201
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 201
Yan spotted several soldiers and Mitchell resting on nearby rocks shortly after riding on horseback.
Yan dismounted the horse almost like jumping off.
"Mitchell, where is Division Commander Baker?"
"He's right in front of you."
Yan saw a shabby man sitting on a rock, ravenously eating bread.
He wore a common soldier's uniform without any rank insignia, with disheveled beard and hair.
He seemed to have gone through a lot, busy stuffing bread in his mouth without even noticing Yan's arrival.
"Commander, the Hero has arrived."
Baker startled, quickly swallowed the bread in his mouth and lowered his voice solemnly.
"Ah,ahem! Good to see you, Hero. I see you're safe as well."
"Fortunately. More importantly, are you alright?"
"I'm fine except for being a bit cold. But is this all the soldiers we have? What about the wizards and other soldiers?"
"Unfortunately, this is all we have."
Baker's hands trembled.
"This is all because of that Elijah! I was certain he would betray the Empire! That's why I urgently advised His Majesty the Emperor to dismiss him and appoint me, Baker Redfield, as the Allied Commander. Only now after things have come to this do they listen to me?! Tsk tsk."
Baker stood up, brushing off the crumbs from his hands.
"By the way, where were you all heading? Shouldn't we gather the scattered soldiers?"
At that moment, a Colonel quickly interjected.
"We're actually heading to the Demon King's castle because of that issue. If we occupy the most symbolic location in the demon realm and spread rumors that the Allied Commander and Hero are there, wouldn't the allied forces gather naturally?"
"Hmm, that makes sense. But where is my golden dagger? His Majesty must have sent it along with the imperial order?"
Mitchell lifted his cloak to show the golden dagger at his side.
"It's here. And the order is in this tube."
"Oh! I see! Then hand them over."
As Baker reached out, Mitchell stepped back.
"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask."
"Oh? What do you want to ask? You're not going to ask something useless like whether I'm willing to take on the role of Allied Commander, are you?"
"No. Don't we have an agreement? I'd like you to honor it now."
"...An agreement?"
"Yes. Don't you remember?"
Baker's expression slightly hardened.
"My memory is a bit fuzzy..."
Mitchell's hand moved toward the Kingfisher.
"How could you forget that? I kept my promise."
Yan's hand twitched when Mitchell seemed about to strike Baker, but he held back.
Hadn't he recently heard that Elijah could control doppelgangers?
There was no guarantee that this suddenly appeared Baker wasn't Elijah's doppelganger.
So Mitchell must be asking about a secret only known between Baker and himself.
Yan became wary of the soldiers who came along.
The soldiers could only nervously swallow their saliva, unable to properly eat their bread in the tense atmosphere.
"Please tell me. Do you remember what agreement we made?"
"Well..."
As Mitchell's hand almost touched the Kingfisher, Baker jumped up.
"Ah, ah! That's what you meant!"
"Would you explain it properly?"
"It's, it's a bit awkward to talk about it here, isn't it?"
Mitchell's hand touched the Kingfisher.
"Then just tell me the location."
"There should be one under the left spire of Bat Tower, and if you go about 10km north from the Demon King's castle, there's a small village. It's in the basement of the largest building in that village."
"What's stored there?"
"V-vampire artworks. And some jewels."
"Do you remember why I was supposed to receive them?"
"W-well..."
Baker's face turned pale as Mitchell seemed ready to draw his sword at any moment.
Baker rolled his eyes around before snapping his fingers.
"Ah, ah! I-I promised to give them to you if you recommended me to His Majesty for the Allied Commander position! The assets I secretly set aside! Isn't that right? Huh?"
Mitchell stared at Baker for a while before smiling slightly.
"It is indeed you, uncle."
"O-of course! Obviously. No, wait! Why did you threaten me?! Huh? Me, the Allied Commander!"
"Recently, there was a doppelganger copying my appearance walking around. I thought you might be a doppelganger too."
"What? Doppelgangers? They still exist?"
"That's how it is. Anyway, now I can give these to you."
Mitchell took out the imperial order and golden dagger and handed them to Baker.
"We should have held a grand inauguration ceremony, but unfortunately that will have to wait until we enter the Demon King's castle. If we delay here any longer, we might be attacked by bandits."
"Shouldn't we at least have a simple ceremony? So other soldiers can recognize my face!"
While Mitchell thought this endless vanity was proof this was the real Baker, he felt frustrated.
