Chapter 164: Commotion (3)
What was implicitly permitted from above was only the use of drugs during combat. Using them outside of combat meant summary execution if caught. And above all....
"If you use drugs outside of combat too, you'll fall apart in an instant. You have to consider the aftereffects after the war ends. Could you live your daily life while addicted to drugs?"
I smiled faintly.
"You said you want to live. You all have places to return to, don't you? You have to go back and live your daily lives."
"......."
"So don't do it. If there's a guy trying to use drugs outside of battle, stop him, even if you have to strike his neck."
"Striking the neck means dea...."
"I said strike the back of the neck."
"Ah."
There was no need to drag this out any further. The only thing that would rise from a long conversation with these guys was my blood pressure.
I opened my mouth to quickly wrap up a conversation that was showing signs of veering off onto another tangent.
"Better to confiscate the drugs and stick a piece of candy in their hands instead."
* * *
I had an unpleasant dream.
To dream about mad dogs—my feeling about this wasn't good at all.
Deon swept his hair back once, shaking off the idle thoughts, and placed a neatly rolled cigarette between his lips. He reached for a candle on the table.
"Deon-nim, the drugs...!"
The attending physician flinched, looking ready to snatch the cigarette from his mouth at any moment, but Deon waved him off with a hand, lit it with the candle on the table, and raised his head. A board game placed next to the candlestick came into view.
"Looks roughly finished."
He had felt a bit awkward just staying still these past few days, and his dreams had been unpleasant, so he'd made it to shake off the wandering thoughts, and the result was surprisingly decent.
He picked up a game piece with a satisfied eye and fiddled with it. Beside him, Dan, who had been clearing away the leftover production scraps with Ed while glancing at the board, couldn't overcome his curiosity and spoke up.
"What is this, Master? It's a game I've never seen before."
"Chees."
"......Chess? Of course, it looks similar to chess, but many things are quite diff...."
"Not chess, Chee-es. It's a strategy game I made based on chess. Instead of chess's job classes, there are various troop types like archers, spearmen, swordsmen, and shield-bearers, and it features supplies and mounts. If you combine mounts with archers they become horse archers, with spearmen they become lancers...."
Listening to the detailed game explanation, Dan was quietly horrified.
'Didn't he just casually throw this together, saying he needed something to focus on because he felt crappy the moment he woke up?'
Who could possibly believe that this was an impulsively made game? It was a game so intricately designed it could be mass-produced and distributed right now.
Just how in the world was his brain wired?
He'd occasionally sensed his mind was out of the ordinary... but to think he'd show such prominence in this area....
'No, he should be prominent in tactics, why is it only in this area... wait, that's not entirely true. Now that I think about it, he's been managing the troops reasonably well even now.'
Dan, nodding inwardly, suddenly flinched as he realized Deon's explanation was still going on.
"...And if you don't resupply for three turns, the troops you can operate are reduced by one-third. If you could operate 90 troops, next you can only operate 60, and if you lack supplies for another three turns from there, it drops to 40. In case the numbers don't divide evenly, you should agree with your opponent beforehand on whether to round up or down...."
"W-wait! Just a moment, Master! Are you alright?! You don't seem to be in your right mind!"
"Ah."
No wonder the atmosphere had been strange since this morning. He'd wondered if he was deep in some serious thought, but it turned out he'd just spaced out.
"What kind of way is that to speak to Deon-nim? 'Not in his right mind' indeed."
"Then does it look to you like Master is in his right mind?"
"......Humans call that kind of thing human charm...."
That damned 'human charm.' A real all-purpose word.
Swallowing a hollow laugh, he turned his head. Ed, seeming to know his own words were absurd, quietly averted his gaze. Where both their gazes landed was, naturally, on Deon, who was exhaling a deep sigh along with white smoke.
"......Everyone leave except Dan."
"Deon-nim."
"Quickly."
Whatever was bothering him, Ben, who had been hesitating with worried eyes, was eventually dragged out by Ed's hand.
When the door closed and only the two of them remained, Deon leaned the back he had held rigidly straight loosely against his chair and offered Dan the seat across the table. A casual tone flowed out.
"Since I made it, let's have a match with me. I've explained the rules, so you roughly know them, right?"
"......Mm...."
"Even if you don't, you'll pick it up as we play. Let's say you take black, I'll take white... What shall we start the troop count at?"
Scrape. Deon asked, rolling the numbered part of a game piece with his finger.
Dan quietly examined the piece. It was no different from a chess piece, but on its body, a number set to 0000 was visible. When he subtly rolled it with his finger, it clicked and changed to 0001.
Ah, you could turn this number to set or change the scale of the troops.
"Since it's your first time, shall we keep it simple at 100 for all?"
"......Yes."
Pieces set to 0100 were placed on the board.
After that, aside from the occasional question and explanation, silence mostly dominated the room.
"Why a two-space movement...?"
"Cavalry can move two spaces at a time."
"Aha."
With a short exclamation, Dan moved his piece. Deon watched it with his eyes, then split his forces in two and slowly began to speak.
"How fares your trading company?"
"Due to the record of obtaining the war supplies distribution permit in Master's name, the sanctions are severe. We're under surveillance too."
"But it seems you're managing to stay alive somehow."
"For now, it seems they're keeping us alive because we're one of the larger trading companies. Unless a means to fill the void appears, it's not time yet."
"True. Especially since trading companies are important during wartime."
While Dan had his eyes on the divided forces, the black cavalry pulled back.
