. But, do you really think that you can make peace with the demons? Is it possible when both us humans and demons are still bleeding from wounds we gave each other? Nobody will agree to peace.”

He’s saying the same things that the demons said. It’s understandable that he has these emotions.

Keyaruga: “Nonetheless, it must be done. It is impossible to exterminate all demons, they will not simply stop existing. If we do not end this fighting, blood will needlessly continue to be shed. We won’t be the only ones who suffer, our children and all future generations will have to deal with this too. Is this not a valid reason to seek peace?”

That question resonated within the hearts of everyone within the room.

Keyaruga: “No matter how unreasonable it may seem, it must be done. Just to be clear, I have no qualms with shedding blood for the sake of peace. I wish to create peace and punish anyone who would oppose that goal. And I will ensure that the demons must meet the same conditions as humans. It is only by taking this path that we can hope to achieve peace someday. ”

Many were shocked by the sudden turn of events. However, Casta, the prince of the Enritta Kingdom laughed.

Casta: “What do you mean? There will be no end! If you do that, the family and friends of the ones who you punished will turn against you.”

Keyaruga: “Then I will punish their friends and families and all others who would stand athwart me. Someday, it will end. I will never be killed. That is why I will end the war between demons and humans.”

That is what I decided to do. If I’m not willing to do this much, the battle will never end. I didn’t say that to convince those who are here to take my side, I said this because these are my true intentions.

Casta: “You are truly a hero. We, the kingdom of Enritta, fully support the hero of [healing], Keyaruga, and the Dioral Kingdom as well. It is impossible that a man with this much conviction is a mere tool for the demon king.”

Prince Casta’s words have a great effect on the audience. Bullet used my relationship with Eve as a way to reverse the situation and turn everyone against me, but I turned it around again and used it against him. He no longer has any strategy left to use.

Keyaruga: ‘Hero of the [canon], Bullet. Allow me to say it again. I am in love with the demon king. But there is nothing wrong with that. The battle between demons and humans that has lasted for far too long will be put to an end by none other than the demon king and I. And what better symbol of this could there be, other than a hero and the demon king being lovers?”

Bullet curls his upper lip. Why is he making such a disgusting face right now?

Bullet: “Very impressive, as expected of my Keyaru. That was a job well done. I give it a perfect score. You now have an unstoppable momentum behind you. I admit that I have lost. At this rate, I will be handed over in chains to the Dioral Kingdom. Honestly, I thought it would go a little bit better than this. My Keyaru is smarter than I had expected. That only makes me like you more.”

Despite admitting to losing, I don’t think this is the end, Bullet won’t just hand himself in. With this kind of an opponent, my revenge won’t end this soon. 

Suddenly, a loud roar emanates throughout the room. A sulfurous scent permeates throughout the room, and the source seems to be a large amount of gunpowder that had just been activated. The place where the VIP’s had gathered is suddenly blown away and armed young boys enter one after another from the wall that was collapsed by the explosion. Among them, are some of the people who had been guarding this room. It seems that Bullet had planned on doing this from the very beginning. 

If he lost the discussion and wanted to continue to live, he would have to completely ‘flip the table‘. Bullet didn’t hesitate for even a second to use this option. Unfortunately for him, I expected this much, and I am determined to end it here. I, too, am good at using dirty methods.

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