Chapter 221: Clearing Misunderstandings

– …What you’re saying is.

Before I knew it, I was caught up in it.

On the surface, it seemed like the discussion was centered on the Duke’s wrongdoings. But with the situation now set in stone, I knew better than to underestimate what the other side would say next. There was bound to be a significant backlash.

It was too late to back out now. In situations like this, the only way out is to steer the conversation in a different direction… Paul, who had been listening quietly, spoke up to defuse the situation.

– Are you saying Cruel Hart knew Deon Hart’s location in the Demon Realm?

– No. I wouldn’t know. Maybe he sent him because he trusted Deon Hart’s skills.

– Surely, the safest place….

– Could it be more dangerous than the Human Realm, even if it is dangerous? Isn’t a danger that’s easy to spot better to deal with than a political and cunning one? Besides, you can’t kill a Duke recklessly, but you can kill magical beasts or demons. Whether or not you can eliminate dangerous elements is also very important.

Dan wore a relaxed smile, as if amused.

I am the owner of a gambling den… no, a trading company. There’s no way such cheap tricks would work on me.

Still, I didn’t want to continue meaningless arguments, so I asked a question first to prevent them from picking at the same topic again.

– Why are you trying to tear apart even the deceased now, not content with just lying?

– …Aren’t you the one tearing apart the deceased right now?

– It’s difficult to equate this with that. I’m just revealing the truth and clearing the name of an unjustly accused person, while what you were trying to do was to tear apart the deceased based on a single piece of uncertain circumstantial evidence.

His tone became increasingly aggressive.

When Paul shut his mouth, Dan shrugged his shoulders as if to show off and spoke to everyone watching the screen as if nailing it down.

– To summarize, the Duke is the one who killed Cruel Hart. Going a step further, it can be seen that the culprit who sent Deon Hart to the Demon Realm is also the Duke.

I don’t know who was trying to improve the Duke’s image, but they were the ones who brought up the dead first. Therefore, it is also their own fault that the Duke is now reduced to another scapegoat for everyone.

Dan smirked.

‘Is it called ‘posthumous decapitation’ when you dig up the grave of a person whose great sin was revealed after death and cut off the head of the corpse?’

They brought up the name of the deceased and are tearing it to shreds like this now, so this can also be said to be a different kind of posthumous decapitation.

‘Well, the Duke is a sinner anyway.’

I have no intention of being lenient to a sinner, especially if the victim is my acquaintance.

Dan, thinking of Deon watching from behind, continued to speak nonchalantly.

– In other words, your claim that Deon Hart killed his own brother to suit the tastes of the demons is completely wrong.

In the end, the story went full circle and returned to the initial topic.

With this, the ‘reason why demons accepted Deon Hart’ that Paul had argued for was shattered. Along with it, the claim that ‘they accepted Dan because he is Deon Hart’s subordinate’ also lost its foundation.

Since the claim that ‘only humans related to Deon Hart are accepted’ has lost its power, the humans who watched this situation will think.

‘Could we be accepted too?’

‘Can we trust them?’

‘The Demon Realm has consistently claimed that they accept humans other than Deon Hart, so maybe.’

In fact, it is true that Deon Hart killed his ‘family’.

So, I deliberately narrowed the scope to ‘brother’, but fortunately, they don’t seem to have noticed yet. Well, I drove them into confusion on purpose, so they must be disoriented.

Deon Hart’s name was cleared, and the Duke’s reputation was tarnished.

At the same time, the content that Deon and the demons wanted was clearly asserted, and the atmosphere was brought to our side, so it can be said that we got everything we could get.

A perfect victory. Dan smiled a nasty smile.

***

“I told you to just tell the truth.”

Deon said sullenly.

“But I only spoke the truth.”

Dan laughed.

Deon, who had been staring at his face, let out a faint sigh. He was clearly going to scold him properly, even if he didn’t beat him, he was at least going to smack him in the back of the head….

“…You did something unnecessary.”

Only a light reproach came out.

