Chapter 91: A Break That’s Not Really a Break

“Oh my? But why are you grabbing my collar like this? It’s not my fault.”

“Damn it, damn it. This isn’t good. Our legion alone can’t handle this.”

“Oh dear, a legion commander who can’t even do his job….”

“Could help….”

“Why would I?”

Looks like my prediction was right. I’m going to be stuck in this city.

‘…That’s awful.’

I have to stay in this city with these guys? I already miss my room in the Demon King’s castle. Even though it’s located within the castle, no one comes in unless there’s something important, so it’s quite comfortable.

While I was gloomily imagining the future, one thing suddenly popped into my head.

Wait a minute, if the monsters have swarmed all the way here, wouldn’t some have leaked out into the Human Realm in between? And I heard the border with the Human Realm is nearby.

‘…What should I do?’

If it’s the southern part of the Human Realm, it probably isn’t the Empire, so maybe I don’t have to worry about it? No, but it’s still the Human Realm, right?

Maybe it’s because the Empire’s territory is so vast, but until now, most borders were found within the Empire. That’s why I didn’t have to think much about it, so why did it have to appear in such an unexpected place?

‘No, first I need to confirm if the border is really connected to the south, and if so, which kingdom and which area it’s connected to. To do that, I have to check it myself….’

“Haa….”

“!”

I tried to hold it in, but a sigh involuntarily escaped.

How am I supposed to get through that? Even the 10th Corps gave up. I might as well just stay cooped up in this city until they retreat on their own.

I was about to turn around with that thought when Develania, who had been watching me with a twitch since I sighed, reluctantly shook her head and stepped forward.

“Since Demon-nim wishes it, I’ll help you just this once.”

“?”

“Let’s go, Demon-nim.”

Ben swings his medical bag around as he stands next to me.

I don’t really know what the basis for this conclusion is, but since it turned out the way I wanted, I nodded and started walking.

The city gate opened, and a moment later.

In an atmosphere not much different from when I first arrived, I stepped over the corpses of monsters and managed to reach the vicinity of the border.

Standing blankly at the place where day and night were clearly divided for a moment, no sooner had my soul, which had briefly left to deal with hell, returned than I realized something and gaped.

I definitely didn’t say anything…? How did she know I wanted to come here….

“If it’s Demon-nim, I thought you’d want to go there yourself at least once for a report, so I stopped by since we were out this way… Did I perhaps make a mistake…?”

“Ah… no… thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

If she thinks that way, it’s easier for me.

Before crossing the border, I checked my attire. Whether that side is the Empire’s territory or not, it’s troublesome if my identity is revealed.

Meanwhile, Develania, who had narrowed her eyes at me, turned her head to look at Gaisitel.

“Now, the 10th Corps will go back, right? You shouldn’t forget your mission.”

His face paled slightly at her perfectly accurate words.

“Still, at least an escort….”

“Demon-nim is human himself, would he need an escort? Well… if you really need an escort, wouldn’t it be better for me to do it than you? I’m the one who told you that beyond here is the ‘south,’ right?”

Come to think of it, Develania has been to the Human Realm often for her missions. She’s probably more knowledgeable about the Human Realm than any other legion commander besides me.

‘But thinking about it now, it’s ridiculous. I can understand Gaisitel, but even Develania was silent about the existence of this place.’

Ben also looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, like he had a lot to say, but he just narrowed his brow instead, as if he didn’t want to say the same thing again.

Gaisitel, defeated by logic, turned away with a sulky face. Develania didn’t stop there; she sent her legion back as well before approaching me with a carefree expression.

“Demon-nim, are you ready?”

“Yeah, well….”

I fiddled with the hood of my robe that covered my face and nodded.

Fortunately, my attire was neat. I hadn’t lifted a finger the entire time I was here, so it was no wonder there were no wrinkles. Mentally, I was unbelievably tattered, but we’ll skip over that—

What was it again? There are two legion commanders here, so you don’t have to bother stepping out yourself?

“Shall we go then?”

“Yes….”

At this time, I was so out of it that I overlooked an important fact.

It wasn’t just my attire I needed to worry about, but theirs too.

Unlike me, who was neat, they were covered in monster blood.

***

“Covered in blood, crossing over to the Human Realm?!”

These crazy demons!

The king of a small southern kingdom grabbed the back of his neck, unable to withstand his soaring blood pressure. Seeing his body fall backward, a knight hurriedly threw himself forward to catch him.

“Y-Your Majesty! Calm down! Calm down! Deep breaths, deep breaths…!”

“Hoo, hoo….”

What should he do with these damned demons? Did they even intend to hide themselves?

Did they commit murder somewhere? Fratricide? No, they said they appeared while dealing with monsters, so that blood is probably from the monsters.

The king’s expression subtly changed as he thought that far.

Should he be thankful for this? Whatever their intentions, they dealt with the monsters on behalf of the kingdom.

He was so taken aback when he heard the news that monsters had suddenly started crossing the border. It was an incident that could have escalated into something really big.

“…They said there was a demon among them who seemed unusual.”

“Ah, yes. Wearing a black robe—”

“Listen… most of the demons who cross over here are wearing robes. Black robes account for 90% of them.”

“Ah… but he was the only one among them who looked neat, without a single drop of blood on him. The aura he exuded was also exceptional, and the other demons who came with him seemed to respect and serve him. We speculate that he might be a demon of high status.”

