"..." I watch Evelyn through the artifact I acquired from the Demon King's castle. She's saying something and gesturing with her hands while several soldiers nod, and she hands out materials from her storage ring along with a marked-up map.

I don't know what they're saying, but I understand it's about traps. Watching Evelyn makes me feel so... stupid. Wasting time on her is strange. I feel hurt by what happened between us.

Her lack of interest in seeing that I was changing for her made me simply give up on it. Why change for someone who isn't interested in seeing that I'm changing?

But even so, she still affects me. I look at the various sex toys I bought and realize how foolish I was. I think I idealized this marriage too much as something good and liberating for me, but it was just painful and complicated.

"Perhaps I rushed into things too much... perhaps I should have considered that she wasn't happy in this marriage like I thought she was... or perhaps... I'm just too controlling..." I'm good at reading people.

Ever since I started observing Evelyn, I've seen that she's acting like me. She's using my posture in front of others, and she seems very nervous when she's alone, but when someone is nearby, she completely changes to give off a more neutral air.

This shows she's still following what I taught her. She might have just said she hates our marriage as lip service, or perhaps discovering that I was indeed doing things for her in secret made her feel so guilty that she's trying to improve to show me. It's a possibility.

"..." I decide to get a better panorama of the relic's effective area. I amplify the viewing area to not just see Evelyn, but the entire area around the village. However, doing this consumes so much magic that I can only see for a few seconds before the relic shuts down, ceasing to function from lack of charge.

"...Four seconds... No wonder the Demon King tossed this relic into the vault and practically never used it. Too costly..." I saw angels. Not too far from Evelyn's area. They seem weak to my eyes, but they'll be a challenge for Evelyn.

'Their activities have increased.' Lately, angels have been attacking en masse various cities and points across the continent. We've been handling the attacks well, but still... it doesn't change the fact that they're trying to establish their own control point within our continent.

"Evelyn has two days before being attacked. Plenty of time to really set traps... Well, it doesn't matter. This is her problem. I won't help or meddle where I wasn't called. She made her opinion clear, and if she wants to fight for the title of Demon Queen, she must prove herself worthy of such an honor." I stand up.

'I need something to occupy myself...' I open the training area with my equipment. I'll enter the war as well. I was avoiding the front-line battlefield because I wanted to look after Evelyn here at the mansion, but now that she's not here, there's no more point in wasting time.

"Elizabeth, bring me my combat relics. Also, bring my military uniform." I look over which weapon to choose from among the various weapons in my arsenal and opt for my [Cumulous Blood Fall].

[Cumulous Blood Fall] A purple and black spear with a red spiral blade. It contains 3 curses applied with each strike.

(Curse 1 = Fall of the Disorderly = Slowly reduces all of the target's physical and magical attributes in an effect lasting weeks to months.)

(Curse 2 = Blood Collapse = Generates wounds that corrode the blood, spreading inward from the wound and causing damage to the target's internal organs.)

(Curse 3 = Diabolic Blackout = Makes the spear's First Strike a critical hit that shatters any defense of a level equal to or lower than the user's. If it hits a stronger target, instead of breaking defenses, it poisons them with a lethal venom and applies corrosion to the target's armor/clothing to destroy it.)

"..." I swing the spear for a moment. It's a great weapon, no doubt. Perfect for wars since it causes damage the opponent will continue to receive even if they flee from me. It's a weapon precisely made to kill the target even if they run away, since in large-scale war battles you can't go chasing after everyone who flees.

"Here are your clothes, Esther-sama!" Elizabeth appears before me, handing me my set of military clothing. I think about what orders to give her. Many of my strong servants are currently too busy gathering artifacts, weapons, and magic books to make me more powerful, so the only strong servant who's free is Elizabeth.

"Stay here at the mansion and take care of everything for me, but always be ready to leave if you receive an emergency order..."

"You don't want me to keep spying on Evelyn?" she asks, confused, but I shake my head. I no longer need her to keep an eye on Evelyn because I have the relic to watch her myself, even if I don't hear what she says.

"Now leave." I start undressing to put on my uniform. It's a white outfit with white pants and boots, both very tight and fitting to my body, with an elegant and authoritative tone.

Along with a simple white crop top and a jacket patterned in military style with some honor medals I received. The jacket is also white with black buttons.

And a large medal of a black blade that indicates my rank in the army, attached on the right side of the chest a little higher up. I then put on the final part: a white military hat with a black star on top.

