Chapter 295: The Weight of Expectations

News of Dan’s actions spread like wildfire. It reached even Trober, summoned shortly after it happened, knew. Lirinel, of course, was already aware.

“Why did he do that?”

Busy with her tasks, Lirinel’s eyes widened at the sudden news, a look of bewilderment on her face. While she held some goodwill towards Dan, it was nothing compared to her loyalty to Deon Hart. Questions, displeasure, and a hint of anger flickered across her expression.

Even if he was going to cause trouble, he should have considered the timing. Did that guy even think about Sir Deon’s feelings?

“They won’t be able to get him out now, not with the situation as it is.”

Dan was definitely going to die.

Lirinel wasn’t worried about Dan. Her concern was solely for Deon.

Dan was going to die alone, so why was he dragging Sir Deon’s reputation and feelings down with him?

“…Sir Deon must be heartbroken.”

He acted like he didn’t rely on Dan much, but the shock would be immense. She needed to go and comfort him.

…But first, she should finish what she was doing.

She refocused her gaze on the human before her. Paying no mind to the man’s deathly pale complexion, she tapped his stomach with a tentacle as a warning.

“This thing attached to your belly, it’s a bomb. It also has a function to report your situation to me.”

“…!”

“If you try to remove this unnecessarily or ask for help, it will explode. Not only will you die, but it will probably take out everything around you. So, don’t get any foolish ideas.”

The Rweche human general, captured under Sir Deon’s orders, nodded quickly, his face pale blue. In this state, he would likely be exposed in Rweche due to his expression alone, even unintentionally. Lirinel, feeling generous, added as an incentive, “If you do as you’re told, I’ll release you.”

Hope flickered across the man’s face.

“Now, let’s confirm one more time. What are you supposed to do when you get inside?”

“…Ask someone knowledgeable about the scale of the Heroes. If possible, go to where the Heroes are gathered. And tour the entire city.”

“Correct. And when you talk to someone, don’t let your eyes wander, and don’t make any suspicious hand movements. If I sense anything suspicious, I’ll detonate it immediately.”

There was no verbal response, but his trembling hands indicated the warning had landed effectively. Satisfied, she snapped her fingers.

“Alright, I’ll send you near the city. I’d love to send you right in front of the city gates or even inside, but as you know, that’s impossible.”

“…”

“Well then, I’m counting on you!”

Snap!

The man vanished, and a screen appeared in the air, displaying his perspective. Lirinel waved her hand again, creating another screen beside it, showing him from a third-person view. It was a rather complex magic, but she had practiced and researched it beforehand, ensuring no mistakes.

It drained a chunk of her magic power, but it was a small price to pay for Sir Deon.

‘Magic got him as close as possible, but it’ll still take some time to walk to the city and get inside.’

Then…

Lirinel turned to look at another human she had captured—or perhaps ‘brought along’ was more accurate.

The human sorcerer, who had been quietly watching, met her gaze as if they had been waiting for this moment. Their narrowed eyes held suspicion, but their demeanor was unperturbed.

“Um… Well, you said you’d cooperate, so I brought you here…”

Lirinel scratched her head.

“Are you… serious?”

“Yes.”

“It’s convenient for us, but…”

Why?

This was cooperating with demons. Interpreted differently, it meant not only undermining Rweche but also aiding the attack on the Human Realm.

Her unconcealed question was evident on her face. The sorcerer, Ran, whom she had been searching for to locate the ‘arrays’ core, had revealed themselves and now smiled faintly.

“Sorcerers are beings who observe the world’s movements.”

Sorcery itself is about offering sacrifices and bending some of the established rules with the world’s permission. Divination and reading the heavens are just different ways of observing the world’s flow and intentions.

As a skilled sorcerer, she knew that the world’s attention was focused on Deon Hart, and that Deon Hart achieving his purpose was aligned with the world’s purpose.

“Helping ‘demons’ might be difficult, but helping ‘Deon Hart’ is possible.”

Therefore, she had been focused on Deon Hart, constantly divining and assessing the timing, and now she had stepped forward.

If I hadn’t come forward, some other innocent sorcerer would have been caught and killed.

“What do you want in return?”

“Whether directly or indirectly, just not being killed by you is enough. Originally, wasn’t the plan to kill me once I was no longer useful?”

Lirinel fell silent, as if struck by the accurate point. Despite the tense atmosphere and the sorcerer’s eyes that gleamed with a hint of threat, Ran continued calmly.

“You might need a sorcerer again someday. Even if you search the Human Realm again then, it will be hard to find a sorcerer more capable than me.”

“…You’re saying you’ll cooperate again if we call you later?”

“Yes. I volunteered this time, why would I avoid it a second time? So, if you just let me go unharmed as soon as your goal is achieved, that’s all I ask.”

“Hmm.”

Lirinel fell into thought.

She would overlook the unconfirmed part about their skills, but the promise to cooperate again when needed was a significant advantage. Finding a sorcerer itself was a task, and there was no guarantee that even if found, they would move as desired. It would be fortunate if they didn’t show hostility.

The attack of a determined sorcerer was considerably troublesome in ways different from a Hero, so she nodded in agreement.

“Alright. I’m counting on you.”

She pointed to the screen with her finger. Watching the human general take his first steps into the city, seemingly having finally arrived, Lirinel spoke.

“This time, your job is to find the core of the arrays in that city.”

“It will take considerable time.”

“I told him to tour the city as much as possible, so even if it takes time, the probability of finding it should be high.”

