204. Is it rest or laziness, or else… (6)
Aletea Desert was second in line to the throne. The person closest to the throne after the emperor. It was natural to receive succession education, and it was also natural for swordsmanship to be included in that subject.
‘If you had remembered and doubted my actions when your brother’s ascension to the throne was announced, you wouldn’t have been so surprised.’
How funny must they have looked at me to be so shocked?
No. A duke would have noticed. This is an area of ability, not whether you look down on it or not.
‘…Only the truly incompetent are left.’
He stopped laughing and put his sword in its sheath on the floor. thud! A loud sound echoed in a space filled with silence.
“Anyway, it is difficult for the current empire to deal with the Demon King’s army alone. Alliances with other countries were essential.”
“But the reason why Her Majesty’s opponent has to be the State of Shan…”
“Then which country should we form an alliance with? Esperanes is a kingdom that is difficult to even contact, and Rweche has suffered great damage since forming an alliance before and has fallen out with us. Excluding these two kingdoms, all that remains are the Mountain Kingdom and its tributaries. I guess Gyeong has other tricks up his sleeve?”
“….”
Silence fell.
Alethea spoke softly to the greedy pigs who were trying to strengthen their power in the current chaotic situation by moving the capital and changing the emperor.
“Don’t do anything foolish.”
How dare you try to suppress the spirit of the newly crowned emperor? So, doesn’t this side have no choice but to come out strong?
They are my only family left in the world. She revealed her teeth with the will to protect them.
***
After returning from the meeting with the Demon King and resting a bit while reading the documents sent by Develania, an uninvited guest came to visit.
Let alone being a close friend, if you see him from a distance, he gets so scared that he runs away, so you can’t even have a proper conversation with him. It would have been nice to simply resolve the goal and leave quickly, but I felt quite sorry that he had brought strange food and asked for tea time, so I used my whim and arranged the music.
Thus began a silent tea time filled with discomfort.
‘…If you’re going to do this, why did you come?’
Deon looked at the person sitting across from him with a sour expression. You can see the devil holding a teacup and covering half of his face without even touching the food he brought with him. The hands that are openly shaking are a bonus.
Deon finally sighed as the silence seemed like it would never end.
“Tea is for drinking, not for covering your face.”
“…!”
There are so many different things.
What would you do if you were so startled while holding a teacup to your face? The demon, who has been thrown tea in his own face, rolls his eyes as if he is embarrassed. The bangs that were so wet and stuck to my forehead were dripping with water.
Anyway, I can’t just keep holding an empty glass in a situation where I heard those words. Dadadalgrakak. His trembling hands put down the teacup with an embarrassing noise, and his whole face was finally revealed.
Deon, who had been following his movements with unimpressed eyes, reached out his hand and picked up the food the other person had brought, and opened his mouth.
“Why are you here, Myers?”
Wasak.
Wow, it tastes bad. It’s worth it just because I thought there was a twist.
“Uh…”
“Are you trying to call a lieutenant again?”
“…!”
Myers, commander of the 12th Corps, jumped up from his seat and waved his hand, sweating profusely.
“that…! “I got scolded by my adjutant a lot last time… I’m not like that anymore…!”
Yeah, you’d better keep your mouth shut. What if you ruin the dignity of the corps commander?
Even when I think about it again, the most surprising thing is that he maintains his quiet image. What kind of timid and tactless thing is reticence?
Deon put down a bite of the strange food on the table and brushed off the crumbs from his fingers.
“It’s a joke. Are you not eating this? “You brought it with you.”
“Oh, that doesn’t taste good to me…”
It doesn’t taste good to me either, you idiot.
If you’re going to give an answer like this, it’s better not to answer at all.
‘Or was it poisoned?’
For a moment, he looked down at the food with a bite mark with suspicious eyes, but then shook his head.
Who would be poisoned by food that looks ominous and tasteless just by looking at it like this? Even if it is poisoned, it doesn’t matter because the warrior’s body will detoxify it on its own.
“….”
“….”
Myers, who was trembling wildly in the uncomfortable silence, swiped the bangs from his forehead with his hand as if he were frustrated. At the same time, the third eye on the forehead, hidden under the bangs, was fully exposed.
