At the Scene of Kin Slaughter (2)
"What do you think? Ah, right. You too... *Sigh*..."
Zorgal, letting out a heavy sigh, crumpled the documents I had brought without even properly looking through them.
Do you have any idea how much effort I put into that research...?
My heart ached, but I held it in.
There was nothing a mere Red Horn like me could do.
Tossing the crumpled papers into the trash can, Zorgal looked up at me and spoke.
"Hey, did you hear about the rookies assigned to the southern branch? They went to the desert and came back with a handful of sand."
"This is the first I've heard of it..."
Having been beaten half to death by Zorgal before for not using polite language, I scratched my neck and answered meekly.
"It was their first time in the desert... those dumbasses. If you go to the desert, you should at least bring back a piece of an Outworlder corpse. Of all the things they could have brought, they brought sand, which is literally everywhere?"
When you didn't know what to say, smiling was always the safest bet. It was one of the survival methods I had mastered.
"Hahaha, they really are a bunch of clowns."
Hearing my awkward laughter, Zorgal smacked me over the head with a thick stack of documents nearby and continued.
Apparently, it hadn't been the safest bet after all.
"You dumbass. What you did is no different. What? The Hero has reincarnated? You think you found them this time? And the 'information' you brought back is just a piece of rock? I guess the three humans you took as travel expenses already went straight into your horn, so you think you're good?"
Zorgal, who had just smacked my head, threw the piece of rock sitting on his desk at me.
The rock bounced off my chest, and I snatched it out of the air before it could hit the floor.
"But... I definitely felt the Hero's energy... sir... It's really..."
I stared resentfully at the piece of rock in my hand, on the verge of tears.
Tears welled up from the sheer injustice of it.
I had definitely felt the Hero's energy.
I wasn't lying.
"Sigh... It's my fault for believing you. Thanks to you, I'm going to get chewed out big time."
Zorgal sneered at me with intense sarcasm.
He was the one who had coaxed me into going on the business trip in the first place when I was quietly gathering information on the Hero. Why was he acting like this? Seriously.
"If things go south this time... you'll have to take the fall for me."
"Huh? What do you mean by that...?"
"What do you think? Do you expect me to get demoted along with you because of your nonsense?"
Shouting, Zorgal waved his hand, telling me to get out of his sight because he couldn't stand looking at me.
Demoted...?
With legs that felt heavier with every step, I trudged back to my desk.
And then, I slumped into my chair.
Demotion.
It was a bolt from the blue.
In this line of work, demotion meant only one thing.
The western branch. In other words, the branch near the Holy Kingdom.
I heard people get their heads chopped off there just on their way to work...
I didn't want to die at such a young age without ever having a chance to bloom.
I had a dream.
The very same dream that every single idiot in this dump shared.
A Black Horn.
Some mocked us, asking how anyone could ever become a Black Horn in a dump like this, handling scraps of paper instead of fighting honorably and risking their lives like true demons.
Yet, even in this place, there was a legendary demon.
A legendary demon who had reached the rank of Black Horn solely through scraps of paper and stacks of documents.
Rumor had it that the number of humans he received as performance bonuses exceeded several thousand.
Though his achievements were so great that he was called a legend, he was very real. I knew he was currently serving as a chief advisor to a Legion Commander.
Incidentally, he was also the head of this entire organization.
I wondered if I would ever get to see his face.
"Phew..."
I let out a deep sigh and began organizing the documents on my desk.
But before dreaming of that, I had to survive.
If I wanted to avoid demotion, my only option was to dig up whatever I could.
I needed "physical evidence" far more convincing than some ancient texts.
I stared blankly at the piece of rock in my hand.
I was certain I had detected something resembling the Hero's energy. To be precise, I suspected it was the energy of the Holy Sword.
According to ancient texts, the Holy Sword was said to possess the power of the stars.
I carefully placed the rock in a corner of my desk, pulled out a map, and examined it.
Then, I began marking the map town by town.
These were regions where rumors circulated about sudden meteor sightings. Since they were just rumors, I needed to take them with a grain of salt.
I suspected that the "meteors" were actually the summoning of the Holy Sword.
And this piece of rock was likely debris thrown off during that summoning.
Of course, this was all mere speculation.
"Roughly speaking..."
I drew a circle on a spot on the map where the marks based on the rumors were particularly concentrated.
...It's around here.
According to human ancient texts, it was extremely difficult for the Hero and the Demon King to escape their "shackles of fate."
The Demon King's resurrection would take a dozen years at most. That meant the Hero had only recently reincarnated—or rather, been born...
They must still be a young child.
A Hero in that state would be incredibly easy to kill... and what better news could there be for the soon-to-be-resurrected Demon King?
If I could just find the Hero, becoming a Black Horn wouldn't be an impossible dream.
A young child.
Did they have parents?
...Do I have to search every single village in this area?
As I was pondering this,
someone passed by my desk and tapped my shoulder in an irritating manner.
Frowning, I turned my head to see Zorgal standing there with a sly smirk.
"My, my... working hard, are we? I'm heading out first. A pretty lady living nearby is looking for me. Hehehe... She has dark red horns... looks like she's from some elite unit, but she praised me, saying I'm intellectual, unlike her. I guess she took a liking to me. Hahaha!"
