Your Enemies Are My Enemies
The moment the Demon King tried to recruit me, I lowered my head without hesitation. “Your enemies are now my own! I swear absolute loyalty to Your Majesty the Demon King!”
If I had been in a more relaxed state of mind, I might have played hard to get at least once. But with my life dangling by a thread, I had no room left to weigh my options. Besides, from the instant I set foot inside the Demon King’s Castle I had already resolved to sever all ties with the Hero Party and place myself beneath her banner. A proper hero might have agonized over such a choice, but I had never been a hero to begin with. I was just an ordinary person with no lofty sense of duty, and as a victim of that wretched NTR game I had already grown thoroughly sick of the so-called righteous humans of this world.
Given all that, I felt not the slightest resistance at kneeling before the Demon King. The moment she extended her hand, I seized it without a flicker of doubt.
Only after the fear of death had eased a fraction did I realize how rash I had been. A wave of belated regret washed over me. Haah… damn it. No matter how you look at it, switching sides this eagerly makes me look pathetic. What if this comes back to bite me later?
Fortunately the Demon King offered no rebuke for my overly hasty submission. Yet in that single instant I caught the faint flicker of bewilderment that crossed her face.
I should have at least pretended to wrestle with the decision… Accepting an offer of surrender so enthusiastically was clearly a mistake. There’s no doubt her trust in me has taken a serious hit.
History and legend alike showed that commanders who resisted until the bitter end before finally yielding earned far greater confidence from their new masters. Even in defeat, a display of lingering loyalty to one’s former lord or nation planted the vital impression that “this person can still be trusted.”
But I, gripped by the terror of imminent death, had shown none of that. The realization stung bitterly. To lose points right from the start… If that’s how it is, I’ll have to devote myself body and soul to the Demon King for the time being.
Relieved to have survived, and steeling myself to prove both loyalty and competence with genuine effort, I looked up at her with the most eager expression I could muster and declared:
“From this day forward, this humble one shall serve as Your Majesty’s sword—living and dying for Your Majesty alone! Your Majesty’s friends are my friends, and Your Majesty’s enemies are my enemies! I beg you to grant me the chance to prove this loyalty with my life!”
It came out like a new hire earnestly telling the company president, “Please watch over me as I work my hardest from now on.”
The Demon King regarded me with a solemn expression, then slowly nodded.
After the hero who had sworn absolute loyalty to her was given new clothes, a meal, and a private room, the Demon King returned to her own chambers. The moment she lay down on the bed, a wave of exhaustion far heavier than anything the recent battle had inflicted crashed over her.
“Haa…”
For once she allowed herself to look slightly disheveled. Even though the recruitment of her intended hero had succeeded, an uncomfortable feeling lingered in the corner of her heart. She understood the reason without difficulty.
The hero had accepted her offer and sworn loyalty, yet the expression on his face in that moment of humiliation and despair had struck her more deeply than she expected. There had been no hesitation, no shame—only a blazing, crystal-clear passion and zeal. The sight had reminded her of a demon clansman joyfully pledging sincere devotion to his sovereign.
Had the one swearing such an oath been an ordinary demon, she would have felt no unease. The problem was that the one kneeling before her was a human—the very Hero tasked with protecting humanity, the one who had cut down her people without mercy, viewing the demon race as creatures that must be exterminated.
A man who had lived his entire life steeped in hostility toward her kind had, without a trace of hesitation or falsehood, sworn loyalty to her. At the same time he had declared that her enemies—humans—were now his enemies as well.
Politically speaking, it was not a bad development. She had intended to wield the hero as a blade against the allied races led by mankind. His clear stance could only be an advantage.
Yet from a personal perspective… from the perspective of the woman who had felt genuine sympathy for the hero abandoned and tormented by his former comrades, such a decisive and instantaneous change of heart was utterly chilling.
A man of noble conviction had overturned those beliefs in the blink of an eye. The iron will that had sought to protect a nation had shattered. The sword once raised to safeguard thousands upon thousands of humans had become a sword meant to slaughter them.
Watching a human being’s wretched fall unfold so vividly before her eyes, the Demon King felt a deep, heavy pity settle in her chest, tangled with the complex awareness that she was now going to use him.
Nevertheless, she hardened her heart once more. Personal feelings aside, she was the Demon King—the sovereign who ruled all demonkind and bore the duty to act solely for her nation’s benefit. She could not allow private emotion to jeopardize matters of state.
The hero’s heart is painful to behold, yet nothing can be done about it. Since things have come to this, let us at least grant whatever he desires. Whether it will help mend his broken spirit even a little, I cannot say…
Having made up her mind, the Demon King straightened her clothes and expression, then rose from the bed. She decided she wanted to speak with the hero in greater detail right away. She knew it might be too soon, but she chose to act according to her own wishes. It was quite unlike her usual self.
“…Gulp.”
The table before me groaned under a mountain of delicacies I had never seen in my life. I swallowed involuntarily.
As expected of the Demon King—the treatment really is on another level. Honestly, ever since I arrived in this world the only things I’ve eaten were stale bread crusts and moldy jerky.
I had transmigrated at the precise moment when supplies were running dangerously low near the Demon King’s Castle. After a long journey with the destination finally in sight, there was no way we could have had abundant food. To someone in my position, a table so laden that its legs seemed ready to buckle was enough to make my eyes spin.
“Please enjoy the meal at your leisure. If you require anything, do not hesitate to ask.”
The demon maids of the castle bowed politely and withdrew. The moment they left, the hunger I had forgotten exploded inside me and I devoted myself entirely to eating.
The savory-sweet flavors that filled my mouth, the fresh vegetables I had never encountered before, the tender, fragrant meats of unknown beasts, the uniquely prepared noodles, and the desserts that melted the instant they touched my tongue—experiencing such a luxurious feast for the first time in either of my lives, I felt all the suffering I had endured until now slowly melt away.
I really did almost die back there, but I’ve safely passed the dangerous hurdle. Good. From now on I won’t live as some pathetic hero. I’ll do my absolute best as the Demon King’s loyal subject. And if the chance arises, I’ll track down those two-faced bitches and repay them in full…
Just as the meal was winding down and I began thinking about the future, a knock sounded at the door.
-Knock, knock, knock.
“Hm? Yes, come in.”
The door opened slowly. The familiar figure that appeared made me rise at once and bow deeply.
“D-Demon King, Your Majesty. What brings you here?”