“Yes, I will focus and search carefully.”

Lirinel added the word ‘this time,’ but Ran, knowing that Deon Hart would have no reason to look for a sorcerer after this task, simply ignored the meaningless word and focused on the task at hand.

***

A little time passed, and the Demon King summoned the legion commanders for Dan’s judgment.

It was fortunate that he hadn’t caused trouble in front of everyone like Dahar. Lirinel, who had returned to the Demon King’s castle after setting a magic signal that would alert her if the captured sorcerer strayed from the designated area, walked through the hallway, thinking.

‘It’s also fortunate that the 3rd and 4th Corps Commanders didn’t expose Dan’s sins in front of everyone.’

If either of those situations had occurred, Dan’s punishment would have been decided in front of everyone, just like Dahar.

If the two legion commanders had been resolute or reckless, they could have dragged him into the banquet hall and presented him before the Demon King. But they chose to quietly summon the Demon King.

For Lirinel, who was concerned about Deon Hart, it was truly fortunate.

‘It’s like burying your head in the sand, but it’s better to avoid unnecessary negative attention as much as possible.’

Compared to the banquet hall, which was open and seen by many, this place where only the Demon King and legion commanders were gathered was much better. Lirinel opened the door and entered.

She had been outside the Demon King’s castle and tried to come back as quickly as possible, but it seemed she was a bit late. The other legion commanders were already seated.

Idelia, seemingly surprised that Lirinel, who was usually punctual, was late, expressed her question.

“Lirinel? You’re late, that’s unusual.”

“I was taking care of some personal matters. I was a bit far away.”

“Personal matters?”

“Yes. More importantly, I heard today is the day Dan’s punishment is decided…”

She subtly changed the subject, scanning the inside of the meeting room.

“…Dan isn’t here?”

“They’re probably going to bring him in when they start.”

Idelia frowned deeply and turned her head away, her mood seemingly dampened by the mention of Dan.

Lirinel felt a bit guilty but was relieved that the awkward topic had been diverted. She also fell silent and took her seat.

Then, the Demon King and Deon Hart entered.

As if skipping unnecessary formalities, the Demon King and the Hero burst through the door. Right behind them, a demon soldier dragged Dan along.

The soldier threw Dan into the center, bowed, and left. The door closed, and the Demon King, seated at the head, looked around.

“Looks like everyone’s here.”

Only then did the gazes, which had been shifting between Deon Hart and Dan, turn to the Demon King.

“First, I apologize for encroaching on your valuable rest time. Rest is also part of work, and all of you have come here, abandoning your tasks. I’ll make this as quick as possible.”

Continuing, he skipped any unnecessary preamble and stated directly,

“Dan’s punishment has been decided.”

He smiled faintly and looked at Dan.

Whether it was from the beating he had received from Deon, his still-unhealed split lip and swollen, purple cheek were prominent. He looked like he was in pain, but the Demon King couldn’t focus on that. His unwavering gaze, full of strong presence, drew more attention.

The Demon King didn’t avert his eyes and spoke clearly.

“You all remember what Dahar shouted, right?”

This was a rather sensitive topic.

The legion commanders glanced at Deon, gauging his reaction. His expression was completely unreadable, making it impossible to discern his mood, but they couldn’t ignore the Demon King’s words either. After a tense silence, someone hesitantly opened their mouth.

“…Are you referring to his statement that the legion commanders related to Sir Deon were dying off?”

“Yes. Honestly, it’s a bit concerning not to be suspicious, isn’t it? Trust is most important for the commander-in-chief, so we can’t just ignore it. So, I interrogated this guy who has been assisting Deon closely. As a result, it was revealed that this guy was behind all the things Deon was suspected of.”

“…!”

“He had been subtly manipulating and exploiting situations from Deon’s side.”

Confusion and shock morphed into anger on the legion commanders’ faces.

“How could he do such a shameless thing!”

“In other words, he framed Sir Deon!?”

“He deceived us too.”

“That bastard deserves to die!”

Develania narrowed her eyes, and Idelia alternated uncomfortable glances between Deon and Dan, but in this situation, she couldn’t voice anything that would disrupt the atmosphere. Public opinion had already leaned in one direction.

Some raised their voices, and most echoed with sharp words of agreement. Among them, Belitan, the loud-voiced 6th Corps Commander, slammed the desk and stood up.

“He must die!”

“This is an incident where a mere human mocked the legion commanders! A light punishment is not enough!”

Following him, Sillua, the 7th Corps Commander, also shouted. Seemingly enraged, she had dropped her usual peculiar speech pattern.

“He must die in the most painful way possible…!”

“Enough.”

Thud.

Silence descended. Those who belatedly realized Deon’s presence sat back down, their faces pale.

The Demon King, who had been quietly observing them, smoothly curved his lips into a smile.

“Killing him is a given.”

“…”

“As for the method of killing, I think the 3rd and 4th Corps Commanders, as the victims, should decide.”

The gazes of the legion commanders, now with cooler heads, turned back to Deon.

Although he knew it was a reflexive reaction, Deon felt quite displeased. He slightly furrowed his brow, deliberately pretending not to care, not even glancing at Dan, propping his chin up and spinning the cube in his hand. Contrary to his indifferent attitude, a nervous noise echoed, reflecting his discomfort.

Seeing this, Asild, the 3rd Corps Commander, cautiously opened his mouth.

“…Just a quick, clean death would be…”

“How about cutting out his tongue before killing him?”

Idelia interjected before he could finish.