Dungeon Defense (WN)

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Elizabeth woke up from her light nap.

A white bed. It was rather frugal for the ruler of a nation to be using. Elizabeth rubbed her disheveled eyes. A terrible feeling of fatigue was wrapped around her skull like rotten cheese. She wanted to sleep at least a minute longer.

“Kuh…….”

One of the crystal balls on the other side of the room was making a ruckus. She had awoken because of this noise. She already got too little sleep to begin with, so she automatically let out a complaint.

“……Who would call me at a time like this? No, it would probably be more urgent since it is at this time.”

Elizabeth walked like a ghost. The moonlight coming through the window dimly lit up her naked body. Going to sleep without any clothes on had become a habit of hers since a long time ago.

“Mm. Henrietta, is it?”

The tiredness in Elizabeth’s eyes vanished without a trace. The crystal ball that had been set up specifically for Henrietta was the source of the sound.

It was more than fine for Henrietta to interfere with her sleep. Elizabeth promptly activated the magic orb. The orb let out a ray of light as a person’s shape was displayed inside of it.

“Hi, Eliza.”

A queen whose hair was as passionate as fire, Henrietta de Brittany. She was smiling boldly as usual.

“I know it’s sudden, but let me ask you something. Do you have a secret that you can’t tell others?”

“……That really is a sudden question.”

Elizabeth smiled bitterly.

The way she talked was like she was talking with a friend whom she had just been drinking with. No one would believe that she was a ruler who controlled an empire and a kingdom. Nonetheless, her unreserved behavior made Elizabeth feel relieved. Mm, Elizabeth put her hand against her chin as she thought.

“A secret, is it? This is troubling. Do you intend to figure out this lady’s secret and use it somewhere bad?”

“Lady? Don’t make me laugh. No one would call a girl who’s lived for more than twenty years without a lover and as a virgin a lady.”

“……My mind is still that of a lady.”

Elizabeth protested, but even she felt like it was pitiful.

“Don’t tell me. Seeing your reaction, are you actually a virgin?”

“I am married to my nation. All right, Henrietta. Let’s say that this is my secret to you.”

“Tsk tsk. Why are you like that when you look completely fine?”

Henrietta furrowed her brows as if she truly didn’t understand. Elizabeth felt sad for a very brief moment.

“I could pick anyone and have a good time with them if I wanted to. I simply do not feel the need to do something like that.”

“That’s a line often said by pretty girls who aren’t able to find a lover.”

“Fine, whatever. Let us stop discussing this.”

Elizabeth let out a sigh. The Queen of Brittany was famous for having a promiscuous sex life. This was probably the ethnic difference between people from Brittany and Habsburg, Elizabeth thought to herself.

“Sheesh. If my chief retainers were to overhear this conversation, then they would have probably revolted twice over. So, for what reason did you decide to ask me about something as trivial as my secrets?”

Henrietta smiled lightly.

“Dantalian has moved, Eliza.”

“…….”

The air changed.

The expression on Elizabeth’s face disappeared. The girl talking to her one and only friend disappeared and all that remained was the tyrant who heartlessly ruled the New Habsburg Republic.

Elizabeth suppressed her tension as she asked a question.

“……What do you mean by moved?”

“Naturally, I mean that he has created an army. It’s the Crescent Alliance, Eliza.”

Henrietta spoke nonchalantly as if she were talking about someone else’s problem.

“The difference this time is that instead of going to Habsburg like last time, they are coming to Frankia. It should be a relief to you.”

“Mm.”

Of course, it was a relief. It would be an utter nightmare if she had to face the Crescent Alliance again on her own soil again. Nonetheless, she didn’t let her relief show. Their goal being Frankia meant that her friend, Henrietta, would have to face them.

“Who is the source of this information? Sorry if I sound doubtful, but that Demon Lord is talented in information warfare and mind games. You have to be cautious.”

If they were to draw any rash conclusions, then they would have already fallen into the other party’s trap. The Demon Lord army was on the highest watchlist even in the Habsburg Republic’s information network. Despite this, Elizabeth hadn’t been informed of any particular movement yet.

“This is why I asked if you had a secret. I have a secret of my own. I’m actually constructing a cooperation system with one of the Demon Lords. That person is my source.”

“A Demon Lord, is it?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brows.

The fact that Henrietta was cooperating with a Demon Lord was rather surprising, but it wasn’t the time to ask her about it. Henrietta had revealed her secret to Elizabeth on her own. Elizabeth focused on the current issue at hand.

“The chances of that information being made up is too high. This is dangerous, Henrietta.”

“Agares is the Demon Lord. You remember the civil war that happened three years ago in the regency, right?”

“……Rank 2. The Demon Lord who lost.”

Indeed. It would be somewhat trustworthy, then.

Henrietta spoke.

“An extensive purge is currently happening within the Demon Lord army. The scale of it seems to be rather big. They say that even Rank 1 Baal was killed. I managed to get my hands on a video of Dantalian giving a speech during this process. I’ll order one of my court mages to send you the video later.”

“Please do. Then does this mean Dantalian was the one who orchestrated this purge?”

Henrietta nodded.

“There is no definite proof, but that is what I think.”

“Hm.”

“Eliza. I was able to get inside knowledge about the Crescent Alliance by cooperating with a Demon Lord. Bruno Plains was a stage entirely prepared by Dantalian.”

“……What do you mean by that?”

Dantalian was the culprit behind spreading poison throughout humanity during the ceremonial speeches. Was she saying that he had a role bigger than that?

