Why They Need Him (1)

Center of the Demon Realm.

And there, the castle of the Demon King Belphegor — Pigritia.

Seated upon her throne, the Demon King Belphegor listened to her subordinates' reports with her usual air of utter boredom.

Ugh, this is dull.

The Demon King, Belphegor. She had crushed the previous Demon King, Leviathan, by sheer force and usurped his throne — only to belatedly discover that she had absolutely no aptitude for politics.

Most of all, there was simply too much to do.

Wasn't it absurd that she, the famed Demon King of Sloth, had to work this hard?

And so Belphegor had charted her course in whatever direction best honored her illustrious title.

"The Fifth Corps has engaged the Ancient Red Dragon 'Agni' on the Eastern Front! Commander Five severed one of its wings, but our own casualties are said to be heavy as well. Immediate reinforcements are requested."

"Mm. What do you think would be best, Lieutenant General Lilith?"

All she had to do was sit on her throne, nod along to the reports, and let them wash over her.

The actual work could be dumped on her capable aide, Lilith.

Her only duty was to lounge upon the throne and lend the room her weight, like a paperweight.

Still boring, though.

Letting the reports pour in one ear and out the other, Belphegor began to drift into her own thoughts. The Emperor of the Human Empire, with whom she had held a secret summit not long ago.

Come to think of it, the Emperor never bothered listening to trifles like these one by one, did he?

He had been truly magnificent. There was, how should I put it... a certain dignity of the Emperor about him.

Unlike her, he had been born of imperial blood.

Having ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠met that Emperor in secret, Belphegor found herself reflecting on it anew.

She had become Demon King simply because she was strong — but a throne like that demanded a majesty to match it.

First things first, the first-person pronoun...

Imitate the Emperor! That was the plan!

And so, while letting her subordinates' reports flow in one ear and out the other, Belphegor suddenly snapped back to attention.

"...Having failed to rescue the First Lieutenant, Lieutenant Colonel Extra has been confirmed dead, and the small detachment under his command likewise could not escape annihilation. Your Majesty, I respectfully submit that the costs of continuing this operation may outweigh its merits, and—"

Belphegor, who had been busily organizing her thoughts, frowned at the report that happened to drift into her ear.

She was the Demon King. The one and only being who had to lead this vast army.

And she was expected to sit through individual reports about the doings of a mere First Lieutenant — not even a Colonel? Her, the Demon King herself?

"Hrm. Hrm."

Seeking to voice this grievance through metaphor, Belphegor cleared her throat. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?

The perfect moment to imitate the stately grandeur she had witnessed in the human Emperor.

"Jim is a special existence."

Meaning: must someone of my caliber concern herself with every last report like that?

At this roundabout declaration from Belphegor, the entire court sank into silence.

What's this? Is there something about that First Lieutenant?

Could he be the Demon King's illegitimate son? Is that why she entrusted him with such missions?

Dammit... I'm pretty sure I kicked that bastard in the shins at least six times...

Belphegor had always used the plain first-person "I," so her sudden proclamation of "Jim" was more than enough to plunge everyone into confusion.

In an instant, Jim — an utterly ordinary demon First Lieutenant — was transformed into something officially sanctioned by the Demon King herself as special, and his life was spared.

Hm, that seemed to go over fine... though the mood's a touch off. Was it too soon?

Having let every report slide past her ears, Belphegor was in fact preoccupied with her own dilemma: watching the court flounder at her very first attempt at a new first-person pronoun.

What if it didn't suit her? Should she keep it up?

Perhaps her majesty was still lacking.

And at that moment, one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brave soul opened his mouth, seeking the truth of the matter.

One of the Legion Commanders, no less.

"He, he didn't seem particularly special to me, but... is there perhaps something...?"

A question from a loyal subordinate!

Belphegor doubted her own ears.

"What is wrong with that bastard?!"

She had never imagined anyone would commit open insubordination so brazenly, and Belphegor screamed, tears brimming in her eyes.

Any pretense of regal composure had long since evaporated.

At the sight of Belphegor bellowing in a voice thick with wounded indignation, the court instantly fell silent once more.

"Drag that mutt out of here! He's purged! PURGED! How dare he slight Jim?!"

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty! Just a moment, let him—!!"

Having the insubordinate subordinate hauled out on the spot, Belphegor made no effort to hide her foul mood as she spoke.

"Anyone else curious?"

"...No, Your Majesty."

"Good. Then I'll take the absence of objections as unanimous consent. Jim shall... no, I shall retire for now."

Belphegor, deciding that the royal "Jim" did not yet suit her, reverted to her old first-person pronoun. Not a single demon present was perceptive enough to catch the switch.

"You rotten bastards, every last one of you..."

Nor was there a single demon who understood the depth of Belphegor's wounded feelings.

The Lieutenant Colonel who had come to rescue me had been beaten by the Hero. I understood all too well what that meant.

"My life is over."

Sure, I'd thrown myself into that rice soup with reckless abandon, but my current situation was hanging by the frailest of threads.

Me, infiltrating the Hero's party — and the Lieutenant Colonel and his operation team, who'd come to extract me and instead been wiped out entirely.

Would the Demon King's Army still actively pursue my rescue after a failure this catastrophic?

If I were them, I wouldn't.

The manpower to be expended far outweighed any merit gained from retrieving me.

If I were them, I'd cut my losses. Slice me off clean and neat. At best they'd toss flowers into an empty coffin back at base, muttering, Jim, you were a real treasure, while my corpse rotted somewhere in human territory.

