Chapter 3: Corps Commander Deon Hart

“I hate paperwork!”

Those were the words I blurted out when the Demon King first offered me a position. Thanks to that, I ended up as the unofficial commander of the 0th Legion, a position where I just had to sit around and look important—a mere figurehead.

Not that I’m complaining. Seeing the other corps commanders buried under mountains of documents, groaning and struggling, actually makes me feel proud of myself for saying that.

However, there is one fatal flaw….

“I’m so bored!”

I’m just too damn bored! There’s nothing to do. Even if I go outside, the Demon Realm is always night, and the garden is full of horrifying plants.

Going to see the Demon King is insane, and visiting the other corps commanders is practically walking into my own grave. The guys under me avoid me like the plague because they don’t want to deal with humans, and I can’t trust them either… so, what I can actually do is pretty limited.

Like doing cubes or puzzles—perfectly wholesome activities….

“I quit!”

Shwaaaaah.

Thousands of puzzle pieces flew through the air. I huffed, looking around the room. Perfectly assembled large puzzles were framed and decorated the walls.

It started as a simple way to kill time, putting together 50 or 60-piece puzzles, but before I knew it, I was tackling 6000-piece monstrosities.

Damn it, I could sell these. What a waste, my only talent seems to be pointless concentration.

A wave of emptiness washed over me, and I let out a hollow laugh before flinging open the door. The servant waiting outside visibly flinched and quickly lowered his head. Ignoring his desperate attempt to avoid eye contact, I said,

“Bring me alcohol.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Alcohol. Any kind will do. As long as it’s alcohol.”

“B-but….”

Unlike his previously eager-to-please demeanor, he hesitated, looking like he was about to cry.

I had a pretty good idea why he was reacting like this. Ben must have put a stop to it.

I was born with a weak constitution. This unusual white hair, red eyes, and deathly pale skin are proof of that. Spitting up blood all the time is another symptom.

It’s a good thing that the cause can be explained away here as ‘the aftereffects of the battle with the Hero,’ but not being able to drink is a bit sad. More accurately, Ben’s overzealous dedication to his job is a real pain.

I remember a physician who examined me when I was young saying,

[It seems all the health that should have been spread throughout your body is concentrated solely in your liver!]

I never got drunk easily, so it was probably true. Thanks to that, I could survive even after taking harmful medicines… anyway.

So, what I’m saying is, it’s fine for me to drink. I won’t die.

So bring me the booze. This is exactly the kind of situation that calls for it.

Realizing that I’m the commander of the 0th Legion and I’m just sitting in my room doing puzzles is enough to drive anyone to drink.

I stared at him expectantly, making it clear I wanted him to hurry up. The servant flinched and scurried away.

…Wait, did he even say yes?!

“He’s not going to just not bring it, is he?”

Yeah, he wouldn’t run away or go do something else he wasn’t asked to do.

Even as I muttered this, a sense of unease washed over me, and I shivered.

My bad feeling was right. The servant who had disappeared without answering had returned.

—Bringing the Demon King with him.

You traitorous bastard.

“You want to drink?”

I glared at the servant, my heart filled with resentment, then quickly lowered my gaze at the sound of the Demon King’s voice.

If I said yes, I’d get a lecture. But I couldn’t exactly say no now, so I gave a resigned nod.

However, what he said next was completely unexpected.

“So you were getting restless?”

“…Yes?”

“I figured you’d be bored without any battles lately, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. I seem to have been too lenient with you. My apologies.”

Ah, no, no, wait a minute.

I just wanted a drink, but why is this going in that direction…?

“If you really want, I could let you participate in a small skirmish. The commander of the 9th Corps has been complaining about being bored lately. If you went, it might change the course of the battle. How about going there?”

If the 9th Corps commander is there….

‘That’s the front lines.’

Since it borders the Empire, small and large battles happen frequently. He wants to send me there?

Ah, I get it. My body is so weak I’d die even if I drank, so he wants to get some use out of me as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Seriously? How dirty and underhanded. Oh, I can just not drink.

“I’m fine.”

It’s definitely not because I’m scared. I’m just disgusted.

“Well, that’s a good decision. You wouldn’t see enough blood there to satisfy you anyway.”

I’m speechless. Oh, correction. I’m frozen in fear.

Even so, isn’t threatening me like this just because I wanted a drink going too far?

I was starting to panic that he might see my fear if I kept looking at him, so I quietly shifted my gaze downwards. The Demon King’s voice continued.

“Anyway, no alcohol. Do you want to cause chaos in the Demon King’s castle? If you’re that bored, go check on your corps or take a look around the garden. Hien was thrilled about getting some new flowers.”

I raised my head in surprise. That maniac?

It goes without saying that he’s a demon, but Hien is a gardener. And if I dare say so myself, he’s completely insane. Insane about what, you ask?

Disgusting and dangerous man-eating plants!

At first, I was confused about why there would be a gardener in the Demon King’s castle, but after touring the garden with him, I understood all too well.

[Someone like him is the only one who could work in the Demon King’s castle!! I thought it was a peaceful job! Me! Never again will I trust demons!!]

It was a valuable lesson learned the hard way. Something I can’t ignore, so I looked at the Demon King with a serious expression.

“I will go check on the corps.”

The corps members are dangerous too, but they’re definitely better than that crazy gardener.

…That’s what I thought, and it was only five minutes ago that I was heading towards the 0th Legion’ training grounds.

“Oh, Lord Deon!”

“…Hien.”

I quickly raised a hand to my face, trying to hide my paling complexion.

When I looked up, I was face-to-face with a man with refined features who had gotten incredibly close.

