The demons entered the Imperial Palace.
At the forefront of the procession was Mari, who had played a key role in the operation.
Although Charlemagne, another Demon Lord, was present, her position had been significantly weakened after her earlier defeat.
Following Mari, who had captured the Emperor, the demons entered the grand, open gates of the Imperial Palace with confidence.
What greeted their eyes was a scene that froze them.
It was the Emperor, Hiren III of the Leaf Empire, kneeling firmly on the floor, tightly bound by Kesar and his forces.
“Well done, Kesar.”
“You’ve done well, too. We’ve had it easy, honestly. They’ve treated us quite well, surprisingly.”
Mari smiled lightly, but she knew Kesar’s words were a joke.
Though Mari had commanded the troops, shielded by the protection of a large army, Kesar’s situation was far more precarious.
Being disguised as an envoy, he had enjoyed a certain level of hospitality, but every moment had been filled with the fear of being discovered and executed.
“Well, let’s leave the jokes behind for now…”
Ending the playful exchange, Mari’s expression became serious.
Her gaze turned to the figure kneeling on the ground, trying to avoid eye contact.
The Emperor of the Leaf Empire, Hiren III.
“It’s been a long time, Your Majesty. Or should I say… Brother? How have you been?”
For the first time, she spoke the word “brother.”
But there was no warmth in the term, which typically signifies a blood-relative.
All that existed in that word was pure, seething hatred.
Only the clear emotion of anger toward the worst of enemies, the one who killed their parents and tried to kill her as well, could be felt.
“That’s quite the sight. Was this really your plan all along? To assassinate the previous Emperor and try to kill me just to end up here? I must say, it’s impressive. It will surely go down in the history of this Empire… no, the entire continent.”
“…Kill me.”
The Emperor spoke with a heavy voice.
His response, seemingly devoid of any desire or will, gave off an unmistakable sense of futility.
At that moment.
“Kuhhh!!”
Mari kicked the Emperor’s body with her foot.
Then, in an instant, she pressed the tip of her staff against the Emperor’s neck.
“Did you ask me to kill you? Fine. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you and avenge my parents!”
In that moment, Mari was overcome by a surge of emotions, her murderous intent becoming sharp and clear.
At that moment, Irushil and Teriya, who had been standing behind her, began to intervene.
“Master, please calm down!”
“If you kill him now, you’ll incur the Great Demon King’s wrath. I understand your feelings, but please, hold yourself back for now.”
If Mari were an ordinary person, she might not have understood, but no matter how much they had been defeated, the one in front of her was the ruler of this nation—the Emperor.
Dealing with someone like him required proper procedure.
Even if she would eventually take his life, as Teriya said, now was not the time.
Most importantly, though her rage surged in that moment, killing the Emperor in this way was not the outcome she truly desired.
After a moment, Mari regained her composure.
She pulled her staff away from the Emperor’s neck, then spoke to him coldly.
“Watch closely… I will make sure to bring you a fate worse than hell itself.”
“Cough! Cough! Ugh…”
The Emperor could only struggle, coughing weakly in response to Mari’s words.
Once the brief moment of emotional outburst passed.
Kesar let out a small sigh and began issuing orders.
“First, I’ll send the victory report to the Great Demon King. We’ve successfully captured the Emperor, and the Leaf Empire has fallen.”
“Understood, Kesar.”
Though Kesar knew the Great Demon King was here, he could not openly acknowledge it, so he went through the formalities, taking action accordingly.
He then ordered the Emperor and his ministers to be imprisoned in the underground cells.
“Now… the real issue is how to clean up after this.”
The Leaf Empire had fallen.
This meant that humanity, as a whole, was now under the foot of the demons.
At the same time, it also meant there was a great deal to handle moving forward.
The demons had taken control of the capital, leaving the internal affairs in disarray.
And even more importantly, there were diplomatic issues with the other Free Races to address.
Especially the Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs—Kesar couldn’t be sure how they would respond.
