The Daily Life of the Demon King

Chapter 31 - 31: Plan of Action and Useless Information

Hephaestus Manor

While Alex was lost in his thoughts, the goddesses exchanged glances, particularly noting Hephaestus, who held Alex on her lap. Hestia looked the saddest in this situation since she was the only one who hadn't had the chance to carry Alex in her arms, even though she forgot that she slept with him every night. Freya continued sipping her tea, observing Alex deep in thought, knowing she would have a chance to ask him for a favor later. Loki, after glancing at Hephaestus, decided to have a drink, pulling out a bottle of alcohol from who knows where and opening it.

"What?" Loki asked when everyone started looking at her. "You're all silent, so I decided to relax," she added, pouring herself a drink.

"How can you drink in a situation like this?" Hestia asked, glaring at Loki.

"Alex asked me to bring someone who would listen; I'm just here for company as a goddess," Loki replied, shrugging. Finn, hearing her words, only shook his head, knowing that Loki had always been a carefree goddess. Hephaestus also shook her head, while Freya merely smiled.

"Why is everyone silent? We gathered here to discuss matters, the group of idiots, as Alex calls them," Loki said, taking a sip from her glass. Everyone turned their attention to Alex, who was deep in thought and not responding to their words. Hephaestus gently nudged him in the side to get his attention. Alex snapped out of his reverie and turned to Hephaestus, not understanding why she did that. Seeing that he was paying attention, Hephaestus gestured to the others who were watching him.

"What?" Alex asked, not understanding why everyone was looking at him. Finn smirked, realizing why Loki had become so close to Alex: they were similar. Finn didn't yet know how much. Alex knew how to restrain his nature, whereas Loki couldn't.

"You gathered us to discuss the alliance and the information you received," Freya said, looking at Alex with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, right. I got lost in thought," Alex replied. He wanted to wait for Allen, but Loki couldn't wait any longer.

"As for the information I have at the moment, it's just the name of a god who might be part of this group of idiots, and I've also figured out how they create or rather enhance monsters, making them several levels higher than their peers," Alex said, standing up from Hephaestus's lap, who was reluctant to let him go. Standing on the floor, Alex stepped back and started rummaging in his pocket.

"Hestia, where's my board?" Alex asked,

"From now on, we go underground and make no moves. The experiment with the monster succeeded, albeit with some flaws. This means we can try to enhance the Rex monster. But creating a crystal for such types of monsters will take time. For now, we gather our strength and search for potential recruits, avoiding contact with each other. We'll communicate using the old method," outlined Erebus. Hearing his words, everyone understood that it was best to keep a low profile and go about their business as usual.

"What about Thanatos?" asked the third participant.

"I'll send him a message myself, telling him to keep a low profile," said Erebus, rising from his chair. "This meeting is over. I hope to hear good news next time," he added as he left the room.

Seeing that Erebus had left, the others continued to debate who would be the best to invite. Unable to reach a definite decision, they each maintained their own opinions and dispersed, realizing that it was uncertain when they would meet again. Suspicion began to rise, and it was best to keep a low profile, as Erebus had advised.

Hephaestus's Mansion

While the group of villains was making their plans, Alex's team was discussing which gods might be part of the villainous group. After a lengthy discussion, the board was filled with names of gods—ranging from the so-called evil ones to the most ordinary. Alex looked at the filled board and realized that the goddesses had decided to name all the gods who might be in Orario or might descend in the future. Alex rubbed his face, understanding that it was better not to ask these goddesses for more, as you tell them one thing, and they do another. Freya, seeing Alex's puzzled expression, smiled and approached him.

"What's with your face? Why the frown?" Freya asked, standing next to Alex.

"What do you mean by frown? Did you seriously decide to name all the gods that are in Orario?" Alex shouted with a twitching eye.

"Well, you asked us to name the gods," Loki said, not understanding why he was angry.

"I asked you to name the gods who might be part of the group, in your opinion, not all the gods in Orario," Alex said, looking at the goddesses. Seeing his gaze, everyone turned away with awkward smiles.

"Fine, we need to wait for Allen, who should be arriving soon, and ask him what he has learned," Alex said with a sigh, looking at everyone in the room.

