Word quickly traveled of a Demon lording over Rotenburg. The rumors had already spread, but since the Kingdom hadn't acted, most people thought it was just a Monster Tamer. But with the death of the Lord of Esthervale, the Royal Family couldn't stay still.

But the first thing that Lord Beltos did was travel to Esthervale and spread his doctrine of Time is Money, Get Back to Work!

All trade and tourists were stopped since the Kingdom was planning on going to war. However, the original citizens and any others who realized the amazingness of the Demon Lord stayed behind.

The Thief did her best and gathered intel to help save Lord Beltos time and money. He had discovered the power of knowledge!

The powerful monsters would patrol the borders now, and most people just kept going about their business.

However, Lord Beltos was without income! So he sought other channels. He sent emissaries to the Empire and Alliance, to see if they were willing to trade. Never before had these people received the request to trade from people they were going to war with. Once they figured out what was going on, one person gave an evil smile.

The Emperor sat on his horse at the frontlines and read the letter before him. When he learned that a Demon Lord had taken land from the Kingdom and caused internal discord, he couldn't help but laugh.

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Wasn't this too easy? This not only gave them a chance to remove noisy pests, but also a wedge against the war!

Sure, the Empire was founded by war mongering and invasions, but that past was long gone. The Empire became a symbol of the unity of the people. To embody that ideal was the hope of the doctrine. If they gave a hand to the Beastkin, why not Demons?

The Queen of the Fairies just scoffed and went back to sleep when she read the letter.

The Demons? They acted like they had no idea what was going on.

The Emperor sent a merchant to see what the deal was. In secret, he also sent an assassin to get rid of the Pope. If he failed, whatever. It wouldn't be the first.

But maybe it would cause a chink in the armor to be exposed, giving him the chance to strike!

Little did he know how precious the materials the Demon Lord was producing were.

***

Back in Rotenburg, Lord Beltos was bored. It would take nearly a week for the messengers to return, and he had already exhausted most of what he needed to do this past week.

So Villager B suggested a competition. There were various events, like rock throwing and wrestling, but it was mostly just stuff guys did to pass the time. This reminded Beltos of a small game he used to play as a child.

The War Game.

When he described the rules, the others replied with, "Chess? Isn't that really boring?"

But it used real people, not pieces of wood. This made for a very different take on the game.

And it for some reason became incredibly popular. Especially when the merchant from the Empire saw it. He saw a chance to make money, which made him instantly Beltos' friend.

Evil laughter could be heard from his room all night.

Followed by the words that most people here had heard many times.

"Let's get to work!"