Chapter 99: The Time Has Come

Ed set down a bag, the kind commonly used in the Human Realm, and quietly glared at Hien. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.

The Demon-nim definitely gave a signal about what to do with this guy… but what exactly am I supposed to do?

“Kill him?”

No, if that were the case, Demon-nim would have done it himself already.

Failing to even read a simple look… I’m a disgrace to the adjutant position. Ed’s mood sank.

Anyway, I can’t just waste time like this. Another idea popped into his head.

“Judging by how it looked like they finished their conversation, maybe he meant for me to take him outside.”

It works out since I have more luggage to grab anyway, so I need to leave again. And I can’t leave Hien alone in the room that Demon-nim has left, can I?

“I’ll be going back now… What are you doing?”

“Ah.”

A low, rumbling voice growled. It was followed by a pained groan.

Hien was putting that strange flower into Demon Hart’s bag.

It wouldn’t work anyway, but what if he’s trying to harm Demon-nim? A murderous glint flashed in Ed’s eyes.

“Explain yourself. Is this something Demon-nim permitted?”

His wrist, gripped tightly enough to break, trembled in pain.

Hien paused for a moment as if trying to endure the pain before slowly speaking.

“It’s a protective plant. Since it bloomed from the seeds Demon-nim gave me, I thought I should use it for Demon-nim. I told Demon-nim about it too.”

The answer was rejection, though.

But Demon-nim needs someone to filter out the riff-raff. The mission itself is confidential, and the ‘someone’ is more likely to be a burden than to help Demon-nim’s movements, which is why he didn’t bring him along.

“A relatively small plant that’s easy to carry around should be fine.”

I know it’s presumptuous. I also know that Demon-nim could take my head for this, and I wouldn’t have a word to say against it.

But whenever Demon-nim returns from the Human Realm, he always has dark circles under his eyes.

Hien guessed that it was because he was carrying out secret missions alone and dealing with monsters who didn’t know their place while traveling back and forth. He wanted to gift him something to alleviate his fatigue.

Ed narrowed his eyes, assessing the sincerity of his words, before releasing his grip.

A sharp pain washed over Hien as he rubbed his wrist. Meanwhile, Ed approached the bag and reached for the flowerpot. Contrary to the worry that he might throw it away or break it, the flowerpot was placed more securely into the bag.

“…With the flowerpot here, there’s not much space left to put anything else. I’ll have to put the food pouch in the front pocket.”

He briefly considered putting an illusion spell on it, but the magic ban was still in place. Satisfied with closing the bag securely, Ed turned his head.

“Are you done now? If so, get out.”

Ed practically dragged Hien out and slammed the door shut.

In the quiet space, the bag left alone on the table twitched before becoming still.

***

It’s late spring again. Not only did it not snow, but winter passed by without even experiencing it.

What’s worse, this peace won’t last. The clashing of weapons, the red stains splattered everywhere, and the stench of blood—a grim future flashed before my eyes, and I let out a deep sigh. The hand holding the bag tightened.

“Ah, the bag.”

Damn it, it’s still horrifying to think about.

I didn’t open the bag until well after arriving in the Human Realm. The magic pouch containing essentials like the food pouch was in the front pocket, so there was no need to open the main compartment. Little did I know this would come back to bite me so hard.

“I knew I had a bad feeling about it.”

Ed would occasionally pack a bag with these camouflage items, saying that some might get suspicious if he always returned empty-handed. So, I assumed it was something like that this time.

My priority was escaping the monster-infested Demon Realm and setting foot in the longed-for Human Realm, so checking the luggage was a waste of time.

But who knew he’d screw me over like this?

“No, is Hien the culprit?”

Regardless of who put it there, the fact that I’ve been royally screwed remains.

The moment I opened the bag, that hideous flower let out a ‘kkyiek’ at me. The chill that ran down my spine at that moment…

Even if I wanted to throw it away right now, there’s no guarantee this flower, with the inherent tenacity of a Demon Realm lifeform, would even die. And if it didn’t die, things would get really complicated. I can’t just unleash this kind of monstrosity in the Human Realm.

Fortunately, the flower didn’t attack me, just as Hien said.

“So, what else can I do? I’ll have to carry it around until I return to the Demon Realm.”

I gave up on killing it.

Just in case, I poked it with my dagger, and guess what? That thing used a leaf on its stem to firmly grab and twist my dagger!

It was a very resilient plant.

I didn’t give up and tried to burn it, but the flint I pulled out was sent flying by the thing’s whip-like stem. And when I tried to light a fire from a distance and throw it in, it thwarted me by swatting away my hand reaching for the flowerpot.

“This is why observant plants are…”

It’s uncanny how well it reads my intention to kill it. It stays still when I absentmindedly pick up the flowerpot, but reacts the moment I reach for it with the intention to get rid of it.

So, as a last resort, I tried to drop it off a cliff, but I gave up cleanly.

“I’m going to carry you around, so please just be quiet.”

“Kkyiek.”

“…”

I rubbed my throbbing wrist and looked up. The entrance to the Count’s mansion filled my vision.

I could feel the guards looking at me suspiciously. I chuckled and walked towards them, pushing back the hood I was wearing.

Whether the guys who recognized me were flustered or not, I looked up at the mansion and took a deep breath. A booming shout shook the Count’s Estate.

“Rememver!!”

Why the heck did you put seeds in my bag! Sure, I was the one who gave it to Hien! But still!

“Wha-ack.”

“C-Count!”

“Get a grip!”

My vocal cords couldn’t handle the loud shout.

I lowered my head and vomited blood, grinding my teeth.

Ah, this sucks.

