Chapter 74: Return to the Demon Realm

I was heading to my room, walking through the corridors of the Demon King’s castle.

Even though it’s been a while since I was last here, I have no intention of wandering around. Running into some weirdos while aimlessly strolling would be a real pain.

For example…

“…Demon…-nim?”

“Ah.”

…like Hien.

Time seemed to freeze, and silence hung in the air. Unable to bear the awkwardness, I cautiously raised my hand to offer a greeting, but…

Clang!

Hien, looking dazed, dropped the flowerpot he was holding. Instead of a greeting, I reflexively took a step back in alarm.

With a weak whimper, a bizarre plant writhed and died amongst the shattered pot shards.

‘….’

Right, the Demon Realm. What riches and glory was I expecting to find by coming back here? Wouldn’t it be better to just run back to the Human Realm?

As I stood there awkwardly, staring blankly at the mess, a shadow suddenly fell over me.

“D-Demon-nim! You’ve returned!”

“Ah, yes, well… yes.”

I get that you’re happy, but could you move your face? This is giving me a serious culture shock.

Looking back and forth between the bizarre plant on the floor and Hien’s radiant face, I suffered some kind of mental trauma, because for the first time in a while…

“Cough.”

I coughed up blood.

“D-D-Demon-nim!!”

Hien was making a fuss. He was fidgeting anxiously in front of me, unable to bring himself to touch me. But if it was just this, it wouldn’t have been too bad.

The real problem was,

“…Demon-nim?”

My adjutant, Ed, happened to find me in this state as he was passing by.

“Demon-niiiiiiim!!”

…

“I finally found you! Are you alright?! Of all the ways to meet…! Ah, first, the trea, treatment….”

And then my personal physician, Ben, showed up.

The once quiet corridor of the Demon King’s castle instantly became noisy, and the occasional servant passing by stopped to stare and whisper.

What a lovely welcome back event waiting for me.

‘Haha, dammit.’

I want to hide somewhere.

My desire to disappear reached its peak when Ed suddenly grabbed Hien by the collar.

“You, what did you do?!”

Why are you picking on an innocent guy? He didn’t do anyth—

“I’m sorry….”

“!”

Why are you apologizing?!

Seeing Hien’s genuinely dejected expression as he hung his head low, I even briefly wondered if he had done something to me. But all I gained was confirmation of Hien’s innocence.

“Hey, Ed— cough, cough!”

“Demon-nim!!”

“Don’t speak!”

For the record, I choked. Stupidly, I forgot I still had blood in my mouth. I swallowed it the wrong way.

So, what happened next?

The blood that went down the wrong pipe came back up, erupting from my mouth with a cough.

Witnessing the carnage before him, Ed released Hien’s collar and rushed to my side. A careful hand touched me.

“Don’t try to stand if you don’t have to. Lean on me. Take slow breaths.”

“Cough… hack,”

“Yes, like that….”

“…cough.”

Ah, finally calmed down.

To show such an unsightly appearance during our first meeting in ages, I’m dying of embarrassment.

Because of that, I couldn’t bring myself to look up, staring only at the floor. Seeing me like this, Ed called out to Ben in a low voice.

“…Ben, did you find out what the cause is?”

“Same as always—aftereffects.”

“Tch. So there’s no specific treatment.”

“Yeah, it’s frustrating not knowing exactly where it hurts, how it hurts, or why.”

Well, of course… it’s because I choked. You wouldn’t know where it hurts or why.

“More importantly, Ed, support Demon-nim. We need to finish the treatment in his room.”

“What? Is there more?”

“Yeah. He also injured his arm.”

“!”

Ed flinched and let go of my arm that he was holding to support me. Because of that, I lost my balance and swayed, making him panic and quickly reach out to support my waist.

His hand supporting my waist was trembling.

“S-Sorry. Did I accidentally grab your injured arm? If I did….”

If you did, what?

