Becoming the 7th Legion Commander (2)

"My apologies. I'm afraid you had to witness such an ugly display over a mere insect."

Dermian studied me with a worried expression, as if concerned I might have caught some disease from the wretch.

"I'm fine."

I said it offhandedly, as if it were nothing worth dwelling on.

Life is precious. But not all lives were created equal.

That thing had been worth less than a bug — cheap even in death. If anything, watching it die had been satisfying.

"The garden's ruined. Clean it up."

At Dermian's gesture, one of the attendants came scrambling over and began hauling away the cold corpse.

"Let's move on."

It wasn't exactly a pleasant scene, so I turned my eyes away as I spoke. That was when my gaze happened to meet those of a child and an old man sitting slumped on the ground.

They dropped their eyes in terror.

"Heal those two."

"As you command."

Dermian approached them and extended his hand. Green light swirled, and their wounds began to close one by one.

"Th-thank you—!"

"No need to thank me. It is the will of the exalted one standing over there."

They looked up at me with expressions of pure awe.

So this was what they meant by the old saying — the bear does the work, and the monk collects the offerings.

It didn't feel half bad, honestly.

"Both are fully healed. Is there anything else you require of me?"

"Nothing. Let's move."

"Understood."

And so we continued along the winding path.

Now, someone might be wondering at this point — why not just set those two free?

The answer was simple. Me helping them wouldn't actually make their lives any better.

They had nowhere to return to as it was, and if I carelessly stuck my nose in, I could end up shattering their entire lives instead.

So the best approach was to help only within reasonable limits — no more, no less.

"That section over there is the wheat field and vegetable garden. To ensure the freshest possible meals for Your Excellency, everything served at your table is grown ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on-site."

By then we had arrived at the fields behind the castle. Something, however, was very wrong.

What the hell is this?

The fields were rotting and half-decayed, while the supposed caretaker sat in a chair picking his nose.

"Adjutant."

"Yes."

"Does that look fresh to you?"

I asked, dumbfounded. This was what was supposed to reach my dinner table? Honestly, the food I'd eaten earlier had probably come from this exact place.

"My apologies. Is the wheat field entrusted to the finest expert not to your liking?"

That thing is the finest expert?

No matter how I looked at him, the guy seemed utterly brainless. Judging by his skin color, he was definitely a demon.

"My apologies. I'll look into it at once."

"No — I'll check myself."

This was going to be my food going forward. I couldn't entrust an inspection like this to a proxy.

I strode straight up to the caretaker. Up close, I could see him flicking his nose boogers onto the crops.

The moment one landed, a perfectly healthy plant instantly rotted away.

You crazy son of a bitch!

I smacked him hard across the head.

"?"

He turned around with a vacant look on his face — then went white as a sheet and bolted upright.

"Y-y-y-your Excellency the Monarch! Wh-what brings you here!"

"I heard you're the finest expert managing these fields. Is that right?"

"That's right! Even now I'm doing my utmost to keep everything in peak condition!"

Doing your utmost? By picking your nose and flicking it onto the crops?

Yeah, you're done for.

I turned my head toward Dermian. It was a signal to kill him.

But Dermian was smiling with a look of perfect satisfaction.

?

Then a fragment of the game's lore surfaced in my memory. Come to think of it — low-level demons supposedly had intelligence on par with chimpanzees.

Looking at the idiot in front of me, it certainly checked out.

I let out a sigh and spoke.

"Why are you the one managing crops from the human realm? Humans would obviously do it far better."

"Could weak little humans really manage crops properly? Work like this is meant for strong demons, of course! Haha!"

He said it with a proud, beaming expression.

And suddenly, the whole situation made sense. He was so dim-witted that he genuinely believed himself an expert.

Dermian could never have known this, and he surely knew nothing about how humans actually grew crops. He'd clearly taken this moron's word about being an expert as absolute gospel.

"Dermian."

"Yes."

"From now on, the fields and every dish served at my table will be managed by humans. The demons are not to interfere in any way. Am I understood?"

"...Understood."

The castle's exterior was immaculate, but the inside was a complete disaster. I'd almost eaten whatever was put in front of me without knowing a thing.

"So — am I getting beheaded?"

the demon asked with such guileless innocence that I shook my head.

"You're being promoted. Go to the quarry and help the humans there."

"A promotion?! I'll work hard!"

He beamed, his smile so pure it practically glowed.

Dumb as a rock, but a sweet kid.

The corners of my mouth lifted along with his. I'd been feeling rotten over the whole affair earlier, but this was like a breath of fresh air.

And that was when it happened.

"Gerard—!"

"My Lord, dodge!"

Dermian and Seina's urgent shouts rang out. I tilted my head slightly to find a boulder-sized fireball hurtling toward my face, blazing hot.

