Chapter 292: Seeds of Doubt and Hidden Agendas

Develania admitted that Dahar was more astute than she’d initially thought, acknowledging his help in identifying a missed detail. She praised him for being a capable adjutant.

Then, she brought up her suspicions regarding the Demon King.

[Honestly, which demon would dare to doubt the Lord Demon King? That guy is just peculiar. I bet even the Lord Demon King was taken aback at that moment. Isn’t that why he expressed his anger?]

The praise for the adjutant fell on deaf ears. Dahar had already left; what did compliments about him matter now?

Myers, however, focused more on Develania’s words, which confirmed his own suspicions about the Demon King, suspicions he had voiced through his adjutant.

‘If Dahar’s outcry and actions, and Develania’s words are true…’

The legion commander, whose loyalty to the Demon King was second to none despite his lack of overt displays, darkened his gaze.

***

Deon Hart rarely slept.

This was common knowledge among those ‘in the know.’ And naturally, the Lofty Knights, who were definitely ‘in the know’…

“Get lost.”

“Come on, Captain! Is that really the first thing you say after seeing our faces?!”

“We haven’t seen you in ages!”

“That’s too much, Captain!”

They’d effectively occupied Deon’s room.

Claiming to be wounded by his harsh words, the mad dogs sprawled out on the floor. Deon, who had opened the door hoping for some peace, instantly scowled at the chaotic scene.

“What are you here for?”

“We heard you were poisoned, Captain?”

“You should have finished off that bastard yourself!”

Ah, so the news had already spread this far.

The hounds seized the moment Deon hesitated, when he seemed about to chase them out. As if they’d been waiting for it, worried hands reached out to him.

“Are you alright?”

“You don’t look too bad, at least…”

Pat, pat, pat.

They were feeling him up with absolutely no medical knowledge of internal injuries. Opening their mouths wouldn’t produce answers.

Knowing their concern was clumsy but genuine, Deon patiently endured it for a while, until a hand stretched out to pull at his cheek. His expression darkened instantly, and he drew his dagger.

“Want to die?”

“Whoaaa! Captain, calm down!”

“You really need to stop making it a habit to reach for your dagger first thing!”

“This dagger’s name is Jinjeong, you bastards.”

“That damn dagger’s name!”

Mad dogs needed a beating.

A brief commotion ensued.

“Captain, aren’t you being too harsh? Chasing us out like this!”

“Shut up and get out.”

“Make sure you get some sle—”

Bang! He slammed the door shut. The noisy voices cut off, and silence descended.

‘…Finally, some quiet.’

He knew it was concern, so he couldn’t really say anything harsh.

Deon recalled their eyes, filled with worry despite their playful words, and his lips twitched before he sighed deeply.

“…So, why did you come to see me?”

He turned around.

A small figure floating outside the window came into view. Deon forced a smile, his lips heavy with fatigue.

“Lirinel.”

Coming through the window, an unofficial route, meant it wasn’t just concern over the banquet hall incident.

Whether she sensed his gauging gaze or not, Lirinel beamed, as if simply hearing her name called made her happy. A cheerful greeting burst out.

“Hello, Sir Deon! May I come in?”

“…Come in.”

As if waiting for the word, she hopped inside. She closed the window, seemingly mindful of soundproofing, a gesture unusual for her, and Deon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Normally, Lirinel would have noticed Deon’s discomfort, but she was too preoccupied with the news she brought. She failed to notice Deon raising his hand to cover his nose and mouth.

Turning around with a beaming smile, eager to deliver her good news, she grinned.

“We caught the Rweche human you mentioned!”

…She actually did it.

That’s why she came through the window. This was a ‘secret’ mission after all.

Coming this quickly meant she must have acted immediately upon receiving the order. She had chosen Deon Hart without hesitation over the Demon King.

It was fortunate he was hiding his lower face with his hand. Thanks to that, he managed to conceal his momentarily collapsing expression.

He composed his ruined expression, but his breath caught in his throat. Aware of Lirinel’s questioning gaze, Deon took a breath, lowered his hand, and smiled.

“…That was fast.”

“Yes! He seemed to be a general. They called him a Centurion?”

An unfamiliar title. Rweche’s military structure was definitely different from the Empire’s.

Still, he’d read about it in books. A Centurion… commanded a hundred soldiers. The rank title was so straightforward there was nothing to misunderstand or memorize.

A general commanding a hundred soldiers, huh….

‘How on earth did she catch him?’

It wasn’t wartime, such figures shouldn’t be wandering around outside.

His bewildered gaze turned to Lirinel. Interpreting his look as admiration, Lirinel puffed out her chest.

…Well, with that level of confidence, she certainly deserved to be proud.

“Good work.”

He was still breathless, but he couldn’t deny she was a more useful pawn than Derniban.

He would have felt more at ease if she, like Derniban, wanted something from him. He stared at her, who was pleased by just a word of praise, with an unreadable expression, then covered his nose and mouth again and lowered his gaze.

“…And there’s another favor I want to ask.”

“Anything, just say it!”

“Use him to find out the scale of Rweche’s heroes.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His other hand, not covering his lower face, tapped his thigh. Recalling the magic tool created from personal desires in his memory, Deon looked up at the developer.