It was a part that he himself was surprised by. Even I think this is a matter that deserves a violent outburst.

Instead of a frosty anger, a blunt voice flowed out.

“Do you think I was just standing still because I didn’t know how to clear my name?”

It’s not that he was just standing still because he couldn’t find a way to clear his name.

If Deon had made up his mind, he could have gathered evidence and somehow resolved it right away on the day he heard the rumors spread in the Human Realm during the debate with the Revolutionary Army. There was plenty of time to resolve it even after that.

Nevertheless, he remained still.

Because he thought the ultimate cause of Cruel’s death was himself.

‘If it weren’t for me, Cruel would have lived.’

If I hadn’t killed my family, if I hadn’t misunderstood, if I had tried to talk to Cruel even belatedly…. If that had happened, he wouldn’t have died.

In other words, it was right that I killed Cruel. So, I was just standing still. Perhaps it contained a kind of atonement.

“I’m sorry.”

“…It’s fine.”

Dan messed it all up, but even so, a subtle emotion of unknown origin takes precedence over anger or annoyance. From there, Deon realized.

‘…I was more exhausted than I thought.’

So, maybe I was waiting for someone to recognize and solve it, to relieve this burden.

Of course, even if I realize that fact, nothing will change.

Eventually, he gave up scolding and opened his mouth. His eyes were not meeting Dan’s.

“You deliberately dragged out the introduction at the beginning, didn’t you? To induce the Revolutionary Army’s intrusion.”

“Yes.”

“I was wondering what you were thinking, but to think you were planning this….”

“I’m sorry.”

“I said it’s fine. Don’t apologize anymore. Anyway, it ended safely, so let’s just let it slide.”

If it had ended even slightly badly, I wouldn’t have let it go so easily.

Still, I should check what I need to check. Now that my emotions are somewhat settled, I lifted my gaze that had been fixed on his chin and met his eyes.

“You couldn’t have gotten the documents alone. You clearly said ‘unidentified people’ earlier.”

[You must have heard the news that recently, organizations that mainly handle contract killings were completely destroyed to the point of being unable to recover due to attacks by unidentified people.]

Dan nodded.

“Yes, the Lofty Knights helped.”

“As expected….”

I thought something was suspicious back then.

He said his head was complicated, he was tired… He later changed the subject, but it was too obviously suspicious to not notice. But I let it slide because it didn’t seem like it would harm me.

Deon, recalling the suspicious reactions he had seen when he stopped by the mad dogs’ accommodations to bring alcohol, chuckled and took a step.

“Where are you going?”

“To where the stray dogs might be.”

“They’re probably at the training grounds.”

Dan, who had noticed that it was the Lofty Knights, answered quickly and followed behind. As the air flowed quite softly, his tension seemed to ease, and silly thoughts were floating in his head.

‘Mad dogs have been upgraded to stray dogs. Should I congratulate them on this?’

But aren’t they too well-trained for stray dogs?

No, to anyone other than the Master, they are stray dogs themselves….

“The trading company….”

“Pardon? Stray dogs?”

“What?”

“Pardon?”

…….

Deon, who had stopped quietly, made a circle with his middle finger and thumb and brought it to Dan’s forehead. Soon after, a sound of something breaking, ‘Paak!’ was heard.

“Wake up.”

“…I think my soul will leave before my mind comes to me….”

“It’s okay. You won’t die.”

He started walking again.

Deon repeated the words he had said a little while ago, towards the footsteps following behind him.

“Did the trading company get out in time?”

“I haven’t checked yet, but if it went according to plan, they should have gotten out properly.”

“Life doesn’t always go according to plan, so check as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

“And about that second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army….”

At first, I was doubtful, but now I know.

Deon frowned, recalling the young face in the screen who looked like he had just shed his boyishness and become a young man.

“I think it’s the guy I saw at the Salvation Church.”

“Are you talking about the Salvation Church?”

“Yeah. You didn’t come along, so you wouldn’t know, but there was a boy taking care of a girl.”