Zorgal laughed obnoxiously, patted my shoulder once more, and left.
Bastards... mating so freely in the middle of dangerous human territory.
I guess some guys just have all the luck.
Dozens of minutes passed after Zorgal left.
I tried to focus, but it wasn't easy.
"Ah, seriously..."
Because I could easily picture what Zorgal was about to do.
It had been a long time since I had held a woman, too.
"Sigh..."
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.
Over in the distance, demons were throwing papers and fistfighting again.
Trying to do anything in a place like this would only drive me crazy.
Let's go outside and get some fresh air.
Deciding that was for the best, I stood up. It was late, so unless I had the worst luck imaginable and ran into a holy order of knights, nothing bad would happen.
I grabbed my coat and headed toward the building's entrance.
As I walked toward the entrance, I heard a commotion coming from that direction.
"Hey, you bastard. Identify yourself properly."
"Ah, seriously, I'm telling you I'm one of you..."
The first voice definitely belonged to the demon on guard duty. I had seen his horns once; they were a fairly dark red, meaning he was much stronger than me.
Well, not like there are many demons in this building weaker than me anyway...
Even someone at the level of a branch manager started with dark red horns.
He was usually a pretty good-natured guy. What made him so angry?
Though he was a bit... simple-minded.
I rounded the corner and looked at them.
A man with ink-black hair was being held by the collar by the guard.
"So stop showing me that weird black stuff and show me your horns!!"
"Look, do you think I don't know the rules of this place? Once you step foot inside this building, you're not supposed to show your horns."
The man being held by the collar was right.
But he was a face I had never seen before.
Above all, the clean white bandages wrapped around his eyes caught my attention.
Was he blind? A blind demon?
At least in my memory, there was no blind demon who wore bandages. He was a complete stranger.
But since he knew the rules... maybe he was a rookie.
"Is there a problem over here?"
I approached them and asked politely before the commotion could escalate further.
The guard pointed his free hand at the man he was holding and spoke.
"He's clearly a stranger... but he shows me some weird black liquid and asks if he can pass. So I told him to show his horns, and he refuses. Isn't this bastard a human?!"
"Of course I'm a stranger... I told you, I'm a rookie..."
The guard lifted him by the collar in his excitement, making it hard for the man to breathe.
"Whoa, whoa... Calm down for a second..."
When I raised my palms and spoke, the huffing guard thankfully listened to me, since we were on familiar terms.
"*Cough*... *Gasp*... Phew... Thank you."
Catching his breath, the man offered me a smile.
But that didn't mean it was over.
Even though there were countless demons here whose names I didn't know, his features were far too distinct.
He knows the rules... and claims to be a rookie...
I stepped closer to the man claiming to be a rookie and spoke.
"Um... you said you're a rookie, right? But what was that black liquid?"
"Ah, that..."
Soon, a dark, droplet-like substance began to seep from the bandaged man's fingertips, wriggling around.
What was this?
Its energy was dark, resembling a demon's magi, but it was distinctly different.
As I stared with wide eyes, quietly observing it, the bandaged man added an explanation.
"...I can handle spirits a little."
"Spirits... Dark spirits...?! No, why would someone with such a rare talent come here instead of joining a combat unit...?"
Spirit summoners were rare even among demons.
They were highly valued and usually fast-tracked on elite career paths. Why did he end up in a dump like this?
"Well... there were circumstances. A family matter..."
"Ah... I see."
Judging by his expression, it was clearly a painful subject.
I guess this was a form of demotion too.
Assigning information gathering to someone who could barely read documents.
Still, it wasn't a bad idea to establish a connection with a spirit summoner.
The guard still seemed a bit confused, so maybe I should help him out a bit.
"When you were assigned, you should have received something like a playing card... Ah... you might not know what a playing card is. Do you have a card you received when you arrived? A thin card?"
I had accidentally made a slip of the tongue, but I quickly smoothed it over.
"Ah, a card... Yes, I have it."
The bandaged man pulled a card from his breast pocket and handed it to me.
The guard stared at the card with curiosity, as if seeing it for the first time.
This was the device used to prove one's identity in this line of work.
Wait, is it okay for a guard to be seeing this for the first time?
...I figured he was just too stupid and had forgotten.
"Now, if you infuse it with magi..."
I showed the card to the guard and infused it with magi like a magician performing a trick. There was no need to show the bandaged man, since his eyes were impaired.
"Ta-da... The name and affiliation written in the demonic tongue appear!"
Checking the contents of the card, the guard let out an "Ooh!" and clapped.
Releasing the man's collar, the guard patted his shoulder and spoke.
"Sorry about the misunderstanding, Zorgal."
"Haha, no worries. It happens."
The bandaged man adjusted his collar and smiled faintly.
Hearing their conversation, I hurriedly flipped the card over to check the details.
Zorgal.
That was the name written on it.
It was a name that was incredibly familiar to me.
Didn't Zorgal... just leave a moment ago...?
Which meant the man smiling brightly in front of me was absolutely not Zorgal.
Then why, and for what purpose, was this man pretending to be Zorgal?
And where was the real Zorgal?
As the uncomfortable "truth" dawned on me, goosebumps broke out all over my body.