Chapter 124: World’s Blessing

He swallowed the rest of his words. However, as always, his perceptive adjutant noticed even the unspoken part and immediately replied.

“Not at all. It’s merely that I’ve added a scent of blood to make it feel more realistic.”

“No, I mean, just the look of it is enough, so why go through the trouble of making something like this….”

“War is greatly influenced by climate and atmosphere. I developed this hoping it might be useful when fighting the humans. More importantly, Demon-nim, your hand….”

‘So, it wasn’t just for kids’ toys.’ Well, that explains why the Demon King’s permission was needed.

‘More than that….’

Following Ed’s gaze, I looked at the blood dripping from my fingertips.

I only meant to cut the stick, but I ended up cutting my finger too. It’s just a small cut, surely Ben won’t come rushing over for something this minor….

“Demon-nim!”

…He’s coming?

There’s such a thing as professional ethics, but coming for something so trivial? Aren’t you tired?

Looking at him with bewildered eyes, I absentmindedly reached for my injured finger, intending to put it in my mouth, but someone grabbed my wrist.

“…Ed?”

“Ben, hurry and treat him. It’s cut deeper than I thought.”

He wrapped my injured finger with a handkerchief and pressed down as if to stop the bleeding. A sharp pain made me involuntarily furrow my brow.

Ben quickly approached as Ed removed the handkerchief and stood up. The stopped blood began to gush out again. Ben clicked his tongue softly.

“Since you can’t use magic, we’ll have to start with disinfection… It looks like we’ll need to stop the bleeding and stitch it up.”

“See to it that the Demon-nim doesn’t put blood in his mouth. Treat him properly.”

As if he received a message, Ed pulled a communication stone from his pouch, tossed a quick remark to Ben, and then moved away to connect the call.

He did that on purpose. He didn’t give Ben any room to argue.

Ben also seemed wronged, trembling slightly, but he didn’t abandon his strong sense of duty and began treating the wound with a huff.

Ah, it stings…! W-wait a minute. You didn’t use anesthesia…!

‘…Hmm, his expression is fierce.’

Just keep my mouth shut.

I was spacing out from the unusual experience of having a wound stitched without anesthesia when Ben, having meticulously tied the knot, seemed to realize the fact belatedly and shuddered.

His trembling pupils turned towards me.

“D-Demon-nim, are… are you alright?”

“Yeah… well….”

Anyone watching would think he was about to kill me. To calm his fear, I gave a nonchalant smile. It hurt, but it didn’t harm my body, and it was already over, so what could I do?

…But why is he trembling even more?

“How… how could I make such a mistake?”

“Ben…?”

“I’m truly sorry, Demon-nim! I have no excuse!”

I’m a failure as your personal physician…!

Only after hearing his seemingly tearful words did I understand why he was trembling. So, he couldn’t forgive himself. His sense of duty was so strong that he couldn’t tolerate this kind of mistake.

“…I’m really okay, so there’s no need to apologize further. If I wasn’t okay, I would have said something.”

Even though I was scared to say it. If it had hurt like I was dying, I would have spoken up. My life is precious too.

He looked like he was about to bang his head on the ground and die, so I quickly stopped him, feeling burdened.

But Ben, who would usually stop at this point, instead raised his head sharply and glared.

“Yes! That’s what I mean. Why didn’t you say something sooner! You must have been in pain!”

I was startled by his uncharacteristic ferocity and shut my mouth.

Interpreting my silence in his own way, Ben lowered his raised eyebrows and said in a subdued mumble.

“Demon-nim… you mustn’t endure the pain in front of your physician. There are limitations to the mana stone signal, and even that signal is unstable these days. You need to express when you feel discomfort or pain so we can treat you with the least amount of suffering….”

…….

“To stitch it up raw without anesthesia… what on earth are you, Demon-nim, to endure that….”

…….

“Besides, to say you’re okay… without any reproach… isn’t this too lenient….”

Hmm, what should I do about this atmosphere?

After a moment of considering, I held out my finger, which now had stitches.

“Aren’t you going to put a bandage on it?”

“Ah…! No, we must bandage it to prevent infection. Just a moment….”

While Ben busily took out gauze and bandages to cover the wound, Ed, having finished his call, approached me.

Judging by his deeply apologetic expression, something must have happened. It doesn’t seem to be my fault, though.

“Demon-nim, the Demon King is calling for you. He said something urgent came up and we need to go together.”

Just as I thought.

Since I didn’t do anything wrong, I had no reason to feel guilty. Nodding in agreement, I saw him glance at Ben and then urge me sarcastically.

“Still not done with the treatment?”

“…It just finished. Take him away. …Ah, Demon-nim. Try to keep water from touching the wound.”

Nodding in understanding, I followed Ed without delay.

When we arrived at the Demon King’s office and opened the door, the Demon King was holding his forehead as if dealing with a headache.

Unlike the annoyance briefly visible on his face, his voice greeted me as kindly as always.

Without even making eye contact, as if he recognized the other person, his eyes remained lowered as his usual voice flowed out.

“You’ve arrived? I heard you weren’t feeling well, so I told them to cheer you up, but I had to call you like this. Sorry. Something urgent came up. No, rather than urgent, it’s more like a bothersome and irritating matter.”

He finally raised his head. The earlier annoyance was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a calm expression as he met my gaze.

Look at that change in expression. Creepy. As gentle as he seems, the Demon King is still the Demon King.

“We’re going to listen to the grievances and complaints of the Fairy race. Of course, this is just from my perspective.”

…….

“The land of the fairies is quite beautiful for being located in this abyss. The unseasonal snow is nice too, but this place might be better for a change of pace.”

Let’s go together.

The Demon King smiled and extended his hand. I stared at him silently.

