Chapter 17: My Subordinates Are So Capable It's Driving Me Crazy (5)

The horse issue, which I'd thought would be a once-in-a-lifetime crisis..., was resolved surprisingly easily.

Ed contacted someone, had the horse removed, and prepared a carriage.

Then he approached me and, with the utmost politeness, carefully asked for my understanding... Honestly, I wondered why he was being so deferential.

But I was fine with it, actually.

Anyway, after receiving Ed's repeated apologies, I boarded the carriage and was now leaving the castle, heading toward the city.

Of course, since the road was completely unpaved, my butt hurt every time the carriage ran... but well, I had to endure it. It was still much better than riding that horse.

And even if I didn't want to endure it, I had no choice. Ed was sitting right in front of me.

He sat across from me, saying he had something to explain, calmly flipping through documents and reading the tiny print even inside this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠violently shaking carriage.

It was truly an incredible ability.

"The reason the demonic beasts target cities is simple. Because the pickings are plentiful. Originally, they would have targeted small, defenseless villages, but now that only cities remain, it's only natural that they flock there."

"If you look at it that way, the Demon Castle is also the size of a small city..."

"But the Demon King resides in the Demon Castle. In addition, the Legion Commanders are also present."

"Ah."

"On the other hand, a city only contains opponents who are far easier prey. If you had to choose between the Demon Castle, filled with powerful beings of unfathomable strength, and a city that you might be able to take down through sheer numbers, wouldn't you obviously choose the city?"

Demonic beasts had no reason. They were only faithful to their instincts.

Since they lacked reason, their instincts were highly developed. There was no way they couldn't feel the presence emanating from the Demon Castle. Even if they couldn't feel it, they'd have at least sensed the level of danger.

They merely lacked reason, not emotion.

As long as the emotion of fear hadn't been lost, it was natural for them to avoid the Demon Castle.

"And because people from other regions frequently come and go through cities for trade, just by waiting at a route and ambushing them, they could get enough to eat."

"But now that those travelers are gone, they're targeting the city itself."

"Yes, that's..."

BANG!

ROOOAAAARRR!!

The carriage shook violently. My paper-thin body shook along with it.

As I lunged toward him as if about to headbutt him, Ed naturally caught me, checked if I was injured, and then sat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me back down, continuing his words as if nothing had happened.

"......That's right. So we will, inside the castle..."

-Kill them!!

"Fortify..."

-Don't let those things anywhere near the carriage!

"......We are planning to."

-You damn demonic bastards!! Die! Just diiiie!!

......Truly, he was amazing in many ways.

There had been several demonic beast attacks on the way here. So much so that I, who had initially been terrified, could now sit here so calmly.

But Ed's composure was beyond common sense.

Unable to take it any longer, I cracked the window open slightly, checked outside, and casually spoke.

Outside was a scene of utter chaos.

"Ed, aren't you going to help?"

"The legion members will handle it themselves. So please rest assured—this is the 0th Legion, after all."

"Uh... well..."

It certainly looked that way. The legion members were diligently slaughtering the demonic beasts.

No one seemed to have suffered any serious injuries, and at the very least, everyone could handle at least one on their own...

But... why was Ben out there?

"Die! Diiieeee!!"

Splat!

Blood splattered. I hurriedly pulled my body back and closed the window.

I thought I'd moved pretty fast, but it seemed I was already too late. A warm liquid was on my cheek.

Well, one thing was clear. Ben was out of his right mind right now.

As I roughly wiped it with the back of my hand, for some reason, a horrified Ed, his face white as a sheet, hastily pulled out a handkerchief, wiped it for me, and then spoke in a firm voice.

"It might be best to open the window after the battle is over."

"Uh, yeah. Okay. But Ben..."

I recalled the sight of Ben I'd just seen.

Him swinging his medical bag and crushing a demonic beast's head while letting out screams even worse than theirs.

I was so confused I nearly mistook his profession.