Thankfully, I didn’t faint. I watched Rememver silently setting up the tea and quietly sighed in relief.

Other times would have been fine, but I couldn’t afford to faint then.

I still had the bag with the strange creature in it. What would happen if someone opened the bag while I was unconscious, thinking they were helping me unpack?

Just imagining it is horrifying.

“…Ah, Rememver. Instead of those tea leaves, let’s try these.”

“Are those… Deosa tea leaves?”

“Yes, please set out two cups. One is for you, Rememver.”

“…Understood.”

I thought he would refuse, citing his duties as a butler or something, but he surprisingly agreed.

The tea was prepared without any issues. Someone did come in briefly while the tea was being prepared though…

[Count, it’s Dan.]

[Come in.]

[I heard you returned and came to greet you. You’re preparing tea, I see. I… Ah….]

He noticed the Deosa tea leaves on the table and abruptly became dejected, then left.

Why did he even come?

Come to think of it, the moment he saw the tea leaves, he hid something behind his back. I discreetly checked as he left…

“Deosa tea leaves?”

Where did he get that?

“I’m glad you returned safely.”

“Ah.”

I snapped my head up. Rememver, who was sitting across from me and quietly drinking his tea, was looking at me.

His silver-blue eyes looked down at my feet and narrowed. His voice was filled with question.

“But why aren’t you leaving that bag with the servant?”

“Rememver.”

Thanks to him, I remembered.

I nudged the bag away with my foot, meeting his gaze.

“There are a lot of things in the luggage you packed that I’m wondering about.”

“I packed them just in case.”

“Flower seeds?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of flower seeds were they?”

“Roses.”

So, it seems he didn’t intentionally give me those weird flower seeds. Was the cause Hien injecting it with magic after all?

But the question of why he put useless things like flower seeds in there still remained. I scrutinized Rememver with a suspicious gaze.

“Rememver, what exactly is your real identity?”

“I am the butler of the hero, Deon Hart.”

“Not that.”

“If not that… are you referring to the fact that I’m from Esperanes?”

“Ah, Esperanes… Esperanes?!”

[The kingdom we are currently trying to conquer is Esperanes. It’s the smallest kingdom among those on this map. Considering the Empire’s size, they’ll probably open their city gates soon enough.]

The Demon King’s voice echoed in my head like a hallucination.

There’s no way Rememver doesn’t know this fact. I hesitantly opened my mouth towards him, who calmly lifted his teacup to his lips.

“…Are you… alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t the Empire attacking your homeland?”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

The reply was as nonchalant as his demeanor.

“Esperanes has more to lose in the process of being conquered than what can be gained. We still have many more kingdoms to swallow up, and there’s no way His Majesty will just sit back and watch this happen. The army will probably change direction soon.”

“…”

“And if we really do conquer it, the Empire will have to face other powers outside while dealing with Esperanes within. It will be quite troublesome.”

His words strongly conveyed his faith in his homeland.

What do I even know about Esperanes? A small kingdom located in the center of the continent. A natural fortress surrounded by mountain ranges. Just about that much.

Sensing my curiosity, Rememver narrowed his eyes and whispered conspiratorially.

“Shall this old man tell you more about that place?”

“…”

I was drawn into the topic of the mysterious little kingdom as if hypnotized.

I realized this wasn’t right after the conversation ended and I returned to my room.

That sly old butler…!

I stormed off to find Rememver, but what greeted me was the communicator bestowed upon me by the Emperor. What’s more, it was connected to the Emperor!

“Remem…!”

-Count Hart.

“Your Majesty?!”

-I heard you returned and called to check in, was the timing bad?

“How could it be? Glory to the Empire. Your subject, Deon Hart…”

I hastily prepared my greetings when I heard a low chuckle.

-‘Glory to the Empire’… Indeed, your greeting is appropriate.

” 혹, 제가 무슨 실수를….”

-No, didn’t I just say your greeting was appropriate?

Was he being sarcastic?

My heart almost dropped.

-I am not currently in the Imperial Palace.

“Ah….”

-Yes, it’s a shame, but it seems difficult to have a face-to-face conversation. I will receive your report this way instead.

The Emperor’s voice lowered as he mentioned ‘report’.

It was time to be on guard. I straightened my back.

***

The Emperor placed the communicator on the desk and quietly stroked the back of his left hand. It was a recent habit, caused by the discomfort of the bandage.

Those around him tried to dissuade him, saying the wound would get infected, but when had the Emperor ever cared about such things? He continued to touch his hand, regardless of whether blood seeped through the bandage, listening intently to the voice coming from the communicator.

After hearing the brief report that the Demon King had moved, a faint smile touched his lips.

“…So it has come to this.”

-….

The board has been flipped.

To stand against the Demon Realm, the Human Realm must unite. At the very least, no one should hinder the Empire, which stands on the front lines against the Demon Realm.

Other kingdoms could no longer attack the Empire, and the Emperor, knowing what was more important, now turned his attention away from them and towards the Demon Realm.

The land grab was over.

“Is there anything else to report?”

-What is the criteria for ‘anything else to report?’

“So, there is something.”

-….

Deon Hart does not answer what he is not asked.

Originally, the criteria were loose enough that he would readily answer after being given just a few conditions, but with the war against the Demon Realm approaching, it was natural for them to become stricter.

The probing was over.

“So, we’ll properly clash on this front too.”

Psychological warfare and a battle of pride.

The Emperor, Eudoard, had no intention of backing down. The ‘Emperor’ he envisioned was someone who never retreated when facing something.

Therefore, the Demon King, not him, would be the one to become a coward.

He tapped the back of his left hand to clear his mind and slowly opened his mouth.