Chapter 1: The Demon King's Strongest Card (1)
Chapter 1: The Demon King's Strongest Card (1)
Thud. A hand so pale it was almost white pressed down on the desk with force.
Underneath it was, of course, a white piece of paper.
After a brief pause, the hand, which had momentarily stopped, slowly withdrew, leaving only the paper behind.
The man watching the retreating hand lowered his gaze and took in the paper on the desk. His eyes, which had been looking at the paper indifferently, paused upon seeing the word 'resignation letter' written on it, and then widened to the size of bells.
Until the man hurriedly lifted his head, the white-haired, red-eyed man who had watched the entire process without a single wavering met the Inverse Eyes that plainly revealed bewilderment, and spoke in a voice as stiff as his rigid expression.
"I... quit."
* * *
If the Empire had its 'Heroes,' then the Demon King's army had its 'Legion Commanders.'
If the Empire put forth capable commanders, the Demon King would naturally put forth his Legion Commanders.
To that extent, the Legion Commanders were the Demon King's sword, shield, and symbol of power.
Officially, the Demon King's Legion Commanders numbered twelve in total, from the 1st to the 12th, but in truth, there was one more legion, so openly hidden that the label 'secret' was meaningless.
The 0th Legion, known to everyone in the Demon Castle and even to the enemy Imperial Army, yet strictly a secret.
Commanded by the one who had killed the 'Last Hero,' it was effectively the Demon King's most powerful trump card.
And that card, which alone made his heart feel secure, suddenly said he would quit.
"No! Ab-so-lute-ly not!!"
'I can't let a talent like you slip away like this!' With that determination, Demon King Kaber clung to his subordinate's pant leg.
He was usually so quiet and barely moved, so when he came here in person, I had wondered what was going on. I was even a little glad.
But the first thing he said was this.
'It's probably not sincere. Like always, he must be just testing the waters. It has to be.'
Still clutching the pant leg tightly, he lifted his head. His gaze met a pair of red eyes, and silence passed.
If it was him, he would have noticed what I was trying to say with my eyes.
Whether his intent had worked, the eyes that had been rigid all along trembled slightly. At a glance, it was barely noticeable, but the Demon King, who was focused on him, was able to catch it keenly.
He's wavering. Then I shouldn't stop here.
He released the leg he'd been holding and sprang to his feet. Instead, he grabbed both shoulders this time.
"What on earth? What's bothering you? Are your subordinates treating you poorly? Are they discriminating against you because you're human? Which bastard is it?! I'll go cut his throat right this instant...!"
Despite his somewhat heated tone, inwardly he was certain that they would never do such a thing.
Martial prowess so overwhelming that even though he was human, one had no choice but to acknowledge it.
No, what was 'acknowledge'? To the demon race, his martial prowess was so overwhelming that they couldn't even muster competitive spirit. Far from competitive spirit, everyone was in awe and respect; what bold fool would dare touch him?
Yet there was a reason he was going this far.
Deon Hart. A 'human' who was called 'Demon Arut' in the Demon Castle, and who held a position effectively second only to the Demon King.
He was the only human in the Demon Castle, and while he didn't know about other humans, he himself was extremely averse to seeing anyone's blood, unlike the other demon race.
So if he came at him like this, he would have no choice but to react somehow.
─And sure enough.
Just as he was about to leave the office, his wrist was suddenly caught.
He turned to see blood-red eyes staring blankly at him. The Demon King forced the corners of his lips up.
'...Looks like he's finally in the mood to talk.'
If he wanted to shake him off, he could do so easily.
But his opponent was his most cherished subordinate, one who had just submitted his resignation, and since this was his intention from the start, instead of shaking him off, he let out a heavy sigh as if to show off, and plopped down on the spot.
"I'll ask again. What's the reason?"
"......Are you going to kill me?"
He had merely been curious about his true feelings, but what came back was not an answer, but a question.
'Kill you'? What a terrifying thing to say.