"...Maybe I should just defect."

Come to think of it, wasn't I half human anyway? Abandon the Demon King's Army — which would clearly abandon me first — and live out my days as a human.

Yes. That was the only way.

Triiiiiiin───

"Gah?! My deepest apologies!"

A shrill tone rang beside my ear.

Like a thief flinching at his own footsteps, I averted my eyes from everyone and apologized on the spot.

Because I had been contemplating betrayal at that exact, damning moment.

"Hrm. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hrm."

Only then realizing my mistake, I cleared my throat as if nothing had happened.

This was the primary means of communication our army currently used — audible only to demons.

Judgment day had apparently arrived.

If they told me escape was impossible and I should get myself out, I would defect to the humans on the spot.

"...Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

"The restroom? Shall I escort you?"

The instant I spat out a convenient excuse and tried to slip away, the Hero Esmeralda's bombshell remark came slicing in.

That smirking expression of hers made it clear she was teasing me.

"You might get kidnapped again like yesterday, so you'd better be careful. Isn't that right? You've still got a while before you reunite with your comrades, so we can't afford any slip-ups."

"...I'll be fine."

"Then if you're not back in ten minutes, I'm coming to find you!"

"Yes, let's do that..."

For some reason, the Hero's surveillance seemed to have grown considerably tighter — but that, too, was only natural.

My "kidnapping" excuse had worked, but the fallout from it was mine to shoulder in full.

"Hee hee."

Leaving behind the Hero, who stared holes into me while wearing a hopelessly dopey grin, I stepped into the depths of the forest.

A woman's voice, cold as frost — nothing like the gruff-voiced signals soldier I usually dealt with.

And above all, an attitude that flagrantly ignored every rule of military communication protocol.

I was certain of it. This woman was not army. Had our communications network been hijacked? Did magic like that even exist?

— My apologies. I'm unaccustomed to contacting anyone in this manner, so I ask your forgiveness. I am Lilith, Lieutenant General of the Demon King Army's Operation Staff, and the Demon King's personal aide.

"Lieutenant General... Lilith?!"

Only then did it dawn on me that the person on the other end was a superior officer, far, far above my station.

Lieutenant General Lilith, of all people — the Demon King's personal aide.

A woman who had been parachuted into her post through an outrageous nepotism appointment, all because she was the Demon King's cousin.

And yet not one soul had ever dared grumble about it. Because she was competent?

Competence was part of it, sure, but that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that she was one of the vanishingly few women in an army that was ninety-five percent male.

Equally important: she had never once subjected herself to the brutal training regimes, dutifully performing her aide duties and nothing more, which meant she remained untarnished. Untouched. Unbroken.

Black hair spilling down to her waist. Chilly yellow eyes. A suit the same color as her hair, and stockings to match.

I remembered the sight as vividly as if she stood before me now — the original culprit who set fire to the hearts of countless soldiers and kept them sleepless through the night.

"How does Lieutenant General Lilith..."

That woman — that woman of all people — had contacted me?

Someone who, barred from any chance to converse with senior officers, didn't even know proper military comm etiquette?

— First, allow me to say that I find this entire affair deeply regrettable. Through sheer misfortune, you have become the sole survivor of Lieutenant Colonel Extra's platoon, after all.

"No, please — if anything, the fault is mine. I failed to deceive the Hero completely..."

Come to think of it, the Lieutenant Colonel's name was Extra, huh... What a shame.

It wasn't my place to talk, but I had to wonder what kind of bastard had saddled him with that name.

— He was a man of considerable ability — enough that Lieutenant Colonel Extra could not so much as lay a hand on her. Our army's error lies in ordering such a reckless approach while failing to account for that fact.

An unexpected deference.

I had never imagined they'd be this concerned about me.

Had digging into the Hero's party's secrets really been that important a mission?

I'd already squeezed out nearly every scrap of intelligence worth taking. All that remained was the Hero's party's future schedule.

And yet here was Lieutenant General Lilith, the Demon King's own aide, reaching out personally to commend my efforts. I hardly knew where to put myself.

— Time has grown somewhat short, so I will be brief. We are currently reorganizing a new unit whose sole purpose is to retrieve First Lieutenant Jim and ensure his personal safety.

"Is... is that really true?"

They'd go that far for me? Frankly, it was suspicious enough to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make me doubt them.

What was I, anyway? It felt strange to say it, but the Demon King's Army had plenty of spare parts to substitute for me.

— Your doubt is only natural, but you need not worry. This decision was made by Her Majesty the Demon King herself. I believe she grasped the true threat the Hero posed long before any of us.

"Ahhh..."

Truly, whatever made the Demon King the Demon King made her different. When I'd first infiltrated the Hero's party, I'd fully intended to quit the Demon King's Army if things went sideways.

But Her Majesty, it seemed, had been watching over every last detail of an operation like this.

All hail the King of Ten Thousand Demons, the great Demon King Belphegor. Banzai.

"As expected of Lady Belphegor... I never doubted her."

— ...I, I see. So there truly was some manner of connection between you and Her Majesty...

"Sorry?"

— No, nothing. I was briefly issuing orders to a subordinate... Ahem. In any case, we will make contact again before long. Until then, please stay safe and hold out.

"Yes, Lieutenant General Lilith!"

Lieutenant General Lilith herself worrying about me — I was genuinely moved.

And thankful, too, that the Demon King's Army was less cutthroat than I'd imagined.

One weight off my chest.

An organization that would go this far for one man.

The idea of defecting to humanity went neatly into the trash.

Those rotten human bastards, after all.