Chapter 2 : Demon Hunting (4)
Chapter 2 : Demon Hunting (4)
Back in the office of the Hebron estate after finishing the job.
Deltain rolled the gemstone he'd obtained as loot across the desk and spoke up.
He was addressing Marquis Montvert.
"So, what's the deal with those moronic bastards?"
"I told you. They're the Empire's new Demon Hunters."
"Bullshit. Those pampered bastards are Demon Hunters?"
It was a point that hit the nail on the head.
Deltain could be certain.
The Imperial Knights who had been trailing behind Marquis Montvert all day were children of the Imperial nobility.
"Just because they're nobles doesn't mean they can't do it."
Marquis Montvert replied with a small smile.
It was an affirmation.
"Try to be understanding. Politics is never that simple."
"I get the gist. They probably shoved their own family members into the jaws of death, calling it 'honor' or whatever."
"Striving for the family is the proudest thing a noble can do. They take pride in their work, too."
"Pride, my ass, while crawling into a death trap. Want me to guess? They're probably the rejects who lost the succession battle. Too awkward to keep around, but if they help with family business, it's a pain in the neck, so they use them for stuff like this, right?"
"Your phrasing is crude, but that's correct."
"Anyway, I don't like those bastards."
Deltain spat out his deep dissatisfaction.
He seemed to have grievances with the current Imperial system.
It was the kind of talk that, if stretched a bit, could be treated as seditious, but Marquis Montvert just laughed.
He knew that the reason Deltain vented such annoyance was because of the humanity he occasionally revealed.
"You're still soft when it comes to family love."
"It's not that. I just don't like bastards who live in luxury by selling out their family."
Deltain clenched the gemstone tightly.
Then, as if he'd lost interest, he tossed it into a black pit.
"It's pathetic, so I hate it."
"Let's go with that."
"Whatever...."
Deltain Hebron is generally indifferent to other people's affairs.
To what extent? Well, would it explain it to say that even if the person he was talking to just a moment ago had their head explode, his expression wouldn't change?
Anyway, the few moments when he shows emotion regarding others' affairs are exactly like this.
When he sees the sight of people putting their family in danger for profit.
Marquis Montvert thought that this trait might have some connection to his past.
Of course, even he didn't know what had happened.
Marquis Montvert watched the grumbling Deltain, then soon threw out a different topic.
"Come to think of it."
"What now?"
"I heard a rumor that you've been visiting the Levadein Duchy quite often lately."
Deltain's fingertips twitched.
Soon, he glared at Marquis Montvert with menacing eyes.
"Do you go around digging into other people's private lives?"
"It's not really private if you're moving so openly, is it? Every time I go to a banquet, I hear talk about Count Hebron heading to the Duchy day and night."
"Why are those bastards so interested in other people's business?"
"So, what's the real reason? Have you truly lost your heart to the Lady of Levadein...."
"Say one more word and I'll rip your mouth open."
Marquis Montvert shut his mouth.
Then, he observed Deltain as if finding him interesting.
It was rare for him to see Deltain trembling and holding back his anger like this.
"...It's just research. The curse residing in that woman's heart is fascinating."
"Hmm, I shall take it as such."
"It's not 'taking it as such,' that's just the truth."
"Did someone say otherwise?"
Crack.
The armrest of the chair Deltain was holding shattered.
"Oh my, that looked like an expensive item."
"I have plenty of money."
"I'll be going now. Get some rest."
Marquis Montvert stood up with his cane and quickly left the office.
He didn't have the confidence to deal with the backlash after scratching Deltain's nerves.
Only then, left alone in the office, Deltain could only stare at the closed door, feeling his blood boil.
*
The next day, in the afternoon.
While Deltain was observing Agnes's Demon Flower as usual, he crumpled his expression at the newspaper she held out.
"What a bunch of bullshit...."
The article on the front page of the newspaper read:
[Heroes of the Nation, Raising the Next Generation.]
In the photo below the headline, the knights who had pissed their pants the day before were shamelessly giving a thumbs-up.
Agnes asked, watching Deltain's face begin to crumple.
"How was it? Was the night out fun?"
"Does this look like a game to you? Have you lost your mind, too? The very first line of the article says 'Demon Hunting'."
"Yeah, and the line right below it says 'Demon of Lust'. Since there's no way you'd die to a demon, it's a game, right?"
Agnes's smile deepened.
"How was it? Was the illusion shown by the demon sweet?"
Deltain snorted and replied.
"If I were the type to fall for something like that, I would have died over three years ago. More importantly, is that the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the words 'Demon of Lust'? Get a grip. There's a limit to being lewd."
"They say men like lewd women."
"They only like them as playmates. As a marriage partner, they'd be the worst."
"You talk like someone who's actually done it."
"There are things you can know without having done them. Do you know how painful it is to listen to the complaints of married people?"
"Is there someone like that around you?"
"There is. Marquis Montvert."
"Wow, I heard they were a lovebird couple, that's really surprising."
Agnes opened her eyes wide as if surprised.
Deltain clicked his tongue and added.
"Marriage is a business where one side always loses. Marquis Montvert is the classic example of the losing side."
"Then are you not going to get married?"
"I'm not."
"Why?"
"It's a hassle."
Deltain said that and focused on the treatment again.
Agnes etched that sight into her eyes.
A gentle smile was forming on her lips.
"I like that."
"...What?"
"Not getting married. Yeah, I like it. Don't ever get married for the rest of your life."
"Are you crazy?"
