253
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake
Chapter 253
"...Damn, I overdid it."
Caesar lay in bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages. To be completely honest, it was difficult to even move a finger.
"Who told you to fight like that to the death?"
Gloria entered the tent carrying a bowl filled with a sticky green liquid.
"What's that?"
"They say it's a wound treatment from the demon realm. Something like folk medicine."
"Do I apply that?"
"No. They say you drink it."
Ugh, they want me to drink something that looks so disgusting?
The texture of the liquid looks like it would be terrible going down.
"...Is this a properly proven medicine?"
"I don't know. But they say you heal faster if you drink it."
"Just put it aside for now. I can barely move a finger right now."
"Should I feed it to you?"
"I'll drink it later when I'm mentally prepared."
Gloria placed the bowl on the table.
"Why did you fight so recklessly, Master?"
"Because of the bet."
"Who told you to make a bet involving me? I never wanted that."
Gloria's lips protruded out, looking quite angry.
"You said if I just trust and follow you, I could become stronger. That was enough for me, so why did you have to fight that weird armor? There was no need to make a bet in the first place."
Caesar decided to apologize readily.
"I'm sorry. To be honest, I think I just wanted to fight that guy."
"Why?"
"I needed to properly understand what kind of being it was to decide whether to use it or not. That's why I pushed myself to find out and ended up like this."
"I have absolutely no intention of wearing that pervert-like armor. What did she say again? Something about liking my skin and hair?"
Gloria shuddered as if getting goosebumps.
"Even if it performs well, it's creepy enough to go inside a living gargoyle, but how could anyone wear something with such a weird personality?"
"Well, even if its personality is a bit strange, it's not entirely bad."
Gloria looked at Caesar in disbelief.
"Master, you're not going to tell me to wear that thing, are you?"
"As you said, while its personality is a bit odd, its performance is incredible."
"I don't want to. Master, would you want to wear a gargoyle that comments about your skin and figure?"
Even Caesar had to admit it was a bit much. Just thinking about suddenly having 'armor' wrapped around his body while commenting on his figure...
'Damn, even thinking about it makes me want to throw up.'
Gloria glared and said:
"Still, if you absolutely insist I wear it... I will. It would probably be a big help to you, Master. And you might worry less about me."
"No. There's no need to force yourself. I really wasn't thinking straight."
Just then, someone opened the tent door and entered.
It was Primachos.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Primachos frantically moved about, unable to hide her panic.
-No! No! Gloria! Don't abandon me!
Gloria drew her sword in alarm at the frantic Primachos.
"W-What! You!"
Primachos looked around for something to use, then grabbed a pencil and paper from Caesar's desk and wrote:
[Gloria. No!]
"What do you mean 'no'? Why did you come here?"
[I came to clear up what seems to be a misunderstanding.]
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"
Gloria glared fiercely at Primachos.
"Not only did you slash at my Master, now you won't even accept your defeat? You lost!"
[That wasn't a loss! It was a draw!]
"What draw? Your greatsword broke. You lost because you couldn't maintain your weapon properly."
After their final clash, both Primachos and Caesar remained conscious, staring at each other. The difference was that Caesar's Thunder only had scratches and was fine, while Primachos' greatsword was broken. Yan stepped in to mediate, judging that continuing the duel would be unreasonable.
-Let's stop here for today. If we continue, the ship might break.
"No matter how I think about it, you lost because your weapon broke. That's what I think."
Primachos panicked and tried to write something, but Gloria snatched the paper away.
"And! Even if you had won, I wouldn't go with you. Caesar is my only master. Don't try to use me for your own purposes."
Primachos' fingers trembled, and her shoulders slumped.
-I... I just wanted to be helpful to you...
Primachos finally dropped the pencil and collapsed on the spot.
-What should I do?
-How can I make Gloria forgive me?
Seeing Primachos so depressed like a rejected lover made Caesar feel somewhat sympathetic. She was just trying to help Gloria after all.
Caesar grabbed Gloria's shoulder and said:
"Well... Couldn't you at least hear her out? Gloria?"
"What?"
"Even though she's acting on her own, she did it for you."
"How is fighting you doing anything for me? That's just self-satisfaction. She didn't care about my feelings or my situation at all."
Primachos seemed to have no response and slumped even further.
"Plus, you got hurt, Master! You didn't even get this badly injured when fighting devils!"
