Chapter 16: My Subordinates Are So Capable It's Driving Me Crazy (4)
Chapter 16: My Subordinates Are So Capable It's Driving Me Crazy (4)
This was the first time they'd seen Demon-nim since the '0th Legion Training Ground Intrusion Incident.'
The legion members waited for Demon-nim to emerge, more tense than they had ever been in their lives.
Since 'that day,' Demon-nim hadn't visited the training ground again.
Of course, his visit frequency had always been extremely low, but since a fairly significant incident had occurred, they thought he might visit at least once more. However, as if mocking the legion members' expectations, he hadn't come to the 0th Legion at all, right up until this very day.
Naturally, the legion members couldn't help but be consumed by anxiety.
"Could he still be angry?"
"But he definitely seemed completely unbothered at the time."
"You idiot, do you believe everything you see at face value?"
"Don't tell me... he's grown disgusted by our incompetence in failing to notice a mere intruder..."
"......."
A silence closer to bleak despair than a chill settled over them.
They wanted to deny it, but they couldn't. Because when it came to influencing the tide of battle, he was a person who made a far greater impact leaping directly into combat and swinging his daggers than he did commanding the legion.
For someone like that, legion members were obviously an expendable presence — there if convenient, no loss if not.
And so they had trained even harder. They had strived and strived again, if not to be helpful, then at least to not be a hindrance.
In the end, they'd come full circle right back to where they started.
Their Legion Commander's skill was beyond imagination, and they still couldn't even reach the tips of his toes.
And yet, despite that, they'd grown arrogant just because their skills improved a little...
That day, when they'd let their guard down a bit, Demon-nim had visited and caught an intruder who had slipped into the training ground without anyone noticing. It was proof that the abilities they'd believed had grown were utterly useless.
So it was only natural he'd be sick of them.
Because they were incompetent. Because being alone would be easier and more advantageous.
"......Let's just train."
"Yeah, they say we're heading out in a few days. If we don't want to be a hindrance, we need to build up our strength just a little more."
"Since there's nothing else we can do anyway."
They had to see Demon-nim's face to get any clue about anything, but all the legion members who couldn't even face him could do was wait for the day of deployment and spin out all kinds of speculation.
And today.
Now, with all preparations complete, as they waited.
'......Why isn't he coming out?'
Though considerable time had passed, Demon-nim still hadn't come out. It had been ages since his adjutant, Ed-nim, had gone to escort him.
Riding the cold dawn breeze, anxiety began to creep and spread throughout the entire legion.
No one knew when Demon-nim might emerge, so they couldn't even dare to fidget, only rolling their eyes this way and that, when finally, the firmly shut door burst open.
Demon-nim, his expression stiffer than usual, seemed about to walk out calmly, but then he saw them and stopped in his tracks.
And watching his face grow colder and colder, the legion members felt certain.
'It seems he still doesn't want to see us.'
Silence flowed.
Though the dawn wind was chilly, sweat poured down their foreheads like rain.
It felt like the insides of their mouths were going bone-dry. It must have been the same for everyone, as the sound of someone swallowing hard could be heard.
'We're not going to be abandoned the moment we leave, are we?'
The legion members frantically exchanged glances, each desperately trying to figure out how to appease Demon-nim's anger.
* * *
I was never a silver-tongued person. How could someone born with an appearance different from others, who'd lived a life of discrimination, possibly be good with words?
Giving an appropriate response to what others said was, in itself, a task that consumed tremendous mental energy and brainpower, and as such, it was exhausting.
To twist that statement a little, it meant that when just giving an appropriate response was so arduous, in a state of awkward silence like this, I could absolutely never be the one to speak first.
So, right now, I.
'.......'
Was just waiting for one of them to open their mouth first, as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, compared to the silences I'd experienced so far, this one wasn't very long.
"What is everyone doing?! Demon-nim is angry!"
"?!"
An intervention from someone completely different — not a legion member, nor Ben or Ed.
That alone was surprising enough, but the content of that voice was more than enough to make me jump out of my skin.
'I-I'm not angry?'
In the first place, this wasn't a situation where I'd be angry. This was clearly my fault for being late...
No, no, that's not what's important...
