146
I Killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.
Chapter 146
Caesar did not hide Elijah's secret from Agatha.
Agatha had the right to know, and knowing would help her respond if Elijah suddenly changed his mind.
Caesar did not completely trust Elijah.
He was a monster who had eaten his own son eight times.
Right now, he was accepting things because it was beneficial to accommodate Agatha and embrace Caesar, but if anything went slightly wrong, he would swing his sword without hesitation.
Therefore, for Caesar's sake, and simultaneously for Agatha's sake, Agatha needed to know about Elijah's secret.
Agatha's hand trembled.
"...So you're saying Elijah was planning to massacre all of us to take revenge on Demon King Diana? And using your hands to do it?"
"That's right. That's why I spared no support to get you to enter Eagle valley"
Agatha's angry voice cut through the forest.
"How is that even possible?! After everything we've been through? What did we survive for on that damned shipwrecked island, sucking fish blood and absorbing the spiritual energy of dolphins and whales?!"
Agatha stood up, grinding her teeth.
"So the demon realm war was also Elijah's plan? My mother's death! My friends' deaths! All because of that Elijah bastard?! Caesar! Isn't that right?!"
Bloody tears flowed from Agatha's eyes.
"What the hell is going on? Why do we… Why do we have to go through this? We…!”
"Agatha, calm down first."
"Do I look like I can calm down right now?!"
Agatha spread her wings.
"I'm going to kill that Elijah bastard right now. I'll definitely make him pay for killing our mother. I will definitely...!"
"Agatha!"
Caesar grabbed Agatha's shoulder.
Agatha looked up at Caesar with tear-filled eyes.
"Caesar... Why does this keep happening to me? What did I do wrong to deserve this..."
"This isn't to tell you to take revenge on Elijah."
"...Then why did you tell me this? For what reason..."
"To warn you to be cautious of Elijah."
Caesar spoke in a serious tone.
"Elijah is a monster who has lived for over 250 years and is the supreme commander of the allied forces. I'll stick by his side to minimize damage to you all. But if I'm not around or if his mind becomes distorted, you could all be in grave danger."
Elijah had lived over 250 years and had eaten eight of his own children.
Caesar couldn't believe that just because he seemed okay now, he would remain okay in the future.
"So go somewhere invisible to us. It's better to go to lands where Orcs live. The regions where beast people live are currently plagued by an epidemic."
"...What about you? What will you do?"
"I still have many things to do. I can't leave yet."
Agatha took a deep breath.
"Okay. I understand everything you're saying. But I won't follow your words."
"What?"
Agatha wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Right now, Elijah's true reason is that you agreed to help with his revenge. But you can't owe him another debt, and I can't entrust the fate of our succubi and vampire clan entirely to you."
Agatha's eyes quietly burned.
"I need to see Elijah myself. I'll go and settle this. I'll tell him not to cowardly run away."
Caesar found it difficult to refuse Agatha's words.
And he could now understand why so many vampires and succubi served this tail-cut queen.
Agatha's words carried an irrefutable power.
This feeling was like...
"Alright. I understand."
"Thank you. Caesar. I'm always receiving help from you."
Agatha unfastened a small brown pouch from her belt and handed it over.
"These are the elixirs I've collected as much as possible. Sorry the quantity is small."
Caesar opened the pouch.
Inside were elixirs wrapped in clean cloth.
"This is..."
"These are the livers and hearts of sea creatures. Some were saved by mermaids, and some were obtained from ships we attacked. They're in a preservation magic pouch, so they should keep for 2-3 months."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
"I know this isn't enough to repay all the debt I owe you. But... Wait for me. I'll try to gather more somehow. And..."
Agatha moved her lips.
It seemed like she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.
Like before, it seemed to be a difficult story to tell.
"You didn't use psychometry?"
"I don't use it when it's not necessary."
"...I see."
Agatha took a deep breath and then spoke.
"I'll tell you now. I've wanted to tell you something since before."
Agatha brushed back her hair, revealing the inside of her horns.
"I might become the Demon King."
A white stain was deep inside the black horn.
Caesar was instinctively drawn to that white stain.
"...You."
Caesar reached out his hand towards the stain.
Agatha did not refuse Caesar's hand.
Caesar lightly touched the stain.
Nothing came out.
"...Isn't this just a nutritional imbalance?"
"What? Nutritional imbalance?"
"Like grey hair. Isn't it turning white because you couldn't eat for a while?"
Agatha laughed as if it was absurd.
"Ha, ha! Grey hair? My horn is turning white because I starved? You really...!"
"It was just a joke. I was trying to help you relax because you looked like someone who had done something wrong."
"Don't lie. You really thought that. Isn't it strange that I might become the Demon King?"
"I said it was just a joke."
"What kind of crazy person tells such a joke in front of a Demon King!"
"Me?"
"Oh, come on!"
So this was why Agatha's tail was regenerating faster than expected.
"When did you start changing?"
"Actually, it's been a while. A few months ago? When I was washing my hair, suddenly the inside of my horn started turning white. I originally thought it was some kind of disease..."
"And then?"
Agatha fidgeted with her fingers while speaking.
"Borden said this is a mark of Demon King selection."
"Has a succubus been a Demon King before?"
"No, that's not it. There's never been a Demon King from the succubus clan. It ends with vampires, beast people, and doppelgangers."
"But how can Borden be so sure this is a mark of the Demon King?"
