The Face That Broke Reality
As a result of the truly slapdash world-building that had gone into the original game, I found myself staring at Elisa nestled comfortably in Ilios’s arms, with two other people watching over them. The moment I saw the scene, my mind automatically concluded that the smartest move was to make myself scarce.
‘I don’t know the full story here… but this is definitely not an atmosphere I should be inserting myself into.’
Amelda, now a Dark Elf, was quite literally Elisa’s property and a member of her household. Rebekah’s position was a bit more ambiguous, but given how often I had seen the two of them together lately, she was probably something like a close friend. Standing in front of people like that while Elisa was being held by her mother felt inappropriate on multiple levels, so I quietly slipped away from the area, a strange mix of emotions swirling inside me.
In that final instant, I thought I caught a subtly complicated look in Elisa’s eyes as she watched me leave, but there was no need to dwell on it. Leaving the group behind, I discreetly made my way back to the banquet hall. I figured I might as well finish the meal that had been interrupted by my conversation with the Demon King.
That was when—
“Oho! So here you were, Hero! I was just wondering where you’d wandered off to!”
The next moment, a muscular man approached with a rather forceful energy and threw an arm around my shoulders. It was Samson. I smiled and answered him politely.
“I just stepped out for some fresh air. I’m not particularly used to these kinds of pre-meal formalities. Besides, no matter how you look at it, I’m still human.”
“Hahaha! There’s no need to feel so burdened, Hero. Honestly, what does any of that matter? You and we are comrades who have shed blood together on the battlefield—fellow generals of the same Demon Kingdom. Feel free to relax around us!”
“Haha… Well, if you say so, I’m grateful.”
“Then take a drink from my cup as well! Today is truly a fine day, is it not? Let’s get properly drunk tonight!”
“Understood. In that case, I’ll indulge a bit for the first time in a while.”
At Samson’s urging, I picked up the wine glass in front of me and drained it in one go. The cool, sweet flavor that spread across my tongue immediately told me this wasn’t ordinary liquor. It was clearly a high-quality spirit that had been meticulously brewed and aged with great care.
“Kya… That’s good stuff.”
“As expected, you drink with real spirit! Here, have another. This is a premium brew we seized from the Allied Forces this time.”
Golden liquor was poured into the glass before me. It reminded me of a high-end brandy. I picked it up without hesitation and emptied it just as quickly. Since I had always enjoyed drinking back in my original world, being able to savor such excellent alcohol freely was a pleasure in itself.
While I was drinking with Samson—liquor that tasted even sweeter than usual both because it was genuinely high-quality and because it was the taste of victory—my gaze suddenly drifted toward the Demon King, who was still seated on her throne, endlessly greeting the stream of people approaching her.
‘Given the circumstances, that’s probably the Demon King herself sitting there. Still… she looks exhausted in so many ways. Having to sit through this without enjoying herself, just accepting greetings the entire time…’
Thinking about it, it was only natural that she would use a disguise and a body double—not just for political reasons, but for the sake of her own personal time and fatigue. Watching her exchange greetings with countless demons while her visible exhaustion grew more obvious by the second, I couldn’t help but feel a deep pang of sympathy.
‘Having to sit through a banquet like this without being able to enjoy it… Being a ruler really isn’t easy.’
With that thought in mind, I resolved to do everything in my power to ensure she could spend happy, carefree moments whenever she was disguised as Esther. After all, I was now unmistakably her lover. Giving happiness to the woman I loved was practically an obligation. I steeled myself with that determination.
As I tilted my glass once more while lost in those thoughts…
“Hunya…”
“Hm?”
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
A demon general sat down across from us, letting out a strange little sound. The figure was clad head to toe in silver-white armor, with even their face completely hidden behind a helmet, making it impossible to discern their exact appearance. However, Samson seemed to recognize them immediately and broke into a welcoming expression. The newcomer continued in a somewhat tired voice.
“It was exhausting… I really can’t get used to escort duty, it seems.”
