Chapter 212: A Human Representative

“Being shown on screen signifies becoming a representative of the Demon Realm. Sir Deon aside, placing another human in that position is… questionable.”

“Exactly! Sir Deon, I apologize, but I cannot accept this. If that human dares to appear on screen, I want to state in advance that I might just kill him before he even gets the chance!”

Commander of the 3rd Corps, Asild, frowned, and Commander of the 7th Corps, Sillua, strongly agreed. Many other legion commanders didn’t voice their opinions, but their expressions showed agreement.

Conversely, there were those who approved.

“Sounds fun. I’m in favor~.”

“Develania!”

“I’m also for it. It’s new, isn’t it? Seems interesting.”

“Even Trober…!”

The Commanders of the 2nd and 9th Corps.

Commander of the 11th Corps, Lirinel, also agreed, though for a slightly different reason.

“Once Sir Deon reveals his face and clarifies he’s the Hero, nothing else will matter anyway. With that beauty on display, who would pay attention to some human rambling like an squid? They probably won’t even realize if the speaker is human or demon!”

“Squid?”

“It’s a term used to describe very ugly humans, I heard it from the Commander of the 5th Corps.”

This was derailing the conversation.

The Demon King, with an inscrutable expression, quietly observed the unfolding situation. Deon, glancing at him, tapped the desk to refocus attention.

“Last time I stepped forward, I argued that the Demon Realm accepts humans without prejudice, citing my position as the Commander of the 0th Legion as proof.”

This was to incite betrayal and infighting among humans.

“But there was a rebuttal, wasn’t there?”

“…Ah.”

Some legion commanders’ expressions shifted as if they were starting to understand. The opposing and neutral factions leaned towards listening, while Develania, who was initially in favor, looked intrigued.

Idelia, particularly responsible for information processing, seemed to have clearly grasped the point and was leaning towards changing her stance to approval.

“What did they say over there again?”

“…They countered by saying it was a special case because it was Sir Deon… or something along those lines.”

“Exactly.”

They argued that it was specially permitted because it was ‘Deon Hart’.

Deon, giving a sweet smile to Idelia, who had commendably provided a concise answer, continued to speak.

“Dan is the counter-evidence to that.”

Deon Hart isn’t the only proof. To achieve our main goal, Dan as evidence is more important than Deon himself.

If ‘Hero’ Deon Hart is the whip, then ‘commoner’ Dan is the carrot.

The Hero, an ally of the Demon King, inspires fear from overwhelming power, while an ordinary human living well in the Demon King’s castle gives courage to side with the Demon King’s army. It’s a plausible and sweet enticement.

Therefore, Dan must stand directly in front of the screen. With his unique audacity and eloquent tongue, he needs to confidently declare how well he’s living.

It’s not like Dan is the only human living in the Demon King’s castle who is brazen and well-spoken….

‘But they won’t do.’

Their ‘eloquence’ is completely different from Dan’s.

They can be seen as eloquent because they speak confidently without faltering… but they are only ‘well-spoken’ in words. The most crucial element, ‘logic,’ is missing.

Who would entrust a position in front of everyone to those who push forward with audacity and no logic? The mad dogs won’t do. Absolutely not.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Deon plastered a smile on his face. A composed voice, betraying no hint of his thoughts, flowed out.

“Dan serves as excellent proof that the Demon King’s army accepts humans other than Deon Hart. Is this reason enough to be convinced?”

There was no verbal response, but the atmosphere shifted as if they were more or less convinced.

Confirming from the softened gazes of the legion commanders that a conclusion had been roughly reached, the Demon King finally spoke.

“Bring Dan in.”

“He should be right outside the door.”

Deon added as if he had been waiting for this. A satisfied smile hung on his lips at the situation unfolding exactly as he had anticipated.

It wasn’t for nothing that he had ordered Dan to wait in front of the meeting room before coming here. The Demon King’s eyes narrowed, but Deon feigned ignorance and turned his head, diverting his gaze.

Dan, who had just entered, was bowing deeply.

