13. Repeated misunderstandings (4)
“You seem to be in a bad mood when the hero’s name comes up.”
“Something like that… yes, honestly, that’s true. My father always said that. It is okay for a warrior not to have money or to lack ability. “As long as you don’t forget the just heart that hates evil and loves humanity, a warrior will always be a warrior.”
“That’s a typical comment from an incompetent person.”
“Because you always fail.”
“Still, he’s like a warrior.”
Zeke smiled softly. Deus seemed to be happy with his praise.
“In that sense, they are not enough to be called heroes. They’re smuggling dragon fluids. “If I were honest, I wouldn’t carry it around like that.”
There were many suspects.
The hardliners among the dragons aimed to cause friction with humans.
The warriors needed the dragon’s body
, and the demons’ goal was the destruction of humans, so they would have tried to create a wedge between the dragons and humans.
“Who is the culprit?”
“Could it be just one person?”
“huh?”
“I thought it wouldn’t be possible if everyone was a criminal.”
“Oh, really?”
“If everyone has a motive, they may be complicit… or each may have done it for their own benefit.”
“So everyone joined forces?” “Rather than that, they
may have been taking advantage of each other .
Humans would not have openly joined hands with demons. The same goes for dragons. “Everyone hates demons.”
“That’s right. “No matter how many heroes leave, will they work hand in hand with the demons?”
“Maybe we joined hands with dragons.”
“Hardliners will hate humans. Especially the warrior. “The possibility of the two joining hands is as slim as a demon and a human being on the same side.”
“I guess so.”
“Everyone is a culprit…
It’s a good idea. So maybe that’s why I can’t catch the tail. If you just watch what’s happening from the sidelines and only omit the points that are advantageous to you, the causal relationship between events will be weak. The demons sell medicine to the dwarves, the dwarves sell the medicine to dragons, the dragons use the medicine on their companions to promote public opinion that hates humans, and the warriors hunt down the rampaging dragons.”
“I guess it’s that kind of structure.”
“It could be. In the end, it’s the warriors who benefit. “Because you can get dragon-made weapons.”
Did Alex move to break the chain?
Deus shook off the thoughts that briefly came to mind and opened his mouth again.
“It would be quicker to sort things out rather than find the culprit.”
“If there is no culprit in the first place.”
Zeke’s words felt more credible. But what if someone planned it, including that?
Deus, tired of the never-ending treadmill of doubt, shook his head.
“First, we have to catch the seller and kill him.
Stay asleep. “Please come see Alex.”
“Ah yes Deus.”
In a small cave.
Tied up in dozens of tentacles were the corpses of dwarfs.
The tip of the tentacle, as sharp as an awl, pierced the dwarf’s heart, neck, and head.
And where the tentacles were bundled up, there was Alex’s arm.
“Don’t run away. “I still have 80 legs left.”
The dwarves were scared and stuck to the wall.
Alex glanced at them and made eye contact with a man.
“also. “There was.”
The man trembled as if he was frightened.
However, when our eyes met, he sighed briefly and opened his expression.
“You won’t be able to avoid Kyo Goku’s eyes.”
“There is something I want to talk about quietly. “Can you give me some time?”
The dwarf man nodded and
spread his hands to both sides.
Black smoke rose from his fingertips. The smoke seemed to be alive, spreading through the air and entering the nostrils of the dwarves around it.
The frightened dwarf ran away, but he couldn’t outrun the smoke.
Even if I plugged my nostrils with my hands, a tiny gap remained.
How many seconds passed?
The only survivors in this small cave were Alex and a dwarf man.
“Count Jim Hong.”
“Greetings to Gyooh-gong, Jim Hongbaek Pangein
.”
“You look sad.”
“The people here are my colleagues from the Southern Root Kingdom that I have recruited over the past 30 years.”
“What were you doing?”
“I was working under the glutton’s orders… so please allow me the rudeness of not talking.”
“Of Darroche.”
“He passed away screaming, but I plan to continue my work.”
“It will definitely… be helpful to our Demon World.”
Jim Hongbaek Pangein’s expression hardened.
He closed his lips tightly with a face full of dissatisfaction.
“What do you have to say?”
“no. “Why are you trying to ruin my work? That’s just disappointing.”
“I don’t mean to ruin it.”
“Is that so?”
“I also came here for the Demon World.”
“It’s difficult to understand what your superiors are doing.”
Alex looked at Pangein’s face.
I felt hostility beyond words.
At that time, there was someone who intervened in the conversation between the two demons. It was Deus.
“He doesn’t trust you, Butler.”
When Pangaine saw Deus, he fell flat on the ground in surprise.
“your majesty!”
“Get up. “You can’t talk in that state.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. “I will follow your instructions.”
Pangein stood up and bowed his head politely. I didn’t even dare to look at
Deus’ lap .
“Pangain.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“…No, Your Majesty.”
“It looks like you don’t trust me.”
“What you are saying is unreasonable! How dare I challenge Your Majesty…
“Then tell me.”
