Wittenmyer quit work early for the first time in a very long time.

Early for him, however, was simply normal closing time. This young man was so earnest, his earnestness alone had spread rumors throughout the other government departments.

“The insomniac commissioner.”

People would stand in awe as they called him that.

Wittenmyer literally did not sleep. He always arrived at work earlier than anyone else and left later than anyone else. Even the officers on night duty never saw him leave his seat at the end of the day.

Wittenmyer, from the General Affairs Department, did not sleep; he was Minerva’s owl, a guard dog loyal to Elizabeth’s commands, keeping an eye on everything… The rumors made him sound like a ghost wandering the departments.

This very man had left work at a normal hour.

An uproar erupted within the General Affairs Department.

“We must have done something wrong!”

“This is his way of scorning us for being lazy!…”

“Everyone, don’t even think about going home today. We’re all working overtime.”

The other officers nodded resolutely.

Wittenmyer managed to make all his colleagues stay late simply by leaving at a normal time. This was the moment a new legend was created within the New Habsburg Republic. On the other hand, Wittenmyer himself had no idea he had achieved such a remarkable feat as he headed to a bar…

“Hey, Baron General Affairs! Over here!”

Someone shouted as soon as he entered the building. A group of people already occupied a corner of the bar. Wittenmyer confirmed their faces before letting out a sigh and approaching them.

“General Schleiermacher, how many times do I have to tell you? I am no longer a baron. It has been a long time since I shed my noble title.”

“Oh, right. You did that. I forgot. Haha.”

“Please be careful.”

Kurz Schleiermacher let out a cheeky laugh.

Wittenmyer sighed again upon seeing this. This man, Kurz, was definitely capable, but for some reason, he couldn’t get close to him. It wasn’t simply a matter of their personalities clashing. Wittenmyer felt like they weren’t aligned on a more fundamental level.

It would be fine if it were just a feeling, but… Wittenmyer thought to himself as he sat down. Soon after, they clinked their beer mugs together.

“Isn’t this the first time the five of us have gathered since the founding of the country?”

“Mm. Probably. My memory isn’t exactly reliable, though.”

“You’re right. You can trust my memory, Foreign Affairs Chief.”

“Please call me Heidelberg. There is nothing greater than when a beauty calls you by your name.”

Kurz, Wolfram, Charles, and Julia were seated at the table.

Including Wittenmyer, that made five. These were all Imperial Princess Elizabeth’s closest aides. Hundreds of people would tremble with fear if they knew these individuals had gathered in one place. Even now, they were the only people present in the bar, excluding the owner.

Kurz Schleiermacher, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Guard. Wolfram Heidelberg, Chief of Foreign Affairs. Charles Richthofen, Captain of the Royal Knights. Julia, First Secretary. And finally, Maximillian Wittenmyer, Chief of General Affairs…

The top members of the republic were gathered here. It wouldn’t be strange if they immediately discussed a coup. If these people were to talk about killing someone today, that person’s corpse would likely be discovered the next day.

“It’s hard to believe a month has already passed.”

Julia commented, sipping her wine. Even her voice held a certain charm, capable of drawing attention even when spoken quietly.

“Indeed. It doesn’t feel like even a month has passed. To be honest, things still don’t feel very organized…”

“Is that so, Sir Heidelberg? My knights aren’t particularly busy right now.”

“Never before have I been as envious of soldiers as I am now, Captain Charles. I would ally myself with the Demon Lord’s army if it meant I could wield a sword instead of a pen.”

Wolfram Heidelberg smiled bitterly.

“It’s already difficult enough to forge a bond with a single nation, yet I’m currently waging a battle of wits against twelve nations at once to establish diplomatic ties. They’re all deliberating how to send the least possible support funds and how much to support to spare our republic’s existence! They are damned scoundrels. It would probably be easier to negotiate with demons.”

He shook his head comically. The others chuckled.

“Don’t think we’re all like Captain Charles just because we’re soldiers.”

Kurz Schleiermacher shrugged.

“It’s miserable over here. The number of generals has drastically decreased since the nobles are being eliminated. We’re trying our best to find talented people and elevate them, but I must confess, it’s all a futile effort. The military is barely maintaining its facade.”

“Is that so? I heard you received many volunteer officers.”

Schleiermacher sighed.

“Yes, we did. If I were to issue a draft notice now, I could probably gather a massive army of about 10,000 soldiers. But that’s all flash and no substance. What could we possibly do with a bunch of untrained riff-raff?”

“You can just train them.”

“We lack the generals necessary to conduct such training. Ugh.”

Wittenmyer nodded as he listened.

Schleiermacher was the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Guard, and Wittenmyer himself was the Chief of General Affairs. They were both soldiers. Charles Richthofen was also a soldier, but the Royal Knights were a special case. It wasn’t surprising that he would sympathize more with Kurz Schleiermacher…

Heidelberg frowned as he listened to the army’s situation.

“As I thought, the defeat at Austerlitz had a great impact…”

“There were capable generals and commanders within the Crown Prince’s Faction as well. Is that not so, Wittenmyer?”

Wittenmyer furrowed his brow. He was originally from the Crown Prince’s Faction. Schleiermacher was making that implication.

“Of course. General Kolovrate, General Kutuzov, General Kiermaier, and General Langeron… they were all extremely talented individuals. Forgive my rudeness, but if the Crown Prince hadn’t led our troops so recklessly, they wouldn’t have died so pointlessly.”