He wondered if it was right to actually make this incompetent person the Allied Commander during such chaotic times.
"Then let's do that."
"Thanks. I'll go get ready then. Ah, are there any other clothes?"
Mitchell looked at Baker's protruding belly.
He wasn't sure if there would be a military uniform large enough to cover that protruding belly.
"Well, I'll look for one. Then I'll take my leave."
"Ah, and I'd like the Hero to be my escort for now......"
Baker seemed somewhat anxious, probably because of his rough encounter with Elijah.
"What will you do?"
Yan honestly didn't want to take on Baker's escort duty.
He thought it would be right for him to escort the wounded and supplies in the rear.
"I'm currently tasked with escorting the wounded and supplies. We'll assign White Knights for your escort, so please don't worry."
"Still, I'd feel more at ease with the Hero present. Would it be too much to ask?"
Yan was really troubled.
If it were someone else, it wouldn't matter, but since it was a request from the Alliance Commander, it was awkward to refuse outright.
Yan eventually nodded.
"...Then I'll just gather my belongings and come right back."
"Hahaha! Thank you!"
"Then I shall take my leave."
"Come quickly!"
Yan and Mitchell met eyes.
They had much to say about Baker, but it was awkward to speak openly.
"Then I shall take my leave as well."
"Right. Sir Mitchell! Please hurry with the clothes!"
"Yes, understood."
As Mitchell and Yan disappeared from sight, Baker beckoned to a nearby soldier.
"Ahem! Is there any more bread? I'm getting hungry."
"Ah, yes. Here it is."
Baker took the bread from the soldier and put it in his mouth.
Simultaneously, he sent a telepathic message to his colleague.
-Next time, contact me sooner. That was close.
-Understood. I'll be more careful.
When no one was looking, Baker threw away the bread.
The rain-soaked bread was too unpalatable.
***
When word spread that supply lines would reach Luxhope within 3 weeks, the unsettled atmosphere in the unit improved considerably.
Originally, even in moments of despair, people can hold onto and live by a single concrete hope.
"There's about a month's worth of food left too?"
"Yes. Ammunition is tight, but food shouldn't be a problem."
"Hmm..... Then......"
"No."
At Jerry's firm words, Caesar became awkward.
"What?"
"You were planning to hand over command and go somewhere again, weren't you?"
Jerry, this guy... Knows me too well.
"It's reconnaissance. Reconnaissance. Just going around to check if there are any problems in the area."
"Didn't you go out for reconnaissance and not return for two weeks last time?"
"There were various circumstances then."
"Won't those various circumstances arise again this time?"
Maybe they would.
He was planning to look for 'Flawless' while also trying to find out specifically what the demons of Niflheim were up to.
Although Agatha said she had no intention of binding Caesar now, he still needed to find ways to counter her.
As Agatha's power grew stronger by the day, Caesar could become bound by her words without realizing it.
So Caesar thought it would be better to obtain Flawless in preparation for any contingency.
'And it wouldn't hurt to prepare defenses against mental attacks.'
Mental attacks are used not only by Agatha but also by devils.
Although devils' mental attacks can be somewhat covered by 'magic resistance,' how could one not try to get an end-game item that's supposedly circulating in the demon realm?
Of course, if he messed with Raum, Belial would definitely come for revenge... But where in the world is there anything without risk?
"Still, it's not allowed. Isn't this unit here solely looking up to you, Sir Caesar? If you go out for reconnaissance and suddenly lose contact, the soldiers will become extremely anxious."
Jerry's words had a point.
If Caesar suddenly disappeared, the unit members would fall into panic like lost chicks.
"Alright. Then half a day. I'll return before the rain stops. That works, right?"
Jerry seemed satisfied that the negotiation worked and nodded.
"Take a communication crystal from Charles. That should make it possible."
"Call! Gloria."
Gloria answered with strength in her belly.
"Yes!"
"Bring the whitey. We're leaving right away."
"Where are you going?"
"To the beast people. I have things to ask from them and things to receive."
While it would be best for Caesar to move directly to find traces of the devil, since that's not feasible right now, he plans to entrust devil tracking to the beast people.
The beast people are natural hunters, so they're no less capable than Caesar at tracking and finding things.
"Then am I going with you?"
"You? If I take you too, there won't be enough space. Do you want to go?"
"As your adjutant, it would be proper for me to go."
Caesar used psychometry on Gloria.
-There have been strange rumors lately.
-They say Lady Raven and Master have gotten much closer...