While Alex was contemplating whether to do everything himself or wait for a chance to participate in a group battle against the villains and defeat them with the power of friendship, he grimaced at the thought. The only anime where he liked the power of friendship was "Fairy Tail"; everything else he considered nonsense. Everyone watched Alex's frowning face, wondering if they had done something wrong. Hestia was the most concerned, feeling useless in this situation.

While Alex was deciding what to do, Allen arrived with information.

"Lady Freya, I have arrived after completing your order," Allen said as he appeared in the room and removed his cloak.

"What did you find out about Thanatos?" Alex asked, looking at Allen, who had a smug expression on his face. Hearing Alex's words, Allen grimaced and ignored him, waiting for instructions from Freya.

"Allen, what did you find out? Can you tell us?" Freya asked with a motherly smile. Seeing her smile, Allen was encouraged, while Hestia and Loki grimaced.

"Thanatos is definitely part of this evil group. Some members of his family are aware of his plans," Allen said.

"Well, why are you silent? Or is that all you found out?" Alex asked with a twisted face. Allen decided to ignore his words and continued.

"Eros, who died in the dungeon, was his closest family member. Also, there is a girl named Savina and a couple of other people whose names he did not reveal," Allen continued.

Hearing this, Alex began to lose patience, as he could not stand people who went silent and stopped speaking. Seeing Alex reaching for his pocket, Freya asked Allen to continue.

"Thanatos decided to cover his tracks and will likely lay low, behaving like an ordinary god with a family. The girl named Savina went to recall other members to return," Allen said, expecting praise from Freya. Seeing his proud face, Alex began to get even angrier.

"You did so well, maybe I should scratch behind your ears for that?" Alex said with a sweet smile that sent shivers down everyone's spines. Allen looked at Alex, not understanding why he was saying that.

"You're an idiot. I gave you a cloak to hide, and instead of bringing any useful information, you only mentioned the name of the corpse and the girl who's supposedly under Tanatos's command. Did you not think to steal any documents or at least letters that might have the names of Tanatos's associates? Instead, you brought essentially useless information that could have been heard on the street. And what's with that proud face, as if you completed a top-secret mission?" Alex ranted, furious at the foolish cat. "Now I see where Anni's character comes from. You two are literally the same," he continued.

"Come on, Alex. He's not to blame. Maybe he didn't want to get caught and acted cautiously," Hestia tried to calm Alex.

"If you're so smart, you could have gone and done it yourself, instead of asking Lady Freya to do you a favor," Allen replied with a sarcastic tone.

"I'll hit you with this stick right now," Alex said, pulling out a stick from his pocket. Everyone who knew about the stick ran to stop him.

"Let me go, I'll hit him. All he found out was that Tanatos is part of the group and that he has close adventurers who carry out his orders," Alex said, struggling against those holding him back from beating up Allen. Freya didn't understand why they were holding Alex back until she saw the stick.

While Hestia was calming Alex, Freya decided to ask about the stick. Loki, hearing Freya's question, wasn't sure whether to answer. After some thought, Loki decided to explain what the stick was. Freya crookedly smiled, recalling a rumor she had recently heard.

"Alright, Hestia, that's enough. I'm not angry. Essentially, the information Allen brought may be half-useful, but only if we intercept Savina before she hides," Alex said, putting the stick back in his pocket and sighing heavily.

"So, what's the plan of action?" Finn asked, seeing that Alex had calmed down and sighed.

"First, we need to strengthen our forces in case these idiots start executing their plans earlier. Then we wait for the gods' meeting to find those who were or are currently close to Tanatos. And lastly, expect that things might hit the fan at any moment. For now, that's all we can do," Alex said. Everyone understood that they didn't have many options for action.

"By the way, where are those three misfortunes? I haven't seen them since yesterday evening," Alex asked, looking around.

"Lily, Cassandra, and Daphne left after they woke up. According to Daphne, since they did well in the raid, they can afford some rest and entertainment," Tsukaki said.

Just as Alex was about to ask more questions about the girls, they returned, but their appearance left much to be desired. They looked as if they had been in a bar fight.

"What happened to you? Why do you look like you got into a bar brawl?" Alex asked, looking at the girls who were covered in dust.

"We were accosted by members of the Soma family, and we got into a fight," Cassandra said. Alex looked at them, not understanding how they could end up in a fight with Cassandra, who was always the voice of reason. He decided to hear the whole story and asked Cassandra to explain everything from the beginning.

To be continued...