The Hero’s Mentor is a Demon (King) Witch

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If there’s someone complaining about wanting food during a war, that person will be the first to get killed by friendly fire when battle ensues.

Humans have three basic desires.

The desire for sleep, sexual desire, and the desire for food.

Setting aside sexual desire, the desire for sleep and food exert the most fundamental influence on human life.

Thus, when I ruled over humans as the Demon King’s Army, I prioritized resolving their food issues.

“Captive humans! From today, I, Demon Lord Belphegor, will be responsible for your meals. You will be receiving three meals a day starting tomorrow! Hahaha!”

“…Is the ration better than what we’ve been eating?”

“The Demon King’s baking skills… are revolutionary?”

“The bread isn’t dry and crumbly…!!”

Foolish humans were delighted just at being provided with well-risen bread that they could chew and swallow.

“Meat in the soup…?!”

“Hahaha! This meat was caught by our Demon King’s skilled hunters! Remember to thank the Demon Lord every time you eat it!”

“…Is there really more meat in the soup than what I’ve eaten in the last month?”

The Demon King’s Army tapped into quite a bit of hunting talent to provide meat.

And of course, the crowning element was the ‘Human Farm’.

“You are livestock!”

“Eek!”

“Now, get to work! While the Sand Worms cultivate the wasteland and the Minotaurs plow the fields, you will sow the seeds, and the Dark Elves will bless the crops to help them grow!”

“…What should we do?”

“Harvest! Heh heh, 30% of what you harvest from this farm will be used for our Demon King’s Army, so work hard and sweat for it!”

“Then what about the other 70%?”

“You shall eat it.”

The human farms proved to be more effective than anticipated.

With food issues resolved, the captured humans were warm and full, and their faith shifted from the goddesses to me.

On the contrary,

I mercilessly unleashed food attacks on my enemies.

Block supply lines.

Burn food stores.

Release swarms of rats.

Drop sand spirits on the enemy food supplies.

Cooking pork belly right in front of the isolated enemy fort.

Among all, the most effective strategy was the one causing food poisoning among humans.

Rot.

The humans formed special forces to raid our food stores, where food items had been left at room temperature for long periods.

Our goal was to destroy the enemy’s food, but their goal was to pillage ours.

“I showed them well what happens when you steal from others.”

Cheese that looked perfectly fine on the outside, but had green mold inside.

The ingredient for dried fish snacks was actually a fish containing potent poison.

In the basket of mushrooms, one out of every ten had hallucinogenic properties.

Chocolate sprinkled with mint leaf powder before baking.

I carried out food attacks against humans in every imaginable way.

The background for this was Beelzebub’s method, utilizing bugs or maggots in the meat to make them unable to eat.

Aesthetically pleasing it was not, but if you simply look at the effectiveness, it was far superior to any other strategic tactics.

However, this tactic had a fatal weakness…

“Purification Ritual.”

A now-defunct technique.

What is it? It’s a technique to pray to the goddesses and eliminate corruption from food materials.

To be precise…

“The Miracle of Reversing Time.”

Turning even rotten apples back to a time before they rotted, returning spoiled meat to the moment it was freshly butchered.

Kallal.

The power of the ‘Red Moon Goddess,’ opposing the Moon Goddess.

On nights when the red moon shines in the sky, placing rotten food on the altar and praying causes the food to revert to its previous state through moonlight.

There was a reason Beelzebub inserted bugs into the food and the reason I led food attacks using creatures that were poisonous from the start.

Is there a magic stone creature hiding in the food that should have miracles occur?

Or is it a creature that had poison from the beginning, even if time is reversed?

Miracles do not happen.

“Is it fortunate that the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess is currently in power?”

In terms of miracles, the blessings and baptisms of the Red Moon Goddess are filled with all sorts of miracles, but the baptism truly shines when humanity is really destitute and impoverished.

In other words, if we are in a position to eat and survive, the blessings of the Red Moon Goddess are not paid much attention to.

So perhaps,

Now, when the power of the Red Moon Goddess has relatively weakened, is the moment the tactics neutralized by her shine.

“Indeed, the descendants of the Demon King’s Army.”

Even if they borrowed and reused strategies and tactics from other Demon Kings, they only prioritized ‘efficiency.’

“Humans are fools for falling for the same tactics again.”

Once, they can fall for it.

Twice, they might fall for it again.

Falling for the same tactics three times is entirely possible, so why wouldn’t they use it now, 500 years later?

Yeah.

The tactics from 500 years ago.

They can be used anytime.

But.

“This isn’t it.”

Putting bugs on the meat isn’t my tactic.

In using this type of tactic, I chose to strip humans of their faith rather than provoke their aversion.

Aesthetically provoking humans’ disgust with ineffective tactics isn’t something I quickly discarded and never actively employed.

If there were someone employing such tactics,

It’s either Beelzebub himself or his avatar.

