300. Don’t be clumsy (1)
Lirinel was worried about Deonhardt before she left.
I was worried that he wasn’t sleeping well, so I gently reached out and placed him on the bed and covered him with a blanket, asking him to sleep at least a little.
At least for that moment, Deon, who was unable to force Lirinel, obediently lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep, almost as if he fainted, as if the accumulated fatigue had come over him in addition to his exhausted mind.
…And I had a dream.
It was so damn sad and funny, scary and angry at the same time, but also a little bit welcoming… It was a terrible nightmare where I had to suppress all these emotions and act calmly.
***
[…I said it first, but I hope you don’t think about doing anything.]
This was what Ed, who suddenly came to his senses as if he had been hit with cold water after he had just confessed what he had said, hastily added.
I couldn’t overcome my feelings of weakness due to alcohol, so I confessed it, but it seems like I suddenly got scared. Eiga chuckled. If you look closely, you can see that the liver is quite small.
[Didn’t you say that because you needed help?]
[Just listening to my pointless drunkenness is enough.]
[It’s enough. It won’t be enough, right? It won’t be a pointless drink.]
[…Anyway, stop thinking about doing something useless.]
The target is the target anyway, so no matter what you do, it won’t work properly.
The worry that appears at first glance amidst the revealed resignation is indeed gratifying. Eiga stretched out happily.
[That’s how I feel.]
[You…!]
[It’s already been so long. Then I guess I’ll just have to go. Hello!]
[Aga!]
Ed said he was worried that the person he was serving was carrying out the work unreasonably. In particular, he said he wanted to stop him because he was pushing ahead with a plan that even looked the worst. I don’t know what it was, but it was enough to make me realize that the other person was a hero.
Ed has already visited the first city here as ‘Deonhardt’s lieutenant’. Of course, there is also the possibility that the target is the Demon King, but since I haven’t heard any news that the Demon King is actively pushing for something, it’s probably not that one.
‘If a person like the devil was pushing things forward, the rumor would have spread long ago.’
So, on the day Eiga entered the Demon King’s Castle as a garden assistant, she sneaked away at an appropriate time and visited Deonhardt’s room. No one paid special attention to the Incubus, which had always done its own thing and returned home on time.
‘Ed told me not to do it, but…’
The worry contained in the words and actions that stopped me made me feel excited. I feel like we have finally become friends after a long time together. So Eiga moved impulsively.
Dreams are a space where incubuses can run wild, and in this place, even other strong demons are able to outwit them, so the complacent thought that it would be no different even if they were heroes also played a role.
‘It’s not like fighting, it’s about persuading.’
As long as you enter the dream, anything will happen.
After moving around without any disturbance, Eiga sat down on the open window frame as if to openly come in, and her eyes lit up when she found the young man lying on the bed.
‘They say he’s a hero…’
You can tell just by looking at him.
He really looks like a warrior. It seems like pure white hair reveals holiness and purity itself. It may feel that way because the eyes, which are known to be red, are hidden under closed eyelids.
‘You’re so handsome.’
If I looked like that, I wouldn’t have had to go hungry on a regular basis. Rather, wouldn’t everyone have rushed to give it to them? As I imagined being surrounded by beautiful demons, I felt a rush of envy.
…Now that I think about it, it seems like it probably didn’t end at just Jeonggi. It would have been possible to rise to the position of the strongest man in the demon world by going beyond his vitality and losing his strength.
‘Anyway… I’ll give it a try.’
Even while Ed was sharing his concerns, he kept what he wanted to protect until the end, so we didn’t hear anything in detail about what he should stop doing, but it’s not a problem as he can roughly sum it up and just tell him to stop doing what he’s doing.
Eiga entered the room without a sound and approached the holy… or rather, sleeping warrior.
If you come into contact with the target, you can dig deeper and more easily… but there is no way a warrior will just ignore this. I stood near the bed at a reasonable distance without making any physical contact.
I closed my eyes, awakened my familiar instincts, focused, and my vision changed.
‘…?’
Eiga looked around with a questioning look in a dark space where fragments of emotions and memories were floating around. His expression was filled with suspicion, as if he found it difficult to believe this situation.
That’s because they let him in too easily.
He was wary for a moment as if there might be a trap, but soon realized that there was no trap and tilted his head.
“They let me in easier than I thought…?”
I thought it would be difficult since he is a warrior.
‘Are you mentally exhausted?’
Well… they said they were pushing ahead with the work, so it’s understandable.
In any case, it’s beneficial, so there’s no need to worry about it. So now… under whose guise should I speak so that they will obey me obediently? I looked around with my arms crossed.
‘There are only a few memories I can see.’
Since we are in a state of no contact and there is a possibility of being caught or thrown out, we did not delve too deeply, so all we see in this space are fragmentary repetitions of strong memories.
I don’t have to search through detailed memories anyway, so it’s easier and better this way. I carefully looked at the fragments that were playing repeatedly so fast that my eyes could not follow them.
‘With the power I have now, I can only catch a glimpse of one of these.’
Memories that are quickly replayed or obscured are a kind of defense mechanism. Of course, it takes a lot of strength to get a glimpse of it.
Therefore, you must choose carefully.
Eiga, who was examining the fragments of memory one by one, found one among them that evoked particularly strong emotions and stretched out his hand.
