The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

'...At that time, the Empire's shadow forces were behind the mana injection. From Arald's perspective, it would have been easier to act. The shadow forces would have welcomed him taking care of the corpses under the guise of helping the Empire. From the way he talks, it seems he feels no guilt whatsoever. He probably even thought it was a win-win situation, helping the Empire.'

Frondier couldn't kill Arald now. To be precise, he wouldn't make that choice. Arald himself probably knew that better.

Of course, the fact that he could be so shameless even though he knew it certainly made his mental state questionable.

"You said the crimes have become bolder, but what specifically are the devils doing now?"

"Various things. Murder, rape, theft, fraud, and so on. There are plenty of easy-to-understand crimes. Of course, the devils who get caught don't even utter a word about being devils, but with the increase in crimes like this, the Empire will try to uncover the 'criminal organization'. Then, even if they weren't intending to find devils, there's a good chance they will end up finding them."

"...The devils know that danger better than anyone, so why are they committing crimes now? Have they reached their limit in suppressing their desires?"

Wasn't it the devils' neurotic caution that kept them from being discovered by the Empire until now? Why were they suddenly doing such dangerous things?

"They are probably sensing it instinctively. The devils from the West."

"...That they will eventually find them?"

"Yes. Devils naturally know how to distinguish between devils and humans. 'Cannibalistic desire' is not that uncommon. If the western devils come again next time, the devils hiding in the Empire will have no way to escape. It was just a stroke of luck that Mr. Frondier was there during the first attack."

"...So, the devils in the Empire are now in a state of mind where they might as well satisfy their desires since they will be found out anyway?"

Arald nodded at Frondier's guess.

"As I said, devils don't prioritize living that highly. Most of them have similar priorities to their own desires. It's common for desires to take precedence."

"In other words, they've become a mess, giving up on life and doing whatever they want."

"Not all devils are like that, but most of the ones committing crimes now are probably like that."

Frondier sighed.

It hadn't been long since the war ended. The Empire was busy just with restoration, and in the meantime, devils were committing crimes here and there.

On top of that, there was the almost certain attack from the western devils.

Next time they came, it would definitely be a war. A war between the western devils trying to kill the devils hiding in the Empire and the Empire misunderstanding their intentions.

Frondier looked at Arald again. His eyes slowly narrowed.

'...No matter how I think about it, wouldn't it be most reasonable to hand these guys over to the western devils?'

If that happened, the West wouldn't touch the Empire, and the devils would disappear from the Empire. It was a win-win strategy that could make everyone happy.

But if that happened, all the devils hiding in the Empire would die. All of them, including Lily.

'Lily said she didn't know why she was here.'

Why were devils, who should be in the demon realm, in the human world? Lily also had that question.

And probably for most devils, that question didn't end as just a question.

Just because the place they lived was wrong, they hid their existence and lived. Even if it was a desire allowed in the human world, like Lily or Paul, they could never answer that they were devils.

However, even if there was no evidence right now, the number of people who suspected would increase. The lifespan of a devil was much longer than that of a human. Lily was an easy example of that.

'...The easiest way is often the cruelest.'

And even if he wanted to hand over the devils hiding in the Empire to the western devils, how could Frondier, a human, find them? The order was wrong.

'Besides, there are also Satan's devils. In the end, Satan's goal must be to ruin the Empire with the devils hiding in the Empire, the western devils, and the devils he has scattered.'

In the end, even after distinguishing between devils and humans, there was still a problem.

Frondier had no intention of killing 'innocent devils'. If he did, Lily would have been dead long ago.

So even after distinguishing between devils and humans, he needed to know what the distinguished devils had done wrong.

Of course, with enough time and Frondier's 'analysis', it might be possible, but right now, it was unknown when the western devils would invade. There was no time to analyze them one by one.

That's when Arald spoke.

"I think the biggest variable in this matter is the devils that Satan has scattered."

"...You knew about Satan's devils?"

"I would have known about them much earlier than you."

Arald clasped his hands together.

"For devils, hierarchy is power. As Mr. Frondier has seen for himself, low-ranking devils are fundamentally different from high-ranking devils."

As he said, no matter what the low-ranking devils Frondier had seen did, he thought it would be impossible for them to rise to a high rank. They were completely different creatures.

"That's why devils absolutely obey those of higher rank than themselves. The devils hiding in the Empire are not low-ranking devils, but they will still follow devils of higher rank. However, that's only limited to collaborators."

"...So, the devils in the Empire will follow the highest-ranking one among them, and this is the same for the western devils?"

"Yes, and also for Satan's devils. Not all of them will be of the same rank. They will need someone to lead them."

In other words, if they could find those leaders, there was no need to find all the devils.

"Here's a suggestion."

Arald said.

"I will find them for you. I can tell who the 'high-ranking' devils are."

"...How? The cannibalistic desire only distinguishes between devils and humans."

"Did you know? Cannibalistic desire usually appears in low-ranking devils. The higher the rank, the fewer devils have cannibalistic desires. Of course, it's not that there are none."

"...Mr. Arald, you don't have a cannibalistic desire?"

Arald nodded.

"The desire I have is the desire for 'gourmet'."

"...Gourmet."

"Yes. I have a desire to eat beings of high existential rank. Humans are quite high-ranking. That's why I preferred them, but now it's time to stop."

"So, you can recognize high-ranking beings right away?"

"Yes. They smell different."

"Then do you also eat devils? From your perspective, that would be fratricide."

It was a natural question for Frondier, but Arald asked back as if the question itself was a question.

"I don't see the difference."

"...Alright. Then I'll leave it to you. The devils hiding in the Empire, who is leading them."

"Yes. But I have a condition."

"Do you think you're in a position to set conditions for me?"

"It's not so much a condition as a request. It's something you need too."

After saying that, Arald spoke with the same expression as before.

"Please become the king of devils."