The Regressed Demon Lord is Kind

d her pass by.

“…Wait.” Although it seemed as if she was going to quietly follow the soldiers behind, Romanne suddenly stopped.
Renu turned back to look at her.

“I’m also going to ask one question.
Who is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know guys like you very well.
You’re an opportunist who tries to not take responsibility for anything while reaping all the benefits.
You’re a fucking coward.”

“Shut the hell up!” A soldier next to her put a spear next to her neck, but she didn’t even blink her eyes. 

“If I think about that, it’s strange that you’re trying to start a war like this.
A coward like you would never be able to ignore the possibility that the other tribes would give up their lives to start a war.
And if that happens, you and the Iron Tribe would be thoroughly crushed by all the tribes.”

“…What is it that you want to say?”

“Who is it?” With full confidence, she continued to ask him, “Who was it that encouraged you to do this? A coward like you would never be able to make such a bold—”

“Shut up!”

Slam!

The soldier struck her down with a spearhead.
Romanne collapsed to the floor, but Renu didn’t stop the soldier.
With a cold gaze, he stared down at her.

Then he opened his mouth.
“…Drag her.”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers dragged the now unconscious shaman out of the basement.
Renu glared at her disappearing figure as if she was his sworn enemy who had killed his parents; then he walked towards a wall behind him.
It looked like an ordinary wall.
However, there was enormous power hiding behind the wall.
Renu put his hand on the wall.

‘If I just possess this power, I would be able to change everything.’

He would no longer feel inferior to the Lake Tribe, the humans, or his tribe’s past.
He could change everything with this.
Renu bit his lips.

‘I won’t be able to maintain this condition for long.
Even if we have the hostages, we lack in numbers and military force.
Like the shaman said, the other tribes could give up on the lives of their queens and kings and just strike us.’

Then his eyes gave off a deadly spark.

‘If that woman doesn’t listen to me again tomorrow, then…’

It couldn’t be helped.
He would have to use his last resort.
He strengthened his resolve, and he hit the wall once.
It was at that moment he heard a voice call out his name.

“Renu Ent Draus.”

There was someone who dared to call the Iron Tribe’s king by his full name.
Renu turned around his body to immediately issue an order against the speaker, but he froze as soon as he saw who it was.

A robed figure was standing in front of him.

*   *   *

‘Let’s see, how is he gonna react?’

Zich, who was wearing a robe, stood in front of Renu; his heart was thumping in his chest.
There was a possibility that Glen Zenard was involved in this war.
Moreover, there was a possibility that Glen Zenard was involved with the assassin organization.
If all this was true, there was a high possibility that the assassin organization was involved in this tribe war. 

For that reason, Zich used a similar tactic as he did when dealing with Albus Windpool.
He immediately covered himself with a robe and acted like one of the assassins in the assassin organization.

‘The shaman said that there might be someone supporting the Iron Tribe from behind.’

If the assassin organization was behind the Iron Tribe’s plan, there was a high possibility that all of Zich’s previous predictions might be right.

‘Also, his reaction was weird when the shaman asked about who was behind this plan.’

Renu’s reaction was different from someone who found out that there was a hidden collaborator behind his plan.
It was more like he felt displeased and annoyed that someone even mentioned them.
Zich knew why someone might react this way.

‘He betrayed them.’

Judging by Renu’s reaction, there was a high possibility that the Iron Tribe betrayed their collaborators.
And from what Zich could sense, the Iron Tribe seemed also fearful of them.
For that reason, Zich appeared in front of Renu as a robed figure.
He just needed to check Renu’s reaction and find out if the Iron Tribe’s collaborators were the robed figures or not.
Renu stared at the robed Zich with bloodshot eyes.

“Renu Ent Draus.” Zich called out his name once more. 

Then Renu took a quick breath in and made a bright smile.
“Ah, it’s you guys.
I was wondering what happened to you guys since we haven’t been in contact for a while, but it is so good to se— ”

“I know you betrayed us.”

While walking forward with a smile, Renu halted his steps.
His lifeless eyes stared at Zich.

“I’ve come to give you one last chance.”

“…What do you mean by last chance?”

“Come back under us once more.”

“…You say some unpleasant things.
I thought we were on equal footing in this cooperation.”

“It’s the price of your betrayal.
Also, it’s the last chance we are going to give you.” Zich’s words were blatantly disrespectful and rude.
As a king who was always giving orders, it even felt insulting. 

Renu’s face grew more rotten as he talked.
“If you continue to spout out nonsense and insult me, even I won’t forgive yo— ”

“I’m just going to say one more thing, Renu Ent Draus.” Zich, who was speaking in monotone so far, now instilled emotion into his voice for the first time.
“We don’t tolerate betrayals!”

It was a verdict.
A verdict passed by someone with a powerful force on his back. 

“But we recognize the importance of this plan.
For that reason, we will look over this betrayal without saying anything, just this once.
So Renu Ent Draus…” 

Zich’s voice hit Renu’s chest hard.
“What is your answer?”