Chapter 177: Declaration of War

When Agalia called out to him, Hund got up from his seat and stood up imposingly.

「My name is Hund Lind, a demon king who just became the new member of the Great Eight Demons. My race is a deep-sea king who lives in water, so I have a castle in the sea and lives with the sea. I'm currently in the process of conquering the land of the humans living in the continent of Jiba. Just like Lilyvia-dono of the seventh rank, I want you not to do any unnecessary meddling! That's all!」

In the midst of all these people, Hund showed his authority as a demon king without fear. He was so proud that he expressed his opinion briefly in a dignified manner and without any flaws.

「「「「「「「.........」」」」」」」

But for some reason, they all fell silent immediately afterward. Some of them looked terribly surprised, some of them were dumbfounded, some of them were trying to hold back their laughter. Everyone reacted differently.

「P-Pfft...! Oh my, Hund-kun is quite an ambitious person, isn't he? As expected of 『Domination Craver』. I didn't give him that nickname for nothing.」

Agalia, the one who had been holding back his laughter, said so happily. Of course, Hund can't understand what's so funny.

「Agalia, you were the one who recommended him, right? Did you recommend him without knowing him well?」

「Hmm, I didn't want the seat to be vacant for a long time, so I judged it with an emphasis on strength. You see, he was better than the other Demon Kings, and the number of his subordinates was reasonable.」

「Even so, he disobeys the agreement from the very beginning~. I think int will be troublesome later~」

Disobey the agreement―― Hund realized that something in his speech earlier had fallen under the category of disobeying the agreement. However, he doesn't know which one and doesn't know what will happen even if that's true.

「... I don't understand the current situation, though?」

First, he asked for an explanation. Surprisingly, it's Lilyvia who answers this question. After a somewhat coquettish sigh, she glared at him.

「Haa... You immediately violated the eight articles of nonaggression, which were agreed upon between the Great Eight Demons to prevent them from fighting each other. You just said that you are invading the continent of Jiba. That's out of line. If that's true, it's like declaring war on the Great Eight Demons who created that article. Do you know what this means?」

「... In other words, I just accidentally declared opposition to someone here?」

「Well, something like that. My condolences.」

Lilyvia stopped looking at Hund.

「...Hmph. Isn't this a good opportunity? I wanted to see how much my power would work on the current Great Eight Demons. This seating order represents your strength as the Great Eight Demons, right? Then, you should change it in the correct order immediately.」

「Hou, this newcomer sure is lively.」

「I know, right?」

「There's the agreement, but what are you gonna do about it, Lily-chan?」

With a face that's unbecoming as an elf, Alezel grinned at Lilyvia. At this moment, Hund confirmed the opponent he had declared war on.

「...... What I put up in the eight articles of the Great Eight Demons is that no one shall invade the continent of Jiba. If you break it, you will receive retribution accordingly.」

「I see, you will be my opponent, huh... Very well, you are good enough to be my opponent. Let's settle this right now!」

When Hund pointed his fingertip at Lilyvia, her subordinates stood in the way to interrupt it.

「「.........」」

They are completely hostile and the situation became critical in this place.

「Black, Red, stay back. There's no way I'm going to lose against someone like him.」

「I'll show you that it's arrogance!」

「Hey hey! We are still in a meeting, so do that later. It's a battle between the Demon Kings, so you can't just fight one-on-one between yourselves and say 'okay, it's over!'. You have to properly submit a war application between the Great Eight Demons and then fight. We from the administration want you to fight fairly.」

Agalia, who was supposed to be the furthest away, unnoticedly had crossed over the table and stepped in between them. He's holding something like a document in his hand. It seems to be an application for war and it says that the Great Eight Demons have to sign it if they are going to fight each other.

「What is this...?」

「You see, a long time ago, there are those who started fighting on their own and it became a retaliation battle. It got out of hand on a continental level and caused trouble for others. As for now, the other Great Eight Demons will become the witnesses to make sure of the battle. 'If not, we'll kill you!' it also has that meaning.」

Agalia said it frivolously, but it was somehow coercive.

「Ah~, there was that too~」

「It sure is nostalgic. Well, those idiots are all dead now.」

「From the sixth to the eight ranks are dead, so it was a close call for me, the fifth rank, I guess? Fuhahaha!」

「I and Lily-chan took over the seats after all. Well, rules are rules, you have to follow 'em, 'kay? Hund-kun, it's thanks to those stupid predecessors that you can sit there.」

The elf Alezel speaks to Hund in an admonishing tone. 'It's fine to be brave, but for now, sit down.' It seemed to be said so implicitly.

「......Understood.」

Probably got convinced, Hund sat down obediently. However, the fighting spirit around him has not subsided yet, and he is ready to start fighting if he's allowed to. Meanwhile, Agalia had unnoticedly returned to his seat.

「Phew, that was close. It's best to do everything peacefully, right? Love and peace!」

「「「「「「Love and peace.」」」」」」

「!?」

Maybe it's the slogan of this meeting, all of the Great Eight Demons except Hund said something strange in unison. Even Hund is astonished by this.

「Hmph, but then, it's not clear whether we will get to the point where we can fight. I heard that the human nations of Jiba are forming an alliance to defeat you. It seems that there are even Heroes, the natural enemies of Demon Kings. Before you fight me, you need to take care of what needs to be taken care of.」

「... Y-You already grasped the situation even before I speak, huh. You sure are thoroughly prepared.」

Although he's still a little shaken, Hund is desperately trying to maintain his composure. A subjugation unit that has heroes. However, they are actually pawns prepared by Lilyvia. Hund read the meaning behind the words and understood it that way.

「Hohou, Heroes, huh. You are blessed as a Demon King.」

「That's nice~, lucky you~. No one has come to my place lately~. I'm lonely~.」

「Repelling a hero is also a part of the Great Eight Demons. So you are telling me to show my strength first?」

「Something like that. If you can defeat this alliance, I will recognize you as an enemy, sign this document, and defeat you. Don't worry. Even if you lose, I will crush you like a bug.」

Hund's blood quietly boils as Lilyvia flutters the document.

「Is the talk settled? Then, let's move on to the next agenda. Well, next is frank talk, right?」

「Agalia, don't forget the consultation corner where we can all solve our problems together.」

「Ah, that's right!」

「.........」