“Sooo… This is something I’ve been thinking about. What exactly is the demon king’s goal? His ultimate plan?” Cody asked.

Jessica looked up from the map and her notes and frowned. “Well… to take over the world, I guess?”

“Yeah, but why? And how? There are so many random rules that make no sense with that in mind.”

Jessica hummed. “Hmm… Thinking about it, yeah. You’re right… No killing civilians. That one always felt strange for something like the demon army.”

“And all the rules for minions! No talking, always wearing the same outfit! I didn’t even realize minions were real people before joining!”

“Yeah, same! I bet that’s intentional! There has to be some kind of conspiracy!” Jessica exclaimed before putting a hand on her chin. “But what does it all mean…?”

The two fell into thought.

“The generals… don’t you think they are kinda similar to the magical girls?” Cody said after a moment of silence.

“What?” Jessica quirked an eyebrow.

“Think about it. Unlike the minions, generals have a flashy and memorable appearance, a name, a title, and their own weapon! Just like the magical girls! It’s like they were designed as a parallel to them!”

“That… huh. You’re right! But…why?”

Cody cleared his throat. “Here’s my theory! All of this is just one big popularity contest!”

“A… what…?”

“The generals all have fans, you know? Just like the magical girls! The plan must be to become more popular than the magical girls! And once that happens, people will be happy to let the demon lord rule! That’s how he plans on taking over the world!”

Jessica stared at her friend.

“That’s… really dumb. I mean, seriously, what?”

“Hey, it’s just a theory,” Cody said with a shrug.

“Yeeeah, well let’s put that theory in a drawer and forget about it until we debunk more reasonable theories first.”

Cody just chuckled. “Hey, How about asking the magical girls? Maybe they know something?”

“Eh… They might? I don’t know?”

“Well… ask them then?”

“I would love to, but how?”

Cody frowned. “Didn’t you say you regularly meet them?”

“Yeah, that’s because demons freaking love attacking places where I happen to be! There’s never a time to have a friendly chat with them! Even after everything is over, they just leave right away!”

“... wait. Aren’t you a double agent? I thought you meant that you regularly meet with them to strategize and whatnot!”

“What? No way! They don’t even know I’m a double agent!”

Cody looked very confused for a second.

“What?! Didn’t you say the whole double agent shtick was Pretty Flame’s idea? How do they not know?!”

“Errr, well, it wasn’t her idea. Just something she said gave me the idea.”

More silence, accompanied by a judging gaze from Cody.

“You know how I said you were reckless? Yeah, that was one heck of an understatement.”

“Hey! I just never had a good chance to tell them about all this yet!” Jessica looked to the side and added with a murmur, “And anyway, being a mysterious puppetmaster helping the real protagonists from the shadows is really cool too.”

Cody facepalmed.

“Well, how about we just tell them everything already?” Cody said.

“Like I said, there’s never a good time! They fight the demons and then just leave!”

“No, I meant like… on the next mission. They won’t leave if there’s still a minion standing.”

Jessica stopped. “Eh, I mean, I guess we could… But isn’t that dangerous? What if someone catches us, and then tells Salem? Or rather, Nomed will probably be active then, and he’ll definitely tell someone.” Jessica replied.

“Hmm… That’s true… Well, how about we leave a discreet message then? Scribble something down on a piece of paper and ‘accidentally’ drop it.”

Jessica thought about it. It would mean the end of being a shadowy puppetmaster, but it didn’t mean she would stop terrorizing the demons. Being a demon for the demons was still on the table. And anyway, if she were to continue being in the shadows, wouldn’t that mean her efforts would never be recognized even if she helped save the world? She wouldn’t even be able to brag about it!

“You’re right! We need to tell them as soon as possible! I shall come up with my own original cipher, create a message for them, and sneakily slide it into their pockets on our next encounter!” Jessica proclaimed.

“Good, but… uh, why a cipher?”

“Cuz it’s cooler!” Cody cringed. “And also, even if someone else sees it, they won’t know what it says! That way, we won’t be exposed!”

Cody sighed. “I guess so. Alright, I’ll leave it to you then.”

With that, Jessica’s mind turned to the potential message. What should she even write? It had to be something cryptic, right? Like a poem full of metaphors. Uh, but then, if it was too cryptic, they would never figure out what it meant! Maybe use some magical invisible ink?

What an awful dilemma.

With that said, the question of ‘What is the demon lord’s goal?’ still remained. Oddly enough, Cody’s dumb theory kinda fit. At least if it wasn’t for the fact that the generals actively caused harm to humans, which couldn’t really help their popularity.

Hmm…

“Hey… what if… We’re looking at it from the wrong angle? What if all of this is a red herring?” Jessica spoke up after a while.

“Meaning?”

“The demon lord isn’t from Earth, right? He’s from this realm.”

“Yeah?”

“But outside of the castle, this place is a desolate wasteland! Humans would die instantly! And it’s tough even for the demons! How can he be from here? Things can barely survive here, much less be born!”

“Hmm… Are you saying it wasn’t always this way? Like… an apocalypse happened here or something?”

“Yeah! Maybe the demon lord is secretly trying to find a way to restore his world to its former glory…! Or something. Somehow.”

“But how does building an army and all the random rules fit into that?”

“Well… I dunno. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Cody looked to the side and went silent for a moment. “Well, how about we go check out the outside then? There might be some clues out there.”

Jessica thought for a second before replying.

“Sure. Let’s do that.”