96. The time has come (1)
When we arrived, the gates of the Demon King’s Castle were already right in front of us.
We are finally liberated…! I thought my ears were bleeding.
“Daemon, blood is coming from your ears…?!”
What was it that was really bleeding?
When I wipe my ear with my finger, there is blood. Ben, who was watching next to me, called out to me with concern.
“It will take time to build up immunity, so you should get on the carriage first for treatment.”
“Oh, me too!”
“….”
It was natural that I was speechless.
Even though I got off to get some fresh air, I had to get back on the carriage not long after, but my mood didn’t change in a positive or negative way.
The commander of the 5th Corps, who was next to me outside and chirped, followed me inside the carriage. Only the location changed, but the situation did not.
Sitting in the carriage were me and Ben Geer, who had come in to examine me, and Orel and her adjutant Dernivan, who had come in after me to chat. The carriage itself is very wide, so it doesn’t feel particularly crowded, but the problem is my eardrums.
“You know. Demon, I heard that humans create and give birth to children directly from within the womb. I heard that this is not something you want to do, but that it is possible with a certain probability if you ‘love’…” “….”
“
… A child created that way is said to be a ‘blessing.’ I also want to receive a blessing, so I go to Dernivan….”
I can’t finish the sentence!
Although it hasn’t been long since receiving examination and treatment from Ben, there are signs of bleeding from the ear again.
I quickly wait for the carriage to stop and the door to open, just to quickly free my eardrums. What is this?
Crunchy.
“…!?”
The carriage stopped, but instead of opening the door, it tore off!
And then a wild beast the size of a house jumped in through the open, or rather torn, entrance. The beast that attacked so fast that an afterimage was left, fortunately, did not aim at me, but attacked Dernivan in no time…
“…?!”
“What are you doing, Commander 9th Corps?”
“Let’s spar!”
Oh, it wasn’t a wild beast. I was mistaken because I only saw an afterimage.
The person who has now jumped into the carriage is Trover, commander of the 9th Corps. He claims that ‘magic’ is his specialty, but in reality, he claims that martial arts that are used by training the body to the limit is ‘magic’… He is a very strange corps commander.
‘…Fuck.’
I quietly retreated to the corner of the carriage.
Fortunately, Trover was unaware of my existence. Until Dernivan, who casually blocked his fist, spoke in a voice as dry as his expression.
“The commander of Corps 0 is watching. Please refrain from acting.”
“ah?”
The eyes of a wild beast… no, the commander of the 9th Corps landed on me.
At that moment, I saw his eyes light up like an animal that has found its prey.
No, wait a minute… Why did you have to risk me…
“Excuse me, Demon. It’s also great hiding. “I couldn’t feel its presence at all.”
“yes? No, I’ve never really been in hiding…”
If it’s hiding, then it’s the 2nd Corps Commander.
As if he didn’t want to get caught up in Orel’s barrage of questions after joining the 5th Legion, he looked shocked as he remembered Develania sitting alone on the roof of the carriage.
That traitor.
‘Now that I think about it, you must have seen Develania before Trover came in. Why did he come right in without touching her?’
As if to answer my question, Trover tilted his head while snooping around inside the carriage.
“Now that I think about it, I saw the 2nd Corps among the troops deployed outside. Didn’t the 2nd Corps commander follow you?”
“…wasn’t it on the roof of the carriage?”
“yes? yes.”
“….”
“…?”
This little girl… where are you going to go and leave me alone?
While I was swearing all sorts of things towards Debellania, a note slipped in through the window of the carriage and landed on my lap.
[Daemon, something suddenly came up, so I’ll go first. Sorry for not being able to see you until the end!]
“…Fuck, oh my…”
It really jumped out!
The hand holding the note is trembling and he is quietly shocked, but for some reason Trover hesitates and retreats. Then he quietly avoided eye contact and spoke in a muttering tone.
“I thought you must have been tired from traveling a long distance, so I tried to sign up for a sparring match, but I couldn’t do it either…” He
looked busy and in a bad mood…
His voice got quieter. Rather, I focused on the shocking content I had heard earlier.
Couplet? Daeryeon? With me too?
“Of course not…!”
He hurriedly stopped talking.
I almost said the words that came to mind without thinking. Since this is the Demon World, I have to think about it before speaking, but I was a little surprised and excited.
Trover’s left hand, with its black, jagged fingernails and a truly hideous appearance, came into view belatedly. When I kept my mouth shut, my doctor, Ben, who had been watching me next to me, stepped forward as if speaking for me.
“It’s not worth answering.”
No wait.
“If you have traveled a long distance, shouldn’t you keep in mind that your opponent will be tired before sparring? Not all demons have monstrous physical strength like the 9th Corps commander. Of course, our Demon is human!”
“Are humans different from demons? “How is it different?”
“Physically, humans are weaker. Of course, our Demon is special!”
“How is Demon so special?”
“Oel, I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask that question here.”
“why?”
A mind-blowing conversation goes on without knowing its meaning or purpose.
Meanwhile, Trover, who had been silent for a moment and seriously thinking about something, raised his head and looked at Ben.
“Then… is it okay if I ask you to spar tomorrow?”
“To completely relieve fatigue, you will need to rest for a week. Especially due to the nature of Demon’s body, which still has aftereffects…”
“Okay, one week!”
“….”
Why is my sparring schedule being set arbitrarily…?
It is right to refuse right away, but my senses are warning me that if I express my intention to refuse, something worse will happen.
‘If I refuse for no reason, there may be a misunderstanding and things may turn out strangely. ‘Because it’s always been like that.’