My gut was screaming warnings. If I heard what he was going to say, I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep tonight.

Fortunately, he had grabbed my good arm, so I quickly spoke up.

“No. You grabbed my good arm. So you don’t need to apologize.”

“Ah…!”

“That’s a relief. Then, shall we hurry and support him? Are you planning to spend all day here? Don’t you want to treat Demon-nim?”

“We need to! Sorry, Demon-nim, please excuse me for a moment.”

Ben rummaged through the bag he always carried, while Ed supported me as if carrying me, and we started moving.

Then what about Hien?

I glanced back at Hien, who was slumped over and looking dejected. Ed, not missing this, turned his head and bared his teeth at Hien.

“I’ll deal with you later.”

No, seriously… he didn’t do anything.

…

“Is the injury severe?”

Ignoring my protests that I was fine, Ed ultimately supported me all the way to my room, sat me on the bed, and then helped Ben remove my coat.

Again, my desire to undress myself was ignored.

“No, it’s healing smoothly. The occasional minor pain is something Demon-nim would easily brush off, and as long as he doesn’t move too roughly, he shouldn’t feel much pain….”

There was something in the middle that didn’t sound right, but I didn’t get a chance to correct him. Ben, who had unbuttoned my shirt and exposed my bare shoulder, suddenly paused.

His brow furrowed slightly, a rare sight.

“…It’s about to fester?”

…

“But why isn’t the signal….”

Ben looked at the mana stone hanging around my neck with a frustrated expression, stared at it for a while, and then muttered, ‘Must be a glitch,’ before changing the subject.

As he alternated glances between me and the mana stone, I faintly heard him mutter, ‘Probably just my imagination,’ but he didn’t dwell on it, so I let it slide as well.

“Demon-nim, were you in a battle before coming here?”

“Huh? I don’t think so….”

I don’t recall anything that could be considered a battle….

“Ah, I had something similar to a battle.”

“I knew it! How intense was it that….”

“Yeah… well….”

It was intense. For me, it was like a life-or-death struggle.

The chase with those rabid dogs.

Come to think of it, I was pulling the bowstring like crazy back then. I was too preoccupied to notice at the time, but it’s not surprising that my already weak arm got worse from the strain.

“If Demon-nim himself had to step in, the opponent wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“Their body parts are probably scattered all over the ground.”

“That’s probably right.”

…How do these guys see me?

Their disturbing conversation continued even as I was speechless, only stopping after the treatment was finished.

Ben, who had re-bandaged my arm, tapped my shoulder lightly as if giving advice.

“The treatment is completely finished, but to be safe, it’s best to keep the bandage on for a while. You’re minimizing your magic use, but you never know what kind of side effects might occur if you move too roughly.”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll take my leave….”

Knock knock.

In an instant, everyone in the room turned their heads towards the door. Even me.

…That’s strange. Why does the sound of knocking feel so scary?

This is the Demon Realm. Unlike the Human Realm, there are few who might visit me, yet in another sense, there are countless. This Demon Realm.

I have no idea who might be standing outside the door, which makes it even more frightening. Who could it be?

‘Either way, whoever it is, they’re a dangerous opponent I need to be careful of….’

While I was lost in thought, Ed slightly opened the door and peeked outside.

Seeing his face instantly contort as he recognized the person, I was ridiculously relieved.

The fact that Ed was openly scowling meant that at least it was a demon lower in rank than him!

Come to think of it, there’s one guy who comes to mind… no way….

“What is it? Hien.”

Speak of the devil.

I focused intently on their conversation. Noticing this, Ed stopped whatever else he was about to say, pushed Hien, and went outside the door.

Even while being unceremoniously shoved, Hien, who was usually resolute in strange situations, finally spoke up,

“Well, I….”

“Before that, I have something to say to you.”

Ed coldly pushed him away, and Hien was helplessly forced out into the hallway without even exchanging a word with me.