"Expand the trading company."
"......Pardon?"
"It would be even better if you swallowed up that whole market. Make it so the human world has no choice but to rely on your company."
The white camp was in an unbalanced state, focusing heavily on a specific troop type.
The black shield-bearers advanced. Part of the divided forces moved to cut off the supply route, while the other force attacked the white camp.
Dan made a judgment. Blocking the forces right in front of him took priority over the supply route. Click— his hand moved, and the main troop type came out to defend the camp.
"Swallow up the market, crush the other trading companies so they can't grow, and then, at the decisive moment, withdraw from the human world."
"......That would be a massive blow."
The main forces of white struck down the divided black forces and charged. Right before clashing with the shield-bearers, the black cavalry, which had been silently waiting in the rear, moved.
They made a wide detour around the white forces charging toward the shield-bearers and encircled them. Dan, realizing it belatedly, hurriedly pulled his forces back before being completely surrounded, but a portion had already been swallowed by the encirclement.
Deon calmly moved the captured piece aside and said.
"Right. So, make contact with those who make the talisman paper needed for sorcery and secure the distribution."
"......Talismans?"
With this, the supply route was cut and the main forces were reduced. A situation where defeat loomed right before his eyes.
Dan, who had been fiddling with the pieces of his remaining forces on the board as if regretful, raised his head.
"Since the initial purpose of sorcery was to counter magic. It will be used a lot in the future, and it's probably being used a lot now. And don't sneakily raise the number. I'm sure that was 0032 there, where's this cheating coming from?"
"......This is why perceptive people are...."
"I purposely made the number-turning part stiff because I figured someone might try this. I can hear all the clicking sounds. ......Before that, the starting count was 100, but it's at 0132, wouldn't it be obvious to notice?"
"Damn. Anyway, understood. Secure the talisman paper, is that all?"
Three turns had passed since the supplies were cut. The operable troops in the white camp were reduced by one-third.
It was the moment black's victory was provisionally confirmed.
Deon leisurely moved his pieces, ravaging the white camp, and continued the conversation.
"If we could distribute some magic stones as well, your trading company would truly have the market in the palm of its hand.... But that seems like something I'll need to discuss with the Demon King. As for the elves' medicinal herbs... the possibility is almost nil, so set that aside....... Ah, right. There should be talismans that suppress the abilities of the demon-race."
"......."
"Procure those. If you can get them, about a bundle's worth."
The game was over. It was a victory for black.
Placing the commander piece he held down outside the board with a thud, Deon smiled.
"And we're running out of medicine, get some of that too."
"......."
Dan, who had been about to give an affirmative answer without much thought, shut his mouth and looked at him.
As if asking what the problem was, the red eyes calmly met his gaze. After a short silence, Dan opened his mouth.
"Mas...."
"Deon-nim, pardon the interruption. I think you need to step outside for a moment."
Knock knock.
At the familiar voice, Deon rose from his seat. Before taking a step, he glanced at Dan, who had shut his mouth with a dissatisfied look, and chuckled softly.
"Is it because I seem crazy?"
"......."
"It's problematic if you see someone as crazy just because they spaced out for a moment. I'm perfectly fine, so you don't need to worry."
Finishing those words without checking Dan's expression, he strode over and opened the door. He met eyes with Ed, who was pale as a sheet.
"Ed? What's with that expre...."
"My apologies, Deon-nim. At the main gate of the Demon Castle... some humans have taken a hostage and are staging a sit-in."
"What? What do you mea...."
What the hell kind of bullshit was this?
He reflexively swallowed the words about to burst out and looked at Ed. This guy was a demon too. He couldn't let his guard down in front of a demon.
Though he felt a flicker of annoyance, he smoothed his voice flawlessly and spoke calmly.
"Ignore them and just kill them."
"The hostage...."
"If they got caught by humans, it must be a demon of no conseq...."
Chill ran down his spine.
"The hostage is the 7th Legion Commander."
"......."
......Why the hell was that guy caught over there?
Losing words at the absurdity was only momentary; Deon, barely regaining his composure as he stroked the corner of his mouth, posed another question.
"But why are you calling for me? Rather than me, you should report to His Majesty the Demon King...."
"The Captain... no, to meet the 0th Legion Commander, that is their condition."
"......Haa."
No wonder my dreams were so vicious.
The single word 'Captain' alone gave him a good idea who these humans with swollen guts were, and Deon, unable to hold back any longer, swept his face with his hand.
* * *
"Let us meet the Captain!"
"Let us meet him!"
"Let us meet him!!"
"Or the hostage's safety cannot be guaranteed!"
"Cannot be!"
"Cannot be!!"
In front of the always-quiet Demon Castle, an untimely commotion was brewing.
It would have been shocking enough if demons had staged a sit-in in front of the Demon Castle, but humans were doing such a thing. That alone was unprecedented, but on top of that, they had even taken a hostage.
If the hostage had been an ordinary demon, they would have swept them all away, but of all people, it was the 7th Legion Commander, so it was a situation where they couldn't rashly intervene.
The demons, treating it as a rare spectacle, lingered near the castle gate and paid their respects to the humans' incredibly swollen guts.
And the 7th Legion Commander, Silua, taken hostage....
"So, is Demon... no, Deon-nim really your captain? Your fighting style resembles his, so I'm inclined to believe it... but it's truly surprising, even hearing it again."
"We still can't believe our captain is the 0th Legion Commander here, either."
...was casually chatting with his captors.