285. A lot of talk and a lot of trouble (4)
‘I thought it couldn’t be possible, but did we really hunt separately…?’
Crazy bastards. It looks like there were more monsters than I thought, but what if it got really dangerous?
Deon touched his forehead. The sight on the screen gave me a headache, so I couldn’t help but feel it even more.
‘We’re on the same team, so why are we hunting so competitively…’
Anyone who sees them will think they’re two different teams.
Our kids are especially bad. Why do you hunt so desperately when you know you are no match for it?
The 0 Corps members who do not pay attention to them and hunt them like medicine are also a problem. Of course, the crazy dogs tend to make enemies easily, but…
‘Ed, who is in command, doesn’t seem to care.’
I stared at Ed on the screen, who looked more like he was trying to show me results and be recognized rather than dealing with crazy dogs, and then I shifted my gaze to Dan, who seemed to be playing a similar role on the human side.
It seems like it was just yesterday that I couldn’t even handle a sword, but now I can see myself skillfully cutting down monsters.
‘….’
I reflexively glanced back at the platform of reality. I made eye contact with Dan, as if I had been looking this way the whole time.
…Still, I don’t really want to talk about it unless it’s absolutely necessary. Deon pretended not to see and turned his head back to the screen. An expression as if he knew that would happen was reflected in the edge of his vision.
‘The number of monsters hunted…’
845.
At this point, the hunting competitions in the human world seem ridiculous. Well, that’s because ‘individuals’ participate, and the number of assistants each person can bring is limited.
‘Still, it’s surprising.’
It was a hunt without the corps commander. Instead – it’s hard to say, but anyway, in the name of ‘instead’ – the Lofty Knights participated with everyone’s tacit consent… but, let alone filling Deonhardt’s vacancy in the first place, whether they participate or not will not have much of an impact on the outcome. It was an agreement made because I knew that.
‘Because the opponent is the opponent.’
What those guys do without a leash can be either great or bad.
In that situation, we came in second place, so honestly, we have to accept this.
It seemed like Deon wasn’t the only one who thought that, as whispers were heard from all over the place.
“Even though Deon is missing…”
“…I guess they’re not part of the 0 Corps for nothing.”
“I thought it was just accidents, but humans
are pretty…” “I brought you Deon for no reason…”
I feel Ed’s gaze on me again. This time our eyes met, but Deon turned his head away, pretending not to be there. Somehow, I felt like I could sense someone’s bitter feelings.
More than that… the combined number of hunts in 1st and 2nd place already exceeds 2,000. Deon mumbled his admiration.
“…I caught a lot.”
How much did other legions capture?
I don’t know anything else, but I can be sure that starting from this hunting competition, the number of monsters will be reduced to almost nothing.
The Demon King whispered next to him, as if he took Deon’s muttering as an expression of admiration for the number of monsters that Legion 0 had hunted.
“For your information, the number of monsters hunted by the humans directly under your command is 107.”
“…I really caught a lot.”
I never thought it would exceed three digits.
“Fuha.”
The Demon King let out a low laugh as he muttered to himself with admiration.
“Yes, I caught a lot. They worked really hard.”
“What is there to gain by doing that…” The fact that
these guys, who specialize in dealing with humans rather than hunting monsters, and specializing in driving them out by lowering their morale rather than killing them, caught this much means that they really did it with their teeth clenched. Deon made an absurd expression.
Instead of answering, the Demon King scanned the crowd. Interest in the eyes of those looking at the screen is slowly fading. I snapped my fingers and the screen disappeared.
“Then shall we move on?”
Now that I think about it, you said that the hunting scene in 3rd place was impressive. After erasing his distracting thoughts, Deon looked at the Demon King with curiosity. Interest and curiosity appeared on other people’s faces as well.
The Demon King grinned and opened his mouth, looking at me as if urging me to do so.
“Third place is the 8th Corps. They worked hard even though there was no corps commander.”
The 8th Legion’s hunting scene appeared in the air. 529 animals. Although the number was small compared to the previous rankings… everyone was speechless.
On the screen, there were members of the 8th Legion beating up monsters with huge shields. No, it wasn’t just ‘beating up’. If it had been that bad, there would be no way even the corps commanders would have remained silent.
“Blood clot…”
someone muttered.
“It’s being made with blood clots…”
“Like kneading some kind of monster…”
I feel sorry for the monster.
4th Corps Commander Idelia, who was staring at the screen at a loss for words, muttered blankly.
“I knew that the 8th Legion was gentle as it resembled its former commander…”
“…Are they?”
“…I know too, so shut up.”
It’s possible to hunt monsters even with a shield…
The 8th Legion members straightened their shoulders and raised their heads as they heard voices of shock and admiration coming from all over the place. The Demon King chuckled as he could feel his earnest heart in his eyes looking at me, saying, ‘We have proven the value of the 8th Legion, so please leave us behind.’
Initially, the 8th Corps only lost its commander and its troops were so intact that it was planned to be left alone.
‘I guess I should keep my mouth shut about this.’
If I say that, I think a riot will break out.
He nodded lightly and stood up. I took my eyes off the delighted 8th Legion and looked around.
From the blood-covered 7th Legion, which is ranked first in appearance, to the quiet 5th Legion, as if they were not even there. After checking the other corps with a small presence one by one, I turned my head again and looked at the 1st corps.
“Then, shall we conclude today’s hunting competition at this point?”
“…?”
“If there is anyone among the rest of the corps who is curious about their rank, they can each place their hand on the magic stone.”
“No, that’s not it…”
…’today’?