Pangein, who hesitated, finally opened his mouth.
“He… ruined everything.”
The ‘he’ that Pangain was referring to
was none other than Alex.
“Daroche the Gluttonist passed away in such an unfair manner!”
“My I…
Alex trailed off and Deus took a step closer to Pangaine.
“Go ahead.”
“your majesty! “If I say this out loud, I will die.”
“If you die, I will kill Alex.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Alex frowned. It was difficult to understand how things worked
.
“Lord Daroche has spent thousands of years working on a great plan. It corrupts warriors and makes dragons run rampant, making humans weak. That was the great framework set by Lord Daroche.”
“Know. “We developed a special mold that drove the dragon crazy.”
Pangein put his forehead to the ground.
“Your Majesty has revealed Lord Daroche’s plan in a hundred days, so you are truly a brilliant master who can count thousands of years at a glance.
“Then you are saying that Daroche planned it all on his own?”
“yes. Duke Glutton planned everything on his own without telling the other Grand Dukes.”
“How much progress has been made?”
“The Gluttony gave everything to this work, even developing a poison that gave it your name. But… he was eventually murdered.”
“To Alex?”
“I wouldn’t dare raise groundless suspicions.”
Alex opened his mouth.
“What do you mean? I can’t believe I killed him. “This is an absurd slander.”
“Did the Gluttony have even one reason to die?”
“Aren’t you looking into that now? “My lord suspected Jin Geum-yong and took his head.”
“You must have been deceived by Gyo-gong. Just as Daroche, the Gluttonous Lord, lost his life at your hands.”
Alex closed his mouth.
When I saw him talk like that,
it seemed like he wasn’t just at the level of suspicion.
“They say?”
Alex quickly bowed his head at Deus’ words.
“My lord! “It’s unfair.”
“Well, what about the truth? If you think about it, there is no reason for Daroche to commit suicide. “Aren’t you the only one who was there when he died, Alex?”
“Yes, but why would I kill Lord Glutton? “I have been like a brother to him for 666 centuries.”
“There is nothing like a brother to betray.”
“My lord!”
“If Daroche didn’t commit suicide, then the number
one suspect would be you.”
Alex stole a glance at Deus.
It didn’t feel like laughter at all. Or rather, it felt like he was doubting himself.
“My lord! Until now, I have been working for you…
“Alex.”
“yes.”
“Are you scared? Why are you talking so much?”
“Master, to doubt me is to fall for the enemy’s plan.”
“Who is that enemy?”
“I am human.”
“Why are humans trying to eliminate you with the help of Pangein?”
“That’s
“Alex.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“go away.”
“yes?”
“Fuck off. “I don’t need a bastard killing my comrades.”
“My lord! “I never did that
!”
” five.”
“Why do I hurt Daroche? “There is not a single reason for that.”
“Four.”
“Master, this is a conspiracy. I will soon find out who is scheming.
“three.”
“You must not make foolish decisions. “I am your loyal subject.”
“two.”
Deus folded his fingers.
“one. “If it doesn’t go out, I’ll kill you.”
Alex pursed his lips several times as if he had a lot to say.
However, seeing Deus’ stern expression, he ended up turning away.
After Alex disappeared, Deus looked down at the gain he had made and said.
“Jim Hongbaek.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Let us continue the maintenance of Daroche.”
“Thanks to the master’s insight, I think we will be able to relieve the resentment of our demonic beast tribe.”
Deus returned to his dorm immediately.
But isn’t Alex there?
Alex said as soon as he saw Deus.
“What on earth are you imitating?”
“I told you to go away, so why did you come here again?”
“My lord.”
“Move unseen for the time being. “How on earth do you do your job so that all the dukes hate you?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Shantrina is here too.”
“Are you that girl?”
“okay.”
“Could it be that she is also saying that I killed Daroche?”
“That’s the theory.”
“Why such a ridiculous misunderstanding!”
“That means there are a lot of people who don’t believe in Daroche’s death.”
“That was shocking to me too. But…
“Well, let’s leave that aside for now. So it looks like I found it.”
“yes. As expected, it was Daroche’s forces that were doing business with the dwarves. Several demonic beasts, including his henchman Pangaine,
were hiding underground disguised as dwarves. If I had dug a little more, I would have been able to find out Darochu’s method, but since the lord came at that moment…
“That’s enough now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Zeek said something interesting. Isn’t it something that someone planned, and that each person’s interests fit together like cogs? Darosh sells poison to drive a wedge between dragons and humans, and hardliner dragons go along with it and poison their comrades. “When the dragons attack first
, the hero hunts them down and secretly dismantles them out of fear that the situation will escalate.”
“Are you saying it wasn’t something that someone planned?”
“yes.”
“Then why did Daroch commit suicide?”
“That doesn’t make any sense, does it? So I was thinking… didn’t you kill him after all?”
“I’m giving you a serious answer, but no.”
“okay? Well, that will be revealed gradually. Then there is nothing more to do here. Go back and sleep.”
