243. Butterfly Effect (11)
“…It’s different when you don’t know and after you find out.”
His voice came out as if his core had been relieved a little.
Deon, who was staring at the game board, sat down on the bed and shook his legs. Blood covered my feet and made a splashing sound.
After being lost in thought for a while with his gaze fixed downwards, he suddenly opened his mouth as if he had gathered his thoughts.
“I will send the commander of the 10th Corps.”
The words that came out like that had quite an ambiguous meaning.
“Because it is a cavalry corps, its movement speed must be quite fast. Although it is in charge of protecting the major cities of the Demon World, if you give the reason that it is to quickly fill the gap in the troops and take down the Mountain Kingdom, you will be able to take it out.”
Because protecting the city can be done with other troops.
Dan, who was quietly listening to his remarks while cleaning up the scattered game board, nodded. As if he clearly understood the other meaning contained in the ambiguous remark, his calm voice burst out with heavy content.
“There will be another vacancy for the corps commander position.”
“This time, I’ll go with you.”
“Because it will be easier to use that way.”
“That’s right. And there’s no way I can take no action when the corps commander is dead, right?”
My index finger taps the bed.
Then, a faint, laughing voice came out like a whisper.
“It’s been a while since I’ll be with crazy dogs.”
***
As always, the Demon King was not embarrassed by the sudden visit.
“You’re here.”
I am greeted with an easy permission to visit and a natural greeting.
Deon frowned slightly at the tone, as if he knew it was coming. Either way, the Demon King stood up with a leisurely smile and guided him to the sofa.
“I thought it was about time that it came.”
“….”
Deon opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw the sofa.
A sofa so spacious that it doesn’t fall off even if you toss and turn while lying down. He, who was looking back and forth between the demon king who was sitting across from me and urging me to sit down quickly, and the sofa, closed his mouth. The expression of surprise was soon replaced by a languid arrogance.
I took off my shoes and climbed onto the sofa. I sat down with my feet together, grabbed both ankles, did a butterfly pose, and looked at the demon king as if I was ready. The Demon King let out a laugh.
“You’re cocky.”
“The sofa is too big.”
“At one point I heard it was narrow.”
“This is a small bed, not a sofa. I plan to go to the human world some time later.”
“….”
The afterword was a remark thrown almost as a surprise, pretending to be natural. It is also a form closer to notification rather than asking for permission.
The Demon King blinked for a moment and then smiled. The answer came out as cool as a smile.
“okay.”
“For your information, I’m going with the Lofty Knights, not the 0th Legion…not the Mad Dogs. It’s not a good match to take both of them with me. And…” Deon, who accepted his permission as if it was obvious, rolled his eyes
. . There was no surprise or question about the cool permission.
How much time have you spent observing the Demon King in the Demon World? How could you not predict that one thing? I was confident that the Demon King would willingly allow it.
The only thing I’m not sure about is what to suggest next…
I quietly lowered my legs from the sofa.
“I plan to send the commander of the 10th Corps to war as well.”
“That’s why you invited the commander of the 10th Corps. That’s surprising.”
“Because we need troops that can reach the destination as quickly as possible. I thought about moving through space with the commander of the 11th Corps, whose main force is magic, but magic is useless only near the castle walls.”
“Yes. It is more efficient for the 11th Legion to protect the demon castle and city in the demon world rather than the human world.”
Above all, Deon did not forget the amulet he had placed on the Mad Dogs’ shoulder straps.
I took care of it so that you don’t die helplessly while fighting with the 0th Legion… If you do it well, you can use it as part of your hand, so if you can hide it, it would be better.
I rolled my eyes and then quietly sighed.
“With the 10th Legion commander missing, there will soon be problems with the defense of the city walls. There will definitely be limits to defending all four cities with the 11th Legion’s magic alone.”
“Hmm.”
Why are you trying to say something like this?
Actually, I think I know. The Demon King narrowed his eyes. The lips still moved with a smile on their face.
“so?”
“Last time, you said you wouldn’t leave because the hero was here.”
“….”
“I would like you to clean up the monsters while I am away.”
Instead of moving other troops, do it yourself.
Even if you accept it, you don’t have to accept it, but I hope you accept it if possible.
Perhaps he sensed that feeling, and a chuckle was heard in the short silence. Just like before, the refreshing answer came back.
“okay.”
I didn’t expect you to accept it so quickly. Deon’s eyes widened.
The Demon King smiled, folding his eyes as if showing off. He lowered his voice as if he was talking about something private and called out the name of the warrior in front of him.
It’s Deon.
“I do not intend to fill the vacancy of the 8th Corps Commander. The same will apply to the 10th Corps Commander.”
“….”
You knew.
Yes, there is no way the devil wouldn’t know. Deon’s shoulders stiffened, pretending not to be like that.
“That would be the best situation you could hope for. Above all, the positions of means and purpose have changed within you, so wouldn’t it be useless to try to fill them?”
I’m going to die again soon anyway.
I see a small animal wary of me with its hair standing on end. The Demon King looked into the other person’s bright red eyes and smiled sweetly.
“Unless there are special circumstances, I will not be able to fill the vacancy of the corps commander in the future. So, feel free to go wild.”
I’m also curious about how far I can expand my territory.
‘It will be fun to watch.’
Just as even a demon lord would have trouble if several ‘heroes’ came together, even a warrior would have trouble if several ‘corps commanders’ come together. That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare in advance for the future. Or, in order to protect his final identity as a human being, he tries to destroy the demon world equally.
Either way, there is nothing that cannot be matched by a prospective teacher who is trying hard to teach me.
