Gwain and Melikia sit in the empty seats. Only Elias’ seat remains. The maou are making small talk about various things and are excited. Sora, not suited for those sorts of conversations, keeps his attention away from them for about ten minutes.

―― Rumble Rumble――

The door scrapes against the floor once more and opens with a loud bang. In enters Dai Maou Elias. The same moment she does, the maou stand up from their seats and bow.

Sora is a bit surprised by the scene, but Elias doesn’t pay it any mind and instead waves at him with a smile.

Elias heads to the remaining empty seat while saying, “As expected of Sora～ You arrived earlier than me.”

It’s not that I’m fast, but Elias who was too slow.

As soon as Elias sits down, the akuma raise their heads and sit down. From there on, the maou become serious and the atmosphere changes.

“With this, I’ll be starting the meeting, kay～”

Oy, oy, you don’t just speak with that kind of tone in this atmosphere. Read the mood a bit more, will you?

“The contents of the meeting are～ Well everyone should know this by now, but the gods are～ gathering in the Lizaril kingdom～ Something is definitely going to happen, so we’re having this meeting to come up with something to do about it～ Are there any questions or opinions～?”

“Something is certainly going to happen, but why are they gathering in the Kingdom of Lizaril?”
Vera is speaking with rarely heard honorifics! Even Vera is careful when speaking to Elias.

“Mmhmm～ That’s right～.”
“The Lizaril kingdom seems to have summoned heroes. It might have something to do with that, but――”

The heroes…… Hmm? Wait a minute, the gods gathered in the Lizaril kingdom the same night I was banished as a hero…… The timing is too coincidental. Given her personality, if the queen finds out that I’m still alive, she’ll definitely try to kill me.

Last, the queen and the gods are connected…… In other words, their target is me.

“Mmhmm～What is their goal is, I wonder～”
“They’re definitely targeting me.”
“What do you mean～?”
“To put it simply――”

Sora gives a rough explanation.

“I see～ That timing is definitely something～ I wonder if this confirms that Sora is their target～?”
“That’s true. We can conclude they are targeting you. So, what are you going to do? I will follow Dai Maou-sama’s orders, but what will you do?”

The gods are planning to attack me…… First is the Queen, then it would be good if we could target that god. Honestly, looking for him was troublesome. This is going to be the best chance I’ll get.

I can finally take revenge on that annoying Shota God. What will I do, you ask? That’s obvious. Anyone who gets in my way――

“――will be slaughtered.”
Sora speaks with an eerie smile on his face. The moment he thought he could finally take his revenge, his mouth unconsciously loosened.

“““““――Gasp!?”””””

The moment he said he’ll slaughter everyone, the maou, who all wore serious expressions, became frightened. They’re all looking at him.

Sora considers it a miracle that he is able to witness such a scene.

Elias explains with her usual tone.
“Sora～ It might be your unintentional magic, but your bloodlust is leaking～ If you let out any more, everyone is going to wet their pants～ Sigh～ It’s okay～ Deep breaths～”
“Bloodlust? Now that you mention it, I don’t think I had that kind of skill. Did I use it unconsciously?”

Sora takes a deep breath to contain his killing intent.

“If Sora fights then we will also fight together with you～ Of course, the entirety of our akuma military might will fight without holding back～”
“Oh, great! That helps!”
“How about it～? Everyone～?”
“We will follow Dai Maou-sama!”
“Then, all members are in agreement〜 Well, let’s confront the enemy here, then〜”

So, a battle at the dai maou’s castle. Somehow, I’m a bit excited. It’s like a last boss fight.

“Okay then.”
“Yosh～ Then it’s decided～ Don’t forget to prepare for the battle, everyone～ Meeting, disperse～”
“Then I’ll be back with my companions tomorrow.”
“Okie dokie～ Come early, okay～?”

Sora remembers something after talking with Elias, so he calls out to Vera.
“Hey, Vera.”
“What is it?”
“A bit back, I met an akuma named Ai.”

Ai Nordy, a large breasted akuma Sora met in a mixed bath at the academy.

“Ohh, so you’re talking about her. I did my best in training her. When we first met, she suddenly fainted. It was a lot of trouble.”

Well, anyone would be surprised if a maou suddenly went to see them. More than that, I’m glad that Vera properly went to see her.

“What, you want to see her?”
“Asking if (AI) want to see Ai like that―― Oops¹.”

No, I’ve had enough for today. In any case, with what’s happening, we’ll meet tomorrow.

“I see.”
“Yeah. Well, I’ll be heading back now.”
“Aah, then I’ll head back as well. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”

Sora finishes talking with Vera and uses teleportation to return to the mayor’s house in Nanaria Village. Yami, Laila, Sura, and Noi are inside. The moment they notice Sora has returned, they all instantly focus on him and ask about what happened.

“Wait, wait, I’ll tell you. But first, shouldn’t we gather Yui and the others? This place is cramped, so let’s rendezvous at the big rock outside. Oh, also, call Gorilla, too, just in case.”

Sora then realizes that the heroes with the queen also saw Gorilla’s face and concludes he might get attacked. Worst case scenario, the village will…… We need to consider that possibility, just in case……

Oh yeah, maybe I’ll have Gorilla put on an act. He hasn’t harmed any of the heroes. I might be able to make it look like I’m threatening him.

“Understood, Noi and I can call Yui and the others.” (Sura)
“Great, I leave it to you.”
“Looks like I have no choice.” (Noi) Sura and Noi head out to call Yui and the others. Sora, Yami, and Laila head out together afterwards.

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<Chapter 23.1
Chapter 24.1>

1. This is a pun.  The word for meeting someone is pronounced as Ai, just like Ai’s name.