Chapter 164: Commotion

The only time they tacitly condoned drug use was during battles. Getting caught using them at any other time was a death sentence. And more importantly…

“If you do drugs when you’re not fighting, you’ll be ruined in no time. You have to think about the aftereffects when the war is over. Do you really think you can live a normal life addicted to drugs?”

I gave a faint smile.

“You said you wanted to live, right? You guys have places to return to. You need to go back and live normal lives.”

“……”

“So don’t do it. If there’s anyone trying to do drugs when they’re not fighting, stop them, even if you have to chop off their heads.”

“Chopping off heads will kill…”

“Chop them on the back of the neck.”

“Ah.”

There was no need to drag this conversation out any longer. Talking to these guys any longer would only raise my blood pressure.

I opened my mouth to quickly end the conversation, which seemed to be going off track.

“You’d be better off confiscating their drugs and giving them candy instead.”

***

I had a disturbing dream.

Dreaming of mad dogs… I have a bad feeling about this.

Deon ran a hand through his hair to clear his mind and placed a neatly rolled cigarette in his mouth.

“Lord Deon, the drugs…!”

He flinched, waved a hand to stop the physician who looked ready to snatch the cigarette from his mouth, lit it with a candle on the table, and looked up. A board game next to the candelabra caught his eye.

“Looks like it’s mostly finished.”

It felt wrong to just sit around these past few days, and with that disturbing dream, I made it to clear my head. The result is surprisingly good.

He picked up a game piece and fiddled with it, looking pleased. Dan, who had been tidying up the leftover materials from making the game with Ed while glancing at the board, couldn’t resist his curiosity and spoke up.

“What is this, Master? I’ve never seen this game before.”

“Chess.”

“……Chess? It does look similar to chess, but it’s quite different…”

“Not just chess, but Ches-s. It’s a strategy game I made based on chess. Instead of chess pieces representing professions, there are various troop types like archers, spearmen, swordsmen, shieldbearers, and there are resources and units. Units can be combined with archers to become horse archers, with spearmen to become lancer cavalry…”

Dan, listening to the detailed game explanation, was quietly astonished.

‘Didn’t he just wake up feeling uneasy and say he needed something to focus on, then whip this up haphazardly?’

Who would believe that this game was made on a whim? It’s such a detailed game that it could be mass-produced and distributed right now.

Just what is going on in that head of his?

I had occasionally felt that his mind was extraordinary, but I never expected him to excel in this area…

‘No, he should be excelling in tactics, why is it this field… but wait, that’s not right. Thinking about it, he is managing his troops quite well even now.’

Dan, nodding inwardly, suddenly realized that Deon’s explanation was still going on and flinched.

“…and if you don’t resupply for three turns, the number of troops you can use decreases by 1/3 each time. If you could use 90 troops, the next time you can only use 60, and if there’s no resupply for another three turns, it’ll drop to 40. To prepare for when the numbers don’t divide evenly, it’s best to decide with your opponent before the game starts whether to round up or down…”

“Wait, hold on! Master, are you alright?! You don’t seem to be in your right mind right now!”

“Ah.”

No wonder the atmosphere felt strange since this morning. I thought he was deep in thought, but he was just out of it.

“How dare you speak to Lord Deon like that? Saying he’s not in his right mind.”

“Then do you think Master looks like he’s in his right mind right now?”

“……Humans call that human… touch.”

That human touch thing. It’s a cure-all.

He swallowed a laugh and turned his head. Ed also seemed to know that his words were absurd, as he subtly shifted his gaze. Where their gazes landed, of course, was Deon, who was letting out a deep sigh with white smoke.

“……Dan, stay. Everyone else, leave.”

“Lord Deon.”

“Now.”

Ben, hesitant and worried, finally got dragged out by Ed’s hand, unsure of what was bothering him so much.

Once the door closed and they were alone, Deon leaned back in his chair, relaxing his stiff posture, and offered Dan a seat across the table. His tone became more casual.

“Now that it’s made, let’s play a round. I explained the rules, so you should have a general idea, right?”

“……Hmm….”

“Even if you don’t know, you’ll learn as we play. I’ll take black, you take white… First, how many starting troops should we have?”

*Click*. Deon asked, rolling his fingers over the numbered section on the game piece’s torso.

Dan quietly examined the pieces. They were not much different from chess pieces, but he could see numbers set to 0000 on their torsos. When he gently rolled it with his finger, it clicked and changed to 0001.

Ah, so you can set or change the troop strength by turning these numbers.

“Since it’s our first time, should we just set everything to 100?”

“……Yes.”

Pieces set to 0100 were placed on the board.

After that, only occasional questions and explanations were exchanged, and silence mostly filled the room.

“Why move two spaces…?”

“Cavalry can move two spaces.”

“Ah, I see.”

With a short exclamation of understanding, Dan moved his piece. Deon watched it, then divided his troops and slowly began to speak.

“How is your trading company doing?”

“Because of my record of obtaining war material distribution permits under Master’s name, the restrictions are severe. I’m also under surveillance.”

“Still, it seems you’ve managed to survive.”

“For now, it seems they’re keeping me alive because I’m one of the larger trading companies. Unless they find a way to fill the void, but not yet.”

“That’s right. Especially trading companies are important during wartime.”

While Dan was focused on the divided troops, the black cavalry retreated.

