Chapter 122: Uncomfortable Daily Life

Develania, who had arrived like a storm and brought an immense amount of stress, vanished like the wind.

It wasn’t a big deal; I just cautiously brought up the matter of Lirinel and the Demon Church, but she seemed to catch on to what I wanted to say. Her eyes darted around before she mumbled an excuse.

[It’s just fun to tease someone so innocent…]

[…….]

[I’m sowwy!]

Then she leaped out the window with incredible agility.

When I hurriedly grabbed the windowsill to look down, she was already running far away. And when I looked for her later, I was told she was away on a mission…

‘Well… okay, at least she won’t be packing her bags to come here for a while.’

I decided to think positively.

After that, meaningless time flowed by.

As always, there isn’t much for me to do in the Demon King’s castle. I occasionally receive a sudden mission and am called out with weapons in hand, but that’s very rare.

So, this is my daily life. There’s no reason to be anxious now.

“…Damn it.”

I am anxious!

I tossed the completed cube aside and stood up. The soft bed seemed to beckon me to lie down longer, but it didn’t work on me when my mind was uneasy.

For some reason, I felt like I couldn’t stay still. It felt like I needed to do something right away…

I called out to Ed, who was standing on one side of the room, looking around anxiously.

“Ed.”

“Yes, Demon-nim.”

“What do I have to do today?”

“There’s a legion commander’s meeting this evening.”

“Anything else?”

“No, sir.”

There was nothing I knew I should be doing.

“Shit.”

Anxiety morphed into irritation, stirring up my emotions.

Excessive emotion clouds reason and dulls the mind. As I muttered all sorts of harsh words like, ‘This shitty life, so annoying, what the hell am I even doing?’ I became aware of his presence after muttering, ‘I wish everyone would just fuck off.’

Ed, pale as a ghost, was looking at me with trembling eyes.

“Ah….”

“…….”

Right, watch my mouth. I guess I’m getting used to the Demon Realm. To the point where I can relax and even curse.

‘…I should apologize, right?’

I didn’t want to earn unnecessary animosity from a demon, of all people. I quickly opened my mouth to prolong my lifespan.

“Ed.”

“Yes… Demon-nim. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologi—no…”

I messed up! I shouldn’t have asked!

Past experiences had taught me that asking the reason for a sudden apology only made the situation worse… I guess I can’t help but say things reflexively.

Sure enough, Ed’s face paled even more, his lips trembled, and he barely managed to answer.

“For not disappearing… I have troubled Demon-nim. I apologize.”

“Ah.”

Thinking about it, yeah. Why are you here?

“The apology is fine. More importantly, why are you here?”

“I’m sorry….”

“No, I’m not blaming you… I’m genuinely curious about the reason.”

I tried hard to reassure Ed, even waving my hands.

You’re usually in your room. Why are you here? Did your room disappear? Did the Demon King tell you to move out?

“The Demon King… ordered me to stay by Demon-nim’s side.”

Ah. Surveillance.

He seemed to feel guilty even as he said it, glancing at me. Of course, I was a little annoyed, but I had no intention of getting angry at the blameless adjutant. And besides, I wasn’t bold enough to get angry at a demon.

Instead of saying anything to him, I picked up the cube I had thrown aside. To suppress the still turbulent anxiety, I scrambled the pieces haphazardly, trying to empty my mind. Then, Ed cautiously spoke.

“If you are amenable… how about taking a look around the outer section? It might help you change your mood.”

“The outer section…?”

Right, I’ve been staying in the inner section too much.

It’s been quite a while since I came to the Demon King’s castle, and I’ve adapted to some extent, so taking a look around might not be bad.

Ah, of course, not going alone, but under the condition that Ed would follow as a guard. I haven’t grown enough to wander around the outer section alone yet. Probably never will.

However, I should have thought again before answering.

“Sure…”

I remembered that the crazy fanatics were in the outer section almost at the same time as giving my affirmative answer.