Startled, he raised his head and their eyes met. The eerie red eyes were staring at him without a single blink. A hollow laugh escaped him.
'That wasn't my intention, but if I push further here, he might really go for my throat.'
Though he was the Demon King, who had no equal except for Heroes, the man before him was threatening even to him.
Because if he was determined and aimed for his neck, he too would have to suffer considerable damage. It would be quite troublesome.
A voice, clearly intended to soothe him, flowed out gently.
"There's no way I'd kill you. So, what's the reason? I'm just curious."
"......That is..."
After a brief silence, he opened his mouth. And then, gush.
'...Gush?'
"Blood! Blood!!"
"Ah."
Blood poured out. Quite naturally, onto the desk full of documents.
He reflexively reached out and caught the blood. His mind was so tangled that he couldn't even think of anything else.
Poison? No, he had been using poison detection magic since the moment he saw the blood, but there was no reaction. So only one thing remained.
Aftereffects.
Officially, Deon Hart had killed a Hero.
It was a 'Hero' no less. Naturally, he had to endure great damage, and because of that, his already frail body had been completely ruined. There were times, like now, when he would often vomit blood.
'Actually, that's not it, but anyway it is aftereffects, and the result is the same.'
It seemed he had coughed up blood a few times before, but it was clearly visible that the frequency had noticeably increased.
Crunch. The thought that he might lose a precious talent made his teeth grind involuntarily.
At that moment, as if belatedly realizing the situation, Deon covered his mouth and stepped a couple of steps away from the desk. A voice that anyone could tell was suppressing blood crawled out with difficulty.
"I'm sorry. The documents..."
"That's not the issue right now! Personal physician! Get the 0th Legion Commander's personal physician here!! His patient is sick, what the hell is he doing?!!"
At the roar that echoed thunderously throughout the Demon Castle, a great commotion erupted.
* * *
From far away, his personal physician Ben came running breathlessly.
My impression, as I was making a messy red stain on the Demon King's room carpet, was very simple.
'Shit, I'm screwed.'
I was just trying to submit my resignation and quit. But of all times, blood had to come up then, dirtying the documents, the carpet, and even causing trouble for my personal physician... This was a situation where anyone would say I deserved to get beaten up.
If all I got was a beating, that would be fortunate.
The other party was demon-race. Even things that humans would just get angry about and move on from, these were the type to swing a sword and say, 'Apologize with your life!'
So, pale and stiff, I desperately submitted to Ben's examination.
"Demon-nim, can you hear me? How many of these do you see?"
"Three."
I recalled the earlier situation, substituting a diligent answer for my struggle to survive.
My name is Deon Hart. Due to a slight misunderstanding, I was known as 'Demon Arut' in the Demon Castle.
No, wait. Not 'slight'. The very reason I submitted my resignation was because of this 'misunderstanding'.
The misunderstanding was that everyone in the Demon Castle, including the Demon King, mistakenly believed that I was incredibly strong.
Ha, what a joke. The castle's cook was probably stronger than me. At least the cook was a 'demon', wasn't he?
Anyway, that's not the important thing.
The continued overestimation even instilled fear in me, as if warning me to pull out before it was too late.
'Isn't generous evaluation a good thing?' It's only good in moderation.
Excessive overestimation makes one fear future trouble. Especially since I was in the Demon Castle. Even the Demon King overestimated me and treated me accordingly. Just imagine if the truth were revealed.
That day would probably be the day I die. And even if I died, it wouldn't be a peaceful death.
'I want to run away.'
But if I ran away without a word like this, the Demon King would surely come after me with his army, saying 'I can't let a talent like you slip away!!' At worst, I could be captured, imprisoned, or even killed.
Among humans, there are those who say 'If I can't have it, I'll break it!'—it was impossible that there wouldn't be any among the demon-race.
I'd never heard the saying that enemies resembled each other. But of all things, when it came to treasuring talent, he resembled the Emperor of the Empire.
Even if I told the truth, they wouldn't believe me, and even if they did, they might say 'You've been deceiving me all this time?!' and cut my head off...