“…”

It seems that I may not be the only Demon Lord summoned to the surface.

The worst-case scenario is…

“Could it be the doing of Asydia?”

If I can summon Demon Lord Belphegor, then what’s to say I can’t summon Demon King Beelzebub?

*

While I was contemplating the identity of the enemy in various ways, Lucius came to my room.

“What’s up?”

“Master, I need to talk about a black knight called Black Lotus.”

“That female knight? Why?”

I wondered if Lucius was still dissatisfied over the misunderstanding that Black Lotus was attacking me.

If that’s the case, I would be quite flustered because Lucius would genuinely struggle to deal with real threats.

If misunderstandings frequently arise regarding attacks to save allies—

“That woman is someone I know.”

“…Someone you know?”

“Yeah. A friend from my hometown in the Hero’s Village.”

Hometown. Friend.

“…I don’t think many people match that description.”

“Do you remember Droniel?”

“Who’s that?”

“…She was the one who held me back and talked to me when you were urging us to leave quickly at the end.”

“Oh, the one with the huge chest.”

I sincerely apologize to her, but aside from her brown hair and impressive chest, I don’t remember much.

“…Isn’t she dead?”

“Apparently she’s alive.”

Should I call it unexpected, or should I be glad? Or should I be annoyed at the variable that there are others besides us who know about the Holy Sword?

“That’s really strange. It hasn’t been long since we met, but she’s become a tremendous swordsman.”

“Eh?”

“Objectively speaking, she’s much stronger than you. Just in terms of swordsmanship alone.”

It’s not something I can be proud of.

“As a master, it’s my role to boost your confidence, but I’m sorry, my duty is also to help you realize the harsh reality.”

“…Are you saying Droniel is stronger than me? That can’t be true. She was just an ordinary girl who barely knew how to hold a sword.”

“Exactly.”

That’s how I felt when I last saw her.

“I think, in cases like this, the number of possibilities can get really complicated. But there’s the simplest possibility.”

“What is it?”

“She might have been a genius in swordsmanship.”

That’s the most possible scenario.

“Droniel…?”

“There are cases where someone who has never painted in their life suddenly finds talent when they give it a try.”

“But…”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Droniel, she is stronger than you.”

I can tell just by looking.

She aimed her sword precisely at the poison bug right behind me.

“So, what do you want to do now?”

Lucius came to me to ask this one thing.

What do I think of Droniel.

That’s what he’s worried about.

“What do you think, Master?”

“Are you asking for my opinion first? Naturally, I don’t want any weird variables to occur.”

“Weird variables mean…?”

“The fact that the owner of the Holy Sword is Arthur Lucius, coming from Droniel’s mouth.”

I adequately concealed it from Francis Di Emery, the branch head of the Adventurer Guild’s Normans division.

The brave Hero Bearnes also doesn’t know that Lucius is the Hero of the Holy Sword.

But Lucius not only knows that Lucius is the Hero of the Holy Sword; he also knows how the sword was awakened.

This could undoubtedly become a massive issue later.

Primarily as a ‘hostage’.

“Setting aside Droniel’s individual abilities, what if she gets captured by the enemy demons? Will you abandon her? Or will you rescue her?”

“…If she is strong enough, she should be able to return on her own, right?”

“We’re not counting such possibilities, Lucius.”

Considering all the variables makes the method of using hostages far more diverse.

So, you have to choose.

“Will you save Droniel, or will you abandon her?”

“…I don’t want anyone to die.”

“Then it’s simple.”

The conclusion came forth.

“Let’s take her as a companion. What do you say?”

“…That’s a bit.”

“Why? Don’t tell me you’re not on good terms with her?”

“…It’s more of an uncomfortable situation.”

It was the first time Lucius openly described someone as uncomfortable.

“Why?”

“Last time, it looked like she had quite a fondness for you.”

“Not affection… Ha.”

Lucius scratched his head while frowning.

“I’m just concerned that she might ruin the atmosphere of our party.”

“Is she that bothersome…?”

“I feel a bit embarrassed saying this.”

Lucius clenched his fist and spoke.

“She really likes me too much.”

“…Huh?”

“She likes me way too much.”

That was enough to understand what that meant.

“Oh, I see. There was a love rivalry regarding Droniel back in your town, right? Droniel likes you, and the other boys are jealous of you. That’s why things are tense.”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“But doesn’t that make it even better?”

Isn’t she the most ideal girl for Lucius’s harem? Why would Lucius say he doesn’t want to?

“…If. This is just a hypothetical, but what if Droniel became blinded by jealousy and attacked a party member?”

“That is possible.”

If it happens to a woman around Lucius instead of Lucius himself.

“Lucius. I have the best solution.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a simple one.”

An overly easy approach that would solve Lucius’s problem.

“You, Droniel, and also Rosmas should all 3 together—”

Pft.

I know this from experience.