Chapter 264: Changed Perception

“Funny, weren’t you just saying there was no point in telling them apart?”

“Well, it seems like we need to now.”

Dan shrugged.

In fact, he’d already shown some consideration. Him taking matters into his own hands was proof of that.

If he hadn’t had any lingering attachment to ‘Deon Hart,’ he would have pushed and driven him to act on his own. He wouldn’t have just disregarded Deon’s softer human side, but actively tried to excise it.

Ultimately, it meant that Dan had begun to consciously acknowledge ‘Deon Hart’ as a distinct entity from the ‘disaster,’ a subtle shift that had crept in unnoticed over time, like clothes getting wet in a drizzle. This was the only explanation for his actions.

“Get a grip, Master. The Revolutionary Army leader is dead, definitively. Isn’t that enough?”

“…Are you seriously saying that after strapping a bomb to an innocent kid and sending them off?”

“Yes.”

“You crazy bastard.”

“What’s the problem? Disaster doesn’t discriminate. Besides, countless people have already been caught up in this war and died. There must be children among them, and even more innocent people. Why the sudden bout of hypocrisy?”

Deon felt breathless, his expression one of suffocation.

“…There’s a difference between doing something intentionally and unintentionally.”

“If the result is the same, what does intent matter? Whether intentional or not, the person is dead, and it can’t be undone.”

The sharp tongue, usually aimed outward, now targeted Deon Hart.

Deon slowly opened and closed his eyes as the words pierced him like a dagger. In his troubled state, his eyes, opened to take in the world, were met with surging blood. Bloodwater rising menacingly from below.

The water level, already steadily rising, seemed to gain momentum from this incident, swallowing his knees and lapping at his thighs.

“…You know what’s the most fucked up thing right now?”

A slow voice emerged.

Deon, who had been looking up at the silent Dan, finally lifted his head as if he couldn’t bear to look any longer. The stuffy ceiling, like his suffocating heart, filled his vision.

“I feel like I’ve become the same kind of human as that bastard.”

“…”

“And so have you.”

Even though they looked nothing alike, the Duke’s image overlapped with Dan’s face. Overwhelmed by weariness, Deon slumped onto the bed and closed his eyes.

A suppressed voice, tinged with cold emotion, fell.

“Get out.”

“…”

“I said get out. Are you deaf?”

Dan bowed silently, then turned away.

…Where should I go?

Leaving the barracks, Dan didn’t immediately start walking but looked up. Emotionless eyes took in the clear sky.

‘I don’t want to go back to my assigned barracks.’

If he were alone in a quiet place, all sorts of thoughts would rush in. Maybe he should just take a walk.

…Let’s just walk for now. He took a step without a specific destination.

What seemed like it would be a long walk stopped sooner than expected.

“Dan?”

A voice from behind him caught his ankle, halting him in his tracks. Dan turned around.

“What are you doing here?”

A simple face, seemingly without a single worry in the world, came into view.

“…Sir Milan.”

“Huh?! What happened to your face?!”

Was this mad dog territory? As Dan scanned his surroundings with a dry gaze, Milan started making a fuss.

“Who did this to you?! Who was it!”

“What? Dan got his ass kicked by those damn demons?!”

“To our protégé?”

“This calls for some special training…!”

Hearing Milan’s commotion, knights gathered from all directions.

Surrounded by people in an instant, Dan felt the gazes intensely focused on his cheek, making him newly aware of the throbbing pain. He raised a hand to touch his swollen cheek, the delayed pain finally hitting him.

“Ah.”

“It’s swollen up real bad!”

“Purple, blue, even red… Did someone spill paint on your cheek?”

Was it that bad?

Well, he did think his head was going to fall off when he got hit. And his mouth was busted.

‘It’s weak for a Hero’s rage-fueled punch, though.’

Even in anger, Deon had apparently controlled his strength to some extent. If he had failed to control his power or put in just a bit more force, his head really might have come off.

‘Maybe even exploded.’

Dan licked the part of his mouth that tasted of blood and then looked up when he felt hands grab his shoulders. Serious eyes met his gaze.

“Who was it?”

“…”

“Which bastard did this to you?”

A look rarely seen outside of combat. Dan stared at him blankly before letting out a small chuckle.

“If I tell you, will you avenge me?”

“Of course!”

“…”

An unwavering answer returned, unfazed by his sarcastic tone.

Dan closed his mouth for a moment before finally curving his lips upwards.

“Master did it.”

“…Captain did?”

“Yes.”

“…”

The hands on his shoulders slowly dropped.

Milan took a step back, cold sweat trickling down his face as he avoided eye contact. Watching him, a mischievous smile naturally formed on Dan’s face.

“Aren’t you going to tell him off?”

“It’s the Captain…”

It wasn’t just Milan who was flustered; the surroundings buzzed with murmurs. The knights exchanged glances.

“Who did you say?”

“Captain, he said.”

“I must have misheard… Captain did it? No way…”

‘Our kid would never do that….’

Words like a doting parent would say popped out here and there. In the midst of it, Kleter, who had been pondering something, looked up and turned his gaze to Dan.

“What did you screw up?”

“…”

“You did screw up, didn’t you? Our Captain is a bit prickly, but he doesn’t usually lay a hand on his subordinates.”

Dan rolled his eyes slightly without answering. As if to replace his silence, other voices followed in succession.

“That’s right. Isn’t it only during training or when someone’s being a real idiot that he hits them?”

“He couldn’t reach our faces, so he’d hit our backs. Scary demeanor, but still kinda cute…”

“Didn’t even hurt…”

They’re completely derailing the topic. Useless bunch.

Kleter clicked his tongue and looked back at Dan.

“So, what did you screw up?”

