120. Uncomfortable daily life (1)
Deon Hardt was away during this time. The Duke crumpled the note and frowned slightly.
‘Why now…’
How long has it been since I started betting? At least we need to get rid of it before the war with the demon world really breaks out.
I glanced at Cruel and saw that he was expressionless as always. Looking at the seemingly calm appearance, the duke’s judgment was distorted for no reason, and the corners of his mouth were raised and he smiled.
“At this point, I’m really impressed. Deon Hardt is away by order of His Majesty.”
“….”
“How can I be so lucky?”
Is the world showering its blessings?
If you fail every time and miss the timing, you will start to get frustrated.
“I hope you come back soon.”
Purple eyes shine eerily. Cruel, who was watching this, lowered his gaze without saying a word.
The duke, who was nervously scribbling a pen on a document in a space where they were alone, stopped his hand when a thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Now that I think about it, I understand that there are more people who will be annoyed by Deonhart’s absence…”
The idiots who came to me the evening the emperor announced the war with the demon world and made stupid comments.
I was truly shaken by the Deonhardt vampire theory and insisted that it be investigated. It was so absurd that those people were aristocratic.
Whether Cruel was looking at me with unknown eyes or not, the Duke muttered with a wide smile on his face.
“You’re so… lucky.”
***
The Empire declared a halt to war. The notification that a war with the demon world is likely to begin is a bonus.
This news quickly spread across the continent. Each kingdom’s response to this varied.
“Thank God everything….”
“We survived! “He lived!”
“Uh-huh-huh!”
There was also a kingdom that was relieved and cheered that the fearsome emperor had stopped the war.
“That’s shameless. You start a war on your own and then stop it on your own. “What on earth do they see us for?”
“If they say they will stop arbitrarily, do we have to listen? “You arrogant bastard.”
“Our kingdom will never provide support to the empire.”
There were kingdoms that put aside the demon world issue and were just angry at their shameless and arrogant behavior.
“I hate the empire, but in the current situation, keeping the empire from falling is the top priority. “We can’t stand by and watch things collide and collapse in an incomplete state.”
“The Empire is the human world’s first and strongest defense wall. If the empire falls, it is the same as the destruction of the entire human world. “The war so far has consumed a significant amount of materials and troops, so we cannot just sit back and relax.”
“Even if you don’t like the empire, you must do it for the empire now. “Something has to be done.”
There was also a kingdom that was a little more clever.
And surprisingly, a commonality was discovered among all these kingdoms. The emperor, who was the first to discover this through the report, smiled softly and showed his teeth.
“It looks like the peacock’s moves worked quite well.”
Among the many leaders of quite a few kingdoms, at least one of them deserves to make that statement.
Surprisingly enough, not even the kingdoms that showed strong hostility to the empire ever uttered empty words such as ‘I’d rather be on the side of the demon world.’
***
I threw away the tonic.
Remember really took care of me. I was so ridiculously anxious that the scary butler would find evidence and interrogate me if I abandoned him in the human world that I ended up crossing over to the demon world instead of the human world and abandoning him.
Perhaps because it was a liquid, it was incredibly heavy.
Anyway, we arrived at the Demon King’s Castle without any major problems. I check my ID at the entrance and enter with confidence… What is this? As soon as I entered the castle, almost all the demons passing by turned their heads towards me.
I’ve done this before, but I never looked at him with this burning passion, so what was it? The moment I want to
“Daemon!”
“It’s Daemon!”
“Daemon has arrived!”
“welcome!”
“De-se.”
“De-se.”
What is it? What is this. What is Dese again?
More and more demons are gathering around. I hesitated and retreated due to the unusual force.
Either way, the demons wearing red heart-shaped brooches on their chests raise their hands and shout ‘De-se’. I’m so fucking scared!
I didn’t have the courage to break through them and run all the way to the inner city, so I just froze and shivered, when the crowd parted and a girl appeared.
“Daemon! welcome!”
“…Lirinel?”
“yes!”
Oh my god, Lyrinel! You came to save me!
Now that the commander of the 11th Corps has passed away, these crazy people will also fall away. As I was looking at Lirinel with that thought in mind, something caught my eye. Something red on my chest…
my brain stopped for a moment.
‘…what? Why is there a brooch on Lirinel’s chest?’
That’s all. The clothes are also somewhat strange.
A red heart shape is embroidered in the center of the black hat that Lirinel is wearing. I’m quite uneasy because I can see red numbers even on the black cloth I’m holding in my hand…
“Master! “It’s the religious leader!”
“Oh, cult leader!”
…are you the head teacher?
Probably not. Probably not. That cute kid can’t do that. Although they are demons.
Lirinel spreads the black cloth in her hand, lightly stomping on my hope that there was some mistake. A cloth with a red heart engraved in the center fluttered, and at the same time, a tremendous roar rang out.
“Waaah!”
“De-se.”
“De-se!”
After all, these people were Demon Cult believers?!
It certainly seemed normal until not long ago, but when on earth did it become so pseudo-narrative? What was the Demon King doing to get to this point?
I looked back at Lirinel, who seemed to be the culprit of all of this. She was looking at the demons shouting ‘De-se’ with a happy smile.
“Lirinel?”
“Yes, Demon!”
“What is all this? “What is ‘dese’ again?”
