The Porter Has No Interest in the Hero’s Party

“By the way, Mister.”

Lena spoke to me with her chin resting on the table. It was not long after we had started the operation. Her face showed curiosity, and there was a leaf stuck to her cheek. Mille, watching Lena from the side, reached out and removed the leaf. Lena stroked Mille’s head and continued speaking.

“How can we be sure that this woman called Keiberess truly loves Daemon? They’re just in a political marriage, right? Isn’t it possible she doesn’t have feelings for him?”

I nodded at her words. As Lena said, Keiberess and Daemon were in a political marriage. Moreover, we didn’t know how dry the relationship of a demon’s political marriage could be.

But that didn’t mean there was no way to find out.

“There is a way to find out everything, Lena.”

“What is it?”

“From the beginning, this is a trap where it’s good if they take the bait, and there’s no loss if they don’t. Based on who the opponent sends after seeing that letter, we can tell how Keiberess feels about Daemon.”

“Come on, no-loss trap? Mille went through so much trouble to put that letter in the supply wagon.”

Mille nodded at Lena’s words and said:

“That’s right. It’s surprisingly difficult to send a letter with a slingshot.”

The letter about Viezra that Keiberess received was a letter I had written and Mille had thrown into the demon supply wagon. As Mille frowned and pretended to be tired, I expressed my gratitude to her once more.

“That’s right. This operation couldn’t have started without Mille. Anyway, the situation will change greatly depending on how Keiberess reacts to this letter. If she doubts the identity of this letter itself, she’ll either ignore it or think it’s a trap to lure her and send an army to search this location. Setting a counter-ambush, in other words.”

“What if it’s just a political marriage without feelings?”

“She’ll consider it insignificant. She might send a few people to retrieve the gift as a precaution, or ignore it completely.”

The hero asked:

“Then, if Keiberess is shocked by Daemon’s infidelity and is shaken by this letter?”

“Just one. She’ll send just one trusted subordinate to search the rocky area. The fact itself that infidelity is being committed would make her ashamed, and people in such situations instinctively try to reduce the number of people who know about it. It makes them make dangerous choices for matters that rationally should involve organizing a search party.”

“Wasn’t she supposed to be a capable commander? Wouldn’t she just send an army to search?”

I shook my head.

“Love blinds even the eyes of capable commanders. It’s wrong to underestimate the opponent, but it’s also wrong to overestimate them. I don’t think Keiberess is such an extraordinary superhuman. If she were such an outstanding talent, she would have already conquered the fortress, and the power of love is great enough to easily blind the eyes of an ordinary talent.”

“I didn’t expect you to mention the power of love here.”

At Ashuria’s words, I nodded.

“I believe in the power of love. Keiberess will send only one trusted subordinate.”

“Others must not know about this. You alone must go and retrieve the box that’s there.”

Keiberess was trembling. She was suffering from anxiety that was seeping into her body like a mid-winter chill. In truth, she had known about Daemon’s womanizing tendencies from the beginning. She also knew that Daemon was a very incompetent demon who couldn’t resist women.

But she had prided herself on believing that his behavior was merely a momentary whim, and that I, Keiberess, was the only one he truly loved. She wanted to believe that the sweet words written in the letters were solely for her, and that the occasional rumors were the schemes of vulgar women who were jealous of ‘me’.

She wanted to believe he wasn’t someone who would be obsessed with women and constantly reach out to them during such wartime.

But the world she believed in was no different from a snow globe, a round glass toy. Keiberess was a wise and excellent commander, but in front of the fleeting emotion called love, she was trapped in her own world.

“Lady Keiberess.”

She believed in Daemon.

“I’ve returned.”

She had hoped that the subordinate she sent, thinking it might be an enemy trap, wouldn’t return.

“I’ve brought the box here. It was really there under the rock as you said.”

Keiberess tried to appear calm as she questioned her subordinate:

“Were there any ambushes or traps?”

“No.”

The subordinate’s blunt tone and the smell of earth from his body proved the truth.

“I see. You may go.”

Even the departing subordinate seemed to be mocking her. Keiberess held back her tears and carefully opened the box.

“Ah…”

A necklace.

A beautiful necklace, clearly plundered from humans, was there with a letter.

[You’re beautiful when you smile. Viezra.]

Along with a short letter.

One person came to find the gift. The subordinate with the blunt face walked straight to the rocks, found the box, and returned to their camp. I was smiling with a confident face as if to say ‘see’, Lena glanced at me pursing her lips as if something didn’t sit right with her, and the hero had an admiring expression.

Lena asked:

“So, what are you going to do next?”

“Right now, Keiberess can’t make rational judgments. The very fact that her subordinate and husband were openly having an affair would drive her crazy.”

I said:

“As the hero knows, Keiberess divided her forces into three to push back the military camps on both sides of the fortress. Viezra was also originally part of Keiberess’s main force. The evidence of infidelity has clearly emerged, but the person involved has become deceased. Keiberess must be going crazy with curiosity right now.”

“Because she wants to catch more evidence of infidelity, but there isn’t any?”

“Doubt breeds doubt, and women want to be certain of their feelings. They want evidence to deny their doubts, and they want it again and again.”

Lena asked again:

“So. What are you going to do?”

“We already know through the letters what kind of person Daemon is and what kind of conversations he had with Viezra. These items are currently being held by Commander Randolph as evidence.”

The hero nodded and said:

“You’re thinking of sending Viezra’s belongings intact to Keiberess.”

