Phew, seriously—the young man sighed.
"You seem frustrated. What's the issue?" asked the man with the asymmetric mask. It was Laplace, the majin of the Moderate Clown Troupe.
He was a trusted companion of this young man—Yuuki Kagurazaka.
"I suppose it's an issue. Since I was invited, I went along to pay a visit. And as it turns out, our opponent is so incredibly strong that I've lost confidence in myself. I think it's time to re-examine our plan."
"Did you say we need to re-examine our plan?" Ex–Demon Lord Kazalim, in disguise as a secretary—Kagali—questioned back.
To that, Yuuki responded with another sigh.
"Yes. It's about that man. It turns out that it's best we avoid antagonizing him."
"If that's the case, shouldn't you just keep him close? I planned to explore the ruins as well, so isn't it for the best that we maintain friendly terms anyway?"
"No, we will still go according to our plan. It's just going to be harder, that's all."
"Why? Surely there won't be any conflict if we tread carefully."
Laplace was no fool. Even though he bore a grudge after his companion Clayman was killed, he wasn't going to go against his boss—Yuuki's commands—and pick a fight with Atem.
It wasn't just Laplace's sentiment.
Footman, Teare, and even the chairman of the Clown Troupe, Kagali, thought the same. Even they knew the danger of acting on impulse.
The truth of this world was that it was the survival of the fittest.
At this point, these experiences had taught Laplace and the others that if they didn't have a one hundred percent chance of winning, forcing their plan would only result in failure.
Far from wreaking vengeance on Demon Lord Leon, Clayman was now dead. Kazalim already put so much effort into resurrecting with the identity of Kagali, but now, it seemed like they were back at square one.
Moreover, if they really were to take on King Atem, they would have no time to take their revenge on Demon Lord Leon. It was for this reason that the clowns decided to obey Yuuki's orders and be cautious.
Yet Yuuki now claimed that there was a problem.
"That's true, but that also seems to have gotten harder."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I think that man is onto me…"
"What? Did you do something to get yourself caught?"
"No way! This is the Boss we're talking about here, not you, Laplace!"
"Heh heh, that's right, Laplace. As far as I can tell, there's no one more careful than Boss. There's no way Boss would slip up."
Yuuki, who had always been cautious, admitted his misstep. When Laplace retorted in surprise, Teare and Footman reacted as if they denied it. That was how much Yuuki had won the trust of the clowns.
Kagali, head of the Troupe, then scolded the clowns, "Don't get riled up now. Rather than saying that it was Yuuki-sama's misstep, it was more due to King Atem's intricate mind games. I confronted him with Yuuki and found that man to be truly something else. I felt as though I was being watched from start to finish. It really got on my nerves. Although I've yet to see through his true ability, I could already tell that this was no easy opponent."
Having faced him herself, Kagali knew that Atem was dangerous. Although she didn't feel he was as monstrous as Leon in raw power, those eyes—that regal, ancient gaze that pierced through one's soul—made her feel utterly defenseless. It wasn't malice she sensed, but overwhelming authority.
Yuuki agreed with Kagali. "Ahh, seriously, that man—King Atem of Eterna—was really something else. During the festival, the key figures within the council that sponsored us were there too. Those people didn't know how to deal with him and ended up looking awfully pitiful. Our opponent was calm, but merciless. Despite his noble demeanor and composed tone, once provoked, he becomes a force of absolute will. Our plan to manipulate him didn't work out. Surely, he will be on his guard from now on."
He shrugged.
"But Boss, no matter how much he's on the lookout, he doesn't have any evidence, right? If that's the case, as long as we act without raising any suspicion, won't they struggle to make another move?"
"That's true, I didn't leave any physical evidence, but I was the one who leaked the information about Shizu-san to Hinata. I think that should be sufficient evidence. In fact, on the last day, when he gathered everyone connected to him and discussed plans for the future, everyone gathered there seemed to be King Atem's suspects. I was definitely found out there."
