Chapter 4: The 0th Legion Commander, Deon Hart (2)
Chapter 4: The 0th Legion Commander, Deon Hart (2)
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I heard you're the gardener. You tend to nearly all the plants in the Demon Castle, is that right?"
A voice brimming with goodwill, kind. Forgetting his own station, Hien dared to lift his head and stared blankly at him.
......That absurdly improbable chance had actually happened.
The 0th Legion Commander had shown a kindness that far exceeded expectations,
"The Demon Castle is quite vast; that's impressive."
and Hien was utterly captivated by him.
He was a being who had been recognized by His Majesty and granted the position of 0th Legion Commander, no less. Even if he were arrogant to match, no one would dare say a word.
Yet he used honorific speech and showed respect for his counterpart.
'Is this what they mean by the composure of the strong... or something like that?'
The less confidence one has in oneself, the more one inflates one's abilities and raises one's voice to crush the opponent by any means.
In that sense, the 0th Legion Commander's words and actions revealed that he at least had confidence in himself.
Whether he knew it or not that these things were elevating his presence....
"I'm curious about the plants of the Demon Castle; may I ask for a tour?"
Not only did he acknowledge a mere incubus, he went so far as to request a tour instead of simply ordering it.
At that, Hien's stiff, blank expression softened, and he smiled.
[What was his name?]
[What was it? I vaguely heard it, but it was unclear....]
"Demon. Demon Arut."
A name even more demon-like than a demon's.
That day, Hien repeated that name over and over.
After that, he tried to get closer to him.
No, he didn't dare hope to become close. He was merely concerned about the health of the one who stayed only in his room, and so he frequently struck up conversations in hopes that he would at least take a walk in the garden.
As expected, Lord Demon, unlike the other Legion Commanders, did not ignore his words. There was no violence or harsh language.
With a stiff, expressionless face, he nonetheless answered him steadily and often strolled through the garden.
Not only that, but he could have shooed him away or pushed him aside saying he wanted to be alone, yet he deliberately showed consideration and always let him walk at his side during those strolls.
So that must be why he'd gotten carried away.
For a mere incubus to dare.
'To make such a mistake.'
Today, he had crossed the line.
* * *
I still regret what happened that day.
At first, it was just that before entering the Demon Castle, I happened to see the garden from afar, and while talking with the Demon King about it, I'd learned of the gardener's existence.
I should have just thought, 'I see,' and moved on.
But back then I knew nothing and was delighted. A gardener. To think there would be such a wholesome job in the Demon Castle.
In this place teeming with blood-crazed demons, there was a normal person like an oasis. As soon as I'd finished all the necessary formalities, I went to find him.
And I was able to meet a man of refined appearance sooner than I'd thought.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I heard you're the gardener. You tend to nearly all the plants in the Demon Castle, is that right?"
This was a den of demons. No matter how insignificant they might seem, they were surely stronger than me, so using respectful speech was a given.
If I inadvertently got on their nerves and got hit even once, I'd be done for that very day. Wouldn't that be too meaningless a death?
"The Demon Castle is quite vast; that's impressive."
But excessive honorifics were problematic too. If I appeared obsequious, that would cause its own issues. I just needed to show a certain level of respect. Of course, I threw in some flattering compliments just in case he took offense.
Ahem, anyway, in my delight I kept wanting to speak faster.
I paused briefly, feigned nonchalance, cleared my throat, and continued.
"I'm curious about the plants of the Demon Castle; may I ask for a tour?"
His face, which had been blank for a moment, bloomed with a radiant smile like a flower.
He said he'd be glad to,
—And then I saw hell.
A demon was still a demon after all!
That was a painful adage now carved into my life philosophy.
After that day, every time we met, Hien invited me for a garden stroll. I couldn't bring myself to refuse, terrified that if I did, he might do something awful to me with those terrifying plants. So I grudgingly walked the garden, like swallowing bitter mustard seed while crying.
Of course, I always kept Hien, the one who suggested the walk, right next to me.
What if those horrible plants tried to eat me while he wasn't around? I can't die alone! If I die, we die together! Well, that was the gist of my mindset.
......For some reason, as the days went by, the guy seemed to act more and more friendly towards me.
* * *
I looked at Hien, who was apologizing profusely, with a troubled expression.
Why was he apologizing again? I had absolutely no idea of the reason, so I rolled my eyes around and began to retrace the previous situation.
Before he apologized, what had happened?
......Nothing.
'There really was nothing.'
I'd been silent, and he'd been silent. That silence had just stretched a little longer, that was all.
Then our eyes met, and out of the blue he apologized....
'......No way.'
Was he saying, 'I'll bow and apologize like this, so even if it takes a while, let's walk the garden together'?!
This makes it hard to refuse, doesn't it?
This guy. I'd thought he was subtly cunning, and now I see he's blatantly cunning.
Well, fine. I'd survived and come back each time, so as long as there were no major issues, I could definitely come back alive this time too.
After steeling myself for a moment, I lowered my gaze to Hien, who was still bowing.
"There's no need for that. Please raise your head."
He slowly lifted his head. Seeing his still-stiff expression, I shook my head inwardly.
'I'll go, I said I'll go. I'll go, so loosen up your face.'
"So, where is the new flower you've acquired this time?"
"......Pardon?"
Was my answer insufficient?
I stepped toward the garden as if to prove a point. To him as he followed me in a daze, I spoke clearly, as if to reassure him.