“…ly…”

How I wish I could take back my words. I was personally experiencing how dangerous such careless remarks could be.

Regretting it wouldn’t change anything. Ed’s face was already bright. How could I take back my words looking at that face? If I reversed my decision, it would be a good outcome if his face just darkened; what if that emotion all turned into irritation or anger…

I suppressed my trembling body. I don’t know, I can’t handle that. I just have to go. Damn it.

It couldn’t be helped. Now that things had turned out this way, I had no choice but to stick close to Ed.

“Would you like to change your clothes?”

“Hmm….”

This time, I didn’t answer rashly.

First, I looked at my outfit. It wasn’t bad, but… I wished I could be less noticeable. So that the fanatics wouldn’t spot me if possible.

‘And the Demon Realm is nighttime.’

Right, let’s just wear completely black clothes. I’ll stick to the shadows where the moonlight doesn’t reach.

Having made up my mind, I opened the wardrobe, took out black clothes, and gave a belated reply.

“I’ll change. Please wait outside.”

“…….”

What, why isn’t he answering?

I glanced back and saw Ed looking at me with trembling eyes. No, upon closer inspection, his shaking gaze was fixed on the clothes in my hand.

……Why?

“…That will serve as a clear warning. Understood.”

“?”

W-what warning?

Hey, hey, how can you just leave? It just makes me more uneasy!

The door closed silently, and I was left alone, quietly holding up the clothes and glaring at them.

‘No matter how I look at it, there’s nothing wrong with them….’

I felt uneasy for no reason. I should wear something else.

Of course, I still planned to wear black clothes, so I took out another black outfit from the wardrobe. Thanks to the Demon King giving me quite a few black and navy blue clothes, I didn’t have a problem with not having other options.

The effect of black clothes was amazing!

It was as if those terrifying fanatics from before were a lie; truly, no one came near me. Rather, everyone avoided me. Would you even believe that there were demons wearing the red heart brooches among them!

‘Black clothes, hooray!’

I didn’t expect them to have a demon repelling effect.

The robe didn’t seem to work, so is it just the clothes that work? If I wear them too often, the effect might wear off, so I should use them sparingly.

With a much lighter heart, I strolled through the streets.

***

Demon-nim is in a bad mood.

Long ago, there was an incident in the cafeteria where he wore black clothes and overturned a plate. Since then, in the Demon King’s castle, the ‘black clothes’ he wears have become recognized as a warning sign that he’s in a bad mood.

Pure black without any decorations or embellishments. How do you think the demons felt when they encountered the Commander of the 0th Legion wearing those clothes?

‘If I get caught, I’m dead.’

‘Let’s act in a way that won’t catch his eye.’

‘If necessary, I’ll use all my magic to escape… Ah, magic is forbidden.’

‘Dying at the Demon King’s hands or Demon-nim’s… isn’t it the same thing?’

‘I don’t know, if I’m going to die, I’d rather die at the hands of the Demon King or another legion commander. No matter how I think about it, Demon-nim is a no-go.’

He’s usually someone who stays in the inner section, specifically in his room. Coming all the way to the outer section must mean he intends to catch a scapegoat and punish them.

I respect Demon-nim, but my life is precious. The demons began to slowly avoid him.

This was the same for the Demon Church members wearing the red heart brooches. The reason was slightly different in that they couldn’t make Demon-nim’s mood even worse.

‘I can’t make Demon-nim even angrier when I can’t even be of help!’

‘Let’s hide ourselves well. If anyone among us irritates Demon-nim, that bastard is getting kicked out immediately.’

‘De-se.’

After a long while, with the full attention of countless demons unknowingly focused on one point, his aimless wandering stopped in the middle of the street.

The breaths of the demons watching him also stopped.

In the silence filled with tension, the corner of his lips silently curved upwards.

‘Gasp.’

Was it because a scapegoat wasn’t easily caught? Or perhaps it was because he found something to pick a fight about.

