Chapter 13: My Subordinates Are Too Competent For My Liking

The cube was complete.

That was the best possible outcome.

However….

Everyone in the meeting room, including the Demon King, held their breath.

‘Things got out of hand.’

That meant he was displeased.

The Demon King cautiously observed Demon’s expression.

As expressionless as ever. That’s what made him more anxious. He couldn’t tell what Demon was thinking.

But he was certain Demon wasn’t in a good mood, so he spoke quickly.

“Of course, I know what kind of combat you specialize in.”

“……”

“But even monsters have feelings. They’re more driven by emotions than those with intellect. So your combat style will definitely work well.”

“……”

Still no response.

Growing uneasy, the Demon King slowly added, watching Demon’s reaction.

“Besides, didn’t you ask for alcohol before?”

A flinch.

The fingertips holding the cube twitched slightly.

At the same time, a slight crack appeared on Demon’s expression. It revealed a hint of bewilderment and what seemed like denial.

In contrast, the Demon King’s face brightened with the certainty of having hit the mark.

“Doesn’t that mean you’ve been bottling things up? Wouldn’t it be good to let it out this time?”

“……”

Was he being too obvious?

A chilling silence hung in the air, sharp as a blade, pointed in all directions.

The source, of course, was Demon.

Judging by the atmosphere, he should say something more, but he had already said all he could.

In the tense silence, the Demon King quietly waited for his answer—

How much time had passed? Demon’s head, which seemed like it would never move, slowly nodded up and down.

***

He calmly and slowly turned his thoughts over. It was to interpret the Demon King’s words, which made no sense, but even after analyzing it from every angle, the conclusion narrowed down to one thing.

‘So, it’s because I asked for alcohol?’

He barely stopped himself from touching his forehead.

What a clumsy excuse. Was he telling him to believe it or not?

The Demon King wasn’t foolish enough to use such a flimsy reason, so he must have deliberately made the excuse weak.

Therefore, this was a declaration of his intention to send him no matter how much he refused.

‘Ugh… seriously.’

He had no choice. He reluctantly nodded, lost in regret, but even that didn’t last long.

No sooner had he given his agreement than someone at the corner of the table shot their hand up.

“Then I’ll volunteer too!”

“…Lirinel?”

He was a little surprised by the hand that popped up from a spot he thought was empty, but the familiar face that followed eased his tension slightly.

Lirinel, the commander of the 11th Corps. She had the most reassuring appearance, and he always felt happy to give her things whenever they met.

Of course, he knew she had the second-largest amount of magical power after the Demon King. He was also well aware that she was called a little devil on the battlefield.

But humans were always trapped by narrow-minded thinking. Unfortunately, he was one of those humans.

What danger could such a small child pose? Well, he had been comfortable treating her casually with that thought… Volunteering? That child?

“There are four large cities. I’ve heard the number of encroaching monsters is increasing daily.”

Belitan nodded silently.

As if emboldened by the silent agreement, Lirinel clenched her small fists and spoke.

“So, what’s needed are corps commanders who can most efficiently protect the four cities that are far apart from each other.”

“Are you saying that’s you?”

“Yes! Belitan is a typical muscle-head who swings an axe, no, a martial artist. And Demon-nim uses daggers.”

Did she just call him a muscle-head….

Was it just me who heard that?

He glanced at Belitan’s face and saw that he had heard it too, his mouth hanging open in bewildered silence.

What was going on between those two? It seemed like Lirinel was picking a fight with Belitan….

“No matter how skilled you are at fighting with weapons, all you can do is defend the fortress where you are stationed.”

“So, you’re saying you’ll step up because you use magic?”

“Yes!”

“No ulterior motives?”

“Of cour—yes!”

“……”

“……”

A clearing of the throat erupted from among the corps commanders. No, it wasn’t a ‘hem,’ it was more like a ‘cough’.

Lirinel fidgeted, then glanced at him before puffing out her shoulders as if she had made up her mind.

“Let me reiterate, there are four cities. So, if Belitan and Demon-nim each take one, and I take two, then Demon-nim’s effort… no, that’s not it.”

“Lirinel.”

“Yes?”

The Demon King shifted his posture. Leaning sideways with his chin resting on his hand, he gently creased his eyes as he looked at Lirinel. It was a smile so radiant it could captivate anyone.

But he knew. That was the nasty smile he wore to give hope to his opponent before turning them down.

He was internally offering words of comfort to Lirinel, who would soon be making a crying face, when—

The Demon King uttered a word while maintaining his radiant smile. A word so short it made him doubt his ears.

“Go.”

“Yes?”

“I said go. I’ll allow it.”

***

The Demon King wore a benevolent expression towards Lirinel, who was looking bewildered.

How could he say no to her offer to help, especially when she was so commendable in volunteering?

Of course, he knew her intentions weren’t entirely pure. She liked Demon, after all.

However, that was just admiration for an idol. He also knew that she had no romantic feelings whatsoever, and she had offered her support with her own rational reasons, so he readily accepted.

She didn’t insist on guarding the same city, and merely offered to take on two cities herself to lessen Demon’s burden, so why would he refuse?

If she had been swayed by emotions and made an irrational proposal to guard the same fortress, he would never have allowed it.

He would have been angry instead.

“You want to lessen Demon’s burden? Go ahead.”

The whole point of sending Demon was to relieve his stress. It would be problematic if he became even more stressed by having to worry about multiple cities at once.

Nothing was more dangerous in the Demon King’s castle than a stressed Demon, so in that sense, Lirinel’s proactive attitude was truly welcome.

Therefore, the Demon King readily approved the departure of the 11th Corps Commander, who was originally responsible for the Demon King’s castle’s defenses.

