153
I Killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.
Chapter 153
Caesar received the bottle instead of accepting Elijah's drink.
And he poured the drink into the teacup himself.
"It's difficult to answer right now."
Elijah chuckled while looking at Caesar.
"As expected, you don't even lie with empty words. Why don't you lie?"
"Because my very existence is a lie."
Elijah nodded as if he understood.
"Well, that's the life of a spy."
What would happen if Elijah knew the deeper secret he was hiding?
What if Caesar was actually Choi Seo-han and someone from another world?
What if he said this was actually a game world?
Caesar does not raise these questions because it would be difficult to explain, and even if he did explain, there would be no benefit in return.
Elijah took a sip of his drink.
"Then I'm curious about one thing. Why did you tell Agatha that I was planning a demon realm war? Didn't you expect that hearing this story would create conflict between Agatha and me?"
"I expected it."
"So you anticipated this situation. Do you feel no responsibility for the war that will occur between me and Agatha?"
Elijah was a political schemer who could gaslight as naturally as breathing.
Agatha's anger towards Elijah and the war structure that will unfold between them in the future.
The innocent blood that will be spilled in between.
He was saying that everything was Caesar's responsibility.
"Don't blur the essence. Elijah, don't you know that the current situation arose from a misguided desire for revenge against Diana? All the blood that shouldn't have been shed is because of you."
"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't told Agatha."
"No. Before I spoke, you could have confessed your mistake to Agatha and sought forgiveness."
Caesar countered Elijah's sophistry with a logical argument.
In the end, Elijah is the one who should apologize.
Elijah's arrogance and mistake was forcing Caesar to lie to hide his own disgraceful actions.
"Do you intend to apologize to Agatha, even now?"
"Not at all."
Caesar scoffed at Elijah's immediate answer.
"That's right. That's exactly who you are. You would rather die than admit your mistakes."
A proud male lion with strong possessiveness.
This was the image of Elijah that Caesar held, and Elijah himself.
"What do you know about me to be saying such things?"
"I don't know much. But I hope you realize that I can read your thoughts."
Caesar poured the drink and spoke.
"Even if Agatha forgives you, you're someone who will never apologize. You think you were used by Diana for 100 years. So you want to grab and shake anything to prevent yourself from being used again."
"That's why you use alter egos. You trust the alter egos you can always grab and shake the most. If you receive Agatha's forgiveness, you'll owe a debt, and you're afraid of being led by that debt."
Elijah's face turned red, and the furnishings trembled.
It meant he was so angry he could barely control himself.
Caesar fell silent when the murderous intent became so intense that his entire body went numb.
"There's a limit, Caesar. Don't provoke me any further."
"You were the one who provoked first."
"Then let's stop this meaningless conversation and have a constructive discussion."
Elijah poured drink into the teacup and spoke.
"You seem to have met the beast people recently?"
This guy knows everything.
Caesar simply nodded.
"Yes. I went for a walk to investigate those fanatics with horns on their heads, and to see the faces of those damn beast people."
Caesar pointed to one side of the demon realm map hanging on the wall.
"It seems the black-horned clan will be targeting the Demon King's castle soon. Well, you who planted doppelgangers in the beast people's forest probably already know this information."
Caesar chuckled.
"Can you really not use me even after seeing the Demon King's castle being reoccupied by the demon race? You'll need at least 300 wizards."
"I'll just take away your command authority."
"To do that, you'll need permission from the Emperor. Even if you send someone to the imperial nation capital now, it'll take more than a month for the Emperor's order to reach the demon realm. What if the black-horned clan attacks before then? You'll have no choice but to request my help."
Elijah drank his drink in one gulp.
"If the Demon King's castle is taken, you can't avoid responsibility either."
"Won't you suffer a bigger loss? If the Demon King's castle is occupied, your name will spread more across the continent than mine. If that happens, your influence in the Friedrich region will also decrease."
From the beginning, Elijah needed Caesar's help.
The rebel forces were cutting off supply lines in the rear, and the allied forces' morale was rock bottom.
In this situation, if the black-horned clan takes the Demon King's castle?
Elijah would suffer massive political and military damage.
"At least until Sith advances into the Imperial nation, you'll need my help, right? And from the start, I don't want to raise my position within the allied forces. I just want to get out of this battlefield as soon as possible."
"So what is it that you truly want?"
"I already told you my goal. The Imperial nation’s division and Agatha properly establishing herself in the demon realm. If that goal is properly achieved, I need nothing else."
Elijah poured drink into his glass.
