Tilea's Worries

Idiots are enviable.

Looting treasure and killing soldiers in an enemy country while on a diplomatic mission... 

Even after all these outrageous acts, Ortidiot is sleeping soundly, snoring away on the bed. I, on the other hand, am too worried to sleep.

After all that, cleaning up the dead soldier and transporting the stolen treasures... I had to pull off a tightrope act. Ortidiot, with his bloodshot eyes, kept stuffing treasures into his bags. When I tried to stop him, he genuinely started throwing magic shots at me. So, I judged it was impossible to stop him and ended up helping. My vampire squad worked desperately to cover it all up.

I believe we did a good job... I hope.

But, ugh, that's just a faint hope. We probably got busted.

Actually, several demons saw us carrying the treasures to the teleportation magic circle. Ortidiot also knocked out soldiers who tried to stop him. With all this madness, it's certain that Six Demon General Po and even Governor Hidler have heard about it. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Demon King's soldiers stormed into this room any minute now.

Whether it’s an hour or a minute from now, I don’t know. But for sure, the demons will storm in and a fight will break out.

Maintaining maximum vigilance, we stayed on standby in the room.

After some time...

Hmm? Still nothing?

The room remains silent.

Could it be... are they letting it slide? Or are they going to hold us accountable during the meeting?

It’s creepy. It’s scarier that they aren’t saying anything.

Why? Why is this happening?

No, negative thoughts are looping. I can't sleep. Vampires don't need sleep, but before such an important meeting, I need to rest my mind.

Dawn is breaking soon.

What should I do?

Should I just stay up? No, I should be in the best condition for the meeting with Governor Hidler.

I'll try to sleep.

I get into the bed in the room. Even if I can’t sleep, just closing my eyes and lying down should help. It might alleviate some of the fatigue.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

Sigh...

A diplomatic negotiation with the Demon King's Army... Execution is a real possibility. Impalement, beheading, or maybe even boiling alive.

What is Tilea-sama thinking... I don't understand. It's a mystery. Why would Tilea-sama make me mimic a human and avoid Kukonomi?

Camilla-sama's favor... Wonderful, wonderful. Her dignified expression, the way she looks down on me. Ah, how can I earn more and more of Camilla-sama’s favor?

Kikka's betrayal... Infuriating. Somehow, I need to outwit that vixen and make her drink a bitter cup.

Incompetent subordinates and an incompetent boss... I want to kill them! I want to kill them right now!

All these keywords race through my mind.

Ugh, no, no. There's no end to it if I start thinking. Empty your mind. Clear your head and rest.

Gradually... 

My thoughts slow down, and I start to lose consciousness...

The annoying voice of Ortidiot pierces through.

Ugh, my head hurts.

The idiot is awake.

Is it time to get up? I must have fallen asleep at some point. Anyway, waking up to his voice is the worst.

Ortidiot is bragging about something, looking all pleased with himself.

I have a bad feeling.

What trouble has that troublemaker caused now?

Knowing the truth is scary, but leaving it unchecked is scarier.

I get out of bed and head toward Ortidiot. He’s talking to two demons, acting all high and mighty. From his attitude, they must be new recruits.

Ah, it looks like the conversation is over.

Ortidiot is slapping the recruits on the back. They give a forced smile and walk away, rubbing their shoulders. He must have hit them pretty hard. Maybe their bones are cracked. Poor recruits, getting tangled with that idiot.

Well, never mind that. I need to find out what he’s been up to!

"Ortidiot-sama."

"Finally awake, huh! You fool, don’t you know to be always ready!"

"I-I apologize."

Grr, it’s your fault I fell asleep.

Normally, vampires don’t sleep. It only happens when they’re extremely stressed. And it happened to me. The amount of mental strain is unbelievable, and most of it is because of Ortidiot.

"I could have woken you up, you know."

"Then why didn’t you?"

He's not the kind to care about his subordinates. Ortidiot would usually kick me awake.

"Humph. Your subordinates begged me to let you rest. 'Please let Edim-sama rest; we will work our hardest,' they pleaded."

"So that’s why."

"If it was just that, I’d have scolded them along with you. But someone named Darf, I think, said that you might make mistakes if you’re too tired. He had a point, so I let you sleep. Be grateful, weakling!"

As expected of Darf. He understands this idiot’s temperament well. I owe Darf for his quick thinking. I managed to get some sleep and my mental stress has eased a bit.

"I apologize for falling asleep. So, what were you talking about?"

"Recruiting them into the Evil God Army. Strengthening our Second Division. They’ve got some decent fighters over here."

Recruiting enemies?