"You said you didn't want to."
"...."
Deltain had to seriously consider whether there was a problem with Agnes's mental state.
However, if there was an answer to be found by worrying about it, it would have already appeared long ago.
"...Crazy woman."
Deltain said that and intended to really shut his mouth now.
Once again, Agnes didn't let him act as he pleased.
"Tell me about last night."
"Demon hunting. The end."
"In detail."
Deltain's head lifted.
His face was plastered with annoyance and irritation.
Agnes smiled brightly and said to such a Deltain.
"If you tell me, I'll be quiet for the time being."
Not a bad condition.
Judging that, Deltain cast his gaze back to her wrist and opened his mouth.
"I went because of Marquis Montvert's request. Those rejects are the guys the Marquis is raising."
"How was the demon?"
"The first one I met was the Demon of Craving. It was pretending to be a pregnant woman."
"And?"
"I kicked its stomach. It was disgusting."
"Oh my god."
Agnes kept her promise thoroughly.
While he continued the story of exploring the underground waterway, she maintained an attitude of listening while providing appropriate reactions.
Deltain liked that quite a bit, so he stretched the story out as long as he could.
The time he blew up the head of a demon that had mixed in.
The vagrants who were scrambling around without knowing what was happening.
And even the battle of the high-ranking demon he saw at the end.
Agnes made a surprised face at the description of the pile of corpses.
"Wow, do demons like that kind of thing?"
"They use it as sustenance. Humans screaming in pain until they die are like a delicacy to them."
"Dirty."
"It's nauseating."
"So, did you open the door and meet the Demon of Lust?"
The diagnosis was finished before he knew it.
Deltain let go of Agnes's hand and said.
"Yeah. It was a demon shaped like a woman's breasts, and it had arms growing out of its nipples."
"That's really ugly."
Agnes giggled.
Then she asked Deltain.
"How was the hallucination?"
"Nothing special. Ah, that was kind of funny. Those rejects couldn't handle the illusion and pissed their pants right then and there."
"That must have been embarrassing."
"They should be embarrassed. Moronic bastards."
Deltain clicked his tongue.
For him, it was a situation he didn't like even thinking about again.
Demon Hunters must always fight with the resolve to die.
They must fight with the resolve to be thrown into a purgatory from which they can never be saved.
This was the first thing Deltain taught when raising disciples, and those knights lacked even the resolve.
"I remembered something I need to do. When those guys who were dispatched return, I need to beat the hell out of the kids under them."
"Who are you talking about?"
"The hunters I taught in the past."
Deltain crossed his arms and tapped his leg.
Agnes watched him quietly, then soon threw out a question with a playful smile.
"But you know."
"What."
"Actually, I thought that maybe those people aren't mentally weak."
Deltain frowned and looked at Agnes.
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"It's like this. They say the Demon of Lust shows the most lewd illusion a person can perceive."
"So what?"
"The most lewd situation those people think of and the most lewd situation you think of could be different."
Agnes poked Deltain's forearm and continued.
"There's a world that virgins don't know."
A vein popped on Deltain's head.
"If you knew what I saw, you wouldn't be able to say that."
"Let me guess. It's something like being surrounded by beauties and giggling, right?"
Deltain's pupils trembled as if an earthquake were happening.
At that reaction, Agnes burst into laughter, "Bang!"
"Pfft, Puhahahaha!"
Agnes's face turned bright red.
She was laughing so hard she was even stomping her feet, finding it that funny.
"...What's so funny?"
Deltain said through gritted teeth.
But Agnes was just busy laughing.
After about two minutes, only after laughing that much, Agnes composed herself, her shoulders shaking, and opened her mouth.
"This is why virgins...."
"You're an inexperienced person too, aren't you?"
"How do you know?"
"You would have had a great time meeting people with that body."
"You're sharp."
The look of amusement on Agnes's face deepened.
She watched Deltain's irritable expression for a moment, then reached out her arm.
"I'll teach you. Real lewdness is...."
Deltain didn't stop her actions.
He was just watching with the mindset of, 'Let's see what kind of big deal she's going to show me.'
Agnes brought Deltain's hand to her lips.
Chu.
That sound rang out.
A kiss on the back of the hand; Deltain flinched and shuddered at it, but he didn't lose his sense of confusion.
"...What was that?"
"Mood is important. For lewd things."
Agnes, having said that, kissed the back of Deltain's hand again.
It was different from before.
She didn't pull her lips away.
As she bowed her head, her blonde hair flowed down.
And her breath fell onto the back of his hand.
Even in the midst of this, her cherry-blossom-colored eyes were curved beautifully, directed at Deltain's eyes.
"Slurp-."
With that sound, Deltain's body tingled.
Agnes's eye-smile deepened even more.
Having sucked on the back of his hand once, Agnes licked over it with her tongue.
And, she scraped the skin with her front teeth until it made a click sound.
Startled, Deltain pulled his hand away belatedly.
What was engraved on it was a bright red spot.
It was a hickey.
Deltain felt heat rising to his face.
That reaction was the kind that amused Agnes even more.
But was it just the reaction that was amusing?
No.
What made her happier than anything in this situation was her own mark left on the back of his hand.
"You're in big trouble now."
Agnes, who giggled, leaned her head forward.
A distance just enough for one person to pass.
Agnes, who made eye contact with Deltain with that much space between them, spat out words with a truly alluring smile.
"Next time you meet the Demon of Lust, be careful."
She was saying.
That the limit of what Deltain perceives as lewd has increased.