— — — — — —
"Come on, listen to yourself. Hahahha," Kazuma said with a laugh. "I'm not some kind of devil. How could I make you do something like that?"
"Just thinking about it for a second should tell you it's obviously impossible for you anyway. Yolda, how can you be this stupid?"
He walked up and patted Yolda lightly on the back as he spoke.
"Y-Yes, that's true. I misunderstood," Yolda said quickly. "I thought you were going to make me do something completely impossible…"
"Hahahaha."
Yolda relaxed and laughed along with him. See? She knew it. The man in front of her wasn't a demon after all.
There was no way he'd be cruel enough to treat a gorgeous blonde lady like her as nothing more than a workhorse.
But the very next second that thought crossed her mind, Kazuma's smile vanished. He looked straight at her.
"W-Why did you suddenly stop laughing?! K-Kazuma-sama? Please don't look at me."
"Ahem… Yolda. Sometimes the impossible can become possible if we use the right method. So, I do need someone to help me set up teleportation gates all over the place. And among everyone here, you're the only one who's good at teleportation and fast enough."
"As a professional Maid Demon, you wouldn't refuse your master's request, right?"
"As an amazing Transdimensional Demon, you will do it, right?"
Kazuma stared at her blankly as he asked.
"Y-Yes… I will definitely complete the task you give me. Waaaaah…"
"Why are you crying now? If someone sees this, they'll think I forced you to do something terrible."
"I… sniff… waaaah…"
Yolda cried as she forced out a painfully ugly smile.
Kazuma shook his head and scooped up baby Beel, who looked at him with stars in his eyes.
"Oh, Beel, ready for lessons on how to become a Demon Lord and rule the world?"
"Bwiiiiiii!" (Hell yeah)
---
'Yolda. Oh, Yolda. Don't be so miserable. It will be tiring, sure, but it's still better than teleporting everyone all at once.'
'Yup. That's right. I was just a little emotional and didn't see the truth.'
'...right?'
At some point, Yolda had grasped one of the core truths of being a workhorse: self-comfort.
In a life of hardship and endless labor, a workhorse who can't console themselves simply won't survive.
"Erza 2," Kazuma said, turning his head. "Now that you've seen my strength, who do you think will be the final victor? Me, or the kingdom?"
He looked at Erza Knightwalker, who was standing there in a daze.
"I…"
Erza wanted to say that the kingdom's army would win.
But then she looked behind Kazuma.
The Behemoth's 34 Pillar Division radiated terrifying magical power. Their numbers weren't large, but every single one of them was elite. More than a dozen of the Pillar Generals were already close to S-rank mages.
And the veteran Pillar Barons standing beside Behemoth were all solidly at S-rank.
Then there were the dragons soaring freely through the sky. Every movement stirred up violent winds. A casual breath attack could incinerate everything. Their scales were so tough they could shrug off magic, and their claws were sharp enough to tear through defenses like paper.
And then there were the lolis.
They looked cute on the outside, but their bodies carried a chilling, blood-soaked aura.
These were warriors who had truly been tempered by blood and fire. Not only did they possess incredible physical strength, they were also equipped with vast amounts of advanced technology. So if a real fight broke out, their combat power would be no weaker than that of magic users.
"..."
"I surrender," Erza said at last. "I'll join your side. But please, do everything you can not to harm the citizens. And afterward, I ask that you resolve the magic crisis."
She had compromised.
Resisting now would only lead to pointless death. It was better to surrender and join him instead.
At the very least, as long as she lived, she could try to persuade Kazuma not to massacre civilians and keep the damage of war to a minimum.
"A very wise choice," Kazuma said with a smile. "Don't worry. From now on, everyone in this country will be under Fairy Tail. I don't hurt my own people."
He patted Erza on the head, then turned to Behemoth.
"Behemoth. You'll go with this Erza and head to the royal capital."
"Take control of the king and detain all the high-ranking officials. Can you handle that?"
He could have sent the dragons. Their strength was overwhelming.
But they were too rough in how they handled things. Letting them loose might turn this into a full-scale annihilation war. In a situation like this, it was better to rely on a crafty old fox like Behemoth.
"Heh, since you put it that way," Behemoth said with a chuckle, "then even if I have to risk these old bones, I'll get it done for you."
He walked up beside Erza, smiling warmly. "Little girl, let's head out early and settle this quickly."
"Alright," Erza replied, "but the kingdom has a lot of guards, and many of them are very strong. Just you might not be enough."
She looked at Kazuma, then at the dragons in the sky. The meaning was obvious. She was asking whether he planned to lead the dragons himself.
"No need. Behemoth is more than enough," Kazuma said calmly. "Don't underestimate that old guy. He's not weak at all."
"Little girl," Behemoth added with a grin, "I may be old, but I'm not so old that I can't fight. Relax. There won't be any problems."
Powerful magic erupted from his body as he spoke.
Demons lived long lives. This old man's usual frail appearance was just an act. He called himself an old bag of bones all day long, but once he actually fought, he was fiercer than anyone.
"It's been a long time since I've had a battle like this," Behemoth said, excitement creeping into his voice. "I'm getting fired up. Boys, let's go. The war is about to begin."
With that, the Pillar Barons, Pillar Generals, and soldiers all followed behind him, ready to march into battle.
Meanwhile, Kazuma looked at Beel, wondering whether making him a king was a good idea. Maybe he should wait until Beel was a little older… like at least old enough to talk?
.
.
.