Chapter 16: My Subordinates Are So Competent It’s Driving Me Insane

It’s Demon-nim. The first time I’ve seen him since the ‘0th Legion training grounds intrusion incident’.

The corps members were on edge, more than ever before in their lives, waiting for Demon-nim to appear.

Since ‘that day,’ Demon-nim hadn’t visited the training grounds again.

Of course, he wasn’t one to visit often anyway, but considering the significant incident, we thought he might visit at least once more. However, as if mocking those expectations, he hadn’t come to the 0th Legion until this very day.

Naturally, the corps members couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Is he still angry?”

“But he looked like nothing was wrong back then.”

“Idiot, do you believe everything you see?”

“Could it be he’s tired of our incompetence in not even noticing a single intruder…?”

…….

A silence descended, closer to despair than just being chilly.

We wanted to deny it, but we couldn’t. He was a person who could influence the course of a battle more by wielding his dagger on the front lines than by commanding the corps.

To someone like that, corps members were likely beings he could take or leave.

That’s why we trained even harder. We tried and tried to avoid being a hindrance, even if we couldn’t be a help.

But in the end, we were back to square one.

Our corps commander’s skill was beyond imagination, and we still couldn’t even reach his heels.

And yet, we were arrogant enough to be complacent just because our skills had improved a little….

On that day when we had let our guard down a little, Demon-nim visited and caught an intruder who had snuck into the training grounds unnoticed by anyone. It was proof that our so-called improved skills were utterly useless.

So it was understandable that he was tired of us.

Because we’re incompetent. Because he’s more comfortable and advantageous on his own.

“……Let’s just train.”

“Yeah, they say we’re heading out in a few days. We need to improve our skills even a little to avoid being a hindrance.”

“Either way, there’s nothing we can do.”

Only by seeing Demon-nim’s face could we know anything, but since they couldn’t even face him, all the corps members could do was wait for the day of departure and make all sorts of guesses.

And today.

Now that all the preparations are done, we wait.

“……Why isn’t he coming out?”

A considerable amount of time had passed, yet Demon-nim hadn’t appeared. It had been a while since his adjutant, Ed-nim, went to fetch him.

Anxiety began to spread throughout the corps on the cold dawn breeze.

Not daring to move, unsure when Demon-nim would appear, their eyes darted around. Finally, the firmly closed doors swung open.

Demon-nim walked out calmly with an even more stern expression than usual, and then stopped when he saw us.

Watching his face grow colder and harder, the corps members were certain.

‘He still doesn’t want to see us.’

Silence reigned.

The dawn wind was cold, yet sweat poured down their foreheads like rain.

Their mouths felt parched. Everyone seemed to feel the same way, as the sound of someone swallowing dryly echoed.

‘We’re not going to get abandoned as soon as we go outside, are we?’

The corps members desperately exchanged glances, urging each other to quickly think of a way to appease Demon-nim’s anger.

***

I’m not a good talker. Is it even plausible for someone who was born with a different appearance and lived being discriminated against to be good at talking?

Giving appropriate responses to what others say requires a significant amount of mental energy and brainpower for me, making it a tiring task.

To put it another way, if even giving appropriate answers is difficult, then in this awkward silence, I can absolutely never be the first to speak.

So right now, I’m.

‘…….’

Just waiting for one of them to open their mouth first.

Fortunately, the silence wasn’t as long as some of the ones I’d experienced before.

“What are you all doing! Demon-nim is angry!”

“?!”.

Intervention from someone completely different, not a corps member, nor Ben or Ed.

That alone was surprising enough, but the content of the voice was enough to make me jump.

‘I-I’m not angry?’

From the start, this isn’t even a situation for me to be angry about. This is clearly my fault for being late….

No, no, that’s not the important part….

“Lirinel?”

Why are you here?

I slightly turned my head towards the direction of the voice, and a small figure floating in the sky came into view.

Her figure silhouetted against the moon was quite ethereal, but unfortunately, her small and petite stature didn’t convey anything beyond cuteness.

It looks like she wanted to look cool… I should buy her some milk later. It’s too pitiful to watch.

“We’re sorry!”

Ah, please don’t…!

While my gaze was momentarily stolen by the sky, a strange wind blew, and the corps members bowed in unison.

Their thunderous voices echoed through the sky.

‘Why are you guys doing this too… you don’t really have anything to apologize for… ah, could it be because of Lirinel?’

The commander of the 11th Corps and the owner of the second largest mana reserves after the Demon King.

I often forget because of her cute appearance, but her reputation is still formidable.

So, to mere corps members, she would be a heavenly being.

And that heavenly being is shouting with a nuance of telling them to apologize quickly? This is a situation where they’d have to apologize even if they did nothing wrong.

‘And I’ll be the one to receive the blame….’

Lirinel, oblivious to my blackening heart, landed diagonally in front of me.

She gave a light, somewhat shy greeting and then looked this way with a ‘Did I do well?’ expression… Damn it, I can’t get angry with that face.

If I got angry, I’d feel like a shameless adult getting angry at a child.

Though I don’t have the courage to do so anyway.

I need to fix this situation. What should I do first? The corps members? Lirinel?

Right, first the corps members who are maintaining a posture that looks like it hurts their backs.

“First, everyone, raise your heads….”

It was quite difficult to persuade them.

The corps members were so stubborn. Only after I said it was okay several times could I finally see their faces as they straightened up.

I briefly pondered why I was the one who had to persuade them, but since I had broken this awkward atmosphere, I could consider the result satisfactory.

The reason for their apology was quite absurd.