Wasn't he a personal physician? Had the physician gone away and some berserker taken his place?

"Ah, once Ben gets a taste of direct combat, he has a hard time controlling himself. He is a demon, after all, appearances aside."

Right, a demon. I'd momentarily forgotten.

He was a personal physician and was good at fighting on top of that. At this point, wouldn't I be fine just taking him around with me?

But since he apparently couldn't control himself once he started rampaging, I absolutely didn't want to be alone with him.

Recalling all the times I'd been alone with him in the past for treatment and such, a belated shock hit me, and I surreptitiously rubbed my stomach.

'Ugh, my stomach hurts.'

For some reason, I felt like my lifespan was decreasing the more competent people I was surrounded by.

-Hahahahaha! Die, you bastards!!

"Haah..."

Listening to Ben's insane voice from outside, I leaned my head weakly against the carriage wall.

Ah, demonic beasts or whatever, I just wished it would end soon.

"Rest break!"

"Rest break!"

Ed's booming voice squeezed through the gap in the door and into the carriage. Plus the voices of the legion members repeating the order.

I stretched out my stiff body from sitting for so long and thought to myself.

'Looking at that, he really does seem to be an adjutant.'

Since he was always doing menial tasks and running errands, I'd confused him with a servant.

From the Empire's perspective, that role should've been filled by a deputy legion commander, but at the Demon Castle, the Legion Commanders' adjutants also served as deputy commanders, so Ed was currently performing his role extremely well.

Staying in the carriage all day was stuffy, and I wanted to let my sore butt rest and get some fresh air, so I got out of the carriage.

The moment I opened the door and stepped down, a vision to freeze my blood appeared: a herd of black horses emitting a dark aura. Even just one possessed overwhelming majesty, and there they were, gathered together, tearing into something.

The atmosphere even seemed almost peaceful for a moment, making me flinch, but I was able to relax a little.

'Well, I guess horses are still horses. Seeing them grazing on grass despite their looks—... Huh?'

......Something was a bit off.

That... wasn't that a demonic beast corpse?

It was. It really was a demonic beast corpse. So those bastards were now peacefully huddled together, tearing into and eating a demonic beast corpse...

The moment I realized the truth, I reflexively stepped back.

I came to my senses when I felt the hard, cold carriage door against my back.

"Lord Demon."

"......."

"Lord Demon?"

"......."

Dammit, terrifying things! And there were so many of them, too.

Of course there were many, since there were as many as the legion members... but still, they were scary. They wouldn't suddenly go berserk or something, would they?

Maybe due to their terrifying appearance, the likes of which you'd never see in the human world, my gaze kept going there against my will.

It wasn't out of interest at all. No, I guess it was interest—keeping them in sight for vigilance was also a kind of interest, after all.

As I stared blankly at the herd of horses like that, a water bottle was suddenly thrust right in front of my nose.

"Lord Demon, would you like some water?"

For something thrust so suddenly, the attitude was quite respectful.

The owner of the gesture—which seemed more like an offering than an offering—was none other than my loyal adjutant, Ed.

I had expected it, honestly.

'How many people would be this devoted to me, anyway.'

To fulfill his duties like this even though his charge was a mere human.

"Thank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you."

Gratitude for the water, and gratitude that he fulfilled his duties toward a human like me without any outward change in attitude.

Unaware that my thanks carried both meanings, Ed simply smiled once, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Then, after glancing once at the herd of horses I'd been staring blankly at, and once at my expression, he seemed to steel himself and carefully spoke.

"I noticed earlier... you seemed to be looking at the horses..."

"Ah, yes."

Damn, I'd just managed to forget about them.

Yeah, I was looking. In case those things suddenly went berserk.

Maybe the sturdy demons would be fine, but if someone like me—exceptionally frail even among humans—got hit by something like that, my body and soul would be separated instantly. So I had no choice but to stay on guard.

Anyway, for him to have noticed that, he must be watching me quite closely. Had the Demon King given him an order or something?

