Chapter 124: The World's Blessing (1)
Chapter 124: The World's Blessing (1)
I swallowed my words. But as always, my quick-witted adjutant caught even the swallowed words and immediately answered.
"No. I simply added a blood scent to make it feel like real blood."
"No, just the eyes would have been enough, why deliberately make something like this..."
"War is greatly influenced by climate and atmosphere. I developed it thinking it might be useful when waging war against the human world. More importantly, Demon-nim, your hand..."
So it wasn't a children's toy. Well, that's why it needed the Demon King's permission, I suppose.
'But more than that...'
Following Ed's gaze, I looked at my fingertip where blood was dripping.
I only meant to cut the stick, but I ended up cutting my finger too. It's just a small cut, surely Ben wouldn't come all the way for this much...
"Demon-nim!"
...He's coming?
There's a limit to professional dedication. To come for something so trivial. Aren't you tired?
I stared at him dumbfounded and was about to put my injured finger into my mouth, when someone grabbed my wrist.
"......Ed?"
"Ben, treat him quickly. It's cut deeper than I thought."
He wrapped the injured finger with a handkerchief and pressed firmly as if to staunch the bleeding. A stinging pain made my brow furrow instinctively.
Ben hurried over, and Ed removed the handkerchief as he stood up. The blood that had stopped began to well up again. Ben clicked his tongue softly.
"Since magic can't be used, I'll start with disinfecting... then we'll need to stop the bleeding and stitch it up."
"Make sure to treat him properly so that Demon-nim doesn't end up putting blood in his mouth."
Ed had pulled the communication stone from his pocket, as if a call had come in, and threw those words at Ben before immediately connecting the stone and taking his leave.
He did that on purpose. He didn't even give Ben a chance to argue.
Ben trembled indignantly, but soon, unable to abandon his thorough professional dedication, he started treating the wound, fuming all the while.
Ah, it stings...! W-Wait. I wasn't anesthetized...!
'...Hm, his expression is fierce.'
I just kept my mouth shut.
I was spacing out through the rare experience of being stitched up raw without anesthesia when, after a moment, Ben, who had meticulously tied the knot, flinched as if he'd just realized it.
His quivering eyes turned to me.
"De...mon-nim, a-are you... alright?"
"Yes... well..."
Anyone watching would think I was about to kill him. I smiled nonchalantly to calm his terror. It did hurt, but it didn't harm my body, and it's already over, so what can I do about it now.
......But why is he trembling even more?
"How... how could I make such a mistake?"
"Ben...?"
"I'm truly sorry, Demon-nim! I have no excuse even if I die!"
I'm disqualified as your personal physician...!
Only after hearing that half-sobbing declaration did I understand why he was shaking. He couldn't forgive himself. His professional dedication was so thorough that he could not tolerate this kind of mistake.
"......It's really fine, so you don't need to apologize any further. If I wasn't okay, I would have said so earlier."
I just couldn't speak because I was scared. But if it had hurt like I was dying, I would have said something. My life is precious to me too.
He looked ready to drive his head into the ground and die right then, so feeling burdened, I hastily stopped him.
But Ben, who normally would have stopped at this point, instead suddenly raised his head and glared at me.
"Yes! That's what I mean. Why didn't you say so earlier! You must have been in pain!"
Startled by his fierce attitude, something I'd never seen, I shut my mouth.
Apparently interpreting my silence in his own way, Ben dropped the corners of his sharply raised eyes and murmured gloomily.
"Demon-nim... you mustn't endure pain in front of your personal physician. The magic stone's signal has its limits, and lately even that signal has become unstable. You must tell me where it's uncomfortable, where it hurts, so that I can treat you with minimal pain and ease...."
"......."
"To stitch you up raw without anesthesia... to have endured that, Demon-nim, just what..."
"......."
"And on top of that, to say it's fine... without a single word of reprimand... isn't this too generous of you...?"