Pouring slowly, it seemed he was deep in thought.
Caesar tried to read his thoughts using psychometry.
-To stop Mitchell's rebellion, taking command of the wizards is the right move.
-Then Mitchell won't dare to attack me recklessly.
'What? A rebellion?'
Caesar felt a chill at the word ‘rebellion’.
It probably wasn't a rebellion against the royal family.
Maybe a rebellion against Elijah himself.
So he's trying to impeach Elijah and plant his desired commander...
That's why he publicly blocked Mitchell and Yan's opinions.
Tap!
Elijah placed the drink on the table.
"Then let's do it this way. I'll assign you the reconnaissance mission for the black-horn clan. Additionally, I'll officially allow you to be a special diplomatic officer and liaison officer within the allied forces, responsible for communicating with the beast people."
Elijah pushed forward so boldly that Caesar wondered if this was the same person who just said he wouldn't give Caesar a chance to make merits.
"Instead, to prevent command gaps during the reconnaissance operation, transfer the wizards' command authority to me."
The transfer of wizards' command authority would be to prevent Mitchell's armed rebellion.
Just having the wizards' command authority would be enormous pressure for Mitchell.
But there's still something he doesn't understand.
Why does Mitchell want to impeach Elijah by force?
Should he meet Mitchell?
Or ask Elijah directly?
It's too big an issue to discuss casually.
If he meddles, he might really lose his head.
"Is that all?"
"No, write the reconnaissance report as pessimistically as possible. I'll use your report as grounds to determine we can't maintain the front line. And then I'll disband the allied forces and send everyone back to their hometowns."
Could this plan really work based on just Caesar's single report?
The operation seems too crude.
"Will the Redfield family and the imperial family allow this?"
"The only reason we've maintained the front line so far is because the beast people and Orcs have been fighting an internal war in the beast people's forest. But in a situation where the power balance has completely shifted to the Orcs, maintaining this vast front line is impossible."
He's moving more radically than expected.
In other words, he's essentially ignoring the Emperor's orders and focusing on protecting the Friedrich region.
"So what are your thoughts about the Black Horn Clan? Do you have no plans to wipe them out?"
"Even if I wanted to, it's impossible. Waging a war in that densely packed forest of beast people would be nothing short of suicide. How could we possibly fight the Orcs in a battlefield where we can't even secure formation and timing?"
"Then what are your plans for the beast people?"
"Now you're even worried about the beast people? They are traitors who sold out the demon race just to save themselves."
"Did you also harbor ill feelings towards the beast people?"
"I did. At least until you convinced me."
The beast people were ultimately just another piece created by Diana.
Elijah would have wanted to completely eliminate the beast people.
And so...
"No way..."
Elijah took a sip of his drink and spoke.
"Now there's no reason not to reveal this. I spread typhoid among the beast people and killed their guardian tree. I thought this would allow the aggressive Orcs to annihilate the beast people and turn their forest into a wasteland."
Caesar was momentarily speechless.
"Of course, the beast people tend to be so focused on defending their territory that they lack an offensive spirit. For my plan to collapse the demon front lines, I thought it would be best to place aggressive creatures like the Orcs at the forefront. And my plan worked out perfectly."
Caesar no longer saw Elijah as human.
He appeared as a monster willing to use any heinous method to achieve his goals.
"So stop worrying about the beast people and just focus on writing the reconnaissance report. That way, I can hand over the demon realm to Agatha and step back."
"...Really?"
"I'm serious. There's nothing to gain by dragging this out. Instead, handling the Black Horn Clan will be Agatha's responsibility."
Caesar was suspicious of how readily Elijah was willing to withdraw.
"You don't have some hidden agenda?"
"Well, nothing comes to mind right now. Especially with my nose stretched out this long."
Elijah's words seemed like he was just waiting for an opportunity to bite back.
He was someone who could never lower his guard.
Elijah chuckled.
"So this time, think carefully and make your decision. I'm not someone you can deal with using just truth and sincerity."
***
Yan stared blankly at the tracking rain while drinking.
Of course, openly drinking during wartime in front of others was inappropriate.
But he couldn't bear not drinking.
Yan secretly filled his water flask with strong liquor and hid in a corner like a thieving cat.
"...I'm so tired of this."
For the past three weeks, Yan had been suppressing the rebels.
Following Mitchell's advice to kill them all and restore the army's discipline, Yan killed every single one without leaving anyone alive.
But taking lives was still a horrific act.
The demon race faced Yan with pure hostility, but the rebels were different.