The scene that was running quickly slowly slows down and then plays at normal speed. After checking the contents, he was internally delighted.
‘…bingo.’
Looks like you made the right choice.
There, the black-haired, green-eyed man was repeatedly embracing the owner of his gaze to the point of despair.
***
Deon Hardt stared at the black-haired, green-eyed man.
Putting aside his initial surprised expression, he opens his mouth as if he wants to say something with a strangely distorted expression, as if he is sad or angry, but closes it again before he can even say a word. The lips, which were tightly closed in a straight line, soon rose in a bitter arc.
“why?”
An ambiguous question that I didn’t know what was being asked suddenly popped out.
Skipping the questions that are difficult to choose an answer to, the black-haired, green-eyed man says it’s been a while. He asks if it is true that he is getting adequate rest just because his complexion is not good.
Deon, who was looking at him blankly, chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s been a while. You’re a hero, so you don’t need rest, and your complexion probably isn’t that bad, so it’s a little surprising that you’re pointing out that part. I guess you’ve been watching me the whole time?”
“….”
“I definitely should have told you to rest.”
I let him go, but he came back without listening to me, complaining in a low voice. He, who had been silently listening to all these complaints, stretches out his hand. Deon slowly lowered his eyes at the approaching hand as if he was worried.
It’s not a rejection, but it’s an action that can’t be said to be accepted positively. The other person, who had stopped, withdrew his hand and slowly began speaking.
“…I feel like I’m pushing myself too hard these days.”
“Is there any reason to do so?”
“Deon.”
Deon shivered at the familiar call.
The eyes, which have a color that makes me infinitely weaker, look at me with a somewhat stern look. Unable to look directly into those eyes, Deon finally turned his head and let out a trembling sigh.
A sad voice continued.
“Why did you come here today?”
The other person’s expression was unknown.
In silence, Deon turned his head again to face me and smiled faintly.
“…Of course I don’t blame you. It’s just…
It’s a little difficult.
A faint whisper lingered in the space.
“You have to give me time to rest.”
I got the timing wrong. …No, in this case I should say I caught it well.
I was tired of exchanging glances with the silent partner for a moment, and the sound of wan laughter pushed away the silence.
“…I said something pointless.”
“Deon.”
“Don’t call me that.”
The startled opponent looked at Deon in surprise.
Deon covers his mouth with one hand and opens his eyes wide, as if he didn’t know that such a sharp remark would come out. He soon let go of his hands and let out a soft voice.
“Sorry, I have some work to do today.”
“…It’s okay. More than that… I’m worried about you.”
“….”
“Don’t overdo it. Why don’t you take your time and proceed with work leisurely? The plan I’m thinking of right now doesn’t seem to be a very good plan, so it might be a good idea to think about it again.”
The expression on his face that had broken down at the word worry cooled down at the next comment.
“…No.”
His bright red eyes glowed eerily, as if he had been acting docile for a while.
“That’s not true. ‘Brother’ doesn’t say things like that.”
“…!”
“I should have done more thorough research.”
I overlooked the subtle difference in speaking style, which seemed similar, but it would be difficult to do this.
I did my best to match the rhythm to get some comfort, but what can I do if I can’t even do that?
What the other person said a moment ago ultimately meant that you should stop doing what you are doing now. These words and actions are completely opposite to Cruel’s statement that anything is okay, so live without regrets.
“Stupid bastard.”
At the same time, negative emotions began to surge like a tidal wave. It’s a situation where you feel like you’ll be swept away if you lose concentration even a little. The guy hurriedly raised his head to say something, met his red gaze and took a step back. At the center of all these emotions, madness was overflowing.
“Ah…”
My tongue stiffened in fear and my words came out stuttering.
“You knew…how?”
“Why don’t you take a look at yourself first?”
Incubus hastily created a mirror.
“…What is this…”
He was clearly imitating ‘Cruel’, but other than the black hair and green eyes, there was no resemblance to him at all. Let alone resemble them, they were not similar, and let alone similar, they did not even look like humans.
A body that shimmers like a crushed watercolor painting or like a mirage, as if to reveal that it is not human.
In a situation he was experiencing for the first time in his life, Incubus Agar blurted out a question he had no idea who he was asking.
“why…?”
“Well, the Emperor’s ghost said that I had placed you in sacrosanct territory.”
Unless it’s ‘real’, no one can dare imitate it here.
Deon smiles and takes a step forward. Even though everything was open, I felt a pressure that was suffocating.
“You know, I was willing to let it go if you really imitated your brother properly.”
If I did well, I had the intention of never waking up from my dream.
“I said I definitely don’t blame ‘hyung’, right?”
If you had acted like a real brother, I would have let it go.
The dry voice falls like a death sentence. Step by step, the distance gradually narrows. Accordingly, the intensity of the pressure grew stronger, and Eiga, who felt a sense of crisis as if he would be crushed to death, hurriedly escaped the inner world.
And as soon as I came back to reality, I quickly pulled back, but…
“Whoa!”
A hand reached out faster than that and grabbed my neck.
Deon Hart smiled and tilted his head, wondering when he had woken up and approached us right in front of us.
“Now, shall we have a conversation?”
“….”
“Who sent it?”