BOOM!

Nothing happened, of course. The fireball struck me square in the face and simply dissipated.

"Are you unharmed?!"

Dermian was at my side in the blink of an eye.

"I'm fine. More importantly — what's the meaning of this?"

I asked, unable to keep the anticipation out of my voice. An attack launched while we were inside the Monarch's Castle meant the heroes might be moving faster than I'd expected.

"It's the work of Rose and Marie, the twins."

"Rose and Marie?"

Names I knew well. No — there was no way I couldn't know them. Those two had ranked among the top three most annoying named monsters in all of Death Knight.

"Yes. In fact, they're arriving right now."

I followed Dermian's gesture and saw a pair of twins — identical except for their hair color — drifting slowly down from the sky.

"You okay, Lord?"

"You okay?"

...So they were here all along.

By the original course of events, the 7th Legion should have collapsed and they'd have been reassigned to another territory. It seemed my becoming the Monarch had shifted the story somewhat.

"I apologize on their behalf. My Lord, they're still young and haven't learned basic manners. Now, you two — apologize at once."

"Sorry..."

"Sorry."

Dermian forced their heads down in a bow. And then the two of them made eye contact — with each other.

"...This is all Marie's fault. Why'd you drop my full-power spike smash?"

"It's Rose's fault! Why were you spiking it in the first place? You almost hit the Lord!"

"No? The Lord's fine. He's strong."

"Then nothing happened. No apology needed."

"Right."

WHACK!

Dermian, who had been watching, slammed his fist down on both their heads. Calling it a knuckle rap would be generous — it had enough force to crater the floor.

I sighed and spoke.

"So let me get this straight. You two were playing ball games with that fireball just now?"

"Yeah... no, I mean, yes."

"That's right."

It was sheer lunacy. From what I could tell, that fireball had been magic of at least the 5th circle — and they'd been playing catch with it? Right next to the 7th Monarch's Castle?

"Ha."

My danger-detection ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sense was screaming at full power. This was a complete catastrophe.

The 7th Monarch's Castle...

.

.

.

...was a total wreck.

"Listen carefully. From now on, using magic anywhere near the castle is absolutely forbidden. Do you understand?"

"Yes..."

"Got it..."

The twins answered gloomily. I turned to Dermian.

"Dermian."

"Yes."

I couldn't go on living like this. If you hate the temple, the monk should leave — but since I didn't want to leave, I'd just have to change the temple instead.

"Within one hour, bring me the castle's duty roster, plus written records of its administration, finances, discipline, and everything else."

I couldn't trust the demons. I'd have to see everything with my own two eyes and manage it myself.

The 7th Monarch's Castle was due for a sweeping overhaul.

"Then I shall take my leave."

"Good work."

Dermian carefully closed the door to the study behind him. He had already finished compiling and delivering a meticulous record of everything the new 7th Monarch had ordered earlier that day.

An amusing man, isn't he.

he thought as he walked down the lavishly decorated corridor.

In the entire history of the demon realm, a human had never once become a Monarch. It was unprecedented — and that was precisely why he couldn't help harboring doubts.

Could this man truly fulfill the duties of a Monarch? Was it right to serve him and swear loyalty?

And so he had spent the entire day watching the 7th Monarch closely — not only to gauge the newly appointed ruler's character, but because he was personally curious what kind of man he was. Besides, he'd been given a private request as well.

"You came."

Dermian stopped by the window and bowed his head. There, a crow waited with its beak open, as if it had been expecting him.

"Dermian, have you been well? I hear you've been playing regent all this while — must have been rough."

"Not at all. It was merely my duty."

"I told you, no need to stand on ceremony with me."

"I find this more comfortable."

"Still as boring as ever, you are. So — what did you find out for me?"

Dermian allowed himself a small smile, amused just thinking about it.

"He possesses the wisdom of a king above all kings. I told him, quite sincerely, that he needn't lift a finger — yet less than two hours after taking office, he was already reviewing and correcting the castle's internal affairs himself."

"Oh ho, is that so?"

"Furthermore, just as you said, he is immensely powerful. He blocked the twins' magic — renowned for its devastating force — without so much as twitching a finger."

Even just recalling the incident, Dermian lavished praise with unmistakable admiration.

"Boring. Exactly what he looks like. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A little looseness would do him good, you know. But is that all?"

At those words, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dermian glanced warily around, confirmed no one was near, and spoke carefully.

"It's difficult to say yet. I honestly can't fathom why you believe someone so capable would commit treason."

"Hmm... call it a gut feeling. Anyway, understood. Keep watching him. Let's talk again soon."

"Understood. Rest well."

Dermian bowed, and the crow took flight through the window.

"...I do hope this Monarch lasts a long time."