-I need to check if that's true.
Caesar sighed inwardly.
'Now you believe in such things too?'
While it wasn't strange for such gossip to spread within the military, he never thought Gloria, who spent almost 24 hours with him, would believe such rumors.
No, could it be believable?
Recently, he had been spending more time with Raven rather than Gloria.
Especially when visiting demon race members, he only took Raven along, so she might believe such things.
'You don't have time to be interested in such things, Gloria.'
When they could barely handle Holy Grail Knights approaching almost every day, how could she be interested in such useless things.
"Didn't I tell you to train every day? Are you training properly?"
"I'm training in sparring matches with other knights."
"How's your record?"
Gloria couldn't meet Caesar's eyes, seemingly embarrassed.
"...I lost all of them."
Then, Gideon stepped forward and said:
"Sir Gloria is doing well. It's just that she can't match up due to the huge difference in both skill and equipment with other knights."
"Hmm..."
To be honest, the gap between Caesar's knights and Gloria is quite large.
The White Army knights Caesar brought are all A to B rank elites, so it's impossible for Gloria to win against them.
Moreover, Gloria's equipment is far inferior to other knights.
Gloria only has a chest guard covering her chest and shoulders, while others wear full plate armor.
If Gloria dreamed of becoming a technique-type knight it would be different, but she dreams of becoming a classic knight, specifically a magic swordsman knight armed with artifacts.
In other words, Gloria was essentially playing a game of chess after giving up all her pieces when facing other knights.
Of course, sparring with other knights in such a disadvantaged situation helps Gloria's growth.
She can internalize the formula for defeat.
But continuous defeats naturally lead to hesitation and loss of confidence, preventing one from showing their full abilities.
In other words, while the formula for defeat is important, finding one's own formula for victory is also extremely important.
Originally, he planned to keep her in the unit for continued training, but it seems that won't work.
"Alright. Gloria, follow me."
"Really?"
"But tell Raven to find a way for three people to move together. Raven will need to come along too."
Gloria clenched her fist.
"Yes, understood!"
***
Caesar rode Whitey.
'It feels empty without magic.'
When riding with Raven, she would use magic to deflect raindrops.
Without Raven's magic, the raindrops hitting his face directly were somewhat bothersome.
Caesar looked at Gloria riding behind him and said:
"How is Raven following us?"
Gloria took out something like a small crystal ball from her chest.
"She gave me a magic coordinate generator. She said to speak to the crystal and throw it on the ground when we arrive."
"She'll use spatial movement to come right over when you use that?"
"Yes. She said it would work as long as we don't go beyond 40km radius. We won't go that far, right?"
"That's right. The beast people autonomous territory isn't far from Eagle valley."
Caesar glanced at Gloria and said:
"I think you won't do anything strange when we get there."
"Of course. I'll just stay still like a wooden log and watch."
"But I'm going to make you do some strange things."
"...What kind of things?"
"You'll need to duel with the beast people."
"Huh? Is that allowed?"
"We're in the demon realm, so you should fight with demon race members too. For the next 3 weeks, you'll fight with beast people every day."
"Well... Getting various experiences is good, but has this been arranged with the beast people?"
"No, but this will be necessary for the beast people too. While grown beast people have fought knights on battlefields, young beast people who just completed their coming-of-age ceremony haven't fought knights before. It's a win-win for both sides."
"What about my duties?"
"I've prepared suitable excuses so don't worry about that. Just focus on growing."
Come to think of it, I need to get her Elixir too...
I should ask the beast people if they have Elixir that can be consumed raw like magic grass.
"I'll somehow get you Elixir too, so make sure to take it regularly."
"Yes, understood."
So don't get captured, Gloria.
The Holy Grail Knight Roland must be approaching the demon realm by now.
Holy Grail Knights don't typically use trains for transportation.
They walk or ride horses.
Assuming they travel by horse, it takes at least two months from Roydergues to Eagle valley.
That's only if nothing goes wrong.
The time becomes indefinite if they encounter bandits or if Elijah blocks the Steel Fortress entrance.
So by Caesar's rough calculation, the Holy Grail Knights' arrival time would be...
'Three months at shortest, six months at longest.'
It would be good to leave the demon realm before then, but if that's not possible, Gloria will have to escape alone.
So Caesar plans to quickly develop Gloria in preparation for any situation.
Just then, black smoke could be seen rising from the middle of the beast people forest.
The beast people village must be there.