Of course, this maid demon might not know what had happened to the Sorcerer King, and she probably could not imagine that the Sorcerer King was in dangerous territory. However, her blank face still made Neia very unhappy.
Most importantly, could she let a demon like that use a familiar term of address like “Ainz-sama?”
No, of course not! Neia fumed. Not even she had addressed him in such an intimate manner.
“―iss Baraja?”
“Ah, yes!”
Oh no! Neia’s face was slightly red. She had apparently forgotten herself due to her distaste for the maid demon.
“What’s the matter? Is something bothering you?”
“Ah, no! It’s been only three days since the search started, so I think it might be a bit hasty to conclude that he fell there…”
“I see. That does make sense. However, would it not be better to be prepared for anything?”
“That is true.”
“Alright. In that case, maid demon-kun. This is the third time I have spoken to you. The day we found you, yesterday, and now.”
The maid demon said nothing and looked at Caspond.
“If I asked you to go to a certain large city to rescue someone imprisoned there, would you help us?”
“…It is like I said yesterday. I will.”
“Ahh, good, I understand. Then, I apologize for this, but would you mind returning to your room? Vice-Captain Montagnes, if you would.”
He led the maid demon away, and they began speaking again once Gustav returned.
“Miss Baraja. While I do not know if I need to tell you all this, possessing this information might mean the difference between success and failure when you infiltrate Kalinsha. Therefore, I will speak to you about a few things. The first concerns Jaldabaoth.”
Caspond told her what they had learned from the maid demon.
It would seem she knew little about Jaldabaoth. Practically nothing, in fact. She did not even know what abilities or attacks or weaknesses he possessed. In addition, she did not know what Jaldabaoth was doing now or what his objective was.
However, she had said that he would need a very long time to recover if he was severely injured. It was like how it would take longer to refill a larger vessel when the water level inside it decreased.
And so, after learning about Jaldabaoth, the demihumans, and the other demons, Neia asked Caspond the question whose answer she wanted to know most of all.
“Can we trust her?”
“We can’t. We should kill her to be safe.”
That answer had been supplied by Remedios.
Neia resisted the urge to ask if she could beat a difficulty 150 maid demon, and listened to Caspond’s judgement.
“I find it hard to trust her. This might be one of Jaldabaoth’s schemes. She might be a spy sent out in case someone like Momon appears, someone who can fight back against Jaldabaoth.”
That was why they had asked the Zern envoy to leave before bringing the maid demon in, and had spoken obliquely in front of her.
“I told you, right? It would be better to kill her. That way there’ll be one less thing to worry about.”
“I see, Captain Custodio. That is an option. However, it is very likely that the maid demon is indeed under the Sorcerer King’s control. That is because she has not been spouting false information about Jaldabaoth nonstop, but replying that she does not know. However, why is she not asking about the Sorcerer King at all… Umu. Still, you agreed to hand the rights to the maid demons over to him, did you not? Since you did that, once they find out we killed her, they will regard our country as incapable of keeping its promises, you know? Once that happens, no other countries will want to help if anything happens to us.”
“He’s already been killed by Jaldabaoth, hasn’t he?”
Remedios’s words made Neia look down as she struggled to bite back her anger. Thanks to Remedios, she felt like she had gained the ability to better manage her emotions.
“We cannot be sure about that. That is why I feel we need to test and use her during the rescue of the prince. If she betrays us and leaks the information, then only the Zern will be eliminated, which will reduce the number of demihumans. We will also be able to root out the rat among us. These are the two merits of this option. And of course, if we succeed, we can simply rejoice.”
Please don’t forget about the life of the person who will be carrying out the infiltration, Neia grumbled in her heart.
“Did you ask the maid demon about her own weaknesses? If she betrays us en route, would it not be better to have some way to deal with her?”
“We didn’t ask about anything like that.”
Caspond smiled bitterly. Neia followed suit.
Even if she told them, there would be no way to determine if she were telling the truth. They could not tell by looking, and obviously they could not test it out.
“Well, we’re not the ones who control her. Ultimately, she’s only helping us because the Sorcerer King ordered her to do so.”
Gustav was still going on about that, but in truth both Caspond and Neia had realized it already. There was probably only one person present who did not understand the situation.
“So the infiltrators will be myself and the maid demon. Has anyone else been selected?”
“On that point, if you have nobody else to recommend, then the two of you will go by yourselves.”
For a moment, Neia looked at Caspond because she thought he was kidding, but his face was serious.
“Allow me to add to the Prince’s words, but surely an infiltration is best handled by a very small number of people, am I wrong? People getting in the way would be bad news, which is why we have nobody to put forward.”
While Gustav’s explanation was convincing enough, Neia knew that was not the only reason.
It was because of Neia Baraja’s situation.
It would be all well and good if this rescue operation went well. If it failed, all they would lose was an interfering squire who had grown close to the Sorcerer King and one of the Sorcerer King’s minions. In addition, they would lose little even if the maid demon betrayed them. It was perfect.
In that case ― was it a lie when they said they had asked Remedios to go before? It was also possible that it was not, and they were just trying to minimize their losses.
Neia exhaled. There could be no other answer. This was a good chance to show her loyalty to the Sorcerer King.
“I understand. I and her―” she mused that she was probably a female “―The maid demon will go together.”
“Oh, I see. Then we’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes!”“Then Vice-Captain Montagnes will draw you a rough sketch of the city. Prepare yourself before you leave. Also, avoid combat if any demons close to Jaldabaoth are present.”
According to the maid demon and the Zern’s information, Jaldabaoth was served by three great demons. These three demons were―
The ruler of the Abelion Hills, where the demihumans lived.
The overall commander of the invasion of the Southern Holy Kingdom.
The one in charge of three major cities, who teleported between Kalinsha, Rimun, and Prart.
That seemed to be it.
Therefore, if she was unlucky, the great demon in charge of the cities would be present.
The great demon in charge of the cities apparently had no head, and its body was like a withered tree. It was two meters tall and had no wings or a tail. It had clawed hands, and its slender body possessed an unimaginable strength. Also, it lacked a head, but it was still able to sense its surroundings, and similarly it could even read.
As a demon, it had a truly fiendish physiology.
Incidentally, the capital of Hoburns was apparently under Jaldabaoth’s direct command, and not that of his aides.
“May I know who is stronger between it and the maid demon?”