Chapter 198: Deon’s Ire and an Unexpected Package

The Lofty Knights were Deon Hart’s direct subordinates. Even as ‘affiliates of Deon Hart,’ they were barely considered part of the Demon King’s army, a force so marginal it was debatable if they truly belonged.

Even the Demon King himself wouldn’t dare to meddle carelessly, so how could a mere legion commander presume to order them around for personal errands?

This was the kind of thing that could get their heads chopped off if discovered – and that wasn’t a metaphor, but stark reality.

“The audacity of being ordered around like this is ridiculous… ha.”

……

“If you’re determined to die, do it yourself. Why drag our men into this mess?”

Maybe that was why, but a chilling fury flashed in Deon’s eyes.

Derniban, sensing the suppressed madness beneath the surface anger, recoiled slightly. Deon was barely holding onto his rationality; it was a precarious situation on the verge of explosion.

“Are you all out of your minds?”

“We apologize.”

“Have I become that insignificant in your eyes? I suppose I have been away for a while. It’s almost understandable to be underestimated.”

The murderous intent in his voice intensified.

Oel, restless and anxious, was about to intervene, but Derniban subtly pressed down on her hand to stop her, answering calmly instead.

“No, sir. We deeply apologize.”

“Then what’s the explanation?”

“Th-”

“Waaah! Captain!”

The tension, taut as a drawn bowstring ready to snap, was suddenly broken by the shouting knight members.

Startled, Oel turned to look at them, and even Derniban, who had been bowing, glanced up at the brazen individuals. Deon, however, had already averted his gaze the moment they’d inexplicably yelled.

They flinched, catching the lingering murderous intent in his indifferent eyes, but then, the mad dogs started yipping in voices thick with emotion.

“Were you actually worried about us?!”

“This is so moving!”

“He called us ‘our guys’!”

“To think you’ve grown so much that you’re worried about us now! When did you get so big?!”

“Huhu, I’m getting teary-eyed here…!”

…Ha, you lot are…

They just won’t let me be serious for a moment.

Deon sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. Sensing his softened demeanor, the members exchanged glances and then, as if on cue, grinned and shouted.

“Captain, please don’t punish them!”

“We didn’t use them for free; it was a legitimate trade! We got something in return!”

…Compensation?

“Yes! It was a very satisfactory deal!”

“What did you get? …No, actually, never mind.”

No need to hear it.

“Just give it back and call off the deal.”

“Huh?!”

Deon raised an eyebrow at their unexpectedly dramatic reaction. Milan, meeting his doubtful and irritated gaze, nervously avoided eye contact, cold sweat trickling down his face. A mumbled excuse escaped his lips.

“It’s just… not the kind of thing you can return…”

…Really?

In the past, he would have grabbed that fool by the collar and demanded to know exactly what they’d received. He’d have racked his brain trying to figure out a way to pay an equivalent price to return it.

But things were different now.

To the embarrassment of the men who were bracing themselves for a furious reprimand with their eyes squeezed shut, a nonchalant, indifferent voice drifted out.

“Then, there’s no need to return it.”

……?

His eyes, now calm and serene, settled on Derniban and Oel.

“Because it seems that looking after it this much is enough. Don’t you think?”

…Yes, that’s right.

Even before this trade, they were already guilty.

Regardless of whether their target was young or old, they’d brought a human into the Demon King’s castle without authorization. It was a situation where they’d deserve death and have no right to complain.

Of course, if they were clever, they might try to claim Deon Hart was also complicit, using the trade with the mad dogs as leverage to threaten him, but he had no intention of just standing by and taking it. They probably knew that too, which is why they were holding back from any foolish moves.

Whether he became implicated as an accomplice or simply killed them, the Demon King would side with him. The ‘Hero’ was certain of it.

‘If I’m implicated as an accomplice… the Demon King can’t bring himself to kill me, so he’ll likely prioritize my version of events to at least extract me from the situation. Even if I kill them later, or preventatively eliminate them before they can act, he’ll still prioritize me.’