'Or maybe, because of the resignation letter thing?'

Did he think I might run away?

It was a plausible guess.

As I shuddered inwardly at the Demon King's persistent nature, Ed, who had been hesitating a little, slowly spoke up. The words that came from his reluctant, parting lips were completely different from what I'd expected.

"Could it be... that you want to ride a horse?"

"Excuse me?"

"As I thought, you still had lingering attachments..."

What was he suddenly saying, after a perfectly fine start? That I wanted to ride one of those horrifying things?

Stunned, I just gaped for a moment before hastily waving my hands in denial.

But that apparently looked different to him.

"No, absolutely not. That's not it..."

"I'm sorry. It must be frustrating, but would it be possible for you to at least use the carriage until your condition improves? You can ride a horse to your heart's content afterward, so please."

"......."

I stopped my mouth, which had been about to deny it a second time.

Wait a minute. Didn't that mean I'd never have to ride one?

My physical condition wasn't due to some aftereffect but was congenital, so it would never improve beyond this.

Then, was there really any need for me to keep denying it?

"......Alright."

There was no need to show unnecessary weakness to the demons, and this was better than making things awkward for both of us.

Maybe because of the sense of crisis that I'd almost ended up riding a horse, my throat felt parched.

With the water bottle conveniently in hand, I gauged the situation and took a sip...

"Newbie, seems like you're already decent at riding?"

"No, sir! I still have a long way to go!"

"Why so modest. Never mind, that's good enough. Then I guess only the final step remains, right?"

"Yeah, the most important one's left. Should we call it our legion's special tradition? Though it hasn't been around that long, really."

A special tradition. Did the 0th Legion have something like that?

Hearing something for the first time in my life, I knew it was rude, but I couldn't help but prick up my ears.

The final step, what could it be?

Before even that, the fact that the 0th Legion had a tradition at all was questionable.

The 0th Legion was created because of me. Meaning it was a fledgling legion that had only existed for two years at most... and it had a tradition?

Afraid that the sound of swallowing water would hinder me from hearing their words, I held the sip in my mouth and focused on their conversation.

And I would regret not swallowing that water.

"There's one story every 0th Legion member must know. A story about our Legion Commander, Lord Demon."

"Ah, you can't be..."

"Yeah, we are the 0th Legion, after all. You have to know exactly what happened when Lord Demon killed the Hero, or you'll embarrass yourself out there."

Pfft—!!

"C-Cough! *Cough*, *hack*."

"Lord Demon?!"

Thanks to immediately lowering my head, the unfortunate incident of spraying water on Ed's face was fortunately avoided. I hurriedly wiped my mouth and coughed repeatedly to expel the water that had gone down the wrong way.

Because of that, it was Ed who panicked.

Flustered, he pulled out a new handkerchief, held it to my mouth, then slightly detached it to check the inside, before stammering with a horrified expression.

"B-Blood... there's no..."

Huh? Had I coughed up blood again?

Judging by that bloodless complexion, it seemed blood had come out again.

Well, this wasn't the first or second time, so wasn't he overrea...

"There's no blood! Physician! Physician!!"

"......?"

"Ben! Where are you! Beeeeen!!"

Excuse me? Doesn't something seem off to you right now?

Why was he more panicked that there was no blood? Shouldn't it normally be the opposite?

His handkerchief was clean.

Meaning there were no red stains or anything on it.

Of course not. I'd just choked, that's all.

"What's going on!"

Oh for goodness' sake. Even Ben had come running now.

Seeing him rush over in such a fluster pricked at my conscience for nothing.

I tried to salvage the situation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even now, but my adjutant—so faithful I wanted to shove him far, far away—got ahead of me, grabbed Ben by the collar, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Lord Demon suddenly coughed violently, but no blood came out!"

"Good heavens!"

At that point, I gave up thinking.

It was wrong. These guys had absolutely no common sense.