The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Lilia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 040 – Banquet Plan
On a certain day:
Leonhart was organizing documents in his office. It was at that moment—
“—Leonhart-sama!”
“…Carol, huh. What is it?”
Leonhart replied as he briefly skimmed through the document. His apostle, Carol, called his name loudly as usual. He did think it was noisy at first, but he didn’t mind it that much anymore now that he got used to it.
Then Carol, with same momentum,
“—Let’s have a banquet!!”
“…”
Suggested such a thing.
That sudden suggestion made Leonhart’s hands, which were busy sorting the documents into different piles, stop, and he became silent for a while. However, after digesting the sentence in his mind, he eventually spoke in a measured tone,
“…That’s sudden of you. I’ll ask just in case, but why?”
“Yes! It’s to boost morale!”
“…”
Carol straightforwardly spoke her reason without hesitation. Her remark caused Leonhart’s eyebrows to pinch together in confusion.
Therefore, he probed for more details.
“…Go on.”
“Yes! Recently, most demon soldiers and several demon captains and demon generals are frustrated! They muttered that they were unable to vent out as they wanted, and if we keep them pent up, it might affect the next battle!”
“…So, that’s where liquor comes in, huh.”
“That’s right! Liquor is well suited for what Leonhart-sama referred to as ‘venting,’ and as long as we hold some merry party and feast, it will resolve their dissatisfaction to some extent! So it’s a perfect solution!”
“…”
Leonhart was thinking about Carol’s explanation. Then as he thought back,
…Indeed, there haven’t been any big battles recently, and any fights we did have were skirmishes after all…
Although there were many small battles being fought, it wasn’t like these battles would end with the occupation of some large, wealthy city as a new base. Therefore, the demon soldiers couldn’t expect to freely loot homes and assault humans like they longed for. Because of this, the morale of the demon foot soldiers was lower than usual.
Furthermore, the executives ranked above the demon captains also had a lot of work to do, which made them frustrated as well. Leonhart’s army was, considering the fact he was the demon army officer himself, the busiest bunch of all. Therefore, they were responsible for many things, from combat, to regular strategic meetings, to discussion about each unit and department, to making decisions based on that information at the Maou Castle.
And as the amount of detailed work they did increased, so did the amount of documents they needed to take care of. It was obvious their stress would build up.
And during such a tense situation, this suggestion came. It was something Leonhart could approve of.
…I could, however…
Leonhart suppressed his own thoughts as he opened his mouth to confirm whether Carol’s suggestion could be realized.
“…Well, that’s fine… then, I’m sure you already thought of the logistics, right?”
“Of course! Things like the date, the place, the delicious foods, fine liquors, and any other details are already thought of! Here it is!”
“You sure are well prepared…”
Carol presented several sheets of papers with a proud expression, of which Leonhart received while feeling slightly confused.
Then he looked over it. Indeed, it was a detailed plan for holding the banquet.
He read the papers one after another as he checked the details. Even though he paused for a bit at some point, he read the entire document smoothly.
“…I see, it’s not bad. It’s pretty good, actually.”
“! Fufuhn, of course it is!”
Leonhart finished reading the entire stack. As he put the bundle of papers back on the desk, he looked back to Carol, who puffed her chest confidently,
“…However, I want to ask about one thing—“
“? What is it? … Is there something you are dissatisfied with?”
Carol tilted her head to those words. It seemed that although she was really confident about her plan, she believed her master more than that. She was worried that she had overlooked some sort of mistake, and looked a little uneasy.
However, he wouldn’t blame her for not noticing this point. Leonhart exhaled once,
…I guess I have to say this properly.
Leonhart decided to firmly tell Carol about his concerns about the plan. He pointed out one section from pile of papers and asked,
“—Am I going to participate in this…?”
“…”
Carol got tongue tied by Leonhart’s question.
However, she then looked at him questioningly after a while,
“E, err… Leonhart-sama? Perhaps you have some sort of plan on that day? I’m very sorry if that’s actually the case. As your apostle, to think I failed to grasp my master’s schedule—“
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Leonhart cut off her words altogether. He didn’t mean that, as his schedule was indeed free on that day. That was a rare off day he had, and Carol had properly grasped and taken his schedule into account when planning.
Then, the point he meant to communicate was—
“Carol, you don’t get what’s important there.”
“! What’s important there, is it…?”
“—That’s right. It is a very important thing. It was the most important thing to be considered when it comes to a banquet like this…”
“Is-is it really that big of a deal…?!”
Carol gulped as she heard Leonhart’s words. It must have been something very important that made her master wear such a serious expression.
Therefore, she panicked. To think I missed such an important thing! Carol’s anxious face clearly expressed that feeling without words.
