Volume 9 Chapter 25 The Night Before The Festival, Only One Second Left
Kyrie's story goes like this.
"Kyrie's circus troupe, the troublemakers, are planning to raid Tread's store, one of the big merchants in Bazaar~♪ Slum is another big merchant, the March's store, you know?"
The time was set for just a few days later. And, I nodded in agreement, deciding on the outline of the plan.
"We'll coordinate with Kyrie's plan and pull off a massive heist on the Merchant Guild's stores. Then, the Demon King's army will be lured out, and the tower will be left unguarded, so we'll strike then."
When I said that, Rollo exclaimed, "Wow~♡ This is gonna be so cool!"
I began to explain the details.
"The Merchant Guild is protected by the Demon King's army, so if we launch a large-scale attack on the Merchant Guild, the Demon King's army will come to catch the thieves who attacked the Guild's stores. But, it won't mean anything if it's just one store."
"Yeah, that's right... The Demon King's army has numbers on their side, so it's not like we can take them down with just that... ."
"Ah, exactly, Ice. So, we'll make it a large-scale operation. We'll gather all the Demons and give them a signal to strike multiple stores at once. We'll join in too. Then, the Demon King's army will be lured out in large numbers."
In other words, it's a diversion strategy. We'll use the cooperative relationship between the Merchant Guild and the Demon King's army to our advantage.
"We'll increase the number of incidents. We'll make the damage as severe as possible. Since the Merchant Guild is under the Demon King's army's protection, we'll create so many incidents that the Demon King's army can't keep up, and they'll be overwhelmed."
With an overwhelming number of incidents that the Demon King's army didn't anticipate, we'll paralyze them. Then, the protective tower of the Demon King's castle will be left defenseless. All we have to do is attack―――
"―――The tower will be easily within our grasp."
If possible, it would be better to include Clay's store in the attack as well. If we leave Clay's store defended, it'll look like they were able to defend themselves against the attack. This is an excuse to use against the Merchant Guild.
"So, we won't give the demons any specific instructions on where to attack. We'll just tell them the start time and have them attack simultaneously. That way, Clay's store will likely be attacked as well."
"It's an unpleasant assumption, but that's how it'll probably go."
Clay nodded with a bitter face. Even if it's necessary for our strategy, I couldn't help but feel unhappy about my store being attacked. I let out a wry smile.
"The important thing starts from here. The demons will spread rumors that 'those consecutive robberies were staged by the Merchant Guild.' The Demon King's army will also believe it, since it's convenient for them."
"In reality, if there were no rumors, it wouldn't seem suspicious at all, Wade-kun. It's a perfect position. So, when they hear the rumors in various places, the Demon King's army will think they've discovered something big."
"Wow~♡ That means we can frame the Merchant Guild Master, you're so clever~♡."
"Isn't it a great plan?"
I chuckled at Rollo's teasing. Rollo was grinning, seeming to enjoy the mischief.
From now on, we just had to enjoy ourselves to the fullest. Since we had set up our hidden scheme, there was no one who could stop us. We had laid the groundwork for a big chaos.
Everyone agreed with the explanation. Then, we spent the next few days preparing for the plan.
First, we had to spread the word to the demons scattered all over. This wasn't too difficult.
"I'll check who's setting my revival points with Ajna Chakra... Whoa, there are a lot!"
A massive number of revival point lines were stretching towards me. I wasn't sure if I should take it as a sign of trust or just think it's amusing. Either way, the quantity was impressive.
"For now, let's just follow this thread and broadcast it. Nnng."
I cleared my throat and activated my second brain, Sahasrara Chakra.
'Hey, are you guys ready? Let's start recruiting for the first night of the festival. Attack the merchants in the bazaar as you like. The time is――――.'
I finished the broadcast. That's it. From now on, the demons could enjoy themselves as they pleased. Through the revival threads, I could sense the excitement of the demons, who were getting ready for the festival.
Next, we had our own plan. For now, our team consisted of me, Ice, and Rollo, with Omake as a bonus. We would start with these 3 people as one unit.
Clay won't participate because he needs to protect his own shop. Sandra is strong, so she can join a different team. Toxy is a valuable Demon King army member, so we won't let him participate this time. The others can join freely.
I explained how the 3 of us would move.
"Let's target the strongest guy and attack. The richest person, the best bodyguard. We'll take them down one by one from there."
In other words―――we're going after Yor's shop. We'll attack Yor's shop, take down the bodyguard, and defeat the great deer Eik. We'll do that to get pumped up, and then take on the next target.
When I said that, Ice and Rollo's tension rose, and they agreed.
"Yeah... let's do it...!"
"It's a festival Yeah!"
It was a unanimous decision. Then, Clay handed me a map with notes.
"Wade-kun, I've listed the female emperor Yor and other big merchants. If possible, please take a look around beforehand to avoid getting lost."
"Thanks, Clay."