He gave his own cheer with a benevolent face.
“If there is a good reason, no matter what your request is and what your intentions are, there is nothing you can’t do. So just work hard like you are now.”
“….”
“Oh, you’d better be careful of the eyes of other demons.”
Red eyes filled with irritation.
I felt like cheering wasn’t enough, so I added some sincere advice, but it seems to have had the opposite effect. I need to change the topic soon.
“Okay… now then.”
The Demon King tapped Deon’s forehead with his finger.
Deon suddenly lies down and looks at the Demon King with eyes full of question marks. A blanket was thrown over him.
“Take a nap.”
“…?”
“It’s been a long time since I had a good night’s sleep. There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep again if I go to the human world like this.”
There was no answer. Deon, struggling nervously and getting out from under the blanket, kept his mouth shut and glared at the Demon King. Despite the rather harsh gaze, the Demon King shrugged his shoulders without paying attention.
“I told you before, right? Physical fatigue and mental fatigue are two different things. Don’t worry about the nightmares, why don’t you go to sleep now?”
“No need.”
“I just recently changed the sofa a lot. As you said, it’s about the size of a small bed, so even if you toss and turn while lying down, it won’t fall off.”
“….”
Deon, who completely ignored the answer as if it wasn’t worth it, silently put the blanket aside and stood up. A question was asked with the clear intention of changing the topic, with red eyes containing the devil.
“Can I take a short vacation before going to the human world?”
“vacation?”
“Yes. It doesn’t need to be long, just a day is enough. I’m planning to visit the first city.”
It’s the first city…
The Demon King smiled slightly.
“Do you want to gamble?”
“yes.”
“Hmm.”
lie.
“Well… okay. You’re not planning on going alone, are you?”
“I plan to go alone.”
“No. You have a position, so that would be a problem. How about bringing troops? Ed and Ben are essential.”
Deon’s face distorted.
“I’m only going for a day, so there’s no need to take him with me in such a big way, right? Besides, it’s easier to travel alone if you want to move quickly. There’s no way the hero will get hit by a monster, so there’s no need to…” “Puh-ha.
”
Finally, the Demon King burst out laughing.
I’ve played around a little bit out of shame, so I never thought I’d get this desperate. If this is the case, I have no choice but to look at it.
Regardless of whether Deon looked annoyed or not, he chuckled lowly and quickly held out his hand. A voice still filled with laughter came out.
“Okay, do whatever you want.”
Just because you’re going into battle directly, there’s no reason you can’t tolerate minor deviations. Since he knows better than anyone else about the devastation of the battlefield, he cannot stop his trick to obtain medicine.
‘Of course, there is no next time.’
Although the Demon King knew the number of Deons trying to obtain medicine in the first city, he decided to pretend not to know.
***
I always feel dirty after meeting the devil. Deon crossed the hallway, showing his discomfort with his narrowed eyebrows. Every demon I encountered was frightened, I lowered my head and looked around, but they didn’t care.
That feeling of playing with people from the top of your head, even though it’s not hostile and you’re being swayed by what you think.
I remember the Duke feeling the same way, although not as much as the Demon King, and it seems like they got along well and made a contract. The two of you were a match made in heaven.
‘…How much do you know?’
I played with the corners of my mouth and clicked my tongue.
It feels quite unpleasant to be ‘manipulated’ even though you know it. It was even more so because I felt like I knew what he truly wanted from these actions.
I warned you not to get caught by me.
‘In fact, it’s gotten worse than before.’
There were a few things we didn’t say directly, but pretended not to know each other.
It’s okay to cover your eyes and say nothing, but at this point, it’s the same as exposing it to the public. Still, it was better to pretend not to know, so I had no choice but to close my eyes and cover my ears.
The subtlety of knowing you won’t move unless explicitly mentioned is also annoying. Deon shook off his emotions by tightening his jaw and consciously changed his flow of thoughts.
‘…What I have to do now… is tell the crazy dogs to prepare for battle.’
But before that, I have to go back to my room and do something to sort out my messed up mind.
A little while ago, the Demon King was worried about mental fatigue and suggested sleep. I am grateful, but unfortunately most of my mental fatigue is accumulated while facing the devil. Just looking at that face and having a conversation with it drains my mental strength.
So, as I was hurried towards my room, I heard a voice from somewhere.
“──.”
“──!”
A faint but familiar voice. I stopped walking reflexively.
The warrior’s astute senses tell him that the source is outside the window. If it was a voice I didn’t know at all, I would have passed over it, but… Deon sighed.
‘Why…’
It’s the 10th Corps commander and Hien.
It wasn’t difficult to understand the situation. Because there was a similar situation a long time ago.
Even at that time, Geisitel, commander of the 10th Corps, was persecuting Hien. Maybe it was just because it was annoying.
‘It’s been so long since I brought him in that he’s already causing an accident.’
I glance out the window and see Hien being thrown out. A glimmer of conscience stopped me from just passing by.
Isn’t it as if this happened because I brought in Geisitel? I know that what was wrong was Geisitel’s poor personality, but I feel very bad.
‘…Now that I think about it, I didn’t even say hello after receiving the strange plant.’
I received it as a gift, but I almost just wiped my mouth and finished it.
…Okay, this is just compensation for not saying hello even after receiving a monster.
Grumble – I opened the window. The eyes of the demons who were pretending not to notice widened, but they didn’t care and put their feet on the window frame.
“Gaisitel.”
“Hmm? I heard Deon’s voice somewhere…?! Huh?!”
“Deon Nieiim?!”
Eventually, Deon jumped towards them.
