Inside the tent, I calmly wait for that guy to arrive with the reports I requested, and while I wait, I go back to reading Esther's book to see what to do. I'm very nervous.

If they discover I'm a fraud, they could kill me! I think... I'm not sure, but they're demons, so it's a possibility. I need to maintain the image that I'm at least stronger than them.

"Calm... I have to stay calm... I can't rely on Eve or Syl'Vyr all the time..." I shouldn't be dependent on my puppets for everything; I should do this kind of thing myself.

"..." I take a deep breath and sigh, then repeat the process until I hear sounds from outside. I then close off my expression into something neutral again and maintain a posture similar to Esther and the way she sits, just as I store the book in the storage ring to read later.

Soon I see it's that man who wanted to test the thread. He is a man with black hair and blue eyes, with large black horns and grayish skin. He has a tired look and a serious demeanor, despite a naturally strong and burly physique along with well-worked muscles.

'Gallian... the soldier who questioned the thread I created...' I look at his hand, seeing the bandaged finger, but there's no new finger, so it means there probably isn't anyone with healing magic around here.

It was the index finger of his right hand. Seeing that sends shivers down my spine, which I quickly hide. I didn't want to hurt him, but he wanted to test the thread!! It's his fault!

"Here are your reports... Commander," he says, placing the papers I asked for on the table. His tone is serious, but his look towards me is suspicious. He doesn't seem satisfied just because of the finger test.

"Okay... now leave. And next time, announce your arrival outside the tent and wait for me to tell you to enter instead of just walking in." I pick up the papers from the table and start reading while he gives me one last look and leaves the tent, leaving me alone.

"..." I start reading the papers to see our resources. The food supply is low, but we can get more from the village. There's some money for spending on resources, and I also have to go buy those resources soon.

'Weapons... armor... materials... tents... food... water... but no transportation...' It's clear the Demon King doesn't want us to leave this place. There also isn't much medical supply.

'... I should be thankful Faye exists... she's a powerful healer... she'll be a great help...' It seems the Demon King really doesn't care at all about the soldiers here.

"The soldiers' strength is average..." They're not elite soldiers, but they're not weaklings either, probably because the defense of the location still matters.

"Oh, he also brought me a map... how... thoughtful." Gallian also placed a map in with the report. I open it, looking at the area. The map is quite detailed.

'Traps...' I need to choose the best places to set traps. I feel a bit bad about having to hurt other beings, but that's life. I know it's cruel, and I must do this.

'Feeling sad isn't a mistake... I'll do it. I can feel sad alone after I succeed...' Feeling bad about hurting people isn't a bad thing; it shows that despite being a demon now, I'm still empathetic towards others. I can hide these bad feelings as long as I can.

"If I were an angel, where would I come from?" I try to see which locations on the map the traps should be set. With the materials we have, we can make some traps, but the number is limited. I remember several types of traps from one of the books I have, so I already know what to set.

'I don't want traps that kill... just ones that restrain...' I feel uncomfortable knowing I'll have to... torture... them, but I need to be strong in that sense. It's a war, and such things are inevitable here. This is no longer the modern world.

'If I want to return to the mansion and fix my relationship with Esther, it will only work if I show that I've changed, that I'm strong, and that I can achieve things on my own...' I start marking locations on the map with precision.

When I think rationally, the locations on the map become obvious: an open area in the forest, a nearby clearing, a narrow trail in the forest, a hill, a small mountain, and several other spots that seem like the best routes for invaders to take without being noticed immediately.

They are places not used much by us demons, but which could easily be used by angels, who are naturally winged beings that move mainly by flying from one point to another.

"Two days... a light patrol to these locations every two days to check if any angel got caught in a trap should be enough..." I look at the reports of previous attacks in this region. Weak to medium-strength angels appear here.

'Medium-strength angels... are angels who have already had contact with generals... which means... they are angels I have to talk to...' I shake my head, trying not to think about that.

"Oh, a report from the village inhabitants too?" I see Gallian did something truly professional. I guess that was to be expected from a real soldier. Everything is well organized and more came than I expected.

'I see, so the village inhabitants don't care much.' It seems the relationship between my troops and them is quite neutral. There's no one strong in the village, so they like that we hunt anything dangerous in the area in exchange for providing some resources.

"..." I toss everything on the table and take a book from the storage ring. I start looking at the section on housing. We've already reached warm weather, so tents aren't very good.

"Esther said I should always train to improve..." I won't have her here anymore giving me her Hikishin to help me see magic, but with the month of training we had together, I can almost see the Hikishin without help now, so I can finish the training alone.

"I think I'll cut trees..." It seems like a good idea. Using my threads to cut trees. We'll use the trees to build better shelters than the tents, and I can train my magic that way.

"Great, everything seems right. I'll first order the soldiers to set up 4 types of traps in these areas marked on the map, send them to buy supplies in the village, and start felling timber to build better shelters." I store what I don't need now in the storage ring and go outside with the map.

'I'll use part of the various materials I stored in my storage ring... although... I wish I could see the gold stored in the vault.' I miss that, seeing those gold bars stacked up. I hope I can return soon to see the gold I've accumulated.

...

...

...

"Thank you, Grace... your help was... satisfactory," I say to Grace, who accompanies me to my area of control.

"It was nothing, Marie!! I'm glad you're okay. I was really worried about you," she says, smiling as she walks beside me.

"Hmph, I don't need your concern... but for a human, you're not entirely disposable," I say, seeing that we're arriving.

"You're leaving now, right?" I doubt she wants to stay here.

"Yes, you're going to lead soldiers to war. I can't participate in that, you know? If they see me here and think I'm helping you, I'll end up causing problems."

"Just because I'm on this continent doesn't mean I'm helping the demons, but if I appear in a war zone, then there's no justification, right?" she says playfully as I stop.

"And what could make you help in the war? I... I could pay... if you help me, I have a great chance of becoming the next Demon King..." I say, looking into her eyes. I recognize she is strong and useful to have by my side.

"...If you marry me, I'd be happy to help." Her flirting tone makes me completely blush when she mentions marriage.

"W-What! N-No!! I'm not going to marry you," I quickly deny this absurdity.

"Ah, what a pity. So you're saying you wouldn't like... that." She suddenly grabs me and presses me against a tree, her hands holding mine above my head as her face approaches mine.

I turn red as a pepper while freezing for a second, her face moving in for a kiss. I close my eyes nervously, but the kiss never comes.

I open my eyes and see she let me go and stepped back. I'm confused, not understanding why she didn't kiss me, and without admitting it, I'm disappointed she stopped halfway.

"W-Why did you stop..." I say quietly, looking at the ground to hide my shame, until I hear her first words.

"You don't seem to want it and... OHHH... AAAHHHHHHH!" I create a giant hand of earth, grab her, and throw her as far as I can, filled with anger and shame. She goes flying like a giant arrow being launched to who knows where.

"Y-Y-YOU BITCH!! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!" I sigh heavily, my heart beating so fast it feels like it's going to explode. I can't believe I expected a kiss from that wretch who flirts with anyone.

"If you appear in front of me again, I'll throw you to the bottom of the sea," I say through gritted teeth. I can't believe she did all that as a joke.

"Dammit... if you were going to do that... you should have at least kissed me." I murmur, not wanting to admit that I would have liked to have received the kiss. I start walking again. I'll use this hatred to crush the angels even more.

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