Hm, what do I do with this atmosphere.
I rolled my eyes for a moment, then extended my finger which showed obvious stitch marks.
"Aren't you going to wrap it with a bandage?"
"Ah...! No, I need to wrap it for infection prevention. Just a moment..."
While Ben rummaged for gauze and bandages and began dressing the wound, Ed, who had finished his call in the meantime, approached me.
Judging by his deeply apologetic expression, something had blown up. It didn't seem to be my fault.
"Demon-nim, His Majesty the Demon King is summoning you. He said there is a place he urgently needs to go to with you."
As expected.
I haven't done anything wrong, so I have nothing to feel guilty about. I nodded in acknowledgment, and this time Ed glanced at Ben and urged him sarcastically.
"You still haven't finished treatment?"
"......It just finished. Take him. ......Ah, Demon-nim. Please try not to let the wound touch water."
I nodded in acknowledgment and followed Ed without delay.
When I arrived at the Demon King's office and opened the door, the Demon King was pressing his forehead as if he had a headache.
Unlike his irritated face, barely visible from that angle, his voice greeted me with the same gentleness as always.
As if he had perceived me without even meeting my eyes, his unmoving gaze downcast, the usual voice flowed from his lips.
"You came? I'd heard your mood wasn't good, and I ended up calling you right after I told you to go cheer up. I'm sorry. An urgent matter came up. No, not urgent, more like annoying and irritating."
At last, he lifted his head. A serene face, with none of the earlier irritation, faced me.
Look at that change in expression. Creepy. No matter how soft he seems, the Demon King really is the Demon King.
"We're going to listen to the Fairy Tribe's complaints and irritation. Of course, that's all from my perspective."
"......."
"The Fairy Tribe's land is quite beautiful for being located here in the Abyss. The unseasonable snow is nice, but for a change of pace, this would be better."
Let's go together.
The Demon King smiled softly and extended his hand. I stared at him silently.
'If he were the Demon King I usually know, he would have said 'Won't you come with me?' in a suggestive tone.'
A statement with no choice.
I stopped the meaningless staredown and placed my hand on top of his.
The view changed.
* * *
It wasn't intentional, but this confirmed that I still held the initiative in this game.
Then the Emperor wouldn't be any different. I felt a little relieved.
'He was pretending to be relaxed.'
He must be in a hurry, to the point of abandoning his suggestive tone.
It must be because he heard that my mood was bad.
'Is he worried I might side with the Emperor?'
Huh? Demon King.
Are you afraid you'll lose this game?
* * *
The Demon King did not go straight to the Fairies' land.
[Uh, Demon King, Demon-nim. What brings you here...?!]
[Let's go.]
[!?]
He moved to a certain part of the Demon Castle's garden and practically kidnapped Hien, who was tending carnivorous plants, taking him along. At last, I was able to see a handsome man with blond hair, green eyes, and pointed ears.
"Because of that demonic energy of yours, the seed entrusted by the World has become contaminated. How will you take responsibility?"
Of course, he confronted the Demon King with a threatening attitude the moment he saw him.
I held my breath and rolled my eyes, inspecting the fist-sized seed he thrust before the Demon King. It was covered in black spots, as if mold had grown on it.
Is that what was contaminated by demonic energy? To me it just looks like mold...
Before I could finish the thought, black smoke began to seep from the seed. Oh, damn. It really is demonic energy.
"......Hien."
The Demon King, who had been listening to the protest of the man who appeared to be the Fairy King with an expressionless face and his arms crossed, pointed at the seed with his chin.
"Examine whether it can be revived."
"Y-Yes...!"
Hien, who received the seed with trembling hands, examined it with his eyes shining in extreme excitement. The eyes that had sparkled with pure interest soon lost their vitality and sank, as if recalling the Demon King's question about 'whether revival was possible.'
I could tell just from his expression.
Impossible.
