Chapter 245: A Plant’s Resolve

“Listen up.”

“Kwek.”

“…Don’t be like that. This is also for Sir Deon.”

“…Kkweeek?”

“You might already know, but I’ll tell you anyway. Sir Deon is going to the Human Realm. He’s taking matters into his own hands.”

“Kulk.”

“You’re not thinking of just staying in your room like a normal ornamental plant and waiting for Sir Deon to return, are you?”

“Kkyyaaaeeek! Kweek kweek!”

“Right, you have to stick to him like glue and follow him. You’re an escort plant. Protecting Sir Deon is your job.”

“Kweek!”

“The only problem is… Sir Deon is a Hero.”

“Kweek…?”

“If Sir Deon’s life is in danger, it means no ordinary powerhouse can save him. It was like that even before he was a Hero, so how much more so now? Unless it’s Lord Demon King, no one can even try to intervene. They’d probably be dead before they even got close. And that includes you.”

“Kkyaeeh…”

“That’s why I have something to give you.”

“Kweek?”

“I don’t even know what the exact result will be… It’s something unknown, but… We’re trying to save a ‘Hero’ from a crisis, so we have to take this much risk.”

He is so strong and kind, it’s almost blinding. Just this time, he went so far as to risk incurring the 10th Corps Commander’s hostility to save a mere gardener like me. Need I say more?

Life is supposed to be consumed like firewood for the light of life, but I hope his light burns as long as possible.

“So, about that.”

That’s why I hold the child I raised myself and ask.

“Are you prepared to sacrifice yourself?”

***

“…What is that?”

“Like I said, I gave it some nutritional supplements!”

“It’s not about nutrition…”

Deon wore a dubious expression.

“Is this thing about to explode from overeating?”

“Kweek…!”

The carnivorous plant curled its leaves and raised them as if to say it was okay.

It seemed to be acting like it was fine, but its labored demeanor was clearly visible, and Deon silently lowered his gaze. He saw the soil in the flowerpot bulging as if it couldn’t withstand something inside.

‘…Is this what he calls ‘some’ nutritional supplements?’

Why not just say he poured the whole bottle in?

It did seem like he gave it something other than nutritional supplements though…

There were many things he wanted to point out, but he didn’t bother mentioning them. Hien wouldn’t kill even Deon Hart’s plant, of all things. Deon lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“Well… never mind. You know more about plants than I do.”

He must have taken care of it properly.

He intended to wrap up the conversation quickly and send him away, but those words seemed to trigger something, and Hien’s eyes widened. Deon sensed unease as he witnessed the overflowing emotion in his dilated pupils and frowned.

Had his emotions clouded his judgment? Hien, who would normally read the room and restrain himself at this point, cried out in a slightly trembling voice.

“You trust me…?”

“…”

Trust. His body reflexively stiffened at the uncomfortable word.

For a moment, he felt like he saw bloodshot eyes. Deon paused for a moment, then slowly offered an answer.

“…You’re a gardener, aren’t you? It’s about plants, so I should leave it to the gardener. Who else would I leave it to?”

“Ah….”

“Looks like you’re done with your business, so why don’t you head out? I’m tired.”

“Ah… Ah! I apologize!”

***

There weren’t many places in this Demon King’s castle where mad dogs… I mean, the Lofty Knights, would be.

Their accommodations, or the training grounds. Or sometimes they’d barge into Master’s room and just hang out there. That was about it.

Thanks to this, Dan didn’t have much trouble finding them. The place was the training grounds.

However, what he hadn’t expected was that there would be two unwelcome guests.

Because of them, unlike his initial goal of quickly delivering his message and returning before getting unnecessarily involved, Dan had to stop in his tracks right before reaching his destination.

“What is this… Ha…”

He suppressed the words he couldn’t finish and sighed.

Countless harsh words swirled in his throat. He felt like he would blurt out curses if he let his guard down, but his strong reason miraculously succeeded in swallowing them back down.

