"As Senata said before, some of the leaders changed their attitude toward the Demon Lord's territory after learning of the surrender of the lizardmen and centaurs, as well as the destruction of the Gorgon's territory."

As Ira said this, he asked Satan Ye, who had finished his training and was resting, as he conducted his own test, "In the time to come, the offerings they [forgot] will be made up again."

Yes, thanks to Senata's helpless explanation, everyone learned that... those traitorous territories defined their previous tax evasion as "forgetting," though this was only a superficial way of putting it.

Senata's lament wasn't about being unable to attack them, but rather about the terror of Ira... After learning that Ira was working in the Demon King's territory, the attitudes of all the territories almost immediately underwent a complete 180-degree change.

Even the gnolls... immediately became quite obsequious.

"And what about the gnolls? How will you deal with them then?"

As Ira asked this question, Satanye pursed his lips. Similar questions had occurred many times during training breaks in the past. Usually, Ira would tell a story or set a difficult problem for Satanye to solve.

Typically, Satan will honestly admit that he can't figure it out, and then very directly state that his answer is to "seek Ira's help," and then he can understand something from Ira's answer.

Satan is a very studious child. She is rapidly becoming a decent ruler, and a ruler who is extremely in line with the current situation of the Demon Lord's territory, just as Isabella is also rapidly becoming a ruler who conforms to the national conditions of the empire.

From another perspective, is it really because Ira is such an amazing teacher?

But this time, Satan Ye has his own ideas.

"Keep your original ideas and kill them all."

As Satanye spoke, she looked at Ira with some nervousness, her tail taut behind her, looking very stiff... She was worried that Ira would give a different answer.

In that case, we can only listen to Iraq.

"Yes, of course."

Fortunately, Ira simply nodded in response to Satan, holding up one finger and saying, "They're just some barking wild dogs. Killing them or not is fine, so why is that?"

"..."

Satan Ye was somewhat puzzled, wondering what the reason was... If it was to uphold the Demon King's dignity, then wasn't killing the only option? If it was indifferent, then ignoring the killing was the right thing to do.

Why is it that killing or not killing is acceptable?

"Because they are similar to lizardmen and centaurs, and also to Gorgons... but they are distinctly different from sirens. I would never support killing sirens, and this has nothing to do with loyalty."

As Ira said this, he looked at the thoughtful Satan and gave a direct answer: "Because they are useless, they are of no use to us... So, if their barking annoys you, then they can die."

"..."

"I see."

Satan Ye nodded thoughtfully. When she understood this, the anger in her heart suddenly dissipated, and the thought of "They deserve to die!" transformed into a calm reflection.

The ending is the same, but the reasons and processes are different.

"Then the Demon King's territory is the same. It either needs to be so powerful that other countries cannot ignore or control it, or it needs to have enough uses and benefits to exist... Combining the two can guarantee its status in the world."

As he said this, Satan Ye recalled the scene of the monsters being defeated by the Empire, and said while thinking, "When we are at war with the Empire, our country is of no use to other countries, which is why we keep losing."

Yes, and predictably, if the empire were to be completely destroyed by monsters in the past wars, then even if the governor did not appear, other countries... other countries that need the empire to exist would not stand idly by.

Of course, they won't help the Empire retaliate, but they will probably coordinate a ceasefire.

Then it became the situation we have now... the situation where the status of monsters and the status of the empire were switched.

"Um."

Ira nodded gently, stroking Satanye's head as he calculated her rest time. Feeling it was probably about time, he prepared to move on to the next training exercise... Satanye's teachings, as expected, still prioritized combat over national affairs.

As long as she understands even a little bit of the basic principles of governing a country, that's enough... like what happened just now.

The Demon King is not suited for refined conversations or cold judgments of state affairs; he should be killing, fighting, and destroying, using the most basic power to bring respect... I believe that a large part of the reason for the betrayal of those territories was Satan's weakness.

It's his weakness in terms of being unable to fight, but in terms of intelligence... Satan Ye is even stronger than that stupid muscle man Faviginio (the former Demon King). Ira has complained countless times that the guy's brain is full of muscles, although the guy never cares.

“Mr. Ira…”

However, Satan Ye's voice interrupted Ira's preparation for the next training session. She asked with some curiosity, "Can you tell me about Gurera?"

"..."

"Ah, about Grella? Hmm... She's a member of the Parada family, and has a long-standing feud with Vera's Yairmenio Theiatos family, but the two of them actually get along quite well."

As Ira spoke, a wistful expression crossed his face. "When I was first promoted by Uther, the alchemists were quite resistant to me, as was Grella. But gradually, the alchemists' attitudes... well, in any case, changed."

After all, Ira wasn't sure if the attitude of those fans, who were as fanatical as celebrities, had actually "improved" compared to their initial hostility.

“Gurera… is the same.”

Ira gave a helpless smile, saying, "My colleagues in the Empire just treat her as either my vassal or my suitor, since she doesn't hide it at all."

But to be honest, Ira found it hard to resist the guy's enthusiasm.

"So, Mr. Ira doesn't like Grella?"

Satan asked this question, and although Ira didn't know why Satan was so concerned about it, he still nodded and told the truth, "Well, I wouldn't say I like it... but I wouldn't say I hate it either."

Although Gurera isn't exactly a normal woman, everything needs to be compared—compare her to Vera, to those noblewomen, to those noble daughters…

If I absolutely had to choose one, Grella would be the only option.

——————————

Vera: ? ? ?

Iraq: What are you asking? Do you think you're normal?