It was critical to send someone to try to manage the situation with them immediately.
While Kesar was lost in thought, considering the next steps, someone spoke up.
“Kesar, if I may, would you allow me to handle the internal affairs of the capital?”
“Internal affairs?”
“Yes, as for the diplomatic side, it requires the approval of the Great Demon King, so it’s not my place to intervene. But I am confident in handling the internal matters. After all, despite appearances, I was originally the head of the Magic Tower. I have the connections to deal with the affairs here.”
“Hmm…”
It was certainly a reasonable argument.
At the moment, Irushil, the human hero, was closely attached to her, and more importantly, Mari herself was not only the head of the Magic Tower but also the hidden princess of this country.
Given the plausibility of her reasoning, Kesar agreed.
“Then I leave it to you. If you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Yes, thank you, Kesar.”
As Mari received his approval, she smiled.
However, at that moment, Kesar didn’t realize the cold hatred hidden in her smile.
The vengeance that burned inside her, stronger than what had been shown moments ago, was now raging within her…
Like golden noodles boiling in a pot, what had once been as firm as a pillar was now softening on one side, releasing a savory aroma.
The slender hands that carefully fished out the fully cooked noodles from the pot.
Those hands, marked with burns and scars, held an air of familiarity, with no superfluous movements.
The noodles, now softened, were placed on a frying pan, then topped with sauce and cooked once more.
After this process, the dish was complete.
A steaming plate of spaghetti.
The person holding it, with slender arms, was none other than…
The pureblood Elf woman with long ears.
She carefully placed the dish on the table.
“Eat.”
The Elf hybrid girl, with a dark expression, lowered her head.
The small child, whose face was covered in bruises as if she had been beaten, was looked at by the woman, who spoke in a gentle voice.
“It’s leftover from today’s sale, so it was going to be thrown out anyway. Don’t worry about it. Just eat.”
“…Yes.”
The girl, seemingly gaining some courage from those words, carefully picked up the fork.
At first, it was awkward, but soon she couldn’t resist the hunger and began eating the spaghetti hurriedly.
Watching her, the woman’s face softened into a quiet smile.
“Huk… huk…”
At that moment, the girl began crying bitterly, tears streaming down her face.
As she sobbed, the woman silently ran her hand over the girl’s head, speaking in a calm tone.
“If you’re hungry, you can always come to me. But remember, when your fate improves, you must repay me. Understand?”
“…Huk… Y-yes… I will… I promise I will repay you…”
The girl, nodding repeatedly, made a bold promise.
That image of her remained in the woman’s heart.
As the small girl grew taller, became an adult, and became someone everyone knew.
And… one day, when she heard the news of the girl’s death, she took a day off from her shop.
She had been running the shop for over 120 years.
While similar things had happened before, that day, it hit her harder, lingered longer, and hurt more deeply than before.
It touched her heart.
And today, as she gazed at her empty shop, the image of that girl once again surfaced in her mind.
Her beloved regular customer, who would never return.
The demon who killed that customer.
Today was the day the demons had taken over this place, the capital.
Demons, armed and patrolling the city, walked the streets.
Fortunately, the massacre and plundering that many had feared did not occur.
Yet, despite everything, the demons—the ones who had killed that girl—were now patrolling the city, and the mere thought of it filled her heart with deep anger.
Even she, who had quietly sold spaghetti without caring much about the world’s affairs, couldn’t help but curse the Emperor for bringing things to this point.
With the pain growing tighter, like a noose around her neck, she decided to close the shop early, as no customers had come.
But then…
-Ding dong~
“Welcome…!”
With the sound of the bell, someone entered.
The shopkeeper instinctively went to greet the customer, but her face immediately froze in place.
The person who walked in was a demon, with horns and wings.
Though it was someone who would normally evoke anger, the shopkeeper’s face was filled with emotions that were beyond description when she recognized the demon’s face.
“S… Surely… you… you can’t…”
“The usual, please… I’ll leave it to you, ma’am.”