“…”

“For Captain to make your face like this, he must have been seriously pissed…”

And when Dan came to his senses, his collar was grabbed. Unable to grasp the situation, Dan blinked blankly.

Regardless, Kleter, supposedly the most composed among the Lofty Knights, shook the hand gripping his collar.

“How dare you piss off the Captain?!”

“…I’m the one who got unilaterally beaten, though…”

“You must have done something wrong!”

“…”

He wasn’t wrong…

Their faith in the Captain was unwavering. Dan’s expression turned strange at their fervor, as if they’d claim Deon Hart had a reason even if he committed murder.

***

Feeling the presence moving away from the barracks, Deon finally put both feet on the bed, pulled his knees up to his chest, and hugged them.

Burying his face in his knees, the blood level seemed to recede, as if offering a chance to breathe. Even so, he felt suffocated and let out a hollow laugh.

“Shit.”

With one fucked-up situation after another, the cussing he’d managed to reduce was back again.

…Though I can’t exactly say it’s all my fault.

Something, someone to help him breathe was needed. At times like this, having the mindlessly noisy mad dogs around him would leave no room for other thoughts, but… not now.

Deon didn’t want to go outside.

So, impulsively, he picked up the communication stone.

And paused—newly realizing. He had no one he could contact without reservation.

Lirinel was the easiest to handle, but that didn’t mean he could let his guard down. Besides, this fucked-up situation was partly Lirinel’s fault too…

“Haha.”

The self-deprecating laugh he let out, mocking his own state, was weak, as if he were on the verge of death.

In this situation, only one person came to mind. Someone who could fan the flames of his flickering fire. Deon manipulated the communication stone.

– Deon?

Almost as soon as the signal went through, a voice was heard, as if he’d been waiting.

Right, at times like this, it was better to cling to revenge. Deon’s expression improved at the familiar voice that would fuel his vengefulness.

– What’s wrong? Is something big happening?

“Not exactly.”

– Then?

“…”

Silence flowed.

It was essentially an impulsive call. Deon hesitated on what to say, eventually closing his mouth.

Even with no answer, the Demon King didn’t scold him.

He simply patiently waited for the other to speak, reading the atmosphere and slowly opening his mouth as he roughly grasped the situation.

– Come to think of it, they said the Revolutionary Army leader died…

“…”

– The others are nobodies, so they won’t be causing trouble for a while. With one less annoying faction, things will flow more smoothly. Congratulations.

The nonchalant voice subtly scratched at his nerves.

He probably knew it too. Sharp senses as always. The corner of Deon’s mouth lifted with a cold edge.

“News travels fast.”

– The Commander of the 2nd Corps is working hard, after all.

“Ah.”

Develania, whose information frequency had decreased recently.

Deon closed his mouth again. As if unbothered, the constant voice spoke of everyday matters in the silence.

– How’s your spearmanship practice going? Well, you’ve probably mastered it by now.

“…”

– Should I teach you archery when you come back next time?

“…”

The Demon King continued to ramble on about trivial things before citing time as a reason to end the call.

Deon, having achieved his initial purpose, readily agreed. As the Demon King was about to end the call with a closing greeting, he exclaimed as if belatedly remembering something.

– Ah, right. I almost forgot to mention. I’ve lifted the decree I issued to you. You can use drugs as much as you want while you’re on the battlefield.

“…”

– Then, see you later.

With the words that offered a breath of fresh air, the voice that filled the barracks disappeared.

In the silence that returned, Deon stared blankly at the turned-off communication stone before casually tossing it onto the table. The carnivorous plant, which had stiffened like a normal Human Realm plant since Dan was slapped, finally stirred.

“Squueak.”

“Oh, it’s okay now. I’m not angry anymore.”

“Squulk.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He didn’t understand the details, but he accepted the plant’s comforting noises, when the communication stone signaled again.

The carnivorous plant, quick-witted, handed over the communication stone. Deon took it, puzzled. It couldn’t be the Demon King he just spoke to, so who was it?

“Who…”

“–Sir Deon!”

“…Lirinel?”

The timing was not great. No, considering it was after his call with the Demon King, maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Hearing her voice reminded him that Lirinel was at the heart of what Dan had done, and his expression naturally hardened, but his emotions were somewhat settled, so he wouldn’t say anything rash.

Reminding himself that Lirinel was a useful pawn, he calmly opened his mouth.

“Why are you calling?”

– The Lord Demon King said it wouldn’t be a bother to contact you now!

“Ah… Do you have something to say?”

– Um… no, the Lord Demon King told me not to blabber on!

“Oh, okay…”

Then why did you call? The words that surged up momentarily were quickly swallowed back down.

‘…I think I get it.’

She probably wanted to be praised for successfully eliminating the Revolutionary Army leader.

The Demon King’s advice made sense too. Certainly, if Lirinel, excited about being praised, mentioned the Revolutionary Army leader incident now, it would backfire. For him to have warned her about that already, the Demon King was really quick.

‘Yet, for him to have urged Lirinel to contact me…’

Was it because this kid was especially attached to me?

Having someone who purely followed him without any bad intentions could be somewhat helpful to his precarious mental state, and Lirinel was almost blindly devoted.

Deon seemed to understand the Demon King’s intention and looked down at the communication stone for a moment.

“Lirinel.”

– Yes, Sir Deon!

“…Someday…”

He called her name without much thought, it was closer to a soliloquy.

Lost in thought, he paused before slowly uttering the rest of his words.

“…Someday you’ll hate me too, right?”

The day will come when you hate me enough to want to kill me. So, there’s no point in forming attachments, it would only be a loss for me.

– Huh? That’s impossible.

Lirinel’s voice hardened unusually, as if stating an obvious truth.

Sir Deon, listen carefully. A serious answer followed his resigned murmur.

– Even if you try to kill me, I will still like Sir Deon.”