“Not just sending them. Using them to feed her a provocation strong enough to make her lose her mind.”

“Lady Keiberess! The fortress has requested a dialogue!”

Keiberess flinched, then shook her head and lay back down. Right now, she was in a state of half-lost motivation due to the shock of the infidelity. She was convinced that commanding the army in this state would certainly lead to mistakes, and those mistakes would cause irreversible damage to this war itself.

A commander must always be able to command the army with a cold heart. A commander entangled in personal emotions ends up like a ship thrown into a storm.

“Dialogue? What dialogue all of a sudden? Unless it’s terms of surrender, unnecessary dialogue is not needed.”

Moreover, in a situation where she could neither advance nor retreat, if the opponent were to provoke, it would only lower the morale of the army without any benefit. Unless she could come up with an operation to break down the fortress, there was no advantage in contacting the opponent.

“The enemy camp has proposed to hand over Viezra’s possessions and letters.”

Keiberess silently rolled her eyes. Is it right to respond to this provocation now? Is it right to lead the troops to retrieve the belongings of a defeated ally?

Rational decision-making wasn’t functioning. In Keiberess’s mind, the word ‘letter’ was deeply embedded, tormenting her.

Letter.

The sweet whispers of love that Daemon and Viezra might have exchanged.

Dirty secrets being disclosed in the hands of enemies.

Keiberess rose from her seat.

She calmed her breathing and pretended to be cool as she said:

“Prepare the troops for deployment. We will respond to their dialogue.”

“She really came.”

I nodded at Mille’s words as she looked at the demon army with wonder. Then I spread my arms slightly and said:

“The brain of the hero party.”

Lena snorted and shook her head.

“More like the adulterer of the hero party.”

“I’ve never committed adultery.”

“Liar. But how did you predict it so well? Have you actually been unfaithful before?”

“I had a friend who liked such things.”

After saying that, I glanced at the hero, but he didn’t seem to believe me either. Ashuria was giggling, and Mille was leisurely counting the number of soldiers, saying:

“There are quite a lot of soldiers. It might be dangerous.”

The hero said in a low voice:

“They’re demon elite soldiers. They definitely have a different aura from the soldiers we’ve met before. I can feel she’s an excellent commander. That’s why we need to end it here.”

Sharp eyes and long curly hair. Despite her tilted head and horribly distorted expression, her elegant appearance captured attention. Keiberess said while gripping her horse’s reins:

“So. Where are Viezra’s belongings? I thought you would have prepared them in advance, but your manner of receiving guests is a mess.”

The fortress commander shouted:

“There’s an order to everything! I’ll hand them down one by one, so wait there with your eyes wide open!”

“Hmph!”

Keiberess maintained her composure without blinking until a soldier with a good voice took out a letter and climbed the wall. But the moment her eyes met the soldier’s, and she realized what the soldier was holding, her expression distorted horribly again.

“You, you bastards…!”

“Demon soldiers, listen! I’ll let the whole world know how dirty a womanizer your commander Daemon is, and which women he’s been with!”

“Sh-shut up! Don’t insult D-Daemon!”

“Viezra! Every time I see you! I feel my lower body writhing like a snake! Unlike Keiberess who is like a wooden block! You always show me hot charm! Let me grip your breasts and rub my snake on your armpits! Let me bury my face in your buttocks and inhale!”

“Shut up! I said shut up! D-Daemon would never write such a thing!”

Keiberess turned her face bright red as if she might spurt blood and die right away, and screamed. The demon soldiers were murmuring with expressions of not knowing what to do, and the hero, with his face bright red, whispered to me:

“D-didn’t you write too vulgar a letter? Even if it’s for provocation…”

“That’s a real letter. I heard it came from Viezra’s tent.”

“…What?”

Leaving the stunned hero behind, the soldier shouted with an even more excited voice:

“Viezra! Everything about you seems born to excite me! I’ve embraced many women today, but I still see your body shimmering like a mirage! If I weren’t married! I might have proposed to you! You’re a truly beautiful and lovely woman! Even today, I’m dreaming of you!”

“I said shut up! Daemon isn’t that kind of demon! Stop your false propaganda!”

“I love you, Mostra! You’re the best woman I’ve ever met! Your breasts are luscious like bread with lots of yeast! Since meeting you! I think of you every time I eat bread!”

“Shut up! I said shut up! I’ll kill you all! If you don’t stop, I’ll kill you all!”

“Halifa! Could there be a woman as lovely as one carrying poison! I want to share aphrodisiacs with you and fall into ecstasy! When I tour the battlefield! I want to stop by your tent!”

“Ah…! Aaah…!”

Keiberess, who had been in a frenzy, suddenly froze. Like a broken toy, she repeated the same sound, and tears continuously flowed down her face like a leaking faucet.

“Ah…! Aaah…!”

Keiberess’s face began to distort again. Her trembling hands turned white, and an aide who was fidgeting next to her said:

“L-Lady Keiberess…! That’s enough…!”

Keiberess roughly shook off the hand holding her and shouted:

“Attack!!! Attack!! Kill them all! Don’t let a single one of them escape!!”

With the sudden attack order, the soldiers began to move. I prepared my weapon and muttered:

“Indeed, the power of love is great.”

There was no rational and competent commander here. Only a frenzied, tear-shedding beast was rushing towards the gate.

“It can’t be!!! Daemon couldn’t have done that!”