“And yet they died, and only our Chief of General Affairs survived.”

Wittenmyer’s frown deepened.

‘He’s intentionally teasing me. He needs to stop this habit.’

This was why he couldn’t get along with Schleiermacher. Schleiermacher would try to tease people whenever he got the chance. That’s why he couldn’t genuinely sympathize with him.

“I don’t think I survived because I was particularly more competent than them. The Goddess simply favored me more.”

“Therefore, it was all fate…”

Kurz Schleiermacher chuckled.

“Everyone, I have some rather interesting news about Demon Lord Dantalian.”

“Dantalian? Are you talking about the one who gave that speech on the Bruno Plains?”

Heidelberg tilted his head. He was a civil servant, so he hadn’t personally participated in the war with the Crescent Alliance. This must be why the name Dantalian held a different weight for him.

It wasn’t just Heidelberg. It was like this for every other civil servant. Barbatos, who had taken regency over Habsburg, was far more important than some Rank 71 Demon Lord who had given an impressive speech before a battle.

It was the complete opposite for soldiers.

Barbatos was definitely terrifying, but they could fight back. Consul Elizabeth, then the Third Imperial Princess, had engaged Barbatos’ army several times during the war. The Imperial Princess won every time. On the other hand, Dantalian… was the only one who managed to defeat the Imperial Princess.

“New information? What could that be, General Schleiermacher?”

Wittenmyer’s eyes gleamed. His usually tired eyes shone.

“Mm, this is about the battle at the Black Mountains.”

Schleiermacher drank his beer with a smile.

“As you know, the defenses at the Black Mountains fell in only four days. Do you know who was leading the Demon Lord army’s vanguard at that time?”

“According to the reports, I heard it was Rank 16 Demon Lord Zepar.”

“Correct, Chief Wittenmyer. However, what if I were to say that a different Demon Lord had planned their strategy?”

Wittenmyer’s face stiffened.

“…Don’t tell me…”

“Yes, it was Dantalian. He was the one who breached the fortresses at the Black Mountains with unprecedented speed. That’s not all.”

Kurz Schleiermacher continued. He sounded like he was enjoying himself.

“The scouts finished their reconnaissance of the northern region of Habsburg the other day, but there was something rather interesting in their report. This is something that hasn’t been told to Her Excellency the Consul. They say that the people of Brandenburg are unexpectedly living rather peaceful lives.”

“That is impossible!”

Heidelberg exclaimed in surprise.

“Isn’t Brandenburg the first region captured at the beginning of the war? How could they have suffered little harm from the Demon Lord army?”

“That’s the interesting part. They had legislated a new law forbidding any pillaging of the people.”

“They forbade pillaging?”

Julia spoke up this time, her voice louder.

“The Demon Lord army didn’t pillage humans? Why not?”

“It was to increase the distance between the people and the nobles. Think about it. At the beginning of the war, Margrave Rosenberg could only retreat without fighting even once. Why did he do this?”

“…Because of the mass desertion of conscripted soldiers.”

Wittenmyer answered.

“I heard that tens of thousands of conscripted soldiers ran away. I know that Margrave Rosenberg barely had enough soldiers to reach 10,000…”

“That’s where Dantalian intervened.”

Schleiermacher smiled.

“He forbade pillaging and distributed black herbs for free. He even subjugated nearby monster tribes… It isn’t surprising that public sentiment would shift from the Margrave to the Demon Lord army. Haha. In the end, Dantalian was also the reason we had to withdraw from Austerlitz.”

Everyone fell silent. Only Captain Charles was drinking his beer with a perfectly calm face. Julia nudged him with her elbow.

“Hm? What? Are we out of alcohol?”

Charles looked around urgently, confused. Julia sighed. Charles eventually noticed the heavy mood and carefully lowered his mug. He looked like a squirrel putting down its acorn.

Wittenmyer slowly opened his mouth.

“…The speech at Bruno Plains did considerable damage to our side. It was a ploy to divide the common soldiers from the noble higher-ups. If Dantalian had been planning this from the beginning, then does that not mean the magnanimity he showed to the people within the Margrave’s territory was also part of his plan?”

Schleiermacher nodded silently.

Wittenmyer swallowed.

“Then… from the breaching of the Black Mountains, the bloodless takeover of the Margrave’s territory, the battle of Austerlitz, the battle at Bruno Plains, and the regency incident… this would mean that all of this was planned by a single Demon Lord. Furthermore, all these plans were carried out completely. This means a single Demon Lord manipulated the entire continent on his own. Is something like that possible?”

A hush fell over the bar again. It wasn’t fate that led to the empire’s demise. It was revealed to be the work of a single Demon Lord.

Heidelberg gulped down his words as he spoke.

“After hearing your information, it seems Her Excellency the Consul is facing a truly preposterous individual… Shouldn’t we start devising countermeasures against this Demon Lord Dantalian?”

The others nodded.

However, how exactly they intended to counter him was never discussed further that evening. Wittenmyer had no choice but to acknowledge who the true enemy of the republic was…

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Once again, more and more people are learning about Dantalian. Also, why did Kurz Schleiermacher have to come back? Please, I still hate your name. Couldn’t you have taken a better person’s name? On another note, it’s still hot. It rained heavily yesterday, but the temperature didn’t change at all. So it was raining and hot. The absolute worst feeling. Hot rain.

May summer end soon. I’ll see you guys in the next chapter.