-Yes, hero?
-Hero! We were wrong! We committed a crime worthy of death!
-We, we just wanted to go home.
-We were just trying to eat a little more bread because we were so hungry... I was told I'd be brought to a military tribunal... I had no choice! Hero!
Their hostility was mixed with respect.
Just as they couldn't handle Yan, Yan found it difficult to handle them.
When capturing and executing them, his hand would not move.
During such times, Mitchell would hold his hand, and Rose would comfort him at night.
-They are rebels. Think of the soldiers they killed.
-They even worshipped devils. Can't you see the evil?
-It's okay, Yan. You just did what needed to be done.
-The fact that you feel guilt is because you're a good person. I like you that way.
Strong liquor flowed down his throat.
Was it because rainwater was gradually entering the flask?
Or was it because he had become so tough that he could no longer get drunk?
Yan could not get drunk no matter how much he drank.
He just wanted to pretend to be intoxicated.
"What are you doing."
Yan turned around at the sound behind him.
"... Mitchell?"
Mitchell brought a box to sit on and sat next to Yan.
"Didn't you know I was coming?"
"...I was thinking."
Originally, he should have noticed Mitchell's approach much earlier, but recently Yan had become dull at sensing presences.
Was it because his tension had relaxed?
Or was it due to other factors? He couldn't tell.
"Raven, come sit too."
Come to think of it, Raven was also there.
Raven shook her head.
"I'll dirty my clothes."
"Do as you wish."
Mitchell stared at the Red Mountain Range, blurred by the water mist.
Despite the mist, the mountains remained red.
"Raven. Why are these Red Mountains red?"
"Because the mountains are rich in iron, and there are many iron trees and plants that absorb this iron."
"Iron trees are really expensive on the continent... But they're abundant here. The demon realm truly seems to be a land of opportunity."
Raven crossed her arms.
"So what are you trying to say?"
"If we hadn't stopped here and crossed the beast people's forest to reach near these Red Mountains, we could have cut down those iron trees, right? Isn't that so?"
"That would have been the case."
"It's so disappointing. Why did we stop last year? If we had tried harder, we could have occupied the beast people's forest and the Red Mountains."
"You know part of the reason we stopped is your fault too, Mitchell."
"We stopped because we began reducing military support immediately after killing the demon king. And because we couldn't handle the debts accumulated by each family and nation."
"Those are all excuses, Mitchell."
Raven, as the heir to the Gale Magic Tower, inevitably had to pay attention to politics.
That's why she knew the precise reasons Mitchell had withdrawn the Red Wing Knight Order and clan soldiers.
"It was because your brothers were trying to start a family rebellion."
Mitchell looked at the falling rain silently for a moment before speaking.
"There are too many incompetent but greedy people in this world."
Mitchell looked at his own hand.
The hot blood of his immediate older brother 'Tyrion', whom Mitchell had cut down, was once stained on this very palm.
"The reason our father was bedridden was because our brothers tried to poison his food to kill him. They thought if my father died quickly, I wouldn't become the family heir. But those bastards didn't know that father had already taken an antidote that could neutralize most poisons."
When the Redfield family lord survived the poisoning, the first and second sons immediately cut off the third son, Tyrion, who had directly added poison to the food.
Enraged, Tyrion gathered his forces to start a rebellion, and when no one could stop it, Mitchell returned and suppressed Tyrion's rebellion.
"Yes, Raven, you're right. Part of the reason we didn't fully occupy the demon realm is my fault. But that's not the decisive reason. The real reason we didn't occupy the demon realm is that after killing the demon king, we no longer felt the need to occupy it."
Mitchell stared blankly at the muddy ground.
"That's why I'm back in this hellish demon realm. To finish what we couldn't complete."
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
This wasn't from Raven's mouth.
It was Yan's response, who had been quietly drinking.
"Too much blood has been spilled on this land. How much more needs to be shed? Is there even a reason to take this land while killing our own people?"
Yan stood up.
"What do you want, Mitchell? What does His Imperial Majesty want from this land? Suppressing rebels? That's just a pretext. Should we kill all the demon race? Is that the only way to escape this damned land?"
Yan's solid flask was crushed like a piece of paper.
"Mitchell. Answer me. What needs to be done here to finally end this?"
Raven was disgusted by Yan's weak attitude.
The strongest knight in the world.
Yet he still couldn't clearly know where his sword should be directed.
"There's one piece of intelligence."
"...What are you about to say now?"
"Intelligence suggests Elijah Friedrich is going to start a rebellion."