Henrietta informed her about the truth she had discovered. Dantalian had secretly sent a letter to the other legion leaders of the Demon Lord army in order to prevent the Mountain Faction from getting too far ahead. Agares had naturally received a letter as well.

Agares knew that Dantalian saw through the Mountain Faction’s movement from the very beginning. It was through this information that Henrietta realized who the mastermind of the 8th Crescent Alliance was.

“……That’s what happened. The script and stage were all set up by that guy.”

“…….”

Elizabeth was unresponsive as she held her wine glass. She didn’t feel like she could listen with a straight mind, so she brought out some alcohol. It was supposed to be high-quality alcohol, but the inside of her mouth only felt bitter.

“We were already caught in a trap the moment we gathered at Bruno Plains, Eliza.”

“What……. Are you saying that a single person managed to almost push mankind to annihilation?”

Elizabeth shuddered.

“That is ridiculous. Something like that is not possible.”

“But it happened. Sorry, but you and I are rulers. We don’t have the right to disregard reality.”

The fact that something like this was reality was terrifying. It was literally a nightmare. A nightmare called Dantalian was covering the entire continent.

“Ten-thousand people died. Henrietta, ten-thousand people died in Habsburg alone.”

Elizabeth muttered in a strained voice.

“This was done by a single person? How could I possibly tell the people about this……? This should not be allowed even if they are a Demon Lord…….”

“And I had to kill off my own troops.”

There was now a sharp edge in Henrietta’s voice after talking nonchalantly almost this entire time.

“I have not forgotten for even a moment the screams let out by my soldiers. It’s probably the same for you as well.”

“…….”

“It’s time for our revenge, Eliza.”

There was a clear difference in mood between the two people.

Elizabeth was extremely warry of Dantalian and even afraid of him to a degree. On the other hand, Dantalian was a bothersome opponent but not a target of fear for Henrietta.

This difference started a few years ago when Elizabeth realized the identity of the Mad Priest Jean Bole was Dantalian. Elizabeth immediately reported this information to Henrietta. Thus, Henrietta learned that the foe she had thoroughly defeated was none other than Dantalian.

Therefore, Henrietta’s confidence was well-founded as she had already defeated Dantalian before.

“Even if there is a slim chance that this information is fake, we can easily make countermeasures for it as long as we don’t lower our guard. I’m going to believe that you didn’t lose that much confidence, Eliza.”

“……You are right. I was a little impatient. Sorry.”

“Well, I understand. You get rather temperamental whenever the topic is about Dantalian.”

Henrietta grinned.

“He’s certainly a genius when it comes to information warfare and mind games, but he’s not very useful on a battlefield. We can make use of that and aim for a proper fight.”

“…….”

Elizabeth fell into deep thought. She pondered for a moment about how she was going to tell her friend something before speaking.

“In regard to military tactics, Henrietta, I think Dantalian obtained a powerful subordinate.”

“Huh?”

“You most likely know that Heidelberg was captured, right?”

Henrietta nodded.

“People have been saying that the Demon Lord army has a rather capable individual.”

“I believe there is a very high chance that……that tactician is Dantalian’s advisor.”

Henrietta’s face became serious.

Elizabeth continued while feeling a strange pang of pain once she saw her friend’s expression.

“This is from the testimonies of the people who went as surrender envoys, but it’s apparently a girl who serves under Dantalian. Dantalian may definitely be weak when it comes to combat; however, he is not so foolish that he would leave that weakness alone.”

Commoners ended up gaining a favorable opinion of nobles because of the conviction they showed in Heidelberg.

The nobles within the government of the current Republic were also gradually getting more power. They were able to bounce back by the same amount they had been getting suppressed all this time. Dantalian was able to go beyond obtaining a simple victory and was able to shake the foundation of their politics as well…….

There is nothing scarier than an enemy who knows how to make use of their victory. Dantalian is an extremely terrifying individual.

Henrietta lamented.

“So you’re saying he possesses schemes, strategies, and also military tactics? He’s become a ridiculous foe.”

A moment of silence fell over the two rulers. Elizabeth spoke up as if she were trying to overcome this pressure.

“How about causing disorder within the Crescent Alliance? Dantalian was the one to scheme the purge, but if you consider the information, he does not have that many troops. If we divide the Demon Lords who have troops and lower the faith they have in Dantalian…….”

“That’ll probably be difficult.”

Henrietta shook her head.

“According to Agares, he is apparently in a relationship with all of the legion leaders. Moreover, Dantalian was the one who made the Crescent Alliance succeed and put an end to their civil war. The commanders probably have immense trust in him.”

“Their faith in him is firm, is it……?”

“Very much so.”

The fact that a purge was carried out on the Rank 1 Demon Lord showed how much trust Dantalian had as the person who planned it all out. It was incredibly unlikely that they could be broken up from the inside.

Elizabeth let out a weak sigh.

“What exactly is his goal? I do not understand. If his wish is to merely wipe out mankind, then he would not have had to carry out a purge…….”

“I don’t know either. But there are a couple of things that are clear.”

Henrietta continued in a cold tone.

“He’s the most dangerous type of person, he’s the enemy of mankind, and our archenemy.”

“…….”

“If you think of it the other way around, the Demon Lord army would lose its centerpiece if he’s gone. Eliza, prepare to declare martial law. This time we have to go to war with the survival of humanity on the line.”

Elizabeth took a sip of her wine before carefully nodding her head. That’s right. She has no other choice but to end the nightmare herself…….

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. It’s been a while since we last had a chapter from Elizabeth’s perspective. At least they aren’t having some complex discussion about politics like that one other time. My brain is sort of like mush.

Uuh, I hope you guys have a good May! See you guys in the next chapter.

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