Chapter 15: I Think My Subordinates Are Too Competent

As expected, the Commander of the 12th Corps can’t open his mouth without causing trouble.

Some might think it’s nothing much, but depending on the situation, it could become a serious issue.

For instance, imagine him speaking like that when he’s granted an audience with the Empire’s Emperor.

‘…Just imagining it is horrifying.’

Especially since this Emperor is a tyrant. I guarantee if Myers were on his side, he wouldn’t last a week before getting his head chopped off.

And ridiculously enough, the demons in this Demon King’s castle see me as a human with similar tendencies to that tyrant Emperor.

How can I be so sure? Because the way those bastards look at me is too similar to how the Emperor’s vassals look at him.

So, it’s no wonder the adjutant is so shocked.

“Well… that’s…”

I hesitated to agree, feeling too sorry for Myers. He already seemed to be getting chewed out; should I deny it now…?

As I wavered, unable to affirm or deny, Dahar’s eyes narrowed.

He glared at Myers once before bowing respectfully to me again.

“My apologies, Demon. May I have a word with Sir Myers?”

Dahar strode out the door.

Myers, who had been dithering, followed hurriedly as if burned by fire, spurred on by Dahar’s seemingly gentle yet furious voice, “Sir Myers, aren’t you coming?”

And beyond the closed door, Dahar’s nagging started, beginning with a lament, “I can’t live like this, really…”

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your mouth shut if you could help it?! Sir Myers, you’re the type to get beaten up if you open your mouth! You could have just apologized and left, so why did you have to say something in front of Demon! Did you want to die that badly? You might as well just ask the Demon King to kill you! The Demon King would be kinder than Demon!”

So the adjutant set his taciturn concept. Honestly, I think it’s a very good choice.

His adjutant seems just as competent as mine.

Still, compared to Ed, I think Ed is much better. At least Ed doesn’t inflict such painful verbal abuse on me.

‘…Huh? Wait, this room is soundproofed, right? And with the Demon King’s soundproofing magic, which can never be breached….’

Doubts about the soundproofing issue didn’t last long. Focusing on the conversation coming from outside was more interesting than worrying about that problem.

It wasn’t just me who thought so; before I knew it, the room was filled with silence.

Dahar didn’t stop talking as if a spell had been cast on his mouth, and Myers just listened in silence. Even though I couldn’t see him, I felt sorry for him.

Oh, Myers did object occasionally though….

“Bu-but Demon asked….”

“At least think about whether it’s a normal answer before replying… Ah, I see. My mistake. You wouldn’t be causing this trouble if you could distinguish that. Just keep your mouth shut. Use gestures to answer. It’s not like I corrected your behavior for nothing.”

The more I heard, the more impressive this adjutant seemed.

To think that his impeccable and sharp movements were all thanks to the adjutant’s corrections.

Myers’ voice disappeared again as if he had shrunk. Tsk tsk, you poor thing.

Just then, the Demon King, who had been listening with the same interest as me, changed his posture as if he had lost interest and waved his hand in the air. The outside sounds were cut off.

“I forgot I’d temporarily disabled it.”

“…?”

“You wouldn’t open the door, so I briefly deactivated the soundproofing magic.”

“Pardon?”

Originally, the Demon King’s room and the legion commanders’ rooms, along with other important locations, were all equipped with soundproofing magic.

The only sounds that could pass through were the sounds of knocking and the few seconds after—just enough time for the business at hand and permission to be exchanged.

“Removing it unilaterally like that….”

“Hm?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

But the other party is the Demon King. There’s nothing I can say.

I creaked my neck and looked at the Demon King. Hien was sending me pleading looks from the side, but the seed of an unknown plant in his hand looked too ominous, so I subtly looked away.

“What brings you here?”

“What else? It’s not often you go out, so I thought I’d see you off.”

“Ah… there’s really no need to….”

“That’s what I’m saying. There really was no need. Who knew I’d be turned away at the door.”

Has the Demon King always been this petty?

No matter what I answered, it would be like digging my own grave, so I couldn’t bring myself to respond and just awkwardly rolled my eyes.

What’s the way out of this situation?

…There isn’t one.

The best I can do is leave it to chance.

Once again, I desperately needed blood. Surely he wouldn’t be petty towards a sick person.

How did I make myself bleed? I think it happened when my blood pressure rose. Like this feeling of boiling inside….

“Demon….”

“Uh, yes?”

Ah, damn it. I spaced out and answered without thinking.

Needless to say, my face turned pale as I belatedly identified the owner of the voice.

I froze for a moment at the thought of being doomed, then slowly rolled my eyes to check where the voice came from.

Sure enough, there was Hien, his face full of a bright smile, seemingly happy that his voice had finally reached me.

With a smiling face, he held out ‘something that didn’t look pleasant at all’.

“Since you’re going out, Demon, I brought some plant seeds that can be used for self-defense.”

“…Is this by any chance a man-eating plant?”

“Yes, and it’s a very powerful one that even eats demons….”

Oh, it’s rising. My blood pressure is rising.

I could feel a fishy scent from deep inside my body. My past experiences told me this was the symptom before vomiting blood. I quietly covered my mouth.

As expected, something hot was rising up my throat. Soon, my lips parted, and just as I was about to spit it out—

“Ugh….”

Thump!

“Demon!”

“…Blegh?!”

Ben appeared, carrying his medical bag.

