"...Are there any inconveniences in staying here?"
"Nothing in particular."
It is a situation that shouldn't exist.
Recalling the Demon King's words that most of the corps commanders were off somewhere, I gave a simple answer, and Jaykar carefully examined my expression with a slightly stiff face.
"If I were to say anything specifically... I guess there is one thing."
"Yes? After all, you are a human being, so there cannot be any inconveniences. So don't hold back and speak up. I will accommodate you as much as I can."
What is this? Consideration...is it? I'm a human resource brought directly by the Demon King, so he'll take care of me personally?
While I thought that couldn't possibly happen, at the same time I was thinking 'what if', Jaykar's voice continued. In a more cautious voice, as if he was watching.
"Don't upset the castle or anything like that for no reason..."
"...Thank you for your words."
No, it definitely wasn't consideration. Ugh, I want to get out of here.
That's clearly a reference to what happened in the garden. It's clear that he's scolding me for needlessly setting fire to the garden.
At the same time, this is a warning. A warning that if I do such a useless thing one more time, he will not let me go.
I cleared my throat that was clogged with fear and forced out an answer, and only then did he focus on the food again. Then Ashild, who had been silently waiting for the conversation to end, quietly opened his mouth.
Or rather, he tried to do that.
"Oh, Demon. It's been a while since I last saw you."
But the 4th Corps commander who suddenly intervened.
Ashild's eyebrows furrowed. A furrow almost broke between my eyebrows, but fortunately I was able to control my expression just before that.
'I shouldn't have come here after all.'
Starting from the 1st Corps Commander to the 3rd and 4th Corps Commanders. As unexpected people kept getting in my way, my otherwise resilient spirit was crumbling to dust and scattering.
As I was deeply regretting that I should have just endured whatever Ben said, a low voice from next to me slowly spoke.
"You did that because you knew I was going to speak, right, Idelia?"
A voice that sounds like gritted teeth even just hearing it.
Although it was enough to make me startle even though I knew that the target was not me, Idelia, the commander of the 4th Corps, smiled softly as if nothing had happened and covered her mouth with a fan.
"What? I don't know why you're angry?"
"Nonsense," Ashild growled.
That's right, those two originally didn't get along well. I tried to ignore the situation unfolding in front of me as I stabbed the salad, which was already full of holes, with my fork again.
I feel nauseous even though I haven't eaten anything.
I thought it was going to get really bad, so I quietly put down my fork, and Jaykar, who had been watching the situation, turned his head and quietly called out to the two.
"Stop both of you. I think you forgot who is in front of us right now."
"...Ah."
"Sorry."
Their eyes turned towards me as if they were planning something.
Out of embarrassment, I quickly shook my head to express that it was okay, and Idelia sat down next to me and quietly spoke.
"I heard you burned down the garden?"
"Idelia."
"Oh, I'm sorry if I was rude. I was just curious as to what made Commander Demon so angry..."
If it weren't for Jaykar, I would have choked without even eating anything.
I wish we could stop talking about the garden now. She wasn't involved in it, and she didn't witness it herself, so why is she so interested?
...Now that I think about it, the Demon King said the 4th Corps handles information.
'There might be a lot of interest in this area.'
Due to the nature of the job, it has to be that way.
The 4th Corps, including Idelia, is in charge of information processing. Of course, the 2nd corps mainly collects information, and the 4th corps processes it, filters it out, and extracts only the important parts, but that doesn't mean they don't collect information at all.
So...
'To me, she is the most dangerous corps commander among them.'
It's an unexpected conclusion that comes from a stream of consciousness, but it's not wrong.
I am the only human in the Demon Realm. Of course, most would people hate me.
I don't know when and where Idelia will find out my weakness and sell me out.
I woke up to a new reality. I quickly gathered my distracted mind, made up my mind, and made eye contact.
Idelia, who immediately made eye contact as if she had been looking this way the whole time, smiled brightly and said, "The rumor going around is that it was because of the
gardener..."
"...."
"If the reason you kept him alive was because you were reluctant to use your own hands, then I am willing to get rid of him for you."
"...That's not it."
I'm afraid that everyone here thinks so violently. So when a problem arises, they immediately think about killing the cause. I wonder if there is any mercy in these people...
After thinking about that, I paused for a moment.
Doesn't that mean that, if I think the other way around, they would show no mercy to me, too?
'No, this is really dangerous.'
My future self is in danger.
The hand holding the fork held on tighter. I applied so much force that the veins on the back of my hand stood out.
I felt like there was a flinch next to me, but that wasn't important right now. For my own sake in the future, I must instill something called 'mercy' in the people here in the Demon King's Castle.
With that promise, I raised my head, which had been down for a moment, and looked at Idelia. Unlike before, her eyes were shaking violently, as if she was in pain.
Did you chew your tongue wrong? If I looked closely, her hands seemed to be shaking too. I felt a little sad looking at that, but I still had to say something for my future self.
"It wasn't a big deal to begin with. It's not enough to kill someone over."
"Yes, yes..."
"Do you understand? "It's not enough to kill someone."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"Commander Idelia, what are you sorry about? Just think before you say you will kill someone. Did the other person really make a mistake that should lead to his death?"
Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing.
"And sometimes it doesn't hurt to show mercy."
"Yes, I will definitely remember it. really sorry."
I don't know why she kept saying sorry, but for now, it's not important.
If I keep slowly teaching it like this, even if I make a mistake someday, they will at least think for a moment about killing me.
The problem is that after Idelia kept quiet, silence came.
Looking at the stiff expressions of the other Corps Commanders, it seemed as if I had scolded her. Come to think of it, Idelia, who had done nothing wrong, even apologized again and again.
Only then did I realize that I had become the scum of the earth.
"...."
"...."
The silence became longer. As time passed, my expression, unable to withstand the pressure, gradually got out of control and became arbitrarily stiff.
It was only natural that the expressions of the Corps Commanders changed even more unfavorably. How could they be indifferent when a human dared to harden their
expression in front of them?
As I was contemplating how to resolve the increasingly worsening situation, Idelia, who was desperately thinking about something while exchanging glances with the other Corps
Commanders as if I was not the only one who was uncomfortable with this silence, took one look at me and slowly opened her mouth.
"...Commander Demon."
Oh yeah!
The awkward atmosphere is relieved. Glad to see her, I faced Idelia with a generous heart that would listen to anything.
Okay, tell me anything. This time, no matter what you say, I will listen to everything....
"I heard you are going to check on the army."
Listen....
"Oh, I also have something to tell you about that."
Shit.
I quietly pushed my chair back with the intention of running away if I had to.
There was definitely a time when I said I would keep an eye on the corps.
As for when that was... it was probably when the Demon King came to visit me after I said I wanted to drink.
'Anyway, no drinking. Is there anything you can do to overthrow the Demon King's Castle? If you're really bored, take a look around your corps or at least look around the garden. Hien said he was happy that he brought in new flowers this time.'
'I'll look at the corps.'
Rather than dealing with that terrible gardener, I chose to deal with the corps members.
It's really unfair. I chose the corps because I didn't want to deal with the gardener, but I had to both meet Hien and look at the corps.
These words were even spoken in front of the Demon King, so now I can't take them back.
"Demon...? Are you okay?"
"It's okay."
Was my expression strange? Fortunately, they don't seem to be particularly bothered by the fact that I pushed his chair back. If you just watch the timing right and run away like this...
'...It won't work.'
When I thought about it, I realized that I was completely surrounded.
Idelia is on the left and Ashlid is on the right. Even Jaykar in the front. All of them are Corps Commanders. The moment I try to run away, they will grab me by the back of my head.
Resignation was quick.
As I relaxed my body, which had been tense without being noticeable, Ashild, who had no way of knowing that I had tried to run away just a moment ago, looked into my eyes and slowly began to speak.
"I understand that you raise your sword when inspecting the corps members."
I did. Although, I didn't swing it. Moreover, it is a wooden sword, not a real sword.
The wooden sword was so heavy that my arms were shaking. It's a shame, but honestly, with my strength, I can't even dream of holding a regular iron sword and can barely hold a wooden sword.
But why is he mentioning that?
"Is it okay if I request a sparring match with you after you teach all the corps members?"
"...."
I barely stopped my hand from going to my ear.
I must be going crazy. There was no way he just asked that.
My efforts to deny reality were completely destroyed by Jaykar's sudden words.
"Good idea. Can I observe?"
You told me to tell me if there's anything uncomfortable, but I guess you can't see the look on my face asking you to save me.
To begin with, this is a nonsensical sparring. Right now, there is a ridiculous difference in weight between him and me, so what kind of sparring is this? This is evident just by
looking at Ashild's hands. If I were to get hit by that hand instead of a sword, my neck would definitely snap and break.
"...Um..."
I couldn't just put off answering, so I squeezed my voice out.
All eyes focused on one another as if they had been waiting. Amid the overwhelming gaze, I desperately tried to think of an excuse to come up with an excuse.
─I tried to find it.
"...That's troublesome."
Although it ultimately failed.
I slowly lowered my head.
Does this end here? Since there is no valid reason, they will just keep pushing it. Then my skills will be revealed and I will pay a heavy price for deceiving them.
No, I don't think I need to worry after being found out. Because I will show off my skills to the world by showing off my ability to die with one hit.
I looked down at my food that had become cold without much time to eat. I should have eaten my fill of warm food before I died.
I waited for an answer like a criminal waiting for a death sentence, but Ashild's reaction is unexpectedly calm.
He was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded and spoke.
"I guess so."
"...?"
"Demon, you tend to stand out more in actual battles than in sparring. It must have been difficult because if you weren't careful, you might end up killing me during the sparring."
"...??"
"Sorry. It was careless."
"No, well..."
Well... Have I escaped this situation somehow?
I felt like I heard some ominous words, but anyway, I avoided sparring, so let's say it was a good thing.
"Later, when I have developed enough skills to not die so easily, then I will ask you again."
Thinking about it again, I don't think it worked out well at all.
I was in big trouble.
"I won't make you wait that long."
"...."
"Still, can I come along today just to have a look around?"
I heard the declaration of war from the commander of the 3rd Corps.