Chapter 13: My Subordinates Are So Capable It's Driving Me Crazy (1)
Chapter 13: My Subordinates Are So Capable It's Driving Me Crazy (1)
The cube was completed.
That was what the conclusion ultimately meant.
Though....
Everyone in the meeting room, including the Demon King, held their breath.
'It went roughly.'
It meant he was displeased.
The Demon King cautiously observed Deon's expression.
The same expressionless face as always. Which made him all the more concerned. He had no idea what Deon was thinking.
But he felt certain he could tell Deon was not in a good mood, so he opened his mouth as if driven by some compulsion.
"Of course, I know well what type of combat you specialize in."
"......."
"But demonic beasts have emotions too. In fact, they're more driven by emotion than those with intelligence. So your combat style will definitely work well."
"......."
Still no answer.
Growing anxious, the Demon King gauged Deon's reaction and slowly added,
"Besides, didn't you seek out alcohol before?"
Flinch.
The tips of the fingers gripping the cube twitched slightly.
At the same time, Deon's expression cracked slightly. And what was revealed was mild embarrassment and what seemed to be a look of denial.
In contrast, the Demon King's face, upon confirming that expression, brightened with the certainty that he had hit the mark.
"Doesn't that mean a lot has piled up? Wouldn't it be good to let loose this time?"
"......."
Had he been too overt?
A chill silence bristled like a blade, aimed in all directions.
The source was naturally Deon.
Judging by the atmosphere, he felt he should say something more, but he had already said everything he needed to.
Amidst the taut tension, the Demon King quietly awaited his answer—
After some time had passed, Deon's head, which had seemed like it would never move, slowly nodded up and down.
* * *
I calmly, slowly turned my brain over. It was to interpret the Demon King's completely incomprehensible words, but even after analyzing from multiple angles, the conclusion narrowed down to one thing.
'So, it's because I sought out alcohol?'
I barely managed to stop my hand from pressing against my forehead.
What a flimsy excuse. I couldn't tell if he wanted me to fall for it or not.
The Demon King wasn't foolish enough to push something like this as a reason, so he probably offered a deliberately sloppy excuse on purpose.
So this was likely a declaration of intent that no matter how much I refused, he'd send me by any means necessary.
'Ha... really.'
I had no choice. I nodded my head unwillingly and wallowed in regret, but even that didn't last long.
Because as soon as I showed affirmation, someone's hand shot up from one corner of the table.
"Then I'll support you too!"
"......Lirinel?"
I was a little surprised when a hand suddenly popped up from a seat I'd thought was empty, but when I saw the familiar face that followed, my tension eased slightly.
The 11th Legion Commander Lirinel. She had the most reassuring appearance, so I'd always been happy to see her and looked after her.
Of course, I knew she had the highest mana reserves after the Demon King. I also knew full well she was called a little demon on the battlefield.
But humans are always bound by narrow-minded thinking. Unfortunately, I, too, was one of those humans.
What danger could a tiny little kid like that possibly pose? I'd treated her comfortably with that kind of mentality... but support? That kid?
"There are four major cities. I heard the number of demonic beasts flooding in is increasing by the day."
Bellitan quietly nodded.
As if emboldened by the silent affirmation, Lirinel clenched her small fists and spoke.
"So what we need is the Legion Commander most capable of efficiently defending four separated cities."
"Are you trying to say that's you?"
"Yes! Bellitan is a typical brute, I mean, martial artist who swings an axe. And Demon-nim uses daggers."
Did she just say brute....
I wasn't the only one who heard that, right?
I glanced at Bellitan's face; he seemed to have heard it too, his mouth agape in disbelief, unable to even retort.
What, had something happened between them? Lirinel seemed to be sharpening her claws at Bellitan....
"Fighting styles that involve wielding weapons directly, no matter how exceptional, are limited to defending the single castle where the wielder stays."
"So you're volunteering because you use magic?"
"Yes!"
"No ulterior motives?"
"Of course there a, yes!"
"......."
"......."
