Chapter 127: Walking a Tightrope (1)
Chapter 127: Walking a Tightrope (1)
The two gazes moved again, landing on the sole remaining human. 'Yeah, damn it, that's me. Me.'
"......."
"......."
'What the... why aren't they saying anything?'
The expressions of those looking at me were ambiguous. Expressions that gave no hint of what they were thinking.
Since it would be strange to step forward and defend himself first, he simply waited for the words to come out of their mouths. In the meantime, the elf who had left under orders, perhaps having procured the brown liquid, dropped down before the Elf King with a thud.
"I've brought it."
"Is this it...?"
A familiar scent brushed past the tip of his nose. 'This is...'
"It smells like coffee."
"Is it coffee?"
Even after smelling it again, it was the scent of coffee. A coffee scent that felt somehow familiar.
'But even if it's coffee, it's strange. Coffee may stimulate alertness, but making monsters mutate... does it actually do that?'
'You'd have to feed coffee to a monster to know.'
The answer came from the Elf King.
"You said the monsters ate this and grew stronger, so it can't be coffee. Where did you procure this?"
"We collected it from what fell from the monsters' mouths. We wanted to trace it to its source, but the trail led into the demon race's territory, so we could not pursue it."
"Our territory?"
'They were talking about wide-area magic or something, and it seems it really was used. Otherwise, it would be impossible to come this fast.'
The Demon King, looking so unruffled you'd believe he'd just been on a nearby stroll rather than fighting monsters, examined the unknown liquid without a hint of fatigue. His interest was brief; soon, a hollow laugh as if finding it ridiculous was heard.
"It seems someone wanted to pin the blame on our race. I'll allow it, so go ahead and find the source."
"I'm curious to see the culprit's face."
It was a low, threatening voice like a growl. The Elf King stared at him for a moment, then spat out a single word.
"You heard him?"
"Yes."
'He's really busy too...'
He watched the elf's disappearing back with pitying eyes, then lowered his gaze. His eyes met those of the two faction leaders.
......?!
"This human also has no reason to do something like that, right?"
"That's right."
"But if we only consider 'reason,' there really is no culprit."
"That's also true."
The atmosphere was turning strange.
'They go over reasons one by one, then turn things over and suspect from the start? And it looks like I'm the starting point.'
"This human is special, but taking him off the chopping block is a separate matter."
"That's right."
'What, so they're going to suspect me now?'
Unable to understand the unfolding situation, he simply remained silent. Then the Demon King stepped forward, his face crumpled in displeasure.
"Wait, are you suspecting Demon right now?"
'My Lord...!'
As if the mere thought of suspecting him was deeply offensive, the Demon King stated with clear irritation.
"It's not Demon."
"How can you be so sure...?"
"When you asked before if he was trustworthy, I answered, didn't I? 'As long as he is here,' he is extremely reliable. He is here now, right beside me. You may trust him."
I didn't know what conversation this was, but I could clearly tell he was defending me.
Honestly, I was a little moved. I was looking at the Demon King with renewed eyes when the elf appeared again. He was holding a water bottle of a familiar shape.
'...Huh? Wait a minute.'
'Why are you holding that.'
'That's the tonic... the flask... that Rememver packed for me when I came to the Demon Realm...'
I understood the situation quickly.
'Crazy, I'm screwed.'
'So I was the cause. What the hell did the imperial physician make?'
'I'd like to discuss the imperial physician's alchemy... no, his pharmaceutical skills, but now is not the time. What I need to think about right now is a way to die without pain... or something like that.'
While I was half out of my mind from the shocking truth, the heartless elf respectfully presented the water bottle and immediately spoke.
"In the demon race's territory, at the entrance of a nameless mountain range in the west, this was found. There were several flasks, but I thought one would suffice, so I brought only this."
"As for the smell, it's a perfect coffee scent. Was it deliberately disguised? Whoever it is, they are truly meticulous... Demon King? Why are you making that face?"