So I intended to face him directly and settle it. If things looked bad, I was even prepared to gauge the atmosphere, leave my resignation along with my declaration of quitting, and vanish like the wind.
Though I never expected the Demon King to cling to my pant leg.
"No! Ab-so-lute-ly not!!"
I had expected him to try to stop me to some extent.
'But this wasn't in my plan!'
Clinging to my pant leg—had that Demon King guy no pride?!
Even as I screamed inwardly, I couldn't even flinch.
Because, well, I was scared.
'The Demon King is on my leg! Shit, the Demon King!!'
The other party was the Demon King, no less. He was the strongest Demon King in history, who had defended the Demon Castle repeatedly against Heroes without major damage. If he so much as lifted a finger, my life would go up in smoke—poof.
So, if I moved wrong and accidentally kicked him, what would happen?
It was easy to imagine without having to test it.
Therefore, I stood still as a statue until he first let go.
I was so tense that I guarantee I would have gotten a cramp if the Demon King had let go even a little later.
Anyway, for whatever change of heart, after our eyes met, the Demon King let go and sprang to his feet. It was good that he let go of my pants, but this time he grabbed my shoulders!
Perhaps as his own way of showing that he would hold onto me no matter what, he placed his hands on my shoulders, met my eyes, and began to rattle off words.
But, Your Majesty, Demon King.
"What on earth? What's bothering you?"
The reason I submitted my resignation in the first place,
"Are your subordinates treating you poorly? Are they discriminating because you're human?"
It was because they treated me too well, to the point of being burdensome.
You all probably think it's 'treatment befitting one's ability,' but I'm not that way. I really have no ability at all!
In fact, I'm just a frail human whose physical abilities are even worse than an average person's.
'When they first tried to recruit me, I should have been suspicious then.'
I should have wondered what use a human like me could possibly have for them to go that far.
But the atmosphere was such that if I refused, they'd kill me on the spot, so I had no choice...
......Huh? Now that I think about it, there was never a choice from the start.
'......Life.'
I swallowed a sigh that had risen to my throat. I had to escape from this place, even now.
Since the final boss, the Demon King, was treating me better than expected, it wasn't entirely impossible...
"Which bastard is it?! I'll go cut his throat right now...!"
No! No, no!!
I was horrified and grabbed him as he strode toward the office door.
Who was he going to kill? If he went and cut his subordinates' throats, who would get cursed at? Obviously, the cause—me—would become the target!
See, he treats me too well, way too well. Ah damn, why do I feel like crying?
Fortunately, it seemed he calmed down; the Demon King sat back down with a sigh.
"I'll ask again. What's the reason?"
Somehow, his voice was deeply subdued, and I felt a faint hint of killing intent.
It might have been my imagination, but it seemed better to be careful, so instead of answering, I gauged his reaction and asked.
"......Are you going to kill me?"
Ah, not this. I was so tense that the words came out too bluntly.
As expected, the Inverse Eyes, the symbol of the Demon King, took on a peculiar light and turned toward me.
What did that look mean?
'Was it a look that said, "How did he know?" or a look that was debating, "Should I kill him, or let him live?"'
Maybe it meant, 'This is why perceptive subordinates are annoying.'
Sh-should I apologize even now...? No, before that, would apologizing even save me?
No matter how I thought about it, only a bleak future came to mind.
Unable to even avoid the intense gaze, I just fidgeted and licked my lips, when the Demon King, who had been scrutinizing my face as if trying to uncover my innermost thoughts, soon shook his head.
"There's no way I'd kill you. So, what's the reason? Let's just hear it first."
I hesitated briefly, but it was only for a moment.
In any case, I had come to settle this once and for all, so this was a necessary step. I could not run away, and I must not.
So I was just about to open my mouth.
"......That is..."
Gush.
The very familiar, metallic scent of blood spread sharply from my mouth to the tip of my nose.
"Blood! Blood!!"
"Ah."