CH 15

As expected, the 12th Commander is the type to cause troubles just by opening his mouth.

Some may think it’s not a big deal, but depending on the situation, it could become a serious problem.

For example, what if he spoke in this manner during an audience with the Emperor of the Empire.

‘…Just thinking about it’s crazy.’

Especially since the Emperor is a tyrant, if that were to happen, Myers wouldn’t have lasted a week without being decapitated, I guarantee it.

And tragically, the demons in the Demon King’s castle see me as a human with similar tendencies to that tyrant Emperor.

How can I be so sure? Because the way they look at me is too similar to the way the people of the Empire look at the Emperor.

Thus, it’s no wonder that his Aide is horrified.

“Well… that’s.”

Myers was too pitiful to answer positively, so he delayed his response. I think I was being questioned, but should I deny it now…

Despite feeling troubled, Dahar’s eyes narrowed.

He looked at Myers once, then politely bowed to me again.

“I apologize, Sir Demon. Excuse me for a moment to talk with Sir Myers.”

Dahar quickly walked out of the room.

Myers, who had been fidgeting, chased after Dahar, who called him out with a furious voice.

“Sir Myers, aren’t you going to come out?”

And on the other side of the closed door, Dahar’s nagging started.

“You won’t let me live, seriously…”

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shut most of the time! Sir Myers is the type to get into trouble whenever you open your mouth! Why did you open your mouth in front of Sir Demon of all people! Did you want to die? Why didn’t you just ask Sir Demon to kill you? If you asked Sir Demon, he would have sent you off more gently.”

It seems that the keeping quiet concept was decided by his Aide. Honestly, I think it was a very good choice.

His Aide is also quite competent.

But still, compared to Ed, I think Ed is still much better. At least, Ed doesn’t use such harsh language towards me.

‘…Huh? Wait, now that I think about it, isn’t this room soundproof? The Demon King’s soundproofing magic that should be impossible to penetrate…’

The suspicion about the soundproofing issue was short-lived. It was more interesting to focus on the conversation outside rather than to worry about the problem.

This was not just my thought, before I realized, the room was filled with silence.

Dahar talked without stopping as if some magic was cast on his mouth, and Myers just listened without saying anything. Even though I couldn’t see him, he looked pitiful.

Yeah, Myers sometimes protested…

“B-but Sir Demon asked me…”

“At least, think about whether it’s a normal answer before answering… Ah, I see. I made a mistake. You caused this accident because you couldn’t distinguish between them. Just keep your mouth shut. Use gestures to answer. I didn’t correct your behavior for no reason.”

The more I listened, the more amazing the Commander’s Aide seemed.

He has a lot of authority and a tough attitude. It seems like all of the rough actions of the others were corrected by him.

Myers’s voice sank and disappeared once again. Tsk tsk, poor b*****d.

At that moment, the Demon King, who was also listening to the conversation, changed his posture and waved his hand in the air. The sound from the outside was instantly blocked.

“I forgot that I temporarily lifted the soundproofing.”

“……?”

“I temporarily lifted the soundproofing magic because you didn’t open the door.”

“What…?”

Originally, all important places, including the Demon King’s room and the Corps Commander rooms, were all under soundproofing magic. 

Only the sound of knocking and a few seconds afterwards -that is, just the right time to ask for permission to come in- are allowed to pass through.

“If you remove that arbitrarily…”

“Hmm?”

“No, never mind.”

But the opponent is the Demon King. There’s nothing I can say about it.

I turned my head and looked at the Demon King with a creaking sound. Hien was sending me a pitiful look from the side, but the seed of an unknown plant he was holding in his hand looked too fierce, so I quickly looked away.

“What brings you here?”

“What do you mean? You’re going out after a long time, shouldn’t I at least see you off?”

“Oh… I don’t think that’s necessary…”

“That’s right. I didn’t need to, but I wanted to. I didn’t expect to be barred from the door.”

Did the Demon King always hold grudges like this?

No matter how I replied, it would just be digging my own grave, so I didn’t reply and just rolled my eyes with a forced expression.

Is there any way to escape from this situation?

…None.

The best option would be to leave it to fate.

Maybe, my blood would come out again. Don’t tell me he’ll hold grudges against a sick person.

Why does my blood come out? I think it comes out if my blood pressure goes up a little. So, it feels like it’s boiling inside….

“Sir Demon…”

“Huh, yes?”

Oh, shit. I replied without thinking because I let my guard down.

Needless to say, my face paled as I realized who the voice belonged to.

I froze for a moment, thinking that I was done for, but then slowly turned my head to see where the voice was coming from.

As expected, there was Hien, with a bright smile on his face, finally realizing that his voice had reached me. 

He smiled and held out something that looked “not at all pleasant” in his hand.

“Sir Demon said he was going out, so I brought the seeds of a plant that can be used for protection.”

“…Is this, by any chance, a carnivorous plant?”

“Yes, it’s also very powerful and can even eat demons…”

Oh, it’s rising. My blood pressure is rising.

I could smell something fishy inside my mouth. From previous experience, I know this is a symptom before I start vomiting blood. I quietly covered my mouth.

Sure enough, something hot was climbing up my throat. Soon my lips parted and, at the moment I was about to spit it out.

“Ugh…”

Kwah!

“Sir Demon!”

“…What?!?”

Ben appeared with a medical bag.