That incident when I luckily caught the intruder.

They said it was because their skills were lacking and they troubled me.

That was ages ago.

“……Anyway, Lirinel?”

“Yes, Demon-nim!”

“Why are you here…?”

“Ah, ah, that’s right! So… I wanted to give you this.”

Lirinel, who had been looking this way with a blank expression, rummaged through her pouch in a fluster.

What appeared next was a necklace similar to the one Ben wore.

For a moment, a terrible thought crossed my mind that she might have stolen Ben’s, but I soon remembered that the item strung on the cord was a mana stone and nodded.

Demons mainly wear mana stones on necklaces.

But why is she giving this to me?

“This will prevent instant death once.”

“Thank you.”

Let’s not ask why. I should accept it when offered. How dare I question a gift? That’s rude.

As soon as I put it around my neck, Lirinel smiled brightly.

She’s so cute. How is she a corps commander? She’s just a kid.

Without realizing it, I gently stroked her head. Then, the muffler around Lirinel’s neck moved energetically.

‘Ah… that was a tentacle.’

Two tentacles disguised as a muffler around her neck to minimize the feeling of discomfort for a human like me.

I stared at it wriggling excitedly with an indescribable expression before quietly letting go of my hand.

I turned around, trying my best to act like nothing happened, but the sight that greeted me shattered my efforts.

‘……What are you guys doing…?’

The corps members had already split to the sides, forming a path.

And at the end of that path, a horse with black aura swirling around it was snorting, and my capable adjutant, Ed, was holding its reins, waiting.

The utterly shocking scene froze me in place again.

Cursing under my breath, the words almost burst out of my mouth.

‘Right, that was a thing… damn it.’

One of the reasons I didn’t want to go outside the Demon King’s castle was precisely that.

It looks cool, but I absolutely don’t want to ride it.

Demonic horses are different from human realm horses. Even their appearance is terrifying. If you rode that into war, everyone would probably avoid you at first sight.

Even their temper is worse!

If I get on that thing, I’ll surely die.

Die from falling off, being trampled, or being bitten.

‘Shit, shiiiit….’

Even so, that’s a bit much.

About a year and a half since I survived all sorts of dangers in the Demon King’s castle.

An unprecedented, major challenge loomed before me.

***

“What’s that?”

The Demon King, watching Deon through the window, frowned.

A horse, no less. Not a human realm horse, but a demonic horse. That kid who was just coughing up blood is going to ride that?

“Your Majesty? Is something the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

The Demon King shook his head at Belitan’s questioning, looking out the window again.

He wanted to see him off from the moment he left the Demon King’s castle, but the 0th Legion wasn’t the only one departing, and as the Demon King, he couldn’t openly show favoritism even at an official event like a departure, so he had to check on the other corps preparing as well.

But to try and ride such a beast with a body that could break at any moment.

See? This is what happens when I take my eyes off him for even a moment.

“Belitan.”

“Yes.”

“You have your communication stone with you, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Ed’s communication stone is registered to it too?”

“Yes.”

“Good, lend it to me for a moment.”

He took Belitan’s communication stone and connected to Ed’s.

There was a reason he didn’t contact Deon directly.

Because he wouldn’t answer even if he did.

It wasn’t that he was ignoring him on purpose. He had directly ordered Deon to keep his communication stone in his room because it kept breaking shortly after he started carrying it. So, he wouldn’t answer even if he called.

It wasn’t particularly inconvenient.

He was usually cooped up in his room anyway, and when he did go out, like now, his adjutant Ed was always with him.

Like the capable adjutant he was, Ed always carried his communication stone.

And he still does.

-Yes, this is Ed, the adjutant of the 0th Legion Commander.

“Kaberda.”

-Ah, yes, Your Majesty. What is the matter?

“Are you out of your mind?”

-……Pardon?

A delayed response came back, as if he was flustered by the sudden scolding.

But the Demon King had no intention of stopping his reprimand, continuing relentlessly.

“You’re trying to put a human who might cough up blood at any moment on a horse? A demonic horse, no less? To make a human in poor health travel that far on horseback, are you crazy?”

-……I apologize.

Faced with such an outburst, Ed had nothing more to say. The Demon King fell silent for a moment, his anger subsiding as if cold water had been poured over his head.

In reality, Ed probably felt wronged.

Deon liked demonic horses. Perhaps because there were no such horses in the human realm, he would often stare intently when someone rode one.

He hadn’t explicitly said he wanted to ride one or see one yet, but for someone as indifferent as him to stare so intently, he must like horses quite a bit.

And his adjutant Ed was sure to know that….

He probably assumed it would be difficult to dissuade Deon and prepared the horse right away.

A human who rarely left the castle, even the outer walls, was finally going out. It was only natural he would want to ride a horse.

“……I understand your reasoning.”

-No, Your Majesty. I didn’t even attempt to persuade him. I apologize.

Persuading Deon wouldn’t be easy.

It wasn’t just the act of changing his mind that was difficult. Even attempting to persuade him required a great deal of courage.

He was like a ticking time bomb.

As gentle as he usually was, he was quite dangerous when he exploded, so they had to be careful.

Moreover, perhaps because he was human, the timing of his outbursts was different from demons, making it even trickier.

Naturally, silently preparing was easier than trying to persuade him.

“Anyway, it’s still not allowed. Prepare a carriage immediately.”

-Yes.

“You can handle the persuasion.”

-……Yes.

His reply seemed a bit delayed, but the Demon King pretended not to notice.

Even he was reluctant to incur Deon’s anger or resentment.