Gloria raised her sword toward Primachos and said:
"I don't care whether you like me or not. But I can never forgive you for hurting my master."
Gloria felt more troubled by the fact that Caesar seemed to have been hurt because of her than anything else. If she had known Primachos would be such a strange fellow, she would never have accepted her. Caesar grabbed the paper in Gloria's hand and said.
"Don't people all make mistakes? What's important is what you do after making a mistake."
Caesar handed the paper to Primachos.
Primachos looked up at Caesar.
"Gloria, I understand that you're angry. But let's at least discuss what we should do going forward. Of course, before that..."
Caesar held Primachos's shoulder blade and smiled benevolently.
"You should properly apologize first."
-Primachos, do you understand now? You picked a fight you could never win from the start.
If Primachos had eyes, they would have trembled like aspen leaves.
"Master, you're too soft in these matters."
"How can anyone live without making a single mistake in life? Primachos just made a mistake."
Primachos' body trembled.
Unlike before, it was due to anger rather than remorse.
-This...! You, wicked...!
-If you truly care for Gloria, you should first think about what Gloria wants. How can you be so forceful?
Caesar placed a pencil in Primachos' hand.
-The bond between Gloria and me is deeper than you can imagine. Just as Gloria would risk her life for me, I would risk my life for Gloria. This is sincere, and I have proven it through actions.
Primachos read Caesar's sincerity through psychometry. Then Primachos' trembling subsided.
-Now what you need to do is write down how much you can give up yourself for Gloria. I have no intention of keeping a pervert who acts selfishly around Gloria.
-...Pervert! I just like everything about Gloria!
-Whatever the case, if you want to get along with Gloria, try to persuade her well. I've done all I can to help.
Caesar patted Primachos' shoulder blade and stood up. Primachos looked at Gloria. Gloria was carefully watching how Primachos would respond. Primachos finally scribbled with the pencil.
[I'm sorry for acting selfishly.]
***
After sending Primachos and Gloria back to the barracks, Caesar closed his eyes.
"Oh, my aching body."
Before falling asleep on the bed, Caesar saw the green liquid placed on the table.
'It seems to be from Agatha...'
If it's a demon realm remedy, it would be a demon race folk remedy, which means it must be the medicine Agatha gave. Caesar contemplated whether to drink it or not, but finally decided to close his eyes tight and drink it.
"...Ugh, it tastes terrible."
Every moment from swallowing to the end was painful. But what could be done? Since it was from Agatha, there was no choice but to drink it. Caesar roughly rinsed his mouth with water and lay back down on the bed.
"...I miss her."
Agatha had already visited to check on Caesar as soon as he was injured. However, since she had to be mindful of others' eyes, she couldn't stay long and could only watch from afar as the bandages were applied. Caesar could still see Agatha's pitiful figure, wanting to show concern but unable to express it. Caesar closed his eyes.
And thought. That he missed Agatha. Then the scent of grass brushed his nose.
"Caesar."
At the familiar voice, Caesar opened his eyes.
It was Agatha.
"Are you feeling better? Will you be alright if I don't check on you?"
Agatha was stroking his hair while letting him rest his head on her lap. The sky above Agatha was incredibly blue and clear.
Caesar stroked Agatha's hair and said.
"I feel better after taking the medicine you sent. Don't worry."
"What should I do about that Primachos?"
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have given her to Gloria..."
Agatha caressed Caesar's chest area.
Although it was within a shared dream, Agatha's touch didn't feel distant at all. It felt as if Agatha's worry and regret had melted into her warmth, quickly healing Caesar's wounds.
"I'm sorry, Caesar."
"You really don't need to apologize. I've already talked things through with her and received her apology. So let's stop talking about this."
Caesar sat up and sat beside Agatha. The owner of this shared dream world was not Agatha but Caesar. As a result, this world appeared different from Agatha's.
A vast green prairie stretched endlessly into the distance, and clouds floated leisurely in the sky above. It was Caesar's clear field. Agatha stared blankly at the prairie swaying in the gentle breeze and said.
"The world you drew becomes more fascinating the more I look at it. It's not flashy but humble, yet majestic."
"It would be perfect to build a small cabin and live here, don't you think?"
"As far as I know, there's a plain like this at the eastern edge of the demon realm. I think we could build a villa there and live there."
"That's not a bad idea."
"I hope such a day comes soon."
Caesar caught Agatha's scent. It was fresh and fragrant, as if he had buried his nose in a bouquet of flowers. It feels almost addictive.