That’s it. This guy really can’t be left alone. I’m dreading the future.

"Ortidiot-sama, don’t you think recruiting during a diplomatic mission is inappropriate?"

"Shut up! What do you know? Because of that idiot strategist, all the promising prisoners are taken by other divisions. If we don’t recruit, my division will become more isolated. I won’t stop. Any objections are not allowed!"

Ortidiot’s eyes are filled with madness.

If I try to stop him... No, never mind.

Compared to what he did yesterday, recruiting isn’t a big deal. His clumsy negotiation will probably fail anyway.

At least the other side won’t suffer any harm... right?

...I might be getting desensitized. His actions are so outrageous that this doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore.

Ugh, I just want the diplomatic talks to start. The longer it takes, the more Ortidiot will rampage.

"Ortidiot-sama, about the negotiations. Will we finally meet with Governor Hidler today?"

"How should I know! Instead of just asking, why don’t you do something about it yourself?"

You’re the ambassador! I’m trying to support you here!

"…Fine. I’ll go ask Six Demon General Po about the schedule."

"Edim, wait."

"What is it?"

"If you’re going to Po’s quarters, bring back any good treasures you find."

"Huh? There’s no way I can do that."

"Useless. Can’t you do anything right?"

"Listen, the opponent is a Six Demon General. There’s no way I can steal from someone equivalent to Camilla-sama."

"Tch. That’s why half-demons are... I’ll go with you then."

I really want to kill this guy.

But, calm down. As infuriating as he is, I need to keep my cool. I have to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid in front of Po.

I inform the demon who is our attendant about our request and arrange a meeting with Six Demon General Po.

Following the attendant’s instructions, we enter Po’s room. Po is working on some documents. Despite his warrior-like presence, he also has an intellectual side. He’s nothing like Ortidiot.

Po stops his writing and looks at us.

"Ambassador, what brings you here?"

"Well, you know, uh, Edim, tell him!"

Ortidiot throws the conversation to me. He’s trying to distract Po.

Why do I have to be an accomplice to theft? But refusing now would just make him worse.

"Uh, I have a question..."

"What is it, Vice-ambassador?"

"When can we meet Governor Hidler?"

"Hold on. Governor Hidler will arrive in a day or two."

"I understand."

"We will inform you once he arrives. Don’t worry. And... Ambassador?"

"What?"

"Not 'what'. Put the gem back where it was."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Don’t play dumb. It’s in your pocket."

"What, you’re accusing me? Do you know who I am—gah!"

Po twists Ortidiot’s arm and retrieves the gem from his pocket.

You idiot. You got caught! Why didn’t he just rip your arm—or better yet, your neck—off?

But Po just returns the gem and tells us to leave.

This dragon demon is too soft! He should’ve at least chopped off the thief’s hand.

Ortidiot keeps complaining, but I manage to drag him out of the room.

"Ow, that bastard twisted my arm!"

"Serves you right..."

"He used violence against a high-ranking member of the Evil God Army. I can’t forgive this!"

"Ortidiot-sama, we’re lucky he didn’t execute you. Let’s just drop it. We’re in enemy territory."

"Tch. We went to Po’s quarters and got nothing."

"At least we found out about the meeting schedule. Let’s be grateful for that."

"A meeting... Hidler is disrespectful, arriving late. How dare he! If they were truly welcoming, he’d be here before us. That’s the proper etiquette!"

"Well, a governor must be busy."

"Busy, my foot. Is he underestimating the Evil God Army?"

I feel a headache coming on.

Can we really let this idiot meet with Hidler?

It’s certain he’ll cause trouble.

"Ortidiot-sama, please calm down. Let’s focus on the negotiation. Fortunately, we have time. Let’s make a solid plan."

"Yes, you’re right. Complaining won’t help. If we have time, we should use it wisely."

"Exactly. So—"

"I’ll start recruiting Po’s troops."

"What!? No, stop! We can’t provoke them any more."

"There you go again, worrying. They haven’t complained at all. They must be intimidated by Tilea-sama’s power. We can do whatever we want."

"O-Ortidiot-sama, that’s overly optimistic."

"Nonsense. I’m going to start recruiting. You gather more treasures."

"Huh? You’re still planning to steal!?"

"It’s not stealing! It’s moving Tilea-sama’s belongings to her residence."

Ortidiot marches off with enthusiasm.

This guy is hopeless.

I’ve prepared as much as I could for this negotiation. Most of it was cleaning up after this idiot...

I can’t take it anymore!

There’s only one thing left to do. I quietly call Darf and the Four Heavenly Kings for a secret meeting.