238
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake
Chapter 238
Caesar looked at the propaganda leaflet placed on the table.
[Caesar is a doppelganger.]
[If Caesar does not reveal the truth, we will attack the Empire's regular supply ship coming to Luxhope.]
"How widely has this been distributed?"
Jerry spoke up.
"Countless numbers. We are currently collecting and burning the leaflets continuously."
"Where did these leaflets come from?"
"They flew in from the direction of Luxhope."
"This is clearly the work of those devils."
Communications staff officer Charlie spoke.
"According to the doppelganger, Luxhope appears to be occupied by thieves, but it is effectively under devil occupation. Therefore, it is highly likely that these leaflets were created and distributed by devils."
"I think so too."
Caesar glared at Raven. Raven was looking at the leaflets with a somewhat dazed expression. It seemed her thoughts were complicated.
"Setting everything else aside, the key point is that they are targeting our supply ships. They likely intend to let us starve to death."
"That's right. It must be because the doppelgangers leaked information."
While other issues might be uncertain, the devils targeting the supply ships is a significant problem. If they threaten the supply ships to turn back or if the supply ships were to sink, it would be a catastrophe.
"Then there is only one solution. Find all the devils and kill them. This is an unavoidable battle."
All the staff officers nodded as if in agreement. Jerry raised his hand and said,
"The problem is that if the devils hide until the regular ship arrives, the situation will become serious. But if we try to pursue them, each one is a formidable opponent."
Without holy oil, without paladins, and with soldiers who have never hunted devils before, pursuing the demons risks being defeated one by one.
'Should I have left the doppelganger alone if I knew this would happen?'
No.
Whether the doppelganger existed or not, they would have known we would target the supply ships and would have attacked them anyway. At that moment, Charlie raised his hand.
"However, I think it would be good to clarify one thing first."
"What do you mean by clarify?"
"I understand that Lady Raven can confirm whether someone is lying or not by sensing magic fluctuations."
No one present misunderstood Charlie's intention. Gloria slammed the table.
"Are you suggesting we determine whether Lord Caesar is a doppelganger or not?"
"Yes. I think this is the most definitive way to end the misunderstanding."
Like a true wizard, he is extremely rational. It seems he wants to check the facts first.
"This is an insult to Lord Caesar!"
"How is this an insult? He just needs to say he isn't, and that's it."
Caesar slammed the table. The command tent fell silent.
"Charlie. Your suspicion is justified and understandable."
"...I'm not saying I suspect Lord Caesar. Since many people are anxious, I simply want to establish certainty."
"But let me ask you this. If I had been lying all this time, why do you think Raven would have remained silent until now?"
"That's..."
"So let's not discuss this anymore. It's just a waste of emotions and time. It's better to discuss methods to kill those devils instead."
Of course, if Raven stepped forward, the immediate problem would be quickly resolved. But Caesar hoped that Raven would not lie about his situation. One liar in Caesar was enough. At that moment, Raven stood up abruptly.
"Let me say one thing."
Raven's green eyes turned toward Caesar. Countless emotions were swirling in Raven's eyes. After a brief silence, Raven's lips parted.
"Caesar is not a doppelganger."
Caesar was not at all pleased with Raven's lie. Should he say it was unlike Raven? It felt like emotions had taken precedence over rational judgment, ending the issue prematurely. While Caesar hesitated briefly, Jerry spoke up.
"...So that's it. Let's not discuss this matter any further. And let's make sure the soldiers don't become agitated."
"Yes. Understood."
Caesar thought he would need to have a deeper conversation with Raven about what just happened later. For now, he needed to handle the urgent matters.
"What about the plan to occupy Luxhope?"
"As Lord Caesar instructed, we plan to proceed with bombarding the Luxhope area and then sending in a small number of personnel."
"Are we certain there are no civilians in Luxhope?"
"Luxhope was originally a military port, and when Elijah struck Luxhope once, he left it devastated, so it's impossible for civilians to remain there."