Leonhart said the words. He bit his lips and tapped the desk lightly—
“—If the boss is there, there’s no way the subordinates could enjoy it…!”
“………Yes?”
The unexpected declaration made a question mark pop up inside her head as she replied.
Leonhart continued his explanation.
“It is indeed a good idea to divide the venue for the demon soldiers only and for the executives. If the demon generals are there, there’s no way the demon soldiers could enjoy it. They would be too self-conscious to let loose because their superiors would be watching. If we separate the two groups, then they can celebrate as freely as they’d like. As long as we choose the location properly, there won’t be any problem even if they make a lot of noise.”
“…Eh?”
“—However, what will happen if I also participate in the executive venue…?! If a majin is also there, they would be too daunted to enjoy their drink…!”
“E-err… Leonhart-sama?”
“There’s nothing more annoying than having your boss at a drinking party…! You’ll need to greet them and serve them drinks… then you also need to endlessly listen to crappy stories and complaints you don’t even want to hear about. Don’t take reception too far, asshole…!”
“Drinking pa… eh?”
“In the first place, I never like to have a beer as my first toast. Then they keep ordering spicy and heavy liquor after that… but if I ordered some sort of cocktail, they would spout things like “You sure drink like a woman!” I’m paying for it myself, damn it! Isn’t it okay to drink what I like! I do like spicy food, but I prefer sweet drinks since they’re easier to swallow! If you want to drink something spicy so badly, just down a bottle of Tabasco! Then the next day, taste the hell that comes after yourself! Don’t bring me into it!”
“…Ah, so Leonhart-sama prefers sweet liquor. Noted… and roger that. I’ll make sure to prepare for that as well.”
“Make sure you do!” Leonhart agreed with a loud voice. As Carol took out the notepad, Leonhart continued to speak heatedly.
“And when I thought I could finally leave, there’s the second and third round! After hearing those shitty songs that might rot my ears and thinking I can finally go home now, we still go for ramen as closing?! I do love ramen, but I have no ramen to be eaten for you salary thieves! Just go home and slurp your own dick’s hair!”
“So you love ramen… By the way, what kind of woman do you like?”
“I’d prefer a glamorous one if it was for a one-night stand, but that’s not what’s important if I want them to be my partner! Their personality is more important! I prefer a kind woman who would wait for and welcome me when I returned from work, and it would be better if they could cook, too!”
“Fumu, fumu, so a petite woman isn’t your type?”
“No, in the past— eh, ah…?”
Suddenly, Leonhart stopped ranting. He pressed his fingers against his temple as he calmed down.
Then he gave a slightly sharp gaze to Carol,
“…Didn’t you just ask me some unnecessary questions?”
“…I-I didn’t. What are you talking about?”
Carol put her hands behind her as she looked away, which made Leonhart suspicious. Then he reflected on his attitude earlier.
…Somehow, I got heated up.
Not only did he speak out about things he didn’t understand about, he seemed to speak about unnecessary things as well.
Leonhart exhaled once. Anyway, thought Leonhart before continuing. I should remind Carol of my main point.
“That’s why I don’t think it’s good for me to attend the banquet.”
“…I think I get what you meant to say, but I don’t think other demon generals and I would mind it that much. Rather, I think many of them wanted the chance to drink together with Leonhart-sama.”
“I doubt that…”
Even if he thinks about it objectively, he doubted anyone would like to drink together with a majin.
Perhaps Carol saw through his insecurity, so to dispel his anxiety, she spoke out cheerfully,
“It’ll be alright! …Also, did you forget, Leonhart-sama!”
“Hm, what is it?”
“It’s this!”
Carol answered him. She took out some sort of card from her breast pocket, and proudly displayed it to Leonhart.
“—It’s the membership card of Leonhart-sama’s fan club! There’re members among Leonhart-sama’s subordinates! And for us! There’s no way we would refuse the chance to drink together with you!”
“A-ah—… now that I think about it, there is indeed such a thing.”
Leonhart studied the card seriously as he was reminded. When she first asked to be his apostle, Carol had indeed introduced herself as the chairman of such a fan club.
…To think they have membership cards…
That card which served as the proof of her sentence had “Leonhart-sama Fan Club Membership,” Carol’s name, and “No. 1” written on it.
Leonhart turned his gaze away from that card and questioned Carol with a turbulent expression.
“…By the way, how many members are there now?”
“There are 108 people as of now!”
“That’s a lot… rather, isn’t it more than before?”
“Fufuhn! That’s because the charm of Leonhart-sama and my leadership!”