What, how did he come so quickly?

Oh, right. My dear personal doctor said he had some kind of magical device. Was it a magic stone?

How can he be so competent?

‘What if he comes before I can even escape this situation…’

He’s so competent that it’s bringing tears to my eyes.

***

Thanks to my competent doctor, the situation was resolved before it even broke out.

Still, I don’t think it was a loss because I was able to drive away Hien under the pretext of not feeling well, and even send back the 12th Corps Commander Myers, and his Aide, who were arguing outside the door.

However, the one regret I have is that I tried to cancel the mission using this as an excuse…

“I, the mission…”

“Huh? Oh… Even in this situation, you’re still obsessed with the mission…”

Obsessed? What kind of nonsense is that…

I furrowed my brows without even realizing it.

Even though it was obvious that my expression said, ‘What kind of nonsense is that?’, the Demon King sighed, as if he couldn’t hold back his words, and said.

“Don’t worry. There’s no chance of the mission being canceled. Instead, make sure you’re careful no matter wherever you go.”

“……”

“I know there’s no way you could die from something like this. But you never know. It might be a bit dangerous if someone attacks you when you’re weakened by the aftereffects and let your guard down.”

It’ll be dangerous even if I am careful. It may not be a problem for the strong demons, but it is for me.

Ah, my back hurts.

“What?! Sir Demon! How is your blood pressure?”

“…It’s fine. Let’s go.”

Ignoring Ben’s concerned gaze, I took a deep breath and headed towards the door.

Actually, I wasn’t going on my own. My competent and loyal Aide was waiting outside, waiting for me to come out quickly, and his insistent gaze was starting to sting.

“This way.”

As if he had been waiting, Ed opened the door and led the way to where the Corps members were waiting.

It feels like it’s been delayed too much because of the unexpected events, don’t tell me they caused some kind of trouble while waiting…?

F**k, I shouldn’t have thought about that. I don’t want to go anymore.

I tried to walk slowly, but I ended up following Ed’s quick pace and soon found myself in front of the entrance on the first floor. 

Behind that door were the Corps members waiting for us. I wonder if they’re angry that I’m late. Even when they stand still, they look very fierce. If I open the door without being prepared, I might die of a heart attack. 

So, I quickly called out to Ed who was about to open the door.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“…I’ll open it.”

Ed turned his head and backed away without saying anything

I slowly walked to the front of the door, took a deep breath, and prepared myself before opening it.

“Sir Demon, your heart rate is irregularly fast. Are you all right?”

“…You can detect that too?”

“Yes. It is only natural to monitor your health closely.”

“……”

I glared at the strange jewel that was hanging around Ben’s neck. 

I wanted to rip it off and smash it at that moment, but what can I do?

I don’t have the strength to break the jewel to begin with. As I always do when I’m feeling powerless, I took a deep breath, and put my hand on the door.

“Are you really okay? Your heart rate is…”

“…”

“Ben, aren’t you underestimating Sir Demon? Sir Demon isn’t so weak to be affected by that.”

Yes, that’s exactly what I want to say. Even if I am weak, I can’t be in danger just because of that.

As expected of Ed, he knows my thoughts exactly and speaks accordingly.

Ben, who I thought would have backed down by now, instead started to yell.

“How can you be so careless as his Aide?”

His attitude was truly overbearing.

“What a ridiculous thing to say! It will be dangerous if he is not careful! Do you even know the current state of Sir Demon’s body?”

“Huh, how is it?”

I was pushed back by the force of his words!

“It’s like a thin glass that could shatter at any time! In fact, the aftereffects are so bad that they’re eating away at Sir Demon’s body!”

“No way!”

Oh, um… My body was in such a state…?

I thought it’s a little fortunate that I had such a good excuse called the aftereffects.

Again, to be clear, I’m not suffering from any aftereffects. In other words, my current state is congenital…

This fact must be kept secret, even if it means death. It might be dangerous but it’s too humiliating.

I made up my mind, but Ed came closer to me with a serious face and started to examine my complexion.

“Are you really okay? Your face looks pale.”

“It’s always been like that…”

“And your lips also seem redder than usual… Have you been biting your lips because of pain?”

“That’s also always been like that.”

This is embarrassing. Stop it.

I turned my back, meaning I didn’t want to speak anymore. And without giving them a chance to say anything else, I opened the door.

As I stepped outside, the cool air brushed across my face, and three half-overlapped moons shone brightly in the sky, as if inviting me to come out.

And there…

The Corps members were lined up without any movement–

‘…What a spectacle.’

If only their eyes didn’t turn to me.

When the door opened, there was no movement whatsoever, and only their eyes moved to look at me. It was a sight that would frighten any regular human like me.

I stopped in my tracks to hide my shaking legs.

I think I heard Ben quietly muttering, ‘No, his heartbeat is becoming fast again!’ from behind me. Did I really hear that? F**k, I don’t know. My mind is going blank.

“…..”

“…..”

Cold sweat was running down my back. Sweat was also running down their foreheads. 

Maybe the sweat running down their foreheads was because of something different than the sweat running down my back.

Yes, it’s understandable to be sweating if they’ve been in that position until I arrived.

However, there’s also the possibility that the sweat was caused by anger…

Thinking that I might be killed as soon as I leave the castle, I frantically began to think of what I should say in order to survive.