Maid Will Go on Through Thick and Thin!

If you think about it, it’s strange that the source is in the temple.

The temple wants to get rid of the source. Why would they leave it there?

“Well, from a practical point of view, the intention of why it’s here is to prevent the hero’s body (physical) from being taken back by the hero himself.”

According to the president, if the [Correction] is suddenly weakened by the original cause, the degree of force and balance will suddenly become impossible to achieve, and if you hold the glass, you will either crush it or drop it and break it.

It’s a scary story.

From a larger perspective… well. I don’t understand the connection between the original cause and the temple. I’m not even sure what a temple is in the first place.

“I mean, is it safe to touch that glass directly?”

… I don’t know about the (physical) one, but I’m pretty sure I touched Hagasaki-kun’s in that mysterious space too.

“Hagasaki-kun, anything unusual?”

“No.”

“That’s right.”

The point is, as long as we don’t break it, damage it, or spill the contents, I think it’s mostly safe. I’m sure it’s not that fragile when it comes to (physical)… 

“As for the source, with Maito, it’s no problem.”

I’ve become a total waste disposal machine, haven’t I? Yes. Just leave it to me.

But this is where the problem I mentioned earlier comes in.

“Does this mean that the temple thinks it’s okay for the source to remain?”

“If so… does that mean that the ritual of the hero’s return could still take place even if they have the source?”

“No, they may be planning to erase all the cause except for the one in the temple, and then erase that one last to end it.”

…… Well, the temple has the right to decide.

“Well, it’s no use thinking about it. Let’s get the source while we’re at it. It’s better than having it over there.”

Suzumoto closed the meeting and broke it up.

The reason why we broke up was that we needed to change clothes. It would be a bit strange if the demon king came back in the same way he came back earlier. The other people also can’t wear armor or even a mo○gu suit when they go indoors, so they are changing their equipment so that they can be safe even if they have to fight indoors.

So I am now Rosemary-san. In case you were wondering, I put on a mask.

By the way, it was Katori who took the longest time to get dressed. Well, you, yeah. Can’t help it.

✩ 

“I’m going now. [Transfer].”

When I [Transfer] to the room I had just seen from Minamo-chan’s point of view, everyone went limp.

“I don’t like this feeling.”

“I think everyone hates it except you, Maito-san… “

“Maito, hurry up!”

This is the second time I’ve done this, so it’s not particularly new to me. Once I get a grip on the mysterious ball that floats and glows, a.k.a. the source, everyone is instantly energized.

… Oh, it’s kind of… I felt like I had a subtle sense of incongruity when I hold it. Hmm, I wonder what it is.

After that, all we had to do was to carry the glasses by the shelves and we were good to go. It’s not good to have a shelf that can be moved. If you don’t want to get robbed, make sure it’s a built-in shelf! Fuahahahahaha!

The shelves were three small ones, so even if I skipped it, it would only take one round trip.

“Alright, I’m off then. [Transfer].”

I’m back. Or rather, I moved it.

I wondered if it would be a good idea to leave it in the lab, or what would happen to it if I turned the classroom into a jewel.

“…… Hey, what’s that?”

“It’s a source (physical).”

(TN: The RAW for body (physical) for the hero and source (physical) is the same 命（物理）.)

“Don’t touch it, George-san.”

“Please don’t break it, George-san.”

“Please, George-san.”

We decided to leave it in George-san basement with the bacon. George-san is looking at the glass sullenly, saying “Oh, oh.”

The security is relatively safe since there are people from other worlds living here.

I explained the situation to Sagara and the others, including George-san, and told them about the dangers. The only thing I can say is that if things get dangerous, please communicate with me immediately.

Even so, I was very relieved that Sagara and the others were willing to leave it to me.

I decided to station some maid dolls in this pawn shop so that I can immediately grasp the situation here. I guess they’re like surveillance cameras. Yeah. Of course, I made sure to tell Sagara and the others about this as well.

“Oh, she’s so cute!”

“Oh, it’s cute, it’s so cute! Thank you very much, Maito-senpai!”

…… The likelihood is, that they were accepted rather favorably in this sense.

Yeah, the maid dolls look happy to be carried by a cute girl. Yeah.