The voice carried genuine fatigue. Because they had turned off their voice modulator, a clearly feminine tone came through quite distinctly.
“You always take everything too seriously, that’s your problem. If you keep tensing up like that every single moment, you won’t last long.”
“I will take that into consideration. By the way, who is this human?”
Right after replying to Samson, the armored demon turned to look at me with clear curiosity. Samson smiled and answered for her.
“You must have heard the news. This friend here is the hero who accomplished tremendous feats in the recent war—Elan Savior. I benefited from his help quite a bit during the last conflict as well.”
“The hero? I see… The power I sense from him is indeed extraordinary.”
She spoke with a slightly peculiar speech pattern, yet her voice was filled with sincere gravity as she looked at me. Then, she slowly removed her helmet, apparently intending to introduce herself properly.
But at that exact moment—
“!!?!”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Hero. My name is Shamyuel. I am one of the demon legion commanders. I look forward to working with you.”
She addressed me in that same slightly odd tone. However, the instant I saw her face, I was struck by a heavy shock.
‘This… this face… what the…?’
In the original work, the demon legion commanders other than Ilios had never even appeared. They had existed only as vague setting material. While one could roughly guess their appearances from the game’s promotional illustrations, it was an undeniable fact that no precise official designs had ever been released.
Yet at this moment, looking at the legion commander named Shamyuel, I instinctively reached one conclusion.
Even though she hadn’t appeared in the original story, there had clearly been some kind of setting prepared for her. And it was the kind of setting that had been thrown together without any foresight about a situation like this.
The legion commander Shamyuel stood before me with her helmet removed, gazing in my direction. She had translucent skin and long, eye-catching pale pink hair styled in twin tails. Her small, delicate frame gave her a rather adorable impression, and from the side she looked quite beautiful.
However… the moment I saw her full face, I felt an emotion that had absolutely nothing to do with beauty.
Because the face of the woman currently sipping from her wine glass in front of me was…
‘Wait. Why does a person’s face look like… an emoticon…?’
If I had to describe her face in this moment, it was shaped exactly like ●△●.
Her facial features had been casually stamped on like a simple emoticon. While the surrounding demons didn’t seem to mind it at all and showed no signs of discomfort, from my perspective, her face filled me with an incredibly complicated and subtle feeling.
‘It looks like they just slapped together a rough design because she wasn’t even supposed to appear… but still, how does a person end up with a face like ●△●?’
Once again struck by the realization that this world was built upon a game, I forced the brightest smile I could manage and spoke to her.
“It is an honor to meet you, Legion Commander Shamyuel. I am the hero Elan Savior. Although I am human, I look forward to working with you.”
“I have heard many stories about you. You plundered Rob, then plundered Antioch, and used that as bait to plunder the entire alliance on several occasions. I consider those truly impressive achievements.”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
She was offering sincere praise, but because of that face, I found it difficult to focus. I answered with a touch of awkwardness.
At that moment, Samson, who had been watching my reaction, let out a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha! Hero, there’s no need to be so shy! Of course I know how delightful it is to receive praise from the greatest beauty among the demon race, but there’s no reason to get so flustered over something like this!”
“Ah…”
For a brief second, Samson’s statement violently shook my personal standards of beauty. However, Shamyuel simply took another sip from her glass and spoke in a calm voice.
“Do not say such things. I merely won the contest by luck. There is no need to make a fuss about it.”
Her tone sounded humble. It seemed she herself didn’t pay much mind to the matter. Even so, the fact that an emoticon face like hers was officially recognized as a beauty forced me to harbor some slight doubts about the aesthetic standards of the demon race.
That was when—
“Anyway, this is perfect timing. Since Shamyuel has arrived, there is something I wish to discuss here.”
“Hm?”
“What is it?”
The next moment, Samson wiped the slight drunkenness from his face and began to speak with a serious expression. Instinctively, I sensed that something important was about to come out of his mouth.