[Military Elite Attire] A magical outfit that functions as a set. There are 5 clothing pieces in total: pants, boots, top, coat, and a hat, all white. Each piece possesses a magic.

[Boots = Military boots that possess Flight Magic with anti-dirt passives for the entire outfit.]

[Pants = Tight white pants that have Defense and Impact Absorption Magic, protecting from physical damage in general as long as it's within the clothing's resistance rate.]

[White Crop Top = A top to be worn under the coat, equipped with a survival magic that defends the user from a fatal blow to the vital organs in the torso.]

[Coat = The most resistant piece of the set, comparable to elite armor. Has enough resistance to withstand city-scale attacks, with excellent damage absorption against magical attacks in general and poison purification.]

[Military Hat = A white hat with an area detection magic that alerts the user to invisible threats, as well as a star-shaped relic attached that generates a temporary shield around the user in case of a surprise attack.]

"It's been a while since I wore these clothes." I look at myself in the mirror nearby. It fits perfectly, obviously. This uniform isn't just clothing; it's a relic, like the Demon King's armor.

I start to leave. I'm going to the Demon King to say I'll re-enter the front lines. I think he'll be pleased with such a thing. After all, one more general in the current situation is always useful.

...

...

...

"Evelyn-sama, Syl'Vyr discovered something!" Eve quickly bursts into my tent with Syl'Vyr. I gave orders to my soldiers just a few minutes ago to set traps, so I'm somewhat free now.

"What is it, Eve?" I ask, looking up. Syl'Vyr is sweaty as she comes to me holding her staff, her large... breasts swaying somewhat hypnotically.

"Evelyn-chan!! I saw angels!! I mean... I didn't really see them, but I smelled a relatively fresh scent! About one to two days old! It's on the more remote side of the village!" Syl'Vyr speaks with a seriousness very distant from her usual playful tone.

"A-Angels? Already!? B-But we barely arrived 3 days ago," I say, worried. The soldiers don't seem to have noticed anything, but Syl'Vyr, as a wolf girl, has an absurd sense of smell and wouldn't be mistaken! After all, she noticed that super angelic attack in the city before just on instinct, and the hot weather doesn't hinder her smell.

"...Wait, where did you see them? I mean, where did you smell it?" I grab the map and place it on an open table for her to show me. Syl'Vyr looks at the map, confused and unsure, but Eve confidently puts her finger on a spot.

"It was here. I already mentally mapped the forest layout from the places we passed. See this river? It was right here that Syl'Vyr said she started to smell something strange, and then we followed the river to here, where Syl'Vyr said the smell reminded her of Faye." When Eve mentions Faye, I remember the soldiers haven't seen her yet.

"Eve, I need you to go get Faye quickly! I forgot the others aren't used to her! It'll be bad if they see Faye and attack her!!" I mark on the map the points Eve mentioned.

'Looking at this, it forms an arc around the river... looks like... they're following its course...' Probably the angels are using the river water to drink while moving near it but not exactly on its bank, thus avoiding being seen.

'If they're following the river's flow, but at a distance, then... in a few days they'll arrive...' I see where they'll arrive, and it's very close to the village and this place, which is dangerous.

'Wait, isn't this where I ordered the traps to be set... so if they follow this route...' I pause for a moment to think about this while Eve leaves the tent to get Faye.

'We can catch them in a trap and also attack, staying on guard...' I breathe heavily, realizing the weight of this decision. Depending on how many angels there are, deaths will undoubtedly occur, and demons may also die.

My orders will take lives... My heart races in panic knowing this, but I force myself to breathe calmly.

'It's inevitable, it's inevitable... I-I'm not doing this out of malice... I need to do this... it's a war... I-I'm just surviving...' I force myself to go through with it and form a plan.

'I need to warn the soldiers...'

"Syl'Vyr, how many angels?" I ask, looking at her.

"...Hmm, hard to say. Many different scents, but at least a small company of 100 to 150 angelic soldiers. They seem to be doing reconnaissance, looking for gaps to pass through unnoticed since they hid almost all traces." She delivers bad news.

'100 to 150 angels then... deaths... will happen...' I shake my head, deciding to stop thinking about it. If I think about how many will die, I won't be able to concentrate on planning.

'I should think about making the most perfect plan possible to avoid casualties on both sides... the fewer deaths, the better...' I take a deep breath again, calming myself.

"Syl'Vyr, leave... I need space and silence to plan..." I say to her and to myself.

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