“So, everyone, make sure not to betray us. If anyone betrays us, everyone will die.”
“Y-yes!!”
That’s a good answer, Tokito.
The others, perhaps feeling the terror of Fiona-sama once again, are sweating coldly.
“By the way, if there’s any suspicious sign, I’ll just burn it down.”
“I-I get it, Pilkaya-sama. So… if you could… maybe tone down the firepower, we’d appreciate it.”
“Oops, sorry. But it’s really irritating. A reincarnated person who betrayed the Demon King-sama…”
Wait, it sounds like he’s hearing this for the first time.
“Pilkaya, don’t you know about those people?”
“Hmm. If I don’t remember them, it must be before I became a subordinate of the Demon King-sama… or maybe during the time I was killed.”
He laughs, but is that really okay?
However, that means those reincarnated people might have pushed Fiona-sama into a corner. If Pilkaya doesn’t know anything because he was killed, then it means they were killed by being outsmarted before anyone knew what happened.
What about the other Four Heavenly Kings? Aside from Primilla and Rigma, did they outsmart even Ripianem?
But if Fiona-sama dealt with them directly, it might mean she was almost on the verge of collapse when I met her.
“Well, we’re not invincible either. If we’re going to die, we’ll die.”
“You guys are so dry… I’d be sad if you died.”
“Thanks. But hey, reincarnators, you might be able to defeat the Four Heavenly Kings if you try, but you should think about what comes after.”
Pilkaya made sure to look at each reincarnator besides me and spoke.
“Even if you can kill us, what’s waiting ahead is the strongest Demon King-sama from a different dimension. Don’t think it’ll be easy to win.”
“U-um… P-Pilkaya-san, we’re not planning to betray Demon King-sama… though.”
Kazama raised his hand and spoke hesitantly.
Well, it’s just a precaution. I know the reincarnators are cooperating for now, but after hearing such a story, it’s understandable…
“Yeah, that’s why it’s just a precaution.”
“We’ll be properly evaluated by Demon King-sama!”
“Y-yes. At least it’s more comfortable than in the kingdom, and we wouldn’t do anything stupid…”
“That’s fine then. But hey, what if something happens, right?”
Pilkaya’s expression, which I couldn’t see clearly, seemed to add to the eerie atmosphere, stirring up fear.
Is this intentional? Or is it just because of his emotional side that it naturally turned out like this?
“Besides, I trust you all now. After all, we’ve gathered all the reincarnators together like this. And it’s just me and Rey here.”
Until now, I never gathered Tokito and Okui, Kazama , Hara, Sera, and Lopez together.
There was a concern that if reincarnators started conspiring with each other, it would be troublesome, but based on their usual work, Pilkaya’s supervision, and the Shadow Ring, I judged there was no problem.
And… if there were problems, it would be better to detect them early and handle them.
The betrayal of reincarnators seems like a significant wound for Fiona-sama.
Therefore, I want to discover any issues early and take care of them before they can dig up that wound.
“B-Boss… we’re not going to betray you. But… this… I can’t feel alive like this.”
“…? I don’t really understand, but as Pilkaya said, I trust you for now. Let’s continue working together.”
For now, it seems fine to trust them.
The meeting is dismissed, and the reincarnators were left to take a break.
Normally, I would stagger the times to avoid meeting them, but it seems they all went to Magirema’s dining hall together.
“Still, that was a bold move. If the reincarnators had banded together at that moment, it would’ve been a hassle.”
A huge puddle on the ground started making a noise, turning into a human figure.
“I thought it was fine either way. Rigma.”
In the end, Rigma knows best that the possibility of such a thing happening is very low.
Among the Four Heavenly Kings, Rigma has the most interaction with the reincarnators.
“They have a low chance of betraying us for now. But if they were to unite and rebel, it would be better to find out as soon as possible.”
He said that while making the wall in front of him disappear.
Behind the wall was a hidden room where Primilla and Ripianem had been observing our situation.
“As expected, there was no need for a fight.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
At first, Pilkaya and I planned to just set things straight, but when Rigma joined in, then Ripianem, it was clear that all Four Heavenly Kings would be on standby.