‘If it were the Demon King I usually know, he would have used a more suggestive tone, like, ‘Wouldn’t you like to come with me?’’

A statement leaving no choice.

Ending the pointless staring contest, I placed my hand on his.

My vision shifted.

***

It wasn’t intentional, but this confirmed that I still held the initiative in this game.

Then the Emperor wouldn’t be any different. I felt a little relieved.

‘Putting on an act of leisure, are we?’

He must be in a hurry to have dropped the suggestive tone.

It must be because he heard I wasn’t feeling well.

‘Is he worried I might side with the Emperor?’

Huh? Demon King.

Are you afraid of losing this game?

***

The Demon King didn’t go directly to the land of the fairies.

[Oh, Demon King-nim, Demon-nim. What brings you here…?!]

[Let’s go.]

[!?]

He teleported to somewhere in the Demon King’s castle garden, kidnapped Hien who was tending to his bizarre plants, and finally, I could see the handsome man with blonde hair, green eyes, and pointed ears.

“Your demonic energy has contaminated the seed entrusted to us by the world! How will you take responsibility for this?”

Of course, he questioned the Demon King with a furious energy as soon as he saw him.

Holding my breath, I glanced at the fist-sized seed he thrust in front of the Demon King. It was covered in black spots, like it was moldy.

Is that what it looks like when it’s contaminated by demonic energy? Looks like mold to me….

Before my thought was over, black smoke started to emanate from the seed. Oh, damn it. It is demonic energy.

“…Hien.”

The Demon King, who had been listening to the Fairy King’s complaints with folded arms and a blank expression, pointed at the seed with his chin.

“See if it can be restored.”

“Yes, yes…!”

Hien, trembling, took the seed and examined it with eyes gleaming with intense excitement. His eyes, which had been shining with pure interest, quickly lost their spark as he seemed to remember the Demon King’s question about its restorability.

I could tell just by looking at his face.

It’s impossible.

“Sprouting and growing it might not be entirely impossible… but we can’t do anything about the demonic contamination.”

“…Oh dear.”

“Take responsibility.”

The Fairy King snarled, his beautiful brow furrowed harshly.

The Demon King scratched his cheek, looking troubled, and then changed the subject as if trying to divert the conversation.

“Did you say the world entrusted it directly?”

“Yes. We are the race that most respects the will of the world. That’s why the world trusted us with this seed.”

“Then there’s no reason to be this desperate, is there?”

“What?”

The Demon King shrugged.

“You said it yourself, ‘respect.’ But why are you making such a fuss over a single seed? It goes beyond respecting the world; it’s as if your race is the world’s dog.”

“What nonsense!”

“It’s not nonsense, I’m just saying that’s how it looks.”

Yeah, right, it’s not nonsense, it just looks like a provocation.

I subtly moved further away from the Demon King for my own safety. Judging by the Fairy King’s expression, he looked like he could actually kill someone, and he wasn’t lying.

However, surprisingly, he didn’t explode in anger. Instead, he suppressed his rage with a sigh that seemed to shake the ground and muttered as if in resignation, his voice calmer.

“Alright… As you said, our race isn’t the world’s dog, and the seed is already beyond saving, so let’s move on….”

Hien, who had been listening quietly, raised his hand.

“Um… then this seed….”

“…You can have it.”

“Thank you!”

I feel it every time, but this guy is really not normal….

Oblivious to the bewildered gazes of the leaders, Hien happily began to carefully touch the seed.

The Fairy King looked back at the Demon King, his eyes clearly asking, even to me, ‘What’s up with him?’ The Demon King, who was well aware, quietly held his forehead.

After a moment of silence, the Fairy King slowly continued.

“…I’d like you to do something about the magical beasts.”

“We’re diligently hunting them. It’s just that the number of them increasing is greater than the number we eliminate. It would be somewhat suppressed if there was a Hero, though….”

In the past, when similar conversations took place during meetings in the Demon King’s castle, the Demon King would say something like that and look at me, so I tensed up for a moment, but thankfully, his gaze didn’t land on me.

‘…No, but why am I getting nervous and then relieved?’

It’s unfair. It has nothing to do with me.

I completely turned my gaze away from them and took a few more steps away from the Demon King. As I did, I naturally reached a lakeside, where I could see something.

‘What’s this? A person….’

A demon? A fairy?

Judging by the Fairy King’s attitude towards the Demon King, it’s unlikely a demon would be in the pond. So, a fairy?

…But it has fins?

“That sounds like you’re waiting for the birth of a Hero. You should be hoping a Hero doesn’t appear. By the way, did I ever tell you that the world is keeping an eye on things?”

Ah, he smiled. He smiled at me, right?

I don’t know who it is, but their smile is quite elegant.

“Well, I definitely remember saying this. ‘The Hero will appear eventually, and I will welcome him. This is how it has always been. There’s no reason to be afraid now.’”

“You….”

I intentionally ignored the tense conversation between the two race leaders. If the finned human in front of me hadn’t suddenly emerged from the water, I could have ignored it forever.

Even amidst the surprise of the sudden movement, the way the fins transformed into human legs was quite mystical. Thump. The revealed white feet stepped onto the ground.

“The Demon King will die by the hand of the Hero who will be born this time.”

Her refined and clear voice left me speechless. Was it because of her voice? No, it was because of the content that drew the attention of the two leaders.

Suddenly appearing and saying something so attention-grabbing, what are you doing….

As expected, the Demon King and the Fairy King’s gazes are directed here. Thankfully, they are focused on that woman and not me, but just being within the range of their gaze makes it suffocating. I tried to move away again… but the woman grabbed me!

Hien, Hien! Save me! You seem like the best option here. I’d rather be next to you!

‘…Are you obsessed with the seed?!’