Between the already dead 5th Corps Commander and his adjutant, and the ‘Hero’ of the ‘Demon King’s army’ who’s very much alive – the outcome was obvious. Besides, even putting everything else aside, no demon would dare challenge him given the vast difference in their ranks and overwhelming martial prowess.

In any case, their compliant attitude had slightly improved his mood. It would be strange to keep raging when the mad dogs themselves, the ones directly involved, seemed fine with it.

Realizing that their earlier outburst and nonsensical yelling was deliberately meant to defuse the tension, Deon calmed his anger and spoke in a measured tone.

“As for that human baby…”

Oel flinched, her body visibly trembling.

“…I won’t ask any questions.”

……!

“Frankly, I don’t care. Whether you pick up humans or whatever else you do, just don’t involve me or my men.”

In other words, he was saying he’d turn a blind eye this time, but they shouldn’t entrust such a dangerous ticking time bomb to the Lofty Knights again.

Derniban, understanding the implied meaning, quietly bowed his head. Deon glanced upwards to check the sky. Seeing the three moons nearly overlapping, it seemed dawn was still a long way off.

…Tired.

Time to head back to my room. I had managed to sleep, but it was in an uncomfortable position, and I’d woken up in the middle of the night due to a bizarre dream. There was no way I could have properly rested.

Lost in thought, he absently took a step, then glanced down, noticing a sticky sensation on the soles of his bare feet.

…Ah, right. You lot.

“Captain? Weren’t you just about to head back?”

“I am going back. But come here first.”

He was almost certain it was a hallucination, but no matter how he looked at it, this pool of blood looked undeniably real to his eyes.

Was it just a hallucination visible only to him, or a curse visible to them as well? He needed to be sure. Deon pointed down at his feet with a finger.

“Do you see this?”

“Yes? What… Huh!”

Milan followed Deon’s finger with his gaze, then gasped sharply. His pupils dilated, trembling with obvious agitation.

They can see it? It’s not just in my head? Just as Deon narrowed his eyes, Milan suddenly roared.

“Captain, you’re barefoot?!”

……

He must have been too preoccupied with the bizarre phenomenon. Only then did Deon’s eyes register his own pale feet standing directly in the pool of blood.

Now that he thought about it, he’d jumped straight out of his room. Barefoot, naturally.

“Not that, but under my feet…”

“Under your feet?! Did you step on something sharp or something?!”

“Oh geez, you should have just put on your shoes and taken the stairs! We wouldn’t have run away!”

“Milan! Pick up the Captain!”

“Got it!”

……

As he was clumsily hoisted into the air, becoming the center of their fuss, Deon thought to himself.

‘Okay, first things first, it seems this pool of blood is only visible to me.’

If they could see it too, they wouldn’t be making this kind of fuss now; they’d be panicking about something else entirely.

More importantly, now that you’ve checked there are no injuries on my feet, maybe you could put me down?

Perhaps sensing his impatient glare, the member who was carefully examining his feet while supporting them with one hand suddenly looked up and said,

“Luckily, there are no injuries, but you might get hurt on the way back, so we’ll escort you to your room.”

…I can walk on my own, you know? Even if I got hurt, I’d heal quickly. Besides, it’s nighttime now. You lot are too loud; it’s a no.

“We can be quiet!”

“You?”

A skeptical gaze settled on the boisterous group.

They seemed to realize their bluff had been called, falling silent, unable to confidently retort. As Deon watched them with disdain, Kleter, who had handed the baby back to Derniban, approached and spoke.

“Yeah, if you fools all troop along, there’s bound to be a commotion. Milan, just you go.”

“Got it!”

Clumsily slung over Milan’s shoulder, Deon was momentarily stunned, unable to process the situation, before scowling.

There was no point in asking to be put down; they wouldn’t listen. He’d have to let that go for now.

…He seems like he’s going to be the loudest one.