"No... it's nothing..."
'It seems the Demon King has also noticed.'
'Well, since this flask was found in a mountain range of the Demon Realm, even though it's a "nameless mountain range," given the direction was mentioned, it's not impossible to deduce.'
He raised his hand and gently placed it on my shoulder. When I glanced up, I saw the corners of his mouth slightly stiff, unlike his usual expression.
"Anyway, he's not the culprit... so don't suspect him unnecessarily. We'll be leaving now."
"Without even resolving this matter?"
"There's a Legion Commander meeting soon. We can discuss this matter separately later. Now, if you'll excuse us."
"Wai—!"
My vision changed.
Back in the Demon Castle's central garden, I quietly raised my head and looked at the Demon King.
It wasn't the right thing to say in this situation where I was at fault... but I felt I still had to say it.
"You... left Hien behind."
"Ah."
***
He should reduce the use of magic, but did he really need to bring him? For a very brief moment, he had such a thought, but there was no choice. In any case, Hien was a capable gardener who oversaw almost all the plants in the Demon Castle. Without him, managing the plants would obviously become quite troublesome.
"Your Majesty?"
"...Yes, I have to bring him. Wait a moment."
Actually, his reluctance to use magic was an excuse. The Demon King could clearly picture the look the Elf King would give him, so he quietly swallowed a sigh.
'I was just too flustered. I don't know how long it's been since I've been this flustered. Maybe decades.'
He looked at the cause of his emotional turmoil with admiring eyes, then moved again using the central garden, which he had magically prepared for interactions with the faction leaders, as a medium.
"...Excuse me."
Ignoring the Elf King's dumbfounded look, he snatched up the bewildered gardener and returned, releasing him into the garden. The gardener still seemed dazed, but as a demon who had long survived in the Demon Castle, he quickly pulled himself together and scurried away.
After watching his retreating back, the Demon King cast his gaze at Deon, who was still standing still. As if aware he had done wrong, Deon's fingertips twitched, a rare sight.
"...Deon Hart."
"...Yes."
"...."
"...."
He had many things he wanted to say, but few things he could say. If he misspoke, the tightrope-walking bastard might pick a side and step down onto the floor by himself. As the Demon King waiting below with open arms for the guy to fall into them, he couldn't afford to speak carelessly.
"...I can roughly guess the situation, but it's better to be certain."
"...."
"First... that drug was brought by you, correct?"
"Yes."
"It must have been for your body."
A fragile body plagued by aftereffects.
"That's correct."
"Probably another human made it for you."
Aftereffects were not called aftereffects for nothing.
Deon Hart's body was not the kind that could be healed. So there was no way Deon himself had asked for the medicine. It had probably been forced upon him even though he didn't need it.
Sure enough, Deon nodded in affirmation. Having gained certainty, the Demon King continued to lay out the assumptions in his head.
"And the reason you came all the way here and threw it away is because it was forced on you as well?"
"Yes."
"To just throw away such a dangerous drug... No, never mind. You probably didn't know."
Because he himself wouldn't have felt much effect from taking it.
'Rather, I should keep an eye on the human who made such a drug. What is their identity? Judging from the effect, it felt like a stubborn determination to heal Deon Hart's body... no, beyond stubbornness, a desperate resolve as if his life depended on it.'
'Did one of the humans finally succeed in that alchemy they only ever talked about?'
The sour feeling flickered across his smiling face only for a moment.
As if it had never happened, the Demon King put on a gentle expression again, took a step closer, and placed a hand on Deon's shoulder. The light touch, meant to comfort rather than pressure, conveyed his intent to reassure Deon perfectly.
"Alright, as long as it wasn't intentional, it's fine."
"...!"
"You must have been quite startled too. Go inside and get some rest."
"What about the Legion Commander meeting...?"
"Ah, is it already this late? ...It'd be a bit awkward to retract what I've already said... You can skip it."
It wasn't an order to skip, but permission to do so.