Coughing sounds escaped among the Legion Commanders. No, it seemed closer to 'choking' than 'coughing'.
Lirinel fidgeted anxiously, then glanced at me and squared her shoulders as if she had firmly resolved something.
"I'll say again, there are four cities. So if Bellitan and Demon-nim each take one, and I take two, then Demon-nim's burden... no, that's not what I meant."
"Lirinel."
"Yes?"
The Demon King shifted his posture. Leaning his body diagonally with his chin resting on his hand, he softly crinkled his eyes at Lirinel. It was a dazzling smile that could captivate anyone.
But I knew. That was the nasty smile he wore to give hope-torture before a rejection.
Just as I was inwardly conveying words of comfort to Lirinel, who would soon be wearing a tearful face—
The Demon King, maintaining that dazzling smile, uttered a single word. Something so short I doubted my ears.
"Do it."
"Pardon?"
"I said do it. I'll permit it."
* * *
The Demon King showed a benevolent expression toward the bewildered Lirinel.
How commendable that she had volunteered to help. How could he scold such a face?
Of course, he knew it wasn't a purely innocent intention. She liked Deon.
But that was merely worship toward an idol. He also knew she harbored absolutely no romantic feelings, and moreover, she had volunteered with her own rational reasons, so he accepted gladly.
She hadn't insisted on defending the same city; she'd merely offered to take two cities by herself to lighten Deon's burden. What reason was there to refuse?
If she had been swept up in emotion and made the irrational proposal of defending the same castle, he would never have allowed it.
He would have gotten angry instead.
"You want to lighten Demon's burden, right? Do as you please."
Since he was sending Deon to relieve stress in the first place, it would be troublesome if Deon ended up more stressed having to worry about multiple cities at once.
At least within this Demon Castle, nothing was more dangerous than a stressed-out Deon, so in that sense, Lirinel's proactive attitude was truly welcome.
Thus, the Demon King cheerfully permitted the departure of the 11th Legion Commander, who was originally supposed to be responsible for the Demon Castle's barrier.
External attacks could at least be dealt with comfortably, but there was no existence more difficult to handle than an ally running amok from within.
"Instead, make sure to touch up the Demon Castle's barrier before you leave."
"Yes! I'll make sure it holds up easily for 100 years!"
......She planned to stay there for a hundred years?
The Demon King simply smiled.
* * *
The meeting ended, and everything proceeded at lightning speed.
What did that mean....
"Demon-nim, all preparations are complete."
"Are you sure absolutely everything is ready?"
"Yes, it's perfect."
"Still, you never know, so think it over carefully. Did you forget anything?"
"I did not."
"Well, memory isn't something you can always trust, so...."
"In case of any oversight, I also asked those acquainted with you to mention any additional necessities for you. Nothing was missing."
Perfect. So perfect it brought tears to my eyes.
In the end, a voice close to a groan slipped from my lips.
"Isn't this too fast...."
"You flatter me. It's been a long time since you've gone outside, a rare occasion at that; shouldn't we prepare as quickly as possible?"
That's not what I meant. It really isn't.
Why does my adjutant have to be so competent...!
The 6th Legion and the 11th Legion were still in the middle of preparations, but our legion alone had already finished preparing and was waiting outside.
Thus, the day of my death drew one step closer.
As I lay face-down on the bed wallowing in despair, Ed approached from somewhere holding a black robe.
"Since we are going to the same demon realm, you won't need to do the bandages, I presume."
Well, I suppose that's true. Since there's no sun either way.
When I went to places with sun, namely the human world, I wrapped bandages tightly around every inch of exposed skin and wore a robe over them.
I even bandaged or masked my face and pulled the robe's hood down low; how meticulous that was probably needs no further explanation.
'It's a bit stuffy, but... can't be helped.'
What could I do about my weak body?
Whether it was my eyes or my skin, even minimal prolonged exposure to sunlight caused problems, so despite the inconvenience, covering up was my only option.
You might ask if just wearing a robe wouldn't suffice.
