‘Hand over Claire François . Otherwise, I shall destroy the countries of the world one day at a time . ’
The Demon Queen said something outrageous .
But considering her immense power, I understood that she wasn’t kidding .
However, I wondered how many people would accept it as true .
In the first place, most people in this world don’t even know that there is such a thing as the Demon Queen .
While I was lost in thoughts, the Demon Queen said something even more ridiculous .
“I shall demonstrate my power to convince those who haven’t heard of me . This is a mountain in Bauer’
I saw a video in my mind .
It showed Mount Sassal .
It was said to be over for thousands meters high, and its very sight filled me with awe .
What sort of magic the Demon Queen used to show it to me, I wondered .
‘Watch closely . ’
At that moment, rumbling could be heard from the east .
“… Wha!?”
The image changed, and I saw a blue wave surge from the Imperial Capital Raum .
It flew over the border of the distant Bauer and struck the side of Mount Sassal .
The ground rumbled, shaking the buildings, and the temperature suddenly dropped .
Everybody got down and protected their heads .
The earthquake lasted several minutes .
“Oi oi… What sort of bad joke is this . ”
As soon as the earthquake subsided, I heard Rod-sama’s dumbfounded voice .
His confusion spread to everybody around in no time .
No wonder .
The scene we had seen was just that shocking .
The wave the Demon Queen fired had frozen Mount Sassal .
I understood the theory behind it .
I was sure it was the water-attribute attack magic, Absolute Zero, that I could also use .
It’s a top-grade magic that instantly freezes the target .
But, freezing an entire huge volcano hundreds of kilometers away was completely absurd .
At the very least, it would be an impossible feat for me, no matter how hard I tried .
Although the details were different, I felt like I experienced first hand the quote – “It’s not Kafrizz… It’s Frizz . ” [TLN: An iconic quote from Dragon Quest . The Demon Lord made that remark after the basic version of a spell he used was confused for a much stronger spell due to its power . ]
‘You can see that what I’m saying is not a lie . I repeat . I have the power to destroy humanity . ’
The calm, emotionless voice continued .
‘I shall give you two weeks . Deliver Claire François to the Imperial Capital Raum of the Naa Empire until then . This is what she looks like . ’
The image changed once again, showing Claire-sama’s appearance .
It looked just like a wanted poster .
In fact, that was what it was .
‘I hope for prudent decisions from leaders of each country . ’
With that, the telepathic connection cut off .
The reaction of the top brass gathered here was swift .
“Hilda, prepare to telepathically contact the citizens immediately!”
“I’m on it!”
Philine quickly gave Hilda instructions .
Hilda ran out of the assembly room as if she was on fire .
“Sein, return to Bauer for now . The citizens must’ve seen that scene firsthand . They will panic for sure . ”
“… However, what about the battle with the Demon Queen…”
His Majesty Sein frowned at Rod’s suggestion .
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Sein-niisan, but you haven’t fought for so long that I believe you’d be a liability in the fight against the Demon Queen . ”
“… Ugh . ”
“Can you leave this to Rod-niisan and me?”
When His Majesty Sein hesitated, Yuu-sama urged him to face reality .
“Your Majesty Sein . This is something only Your Majesty can do . The people place a great deal of trust in you . Please calm down Bauer . ”
“… I understand . Yuu, I leave the policy of our country regarding the Demon Queen to you . Dor, come with me . ”
“Certainly . ”
With those words, Sein-sama and Dor-sama briskly left the assembly room .
“Manaria, what will you do?”
His Majesty William posed a question .
“I’m staying . I know it’s singing my own praises, but I’m sure I’ll be needed to fight the Demon Queen . I’m worried about Soussa, but it’s a matter of priorities . ”
“I have no choice but to believe in royalty and nobility back in Soussa,” Manaria-sama further answered .
“Likewise, what will you do?”
“Me? Let’s see . After we decide what to do with the Demon Queen, I’ll return to Appalachia . ”
“I’m hopeless at fighting,” joked His Majesty William .
Even at a time like this he didn’t stop his clownish behavior .
Perhaps, he was trying to loosen the mood .
“The problem is how to respond to the Demon Queen’s request . ”
Misha’s words made everybody fall silent .
I spoke in a fluster .
“We don’t . There’s no way we can respond . ”
Responding to the Demon Queen’s request means handing over Claire-sama .
There was no way we could do that .
“Rei, the situation isn’t so simple . ”
“Claire-sama…”
“Everybody here thinks like you do . However, do you think people around the world will be easily persuaded after seeing that footage?”