"You said to see the flower before I go. Aren't you going to give a tour?"
"Ah, aah! Yes, I will!"
Hien hurriedly looked for a torch.
Unlike demons accustomed to the night, as a human I needed a torch to observe the plants in detail.
To be honest, I didn't really want to observe them in detail, but that demon brat always demanded that I take a close look.
Did he say so directly? Of course not! But the phrase 'unspoken pressure' existed for a reason.
After explaining enthusiastically about the plants, he'd stare at me with those glittering eyes; how could I not take a close look?
"Then follow me!"
As if he'd already recovered his spirits, Hien grinned broadly as if nothing had happened, holding the torch.
'You recover fast.' I thought petty thoughts like 'So why did he apologize earlier?' as I absentmindedly moved to follow him, but then I paused and looked down at my empty hands.
I took the torch from Hien and held it firmly, then followed his guidance into the west garden.
As always, it was abnormal, grotesque, and terrifying.
That chill I felt when the eyeball-covered plant I'd looked down upon from the corridor stared at me....
I quickened my pace to get it out of my sight, but its pupil rolled smoothly and stared at me. It was so frightening I almost dropped the torch.
"Um, Lord Demon."
"Yes?"
"The torch, let me...."
"It's all right."
Aha, trying to steal my weapon? I subtly tightened my grip on the torch.
They called them carnivorous plants and whatnot, but in the end, these things were all 'plants'. Whether they ate people or not, if you burned them with fire, they'd be helpless.
So here, this was my weapon and lifeline. I couldn't just hand it over.
"More importantly, how much further do we have to go?"
My mind was reaching its limit.
Even pretending to be calm consumed mental energy. Just when I thought I might actually faint on my feet, thankfully Hien pointed somewhere with his finger, as if to meet my expectations.
"We're almost there. That's it over there."
My gaze followed where his fingertip pointed.
"......Oh...."
My mouth fell open, and an exclamation escaped me.
In truth, it wasn't an exclamation. It was a suppressed scream. A maximum-effort scream that my mind, bleached white from immense shock, commanded as its last resort.
'What the hell is that?! That's a plant?'
Crazy! In what world is that a plant?
It was wrong. This place wasn't normal. I had to get out of here immediately....
"Lord Demon?"
"......Ah."
I barely managed to stop myself from stepping back.
I couldn't be more grateful that my face was naturally pale, so even if I turned whiter it wouldn't show. If my complexion had been normal, I'd surely have been visibly white as a sheet.
My reaction was only natural. Any other human would probably have reacted the same way.
That's not a plant! It's an animal!
The plant was moving so vigorously that I thought if a person whose feet were stuck in the ground struggled desperately to pull free, they'd look just like that.
"Kreeeeek!"
......I take that back. It was going berserk.
"What kind of plant screams?!"
Oops, I'd dropped honorifics without thinking!
Despite my worry that he might get angry, Hien seemed to focus more on the content than my tone.
"It's a carnivorous plant. You probably didn't feel it because it's too insignificant for you, Lord Demon, but that shriek contains a weak fear aura. Average weaklings would freeze up the moment they heard it and wouldn't be able to run away."
"......."
"At least it's a 'carnivorous' plant, so I guess that's a relief. It doesn't eat demons, so the Demon Castle's attendants don't have to worry about being devoured."
No, it's probably the opposite. That thing isn't insignificant; I'm just too insignificant to feel the fear aura.
And he seemed to have forgotten....
'I'm a human, you crazy bastard....'
Could you maybe remember that I'm not a demon? No, more importantly, that thing—there's water dripping from its flower. That's drool, isn't it? That's definitely drool!
Whatever it was so angry about, that boneless monster—no, plant—shook its stem wildly. It bent flexibly, and if things went badly, it could reach all the way here....
Wham!
'Eek!'
I narrowly dodged!
"What kind of range is that?!"
"Haha, Lord Demon seems surprised too. The range is indeed long, right? It can probably cover a radius of about 10 meters. I'm diligently breeding it, so soon it will be able to cover the entire Demon Castle perfectly. You can look forward to it."
Then how am I supposed to get around?! Are you trying to kill me?
I should have handed in my resignation then, whether I coughed up blood or not. No, not even that—I should do it right now. I need to get out of this crazy place as soon as possible. This is no place for a human to live.
The fact that I hadn't felt that monster's fear aura seemed to have worked in an unexpected direction.
Normally I would have hesitated many times and steeled my resolve, but now I was about to act without hesitation. In other words, I wasn't in my right mind.
'Let's go. Where's the Demon King right now?'
If my body were at least sturdy, I might have trusted that and bluffed my way through. But unfortunately, my body was below average. For me, who needed to be especially careful to survive, the Demon Castle was truly the worst possible environment.
So I tried to go submit my resignation immediately, but for some reason one foot wouldn't move, as if rooted to the ground.
"Lord Demon!"
"......Huh?"
Whoosh!
The sound of wind rushed past my ears. My vision seemed to spin, and when it stopped, the world was upside down.
Ah, I was hanging upside down. But why?
"......Crazy!"
Right before my eyes, a flower bud the size of a person split open wide, revealing grotesque teeth. The stem was tightly squeezing my ankle so I couldn't escape.
So this situation was, yes. I'd been given the opportunity to explore the inside of a carnivorous plant.
......Forcibly.