But since the robe could flutter and expose bare skin like my hands, arms, or face, the safest bet was to wrap bandages first and wear the robe on top.
'Actually, in the demon realm, even the robe isn't strictly necessary, but it's sort of a symbol.'
On the battlefield, the '0th Legion Commander' always wore a black robe, and so it became that.
How else would a nickname like 'the Grim Reaper' have stuck?
Though 'Mad' was originally prefixed before that, I'd choose to remove that on my own. Other things aside, that one definitely stemmed from a solid misunderstanding.
"Demon-nim?"
"Ah."
I blinked with my cheek still pressed against the bed sheet and stretched out my hand to receive the robe. But the robe took a step back.
"......?"
I forced past my laziness and lifted my head with great effort. I saw Ed, still holding the robe.
I stretched my arm out again and opened my palm to signal for him to hand it over, but only silence returned. Even after waiting a while, the robe wasn't placed in my hand.
Irritation surged, but I didn't have the guts to express it against Ed, who had been a candidate for Legion Commander. So in the end, I crushed my irritation deep down and mumbled out the words.
"......Give it here."
"I'll help you put it on."
"Ed, I keep telling you, there's no need to go that far...."
"I'm doing it because I want to."
"......."
It's burdensome. Just go away, yeah?
Ed was the most competent adjutant out of all the adjutants.
Considering he was even a Legion Commander candidate from the start, his value was probably evident without me having to list it out tediously.
How do you think I felt, having such a competent talent under me?
He's competent, which is great, and he has a kind personality, which is also great, but somehow each day felt nerve-wracking. Especially when giving him tasks.
It went roughly like this.
'What if he tries to kill me for overworking him?'
Or in the distant future, when the fact that I'm a worthless human gets exposed.
'He might try to kill me, saying a little shit like me dared to boss him around.'
So I tried not to give him work whenever possible... but this bastard, as if he had some disease that made him prickly without work, sought out tasks almost daily.
Starting from when he went to the human world just to buy new puzzles or cubes, down to trivial things like assisting with outer garments like this.
'Please, just take a break, you son of a bitch!'
The thought of this competent talent stooping to assist with a mere outer garment set my conscience and survival instinct screaming at me madly.
But Ed's persuasion was faster than my attempts to open my mouth and refuse.
"If you look at the adjutants of the other Legion Commanders, every single one of them walks around carrying documents, practically half-dead. They can't even put down the documents during meals. Meanwhile, I watch with a clean face devoid of any dark circles, my hands holding utensils without a single document. How do you think I feel?"
"......."
Happy, maybe?
But that probably wasn't the answer he wanted.
When I quietly shut my mouth, Ed let out a faint sigh. Then, lightly lifting the robe he was holding neatly, he said,
"If I don't even do this, I feel like the reason for my existence will truly disappear, so I am requesting this of you. Will you allow me to help you put it on?"
"......Suit yourself."
Calling it permission didn't mean I had a choice.
I swallowed a sigh and obediently prepared to accept Ed's assistance... but at that moment, a knock sounded from the door.
Not missing the opportunity, I hastily withdrew my body as if I'd been waiting for it and nodded toward the door.
"Looks like someone's here."
"I'll go check."
Ed gently placed the robe down on the bed and headed toward the door.
In the meantime, I swiftly picked up the robe and hurriedly put it on. It was a feat so fast and perfect I was proud of myself for it.
But Ed seemed to think otherwise.
"Demon-nim, the 12th Legion Commander has visited... Did you put it on yourself?"
"Yes."
"It's a mess."
Oh dear, had I put it on too hastily?
Looking again, the robe was disheveled here and there. Still, it didn't seem completely unwatchable... A sigh?! It was sigh-worthy?
Ed, who had let out a barely audible sigh, approached me again and tidied the crumpled and disheveled parts of the robe.
Knotting the string that secured the loose robe so it wouldn't slip off, he brought up what he'd been about to say earlier.
"The 12th Legion Commander has visited. Will you meet him?"
"The 12th Legion Commander...?"