Deon, who had been leaning crookedly in his chair upon seeing this for the first time, straightened his posture.
“There was another eye?”
“ah…!”
Pababat.
“…I didn’t mean to hide it.”
“ah…!”
However, Myers muttered and glanced at Deon.
“Be careful because it may look uncomfortable in the eyes of Deon, a human….”
“That’s what the adjutant said.”
“yes.”
Is it like the tentacles of Lyrinel that she wears around her neck like a muffler?
Deon, who looked curiously at the third eye and lost interest again for a moment, slumped down in his chair and waved his hand.
“It doesn’t really matter. So, when are you planning to bring up this purpose?”
“That’s…”
I feel like my stomach is going to burst as I watch him hesitate again.
Deon, who had been quietly watching Myers as if this wouldn’t end today, was the first to open his mouth.
“Is it because I’ve completely neglected work?”
“…!”
That’s correct.
I was expecting it. I heard that because I neglected my work, the support staff in charge of clearing out monsters was transferred to the battlefield. As the commander of the 12th Corps in charge of eliminating monsters, it was quite difficult.
“I was planning on moving soon anyway, so go back.”
Even if I didn’t have to pay such a bizarre and tasteless bribe, I would have moved at some point. It would have been the same even if the Demon King had not called and interviewed him directly.
Because my purpose has not yet been achieved.
Therefore, since it was a situation that could not be left idly by forever, he gave a light confirmation and issued an order to congratulate the guests.
“Oh, take this tasteless thing with you.”
“yes. … yes?”
Myers, who had been mindlessly putting back the food he had brought, looked back in shock, but Deon did not wait for him and called Ed and Dan and drove him outside.
Ed closed the door and in the meantime, Dan, who was cleaning up the table, found an unknown food with clear bite marks and picked it up. His expression became subtle as he appeared to be blooming with a black aura.
“biscuit? …It looks too good to be true… Was it grilled monster meat? Or… were you even tried to poison yourself?”
“poison? …Ah, that… It’s one of the popular snacks in the demon world. Even though there are some differences in likes and dislikes, it is quite popular. “It’s not poison.”
You are a foolish person who does not even respect cultural diversity. As expected, Deon, why did that guy…
As always, I ignored Ed’s words, which followed a familiar pattern. Dan looked back at Deon with a surprised face.
“It doesn’t look tasty at first glance… but you have a lot of courage, Master.”
“I knew there would be a twist. Rather, Ed.”
The unscheduled and unwanted tea time was over, but instead of crawling under the blanket like usual, Deon sat down on the bed and snapped his fingers. The corners of his mouth rose slightly and he made a pleasant sound.
“Tell Lirinel to have tea time.”
“Now… are you talking?”
“okay.”
“You just had tea time…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“All right.”
Ed leaves for a moment to make contact.
If I knew the 11th Corps commander Ririnel, he would come running as soon as he heard the news. After finishing clearing the table, Dan opened his mouth playfully as he set up new tea leaves and a kettle.
“Have you come to your senses now?”
He finally noticed something moving.
Deon chuckled at the obvious joke.
“What is the spirit? From the beginning, I…”
He glanced.
Blood-red eyes take in the puddle of a color similar to mine at my feet.
A calm voice continued.
“…I was sane.”
***
It was a sudden tea time invitation, but Lyrinel flew by like the wind.
Deon, who had been anticipating her actions, welcomed her with a relaxed smile without the slightest embarrassment despite her immediate visit and directly took her hand, and Lyrinel, who had vowed to be pious, collapsed at that one action and was left in a half-fazed state. sat in front of the table.
‘For now… let’s calm down.’
I took a sip of tea and picked up a cookie. Strangely, my eyes couldn’t take my eyes off of Deon, but I had no problem putting it in my mouth.
Lyrinel, who never took her eyes off me while drinking tea and eating cookies, seemed like a burden, but Deon kept smiling without showing any emotion and waited thoughtfully until the other person swallowed everything in their mouths.
Lirinel was the first to speak in an awkward silence.
“What did you call me for…?”
“I want to see.”
“omg.”
What a shame…! Lirinel covered her mouth.
