Dungeon Defense Volume 04

Chapter 02

I'll admit it now. I'm a son of a bitch. If I'm to be a bit more honest, then I should confess that I'm not just a simple son of a bitch, but a very intelligent son of a bitch.

I was not only the smartest person among the people I knew, but I was also the most honest. To be exact, as I was smart enough to realize that I was a son of a bitch, I was also honest enough to admit only that fact. Individuals who possessed both wisdom and honesty, like myself, were rare to find.

If someone were to approach that me and inquire what I thought was the most well-done thing that I've ever done in my life, then the boundlessly honest me, the limitlessly wise me, would have no other choice but to respond like this.

That it was the act of shoving my father into prison.

"······."

Three days since I was imprisoned.

Rain descended today as well. My hair was completely drenched and was now hampering my eyes. I left it to be soaked. Even if I brush my hair aside, what would that change? Because of the spring rain, even my inner flesh was aching.

Ah, Farnese.

I see that because both you and I carry the sin of having a bad father, our minds have been crippled. Why are we not twisted when we have been trying to accept the world with our disabled bodies? Why do our knees not collapse? If we are breaking the world, then all we need to do is attempt to throw aside the weight before our knees buckle, but when people witness us doing that, they criticize us for being cruel.

It has only been three days since the speech was given, but I had received information that, within the enemy front lines, the rumors that Farnese was an illegitimate child from a Duke's house, was sold off as a slave, and that her blood mother was a whore, were already widespread.

Even if Farnese's defamation was fast, this was tremendously fast. Should I say that's the Imperial Princess Elizabeth for you? She was no fool. Illegitimate child, slave, and whore······. These were all nothing but stimulating words. She knew how to attack the figurehead. Truly, she was flawless······.

If possible, I wanted to organize the structure of the Crescent Alliance a day sooner and effectively retaliate against the Imperial Princess Elizabeth. More than anything else, the current three faction structure, in other words, there was a need to overcome this system where the Mountain Faction-Neutral Faction-Plains Faction were splitting up the military power. This was an obvious task. For these people to split the forces into three parts when we would still be lacking even if we were to combine together, it was difficult to see them as sane.

A Crescent Alliance that has become one. Not an army where Barbatos or Paimon is the center, but a Crescent Alliance centered around me, must be formed. In order to do so, three conditions must be met.

First, I have to clearly prove the fact that I am very competent. If I am incompetent, then the reason to put me at the center of the Crescent Alliance would disappear.

Second, I have to also prove that Farnese is extremely competent as well. If she were incompetent, then the need to appoint her as the figurehead would vanish. For example, the situation where I will be spared at the price of purging Farnese had occurred. The recent occurrence belonged to this sort of flow of events. In short, the Demon Lords have yet to realize Farnese's competence······.

And finally, the third. I had to prove the fact that the Imperial Princess Elizabeth was heinously competent. If the Imperial Princess were incompetent, then the reason to keep Farnese and myself alive in order to stand against her, will perish. The delusion that they alone would be sufficient to stand against her, was highly likely to spread throughout the Demon Lords. 〈Dungeon Attack〉 was the product of such a future where this delusion had completely controlled the Demon Lord army. It was the worst case scenario that must be avoided at all costs.