Chapter 91: A Vacation That's No Vacation (7)
Chapter 91: A Vacation That's No Vacation (7)
"Oh my? But why are you grabbing me by the collar? It's not my fault."
"Damn, damn. This won't do. It's too much for our legion alone."
"Oh dear, a legion commander who can't do his job..."
"Could you help...?"
"Why would I?"
It seemed my prediction was correct. It looked like I'd be trapped in this city like this.
'...That's terrible.'
I had to stay in this city with these people? I already missed my room at the Demon Castle. Even though it was in the Demon Castle, no one entered unless there was something important, so it was quite comfortable.
While I was having various dark thoughts about the bleak future, suddenly one fact came to mind.
Wait, if demonic beasts swarmed all the way here, wouldn't there be some that slipped out into the human world along the way? And they said there's a boundary line nearby.
'...What do I do.'
If it's the southern part of the human world, it wouldn't be the Empire, so maybe I don't need to worry. No, but it's still the human world.
Is it because the Empire's territory is vast? Most of the boundary lines so far were discovered in the Empire. So I never had to worry much, but why did one have to appear in such a random place.
'No, first, I need to confirm if the boundary line really is connected to the south, and if so, which kingdom and region. To do that, I'd have to check personally...'
"Haaah..."
"!"
I tried to hold it in, but a sigh escaped on its own.
How could I break through that? The 10th Legion gave up too. I'll just have to stay cooped up in this city until they retreat on their own.
I was about to turn away with that thought. Dvellania, who had been watching me with a start ever since I sighed, shook her head as if she had no choice and stepped forward.
"Since Lord Demon wishes it, I'll help just this once."
"?"
"Let's go, Lord Demon."
Ben stood beside me, swinging his medical bag around.
I wasn't sure what basis this conclusion was drawn from, but since things turned out the way I wanted, I nodded and took a step.
The castle gates opened, and a moment later.
In an atmosphere not much different from when I first arrived, I was able to step and step over the corpses of demonic beasts and reach the area near the boundary line.
After standing blankly for a while in a place where day and night were clearly divided, as soon as my soul, which had momentarily fled from piercing through hell, returned, I realized something and my jaw dropped.
I clearly hadn't said anything...? How did they know I wanted to come here...?
"Since you are Lord Demon, I figured you'd want to see for yourself at least once for the report, so I stopped by while we were out... Did I make a mistake...?"
"Ah... No... Thank you."
"No need to thank me."
If they think of it that way, it's convenient and nice for me.
Before crossing the boundary line, I checked my attire. Whether that side was the Empire's territory or not, it would be troublesome for my identity to be exposed.
In the meantime, Dvellania, who had smiled at me with her eyes, turned her head and looked at Gaisitel.
"Now the 10th Legion should return, right? You mustn't forget your duty~"
At those perfectly correct words, his complexion darkened slightly.
"Still, at least to guide..."
"Lord Demon is human himself, would he need guidance? Well... if he needs guidance, I think it'd be better if I did it rather than you. It was me who told you that beyond here is the 'south', wasn't it?"
Come to think of it, Dvellania had been to the human world often for missions. She's probably the most knowledgeable about the human world out of any legion commander besides me.
'Anyway, thinking about it again, it's ridiculous. Even if Gaisitel is like that, I can't believe Dvellania was silent about this place's existence too.'
Ben, looking bewildered too, stared at her with a face full of things to say, but perhaps not wanting to repeat similar words, he just narrowed his brow instead.
Out-argued, Gaisitel turned away with a sullen face. Dvellania didn't stop there; only after sending her own legion back did she approach me with a relieved face.
"Lord Demon, are you ready?"
"Yes, well..."
I fidgeted with the robe hood covering my face and nodded.
Fortunately, my clothes were neat. Since I hadn't lifted a finger the entire way here, it stood to reason they wouldn't be disheveled. Mentally I was unbelievably tattered, but I set that aside—
What did they say? With two legion commanders here, I didn't need to bother stepping forward myself?
"Shall we go then?"
"Yes..."
At that moment, my mind was completely elsewhere, and I overlooked an important fact.
That I shouldn't just worry about my own attire, but theirs as well.
That unlike me, they were drenched in the blood of demonic beasts.
***
"You crossed into the human world drenched in blood?!"
These insane demons!
The king of a small southern kingdom, unable to withstand his soaring blood pressure, finally clutched the back of his neck. A knight, seeing his body tipping backward, threw himself forward and caught him.
"Y-Your Majesty! Calm down! Calm yourself! Deep breaths, deep breaths...!"
"Hoo, hoo..."
What should he do about these damn demons? Did they have any intention of hiding themselves at all?!
Had they even committed murder somewhere? The butchery of their own kind? No, they'd appeared after dealing with monsters, so that blood was probably from the monsters.
Thinking that far, the king's expression changed subtly.
Was this something he should be grateful for? Whatever their intentions, they had dealt with the monsters on behalf of the kingdom.
How dizzying it had been when he heard the sudden news that monsters were starting to spill over from beyond the boundary line. It was a matter that could easily have escalated into something truly disastrous.
"......They say there was an unusual demon among them."
"Ah, yes. The one wearing a black robe—"
"Look here... almost all the demons crossing over here are wearing robes. Black robes account for 90% of that."
"Ah... but it is said he was the only one among them who was spotless, without a single bloodstain. The aura he exuded was exceptional, and the other demons who came with him behaved as if they respected and served him. It is presumed he is a demon of high status."