"Good. Then let's proceed with the Luxhope recapture operation as originally planned."
If we cannot protect Luxhope, there will be nowhere for the supply ships to dock in the demon realm. The problem is that we need to protect both Luxhope and the supply ships simultaneously… The problem has become more complex than expected.
"When is the regular supply ship expected to arrive?"
"Approximately one week from today. We should dispatch troops with the advance team starting tomorrow."
"The schedule is tighter than I thought."
Originally, I wanted to proceed with a more relaxed schedule, but given the numerous complicated events of the past two weeks, it can't be helped.
"Retreating now is impossible. If we fail to occupy Luxhope, returning to the continent becomes impossible. Therefore, we must depart tomorrow without fail."
"Yes. Understood."
"Then let's adjourn."
As the meeting ended, people began to leave the tent. Caesar watched Raven leaving and said,
"Raven, let's have a cup of tea."
***
Raven immediately cast a sound block spell as soon as she arrived at Caesar's personal tent.
"No need to thank me. It's already been discussed."
Caesar said as he placed the kettle on the brazier.
"I wanted to say that too, but I called you to apologize. I'm sorry for making you lie because of me."
"It's much better than letting the unit become confused before a major operation. I want to escape this tedious demon realm just as much as everyone else."
Raven's tone was extremely cold. It made Caesar uncomfortable, feeling that the coldness was directed at him. It strongly felt like Raven was deliberately pushing Caesar away. As Caesar began putting tea leaves into the cup, Raven spoke.
"I don't plan to stay for tea. I'd appreciate it if you could get to the point quickly."
Raven stood with her body slightly turned to the side, not properly looking at Caesar. When Caesar first revealed he was a doppelganger, although her eyes showed surprise, she stared directly at Caesar, intending to carefully observe even the slightest movement to determine what Caesar might do. But now, Raven seemed unwilling to engage in a proper conversation with Caesar. Or more precisely, she appeared to find it difficult to endure being alone with him in this situation.
"Fine. Since you want me to get to the point, I will."
Tap!
Caesar placed the teacup on the table.
"You shouldn't have defended me today."
"...What?"
Raven's gaze turned toward Caesar. Confusion swirled in her green eyes.
"Are you saying that my helping you was wrong?"
"Yes. You reacted too emotionally just now."
Raven frowned as if finding this absurd.
"Ha! I don't understand what you're saying at all. Didn't you see? Charlie was suspicious of you. Not just him, all the other staff officers were suspicious too. If I hadn't stepped in, they would have continued to interrogate you, and everything we've done so far could have been wasted. Don't you know that?"
"They wouldn't have been swayed by a single piece of propaganda sent by devils. They probably thought the devils were getting desperate."
"Oh, really? So I intervened unnecessarily? I should have just stayed quiet when you were being suspected of being a doppelganger?"
Raven had rarely been this sensitive before. She was someone who always suppressed her emotions to exchange opinions rationally for optimal results.
But today was different.
Caesar had a guess about the reason, but felt he would need to use psychometry to clearly understand why Raven was acting this way.
'But the moment I read her mind, Raven will notice.'
Raven was exceptionally good at detecting emotional changes. If Caesar's emotions suddenly changed, Raven would suspect that Caesar had used psychometry and might immediately storm out of the tent, accusing him of reading her mind without permission.
Caesar picked up the kettle and placed it on the brazier.
"We talked about discussing psychometry between us before, didn't we?"
"...What are you suddenly going on about?"
"You read my emotions through magic waves, but I can't read you with psychometry."
"W-why are you bringing this up suddenly?"
"Let's be fair now. I'll read your thoughts, and you can freely read my emotions."
"What? That's not possible!"
"Why not?"
The kettle began to boil quickly. Caesar took another step closer to Raven. Raven stepped back, her eyes trembling like a frightened child.
"Other people can't read emotions or thoughts so we can't help it, but I'm different. Isn't this fair?"
"That's... True, but..."