You could at least deal with external attacks with peace of mind, but there was no one more difficult to deal with than an ally rampaging from within.

“But make sure to fix the Demon King’s castle’s defenses before you leave.”

“Yes! I’ll make sure it can withstand 100 years!”

…Was she planning to stay there for 100 years?

The Demon King simply smiled.

***

After the meeting, everything proceeded smoothly.

What that meant was….

“Demon-nim, all preparations are complete.”

“Are you really sure everything is prepared?”

“Yes, it’s perfect.”

“Still, you never know, so think carefully. Is there anything you’ve forgotten?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“Well, you know, memories aren’t always reliable….”

“Just in case, as a form of double-checking, I also asked those close to you if there was anything you needed. Nothing was missing.”

Perfect. So perfect it brought tears to his eyes.

In the end, a groan-like voice escaped his lips.

“Isn’t it… too fast….”

“You flatter me. It’s a rare occasion for Demon-nim to go outside after so long, shouldn’t we prepare as quickly as possible?”

That’s not it. That’s not it at all.

Why was his adjutant so competent…!

The 6th and 11th Corps were still in the midst of preparations, but only his corps had already finished preparing and was waiting outside.

With this, his death day was one step closer.

As he lay face down on the bed in despair, Ed approached, carrying a black robe from somewhere.

“Since you’re going to the Demon Realm, you probably don’t need to bandage yourself.”

Well, I guess so. It’s the same in that there’s no sun.

When he went to a place with sunlight, like the Human Realm, he would wrap bandages tightly around every exposed part of his skin and then put on a robe.

He would even bandage his face or wear a mask and pull the robe’s hood down, so you could imagine how thorough he was.

‘It’s a little stuffy… but I can’t help it.’

What could he do about his frail body?

Whether it was his eyes or his skin, even a little prolonged exposure to sunlight would cause problems, so he had no choice but to cover himself, even if it was uncomfortable.

You might ask if just wearing a robe wouldn’t be enough.

But there was a chance the robe could flap open and expose bare skin on his hands, arms, or face, so wrapping bandages underneath the robe was the safest option.

‘Actually, even the robe isn’t really necessary in the Demon Realm, but it’s a kind of symbol.’

On the battlefield, the ‘Commander of the 0th Legion’ always wore a black robe, and that’s how it became customary.

So much so that he even got the nickname ‘Grim Reaper’.

Actually, there was the modifier ‘crazy’ in front of it, but he would like to remove that voluntarily. Everything else aside, that in particular must have stemmed from a strong misunderstanding.

“Demon-nim?”

“Ah.”

He blinked, his cheek pressed against the bed sheet, and reached out to take the robe. But the robe moved a step away.

“……?”

He reluctantly raised his head. Ed was still holding the robe.

He reached out his arm again and spread his palm, indicating that he wanted the robe, but only silence returned. No matter how long he waited, the robe wasn’t placed in his hand.

Annoyance surged, but he didn’t have the nerve to get angry at Ed, who was a candidate for corps commander, so he suppressed his irritation and muttered.

“…Please give it to me.”

“I will help you put it on.”

“Ed, I tell you every time, you don’t have to go that far….”

“I want to do it.”

“……”

I feel burdened. Just leave me alone, okay?

Ed was the most competent adjutant of all his adjutants.

Since he was originally a candidate for corps commander, his worth was self-evident and didn’t need much elaboration.

How do you think he felt having such a capable person under him?

It was good that he was competent, and good that he was kind, but somehow every day felt like his blood was drying up. Especially when he had to order him to do something.

It was roughly like this.

‘What if he tries to kill me for making him work too much?’

Or in the distant future, when his worthlessness was exposed.

‘He might try to kill me for making him work when I’m just a nobody.’

So, he tried not to give him work if he could help it… but it was like this bastard would get thorns if he didn’t work. He was looking for things to do every single day.

From going to the Human Realm just to buy new puzzles or cubes, to even small things like helping him with his outerwear.

‘Please just rest, you idiot!’

This capable individual wanting to help him with his outerwear made his conscience and survival instincts scream like crazy.

But Ed’s persuasion was faster than him opening his mouth to refuse.

“Looking at the adjutants of the other corps commanders, they all look like they’re half-dead, walking around with paperwork. They can’t even put down the paperwork when they’re eating. But I’m watching all of that with a clean face without any dark circles, holding utensils in my hands without a single piece of paper. How do you think I feel about that?”

“……”

Probably happy?

But that wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

When he remained silent, Ed let out a faint sigh. Then, he lightly held up the robe he was holding and said.

“If I don’t do at least this, I really feel like my existence is meaningless, so I’m asking you. Will you allow me to help you put it on?”

“…Do as you please.”

It was called permission, but he had no choice.

Sighing inwardly, he obediently accepted Ed’s assistance… but at that moment, a knock came from the door.

Not missing the opportunity, he quickly backed away and gestured towards the door.

“Looks like someone’s here.”

“I’ll go see who it is.”

Ed gently placed the robe on the bed and headed towards the door.

In the meantime, he quickly grabbed the robe and put it on in a flash. He was proud of how fast and perfectly he did it himself.

But it seemed Ed didn’t think so.

“Demon-nim, the 12th Corps Commander has come to visit… did you put it on yourself?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a mess.”

Oh, did he put it on too hastily?

Looking again, the robe was crumpled and disheveled in places. But it didn’t seem too bad to look at… A sigh?! It was bad enough to warrant a sigh?

Ed, who had let out a barely audible sigh, approached him again and began to straighten the crumpled and disheveled robe.

While tying the string that secured the loose robe, he resumed what he was about to say earlier.

“The 12th Corps Commander has come to visit. Would you like to meet them?”

“The 12th Corps Commander…?”