Chapter 231: Misunderstanding and Guidance

When Aiga confessed to Ed, revealing he was an incubus instead of replying to Ed’s confession, it was contingent on Ed’s reaction whether they could become friends.

As time passed and they grew closer than anyone else, that confession became a past event, an embarrassing yet laughable memory. Such a day could have come.

Nevertheless, the situation unfolded this way also because of Ed’s attitude.

[…….]

It would have been better if he had raged, furious that he had been deceived.

Ed simply remained silent. He closed his mouth, his agitation evident through his eyes, which darted around uncontrollably.

He didn’t say it was alright or to pretend the confession never happened; he showed no emotion other than agitation and hesitation. From the other person’s perspective, how agonizing must that have been?

It was even more so because he hadn’t sincerely intended to deceive or make fun of him.

‘A demon with ominous magic power is being kind to me, mistaking me for a succubus. How could I reveal that I’m an incubus to him…’

Even without that, succubi and incubi are being discriminated against. Not antagonizing other demons is crucial.

By the time he realized Ed wasn’t the kind of demon to impose disadvantages for such a trivial reason, it was already too late.

Hesitation let the moment of possible reconciliation pass, and what he thought would be a brief moment of interest or amusement from a powerful being dragged on, ultimately leading to disaster.

Therefore, when Aiga revealed the truth, he was already prepared. He was ready to accept whatever judgment Ed made and whatever action he took.

‘But to think he couldn’t even make a judgment itself.’

He couldn’t do that simple thing.

Whether it was positive or negative, it didn’t matter. What Aiga wanted was a clear stance. Only then could their current disorganized relationship, hanging in the balance, be clearly defined.

Remain friends, never see each other again, or… although it would never happen, become lovers.

However, no matter how long he waited, all that returned was silence.

Eventually, Aiga had no choice but to take the initiative to end the relationship. If you try to end a relationship first from the position of having deceived someone, the end will inevitably lead to one outcome, regardless of the path taken.

If he suggested remaining friends, he would be seen as shameless. If he said something about cutting ties, like never showing his face again or never seeing each other again, that would lead to the worst possible outcome.

If either way leads to the same result, Aiga decided he should at least make Ed’s attitude clear.

So, he volunteered to play the villain and even mocked him, but what was with this lukewarm attitude?

Had he become dull because it had been a while since they last met? He even shamelessly brought up friendship to test the waters.

Unintentionally, a bewildered emotion seeped into his voice.

“Look even now, in a relationship that should be hostile, your attitude is too soft. Even after what I did.”

It was the first time they had talked since then.

A demon who should have been busy was sitting with a somber face, drinking alcohol, something he didn’t usually enjoy. In the end, Aiga couldn’t just pass by and approached him, pretending to be nonchalant, though he was undeniably nervous.

At the very least, he expected Ed to slam his head on the table or grab his neck.

“……If you want, I can separate your neck from your body right now.”

“Giving me a choice like this from the start… no, never mind.”

…….

Ed quietly brought the glass to his lips.

Certainly, his current reaction was mild. He didn’t know if it was because he was intoxicated, or if time had dulled the shock and emotions from back then.

…No, actually, he knew.

Ed was afraid of severing ties with someone he had once given his heart to.

So, pathetically, he couldn’t say anything to the person involved and only tormented the innocent gardener of Demon King’s castle, someone he wasn’t attached to.

‘Clinging to the string of fate without forgiving, what a sight.’

Self-deprecatingly, he tossed the remaining liquid in his glass into his mouth and stood up.

Meeting the incubus’s gaze, who was quietly watching him, Ed smiled bitterly. Unlike his expression, a voice devoid of emotional tremor flowed out in a low tone.

“You might be right. Maybe my attitude is causing problems.”

A subordinate, who should be decisive in cutting ties, acting so leniently like this would make Sir Deon, his superior, distrustful. He must have considered the possibility of making wrong judgments or delaying judgments because of being swayed by unnecessary relationships.

Was Sir Deon aware of this side of me?

He subtly masked the creeping wave of emotion for a moment before Ed let out a faint sigh.

“But what can I do? It’s not as easy as said.”

Interpersonal relationships, was it called? Come to think of it, he seemed particularly weak in that area.

But it couldn’t be helped. If he could have fixed it, he would have done so long ago.

“This is just who I am.”

…….

“I should probably head back soon.”

Ed turned his back and stepped out the door.

‘That guy…’

He didn’t even say words like ‘Let’s never see each other again’ until the end. Aiga let out a hollow laugh.

He had made an excuse about going back because he didn’t want to stay there any longer, but he had no intention of returning immediately, even though he hadn’t been there long since arriving. Ed started walking aimlessly.

‘…Still, I think it was good that I came.’

He had regretted it a little when he met an unwelcome person unprepared, but he was satisfied because his question had been resolved thanks to that.

‘In the end, it was the situation that was the problem.’

If it was said that this happened because of his personality, he would usually blame himself, but Ed didn’t.

It wasn’t like he harbored malice or harmed others, it was merely one of countless personalities. He just happened to have one of the various kinds of personalities that everyone has, so why would that be a sin?

The problem was the surrounding environment that made it seem like a sin.

‘Sir Deon’s change in attitude is proof of that.’

His personality hadn’t changed, either before or now.

The only thing that had changed was the situation, and Sir Deon’s attitude changed with it, so wasn’t the cause obvious?

…But then.

As he continued his thoughts and strolled through the city, Ed stopped walking, a question suddenly flashing through his mind.

‘Is the current situation such that Sir Deon needs to distance himself from me…?’

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem like it.

‘…Is there some other reason?’