Raven stopped, having nowhere left to retreat. When Raven looked up, Caesar was looking down at her with flashing red eyes. The pressure was more intense than expected, making her body tremble.
"Raven."
"...Not now. Later..."
"The reason I didn't want your help was because if by chance it was discovered that I was a doppelganger, you would be in trouble."
"What...?"
Caesar picked up the kettle and poured hot water into the teacup.
"I tried to read the propaganda leaflet with psychometry, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking when he sent such propaganda. I couldn't determine whether he was just trying to shake me up or if he actually had definitive evidence that I was a doppelganger."
Caesar placed the teacup directly into Raven's hand. The warmth of the teacup gently seeped into Raven's palm.
"If the devils have clear evidence that I'm a doppelganger, or if they have a way to reveal that I'm a doppelganger, you'll become someone who lied to others. You can clearly distinguish whether someone is lying or not through magic waves."
"Then others will start pressing you. Why did you protect Caesar? Did you perhaps make some deal with me? They'll eat away at you like this."
Raven gripped the teacup tightly.
"Then... If it's discovered that you're a doppelganger, are you telling me to abandon you?"
"Yes. You're human and I'm a demon. Even if I'm discovered, I can stop pretending to be human and live as a doppelganger with other demons, but you can't. You ultimately have to live among humans."
Raven felt like her heart was sinking.
"...Have you always thought that way? That you and I are different?"
She knew what would be a comforting answer. But Caesar thought there was a different answer that would be better for Raven.
"When I first stood before you, I was a doppelganger and a spy."
Raven's palms grew hot. The warmth of the teacup disappeared, replaced by a searing heat that pierced her palms. She wanted to throw it away right then and there. Raven's green eyes filled with a watery sheen. Those water-filled green eyes took in Caesar completely.
"...Why are you lying?"
Raven read Caesar's magic waves. The magic waves flowing from Caesar's body were tearing him apart.
"Why are you trying to push me away? Why do you keep trying to hurt me? Why are you being so cruel to me, and why do you say we're different when you said demon race or humans are the same people?"
Raven dropped the teacup and the tea spilled onto the floor.
"Why can't I protect you? Why can't I help you? Why shouldn't I get into trouble because of you?"
"You save me even knowing your identity might be discovered, you apologize for me and get hurt for me, so why can't I do the same?"
Raven's palms stung. The hot sensation was still burning her palms.
"Are you saying we can't even be friends anymore? Is that what Agatha says?"
"I did it because I didn't want you to get into trouble because of me."
"Why are you being so selfish?"
Raven felt like she was crying because of that burning heat.
"Why do you call me a girl, why do you keep trying to protect me? I didn't need that kind of consideration. Just as you said you could die for me, I could die for you too. We've been through so much together, why are you trying to deny that?"
Raven wiped her tears with her sleeve. But no matter how much she wiped, tears kept flowing.
"Read my heart, Caesar."
Raven buried her head against Caesar's body.
"Read my heart. Read how I think of you. Read it and answer. Whether I'm someone who shouldn't get hurt for you. Answer whether I'm a human who doesn't even deserve that right."
Caesar found it difficult to handle Raven's wholehearted advance. Though Raven's weight was very light, her heart was so heavy that he wanted to step back, finding it hard to bear.
"Answer, Caesar. Am I really someone who's not even worth that much?"
Caesar used psychometry. Raven's heart came through deeply and heavily through her head. Caesar didn't know how to handle this emotion that was so heavy, tender, and lovely that it seemed impossible for this small-framed woman to possess it.
"...I'm sorry."
Because this was all he could say, Caesar repeated it again.
"I'm sorry."
The magic waves flowing from Caesar's body created deep ripples that struck Raven. Raven couldn't withstand the emotional turbulence and tears poured out. Caesar read that anguish again through psychometry and said again.
"I'm sorry."
Raven's trembling lips moved. No sound came out, so even Caesar couldn't hear. But he could tell what Raven was saying to him. Those words were so heartbreaking that Caesar found it impossible to answer.