It was only once when I glanced at him back then, and he had grown up so much in the meantime that I didn’t notice it quickly, but from an observer’s point of view, seeing him for the second time, I’m sure.

“What’s the name of the leader of the Revolutionary Army now….”

“Paul.”

“Right, it was Paul.”

The name of the boy who called out to her while talking to the girl Sia while infiltrating the Salvation Church was also Paul.

[Sia! What are you doing! We have to go!]

[Ah, Paul! I’m sorry, but I think I have to go.]

Deon chuckled, vividly recalling quite old memories.

“It’s a common name, but seeing that even his face is the same, well, there’s no room for doubt.”

I’m a bit surprised how he got to that position, but I’m not curious.

Rather than such unnecessary questions, I was already annoyed because he interrupted twice and poured cold water on things, so the thought that it was a good thing filled my head first.

Deon remembers the gaze of the boy who took Sia away at that time and looked fiercely at me. Seeing how he took care of her, I’m sure I can use it as a weakness. If I do it well, I might be able to eliminate him cleanly.

Thinking things over, he called Dan.

“Find a girl named Sia. She was a commoner from the Salvation Church. Her name was unique for a commoner, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find her.”

“Sia, huh… It’s definitely unique. I understand.”

Deon, who had arrived near the destination in the meantime, stopped walking.

Why is he stopping here when he only needs to go a little further? Dan, who was following behind while repeating the name, almost bumped into him and tilted his head and called Deon.

“Master?”

…….

Even after waiting, there was no answer. He slipped to the side and looked at Deon’s expression. A look of bewilderment was floating on his face as he looked at the training grounds.

“…?”

Doubt also arose on Dan’s face.

Why is he like that? Is there no one in the training grounds? He wouldn’t make that kind of expression just because no one is there.

Naturally, Dan followed Deon’s gaze and looked at the training grounds. Unlike expected, there were most of the Lofty Knights in the training grounds as usual. …No, there were more than usual.

Perhaps more than the number of Lofty Knights I knew.

“Is this place some kind of tourist attraction for legion commanders….”

Deon muttered in vain.

Dan chuckled softly from behind, but whether he did or not, Deon stared at the scene in front of him with slightly cold eyes.

There, 9th Corps Commander Trober was showing off magic—or rather, physical force—to the mad dogs.

“This is Physical Enhancement Magic!”

“Wow! Cool!!”

“As expected, you know something! I like it!”

“How much training do we need to do to be able to use such strong magic?!”

“Physical Enhancement Magic is quite high-level magic. You guys are still clumsy, but seeing that you’re doing quite well, you seem to have some talent. You’ll be able to do it if you train steadily!”

I clearly remember because I stood as a judge in the spar between Derniban, the adjutant of the 5th Corps Commander, and the 9th Corps Commander. The Physical Enhancement Magic that the 9th Corps Commander showed… was clearly just flexing his muscles.

High-level magic my ass… Why are they going crazy over such a thing?

“Was it high-level magic? Please teach us simple low-level magic too!”

“Then shall I teach you Silence Magic?”

“Ooh! Yes!”

“As befits low-level magic, Silence Magic is very easy! Just quickly strike the opponent’s Adam’s apple with the side of your hand.”

“I see!”

“At this time, the important thing is power control! Be careful because if you focus only on speed and give too much power, it may become Murder Magic instead of Silence Magic!”

If power control is involved, isn’t that not magic…?

Dan is already trembling while covering his mouth. Deon, watching the mad dogs ‘casting Silence Magic’ at each other’s necks with pathetic eyes, stepped into their space.

Only then did they seem to notice his visit, and gazes were focused at once.

“Great Master!”

“You’ve come!”

“We watched the screen well! It was awesome!”

“We’re so relieved that you got rid of the false accusation!”

Pause. Deon’s unstoppable steps faltered.

Whether they knew it or not, the Lofty Knights shouted brightly, smiling.

“We’re learning magic right now! We’ll master it and show you impressively later!”

…Ha.

Deon smiled faintly.

“…Okay.”