"...I don't know. I just feel it. Recently, my sister has started to feel a bit uncomfortable around me. Other demon races are also starting to feel uncomfortable around me. Like a kind of distancing?"
Caesar understood what she meant.
Just like the feeling he just experienced from Agatha - a sense of reverence and charisma.
Wasn't it similar to how Caesar himself became an informant when he couldn't resist the call of the Demon King's command?
It was probably a similar principle.
"So what are you worried about? As time passes, you'll be able to rule the demon realm, so shouldn't you be happy?"
"...To be honest, I'm not sure."
Agatha sat down on a rock.
"Suddenly thinking I'll become the Demon King makes my shoulders feel heavy. My chest feels stuffy, it's hard to breathe, and I don't know what I should do."
"I just wanted to return to the demon realm. To get revenge on the beast people who betrayed us and the Orcs, and to live well with the surviving compatriots. That was enough for me."
Caesar's psychometry transmitted Agatha's emotions.
It felt like sinking into a deep sea, with enormous water pressure shrinking his entire body.
"But now that they're saying I'll become the Demon King, my siblings and subordinates who were close to me are finding it difficult... They don't even listen to me as anything but a joke... I just don't know."
Agatha looked up at Caesar and spoke.
"What should I do? If I become the Demon King, will that hero come to kill me? Then do I have to run away again? What about my remaining compatriots? Should I just hide the fact that I'm becoming the Demon King?"
"Agatha."
"I just don't know. I was already struggling to take care of more than 10,000 compatriots. It was hard to watch them suffering every day in that cold, damp shipwreck island, struggling with lack of blood and energy, and I was scared when they raised complaints. I couldn't do anything for them. What exactly am I supposed to do? I just... Ack!"
Bam!
Agatha's eyes welled up with tears from the sharp, stinging pain on her forehead.
"W-What are you doing!"
"I hit you to snap you back to your senses."
"You... Do you know how difficult this is for me?"
"What will you do if it's difficult? This fate is eventually coming to you anyway."
"...That's true. But aren't you talking about it too coldly, like it's someone else's problem?"
"I've been using psychometry this entire time. I've been fully feeling your emotions."
Caesar sat next to Agatha.
"Feels like you can't breathe? Like when you rode the sea dragon and descended to the bottom of the sea where almost no light reaches? Your chest feels tight and you're scared? You can't see anything below, and even when you look up, it seems impossible to move towards that light alone?"
Agatha slightly nodded.
"...That's right."
"Just because I feel the pressure you're experiencing doesn't make it my emotion, and your burden doesn't become my burden. But there's one thing that's certain."
Caesar pointed to Agatha's horn.
"The one who wears that crown must always carry such pressure. In that sense, I'm glad you're the Demon King."
Agatha's emotions flooded through.
Agatha was barely holding back her urge to hug Caesar and cry.
"Agatha. Wasn't it difficult when you first decided to rescue the demon races? Wasn't it hard when you decided to return to the demon realm? But you eventually did it. That was something only you could accomplish."
Agatha barely restrained herself from fully hugging him, instead resting her head on Caesar's shoulder.
"...It wasn't something I did alone. I could do it thanks to you. Coming to the demon realm, rescuing the demon races, it was all because of you."
"You negotiated with the mermaids, created temporary housing on the shipwreck island, procured food daily, and established laws and order to prevent people from fighting. My job was just to provide information and fight together, and you managed and ruled. If you had asked me to do what you did, I couldn't have done it."
"I also couldn't have done the things you did if someone asked me to."
"If you achieved something by asking or ordering others to do what you can't, it ultimately becomes your accomplishment. That's what a king does."
Caesar patted Agatha's back.
"So don't be scared. You'll eventually accomplish it."
Agatha looked at Caesar with eyes full of watery emotion.
"...Do you remember what I said before? To stay with me in the demon realm."
"Yes."
"I'll ask again. Can you stay with me?"
Agatha's heart leaned towards Caesar.
Although Agatha had somehow steadfastly protected the succubi and vampires, she was still vulnerable.
She needed something to lean on.
But Caesar decided to push her away.
"Where I need to be is among humans, not here. I'm more effective among humans. If I stay in the demon realm, I'll just become nothing more than a barbarian swinging an axe."
Agatha already knew Caesar would refuse.
If he had wanted to be with the demon races, he would have entered the shipwreck island long ago.
But knowing he would refuse and hearing it directly were entirely different.
Her faint hope was crushed.
Agatha swallowed her bitterness and extended her pinky finger.
"Then promise me."
"Promise what?"
"When you can no longer accomplish anything among humans. When you need the doppelganger 'Caesar', not the human 'Caesar', you'll return to the demon realm and stay with me."
Agatha's desperate gaze penetrated Caesar's eyes.
"Promise. Caesar."
Caesar is not someone who makes promises he can't keep.
Because the life of a doppelganger is a lie in itself...
No, because as long as he doesn't reveal that he is ‘Seo-han', everything in his life becomes a lie.
He didn't want to add more meaningless lies.
But Caesar was drawn to Agatha's pinky.
Whether because of the charisma of the future Demon King.
Or because of the compassion in her teary eyes.
Or as insurance for a place to return to when all of Caesar's plans eventually go awry.
None of these could be known.
He was simply drawn, and he hooked his pinky with Agatha's.
"Okay. I promise."
A droplet of water fell on Caesar's head.
Looks like the rainy season is about to begin.