Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: I'm Not the Heavenly Demon!
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Solomon, I couldn't quite believe that Lily—a subordinate of the Demon King—hadn't laid a hand on the coachman. But seeing him healthy and awake, I felt a twinge of guilt for suspecting her without cause.
‘She's not the type to lie, after all.’
As a gesture of apology, I dipped my head slightly—of course, Lily couldn't see it.
That said, the coachman wasn't entirely back to normal.
He kept muttering, "It was all just a dream?" with a gloomy look on his face. She must have done it out of consideration for him, letting him have a sweet dream, so I couldn't exactly blame her.
All I could do was hope he'd get over it soon.
Watching him with pitying eyes, I noticed Nameless looking uncomfortable as he stepped in front of me and spoke up.
"What's wrong?"
"Master, have you given any thought to what we discussed?"
"...Were you serious?"
I rubbed my face.
"Pardon? Didn't you like it too, Master?"
A sigh escaped me at Nameless's utterly innocent expression, devoid of any ulterior motive.
"I think it sounds cool—Heav—"
"Kyaaah! Please, for the love of everything, don't say it! I'm sorry!"
The reason Nameless was bringing this up now stemmed from our conversation the night before.
...What had happened between Nameless and me last night.
After listening to my ramblings for a good while, Nameless furrowed his brow as if he couldn't make sense of it and spoke.
"Why not just build your own organization for real, Master?"
"Hmm, didn't I say something like that earlier? That I'd build up some forces."
Nameless shook his head firmly.
"It's a bit different. What you described sounds a little lacking for a proper organization."
What.
Nameless outright rejecting my idea to my face—my features twisted in shock.
"Why do you say that?"
"You might have ties to them, but the people who'll follow you won't have any bonds with each other—no sense of camaraderie, right?"
"Hmm..."
Is that so? It kinda makes sense...
As I wavered, Nameless continued.
"Instead of positioning yourself as their spiritual leader, why not declare yourself their lord? Wouldn't that bind them together better?"
"Ugh... You know I hate crowds..."
Just imagining it made my stomach churn.
Me, a lord? I stuck out my tongue and scowled in disgust.
Nameless gave me a puzzled look for a moment before trying to persuade me.
"Why not at least consider it positively? Building an organization would help your goals, not hinder them."
Hmm, when he puts it that way, it does sound reasonable...
Nameless wouldn't suggest anything harmful to me.
As I tilted my head this way and that, Nameless's gaze fixed on the prominent tuft of hair sticking up from my head.
His eyes shook left and right, following the motion of my hair.
"Well, trying it slowly doesn't sound so bad."
"Yes. And since the Empire and Church will likely see any group you lead as Demon King forces, we can't proselytize openly."
Ah, I hadn't thought that far...
Nameless seemed more serious about this than I was.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I chewed my lip.
"Conveniently, there's a method similar to what you first suggested."
Oh, so I did come up with something good?
A grin spread across my face.
Nameless flinched at my hair suddenly stopping, then pressed on.
"The first place for outreach should be the slums, where people won't draw much attention."
How does he come up with ideas like that so quickly?
Is it because he's my disciple?
My shoulders puffed up with pride.
"Hmm, if you say so, then it must be. But why are you so invested in this?"
Was he, not some little kid anymore, fantasizing about playing leader of a secret organization?
I pictured Nameless in my mind, swinging a toy sword around in make-believe play, and giggles bubbled up.
Nameless looked genuinely flustered and spoke.
"Pardon? Isn't this what you wanted, Master?"
What.
"Why would you think that?"
"Back when we lived in the cabin, you'd often raise a wooden sword and shout, 'This one is the Heavenly Demon!'"
"What."
My body froze. Me? No way. Nameless must be mistaken.
My head creaked back toward him with a grinding sound.
"Ha, haha, what are you talking about? I've never done that."
An awkward laugh slipped out, cold sweat beading on my forehead and the back of my neck.
"Pardon? Every time you were alone in the training yard, you'd say you had a million followers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult under you, and your right-hand man, the Sword Demon Nameless..."
"Kyaaaaah—! Shut your mouth!"
I lunged to clamp his mouth shut, but Nameless backed away swiftly and kept talking.
"Why? I think it's great."
"Stoooop!"
He dodged my hands by twisting his head this way and that, then spoke again.
"It fits perfectly since we'll be seen as collaborating with the Demon King publicly. What a spot-on name!"
"..."
"Taking 'Heaven' from your name and adding 'Demon'—I thought you could see the future."
"..."
"And calling me Sword Demon? I was unsure at first, but now it sounds awesome."
"Ugh..."
"Master...?"
Digging up someone's dark history like that—what kind of demon does something so cruel...?
My fists clenched, shoulders trembling, vision blurring.
"No... That's not what I... ever wanted..."
I shrieked.
"Hic, I never did that!"
In that moment, my master's dignity plummeted into the earth.
...
Nameless's words brought back the dizzying memory from yesterday.
No, it wasn't a memory—it had to be a dream.
Ah, right. It really was just a dream.
Something like that couldn't possibly be real.
A silly, dopey smile crept onto my face.
Nameless eyed me with mild displeasure.
"Hmm, what's with you?"
"Nothing... The carriage is about to leave, so I came to fetch you, Master."
"Alright, let's go."
The carriage raced on for three days until we reached our desired destination.
Along the way, my mind wasn't in the best shape, so Nameless and I didn't have any deep conversations—just light chit-chat to pass the time.
I jumped down from the carriage and looked around.
Near the village entrance as it was, there wasn't much to note besides the parked carriages.
Judging by the size of the walls I'd seen on the approach, this place was larger than the first village Nameless and I had visited.
My heart pounded a little.
"Master, shall we secure a room at an inn first?"
"Hmm, yes, let's do that."
With so many people on the street, I gripped Nameless's hand tightly so he wouldn't get lost.
He glanced down at our joined hands, cheeks flushing, then shook his head and started walking.
Hmm, getting shy over this.
Holding hands to stay together in a crowd is perfectly natural.
I nodded to myself.
Thanks to Nameless knowing the outside world a bit better than I did, finding an inn was easy enough.
We booked one near the entrance, and oddly enough, we'd be sharing a room again—but fortunately, there were two beds this time.
‘I didn't mind either way.’
But Nameless blushing so much was ridiculous.
We used to sleep together as kids without issue, yet now that he's a bit older, he acts reluctant.
It soured my mood, lips pouting.
Raising a child is all for naught, as the ancients say.
The old wisdom holds true.
As if sensing my feelings, Nameless approached with a bright smile.
"Master, after unpacking, shall we explore the village?"
"Hmm, sure. If that's what you want, it'd be nice to go together."
"Yes, I want to go somewhere, but it'd be boring alone."
His acting was a tad obvious, but it didn't bother me.
Regardless of the theatrics, he was doing it with me in mind.
His thoughtfulness pleased me, and I smiled back.
"Alright, let's go."