Since he wasn't exactly barred from attending, if Deon did skip the meeting, it would be by his own will, thus he wouldn't be breaking the rules of the game.
'Is it already this late? What a load of crap.'
He knew and had said it on purpose.
If his half-contractor was a snake, then the Demon King was a thousand-year-old snake, no, an imugi. Having naturally narrowed the path to attending the meeting to reduce information leaks, the Demon King grinned and spoke.
"Ah, if resting here isn't enough, if you miss the daylight, you can go to the human world anytime."
The tracking mark was still clearly engraved.
Moreover, he had scored points for handling this incident, so there would be no problem sending him to the Empire right now.
'The Demon Realm and the human world are at war, and a being with high positions on both sides is shuttling between the two camps...'
'How amusing.'
Knowing full well that the moment Deon Hart returned to the Empire would mark the start of an all-out war, the Demon King calmly raised his other hand and placed it on Deon's other shoulder. The Inverse Eyes, symbol of the Demon King, met Deon's red eyes.
"However, I'd prefer you not bring drugs and such. Even if you do bring them, don't just throw them away anywhere... Yes, it would be best to bring them directly to me."
"...Yes."
***
'My enthusiasm cooled instantly at the mention of the drug.'
'He said I could skip the meeting...'
'What a terrifying thing to say!'
'Did he think I'd be purely happy? I'm not some oblivious idiot. I always wanted to skip meetings, but I knew that if I just took the Demon King's words and skipped, I'd never get a good result.'
'I'm not living just for today; I need to look to the future rather than the present.'
'Even otherwise, I felt guilty for lazing around without working; it would be terrible to skip this too. So I must attend.'
'In the big picture, it's a matter of life and death. I burned with passion like a new hire who just got a job, and I attended the meeting...'
'I regretted it.'
'Right, if we're holding a meeting in this situation, the topic is obviously this.'
War with the Empire.
'...Passion my ass. Let's not act up and just stay quiet.'
'From now on, I'm a bean bug. I prayed not to catch the Demon King's eye and quietly lowered my gaze.'
***
Deon Hart was not stupid. Indeed, how could a human tightrope-walking between the Demon King and the Emperor possibly be stupid? If he were stupid, he'd have died long ago.
From the highest seat, the Demon King, who had been staring blankly at Deon, who had stubbornly attended the meeting with his chin propped up defiantly, raised the corner of his mouth almost imperceptibly.
'He noticed.'
Deon Hart had seen through the Demon King's scheme to prevent information leaks and had clung to the meeting. The proof was that after attending the meeting, he was hiding his presence as if uninterested, eyes downcast. He was keeping his mouth shut but his ears open, focusing on the information being exchanged.
Well, the truth was he had no choice but to attend even if he didn't want to. He couldn't return to the Empire with no information.
In this precarious situation where he had to choose a side soon, if he went back to see the Emperor and had no information to give?
'He would incur the Emperor's suspicion.'
It was a sensitive period, with both monarchs on high alert regarding Deon Hart's movements. In such a situation, suspicion could directly lead to death, so from Deon Hart's perspective, even to survive, he had to return with something that could answer the Emperor's questions.
'So he intends to remain neutral for now, is that it?'
The Emperor wouldn't just sit back and watch; how long could he keep that up?
The Demon King, having never been pressed for time, could afford to be relaxed even now, but the Emperor, being human, could not. It seemed the Emperor was holding back for fear of negatively influencing Deon Hart's choice, but in the end, human patience had limits. The Demon King was certain the Emperor would push Deon Hart again soon.
And that would be with the option of killing him.
Be on his side, or die.
'And Deon Hart, feeling the pressure, will come to me.'
That was the mask he had put on for that moment. He watched quietly as Deon Hart, sensing his gaze, turned his head this way, and the moment their eyes met, he smiled brightly.
"Now then, let's begin the meeting. I'm sure everyone has guessed the topic?"