‘I can’t say anything to them anyway.’

His opponents were legion commanders. If it were just the Lofty Knights, he would have yelled at them and felt better.

Looking at the chaotic training grounds and the guests rampaging there, Dan felt a throbbing headache and pressed his temple with his fingertips.

‘…Come to think of it, the 5th Corps Commander and the 9th Corps Commander have been coming and going frequently lately… They’ve been rapidly worsening their relationship recently, so I thought something would happen someday…’

To think he would witness it with his own eyes.

The 5th Corps Commander and the 9th Corps Commander were fighting. And here, in the Lofty Knights’ exclusive training grounds!

“Get lost, Trober!”

5th Corps Commander Oel bared his teeth and drew his bowstring. Three arrows hung on the string, fiercely aiming at their target and flying away.

“You hold grudges so nastily!”

9th Corps Commander Trober threw a punch. The gust of wind generated with a fierce sound blew the arrows away.

“Shut up! You ruined my treasures!”

“Treasures? That junk? Besides, how long ago was that? Are you still going to harp on about it? You’re going to milk this forever, you petty bastard!”

“How long ago-? Those are words for the victim, not the perpetrator, you stupid blockhead! That’s why you can’t use magic! Ignorant and shameless bastard!”

A rain of arrows poured down. As Trober responded, the ground was dented in various places.

Dan, watching them while holding his throbbing head, let out a hollow laugh at a question that suddenly popped into his mind.

‘I remember Oel not being a legion commander who was originally good with words…?’

He becomes eloquent when he’s angry.

…No, that’s not important. At this rate, the training grounds themselves will be unusable. Why isn’t anyone stopping them! Dan urgently looked around.

Derniban, the adjutant who usually stayed by Oel’s side, was nowhere to be seen, but instead, the Lofty Knights were gathered together, sharing snacks.

His blood pressure rose.

“These… damn…”

“Oh? Dan! What’s up?”

“We’re watching a fight, wanna watch with us?”

“Come sit here… Hey hey, move over a bit! Make some room!”

“As expected of legion commanders, the level of fighting is definitely different? There’s a lot to learn!”

It’s good to learn a lot, but… it’s not an official spar, it’s a ‘fight’, you mad humans… You should stop them…

‘Is it just me who’s going to stop them in the end?’

Fatigue rushed in. Dan took his hand off his head and pressed his eye area hard, then took a step forward and called out loudly to the two demons.

“You two, I don’t know what’s going on, but please calm down for now…”

“Get the hell out of here right now!”

“This isn’t even your training ground?!”

“Get lost!”

“Ha, this is so dirty and cheap…!”

…Damn it.

***

After many twists and turns, the situation was settled for the time being.

Ah, maybe not so many twists and turns. Trober was the first to back down, grumbling that Oel was narrow-minded.

Having lived in Demon King’s castle for a while and knowing Trober’s simple-minded personality and Oel’s childish personality, Dan knew how miraculous this was, and was deeply grateful to Trober in his heart.

Oel also went back, grumbling about feeling bad, and in the space where only Deon Hart’s direct subordinates remained, Dan looked back at the Lofty Knights.

‘…’

His lips, which had been parted as if to nag, closed with a sigh. The silence that had briefly settled was broken again by his mouth opening again.

A slightly subdued voice came out.

“It’s common sense to stop a fight when it breaks out.”

“I know! But it’s fun, isn’t it?”

“Seriously…! …Ha, fine. There’s no point in saying more, you won’t listen anyway.”

Resignation came quickly.

These were the guys who made the Demon King, who usually let any accident slide if it was related to Deon Hart, wear a troubled expression. He saw the Demon King’s usually composed face crumble for the first time back then.

As accidents caused by the Lofty Knights never ceased, the Demon King himself came to the training grounds and stared intently at them before muttering, ‘I don’t understand why Deon raises these things.’

