Translator: Empress
「Alphas Levy. A mage. ――A descendant of the Levy Clan from the Grand Duchy of Magic, is it?」
「There’s no such thing as the Grand Duchy of Magic, now. Now, I’m just a servant of the Elmeier Empire」
Alphas, with his eyes downcast, said in self-deprecation.
Irene sat back down next to Claude, then pondered.
（The history of the Levy clan is almost exactly the same as in the game setting.……）
They were a rare clan where humans with magical power were born. However, in this world, those with magic power were considered people who had associated themselves with demons. Many people believe that only those who have been associated with demons could use magic. Therefore, people with magical powers have historically been treated the same as demons. They were excluded from human society and treated as demons.
Among them, there was a Levy clan. A clan who managed a small country as the Grand Duchy of Magic until about twenty-five years ago.
However, they were defeated when they tried to expand their territory in an armed uprising. Their country was destroyed, and the clan was scattered apart. Irene had also formally learned about this world’s history up only until that part.
The problem was after that. As a group of dangerous magicians, the Levy clan were forced to operate behind the scenes as mages to protect the Elmeier Imperial family. Young children and old people from their clan were taken hostage――this was known only to a small part of nobilities who were close to the royal family in the Elmeier Empire. The only reason Irene knew about it was because of her knowledge of the game.
（Publicly, the Empire claimed that this righteous Empire has destroyed a country full of dangerous mages. But, the truth was that the Grand Duchy of Magic should be unreasonably pressured and backed into the corner by the Empire that they were forced into an armed uprising）
Irene’s guess was also mentioned in the game, so it must be true. The Levy clan fell right into the trap of the Elmeier Empire and was reduced as a slave to the ruling class with a “dangerous clan” label pasted on them. Even now, even mentioning the Levy clan would qualify someone to be stone for it.
They faced this extremely inhumane treatment because the current Emperor wanted many mages to do his bidding to control the still young demon king back then. Irene secretly overheard the conversation between her father Rudolph, the Prime Minister, and her eldest brother in her father’s study. However, he couldn’t control the Demon King. In the end, the Levy clan was treated as disposable slaves under the direct control of the royal family.
「I’m sure that Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince is aware of us」
「Yeah. The clan who had become a victim when the Emperor tried to deal with me back then」
Alphas bit his lips at that. Narrowing his eyes, Claude guessed what Alphas wanted before he could even get to his knees.
「Since all of you have served the Empire whole-heartedly, you want the Levy clan to be granted with the Elmeier Empire’s citizenship when I become an Emperor?. Is it something like that? Or maybe you want to take back your country?」
「！That’s precisely it. I implore you to save my clan……！」
「It depends on your hard work」
Claude’s frank response was as good as acknowledging Alphas as his vassal. Alphas’ eyes widened in shock. Irene was also surprised by Claude’s prompt decision.
Claude certainly needed a human ally. But, it’d be troublesome if his ally turned out to be someone he pretty much met for the first time and barely knew anything about them. Isaac, who had been watching them from afar, raised a question:
「Demon King-sama, what makes you think you can trust him?」
「Nothing」
「Nothing? Then, I’m against it. It’s normal for Levy, no, a defeated country, to hold a grudge against us」
「If he wants to challenge me in a match called revenge, then he must be someone who has enough guts and strategy to do that. If he’s that excellent, so why shouldn’t we have him?」
Claude had a point.
(Alphas is the Last Boss of the first Fandisk (FD)……Depending on the game route, he was successful in destroying the Elmeier Empire. In other words, there’s no doubt that was the proof of his excellence)
The reason why Irene’s knowledge was vague was that she didn’t play the FD. Irene ―― more accurately, Irene, in her previous life, was an originalist. In other words, she didn’t play any remakes or the ported version of her favorite game; she only played the first game over and over again. Irene didn’t actively play the FD. But if she saw some cute spoilers, she would. And even if she did play it, she mostly did it to see the character’s ending from the first-ever in the series.
Therefore, even if Irene had a vague understanding of the FD from the package, spoilers, and the CGs, she didn’t quite know all the details.
(The only route that I played properly in the FD was Cedric’s……So I remembered that Alphas did a lot of shady stuff behind the scenes for his revenge, but they were made ambiguous in Cedric’s route……)
She’d been trying to remember, but she just couldn’t.
However, the reality had already contradicted the game setting when Claude and her, who were supposed to be dead at this point in the game, were still alive. So it might be useless to think about it. Irene looked at Alphas once again.
Although he did appear suddenly, he did help Irene and asked her to help him for an audience with Claude. He must have already been investigating their situations properly. His information-gathering ability seems to be solid. He knew how to follow proper procedures and how to conduct himself properly.
And more than anything, Irene wanted to look at the reality, not the game. What reason could there possibly be for Irene not to help a young man who wished to save his oppressed clan? Especially when her loved one was the cause of their sufferings.
Claude must be worried about them too. Even when he had renounced his right to the throne, he was a man who cared for and helped his people, who were often abandoned. There was no way Claude would leave behind a clan that had been reduced as a slave to the ruling class because of him. Even if they were to betray him, he would surely try to save them.
Irene felt the feelings of love and admiration spread in her chest. What a wonderful person her second love was.
「But, you know, we’ve only just managed to settle down the strife in Milchetta. You’re being too optimistic about this」
「Isaac. We are trying to make the demons and humans coexist with each other. Isn’t it natural to save an oppressed clan who is being treated as demons?」
Standing up, Irene looked directly at Claude.
「I understand, Claude-sama. I will do my best!」
「……I think we were talking about you doing the exact opposite of that just a few minutes ago. Have you forgotten about that already?」
「I appreciate the sentiment, Irene-sama. But the Levy Clan is basically existed to serve the Emperor. So I would appreciate it if you could keep this matter with Claude-sama in secret. Because this is my personal decision」
「That’s a good decision. Claude-sama doesn’t have that many allies yet. If you come to our side when there are already quite many of them, you won’t get any preferential treatment」
Alphas affirmed bitterly with a wry smile. The fact that Alphas didn’t bother hiding his shrewd side was an added bonus for Irene.
「But that alone won’t make you realize just how great Claude-sama is. That’s why I will show you just how wonderful Claude-sama is!」
「……Uhm, yes. I’m looking forward to it」
「Demon King-sama did say it to you just now. Control yourself that is」
「He’s right. Let’s call it a night. Irene」
Irene’s reaction was delayed because she was trying to figure out what she could do to do that.
After kissing Irene’s eyelids once lightly, Claude whispered softly:
「It’s time to go to bed. Good night. I love you」
With a snap of his fingers, Irene was instantly transported.
The next thing she knew, she had fallen on the bed in her own bedroom.
I managed to post this just right before Monday. So I think I manage to keep my “once-a-week update” promise…. right?