So, now that I’m home, let’s eat dinner. I’m hungry. Even though I’m a demon king, I still get hungry! I need to eat three meals to calm down!

While I was cooking rice next to making vegetable soup, I had some meat that I had seasoned before breakfast and left for later, so I sauteed it with vegetables and served some pickles.

I wondered if I was cutting corners, or if this was even cutting corners.

After dinner, Katori made me a bracelet for the culprit, so I now have more bracelets.

I put it on my second arm, too.

Oh, I don’t know… I still feel a bit uncomfortable. I wonder if it’ll go away when I wake up.

I went to bed and woke up, and morning came. Good morning.

The discomfort is still there, but it’s not bothering me anymore. Yeah. I wonder what it is. I wonder if it has something to do with what that book said.

Anyway, I’m going to make some food and go attack the temple today… or maybe I’ll just wait for them to make a move on me.

I don’t know which is better. If we wait for the other side to come out, the heroes will definitely come. Then we can explain the situation. If we initiate it from here, we won’t have to worry about the return ritual right away.

Which is better is a matter of consultation. In any case, if they were to initiate the ritual, it would be better for us to do it in the evening or at night.

In the meantime, I’m going to prepare breakfast and wait for everyone… Hey, they’re late. They are usually up by now.

I was worried, so I knocked on the lecture room door, but there was no answer.

I knocked again, and after a count of ten, I opened the door to find that…… everyone was asleep.

Sleeping soundly. I’m sure they’re just sleeping, so I’ll let them sleep a little longer. It was a tough day yesterday with the Demon King’s Army and carrying the glass. Yeah.

At any rate, there were a few people who didn’t have their futons on properly and looked cold, so I put the futons back on them. I gave up on the ones who were hugging the quilt. Yeah, it’s soothing, isn’t it, hugging a comforter?

Well then, I’ll say good night.

✩

In the meantime, I’ll go report to [Alive Grimoire]. It seems to be looking forward to it.

“Yaa-hoo!”

『 Oh, there you are! How did it go? Looks like…… it went well. Hmm. 』 

“Well, thanks to you.”

It seems that he took the liberty of peeking into our memories, and Alive Grimoire is very happy.

『 That’s a very Demon King way of speaking, well done. 』 

That’s because I got a lot of criticism from everyone. The training for the Demon King’s lines was a painful experience. Yeah.

“And I got the life back, but the source of the problem was floating around in that room.”

『 What!? 』 

O-Oyaa? This book can be surprised too? I’m surprised by it.

『 Oh my, no way… No, I see. Well, that’s right. That temple could deal with the cause like this… absolutely deplorable. 』 

“That means they left the source of the problem that should have been eliminated to counter the heroes, right?”

『 Hmph… how rotten can they be! That’s why! That’s why I don’t like temples! 』 

Oh, this book is angry.

“So, you know. Our snake… the child of the “Great Black Snake”? He says he knows about the Demon King.”

『 A giant black snake. Hmm. I see. Maybe I should tell you. Is it okay to have two sources of evil at once? 』 

Oh, it got sidetracked. So I guess I’ll have to ask Ketorami and Huntle about this topic later.

“Is there anything bad about the increase in the number of causes?”

『 Well, if it’s all right, then it’s all right. … Evon so, I guess thou really don’t have magic on the outside. 』 

…… Outside?

“Do I have magical powers?”

『 You are producing magic power. The amount you produce has increased. But it doesn’t seem to be coming out at all. 』 

…… Well, I was told a long time ago, “It looks like your magic power has increased.”

“Magic is about [Correction], isn’t it?”

『 More often than not, yes. 』 

So there are cases where it doesn’t!

…… That’s me, huh…?

『 Well. Next, you will attack the temple in earnest, won’t you? 』 

“I’m sure we will. We can’t sit on like this.”

Above all, it’s still hard to do the ritual.

『 I see. If so, be careful with the high priest. A temple is a tool for even the most incompetent of people. Be wary. 』 

A tool-holder, huh? I’ve got a bad feeling about …….

『 Well, you will do well… Mm, if you can destroy the temple, then I have something to give thee. 』 

“If it’s something weird, I don’t want it.”

For example, the succession of the demon king’s name.