"Lirinel?"
Why are you here?
I turned my head slightly toward where the voice came from, and a small figure floating in the sky came into my view.
Her figure silhouetted against the moon was quite dreamy, but regrettably, her short, petite frame couldn't convey anything more than cuteness.
It seemed like she was going for something cool... I should buy her some milk or something later. It's so pitiful I can't bear to watch.
"We're sorry!"
Ah, please, just...!
In the brief moment my gaze was stolen by the sky, some wind must have blown through, because the legion members collectively bowed their waists.
Their booming voices scattered as if echoing across the sky.
'Why are you all doing this too, seriously... There's not really anything you need to apologize fo— ...Ah, could it be because of Lirinel?'
The 11th Legion Commander and the possessor of the greatest mana capacity after the Demon King.
People often forget because of her cute appearance, but her fearsome reputation wasn't going anywhere.
So, to mere legion members, she would be an existence like the sky itself.
And if such a sky-like existence shouted with the nuance of demanding a swift apology? This was a situation where you'd be forced to apologize even if you'd done nothing wrong.
'And the resentment will fall on me, I'm sure...'
Lirinel, who couldn't possibly know my insides were burning black, descended into my line of sight.
She offered a feigned shy, light courtesy and then looked at me with an expression that said, 'I did well, right?'... Damn it, how can you get angry at a face like that?
If I got angry, I felt like I'd be the shameless adult who loses his temper at a child.
Of course, I didn't have the guts to do so anyway.
First, I needed to handle this situation. What should I do first? The legion members? Lirinel?
Right, first, the legion members who were holding a posture that looked rough on their backs.
"First, everyone, lift your heads..."
Persuasion proved to be quite difficult.
The legion members were so persistent. Only after I said it was fine several times did I finally manage to see their faces as they straightened their backs.
I fell into serious contemplation for a moment about why I was the one who had to persuade them, but well, I'd broken this uncomfortable atmosphere, so if I had to call it satisfying, I guess you could say it was a satisfying result.
The reason they apologized was also quite absurd.
That incident back then, when I'd luckily caught the intruder.
They said something along the lines of their own lacking skills having bothered me.
How long ago was that, anyway?
"......Anyway, Lirinel?"
"Yes, Demon-nim!"
"Why are you here...?"
"Ah, aah, right! So, um... Ah, I wanted to give you this."
Lirinel, who had been looking this way with a somewhat dazed expression, hastily rummaged through her pocket.
What soon revealed itself was a necklace, similar to the one hanging around Ben's neck.
For a moment, a terrible thought crossed my mind — had she stolen Ben's? — but I soon recalled that the thing threaded on the string was a magic stone, and I nodded.
Because demons usually wore magic stones strung on necklaces.
But why was she giving this to me?
"This should let you avoid instant death about once."
"Thank you."
Let's not ask the reason. If she's giving it to me, I should accept it. Who am I to dare question a gift I'm being given? How rude.
As soon as I put it on, Lirinel smiled brightly.
She really was cute. In what way was this creature a Legion Commander? She was just a child.
Before I knew it, I was stroking her head. At that, the muffler wrapped around Lirinel's neck wriggled energetically.
'Ah... right, those were tentacles.'
The two tentacles disguised around her neck like a muffler to minimize any revulsion in me, a human.
As I watched them squirm excitedly with an inexpressible expression, I stealthily pulled my hand back.
I turned around, acting as if nothing had happened, but the sight that greeted me where I turned instantly turned my efforts into bubbles.
'......What are you guys doing...?'
The legion members, who had at some point split into two lines to form a path.
And at the end of it, a horse flaring black currents of air with a snort, and my capable adjutant Ed, holding its reins as he stood by.
At the absolutely shocking scene, I froze on the spot once more.
As if about to burst out any second, curses swirled inside my mouth.
'Right, that thing existed... God damn it.'
One of the reasons I didn't want to leave the Demon Castle was precisely that thing.
A horse that looked cool, but if you told me to ride it, I absolutely never wanted to.
Demonic horses were different from the horses of the human world, fearsome in appearance from the get-go. Its looks were the type that, if you rode it into war, anyone would dodge it on sight first.
On top of that, its temper was even nastier!
