[No title provided]
The ill-mannered brat's pride was wounded.
“Kyaaak—!”
“Please just die, you monster bastards!”
I was strolling through the chaotic inner castle of Butler Territory. The screams and shouts echoing from every direction made it feel like pure hell. The old me would've rushed around trying to save as many people as possible at those cries.
But this is just right.
Now, I was sauntering leisurely through the inner castle like it was a casual walk in the park. Passing by soldiers desperately battling monsters, I headed deeper inside until I reached the grand hall where I'd met Hazel before. The place already reeked of blood, meaning monsters had broken in. If Hazel had died already, I might've felt a twinge of regret, so I quickened my pace a bit and stepped inside.
Good, she's still alive.
I smirked at the sight of Hazel trembling in terror, clutching the brat named Lloyd in her arms in the corner. A few soldiers were holding off the monsters to protect her—not entirely heartless toward their lady. Among them was a familiar face: Juan, who'd lost an arm fighting me before, now swinging that healed limb at the monsters.
“H-Hero!”
Hazel finally noticed me and shouted. The soldiers battling monsters glanced my way too. I could see a flicker of strange hope in their eyes, which made me chuckle in disbelief. After stabbing me in the back like that, they actually expected me to help?
“Nah, I'll just sit here and watch. Keep doing what you're doing.”
I plopped down on a dusty chair off to the side and said that to Hazel. Naturally, the monsters under Lilite's control acted like I wasn't even there.
“Help us, Hero. We're outmatched on our own.”
Juan slashed down a goblin that had charged recklessly, then called out to me. He'd apparently returned from the capital while I was gathering the refugees. I gave him a curious look and shot back.
“Why should I?”
His massive, cow-like eyes shook like there was an earthquake. He clearly hadn't expected a hero to ask that—and had no good answer either.
“Are you all idiots? Can't you see what's happening? Why aren't the monsters attacking me? Huh? And who do you think brought these monsters here?”
Hazel and the soldiers stared at my taunt with faces drained of color, pure terror. Their reaction was so ridiculous it almost made me laugh.
“So the hero was the Demon King's vanguard after all!”
“H-How could the hero...”
I leaned back in the chair, crossing my legs as I watched them flip their attitudes in an instant.
“Hazel, one question.”
“...W-What?”
“You knew they were sealing the gates, right?”
“......”
Hazel couldn't answer, but that was answer enough for me.
“That's why. Even if you end up like this, I'm just gonna sit back.”
* * *
They're fighting pretty well.
Hazel and Juan seemed to give up on getting more help from me after that, thrashing desperately on their own. Juan was doing most of the heavy lifting, but even he was starting to falter against the endless waves. Of course, the fight dragging on this long wasn't just thanks to him. Lilite, controlling the monsters, was probably watching in real time. She'd taken a liking to this weird standoff, herding Hazel's group into a corner without landing any fatal blows.
True to her demonic nature, she loved feeding on humans' fear, terror, and regret—savoring their suffering. I got a kick out of seeing Hazel and the brat Lloyd's scared faces too, but honestly, it was starting to get boring.
“Urk.”
Finally, Juan—the guy whose arm I'd cut off—dropped to one knee, his limb mangled again.
“Hero, Lady Hazel isn't like that. She was just protecting the young master. Please, show some mercy.”
I scowled at the bald guy begging through tears. I was genuinely curious why he was going this far for her.
“Baldy. What's your deal with that woman?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, what the hell are you to her that a rotten old fuck like you is risking his life?”
Juan had this heroic look on his face, but I remembered exactly how he'd treated the refugees before. The funny part? At my question, his face and bald head flushed red like boiled octopus.
“Sh-She's just my lady. Nothing more.”
Obvious lie. Juan was probably nursing a crush on Hazel. Or maybe deeper than that, given how he was literally putting his life on the line. But clueless Hazel seemed to buy his words at face value.
“What a clown.”
I said that to Juan, then glanced at Lloyd. The last bloodline of the previous count—once so arrogant—was now pale as a ghost, staring at the goblins glaring back at him.
“Brat.”
Lloyd turned to me with a dazed look at my call.
“Why don't you act all high and mighty like before? Yell at the monsters to stop or something.”
“...You dogshit mercenary bastard.”
Hurt pride made the brat glare and snap at me. Hazel looked shocked at his words, but I'd expected it. Scared or not, cornered or not, the kid hadn't truly suffered yet.
Someone tell this brat heroes aren't mercenaries.
I tossed him a sword rolling on the floor, thinking that random thought.
He flinched hard as it flew toward him.
“Brat, if you're a man, stop flapping your gums and show something. Catch a goblin with your own hands, and maybe I'll help out.”
“Hero!”
Hazel freaked out at my words, but Lloyd just stared at the sword I'd thrown. Even at seven years old, the kid had some pride. He picked it up, body shaking, and glared at a goblin.
“Lloyd, no!”
I lightly clapped at Lloyd grabbing the sword so readily. Maybe he thought he had a shot since the goblin was just a bit bigger than him. Plus, seeing the soldiers he'd looked down on had already killed a few probably made him think he could too.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Lloyd!”
The brat's yell mixed with Hazel's scream. He charged bravely, but if goblins went down to a kid's swing, they wouldn't be called monsters.
“Guh! I-It hurts! Hurts so muuuch!!!”
Lloyd rolled on the floor, howling after the goblin stabbed his gut with a dagger. Hazel stared in a daze, while Juan eyed me fearfully.
Feels like I'm the Demon King's army, not the hero.
“Alright, that's enough.”
I said that watching Lloyd writhe, and the monsters that had been attacking Hazel's group started filing out of the hall.
“M-Mommy! Mommyyy! Save me, I don't wanna die!”
“Lloyd, it's okay. It's okay, it's all over.”
Hazel staunched the bleeding on Lloyd's stomach as he wailed, but nah. I didn't think it was over yet.
* * *
Is this the hero's way?
Marian thought that as she surveyed Butler Territory after the monsters withdrew. She wasn't stupid—she could see the connection between the hero and the monsters. Outside the empire, it might pass as coincidence, but here? They moved like his limbs.
To the arrogant-free Marian living in Butler, the hero's brutal methods weren't wrong, just extreme. Considering the sealed gates, the fact he hadn't wiped them all out showed restraint. Casualties weren't that high for a monster breach anyway.
The only thing she couldn't figure was how the hero controlled the monsters.
The oracle couldn't be wrong.
Pondering the hero's actions, Marian recalled recent events. The night she'd sneaked into his room as a soul projection, locking eyes with that suspicious woman. Nothing else notable had happened to him.
Who the hell was that woman?
As Marian suspected Lilite's identity, someone rushed up and shouted urgently.
“Saintess! You need to see the inner castle. Hurry!”