It was a light joke, but it seems it worked harder than expected. When silence came again as he froze and couldn’t even breathe, Deon burst into light laughter and brightened the mood.
“I’m kidding.”
“That’s right! Just kidding! haha!”
“I was just curious, but…”
A straight finger brushes the side of the teacup. A voice almost like a murmur came out slowly.
“The devil said he used up 90% of his magic power when he saved me.”
“Yes, I did!”
“You must have used up your magical power in many ways after that…”
His pupils straighten up. The half-downcast eyes were clearly focused on Lirinel.
“How much time do we have left now?”
“…!”
“Was it a burdensome question? But you are the only demon who can know that.”
There is only me…!
“Of all the demons excluding the demon lord, you are the only one with the most magical power. yes?”
“Of course…!”
Oh, I was caught. Lirinel quickly covered her mouth.
Assessing someone’s magical power is only possible when the amount of magical power does not differ greatly. If the gap is large, the only things people feel about each other are ‘overwhelmingly many’ and ‘overwhelmingly few.’ In that sense, Lirinel, who had magical power second only to the Demon King, had a rough idea of how much magical power he had consumed, which had become similar to mine by consuming 90% of his magical power.
Even if I covered my mouth later, it was already too late. Deon, with shining eyes, rested his chin and tilted his head. The eyes slowly folded, and ruby-like eyes appeared between them.
“Can you tell me?”
“But… it’s confidential…”
“Is it confidential to me too? “Considering my status, I think it’s okay to listen.”
“But… I need to get permission from the Demon King…”
My hand was held.
Lirinel closed her mouth and lowered her gaze. Four fingers and the palm supported the hand, and the thumb slowly swept the back of the hand. I was startled and reflexively raised my head, and a pretty smile greeted me as if I had been waiting for it.
“Of course I won’t tell anyone. “Can you tell me a little bit?”
“…! …!!”
Yo yo yo… monster! This poor man!
I quickly covered my nose. Apart from that, the mouth opened steadily. It was pointless to hold on, but there was nothing I could do.
Deon gave you a blessing, right? As the leader of the Demon Church, it is right to pay back, so this is force majeure.
“Come on come on! “It’s almost the same.”
“okay?”
“It’s still more than me, but…”
It’s not decreased as much as I thought.
Well, it will be okay since it will continue to be consumed in the future. Just maintaining the flowers in the central garden would take quite a bit of magic.
The puddle under my feet got bigger. Deon, who had been holding Lyrinel’s hand for a moment after looking at it with a dry gaze as the area had now expanded to a radius of 2 meters around me, smiled brightly.
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“…!!”
In order to calm down Lyrinel, who is struggling with the waves of emotions, the best thing to do is to do nothing. Due to his previous experience, Deon was not embarrassed and moved his face away from her.
It was only when Deon’s teacup was almost empty that normal conversation became possible.
Lirinel, who seemed to have come to her senses late and was looking around with an embarrassed expression, let out an exclamation as if something occurred to her.
“Do you know that, Deon? “The Church of Salvation has completely collapsed in the human world!”
“okay?”
“yes! “Now that the rival is gone, Demon Cult will grow even bigger!”
“Good. “Is the demon summoning still not working well?”
Demonism is constantly attempting to summon demons from the human world. The standard way for demons to come into the human world.
There are fewer restrictions than coming through the border, so if even one of the twelve corps commanders is properly summoned and makes a contract, that alone is a great harvest.
But is it as easy as it sounds?
As expected, it didn’t seem to be going well, and Lirinel sank down.
“I’m sorry… It happens to regular demons sometimes…”
“No. “If you succeed, it just becomes a little easier, but if you fail, it doesn’t hinder your work at all.”
In the first place, it was one of the excuses and a trick for entering the human world.
“You successfully brought back the summoned small children according to the route you created, right?”
“yes.”
“Then that’s enough. “Relax.”
“Yes…”
The topic of conversation disappeared again.
What a mistake again before I could make up for my ugly behavior a moment ago. Lirinel rolled her eyes uneasily, thinking that an order to banish guests would be issued like this. It was by chance that an enchanted wooden box came into view in the process.
To be exact, it was a wooden box with ‘almost all of its magic gone’.