As the explanation continued, the king’s expression gradually hardened as an image of someone came to mind.

Black robe, exceptional aura, high status in the Demon Realm.

Of course, there’s a high possibility it’s not him. It shouldn’t be him. Why would ‘he,’ who hardly ever leaves the Demon King’s castle unless it’s for important matters like battles, come all the way here?

However.

“Your Majesty! New report! One of the demons who crossed over to the Human Realm is Develania, the commander of the Demon King’s 2nd Corps! She wasn’t covering her face, so it was easy to identify her….”

“Damn it all.”

She wasn’t covering her face. If that’s the case, then at least the ‘black robe’ isn’t the 2nd Corps commander.

The demons who came with the ‘black robe’ seemed to respect and serve him. How many people would the 2nd Corps commander respect and serve?

With growing certainty, an expression of resignation and acceptance settled on the king’s face.

“…Commander of the 0th Legion.”

“?”

The black robe. It’s probably the Commander of the 0th Legion.

“W-What! Why is he here…!”

“I don’t know. He might have come to scout after hearing about the discovery of a new border, or it could be reconnaissance.”

Neither is good.

But that doesn’t mean they can do anything about it.

They are already busy focusing on the rampaging Empire’s actions, and if they cause trouble with the Demon Realm, this kingdom’s fate will be at risk.

“Where are they and what are they doing now?”

“That is… they are heading towards the market.”

In that state?!

He has no intention of saying anything about them going to the market, nor can he say anything, but he wishes they would at least check their attire before going.

He can’t just leave them like this. If he does, the kingdom might be turned upside down, and the Empire’s attention will be drawn here.

As a king who doesn’t want either of those things, he had no choice but to issue an unwilling order while rubbing his forehead.

“Hide them.”

“?”

“Hide their identities somehow. The method doesn’t matter, but proceed in a way that minimizes the commotion. Yes, giving them clean robes first would be good.”

“Yes. But will they obediently accept….”

“That’s your problem to figure out.”

“…Yes?”

I don’t know, just handle it. I don’t want to worry about it anymore.

The king waved his hand dismissively, openly ignoring the look of bewilderment and absurdity on the other person’s face.

***

The Human Realm, for once, was bright and sunny, as if to say, ‘This is what having the sun is like.’

Thanks to that, having faced the sun after a long time, I reflexively pulled up my robe hood to cover my face before slowly looking around.

As if there were some kind of rule, the border, which was always located in sparsely populated areas, was connected to a mountain that was unlikely to be frequented this time as well.

Develania smiled and stepped aside, extending one arm.

“Now then, Demon-nim, where would you like to go first? A bustling downtown area with lots of humans? Or a secluded place with few people?”

“…If possible, somewhere where I can get a good sense of the daily lives of the residents here….”

“Then it’s definitely the market. Since this is your first time here, I’ll guide you.”

“By the way.”

Ben, who had been wearing a somewhat displeased expression since crossing over here, spoke while looking at something.

“There are a few rats in sight, and you couldn’t have missed them. Are you just going to leave them be?”

“Ah, right. They’re the kind that don’t cause any harm. I just left them alone because getting rid of them would be more of a hassle, but if they bother Demon-nim. What should we do?”

This isn’t my home, and it’s just rats in the mountains. There’s no reason to waste time catching those that don’t even cause harm.

Far from bothering me, I didn’t even know they were there.

No, in fact, I still don’t know. Where are these rats when it’s this quiet?

“If they don’t cause harm, let’s just go.”

“Yes, then this way.”

As if she had been here once or twice, Develania skillfully started down the forest path.

After carefully following her for a while so as not to twist my ankle, we were finally able to encounter humans at the entrance of the forest.

The problem is that those humans are ‘knights’.

Two knights wearing unfamiliar armor that looked good for activity, fully armed, stopped us with stern faces.

As I tensed up, ready to bolt at any moment, they spoke to me.

“Are you the mercenaries we heard about? We’ve heard the story. You defeated the monsters that crossed over here.”

“…?”

“Thanks to you, we were able to overcome a great crisis. I offer my thanks on behalf of the knight order.”

“Ah, well….”

I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m glad they’re misunderstanding like this. I was worried that we might have to consider a violent confrontation.

Ignoring my pricking conscience, I gave a lukewarm reply, and one of them rummaged through the luggage they had brought and took out two robes and a money pouch, handing them over.

Their gaze was still directed at me.

“It’s a small token of our appreciation and these are robes. I thought there might be a lot of blood splattered on you while you were fighting the monsters, and it seems like I was well-prepared.”

Ah. Only then did I realize Develania and Ben’s condition.

I shouldn’t have only worried about my own condition.

Because they had been fighting all the way to the border, their condition was a mess, and Ben’s appearance, with his snake scales covering part of his face, which I was used to seeing, was clearly not human to anyone.

And they crossed over to the Human Realm in that state without a single robe.

I’m crazy. Damn it.

‘…But they’re giving us robes? Not arresting us or disposing of us immediately?’

Come to think of it, I hadn’t looked at Develania and Ben the entire time we were talking.

I wondered if they had become invisible demons without me knowing, but realistically, that’s impossible, and there’s only one hypothesis that immediately comes to mind….

Nah, no way.

‘Are they pretending not to know on purpose? No, this isn’t just pretending not to know, it’s on the level of hiding their identities?’