What the, how did he get here so fast?!

Ah, right. My personal physician said he had some kind of magic device. Was it a mana stone?

How can he be so competent?

‘Why does he have to come before I can even get out of this situation….’

He was too competent for my own good; I felt like crying.

***

Thanks to my competent personal physician, the situation was contained before it properly blew up.

Still, I managed to kick Hien out by feigning ill health, and even sent the 12th Corps Commander Myers and his adjutant, who were having a go at it outside the door, back. So, I guess it wasn’t a complete loss.

The only downside was that I tried to use this as an excuse to cancel this mission, but….

“About this mission….”

“Hm? Ah… even in this state, you’re still fixated on the mission….”

Fixated? What nonsense is he spouting now….

I frowned without realizing it.

Anyone could see that my expression blatantly said, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Yet, the Demon King somehow interpreted it differently, sighing and shaking his head as if he couldn’t help it.

“Don’t worry. The mission won’t be canceled. Instead, make sure you keep Ben with you wherever you go.”

“…….”

“I know you wouldn’t die from just that much. But you never know, right? You might be weakened by the aftereffects and in a moment of carelessness, someone might attack you, and that could be a little dangerous.”

It’s dangerous even if someone attacks me when I’m not careless. Unlike the sturdy demons, I’m in danger.

Ugh, the back of my neck is stiff.

“Huh?! Demon! Your blood pressure levels?”

“…It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

Ignoring Ben’s worried gaze, I took a deep breath and headed for the door.

Actually, it wasn’t my own will that was making me go. My competent and loyal adjutant was standing firmly in one spot, waiting for me to come out, and his gaze was so intense it felt like needles.

“This way.”

Ed, who had been waiting, opened the door as if on cue and led the way to the place where the corps members were waiting.

It feels like too much time has passed due to these unexpected events. They wouldn’t start an insurrection for making them wait too long, would they…?

Ah, why did I even think of that? I don’t want to go even more now.

I tried to move as slowly as possible, but following Ed, who was striding forward, I soon arrived at the first-floor entrance.

The corps members are waiting behind that door, huh? They must be angry because it’s late. Those guys are intimidating even when they’re calm; how intimidating will they be when they’re angry?

I felt like my heart would stop if I opened the door without mentally preparing myself, so I quickly called out to Ed, who was about to open it.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“…I’ll open it.”

Ed tilted his head in confusion but stepped back without another word.

I slowly walked to the door and paused, taking slow, deep breaths.

“Demon, your heart is beating strangely fast. Are you alright?”

“…You can even measure that?”

“Yes. Your health is on the line; isn’t it obvious?”

“…….”

I stared intently at the strange jewel hanging around Ben’s neck.

I want to snatch that thing and smash it right now, but is there no way?

But I don’t have the nerve to do that, and I don’t even have the strength to break the jewel in the first place, so what can I do? Powerless me can only resign myself as always and place my hand on the door.

“Are you really alright? Your heart is beating so….”

“…….”

“Ben, aren’t you underestimating Demon too much? There’s no way Demon would be affected by something like this.”

Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted to say. No matter how weak I am, there’s no way I’d be in danger from just this much.

As expected of Ed. How does he know my heart so well and speak for me like this?

I was cheering him on inwardly, but Ben, instead of calming down, started ranting, saying, ‘How can an adjutant be so indifferent?’

His momentum was truly terrifying.

“That’s ridiculous! He could be in real danger! Do you even know what Demon’s current condition is?”

“Uh, what is it?”

He was pushed back by the momentum!

“It’s like a cracked piece of glass that could shatter at any moment! You could say that the aftereffects are essentially eating away at Demon’s body, that’s how bad it is!”

“No way!”

Oh, um… my condition is that bad…?

I was newly thankful for the excellent excuse called aftereffects.

Let me be clear once again, I don’t have any aftereffects. In other words, my current physical condition is congenital….

Yeah, I must never let this fact be known, no matter what. It’s not just dangerous; it’s too embarrassing.

As I resolved myself, Ed approached me with a pale face and began checking my complexion.

“Are you really alright? Your face looks pale.”

“It’s always been like this….”

“Your lips also look redder than usual… Did you perhaps bite your lip to endure the pain?”

“That’s always been the case too.”

This is embarrassing. Just stop.

I turned my back to signal them to stop talking. Then, without giving them a chance to say anything more, I opened the door.

A cold air brushed against my cheek as the three overlapping moons brightly illuminated the ground, urging me to come out.

And there.

The corps members stood in perfect formation without a single movement—

‘…What a sight.’

If only their eyes weren’t all focused on me.

The sight of them not moving an inch, only their eyes rolling to look at me as the door opened, was a spectacle that would easily intimidate an ordinary human like me.

I stopped in my tracks to hide my trembling legs.

From behind me, I heard Ben mutter quietly, ‘Ah, his heart rate again!’ or maybe I didn’t? Ah, I don’t know. My head feels blank.

“…….”

“…….”

Cold sweat ran down my spine. Sweat was also dripping down their foreheads.

Perhaps the sweat on their foreheads has a different meaning than mine.

Yeah, if they’ve been maintaining this posture until I came out, I can understand why they’d be sweating.

However, there’s also a possibility that they’re sweating because they’re angry….

At the thought that I might be murdered as soon as I leave the castle, I desperately began racking my brain for what I needed to say to survive.