The Overlord’s Stratagem — The Other Side

The duke of the Lumoria Kingdom finally ended up coming to us. Well, “us” as in only to the territorial capital for now, but still.

It was a massive hassle beyond measure, but it was a road I couldn’t avoid.

Besides, Ilmitt and Jōsen and the others were already on their way to the territorial capital to receive the duke.

At this point, even if I said, “Actually, never mind,” it was way too late… well, not that I would, since there was no reason to cancel it anyway.

A duke, huh… I heard he was pretty capable, and… from an Overlord perspective, I was worried he might see through all sorts of things…

“Fels-sama～, I’m back～”

While I was stuck in a gloomy mood and vigorously scruffling Lumina on my lap, there was a knock, and Ilmitt’s voice came through.

Looks like she finished guiding the duke.

About now, he was probably relaxing in the guest room.

“Ilmitt, huh. You may come in.”

“Excuse me～”

The door opened, and Ilmitt came in with her usual smiling face. As always, she had truly incredible… chest armor.

Even when we drank together the other day… it was a wonderful time, but… as an Overlord, I had to be careful where I looked.

“Good work.”

I casually offered Ilmitt words of appreciation as if nothing were amiss.

“No～, this much～ was not a big job at all～”

“I see.”

Escorting important people… if I weren’t the Overlord, it’d be a job I’d never want to do… though I guess an Overlord wouldn’t be doing escort duty in the first place.

As I was thinking that, I noticed Ilmitt’s gaze was fixed on Lumina, who was lounging on my lap.

“Want to pet her?”

“No～, I’m fine～. I just thought it looked a little enviable～”

“Hm? If you’re jealous, you don’t have to hold back. I’ve had the maids feed her… and even if it isn’t me, she doesn’t dislike it… only sometimes.”

Midway through my line, the image of Jōsen getting growled at and drooping sadly flashed through my mind.

“Fufufu～, I’ll pass～”

Seeing Ilmitt laugh as usual, I felt a small sense of discomfort.

“…Ilmitt, did something happen?”

“?”

Ilmitt tilted her head at my question, but I continued.

“You seemed a bit stiffer than usual. Did something happen with the duke?”

Figuring that was the only possibility, I asked—and Ilmitt let out a small sigh.

“…I can’t hide anything from you, Fels-sama～. I thought I was acting normally～”

As she smiled, Ilmitt’s atmosphere softened compared to a moment ago.

“You’re all important to me. If something happens, I notice right away.”

“…That’s unfortunate～. If you said I was important, not ‘all,’ I’d be very happy～”

After she said that in a half-joking way, Ilmitt’s expression turned serious and she continued.

“The duke said something beyond his station～, so I just～ got a little irritated～”

“Beyond his station? What did he ask for?”

For Ilmitt—who was usually so relaxed and smiley—to get irritated, it must have been an absurd demand.

…Ugh, I really didn’t want to face the duke… what kind of demands was he going to make…?

“An audience with you, Fels-sama… he insisted it should be today.”

“…I see.”

…That was all?

So why did Ilmitt… ah, I got it.

If someone told her to move up the schedule we set—especially an audience with me, the king—no wonder Ilmitt got angry.

I wanted to say I didn’t care… but yeah, there was still face to consider.

Though… actually, yeah.

Spending the whole time until tomorrow feeling restless while fluffing Lumina was stressful in its own way…

I was the type to eat the thing I hated first… and the type to finish summer homework immediately.

Even if it was a picture diary!

Right. And since they wanted it too, maybe the duke was the type who wanted to get troublesome things over with quickly.

Then I’d go along with the suggestion… best to finish hassles fast.

“Alright, Ilmitt. Since we’re here, let’s accept that proposal.”

I felt bad for the Ilmitt who got angry for my sake, but I’d be changing the schedule here.

Ilmitt looked like she was thinking for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“…I see～, so that’s what it is～. I think it’s interesting～”

What did she mean?

“Indeed～, I was too irritated to notice～. But～ there’s no reason not to make use of it～”

“…Anger is an important emotion, but losing your calm isn’t good.”

It seemed like Ilmitt realized something, but… none of it was reaching me.

So, in true Overlord fashion, I stalled for time with a vague remark.

What was it…? It must have been such a good move that Ilmitt’s mood shot up…

Uh… since I accepted their demand… that’d be a problem for face… no, maybe not?

We weren’t equals.

They were overwhelmingly weaker… and in that situation, they made a demand to us… of course they never expected it to be accepted…

I see—this became a very good favor owed.