After leaving me speechless and unable to refuse, Trover turned to Dernivan again. Dernivan was watching the situation unfold with an expressionless face the whole time.
“You’ll be okay, right?”
“I’ve told you this many times, but my specialty is archery, not martial arts.”
“Still, we sparred well. Are you going to refuse?”
You asked with an expression as if you were going to do something if I refused. Actually, you have no choice.
Dernivan was silent for a moment as if he had read that in Trover’s expression, then glanced at Oel and slowly shook his head.
“no. “I will spar.”
“Well…”
“But not right now.”
Trover, who was about to drag Dernivan somewhere, stopped.
Dissatisfaction is clearly reflected in the face that looks back. As if he was not afraid of the wrath of the corps commander, Dernivan said what he had to say without any hesitation.
“I have to sort out the miscellaneous things that Oel brought with me, and I also have to clean up after the 5th Corps that fought several battles.”
“What a mess! “It might come in handy someday!”
“Anyway.”
“Then when is it possible? “A week for you too?”
“I know you won’t wait even if I call you for a week.”
Dernivan took off his outer clothes and folded them neatly on one side of the carriage. He unbuttoned a couple of buttons on his shirt, which was stuffed all the way to the point of being stuffy, and stretched out two fingers.
“Please wait two hours.”
….
The 2nd and 5th Corps were disbanded respectively. Ben, who had completed his duties, went back to his room, and I, who had finished reporting to the devil at the communication table before departure, went straight to my room without going to see him.
…I tried to stay stuck.
“Now, the judgment is for Demon.”
“….”
Why am I here?
I sat blankly in the prepared spot and quietly washed my face.
Yes, I will make a hundred concessions and understand that I am here as a referee for the sparring match between Trover and Dernivan. But those two are not everything. Why is everyone gathered here?
“Who will win?”
“Well, normally I would have predicted Trover, the commander of the corps, to win, but… as you know, the situations between those two are a bit different.”
“Well, the first time I was offered the vacant position of commander of the 9th corps was to Dernivan before Trover…” “
Normally, everyone would accept the corps commander offer without even moving on to the next one, but this time, unusually, many people turned it down. ?”
“Yes. “The first one to receive an offer was Ed, the adjutant of Commander 0 Corps, and then Dernivan, and when that was rejected, I went to Trover.”
“Yes to Ed, but why did you reject Dernivan?”
11th Corps Commander Lirinel, 3rd Corps Commander Ashild, 2nd Corps Commander Develania, 4th Corps Commander Idelia, and 1st Corps Commander Jaycar.
Are you kidding me? It’s like almost all the corps commanders residing in the Demon King’s Castle are gathered here. Aren’t there things to do like that?
‘Besides, when Develania runs away just because she’s busy…’
I secretly glared at the demons sitting on one side of the training ground.
I can’t sleep because my heart is pounding. In the meantime, Jaykar looked at me and said, ‘Aside from Ed,’ so I must have been surprised. I didn’t feel embarrassed or startled, but I thought my heart stopped.
Fortunately, his eyes didn’t linger on me for long. Lirinel, who looked very excited, answered right away.
“Oh, you still didn’t know? “Oel and Dernivan are lovers.”
“…Dernivan is dating?”
And with OL?
It felt like I was hearing words that I couldn’t say before.
Lirinel did not bother to answer the meaningless question. I just raised my finger and pointed somewhere.
There was Oel approaching Dernivan.
“I read a romance novel in the human world, and it said that the knight who goes to sparring would offer victory to the heroine.”
“Is that so.”
“huh. So, win over Dernivan and offer your victory to me.”
“All right.”
“Yes, this is a reward given in advance.”
Oel wraps his arms around Dernivan’s neck and lifts his heel. Dernivan grabs her waist and supports her tightly as she clings to me, and soon their lips meet and separate.
A blatant friction sound rang out.
-side.
The expressions of the corps commanders who saw that scene turned strange.
Anyway, Dernivan, who was indifferent to everything, and Orel, who was trapped in his own world, continued their conversation.
“How about Dernivan? “Do you feel like your heart is racing?”
“My heart was beating from the beginning.”
“No, not like that. “Do you want to do something more special?”
“It doesn’t seem any different from usual.”
“Oh, then it’s difficult. They say it’s love only when the heart beats. Only then can we have a baby…”
Even Jaykar’s face, which had been maintaining its own expression, collapsed.
With a distorted expression on his face as if he didn’t know what to say, he was silent for a moment and slowly spoke while D’Vellania was rolling on the floor laughing in the distance.
“Those two… don’t they know that demons can’t have children?”
“Even if Orel said that, Dernivan would know. It’s obvious. This is not the first time Dernivan has matched the rhythm of Orel. “I didn’t know that matching the rhythm could even lead to ‘love.’”
Idelia responded by tapping the corner of her mouth with a folded fan.
Demons are born from the power of the Demon King.
This means that no matter how much the two love and mix as humans, a demon child will never be born between them.
‘…It would be good if I started quickly.’
Why do I have to sit here and listen to their love story?
The more I look at that, the more my stomach turns. Because I’m jealous? No, because I’m jealous.
Orel and Dernivan’s journey, which was difficult to see with both eyes open, could only end when Trover, who had been waiting, shouted, asking if they would not start.
In a barely organized situation, Dernivan and Trover stand face to face and the hall becomes quiet as if it had never been so noisy.
In it, I could clearly feel the numerous gazes directed at me.
Yes, I know I have to speak up since I’m the referee, but…
‘What should I say?’
Were the rules for sparring in the human world and sparring in the demon world the same?