“Expand your trading company further.”

“……Yes?”

“It would be even better if you could swallow the entire market. Make it so that the Human Realm has no choice but to rely on your trading company.”

The white formation was unbalanced, focusing on specific troop types.

The black shieldbearers moved forward. Part of the divided troops moved to cut off supply lines, while the other troops attacked the white formation.

Dan judged that stopping the troops in front of him was more important than the supply lines. *Click* – his hand moved, and the main force moved out to defend the formation.

“Swallow the market, suppress other trading companies from growing, and then withdraw from the Human Realm at a critical moment.”

“……That would be a huge blow.”

The white main force charged, pushing back the divided black troops. Just before they clashed with the shieldbearers, the black cavalry, which had been waiting quietly in the rear, moved.

They made a large detour around the white troops charging towards the shieldbearers, encircling and surrounding them. Dan, realizing this late, hastily pulled back his troops before being completely surrounded, but some were already swallowed up in the encirclement.

Deon calmly moved the captured pieces aside and said.

“Right. So, contact those who make paper for charms needed to cast sorcery and try to secure distribution rights. That will become one of your trading company’s main products.”

“……Charms?”

With this, supply lines were cut off and the main force was reduced. Defeat loomed.

Dan, looking regretful, picked up a remaining piece from his troops still on the board and fiddled with it before looking up.

“The initial purpose of sorcery was to counter magic. It will be used a lot in the future, and probably is being used a lot even now. And don’t try to sneakily increase the numbers. It clearly said 0032 there, what kind of trickery is this?”

“……That’s why people with sharp senses…”

“I made the part where you turn the numbers stiff on purpose because I thought someone might do this. I can hear the turning sound. …Besides, the starting troops were 100, and now it says 0132, isn’t it obvious I’d notice?”

“Damn it. Anyway, I understand. Securing paper for charms, is that all?”

Three turns had passed since the supply lines were cut. The usable troops in the white formation decreased by 1/3.

It was the moment when black’s victory was virtually confirmed.

Deon leisurely moved his pieces, disrupting the white formation, and continued the conversation.

“If mana stones could also be partially distributed, your trading company would truly dominate the market… I’ll have to discuss this with the Demon King. And fairy herbs… the chances are slim, so let’s set that aside… Ah, right. There should be charms that suppress the demons’ abilities.”

“……”

“Get those for me. If you can, get a bunch of them.”

The game was over. Black won.

*Thump*. Deon smiled, placing the captured commander outside the board.

“And also, the drugs are running out, so get some of those too.”

“……”

Dan, who was about to give an affirmative answer without much thought, closed his mouth and looked at him.

Red pupils met his gaze calmly, as if asking what the problem was. After a short silence, Dan opened his mouth.

“Mas…”

“Lord Deon, excuse me. You need to come out for a moment.”

*Knock knock*.

At the familiar voice, Deon stood up from his seat. Before taking a step, he glanced at Dan, who was sullenly silent, and chuckled as he said.

“Is it because you think I’m crazy?”

“……”

“It’s not right to see someone as crazy just because they spaced out for a bit. I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry.”

With those words, he strode towards the door without even looking at Dan’s expression and opened it. He met eyes with Ed, who was pale as a sheet.

“Ed? Why the face…?”

“I apologize, Lord Deon. At the main gate of the Demon King’s castle… some humans are holding hostages and staging a protest.”

“What? What nonsense…”

Bullshit.

He swallowed the words that were about to reflexively come out and looked at Ed. This guy is also a demon. He couldn’t let his guard down in front of a demon.

He cleared his throat perfectly and spoke calmly.

“Ignore them and just kill them.”

“But the hostage…”

“If they were captured by humans, they must be some insignificant demon…”

“The hostage is the Commander of the 7th Corps.”

“……”

……Why is she even caught there?

He was speechless with absurdity for a moment, then Deon, regaining his composure with a touch at his mouth, asked again.

“But why are you calling for me? Shouldn’t you be reporting to Lord Demon King instead…?”

“Their condition is to meet the Captain… no, the Commander of the 0th Legion.”

“……Haa…”

No wonder I had such a bad dream.

Just from the word ‘Captain,’ Deon knew who these audacious humans were. He finally couldn’t hold back and ran a hand over his face.

***

“Let us meet the Captain!”

“Let us meet him!”

“We demand to meet him!!”

“Otherwise, we cannot guarantee the safety of the hostage!”

“No guarantee!”

“No guarantee!!”

An unexpected commotion was breaking out in front of the Demon King’s castle, which was always quiet.

It would be shocking enough if demons staged a protest in front of the Demon King’s castle, but humans doing such a thing? That alone was unprecedented, and they even took a hostage.

If the hostage had been just a normal demon, they would have been wiped out, but it was the Commander of the 7th Corps, so they couldn’t just act rashly.

The demons, seeing it as a rare spectacle, loitered near the city gate, expressing their respect for the humans’ audacity.

And the Commander of the 7th Corps, Sillua, who was taken hostage…

“So, you’re saying Demon… no, Lord Deon is really your captain? Your fighting style does resemble his, so I can believe it… but it’s still amazing to hear again.”

“We’re the ones who still can’t believe our captain is the Commander of the 0th Legion here?”

was calmly talking with the hostage-takers.”