The sound of steel-soled boots hammering against dirt paths had become a common melody during the past few weeks in the eastern half of the continent. I sat atop a small rocky overhang that overlooked a large but barren plain.

I’m still not entirely sure how I managed to convince the chieftains of my absolutely insane plan, but the eastern tribes now stood united and were already preparing for the first stage of it.

As I peered down at the soldiers who were gearing up and milling about, my keen vision picked up a few familiar faces, including Priya, Lucrezia, and even Aurelia. Of course, the chieftains were present as well, but most of them were spread out and busy managing their own people.

Of course, I had no desire to see any of these people die, but I wasn’t exactly expecting anything to work out perfectly. After all, I was really just stumbling along whenever it came to actually making plans.

“Feeling nervous already, ‘interim Demon Lord?’” Antenora’s voice came from behind me. I turned around to see a relaxed smirk on her face. Honestly, it struck me as slightly strange to see her with such a carefree attitude when she used to be rather uptight, but I’d wager coming clean with her identity helped a lot.

“Interim Demon Lord” was a nickname that I’d ended up earning during the previous weeks as I busied myself with organizing the chieftains and their armies. 

Obviously, there was no way that I could become the real Demon Lord thanks to my human origins, but it still ended up catching on. Of course, “interim” came from the fact that the real Demon Lord was supposed to appear two years later despite the fact that the eastern tribes had already been united.

“Speaking of Demon Lords, d’you think she’s really out there?”

Antenora gave me a solemn nod. “There’s no doubt about it. When we died, we were both reincarnated.”

“And if she’s not?”

“Well, I suppose we’re fucked then, aren’t we?”

I laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.”

It truly was laughable. Our entire plan hinged on someone who we weren’t even sure existed. Even if they did, we weren’t even sure if they’d cooperate, despite Antenora’s insistence that they would.

That’s right. The person that this whole thing banked on wasn’t me. It wasn’t Lucrezia, Aurelia, or Priya. It wasn’t any of the chieftains. It wasn’t even Antenora who was the former Hero.

In fact, it was the former Demon Lord that Antenora had fallen in love with back when she was Izmael. Since Antenora still possessed the Hero’s authority to summon the holy sword despite having been reincarnated, we were pretty sure that the former Demon Lord still possessed the Demon Lord’s authority as well.

At least for the next two years, that is. That was the main reason why we were already preparing to mobilize so quickly. If it were completely up to me, then I probably would’ve wanted to take it a little slower, but two years apparently wasn’t a great time frame for what I wished to accomplish.

Namely, the plan also required the unification of not only the eastern tribes, but the continent as a whole.

Thanks to Antenora’s previous experience with fighting against God, we managed to learn that God was fueled not only by worship, but also emotion. The stronger the emotions of his creations, the greater the fuel they provided.

However, this specific God possessed an inclination toward negative feelings, particularly those born from hatred or conflict, meaning that we would still meet our defeat at his hands if we allowed the continent to remain divided like this.

Good thing I ended up recruiting Radeca and Liandra... I sighed, thinking of the most efficient way to contact them. Of course, the original task that I gave them was to lay low and keep me updated on the affairs of the western nations, but with the situation now changing, it was probably time to spice things up a little.

It would’ve been nice if Radeca still held any political power in the Sylphid Alliance, but then again, I wouldn’t have found her in that kind of situation if she did. It was clear that the road ahead of me was still long and arduous, but step by step, I was nearing my final goal.

I pushed myself up off the ground and took one last look at the soldiers beneath me before starting down the hill with Antenora in tow. It was only then that I realized this was the first time I’d seen her leave Lucrezia’s side.

I mean, I’d seen them apart plenty of times, sure. But they’d never been more than a few paces apart. Normally, they’d be able to reach one another within seconds, but the trek downhill would take us at least five minutes unless I simply jumped down.

I frowned. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen them chat much during the past few weeks either...

“Hey, Antenora? Somethin’ happen between you and Lucrezia lately?”

She stopped in her tracks, prompting me to do so as well.

“...Why do you ask?”

Her voice was stiff and almost robotic. It was clear that my question was already answered by that alone, but I continued to soldier on.

I shrugged. “You two used to stick together like two peas in a pod, and now, I haven’t seen you anywhere near her. Just thought it was worth asking, y’know?”

“It’s nothing.”

I nodded and continued walking as Antenora’s gaze slid away. If it had been Priya or Lucrezia, I probably would’ve pressed for more information, but when it came to Antenora, I had a feeling that she was the type who wasn’t going to speak until she was ready.

As the two of us made it to the foot of the cliff, I heard the familiar pitter-patter of Priya’s footsteps making their way toward my position. Trailing just slightly behind her was Lucrezia, her white hair radiant in the setting sun.

I greeted both of them with a smile.

“Ryuuko! Everyone’s ready to move out!”

“Then let’s go...”

I turned my gaze to the thin line that divided the east and west of the continent. The setting sun glared furiously into my eyes, but I didn’t mind it. It couldn’t compete with the heat of my glare.

“...beyond the horizon.”