Wh-whoa!

“Are you tired?”

“A little….”

“In that case, the scent of flowers is just what you need. I just got some new flowers. Would you like to see them? You’re the first person I’m showing them to.”

A demon. The demon was smiling, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Normally, I’d be captivated by his looks, but right now, I was focused on racking my brain for an escape route. His appearance was the last thing on my mind.

Why aren’t I falling for his looks? Because he’s a guy.

A succubus might have that effect, but there’s no way an incubus would. I might be going crazy here, but I haven’t gone so crazy that my sexual orientation is wavering.

‘Come to think of it….’

This guy is surprisingly skilled. Is it because he’s an incubus? He has a knack for narrowing down the choices to just one.

Are you tired?

A Route: Yes > Then the scent of flowers is the best!

B Route: No > In that case, why don’t you come see the flowers I just got….

Normally, I would have been easily swayed by his words and ended up touring that horrible garden. But right now, I have an excellent excuse.

“I’m on my way to check on my corps members right now, so I’m afraid I can’t.”

“Ah… is there no way you could… postpone it?”

“……”

Persistent bastard.

Postponing is entirely possible. The 0th Legion members don’t exactly look for me, and even if I go there, they just watch my every move with burning eyes instead of approaching me or talking to me.

In reality, all I do there is sit in a corner and fiddle with a sword before leaving.

Ah, and when I say fiddle with a sword, I mean literally just touch it. It would be bad if I showed off and they found out how bad I actually am at swordsmanship.

Anyway, while postponing is possible, I don’t want to. Wasn’t the whole reason I was heading to the 0th Legion’ training grounds to avoid this guy in the first place?

“……”

“……”

Suddenly, I realized the silence had stretched on longer than I thought. It seemed I had been lost in thought for too long and missed my chance to answer.

Wondering if he was upset by the prolonged silence, I cautiously glanced at Hien. Just then, his eyes met mine.

Before I could decide how to react, Hien flinched. Then, wiping the usual gentle smile off his face, he bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry.”

“……?”

“I overstepped my bounds.”

At this point, I feel the need to reconsider the demon race. Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to have a proper discussion about them.

So, today’s topic for debate.

Is suddenly apologizing a characteristic of demons?

‘What’s wrong with him now?’

***

Hien was an incubus. The very incubus who was looked down upon as vulgar.

He got the job as the Demon King’s castle gardener purely by chance. Collecting and raising all sorts of dangerous plants was his hobby, and while he was carrying a rare man-eating plant across the street, the Demon King, who was out for a stroll, happened to notice him and recruited him as a gardener.

Someone like him, a mere incubus, couldn’t expect to be treated well by the high-ranking officials who were corps commanders.

Even the servants would spit and mutter insults when their eyes met his. There was no way he could earn the favor of a corps commander. He’d be lucky if they didn’t harass him. Some of them did kick him or otherwise torment him.

What could a mere incubus do against those people? He had no choice but to endure it.

That day was another one where he was subjected to verbal and physical abuse.

“An incubus like you….”

Hien, who had been thrown to the ground, his precious garden trampled underfoot, didn’t get up immediately but kept his gaze fixed on the ground.

It pained him that his beloved plants were damaged, but a more pressing situation was unfolding before him.

The unpleasant presence of the 10th Corps Commander.

He had knocked Hien away simply because he was in his path and was now muttering with a scowl on his face.

“As if I wasn’t already pissed off enough….”

Hien simply lowered his head.

The 10th Corps Commander was the type who wanted to show off his strength. If Hien jumped up to his feet like he would when facing the 1st or 3rd Corps Commanders, he would take it as a provocation.

So, he pretended to be too hurt to get up, trembling with his head bowed.

“Ah….”

“Hmm?”

A very small voice, unfamiliar and unlike anything that belonged in the Demon King’s castle, was heard as if in pain.

Up to that point, it was understandable. It could have been a new servant who hadn’t been here long and happened to witness the scene.

The problem was the 10th Corps Commander’s reaction.

“Huh…!”

Hien reflexively raised his head.

Did he hear wrong? His expression was too blatant to be a mistake.

An expression close to shock. Hien couldn’t help but follow his gaze, which seemed to betray fear and even reverence,

and saw a ‘human.’

A lean physique that was more weak than ordinary. Unusual white hair and red eyes. And pale skin to top it off. If it weren’t for the completely undetectable magic power, he would have never guessed he was human.

‘……Come to think of it.’

Sometime ago, rumors like a storm began swirling around the Demon King’s castle. When exactly was it? Probably around the time the war with the Hero had just ended.

[Someone other than the Demon King killed the Hero.]

[The Demon King tried to recruit him on the spot.]

[And he was even a human.]

‘It’s him.’

The protagonist of those rumors he had believed to be nonsense. That person was the one, his instincts screamed.

What confirmed it was the 10th Corps Commander’s words and actions.

“What brings you… here….”

“I heard there was a gardener and came to meet him… but it seems I’ve come at a bad time.”

“Ah, no, not at all.”

Someone who was a corps commander was treating him with such caution. That meant this human was either stronger or held a higher position.

Come to think of it, he vaguely remembered hearing rumors that he had been given the position of the 0th Legion Commander.

The 10th Corps Commander waved his hands, saying they should talk in private, and quickly stepped aside. The human resumed his steps and approached him.

He said he came to see him. He was curious about his purpose, but he didn’t have high hopes.

‘After all, I’m an incubus.’

And his opponent was the 0th Legion Commander. What were the chances he would treat him well?

—That’s what he had thought.