
it honestly sounded like things were getting intense, plot-wise. it seems one of hel's customers now include the actual king?? and he had pretty hardcore/brutal proclivities???¹
and a lot of issues seems to have cropped up bc the kingdom is corrupt but "the demon king is not interested in invading and the hero doesn't show up", like one of those mutualism thing where war with an outside force actually serves to unite a kingdom on the verge of collapse/civil war
i know i said this somewhere around ch11 or somewhere earlier like, 'wouldn't it be funny if the manager was an isekai'd hero who went AWOL or something that's why he's strong enough to restrain the demon king and the paladins w/just a hand' WHICH WAS A JOKE OK
but now i'm really worried it's gonna turn angsty cuz we're getting some vague foreshadowing dreams in the latest raws

now that the emperor and empress are on the same page abt her, there's a million ways to get rid of her
they're just keeping her there for unnecessary drama. it's like their titles as the most powerful authority in the kingdom mean shit. no matter how elaborate her schemes are, fuckin straight up drugging the emperor should get her and her adoptive fam beheaded. there were so many witnesses.
i'm all for the angsty conflict between ML and FL but i am sooo over the petty & catty bitchfights

she reeks of privilege & childish obsession
.
.
(inb4 there's some tragic back story to her acting like so. she's similar to one of those foil og!fls that, under a veneer of mary sue-ness, is one step away from being a deranged psycho when forced to face other people's perspective of reality that doesn't align with their fantasies.)
like if only there had been anyone to tell her these exact same words- that, they're thankful she's alive.