『 Well, it’s not that useless… Be careful. 』 

Oh, today’s book is a little moist. Ah, no, the atmosphere.

…… Oh well. The next time we meet will be after the temple is destroyed, I guess.

✩ 

After that, everyone woke up about an hour or so later than the usual time, which is about two hours later than usual, so we had a late breakfast.

“What are we going to do today? Do you want to go and attack the temple? Or wait?”

“Let’s just crush it, we can burn it with the Katori beam and the temple will fall, right?”

…… Well, yeah, the sad part is that I can’t deny it. I knew that our mobile warrior was over-specced.

“If we went head-to-head, could we win?”

That’s what we’re worried about, isn’t it? I don’t fight, so I don’t know, and that’s what makes me uncomfortable.

“If they don’t play any tricks, we’ll be fine.”

“The book said that the temple is a tool-holder, so be careful.”

This means that there is a great possibility that they will use that “extraordinarily strange trick.”

“I’d rather wait and see, but…”

“So, I guess I’ll go scout around then, huh? It’s only a short walk across the shadow.”

Hariu’s offer was gratifying, but it was also dangerous.

If we don’t know what our opponent has in store for us, we might as well go head-to-head or burn down the whole temple with an over-spec beam.

“The most annoying thing is when the high priest dies unexpectedly, not to mention the harm to us. We won’t have access to information and tools that only the temple has.”

There is plenty of information that the temple seems to have that we do not.

There is a very good chance that there is information that we would want even if we had to throw out everything, such as the specific method of the ritual, the relationship between the source and the temple, the goddess and the demon king, the hero, and so on.

In other words, a way to bring people back to life.

We want a way to revive people back.

We’re dealing with a religious group. And it’s a group of priests. Priests are the ones who excel at restorative magic and the like.

There is a good chance that there is something in the temple, or if it’s not the temple… I can’t think of anything else.

It seems we’ve all figured that part out, so that helps.

“If they know anything or have anything, it’s someone of higher status, right?”

In other words, a high priest.

I have already grasped that there is a high priest on top of the priest from the story of [Alive Grimoire] and the priest who recruited Suzumoto-kun as a hero.

“… But the high priest, what was it?”

And it was not there.

“I’ve been thinking about it. The priest who recruited me to be a hero said something like that? There’s a good chance he’s not back yet.”

That means burn down the temple! If we do, there is a possibility that the high priest will remain unaccounted for.

“Well, if you think about it normally, the high priest must return to the temple because the demon king has come out. If it still doesn’t come out, I think it’s quite rotten as a manager.”

“It’s pretty rotten, according to that book.”

Still, that book is based on the perception that the temple is corrupt. I’m not sure I’m ready to bet on the high priest’s humanity or sense of responsibility.

“Why don’t we just take over the temple and ask the captives where the high priest is?”

“… No, that’s dangerous. The other side is a religious group. Religion is usually about death. So they may die for their religion without speaking out.”

Aaahhhh, so annoying! Isn’t there a way to solve this problem once and for all?

There are several possible routes: we could accidentally invade and be defeated, we could accidentally invade and kill the high priest, or we could invade and capture the temple but not know where the high priest is!

“So we have to get the whereabouts of the high priest at the very least before we can destroy the temple.”

… Oh, the president is looking good. This has sparked something.

“So what we’re doing is infiltrating.”

…… 

“Isn’t that what we were supposed to do before we announced ourselves as the Demon King?”

“No. In that case, it would have been difficult to infiltrate unless one of us had a heroic contract. We can blend in as much as we want now with the mess in the temple. In any case, the temple has lost most of its plain knights and is now scrambling to secure a fighting force.”

Yes, I understand the logic.

“And now is a very good time to do it, because the only way to do it is to bring together all the people who might have information about it.”

Well, it can also be considered as a good way to save time. But, you know.

“If I’m in, how am I supposed to get them to divulge the information I need in such a short time?”

We’re the Demon King, after all.

We can’t continue to leave it like that for too long now that we’ve made a name for ourselves.

If the information is valuable, we have to build a relationship of trust for them to leak it, and I don’t think we can do that overnight.

“Our Suzumoto is already doing that. And we’ve already proven that it has the potential to work.”

…… Oh, you guessed it.

“It’s a charm.”

Now, the air is frozen!