During training, they would jump out of windows, crushing demon servants passing underneath, or get into fights with the 0th Legion and end up being carried to the infirmary together. Dan, with a wistful look, recalled the list of accidents caused by the Lofty Knights that he had heard about, and compromised, hoping that they would at least not cause accidents that would harm Master like they had done so far, and raised his head.

His excessively gentle yet slightly cold eyes turned to the mad dogs.

“Let’s get straight to the point.”

“…?”

“Prepare for departure. It’s Master’s order. It will be the first time in a while for you to go on an expedition with the captain.”

“…!”

The mad dogs’ eyes changed in an instant.

Surprise, faint fear, a little worry, and then excitement that grew in size and erupted.

In the changes that occurred in that short moment, Dan seemed to catch a glimpse of the time when an ordinary person transformed into a murderer, and he flinched back.

Regardless, the Lofty Knights cheered.

“Finally, we’re going into direct combat!”

“We get to rampage with the captain!”

“Waaaaaah!!”

Even Kleter, who was relatively calm, couldn’t hide the smile that spread across his lips.

If someone saw this, they would curse them as battle maniacs. Perhaps Dan’s flinch was in the same vein.

But they were wrong.

Being crazy about battle was to survive, so they were not happy at all. Their cruel hands were also for the same reason. They didn’t show it, but killing fellow humans still disgusted them and made them nauseous. It would probably be like that for the rest of their lives.

It wasn’t that they were happy to ‘go into direct combat’ or ‘be able to rampage’. They were just happy that they could be ‘with the captain’.

Watching them quietly, it seemed that he was recklessly using his body now that he had become a Hero, and Dan wondered if something really big might happen. If Deon were to go to war again, he was thinking of sticking to his side, whether by grabbing him or going with him, or by nagging, so that he would be within his sight… It was really fortunate that an appropriate order had been issued.

His lips, loosened by joy, naturally uttered a joke.

“It’s a good opportunity to practice the magic you learned from the 9th Corps Commander!”

“Is it finally practical training! Are you coming with us, Dan? I wish you would come and see the magic we wield.”

“…Seeing you guys, I don’t want to go with you…”

“Hahaha! Just kidding!”

I’m serious.

…If I answered that, it would only lead to a long and pointless conversation. Dan skipped over the conversation with silence and faithfully brought up the last words he was ordered to say.

“Do you have enough medicine?”

“Medicine? We haven’t had to use any, so we have more than enough. We haven’t used the ones you brought last time either, so they’re all still there.”

“That’s a relief. It would have been a problem if you said you didn’t have any.”

Kleter, who had been listening quietly, expressed his question as if he didn’t understand.

“You’ve been getting them just fine, why suddenly?”

“Because the search has become stricter due to the prohibition order. We have to get them from outside, but if we even go out and come back, we get searched at the entrance and get everything taken away, so it’s currently difficult to get new ones.”

“Eh, prohibition order?! Then aren’t we in big trouble if we get caught with drugs?”

“It’s fine, it’s only issued for specific individuals like me, Master, and the 11th Corps Commander.”

Thinking about it this way, I realize how well the Demon King sees through people.

Even though they both serve Deon Hart, Dan is the type to get him whatever he wants, whether it’s drugs or anything else, and the Lofty Knights are the type to refuse even if he wants it if it’s harmful to Deon Hart, and would rather take it away.

To know this and issue a prohibition order that appropriately distinguishes them without seeing them often… He’s like a Demon King yet unlike a Demon King. He’s said to have lived for a long time, and indeed, those years are not going to waste.

“Even if it’s the captain, why you and the 11th Corps Commander…?”

“…Anyway, don’t forget to pack your medicine. I’ve finished delivering the message, so I’ll be going now.”

“Dan…?”

Dan shrugged his shoulders lightly, shook off the questioning gazes that clung to him, and turned away.