"It might not be entirely impossible to make it sprout and grow, but... there is nothing that can be done about the contamination by demonic energy."
"......Oh dear."
"Take responsibility."
The Fairy King distorted his fine brow fiercely and snarled.
The Demon King scratched his cheek as if troubled, then asked another question, as if to change the subject.
"You said it was entrusted by the World itself?"
"Yes. We are the race that respects the World's will the most. That is why the World trusted us with this seed."
"Then there's no reason to be so desperate."
"What?"
The Demon King shrugged his shoulders.
"You said it yourself: 'respect.' So why are you so obsessed with a mere seed? This goes beyond respecting the World; it almost seems as if your race is the World's dog."
"What nonsense is that!"
"It's not nonsense, it just looks that way."
Yeah, that's not nonsense, it just looks like provocation.
I slowly edged away from the Demon King for survival. Judging by the Fairy King's expression, he honestly looked ready to kill someone.
But contrary to my expectation, he did not erupt in rage. Instead, he suppressed his anger with a ground-shattering sigh and murmured in a much calmer voice, as if he had reached enlightenment.
"Fine... as you say, our race is not the World's dog, and the matter of the seed has already become irreversible, so I'll let it go..."
Hien, who had been listening quietly, suddenly raised his hand.
"Um... then this seed..."
"......Take it, or whatever."
"Thank you!"
Every time I feel this, this guy really isn't normal either...
As if he couldn't feel the gazes of the flabbergasted leaders, Hien fiddled with the seed carefully, grinning with delight.
At his attitude, which seemed utterly oblivious to his surroundings, the Fairy King looked back at the Demon King. His gaze was clear enough for even me to read, asking, 'What's with him?' The Demon King, who couldn't possibly not know, silently pressed his forehead.
After a moment of silence, the Fairy King slowly continued.
"......I was hoping you could do something about the demonic beasts first."
"We're hunting diligently too. It's just that the number increasing is greater than the number we're handling. If there were a Hero, it might be somewhat suppressed, but..."
I tensed for a moment because the Demon King had said something similar and looked at me during a meeting at the Demon Castle before. But fortunately, his gaze did not reach me this time.
'......No, but why am I tensing and then feeling relieved?'
It's unfair. It's none of my business.
I completely pulled my eyes away from them, moved a few more steps, and distanced myself further from the Demon King. Doing so naturally brought me to the lakeshore, where I discovered something.
'What's this? A person...'
A demon? A fairy?
Seeing the Fairy King's attitude toward the Demon King, it wasn't possible for a demon to be in the lake. Then is it a fairy?
......But it has fins?
"That's a statement that sounds as if you're waiting for a Hero to be born. You should be hoping a Hero doesn't appear. Now that I think about it, did I ever tell you that the World is sharpening its blade?"
Ah, she smiled. She smiled at me, right?
I don't know who she is, but her smile is quite elegant.
"Well, but I definitely remember saying this. 'A Hero will appear anyway, and I will end up welcoming him. That has been the case so far. There is no reason anywhere to be afraid of it now.'"
"You..."
I deliberately ignored the bloody conversation between the two race leaders happening on one side. I could have ignored it for life, if only the finned human in front of me hadn't suddenly risen out of the water.
Even while startled by the sudden movement, the sight of the fins transforming into human legs was quite mystical. Tap. The white feet that appeared like that stepped onto the ground.
"The Demon King will die at the hands of the Hero who will be born this time."
At that noble, clear voice, I lost my words. Because I admired the voice? No, because of the content that attracted the attention of both leaders.
If you suddenly appear and say such attention-grabbing words, what am I supposed to do...
As expected, the Demon King's and the Fairy King's gazes turned this way. Fortunately, they were focused on that woman, not on me, but just being within the range of that gaze was suffocating, so I tried to slip away again... but I was caught by the woman!
Hien, Hien! Save me! You seem the best option here. I'd rather be next to you!
'......Are you bewitched by the seed?!'