“But he’s the strongest among us. You must be exhausted, Captain. Please get some rest.”

No, I—

“I’ll carry you without making a single sound! Hyahhh!”

“Hey, you bas—”

…Well, I guess if you run while shouting, you won’t hear footsteps.

He knew nothing. He thought he’d heard the Captain curse, but it must have been his imagination. Kleter expertly ignored the pair as they disappeared down the corridor.

Turning his gaze away, he saw Oel and Derniban. Oel called out to the adjutant in a blank voice, almost a murmur.

“Derniban, Sir Deon’s manner of speaking is back…”

“Shh.”

Derniban placed an index finger to Oel’s lips, glancing at the two figures disappearing down the corridor. He remained silent even at Oel’s questioning look, only speaking slowly once Deon and Milan were out of sight.

“Nothing strange about it.”

“Why?”

“Sir Deon’s manner of speaking has always been varied from the start.”

“I know that. But why the ‘shush’?”

“When Sir Deon first changed his manner of speaking after becoming Commander of the 0th Legion, I heard a demon who openly commented on it faced severe consequences.”

“I know about that. They say he didn’t kill them, just held a dagger to their throat and told them to shut up with killing intent. But isn’t the manner of speaking change this time different from then? Back then, it was either polite honorifics or intimidating informal speech, but now it’s shifting from elegant manner of speaking to…”

“Only the *type* of manner of speaking is different, but the *situation* is the same.”

More than anything, it’s always better to err on the side of caution.

Derniban quietly looked down at Oel. She opened her mouth, eyes wide as if about to ask another question, but then stopped, closing her mouth and glancing downwards at the giggling sound from below.

“Kyaa!”

The baby was standing, clinging to Oel’s clothes for support. To human eyes, its compound, dragonfly-like eyes with no whites might seem grotesque, but Oel blankly murmured a familiar name, captivated by the baby’s bright face, which broke into another wide smile the moment their eyes met, without a hint of tears.

…Derniban, the baby’s holding onto my clothes.

“Yes.”

“And it smiled at me.”

“Indeed.”

“Why is it smiling like that?”

The discussion about Deon Hart’s manner of speaking was long forgotten. Derniban sighed in relief at that, yet he couldn’t easily tear his gaze away from Oel.

Because her wide eyes held more than just simple curiosity.

Just as he was about to speak, Kleter, who had been watching the scene with a pleased expression, preemptively offered an answer as if he’d been waiting for the opportunity.

“It likes you, Lady Oel.”

“It likes *me*? Why?”

“Perhaps it’s affection for its guardian?”

“Guardian? *Me*?”

“Lady Oel.”

Derniban belatedly called out to her, but it was already too late. Oel lowered her hands, clumsily scooped up the baby, and began scrutinizing its face as if examining something utterly alien.

…I see. I’m its guardian, then.

……

So, does that make me ‘Mom’? And Derniban ‘Dad’?

But—

With the baby nestled in one arm, she pointed with her free hand to the tear tracks still visible on its cheek.

“Has the baby been crying?”

“Yes, it fell while practicing walking.”

“Walking practice?”

“It can’t walk properly on its own yet. We’ve been holding its hands, helping it practice, but this little rascal lost focus for a moment…”

“Ah, it’s because you lot all rushed in, wanting to help!”

In short, they’d let go of its hand and it had fallen.

Hmm, for some reason, it rubbed her the wrong way. Oel, cradling the baby in her arms while watching their bickering with a pout, tilted her head, confused by her own unfamiliar emotions.

“Lady Oel, I’ll take the baby now.”

“Derniban.”

“Yes.”

“I feel strangely… upset. Do you know why?”

……

Derniban, who was practically emotionless, indifferent to almost everything, had learned to recognize and understand emotions to some degree while serving the curious and emotionally rich Oel. That’s why he understood.

–This was definitely not a good sign.

That was why, unusually, he simply took the baby from her arms without a word.