‘……I’ve been played.’

The Demon King, having watched Dan following Deon’s gaze, chuckled to himself.

Whether all the preceding remarks were groundwork for this moment, or skillfully guided to fit the situation… Either way, the fact that he had calculated this beforehand before attending the meeting was the same, so it didn’t matter much.

Fox-like, fox-like, and now he really seems to be turning into a fox.

Somehow, the Demon King imagined Deon as a fox wagging its tail happily, pretending not to be, and amusedly narrowed his eyes.

‘Come to think of it, he was trying to act like a fox from the start, wasn’t he?’

He recalled the time when he first recruited him into the Demon King’s army and sent him to the Empire.

He thought he had become a full-fledged member of the Demon King’s army, but amusingly, he was walking a tightrope in the middle. Upon his return to the Demon King’s castle, his atmosphere, eyes, attitude, manner of speaking—everything gave off a subtle sense of incongruity, and he had immediately noticed.

‘Back then, he was still an immature little fox cub.’

If back then he was closer to a puppy pretending to be a fox, showing teeth and biting enemies, now he was a proper fox himself.

‘Humans are said to be greatly influenced by their environment, but….’

The human before his eyes was so dramatic that he could be taken as a prime example.

He had been swept along by Deon Hart’s manipulation, but he didn’t feel anger. Rather, he felt extreme satisfaction at having a specimen in his grasp that steadily grew, changed, and showed various facets. The Demon King surveyed Dan with a magnanimous heart.

‘……He’s more resilient than I thought.’

His demeanor, standing confidently before the Demon King amidst the sharp gazes of high-ranking demons in a place where everyone was watching, was quite impressive.

‘At least he won’t falter when he appears on screen.’

With this much, the minimum condition was met.

As the Demon King remained silent, the silence was becoming prolonged. Without further delay, he opened his mouth.

“Human.”

“Yes.”

“Can you stand before all people?”

“……Yes?”

It was a question that abruptly cut to the chase. It was natural he wouldn’t understand.

Suddenly summoned and asked this, what did it mean? Confusion clouded Dan’s eyes.

“We’re likely to broadcast a screen across the continent again this time, I’m asking if you can stand in that spot.”

“…!”

With the added explanation, Dan understood the situation, and his eyes widened.

It was only for a moment. His surprise was fleeting; as if nothing had happened, Dan composed his emotions and expression, casting his gaze downward as if pondering something.

And how much time had passed?

“If you entrust it to me, I will do my best.”

Before the impatience of the short-tempered demons could surface, he raised his head sharply and smiled brightly.

In the silence filled with acceptance and affirmation, some legion commanders clicked their tongues and turned their heads, while Deon raised an eyebrow as if something was suspicious. The Demon King quietly looked down at Dan.

‘He’s got something else in mind.’

What is he planning to do?

I am curious, but I have no intention of stopping him. There’s no certainty he’ll do anything harmful to us, and a human who faithfully follows Deon Hart is unlikely to do anything detrimental to him.

Not being a demon, nor a human directly chosen and brought here, the Demon King had observed Dan quite carefully and grasped his nature.

Therefore, even knowing he had ulterior motives, he could remain calmly silent.

‘He’s not a fool, so even if he causes trouble, it will likely be within reasonable bounds.’

Unlike the knight order humans who came later, at least the human before him is not foolish.

Judging from how he was ordered by Deon to wait in front of the meeting room in advance, given the situation that has unfolded, he would have roughly grasped the whole story even without prior notice. He must have realized that Deon Hart orchestrated this situation.

In other words, he is standing in this position due to Deon Hart’s recommendation.

In a situation where one stands before all people based on someone’s recommendation, causing trouble means not only tarnishing the recommender’s face but also shifting the responsibility onto him.

Glancing at Deon, the Demon King slowly nodded.

“Alright, then let’s proceed as planned…!”

“…?”

“……”

“Lord Demon King…?”

Why did he suddenly stop speaking mid-sentence? Someone cautiously spoke, worried if something had gone wrong, as the Demon King stopped mid-sentence and shut his mouth.