His contemplation couldn’t deepen much.

“Greetings. It’s been a while.”

……?

Pulled from his thoughts, Ed shifted his gaze. A demon, being deferential just enough not to be annoying, came into view.

His face was familiar, like he had seen him somewhere before. Who was it?

“Sir Vice Commander?”

…….

Ed didn’t reply to the greeting, maintaining silence no matter what the guy said, and stared at the guy’s face. The guy’s face, who kept trying to talk, became beaded with cold sweat.

Only after several seconds had passed did Ed finally exclaim, ‘Ah—’ as if he had remembered.

“The administrator of this city?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s an honor that the Vice Commander of the 0th Legion remembers me.”

“Honor?”

His gaze flicked downwards. Hands clasped respectfully, but trembling visibly, came into view.

Noticing his gaze, the administrator tightened his clasped hands. Ed had no intention of saying anything, so he indifferently returned his gaze to its original position.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I belatedly heard news of the Vice Commander’s visit.”

“Ah.”

Someone who remembered his face must have reported it.

At the same time, he understood why he had come all the way here himself. He calmly opened his mouth, offering the answer the other party likely wanted.

“The Commander of the 0th Legion is not here. You don’t need to entertain useless assumptions like he arrived secretly before I did or anything like that.”

“…Th-.”

“It’s not like I visited under any orders. It’s a purely personal visit, so you don’t need to mind it.”

“…Thank you so much for letting me know.”

Only then did the administrator’s expression slightly relax.

He bowed deeply. With a bit of composure, his tongue, loosened from tension, began to move.

“Also, I sincerely thank you for your generous forgiveness of my somewhat rude attitude.”

Flattery wasn’t his taste, but this was just a greeting, so….

Ed gave a perfunctory nod to the burdensome words of gratitude and started walking again.

Where should he go now? Passing time was also a task. His gaze, troubled, landed on the administrator who was waiting for him to pass by.

…Oh.

“Wait a moment.”

The administrator, who was slowly trying to step back, flinched and stopped in his tracks. The face that had momentarily looked like death was now, in an instant, back to normal.

Raising his head, he saw Ed, who had closed the distance in the meantime, place a hand on one of his shoulders.

“You are the administrator of this city, so you must know this place well, right?”

“Yes? Yes, that is correct.”

“Perfect then.”

As expected, for sightseeing, you should get guidance from a local.

The administrator froze.

***

Thanks to an excellent guide who quickly grasped his preferences and catered to his tastes, Ed, having enjoyed high-quality sightseeing, returned to Demon King’s castle in a much better mood and headed back to the inner section for work.

And before long, he encountered a scene that was enough to make his mood, which he had barely lifted, waver precariously.

“You bastard! You son of a bitch!”

A rain of arrows poured down.

Commander of the 9th Corps Trober punched and deflected them. Taking advantage of the gap, 5th Corps Commander Oel, who had closed the distance, swung her bow, and the bowstring struck his face directly, making a sharp crack!

At this point, there was no room to think or measure anything.

“Lady Oel.”

“Wait, both of you! Please stop!”

Ed confirmed that the adjutant of the 5th Corps, who he didn’t know when had jumped in, was grabbing his superior, and hurriedly dashed in to seize Trober.

Only then did his head start to work again. No, correction. His head, having grasped the situation, began to ache.

‘A fight between two legion commanders…’

That alone was already a headache, but now was wartime. If discord arose between legion commanders, it was obvious that Lord Demon King and Commander-in-chief Sir Deon would suffer the damage. Ed couldn’t help but tighten his grip on Trober’s arm.

…Anyway, stopping the two demons was the priority now. The adjutant of the 5th Corps seemed to have the same thought, speaking to his superior.

“Lord Demon King and Sir Deon might punish you severely if they see this.”

“Shut up, Derniban! Let go of me!”

Ed looked at Trober.

As a demon with superior physical abilities, if he were determined, he could easily shake off a hand grabbing him. Therefore, he expected him to immediately swat away his hand and start causing a ruckus, but contrary to expectations, he remained still, covering his lower jaw with one hand.

The silence was even more unsettling, so Ed asked.

“Sir Trober, may I ask what’s going on?”

…….

Trober silently wiped the blood from his nose and lowered his hand. It seemed to have stopped bleeding in the meantime, but the clear traces of bleeding made Ed’s eyes waver.

Regardless, Trober, with a face full of irritation, flicked Ed’s hand away and directed a seething voice towards Oel.

“What’s the big deal about one piece of junk getting broken.”

“What?!”

Ah.

Thanks to that, the situation was fully understood, but he wasn’t happy at all.

Oel started to rage, saying she would kill him outright. Trober retorted, telling her to try it. The mood, which he had managed to lift during his break, returned to square one.

While Derniban and he tried to dissuade the two demons again, Ed swallowed a sigh.

‘Tired.’

***

The situation ended with Derniban whispering something to Lady Oel.

What on earth did he say to make the demon, who seemed like she wouldn’t return until she had beaten Trober to a pulp, obediently go back? He vaguely heard something like –let’s go see the [thing], it’s waiting—but he missed the crucial part, which was a bit of a shame.

Sir Trober, perhaps knowing that he had provoked it and that escalating this incident wouldn’t benefit him, readily backed down as Lady Oel retreated. It was truly fortunate.

‘Everyone in Demon King’s castle knows that Lady Oel cherishes the unique items she picks up here and there, so why did Sir Trober…’

Was he that bored?

No, before that, how did he find the warehouse? He heard it was hidden deep and periodically moved, so only a very few people knew about it.

Tiring. Ed finally let out a long-suppressed sigh.