Hyouri Hikyou no Mono
I am Demon King Ashtaroth.
According to the G.o.ddess who brought me to this world, I was also called the Demon King of Prosperity, but no one ever called me that.
What I was called by our neighboring countries and Demon Kings were names like "Realist Demon King" or "Hyouri Hikyou no Mono."
I had manipulated Demon King Sabnac during my first battle and destroyed him within a month. After that, defeated the even more powerful Demon King Eligos. And so those names were given to me.
Eve looked a little worried as she asked,
"Will it not be bad for you if such evil rumors continue to spread? Why don"t you send out spies and try and stop them?"
"I appreciate your concern, but that is not necessary."
"What do you mean?"
"It is simple. These names are vital to my strategy. They will be beneficial in expanding my lands and protecting them."
Eve looked at me as if she did not understand at all.
Clearly, an explanation was in order.
"In the first place, it was I who spread out these names."
"You? You, master?!"
"Aye. I had my spy slimes spread the news of my methods."
"Why would you do such a thing? They are now calling you a coward."
"A coward. They might as well. By the way, it is not "coward", it is "hyouri hikyou"."
"There is a difference?"
"There is a very big difference."
And so I told her.
Hyouri Hikyou no Mono was a name given to the j.a.panese general, Sanada Masayuki.
He was the son of a minor lord who owned territories in the s.h.i.+nano mountains. And he was a born strategist.
He attended Takeda s.h.i.+ngen, where he showed his potential, eventually being chosen as one of his twenty-four most trusted men.
He continued to work even after the fall of House Takeda.
No, that is when he really started to thrive.
First, he helped Takigawa Kazumasu, one of the subjects of Oda n.o.bunaga, as a way of quickly serving the man who had beaten his master.
But when Oda n.o.bunaga died at Honno-ji, he quickly split from Takigawa and united the surrounding lands.
At the time, the regions were ruled by House Uesugi, House Houjou, and House Tokugawa. And yet he took these great houses into his hands and rose to the position of a feudal lord.
That being said, he also sent hostages to House Uesugi, or pretended to side with House Tokugawa by building a castle. And he fought against House Houjo on equal footing, in spite of that house having the greatest force at the time.
His methods were very ruthless. He did not hesitate, and after several years, Toyotomi Hideyos.h.i.+ called him,
"Hyouri Hikyou no Mono."
And everyone treated him with caution.
Sanada Masayuki continued to strategize with such methods, driving back Tokugawa"s army twice.
The second time was against Ieyasu"s son, a force of 38,000 against 2,000. And yet he forced them to retreat.
His skill and accomplishments were remembered as some of the best of that era.
The only people who were as good as him were Mouri Motonari to the west, Amago Tsunehisa, and Houjou Souun from the east.
I had studied a number of other worlds in my past life. Especially j.a.pan, and this name that was given to Sanada Masayuki was special to me.
I thought it was quite lucky in a way, and so I had had it spread. But it wasn"t surprising that Eve was worried.
"Word of a cowardly strategist will only make the enemy more cautious when dealing with you."
She argued.
And so I told her the truth in order to calm her.
"It is not bad to spread such rumors about a strategist."
I said first.
"Eve, let us pretend that there is a snake here. Yes, a crimson cobra."
Talking about it was no fun, and so I used an illusion to place a red cobra on the desk.
Many women would have cried out at that point, but Eve was a demon. She had nerve.
She just raised an eyebrow and stood her ground.
Then she coughed coldly and breathed in.
"AHHHH!"
Her shriek tore through the air.
Satisfied, I continued to talk.
"Well, such a powerful and venomous snake would usually strike fear into the hearts of people. No one would want to touch it or attack it, would they?"
"True. Though, a mongoose does enjoy attacking snakes."
"Exaggerated tales of my strategies and power will prevent them from attacking me."
"Yes, master."
Eve seemed to understand me a little.
"Even without much trust, there are other benefits. If they fear us more than they should, they might even believe that illusory soldiers are real. They might believe that an empty castle is guarded."
"So that is why…"
Eve bowed her head.
She was not one to stay quiet when she found a point to praise her master over.
And so she continued to say, "You are so wise, master," after that.
But she didn"t just stop there, which was proof of how brilliant she was.
She made a suggestion of her own.
"Demon King. Why do you not use the materials you took from Demon King Eligos and create a unit that specializes in intelligence?"
"That is a good idea. To be honest, the slimes I first summoned can only do so much."
They were good at gathering information and played a part in my victories, but things would only get much worse in the future.
I needed better spies. Having a.s.sa.s.sins would really add to new dimensions to my plans.
I could do so much more.
And so I had Eve take stock of what was in our storages. I examined the list and determined what would be useful for summoning monsters that could aid us.
Notes:
"Hyouri Hikyou no Mono"
"…a person whose inside did not match his outside, that his allegiance was fickle and not to be trusted." -wikipedia
The word "hikyou" here is p.r.o.nounced the same way as "coward."