This time, everything went as expected without issues, but considering the worst-case scenario, maybe such caution is necessary.
◇
“By the way, this is our first time meeting. I’m Kazama Takemi, a reincarnator with the power of a hero.”
“And I’m Tokito Serika!”
“I’m Okui Eriko… Nice to meet you.”
“This is Sera Arata, and this is Hara Yuka. Both were people I was close to in the original world.”
“Harem~~…”
After a simple introduction to the two beastwomen I was meeting for the first time, there’s one man who looks out of place and isn’t joining in.
That’s rare. He’s usually a social person and should be actively participating in things like this.
“So, this is Lopez Totanes… Lopez, are you okay? You’ve been acting strange since earlier.”
He seems to be moving his spoon in front of his food, but it’s unclear if he’s even trying to eat.
When I asked, it seemed like he finally came back to his senses and started eating.
“Ah… sorry. As Takemi introduced, I’m Lopez.”
“Are you okay? You look pale.”
“…Hey, all of you. Please don’t betray us, alright?”
With a serious expression, Lopez spoke, and I immediately voiced my honest opinion.
“You’re talking about betraying the Demon King? I definitely don’t want to get cremated.”
“Right? I mean, we’ve been treated better than the Kingdom, and what Rey said earlier was just a precautionary warning, right?”
“That was almost more like casual conversation. Since we’re from different species and reincarnators, I think he just wants to be sure every now and then, right?”
Arata and Yuka didn’t seem to see any real benefit in betraying us either. The truth is, the work here doesn’t demand impossible results.
“I was reincarnated as a halfling. I don’t know if it’s because of that, but I’ve become more aware of my surroundings than I was in my previous life, and my intuition works better too.”
“I see, so there are some advantages when you’re not human.”
I envy that.
…No, I feel bad for him, but the fact that he still looks like a child is not something I envy.
I might have been better off staying human.
“Because of that, I can kind of tell. If I had made the wrong choice back there, the boss would have ruthlessly discarded us.”
“Well… if we’d been asked not to betray and we refused…”
The Demon King’s army probably wouldn’t be so lenient.
“At that point, I think all four of the Four Heavenly Kings would have taken care of us… thinking about that, it’s terrifying.”
“All four of them? I think only Pilkaya-san was there at that moment?”
“…Ah! That’s why!”
It was not Lopez who reacted to my question, but Tokito. She seemed to have realized something and raised her voice, being scolded by Okui.
“My power is called ‘Choices,’ and basically, it lets me see what kind of result will come from any action I take.”
“Wow…”
That’s definitely a useful ability for living.
“Ever since Rey called me, there’ve been so many choices popping up, it’s been so annoying!”
Annoying… or maybe it’s more of a hindrance? Or does it make a sound to alert you to the choices?
“Every time there was the choice to betray or not, the result of betraying kept changing.”
“It changed? Did betraying lead to a better outcome at some point?”
“No, no, not at all! There’s no such thing! You burn to death. You get impaled and die. You get crushed and die. You get slashed and die. It was all like that, and I got it, okay?! It was just annoying the whole time.”
“Burning is from Pilkaya, impaled is from Rigma, crushed is from Primilla , and slashed is from Ripianem, huh…”
I see… So the result didn’t change, but the person who would deal with the betrayal was different.
“Please, don’t get any weird ideas. I don’t want to take the fall and get blamed for it too…”
Honestly, I’m sure the Demon King’s army is a better workplace than humanity. But as Lopez says, we should stay cautious.
We can’t forget that the Demon King is someone who gives punishment when necessary.
I’ll make sure to stay focused and work hard going forward…
◇
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine~ I’m not mad~. Even if you leave me out and have fun with Rey and the Four Heavenly Kings, I have no complaints~.”
“Um… I’ll stay with Fiona-sama for today.”
“Then you should have said that earlier! Alright, let’s go back to sleep. Second sleep.”
Of course, I don’t want to be treated like a body pillow.
Could it be that in Fiona-sama’s mind, I’ve become more like a pet or just an everyday item…?