No, maybe it wasn’t that simple. It felt like it could become a stronger move than that.

Probably… yeah. Even if I didn’t fully get it, Ilmitt and Kiriku would make good use of it.

At any rate, this wasn’t just “summer homework” anymore.

“My apologies～. It’s a method that chooses substance over reputation～, and it’s a move only you can make, Fels-sama～. That rationality and composure～ are educational～. And～ in the end you elevate both reputation and substance～, so it’s the best of both worlds～”

“Because Ilmitt and Kiriku are here, I can move freely. I’m putting work on your shoulders, but I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me～. Then I’ll quickly prepare for the audience～ and invite the duke and the others～”

“…I’m counting on you.”

Ilmitt left the room looking extremely pleased.

Did that… make it harder for them to push unreasonable demands on me?

I proposed it in a homework mood, but… I felt a bit more at ease.

If it was Ilmitt and the others, they’d probably be able to prepare the audience immediately… even if I felt a little better, it was still a hassle. I wanted it over quickly.

I reached my hand out again to calm myself by fluffing Lumina on my lap, but Lumina noticed my hand approaching and preemptively started licking it.

Whenever I tried to move my hand, she pressed it down with her front paws, so I let her do as she pleased—until Ilmitt came to call me again, my hand kept getting licked into a drooly mess.

In less than an hour after Ilmitt came to report back to my room, the preparations for the audience were complete, and I sat on the throne, waiting for the Lumoria Kingdom’s delegation to arrive.

In situations like this, I had an image that the important person entered later… but maybe it was different for audiences with other nations?

I didn’t really know… but Ilmitt and Kiriku prepared it this way, so it was probably fine.

By the way, when I say “prepared,” all I did was throw a cloak over my usual clothes.

No crown, no royal scepter, and no armor.

The only thing was the Overlord Sword placed near the throne.

Though honestly, the Overlord Sword wasn’t some gaudy blade, so I felt like decorating with those other nations’ generals’ signature weapons from the Treasure Hall would look more impressive.

Well, that might mean I couldn’t use a weapon in a pinch… but if things ever got to the point where I needed to draw a weapon here, that’d already be a disaster… so maybe I didn’t need to worry?

While I was spacing out on that, the entrance to the Audience Chamber slowly opened, and beyond the doors I could see the delegation from the Lumoria Kingdom.

The one in the center was probably the duke… but he had a surprised expression.

Come to think of it, even if not as much as Ururu, my eyesight had been enhanced quite a bit too… the Audience Chamber was easily the size of a school gym, but I could clearly see the expression of someone standing all the way on the far side.

When I formed a small smile at that fact, the duke tightened his expression and stepped into the Audience Chamber.

By the way, right now in the Audience Chamber, not all of our people were assembled… but even so, excluding the maids, there were about twenty of them.

The ones with posts who weren’t here were… Otonoha, Ururu, and Arandor.

Otonoha was insanely busy installing mana collection devices, and Ururu… might be insanely busy gathering information… or she might be standing somewhere I couldn’t see.

Arandor was leading troops and skirmishing with the more muscle-brained lords who wouldn’t like the idea of submitting to us unless we displayed martial might.

Well, if they submitted to a powerless nation, they’d only have no future, so I couldn’t write them off as meatheads outright… but from Arandor’s reports, apparently they looked happy even when they lost, so maybe they really did lean meathead.

Anyway, leaving that aside… maybe because having only about twenty people in this huge Audience Chamber felt too lonely, there were rows and rows of padded-out summoned soldiers lined along the sides.

Was that… intimidation? Like, a pressure interview?

Since we were the ones doing the intimidating, my only thought was, “Wow, they’re neatly lined up,” but from the other side, it had to be intense pressure.

I couldn’t say I felt nothing but a little sorry for the delegation slowly approaching with stiff faces… but if it prevented Einheria from being taken lightly or having weird conditions imposed, it was necessary.

The duke at the front kept walking while staring straight at me… this felt insanely uncomfortable… also, wasn’t it disrespectful to keep staring like that?

I was the Overlord, you know?

That said, looking away because I felt uncomfortable was a no-go from an Overlord standpoint.

It was fine. I was an Overlord who didn’t look away for nearly an hour during a staring contest with Lumina—this level of gaze, I could repel it!

With that strong will, I stared back at the duke, and when he came within a comfortable distance, he suddenly dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

…Was that how it went?