“When I went to the Human Realm before, you brought a one-way video communication stone under the guise of seeing me off, right?”

A useful magic tool created to fulfill his personal desires and also to appease the 7th Corps Commander who was whining about not being able to see Deon Hart’s face.

It was a useful tool with two magical properties, showing only the other person’s face while also recording video. She’d used it just to see and record his face, a monumental waste of talent, he clearly remembered.

Lirinel flinched as if she hadn’t forgotten either.

“Y-yes! Why do you ask…?”

“Using that, we can learn more detailed information about Rweche’s internal affairs. We can’t just rely on a Centurion’s words, can we?”

Whether they tortured him or not, he was still the enemy, and without a way to verify the truth, he was likely to spew lies. It was better to attach a magic tool to his body, send him back in, and observe directly from here.

Lirinel seemed to grasp the plan roughly and gasped in admiration. Good, no need for lengthy explanations. Deon smiled faintly.

“You’ll handle preventing him from asking for help inside or removing the magic tool and escaping, right?”

“Of course! Right away—!”

“Wait.”

Freeze.

What’s the rush? I haven’t finished talking yet… This situation feels familiar.

Lirinel also seemed to feel guilty and avoided his gaze, rolling her eyes around. Deon pressed hard on his forehead and quickly spoke before the impatient demon disappeared again.

“If you have time, try to find out the core of the arrays in the castle too.”

When they fought in Sanguo Castle last time, even with a small force rampaging through the castle, the arrays remained intact. It seemed to be hidden in a very secure location, and the core of the arrays, likely a top secret of the kingdom, would be impossible for a mere Centurion to know.

But there was no harm in trying if she had time.

“…If you happen to find it, destroy or disrupt it.”

“This also needs to be done secretly, right?”

“Yes.”

“Understood! …But.”

Lirinel, who had been about to dash off, paused and turned back to Deon. Worried eyes scanned him, and a cautious voice filled the room.

“Are you feeling… alright?”

“…Yeah.”

Everyone kept asking about his condition. It was absurd to worry about a Hero in the first place. Most things healed on the spot.

At his lukewarm response, Lirinel apologized for her impoliteness and quickly turned to leave. But before she could climb out the window, Deon’s voice stopped her.

“Oh, right, just a moment.”

“…Yes?”

“Before you go, I’d like you to check if there’s any magic applied to this.”

Though he doubted there would be.

He took out the hair tie Develania had given him from his pouch and held it out. Lirinel took it and looked back and forth between Deon’s hair and the tie, her eyes gleaming as she examined it.

The answer came quickly.

“There’s nothing! It seems safe to use.”

“Is that so?”

Then this was just Develania’s last gift, a farewell, and a provocation, it seemed.

“Shall I tie it for you?”

“No, it’s fine. Just go.”

“Yes…”

A dejected Lirinel climbed out the window.

***

It seemed Deon Hart had truly lost interest in him. Dan, once again ignored by Deon Hart, pondered.

‘Then… perhaps it’s time to make a bolder move?’

Even without that, the atmosphere emanating from Deon suggested he was close to achieving his goal. ‘Dan’ would no longer be needed in his future plans.

Therefore, he considered using this opportunity.

‘I’ve already achieved my goal.’

Dan had witnessed Deon Hart becoming a disaster and wreaking havoc in the Human Realm. Therefore, he ought to be helpful to him to ensure things balanced out.

He recalled the two legion commanders snarling at each other even at the banquet hall.

‘…If the already strained relationship between the 3rd and 4th Corps Commanders reached a breaking point and something were to erupt…’

It would surely aid Deon Hart in achieving his goal.

He knew it was a dangerous gamble no one had asked him to take. In his usual state, he wouldn’t have considered it.

But now.

***

From the second day onwards, it was the second phase of the hunting competition combined with the banquet. There was no set hunting time; they were free to hunt until the result tally.

The only guideline was the hunting area designated for each legion.

Perhaps due to the excessive mana consumption, the Demon King didn’t use the mana stone-based identification method from the first day. Instead, he handed out roughly marked maps to each legion, with circles drawn around certain locations. The problem was the ‘rough’ marking, making the boundaries unclear, leading to frequent encounters and clashes between legions.

To prevent credit from going to the wrong legion during the final tally, the legion commanders, after discussion, added a rule to inscribe each legion’s number onto the hunted magical beasts. The 1st Corps members complained, lamenting the addition of number-engraving labor to their already insane hunting, but no one listened.

And now.

“…Number 3 was inscribed on a magical beast hunted in our area?”

“Yes. And it wasn’t even in a boundary area.”

“I don’t understand…”

Idelia frowned.

It wasn’t because she was angry at the 3rd Corps. She knew Asild’s personality too well to jump to conclusions and rage blindly.

“We did try to steal their prey on the first day, but that was right in front of them. If they wanted revenge for that, they would have hunted magical beasts right in front of us.”

Besides, Asild wasn’t the type to invade another’s territory and steal their prey.

Having fought with Asild frequently, she was certain of his character. Idelia tapped her chin with her folded fan.

“This… calls for an investigation.”

“An investigation?”

“Yes. This wasn’t intended or ordered by Asild. It’s either some impudent 3rd Corps member acting on their own…”

…Or someone trying to sow discord between us.”