Uh, um, isn’t this a bit dangerous? Ed seemed to be holding a grudge.

He wouldn’t kill him, but Hien is basically in a disadvantaged position in the Demon King’s castle.

From my human perspective, all demons are the same, but something about incubuses and succubi…

I worried he might end up with a broken bone or two, so I quickly spoke up.

“Sorry, Demon-nim, just for a moment….”

“Ed.”

“Yes?”

“Hien is not at fault.”

“Ah….”

His reaction is odd. This isn’t the reaction I expected.

Feeling a strange sense of unease, I added just in case.

“Really.”

“…Yes, I understand for now.”

“Okay….”

But why are you leaving? Do you really understand?

Filled with anxiety, I stared at the now-closed door. Meanwhile, Ben, who had finished packing his things, took a step back from me with his bag.

“Demon-nim, you are truly magnanimous.”

“Huh?”

“You are considering the life of that gardener.”

“It’s not that, he really didn’t do anything….”

“Yes, I know. There’s no way a mere gardener would dare to harm a legion commander. He wouldn’t even be capable of it in the first place.”

What, you actually knew? But then why….

“However, for other legion commanders, simply witnessing their weak side is enough reason for a death sentence.”

…

“It’s not something an incubus should dare to see.”

Good heavens.

The answer was beyond my imagination, and I quietly despaired.

Am I really going to have to live among those kinds of people again?

“Then Ed….”

“He probably already knows. There’s no way he wouldn’t. He just needed an excuse.”

An excuse…?

I reflexively tried to ask, but quickly stopped myself. It felt like it would be better for my mental health not to ask.

But despite my efforts, Ben kindly added the reason.

“Isn’t it absurd for someone like that to be loitering around the Commander of the 0th Legion?”

…

“Of course, Ed wouldn’t disobey Demon-nim’s words, so he won’t kill him since you said so. He’ll probably just warn him not to approach you carelessly again.”

“Never again…?”

Hien won’t approach me again, huh?

It’s what I wanted, but something feels off. Is it because the method is wrong?

Ben delivered the final blow to my ambiguous feelings of unease.

“Didn’t Demon-nim find him annoying as well?”

…

“…You must be tired from your long journey. My apologies for the intrusion. I’ll take my leave.”

After Ben left, I lay down slowly on the bed, alone. The familiar ceiling came into view.

I’m tired. Not just physically, but mentally.

I raised both hands and rubbed my face.

“Ah, seriously….”

Ed and Ben are mistaken about something.

It’s not that I find Hien annoying, it’s that I’m scared of him.

He’s a demon.

As a fragile human who’s neither a hero nor someone who possesses his fragments, it’s unavoidable.

‘Still….’

I remembered Hien approaching me with pure goodwill.

Not some ulterior motive, but genuine kindness. Of course, that kindness felt frightening to me… but still, it wasn’t intentional.

More than anything, every time Ed and Ben treat Hien like that, the resentment will surely be directed at me.

A demon’s grudge. I don’t have the confidence to survive something like that.

…Ah, whatever.

I’ll talk to Ed later when he seems to be in a better mood. He said he’d just warn him not to approach, so I don’t necessarily need to rush and stop him right now, right?

But right now, I just want to rest.

Unable to overcome the mental fatigue, I let out a deep sigh. Then, I slowly lowered my hands and looked up at the ceiling….

‘…Son of a bitch.’

Why won’t the world let me rest?

Afraid of getting cut if I moved carelessly, I only moved my eyes to check the sword stuck right next to my neck and then looked straight ahead again.

A demon holding the sword’s hilt was smiling at me with a welcoming grin.

“Hellooo, Demon-nim.”

…

“So it is Demon-nim. Is my sword not even worth reacting to?”

“Develania.”

“Yes, I’m glad to see you too. I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since we last met.”

It was Develania, the commander of the 2nd Corps.

The being I loathed the most greeted me with a languid smile.