Carol proudly puffed out her chest with her hands on her hips. Then she carefully slid the card back in her pocket before bowing her head to request.
“Since it’s a good opportunity, I’d like to call the fan club members there! Leonhart-sama, please participate in the banquet!”
“…But see…”
He didn’t feel like doing it. Regardless of the fans, Leonhart was reluctant to make the demon generals unable to enjoy the banquet due to his presence there.
It was another thing if the banquet was held for him, but this banquet was held so his subordinates could vent and refresh themselves. It’ll be bad if a majin like me came there, was his thought before Carol continued to speak.
“Please! I’ll properly prepare things that Leonhart-sama would like.”
“No see, you have to think about other people too…”
“Of course I will! Ah, also, the girl members of Fan Club are always ready!”
“…Always ready? What do you mean?”
“Ah, that’s, uhm…”
When Leonhart asked back, Carol began to squirm for some reason.
He did have a bad feeling about this, but the next words from Carol made it hard for Leonhart to judge whether it was bad or not.
“I-including me! All members of the fan clubs are always ready to be taken by you!”
“………Ah—”
Leonhart understood the meaning of those words correctly and leaked out indescribable sounds. And as he thought about that, he held onto his head.
…Ah, no, uhm… what should I do about this…
He indeed didn’t hate such a thing, and didn’t feel bad being offered such.
Since he was busy all the time, and was also not the type who approached others of his own volition, it had been a long time since he did it. He was indeed grateful to the fan club for reassuring him about such a thing.
Also, since he was requested so earnestly, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to participate at least once. He was indeed respected by some subordinates, like demon generals, and he did feel it was a good chance to mingle with those who work for him outside of work-related matters.
However, he couldn’t agree at this time. As for why,
…If I agree now, it makes me seem like I only agreed because of such a thing.
Although it wasn’t like he was not interested in that— as Four Elite Majin, and as demon army officer, he needed to maintain a certain degree of dignity, and shouldn’t do things that would damage his reputation.
Leonhart put his hand on his forehead, and after thinking a while, he eventually spoke of his conclusion,
“…I’m sorry, but—“
I’ll just refuse this time. Then I’ll just participate during the next opportunity, was the rationale behind the words he spoke, but,
“—If you wish for it, then everyone! We don’t mind if you take all of us at once!!”
“I refu— everyone?”
His words were interrupted. Leonhart repeated the word ‘everyone’ in his mind as if to confirm it.
…Everyone, everyone huh… does that mean all 108 of them at once…?
Is such a thing possible? Leonhart questioned himself. He did acknowledge that there were various problems like stamina, time, and place if he did it, but he couldn’t help but keep thinking about it.
However, Carol continued to supplement her words. His thoughts temporarily stalled.
“It’s 108 vs 1! It’s the ideal man’s romance! It is only possible because you are Leonhart-sama!”
“………But.”
“The fan club members are all gal demons, so all of them are beautiful!”
“…………You see.”
“And all of them love Leonhart-sama, so there’s no objection if you did it! In fact, they would love it!”
“……………”
Perhaps Carol wanted him to participate so much, seeing her continue her desperate presentation.
Eventually, Leonhart couldn’t retort with anything, and closed his mouth completely.
After a few seconds stretched to a few minutes, Leonhart finally opened his heavy mouth.
“………………I-I will think about it.”
“! Really?!”
Carol’s face shone as she asked for confirmation. Leonhart folded his arms on the desk, and while facing down, clarified,
“…I’ll only think about it. Listen, I didn’t say I’ll definitely go… but, let’s put it on schedule just in case. It’ll be troublesome if something happens afterward…prepare all the food and liquor properly.”
“I’ll properly prepare strong tasting dishes with sweet liquor, and finally ramen as a closing!”
“Yes, do that properly…Also, prepare some rooms. It’s not unexpected that someone might collapse from drinking too much… yep.”
“Certainly! I’ll prepare everything perfectly!”
“…I didn’t say I’ll definitely go, okay?”
“Yes! …ah, now I think about it, Leonhart-sama. That day would be the date where Hunty-san will visit—“
“Tell her to come at a later date.”
“Alright, I’ll inform her about it. —Well then, I’ll be busy~!”
Leonhart gave a long exhale and cast a sidelong glance at Carol, who excitedly left to plan the banquet.
…Huh, I feel like drinking liquor for some reason… I guess it’ll be a good opportunity to do so during the banquet-…
As he worked on his paperwork, Leonhart kept repeating these words to himself for some time.
—One hour later, Leonhart eventually told Carol he would attend the banquet.
Tsukii Note:
Don’t blame him, he basically never sleeps with any woman ever since he turned into a majin, so give him some slack for having such… desire.
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