“They are people who respect you, Demon! ‘De-se’ is an abbreviation for ‘Long live the Demon!’ How do you feel?”
“How…how is it…. Ah, blood pressure….”
Oh no. Let’s calm down. Here, if your blood pressure rises significantly or you vomit blood, your doctor, Ben, will come running. You can’t start working again as soon as you come to the Demon King’s Castle.
I had a hard time calming my mind and quietly called out to Lirinel.
“What… who told you this?”
“I entrusted the investigation to the commander of the 2nd Corps! “I heard that the religion of the human world is like this, isn’t it?”
“It’s not wrong at all….”
Debellania!
You have to be playful, too. What if you ruin an innocent child like this?
First of all, I have to get rid of this disturbing group. Since Lirinel is the leader of the cult, I can tell her, right?
“Thank you, but I’m a little tired… Can you disperse me?”
Right Now.
It would be better if we disbanded forever.
“Oh, that…! of course! Sorry, Daemon. “I guess I was too preoccupied…”
Lirinel waved her hand in a panic. As if nothing had happened, the large crowd suddenly disappeared.
Lyrinel looked at the background, which was much quieter than before, and spoke carefully.
“Are you going to the Demon King? “I’ll take you to the door.”
“…please.”
If the cult leader is next to you, those crazy people won’t stick to you.
It was a truly terrifying welcome ceremony.
***
“You’re here. “It came sooner than I thought.”
The Demon King, who was sitting in front of his office desk processing documents, raised his head and smiled.
However, even for a moment, the smile disappears from the Demon King’s face as he meets red eyes. His eyes narrowed as if he noticed something.
He got up from his seat, walked slowly, and stood in front of Deon.
“You…”
He bends slightly at the waist, puts his face close to her, and makes eye contact. The eerie reverse eye looked into red eyes.
“You heard something important.”
what? What is it?
What did I hear that makes this human child so unable to manage his facial expressions?
It seems like he said he was managing it in his own way, but you can’t fool the eyes of the devil who has lived for that long.
I reached out and grabbed her chin and lifted it up. He makes eye contact as if he can see right through me and asks quietly, as if he is reciting something.
“Do you want to tell me?”
“….”
“Yeah, probably not. But aren’t you worried about how I will accept this situation? “Do you think your life might be in danger?”
There was no answer.
The Demon King was actually able to get a decisive hint from that appearance.
If it was information about the Demon King or Emperor, the Demon World or the Empire, he would not have been this agitated. However, the silence is too blatant to say that they were on the emperor’s side. If he was really on the emperor’s side, he would have made a convincing case.
So, all that remains is….
“The emperor has thrown a bet.”
“…That’s right.”
“Shamefully.”
Well, the timing is right, so it’s only natural.
Did he keep silent about this to me because he was shaken or did he just not want me to find out?
Probably the latter. If I find out about this, regardless of the emperor’s displeasure, I will also join in.
“If I hadn’t noticed, you wouldn’t have told me until the end, right?”
“….”
“It’s okay. “It’s not like I don’t understand.”
But yeah…
I really need to get this nailed down.
The hand holding her chin slid down and cupped her neck. Naturally, his thumb reached the location of the brand and pressed it firmly, and Deon’s body trembled quietly, as if he was afraid of the situation.
“I’m sure you know where you need to be.”
Do you think I will let you go if you run away?
No matter how freely you travel between the Empire and the Demon King’s Castle, it is difficult to forget this.
[This is where you need to be.]
“There is no answer.”
“….”
“Why are you holding onto my pants again?”
He narrowed his eyes and smiled.
I let go of Deon’s unresponsive neck and turned around to open the window. An open landscape unfolded with three round moons clearly visible.
“Isn’t the moon pretty?”
“….”
“You are weak to sunlight. So choose a place where you don’t have to worry about the sun. “It’s always night, but the moon rises so brightly, so what’s wrong?”
Against this background, he spread his arms out towards Deon and smiled broadly. It was backlit due to the bright moonlight.
“If you stay here, all demons except me will bow to you. “No, if you want, I will kneel too.”
If you were to ask me objectively whether Deon Hardt is a person worthy of going to this extent to capture him, I would shake my head without hesitation.
However, for the Demon King, it was more important than anything else to find someone who could drive away this boredom, and it was also important to win the implicit game he was currently playing with the Emperor.
That’s why I was able to speak without hesitation.
“If there’s anything you want, I’ll give it to you. If I choose this place, I won’t make a big deal about going out to the human world like I did until now. “If you want the land of the human world, you can occupy it and give it to you.”
Due to his position, the Emperor of the Empire would have many restrictions on giving anything to Deonhardt.
But this is a place where the devil’s power is absolute. The Demon King was confident that he could give him more than what the Emperor gave him, no matter what he wanted.
I feel like I want to push a little harder and get a definite answer, but…
‘I can only push this far.’
If you push harder, you might lose your mind.
The Demon King obediently retreated.
“So think carefully.”
Deon turned around without saying a word when he gestured for him to go.
When they reached the door with just a few steps, the Demon King added to his back as if he had forgotten one thing.
“You are welcome back, but the stigma will not be removed.”
“….”
Knowing that he should consider himself fortunate that nothing other than the location tracking function was added to the stigma, Deon answered in silence and opened the door.