Either way, that smile wasn’t a good sign. It was hanging on his face.

***

Had I ever mentioned that the size of the Demon King’s castle is comparable to a small city in the Empire?

It’s not just the size. The Demon King’s castle could be considered a small city.

The Demon King’s castle is largely divided into the inner and outer sections. If you compare this to the Empire’s capital, the inner section would be the Imperial Palace, and the outer section would be the city outside the Imperial Palace walls.

The inner section houses the Demon King, the legion commanders, key figures like the legion members, and the servants responsible for the daily lives of all these individuals. The outer section houses ordinary demon soldiers and….

‘Ugh, whatever.’

How can I list all those positions?

Anyway, the outer section is home to a vast array of demons holding various positions. The atmosphere is similar to the streets of a city in the Human Realm.

However, one difference is that even simple food stalls on the street… well, I can’t say ‘sell.’ Since money doesn’t circulate within the Demon King’s castle.

Anyway, even those street stalls are placed in thoroughly calculated locations.

Restaurants, street stalls, pubs, public training grounds, etc… Everything that exists in the outer section has been carefully placed one by one in the most efficient locations through discussions between the Demon King and his top officials.

‘If the enemy breaks through the city gates, all of this will become shields to block their path and hiding places for ambushes.’

Or they could turn into offensive weapons.

Whatever the intention, to me now, it looks like the streets of an ordinary city. It’s even better than the Human Realm since money isn’t exchanged.

There are no demons around, so it’s pleasant. For the first time in a while, a smile appeared on my face.

Ed, who had been quietly observing me, pointed somewhere with his finger as if trying to divert my attention.

“Demon-nim, since you’ve come out for once, how about trying something to eat?”

“I’m not hungry….”

“I see. My apologies….”

“But I will eat.”

“…….”

What? Why? What.

That looked delicious.

‘Mmm.’

The skewer made from an unknown meat was delicious. Let’s not think too hard about the source of the meat. Delicious is all that matters.

I ignored the pile of black skewers that had accumulated to one side and looked at Ed. He was whispering something to the demon who had handed me the skewer.

I could vaguely hear him say things like, ‘Don’t tremble,’ and ‘Do you want to die?’ It seemed he was annoyed because the demon trembled too much when handing over the skewer.

‘Yeah, even to me, he looked like he was trembling too much.’

He was trembling so much that the sauce was about to fall off.

I thought he was trembling because he was afraid of Ed, so I quickly tried to take it myself, but this heartless adjutant stepped forward and took it instead.

Anyway, leaving it like this would likely lead to the unfortunate event of that poor demon’s heart stopping, so I swallowed the meat in my mouth and quickly called out to Ed.

“Ed.”

“Yes, Demon-nim.”

“I’d like to look around other places. Could you guide me?”

“Ah, yes. Understood. You, be careful.”

Having warned the demon one last time, he hurried over to me.

“What would you like to focus on seeing?”

“Well… preferably something that can help me change my mood.”

“If it’s a change of mood….”

After a moment of thought, he started walking.

How long had I been following him obediently? The place Ed arrived at was the entrance to the public training grounds.

‘Don’t tell me, he wants to fight?’

I wondered why he was guiding me so normally, but this was how it would end up after all.

I sighed inwardly, searching my mind for ways to avoid a situation where I would have to wield a weapon. But Ed, instead of immediately leading me inside, approached the demon providing weapons at the entrance and said something.

Whatever he said, the demon’s face turned troubled.

“Bring it.”

“But….”

“I’ll get the permission. So, if you don’t want to die….”

Hey, hold on. You said it was for a change of mood. Why are you even threatening someone’s life?

At this rate, something really bad might happen. I looked for a place to throw away the finished skewer, but it seemed like I shouldn’t waste any more time, so I just walked towards them with the skewer in my hand.

“Ed, what are you…!”

Thud. An ominous sound was heard.