I couldn’t say anything to that .
The video shown to us was without a doubt shocking .
Mountains have intrinsic presence .
Just by being there they overwhelm people .
Moreover, Mount Sassal is a large volcano .
And the Demon Queen instantly froze it .
It was a feat beyond human understanding .
Just how many people would have the courage to fight against a being who could do something like that as a threat?
“Then Claire-sama, do you just intend to meekly surrender yourself to the Demon Queen!? You know you’ll be killed!”
Claire-sama becoming a sacrifice? Gimme a break!
In the first place, if Claire-sama was killed, mankind would really perish .
The only reason the Demon Queen hadn’t destroyed humanity yet was because Claire-sama existed in the loop .
“Since it’s come to this, let’s run away! I will serve you forever . ”
“Just where to? That telepathic broadcast probably covered the whole world . There’s no place to escape, is there?”
After saying that, Claire-sama smiled .
I wondered if Claire-sama was demonstrating her self-sacrificing attitude again .
However–
“Don’t make that face, Rei . I have no intention of dying, okay?”
“Eh…?”
Claire-sama’s smiling face had no hint of resignation .
Rather, it looked full of will to fight .
“Rei, I will fulfill my promise to you this time . ”
“Promise…?”
“Remember the oath that I broke during the revolution? I’d promised to never give up, right?”
“Ah…”
It was a promise she’d made with me during our two matches .
Claire-sama was saying that this was the time to fulfill her vow to God to never give up .
“Claire-sama…”
“There must be some way . I won’t die like a dog . ”
“Yes!”
“Hey, Rei! This is not the place… Let! Go! Of! Me!”
I was so happy I clung to Claire-sama .
Claire-sama became flustered .
“Ahaha . I’m relieved . As long as you two don’t break, things will be fine . ”
“Rod-sama…”
“No matter how much I want to help, if you two broke, that would be the end of it . ”
“You will help us?”
“Yeah . I now have a reason to strike the Demon Queen too . ”
“That is?”
I asked him while still hugging Claire-sama .
“She damaged Sassal Volcano . The mountain of my father’s death . I was thinking of going against it in the near future . ”
Rod-sama had a complicated expression on his face as he said that .
It was an usual look for the always cheerful Rod-sama .
“Rod-sama… Hey, how long will you keep clinging to me!?”
“Eeh, just a bit more-”
“Ahaha!”
While Rod-sama laughed, I had my fill of Claire-sama and then let go of her body .
“Jeez… But really, what should we do…? As things stand, it would be difficult to convince people even for people at the top like Onee-sama . ”
“That’s true…”
Even if they weren’t convinced by it, having been shown the origin of everything by TAIM, Manaria-sama and others understood it would be all over if Claire-sama fell into the hands of demons .
But, how could that be explained to ordinary people?
It would be extremely difficult without the virtual reality used by TAIM at least .
While we were worrying…
“Should I lend you a hand?”
I heard a help offer .
“TAIM…”
“It may be possible to persuade people with the authority of the Spirit Church . ”
Possessing Lily-sama like always, TAIM gave such a suggestion .
Indeed, that was certainly a possibility .
The Spirit Church was the largest religious organization in the world with believers all over the world .
Thanks to continuing activities like helping poor people or offering medical care for a long time, it was a moral authority for people .
While the governments were far above the people, the Spirit Church had always tried to live together with the people .
People might listen to their words .
“But, won’t it be difficult? There are only two weeks until the deadline . How can you convince the people around the world until then?”
“We will use telepathic transmission . On a global scale, just like the Demon Queen did . ”
“Our system has enough power for that,” added TAIM .
“Of course, it won’t be particularly persuasive if done by a cardinal like Lily Lilium or Yuu Bauer, who are only known in Bauer . ”
“Certainly…”
“Ah . Then, will you show everybody the virtual reality from before?”
I thought of that possibility .
“I can’t do that . The truth of this world will be difficult for the average person to understand, and some people will have adverse reactions to it . In the worst case, you might be blamed, Rei Taylor . ”
“It’s too dangerous,” remarked TAIM .
Certainly, it wasn’t not easy to understand that this world was looping .
And even then, it was another me who was trying to end that looping for personal reasons .
The situation didn’t allow for me to just take responsibility if demanded either .
“Then, what will you do?”
Claire-sama asked a question to which TAIM answered .
“Let the Pope – Claris Répète III – make the address . She’s another person who knows the truth of this world . ”