I followed Clay's notes and took a look around, confirming the invasion route, escape route, and escape methods.
If we just wanted to escape, we could use gravity magic, but it's better to hide as much as possible. After all, our opponents are the Demon King army. We don't want to make a big fuss like a pre-festival commotion.
We also prepared masks to hide our faces and gathered necessary supplies.
After setting up a detailed plan and preparing for several days...
Finally, the day arrived.
On the night of the simultaneous robbery operation, we were lurking in front of our target's large shop.
Since the shop is located along the main street, Demon King army soldiers are patrolling the road. Although it's not crowded, there are still some people walking around, and it's not yet time for the demons to sleep.
However, it's still nighttime. The number of patrolling soldiers is small, the shop is closed, and pedestrians are heading home, creating an atmosphere of quietness.
We gazed at the nearby clock tower. There were only a few minutes left until the operation started.
Rollo opened her mouth.
"What should we do with the stolen money?♡."
"...Ah, yeah. We'll get money if we steal it."
"Huh, isn't that a given, Wade-kun?! Did you forget that?"
"That was a blind spot, Ice."
I wasn't interested at all. I had an image of leaving everything to Clay and having him handle it skillfully.
And then Ice laughed with a snort.
"Wade-kun, you can go wild from now on, but you're so restless you can't even focus on that, right...?"
"There's no way to hide anything from Ice."
For me, that's the real deal. Honestly, I've been on edge for the past few days.
"Ah, Eik the Great Deer... I'm looking forward to it. The enemy's going to use Domain Control for the first time, and it's someone who was once a subordinate of Slum's Don, right? I wonder what'll come out...!"
And that Don Fen, the king of the Slums, is a total powerhouse――Sandra even gives him a stamp of approval! Even if it's not the real Don himself, it's still a position that's worth looking forward to.
As someone who's been craving a fight against a strong enemy lately, this is an opportunity to fight with all my might, and it's making me drool.
I can't stop my excitement. I keep glancing at the clock tower, wondering when time will pass.
And then Rollo said...
"Are you and Ice-sama~, like, a married couple?"
"Yeah... that's right..."
"Also, Toxy and Sandra too."
"...Polygamy~? Harem~?"
Rollo's innocent question made me unable to meet her gaze, and I looked away, answering quietly.
"...Everyone's equal."
"Wade-kun, you're overthinking it...! We're all just going with the flow, and everyone's our bride, okay...!"
"No, yeah... that's right, but..."
If I said I wasn't troubled, that would be a lie. When I proposed to the 3 of them, I was really worried about how to do it, and I'm still worried about whether I did the right thing. Ridge too...
Then Rollo said...
"Then I'll join in too! I want to be a bride candidate!"
"Rollo-chan, no way...!"
"Why not! If it's a harem, I can be part of it too!"
Rollo, with tears in her eyes, protested after being lightly frozen by Ice.
And Ice responded...
"Wade-kun's bride is someone who thinks about Wade-kun more than themselves. Someone who prioritizes making Wade-kun happy over their own happiness is... no good!"
So, I was taken aback. I thought she just hated demons, but it seemed that in Ice's eyes, there was a clear pointer, and Rollo was trying to keep me at a distance.
Then, Rollo said with a sulky face.
"What's your happiness, Master~?"
"...Wade-kun's happiness is fighting with all his might, a battle where his abilities are matched. Wade-kun is strong, so he wants to fight with someone even stronger."
"Is that so, Master~?"
"...It's frustrating. I want to deny it, but I don't have any grounds to do so."
It's as if I'm a battle maniac or something. I don't think that's the case, but...
Then, Rollo said.
"Hey, that's it! If that's the case, I can make Master happy~!"
"Huh?"
"If I become stronger than Master and fight, Master will be happy, right~? So, I'll make Master happy and pamper you~!"
With a seductive smile, Rollo tightly hugged me. "Nn... Nn..." Her face turned bright red as she panted.
"...What are you doing, Rollo?"
"I'm going to make Master happy~, no matter what~!"
"I see..."
No matter how you look at it, it's just a passionate hug, but Rollo seems to be serious. I'm worried that she might hurt herself by using too much force...
However, Ice's reaction was different.
"...Hmph...?"
The color of Ice's gaze changed, clearly different from before. The gaze that used to be filled with dislike and rejection had switched to a large, appraising one.
"Rollo, you... You want to make Wade-kun happy, don't you?"
"If I just pamper Master, that's enough, right~? I'll do my best, Master~♡. You seem to like being teased, so~"
"You're completely misunderstanding the conversation."
Once again, Rollo didn't understand anything.
At that time, the clock tower's bell rang. Time was up. The moment had finally come.
In the city, the sound of explosions began to rise. Then, screams and angry shouts. It had started, I thought.
"Let's go, everyone!"
"Uh...huh..."
"Woohoo, yeah~!"
The 3 of us put on our masks at the same time and stepped into the large store.
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