"How could that be…?"
The gang went silent as they listened to Yuuki's explanation.
"Never mind. It's only a matter of time, anyway. That man really poses a threat to us. Then, Boss, how will we adjust the plan?"
Of course she's the one to ask. The first one to bounce back from the shock was Kagali. She had seen plenty of turmoil during her time as a demon lord, so naturally, she was back on her feet just as fast.
"Umm. Let's first proceed just as before: keep ourselves in the shadows peacefully. Since King Atem doesn't have concrete evidence, he won't be openly hostile towards us. Despite his calm nature, he's constantly weighing every possibility."
"I see. That's why he mentioned the ancient ruins directly in front of us. He was probably trying to test our reaction. If we had planned something against him, he'd have crushed us without hesitation—"
"My thoughts exactly. Humans are unpredictable creatures. There's a saying that goes, 'Today's enemies could be tomorrow's friends.' Unless things change drastically, there's no need for us to antagonize him. As long as we can change his mind to favor our side, we'll be fine."
Yuuki glanced around to observe everyone's reaction.
"In other words, we're supposed to continue to cooperate with them?"
"It shouldn't be that difficult to control them by force, but since the Boss has spoken, we shall do as ordered."
"Footman, you big idiot, it's because we can't take them by force that we've been working so hard!"
"Ahh, don't get so worked up about it. Footman has a point too. It'd piss anyone off to have been looked down upon by some newcomer. But even if we win by working together, they still have Atem, the King of Eterna. There's no need to gamble our lives for that."
"Yeah. We shouldn't dwell on it too much. Just follow Boss and Chairman's orders."
"You guys, I told you all to follow orders from the start! I don't object to their views at all."
The trio looked a bit upset, but they weren't objecting to the plan. Having confirmed so, Yuuki and Kagali exchanged looks and nodded.
The Western Holy Church had the Holy Empire of Lubelius to back it up.
While the top of the chain of command for the Freedom Association was the Western State Council, its power was controlled entirely by the Rosso family.
These two forces had been the main hindrances on their road to dominating the Western Nations. And now there was one more: King Atem, who established the Eterna Federation.
With Yuuki witnessing the nation founding festival himself this time, he realized how stupid it would be to try and oppose King Atem.
"I was worried that these guys would do their own thing if I were to announce that we won't go against King Atem again."
While Yuuki had been doubtful of it, it seemed he had simply been worrying too much. It might have been different in the past, but Kagali had learned to calmly keep her composure after losing to Leon. She had endured for a long time, with the clowns helping her pursue her ambition. It seemed that the companions Yuuki trusted were no fools. They wouldn't act recklessly without careful consideration.
"How reliable you all are. Then I'll have you guys handle the job that Damrada has been doing," Yuuki said cheerfully.
"Hold on… are you referring to the top-secret merchandise?"
"Eh? Are you really handing it to us…?"
"Hehehe, is that really wise, Boss?"
The clowns' expressions changed drastically.
Yuuki's cheerful smile didn't fade one bit as he looked at them.
"Of course. Surely it wouldn't pose an issue to you guys right now."
"Just count on us! You must be worried about us doing something reckless, no? No way, no way, I swear I'm not gonna strike even if I think I can win!"
"That's right, that's right! Clayman forgot to act cautiously in the end… If we were to make the same mistake as he did, we wouldn't be able to mock that guy in hell."
"You have a point. Reckless acts would only end in failure. As the Angry Pierrot, I must keep that idea close to heart. Even though I swore to take revenge on Demon Lord Leon one day, it's still too early to act on that yet."
All three gave their own views as they promised, and Yuuki smiled.
"You guys have matured more than I expected," he murmured.
It was then that he recalled something that had been bothering him.
"By the way, I just remembered… when you mentioned top-secret merchandise… King Atem took away the kids that were under my care, yeah?"
