We rested at the inn for a few days and then returned to Zhuge Liang’s house. The same monk was sweeping in front of it.

Jeanne asked.

“We are back. Is your master here?”

The monk bowed politely and said, ‘yes, he is.’

But then he continued.

“While my master is back, he is sleeping now. Would you wait until he wakes up?”

Jeanne was not pleased.

“The Demon King is a very busy man! And yet we have come here twice. He cannot wait for someone to finish their nap.”

I interrupted her.

“Wait, Jeanne. Humans find it most disagreeable to be disturbed while they sleep. We must wait. Yes, my time is limited. But there is enough time for us to enjoy the forest for now.”

And so we turned around and took a stroll through the forest.

It was quite beautiful. The wildflowers and trees were a delight to behold.

Jeanne even found some wild strawberries and ate them greedily.

She did not hide her thoughts as she ate.

“This man is very rude. I don’t think you should allow such a rude man to join your army.”

“He is one person who is worthy of this effort.”

I stated. And two hours later, we returned to the house.

The monk said, ‘my master has just awakened. However, he is quite thirsty and wishes to eat some figs from the forest.’

Could you wait as I go fetch some? That was what he was going to say, but I gave him the figs we had gathered before he could finish.

The monk looked at them with surprise.

“Who are you?”

He asked.

“A Demon King.”

And with that, he escorted us into the house.

As it was a very small house, the waiting room was right by the entrance.

The room was also a study, and so the walls were lined with shelves that were filled with books.

That was like the Zhuge Liang from legend. However, the person who was reading a book there, was not what I had imagined.

Books were laid untidily on the table as the man seemed engrossed in his book.

His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was a mess.

He must have been drinking from the morning, as the smell of alcohol was all over him.

The reverent image I had in my head came crumbling down.

He finally raised his face from the book and glanced at us before saying he would be finished in five minutes.

It was a thick book, and I doubted anyone could finish it in five minutes. However, he did it.

He flipped through the pages quickly until he was at the end.

Toshizou was skeptical.

“Anyone can read. The problem is, how much of it do you remember?”

It was true. But Zhuge Liang did not seem to be very concerned. He handed Toshizou the book and said, ‘give me a random line from a random page.’

Toshizou obeyed and selected the fifth line on the three-hundredth page.

“It is talking about strategy. ‘The policy of cultivating distant countries while working to conquer those nearby should be the basis of your strategy.’”

“…That’s right.”

Toshizou looked pale.

“I am not just reading books. I am memorizing them. They are engraved into my head so I can review them.”

I had heard of such things.

People who could read very fast were able to save the images in their heads like photographs and read them later. Perhaps he was someone who was capable of such a thing.

As I was thinking this, Zhuge Liang started to laugh suddenly.

“Haha. I am joking. I cannot do something as crazy as that. I folded the page a little when passing the book to him. That way, he would open the page I had memorized.”

Toshizou and Jeanne seemed quite relieved at this.

I had noticed something myself, but decided to keep quiet about it and get to the matter at hand.

“So, are you really the famous Zhuge Liang?”

“I don’t know if I am famous, but yes, I am Zhuge Liang. Also called Kongming.”

“It is an honor to meet such an esteemed tactician. I am Demon King Ashtaroth. I have come here in hopes that you would join us.”

“You’re very direct.”

Kongming had his monk bring him a pipe, which he began to smoke.

After tapping it into a tray twice, he looked at my face.

“Well, you are certainly more handsome than Decarbia.”

“I wouldn’t want to be compared to a starfish.”

“And I heard that you defeated him.”

“With a few tricks.”

“That is very good. I prefer a king who will try every hand.”

Kongming said. While he seemed to like me well enough, working for me was a different matter.

“I see that you’re impressive in your own right, Demon King. However, I wish to live quietly here. Please take your leave.”

He said.

Kongming looked out of the window. But it seemed that he wasn’t looking at the scenery, but something much farther away.

I pointed at a camellia bud that could be seen from the window.

“It should bloom soon. When it does, I will return.”

Kongming waved his hand as if bored. Then he returned to his books.

And so we left him. On the way back, Jeanne was furious.

“I hate his attitude. A Demon King has come all of this way to see him.”

“It is all according to the written record. He is not very interested in earthly things.”

“Then how can he be useful? His trick with the book was amusing for sure, but anyone could have done that.”

Said Toshizou. I heard this and chuckled.

“Oh, so you were fooled too?”

I said.

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I saw the book too. There were no bent pages.”

“What!?”

In other words…

“Exactly. So he did memorize the book in a short amount of time. He has a perfect memory.”

“Wh-what kind of monster?”

Said Jeanne. She had only just recently learned to read a little. But yes, Kongming was a monster in a way.

And I very much wanted him to serve me and rule Decarbia castle.

I said this to Toshizou and Jeanne, and then we returned to the inn where we spent the next few days.

That night, Toshizou held a bottle of wine in one hand and groaned.

“That tactician is impressive, but so are you for being able to see his worth in such a short amount of time, Demon King.”

The strongest Demon King and a legendary tactician. What would happen if they joined forces? He could not wait to see it.