The expressions of the corps commanders became strange. There was no way he couldn’t have heard someone muttering, but the Demon King didn’t pay any attention and slightly tilted his head as if he was thinking.
“Since it’s a ‘competition’ in name, I think there should at least be some kind of prize for first place…”
Heh, you didn’t even think about a prize? Even if the main purpose was to hunt monsters… Deon, who was watching from the side, gave me an absurd look.
“Should we give an additional budget separately? It’s up to you where you spend it. You can use it to hold a simple banquet between the 1st Corps.”
The complexions of the 1st Corps members seemed to brighten… but then they glanced to one side and fell dead. The Demon King followed their gaze and saw 1st Corps Commander Jaycar, grinning knowingly.
“If possible, it would be better to use it to praise the corps members for their hard work. Ah, a separate budget will be provided to the corps commander, so he can use it for himself.”
“All right.”
“Okay then, let’s get the banquet started.”
The place where they originally gathered was an outdoor banquet hall. Without even moving their seats, demon servants came in following the demon king’s signal and began placing food on tables placed all over the place.
As the long war continued, the tense atmosphere prolonged and tensions built up. Excessive tension can ruin even a good job. Therefore, the Demon King, who held a banquet for the entire Demon Castle separately from the hunting competition participants, checked each banquet location again in his head.
‘The core forces of the corps commander and his adjutants are indoors, corps members are outdoors, and other general soldiers are outside… Among the routes to and from those three places, none overlaps with the route to the central garden…’ There is no one
.
Okay, at least there won’t be any of them near the path to the central garden.
That’s enough. The Demon King grinned.
“Ah, from tomorrow to the day after tomorrow, it is the second hunting competition period. Also, it is a bit difficult to use magic stones, but we will designate an area for each corps to hunt monsters, so you can leisurely hunt them until 8 PM the day after tomorrow. At that time, the user must personally go and count them one by one. So don’t overdo it like you are now.”
Anyway, I caught almost everything today so there wouldn’t be anything to catch.
The playful last words brought laughter here and there. The Demon King turned and left his seat, spilling his words.
“Eat, drink, and hunt as much as you want for three days. Be careful of injuries. That’s it.”
“Waaaa!!”
The place where he left was filled with cheers.
***
The Lofty Knights enjoyed a banquet in an open outdoor banquet hall, and Ed left, saying that it had been a long time since he had held a banquet and that he needed to review the rules and etiquette.
And Dan…
“How much would you like to bet?”
“…I’ll bet one chip.”
“Oh, you bet the smallest amount. Are you in a hurry?”
“Running away? Me?”
A gambling table was being held against the corps commander in the indoor banquet hall.
Where did they get the chip from again?… If anything goes wrong, your neck will be blown off, not your wrist, and your liver is also big. Deon looked anxious as he saw the corps commanders crowded around him.
‘It’s not enough to be the commander of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th corps, but even the 7th and 9th corps commanders… Only the most crazy people have gathered.’
To begin with, there are no normal corps commanders.
The 3rd and 4th corps commanders are fighting fiercely. 2nd Corps Commander Develania often appears to be observing Dan as if he is interested in something other than the game itself. At least the 7th and 9th corps commanders calmly showed interest in the game itself… but Deon, who knew that those two were the craziest, frowned.
Lirinel, who had been glancing at the gambling table nearby, suddenly looked away.
“I’m not interested in that kind of thing!”
“….”
Who said what?
Instead of saying anything in response, I gave him a look to follow me and headed towards the terrace.
He finally arrived at the terrace, carefully closed the curtains, and turned to look at Lirinel. I raised my index finger and placed it in front of my lips and called to her in a whisper.
“Lirinel.”
“Yes, Deon…!”
“Shh.”
As if he was aware of it, he answered smaller than usual, but his voice was still loud.
One step. Deon, who had narrowed what little space there was between them, placed his hands on both of Lirinel’s shoulders. Ignoring the blank expression looking up at me, I lowered my head slightly and whispered in her ear.
The question I had been curious about the whole time came out quietly.
“How much of the Demon King’s magic power is left now?”
“Ahhh…?”
“….”
“I… I don’t know.”
“…what?”
His expression is still filled with emotion, like a believer who has come into contact with God, but it is not to the point where he doesn’t know what questions he is being asked or what is being said. Deon, who realized that what she said was true, made a puzzled expression.
“why?”
“Well… at some point you started wearing a tool that conceals your magic power.”
“…her?”
***
Now is the right time as all the corps commanders, including Deon, are gathered in one place.
The Demon King left immediately after announcing the start of the banquet and crossed the hallway with a high-quality magic stone in his arms. The destination is the central garden.
Deon and the corps commanders are needlessly clever people. If you stay away for a little while, you might notice something. That’s why I walk quickly.
thud!
I bumped into a demonic user who was busily passing through the hallway.
“ah.”
“Ah! Wow! I’m sorry…!!”
The problem was next.
Fighting.
A cufflink caught on his cleaning tool fell off.
“Sorry…?!”
As soon as he saw the Demon King’s face, the demon turned white and was lying down on his back. He stopped and raised his head.
“Ma… King…?”
“…this.”
It is clear that he looks like the Demon King, but the amount of magic he feels is not that of the Demon King. The amount of horsepower is so small that I, a mere user, can estimate it.
While he was looking up at him with a puzzled expression, the Demon King, who had been looking down at his empty sleeves with an expressionless face, raised his head and smiled. A light voice flowed out calmly, like a hand gently stroking my waist.
“You saw it.”
“…!”
For some reason, it was a creepy atmosphere. Almost at the same time as the employee who sensed something ominous took a step back without realizing it—poof.
My throat was pierced.