"Tomorrow, you'll be leaving."
"Are you going to miss it?"
"Of course I will."
"Well, we can still meet in dreams on nights with a beautiful moon. I'm grateful for that."
"That's your blessing for having such a capable woman by your side."
"I suppose so. I'm truly a blessed man."
Just chatting like this makes me so happy. So much so that I wish this pleasant dream would continue forever. But a dream is just a dream. Caesar truly wants to build and live in such a cabin in reality.
"By the way, Caesar, did you know?"
"Know what?"
"Just now, Yan and Mitchell left Luxhope with the Red Wing knights."
"Oh? Really?"
This is the first time he's hearing about this. Going outside without reporting to Caesar.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know. But it seemed very urgent."
"Hmm... What could it be?"
For Yan and Mitchell to leave without reporting, it must be extremely urgent...
"Well, we can hear about it tomorrow morning. It won't be my business anymore once I leave here anyway."
Caesar lay back and looked at the sky. The cool breeze makes it perfect for sleeping. Agatha also closed her eyes with her head resting on Caesar's chest.
"Then have sweet dreams, Caesar."
"You too."
***
The next morning. Caesar walked out of the tent feeling refreshed.
"It's nice that it's not raining this morning."
This marks the beginning of the dry season. From now on, for over half a year, not a single drop of rain will fall except at the top of the Red Mountains.
If Caesar had stayed in the demon realm, he would have been worried about finding water sources, but he didn't need to worry about that at all. After all, Caesar would be leaving the demon realm around noon today. Jerry, who had properly trimmed his messy beard and changed into crisp clothes, approached Caesar.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fully recovered."
"You have a monstrous body. Is this common for tank-type knights?"
"Usually not to this extent. The medicine must have worked quite well."
Perhaps Agatha's medicine was better than expected. I should ask her for the recipe before leaving. Caesar pleasantly shared a cigar with Jerry while looking at the ship.
"By the way, have you finished unloading everything?"
"That ship is the last one to unload."
"Good. Tell them not to get too excited and hurt themselves."
Now it's goodbye to this tiresome demon realm.
"Speaking of which, I heard that Lord Mitchell and the Hero went somewhere yesterday. Where did they go?"
"Ah, we received a sudden report early yesterday morning but couldn't report it immediately. I heard they went to look for someone."
"Who did they go looking for?"
"We're not sure exactly. They didn't share the information. However, a knight entered the unit yesterday, and Lord Mitchell and the Hero met with them directly."
"Then we could ask that person."
"We actually sent someone to check, but they're already dead."
"What? Dead?"
"Yes. I heard the cause of death was suicide. They apparently stabbed their own heart with a medical dagger."
"Huh..."
This is quite unsettling.
A person who entered Mitchell's unit last night committed suicide… He couldn't make sense of what had happened.
"Whatever it is, it probably won't concern me."
After all, Caesar is about to leave. He doesn't want to get involved in unnecessary matters if he can help it.
At that moment, Gloria approached.
"Did you sleep well, Gloria?"
"Yes. The meal is ready. Shall we head to the dining hall?"
"Shall we?"
Caesar glanced at the ruby necklace on Gloria's wrist.
It was Primachos.
-I will get along well with Caesar from now on, Gloria.
-Though that doesn't mean I consider this a defeat.
-However, as long as your relationship with Caesar remains good, I will cooperate with Caesar's requests.
Primachos apologized to Gloria and promised to get along with Caesar before they could stay together. Of course, from Gloria's perspective, she still couldn't allow Primachos to touch her skin directly, so she only allowed Primachos to rest on top of her wrist guard.
"How's Primachos? The armor seems damaged, so it probably needs some recovery time."
"It can recover by consuming magic from the air, but it says magic stones would work too."
Gloria handed a small piece of magic stone to Primachos.
Primachos then absorbed the magic from the magic stone by sucking it out.
"I think giving it these periodically will work. It says it should be fine by the time we reach the continent."
"Is that so? Not bad."
At that moment, several horses galloped toward Caesar from afar. Yan was at the front, followed by Mitchell and the Red Wing knights. Judging by their expressions, the situation seems very serious.
"...Just as one problem ends, another begins."
The Hero practically jumped off his horse.
"What's going on? I heard you suddenly left early this morning..."
"Rose."
Caesar had never seen Yan look more anxious than he did now.
"Rose has been kidnapped."