If I got up on that thing, I'd definitely die.
Die by falling off, die by being trampled, die by being bitten to death.
'Eeee... aaasay...'
No matter what, this was just too much.
After about a year and a half of surviving through all manner of dangers in the Demon Castle.
The greatest and most unprecedented challenge was now right in front of my eyes.
* * *
"What's that?"
The Demon King, who had been watching Deon through the window, furrowed his brow.
A horse, of all things. Not even a horse from the human world, but a demonic horse, no less. A guy who'd been coughing up blood just moments ago was going to ride something like that?
"Your Majesty? Is there a problem?"
"No, nothing."
He shook his head side to side at Bellitan's puzzled question and looked out the window again.
If he had his way, he wanted to see him off from the start until the moment he left the Demon Castle, but the 0th Legion wasn't the only one setting out, and even though he was the Demon King, he couldn't blatantly show favoritism at an official event like a deployment. So he had no choice but to also check on the other legions preparing to depart.
And yet, here the guy was, trying to ride that brutish thing with a body that seemed like it could break down at any moment.
See? Take your eyes off him for even a second, and this is what happens.
"Bellitan."
"Yes."
"You have a communication stone, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"And Ed's communication stone is also attuned?"
"Yes."
"Good, let me borrow it for a moment."
He took Bellitan's communication stone and connected to Ed's.
He could have contacted Deon, but there was a reason he didn't.
Because even if he tried, Deon wouldn't pick up.
It wasn't that Deon ignored him on purpose. If Deon carried his communication stone around, it inevitably got smashed to pieces before long, so the Demon King himself had given the direct order to keep it only in his room. So of course he wouldn't pick up even if he tried contacting him.
It wasn't particularly inconvenient.
The guy usually just holed himself up in his room anyway, and in cases like now when he went outside, his adjutant Ed was always with him.
Like the capable adjutant he was, Ed always carried his communication stone.
That was still the case now.
-Yes, this is Ed, adjutant to the 0th Legion Commander.
"This is Kaver."
-Ah, yes, Your Majesty. What is the matter?
"Are you out of your mind?"
-......Pardon?
Perhaps flustered by the sudden reproach, a reply returned a beat slower.
But the Demon King, seeming not to have the slightest intention of stopping his rebuke, began to press him relentlessly.
"You're trying to put a human who might cough up blood at any moment on a horse? A demonic horse, at that? Trying to make a human in poor physical condition travel that long distance by horseback — are you insane?"
-......I apologize.
When he came at him like that, there wasn't much more the Demon King could say. As if he'd had cold water splashed on his head, he fell silent for a moment, his mood deflating.
To be honest, from Ed's perspective, it was an unfair accusation.
Because Deon liked demonic horses. Perhaps because there were no horses like that in the human world, he would often stare intently whenever someone was riding one.
He'd never actually said he wanted to ride one separately or to see one up close yet, but for a guy who was indifferent about nearly everything to stare at them intently like that, he definitely, undoubtedly liked horses quite a lot.
There was no way his adjutant Ed wouldn't know that...
So, he probably made a premature assumption that it would be hard to break Deon's stubbornness and immediately prepared a horse.
The human who rarely even went out to the outer castle, let alone beyond it, and just holed up in the inner castle, was finally going out for once. It would only be natural for him to want to ride a horse there.
"......I understand."
-No, I didn't even attempt to persuade him. I'm sorry.
Persuading Deon couldn't possibly be that easy.
It wasn't that the act of breaking his stubbornness itself was difficult. The very idea of trying to persuade him was an arduous task that required great resolve.
He was an existence like a ticking time bomb, never knowing when it might go off.
As gentle as he normally was, once he did explode, he was considerably dangerous, so they couldn't help but be cautious.
Maybe because he was human, the point at which he burst into anger was also different from demons, making it even trickier.
Naturally, quietly preparing things was easier than trying to persuade him.
"Anyway, it's still not allowed. Prepare a carriage immediately."
-Yes.
"Handle the persuasion on your own."
-......Yes.
For some reason, the reply seemed delayed, but the Demon King pretended not to notice and turned away.
In the end, he too would rather avoid incurring Deon's anger or hatred.