As the explanation continued, an image of someone gradually rose in the king's mind, and his expression hardened.
Black robe, exceptional aura, high status in the demon world.
Of course, the chances were high that it wasn't him. It shouldn't be him. Unless it was for important matters such as battle, 'he' who rarely left the Demon Castle—why would he of all people set foot here?
But.
"Your Majesty! A new report! One of the demons who crossed into the human world is Dvellania, the 2nd Legion Commander of the Demon King's army! They say it was easy to identify her because her face wasn't hidden..."
"Damnation."
Her face wasn't hidden. Then at least that meant the 'black robe' wasn't the 2nd Legion Commander.
The demons who came with them behaved as if they respected and served the 'black robe'. How many people could possibly be respected and served by the 2nd Legion Commander?
As certainty gradually solidified, resignation and detachment settled on the king's face.
"......The 0th Legion Commander."
"Pardon?"
"The black robe. It's probably the 0th Legion Commander."
"W-What! Why would he be here...!"
"Who knows. He might have come to scout upon hearing about the new boundary line. Or to spy."
Either way, it wasn't good.
But that didn't mean he was in a position to do anything about it.
He was already busy keeping his nerves sharp over the Empire's rampage; if he stirred up trouble with the demon world too, this kingdom's fate would be in jeopardy.
"Where are they now, and what are they doing?"
"That... they are said to be heading towards the marketplace."
Looking like that?!
He had no intention of commenting on them going to the marketplace, nor could he, but before they went, he desperately wished they would check their own appearances.
He couldn't just leave them like this. At this rate, the kingdom would be thrown into an uproar, and the Empire's gaze would reach this place.
As a king who desired neither, he could only press his forehead and issue an unwilling order.
"Hide them."
"Pardon?"
"Conceal their identities by any means necessary. The method doesn't matter, but proceed in a way that causes as little commotion as possible. Right. For starters, it'd be good to give them some clean robes."
"Yes. But whether they will obediently accept them..."
"That's for you to figure out."
"......Excuse me?"
I don't know, handle it yourself. I don't want to worry about it any further.
The king blatantly ignored the bewildered and absurd stare directed at him, waving his hand dismissively.
***
The human world, after so long, was sunny, as if to declare, 'This is what it means to have a sun.'
Thanks to that, faced with the sun after a long time, I reflexively pulled my robe hood down to cover my face before slowly starting to look around.
As if there were some rule, the boundary lines, which always existed in places seldom visited by people, were, without exception this time as well, connected to a mountain deep enough that footsteps would rarely reach.
Dvellania smiled cheerfully, stepped aside, and spread one arm out.
"Now, Lord Demon, where would you like to go first? A bustling area full of humans? Or a place with few people?"
"......I'd prefer a place where I can get a good sense of the local residents' daily lives, if possible..."
"Then it has to be the marketplace. Since this is your first time here, I'll guide you."
"But."
Ben, who had been wearing an expression of something bothering him ever since we crossed over, opened his mouth while looking somewhere.
"I see a few rats. You surely didn't miss them. Are you just going to leave them be?"
"Ah, right. They're the type that don't really cause any harm. I figured it'd be more troublesome if we got rid of them, so I left them alone. But if Lord Demon finds them bothersome, of course. What shall we do?"
This wasn't even a house, just a mountain; there was no reason to waste time catching things that didn't cause any harm.
Far from being bothersome, I hadn't even known they were there.
Actually, I still didn't know. It was so quiet; where were these rats supposed to be?
"If they don't cause harm, let's just go."
"Okay~ then come this way."
As if she hadn't been here just once or twice, Dvellania began skillfully descending the forest path.
I followed her, moving carefully for a long while so as not to twist my ankle, and at last, we were able to face humans at the entrance of the forest.
The problem was that those humans were 'knights'.
Two knights clad in unfamiliar armor that looked highly mobile, fully armed, stopped us with rigid faces.
I was slightly tense and ready to bolt at any moment, when they addressed me.
"Are you the mercenaries? We heard the story. You dealt with the monsters that crossed over here."
"......?"
"Thanks to you, we were able to overcome a great crisis. On behalf of the knight order, I express our gratitude."
"No, well..."
I didn't know what was going on, but I was glad they misunderstood like this. I had been worried I might even have to be prepared for an armed conflict.
Ignoring my pricking conscience, I gave a lukewarm reply, and one of the two rummaged through the luggage they had brought, pulling out two robes and a coin pouch and holding them out.
His gaze still remained fixed on me.
"It's modest, but a reward and some robes. We prepared the robes thinking you must have been splattered with a lot of blood while dealing with the monsters. It looks like it was a good thing we did."
Ah. Only then did I realize the state Dvellania and Ben were in.
I shouldn't have only paid attention to my own state.
Due to having fought the whole way to the boundary line, the two of them were a mess. Ben's appearance, with snake scales covering part of his face—though I'd grown used to seeing it—was by no means human.
And yet, they had crossed into the human world just like that, without a single robe.
I was crazy. Damn it.
'......But they're giving us robes? Not arresting us or dealing with us immediately?'
Come to think of it, during the entire conversation, they hadn't looked at Dvellania or Ben.
Could it be that the two of them had become invisible demons without me knowing? Realistically, that was nonsense. And the only hypothesis that came to mind right now was...
No, no way.
'They're deliberately pretending not to know? No, this goes beyond pretending not to know, they're actively hiding our identities.'