"Ah, because of Shizue Izawa's involvement, we couldn't do anything about it afterward—"
"That's right. He even used the festival as an excuse. Now that I think about it, he definitely suspected me back then. Never mind, that doesn't matter. I'm more concerned about what King Atem said."
Yuuki explained his thoughts carefully, his tone growing more serious.
The children had grown stronger, most likely due to Atem's intervention. Atem refused to talk openly about what happened, but he had accidentally mentioned, "The children must understand the harmony of the spirits."
"He's avoided all my questions ever since," Yuuki muttered, irritation flickering across his face.
"It's probably because the kids have grown so strong that he didn't think it was possible to keep it a secret," said Laplace.
"Who knows? Maybe he's doing this strategically, which is getting on my nerves. However, he must have used some divine energy to balance the unstable magicules in their bodies," Yuuki shrugged as he finished.
King Atem of Eterna was not an opponent to be underestimated, Yuuki thought grimly. It wouldn't be far-fetched to assume he had some scheme behind this.
"That makes sense," Kagali agreed. "Now that you mention it, wasn't Shizue Izawa also a Spirit Wielder of a Greater Fire Spirit? In other words, 'Incomplete Summoned Ones' who were summoned with flaws can be stabilized by using spirits."
Hearing Kagali's deduction, Laplace and the others seemed to realize something.
"I see how it is. Could this be Demon Lord Leon's true goal? He seemed to be gathering otherworlders who had failed summonings. Has Leon been collecting them so as to train them into soldiers?"
"Uh—I remember! Isn't Ifrit the Flame Giant one of Leon's subordinates? Clayman ordered his men to attack Leon several times, but they were all taken out by that monster."
"Hehehe, is he perhaps planning to expand his army of Spirit Wielders such as Shizue Izawa? In that case, it might be unwise to hand over the top-secret merchandise."
The clowns expressed their views rapidly, their tones a mix of curiosity and unease.
Perhaps Footman had a point, as Yuuki felt the same. But there was still one thing that confused him.
The so-called "Top-secret Merchandise" was, in truth, just children who had been summoned imperfectly.
Right now, there were still places conducting countless flawed summonings. They had managed to deceive both Shizue Izawa and the entire Western Nations.
The more they conducted these summonings, the more failures they produced. The one who was buying these failed summons was Damrada of the secret organization Cerberus. Since the truth about these children couldn't go public, he had been collecting them for "research."
But that was just a ruse—he had other plans in mind.
It was, in fact, at the request of Demon Lord Leon.
He was looking specifically for "Otherworld children under the age of ten."
Uh—did Leon do it to expand his arsenal? Yuuki pondered. That makes some sense, but why couldn't he have just done it himself…?
He must have something else in mind to have intentionally leaked the most advanced summoning theories to both the Eastern Empire and the Western Nations.
Yuuki couldn't reach a solid conclusion. Thus, he didn't have room to act—having still been bound by his contract with Demon Lord Leon.
Finally, he made up his mind and gave his order to the three.
"Then I'll have you three discuss the matter with Demon Lord Leon. Whether his plan is to increase his military strength or something else, you must investigate thoroughly. Misha will be negotiating with the Rosso family. Take the goods from her and proceed with the plan."
"Understood, just count on me!"
"Um um! I will do my best!"
"Hehehe, yes sir."
The trio looked highly motivated as Kagali gave a wry smile.
"Don't work too hard and get yourself exposed in front of Demon Lord Leon."
"Yeah, heed me now, you guys really need to be more careful. We can't afford right now to antagonize Demon Lord Leon as well."
The three acknowledged Yuuki's warning.
Laplace reassured him, "We're not idiots, Boss. We know what's at stake."
Yuuki nodded, his gaze turning sharp as his thoughts drifted again to the image of King Atem, standing proudly amidst the light of the Eterna festival, that calm and commanding voice echoing like judgment itself.
A man like that could not be deceived for long.
That was precisely why Yuuki decided to put his faith in his trusted companions before continuing to explain the engagement plan in detail.