Only then did the Demon King’s face contort terribly.

“…Guests have arrived.”

“…?”

Guests? Were there any guests expected at the Demon King’s castle? Could it be, had a Hero invaded? In that moment, questions and wariness surfaced on everyone’s faces.

-Knock knock.

“Excuse me, Lord Demon King. Right now, the leaders of each race are…!”

“Get out of the way!”

The door burst open, and someone barged in.

***

Just a few hours before the incident broke out.

Excluding the most troublesome opponent, the Demon King, the leaders of each race gathered once again.

It was always an unpleasant sight. The Fairy King, quietly sipping tea in a corner of the desolate and eerie vampire castle garden, averted his gaze from the scenery to protect his eyes and looked at the meeting’s organizer.

“We seem to be meeting quite often lately. What’s the reason for summoning us this time?”

“It’s obvious.”

The vampire leader, frowning, placed her teacup down somewhat roughly. With a clinking sound, a low voice, as if grinding her teeth, followed.

“It’s the magical beasts issue.”

“…Indeed, there’s been no sign of improvement.”

“It’s not just a problem that will stop there. Even after the leaders themselves went and spoke, there’s no change in the situation. No, it’s actually gotten worse.”

A sound of teeth grinding could be heard.

…She seems to have a lot bottled up. Recently, a horde of magical beasts had surged into the vampire territory, hadn’t they? I heard the damage was considerable.

I understand her feelings… The Fairy King sighed inwardly and glanced sideways. His eyes met the merfolk leader’s.

After a brief exchange of glances, she nodded almost imperceptibly and spoke in a gentle voice, intending to soothe her counterpart.

“So, are you planning to protest again?”

“Yes. Magical beasts are born from the Demon King. It’s only right that the Demon King should take responsibility. They’ve caused damage even to other races, so we must protest and get compensation for the damages.”

“He seems to be doing his best in his own way, though. It seems he’s short on troops recently. Perhaps we should be a little considerate, thinking there might be unavoidable circumstances….”

“Ha, just what is he up to?”

“……”

The merfolk leader fell silent again. The Fairy King and she exchanged another brief glance.

The vampire leader is unaware that the Demon King is still attacking the Human Realm. Especially, she doesn’t know that the Empire has been almost destroyed.

All she knows is that the spark of this war was Deon Hart. After that, she lost interest, saying with cynicism that she wondered how long the Demon King’s childish game of matching wits with a human would last, acting unbecoming of his age, so she’s completely unaware of what has happened since.

Moreover, the two of them had intentionally obscured her view, so unless she deliberately tried to find out, she would have no way of knowing.

‘If she were to know the current situation….’

‘She would probably try to kill Deon Hart.’

A situation where humans freely trespass into demon territory is dangerous, but it’s also dangerous for demons to swallow the Human Realm and increase their power.

The Demon King is not a trustworthy being. If boredom peaks with the Human Realm, his target for amusement, gone, and he judges that ‘chaos’ is more interesting, he would immediately turn his weapons this way. He would disrupt the barely established order of the Abyss and cause chaos. So, logically, it’s right to be wary and try to prevent it beforehand.

In that process, killing Deon Hart, who is the flashpoint of the war and has greatly contributed to the conquest of the Human Realm, would be natural.

Of course, this is only from the perspective of the vampire leader, who doesn’t know the future where the Human Realm conquest fails.

The fairy leader sees the flow of the world, and the merfolk leader sees the future.

On the day the Demon King visited the fairy territory with a demon gardener and Deon Hart, the two confirmed that they were both showing favor to Deon Hart. And the certainty that there must be a reason for it.

Thus, they exchanged their information and put their heads together to predict the future.

Of course, unless it’s a ‘prophecy,’ there’s always a possibility that the future could be altered, but it was a future predicted by the collaboration of not just one, but two beings. The probability of it being wrong was very low.

With the highly accurate future that emerged, the two thought.

‘If things continue like this, it won’t be difficult for our races to establish a place in the Human Realm in the future.’”