When we arrived, the gates of the Demon King's Castle were already right in front of us.
We are finally liberated...! I thought my ears were bleeding.
"Demon, blood is coming from your ears...?!"
What, was it that was really bleeding?
When I wiped my ear with my finger, there was blood. Ben, who was watching next to me, called out to me with concern.
"It will take time to build up immunity, so you should get on the carriage first for treatment."
"Oh, me too!"
"..."
It was natural that I was speechless.
Even though I got off to get some fresh air, I had to get back on the carriage not long after, but my mood didn't change in a positive or negative way. The Commander of the 5th Corps, who was next to me outside and chirped, followed me inside the carriage. Only the location changed, but the situation did not.
Sitting in the carriage were me and Ben, who had come in to examine me, and Oel and her adjutant Dernivan, who had come in after me to chat. The carriage itself was very wide, so it didn't feel particularly crowded, but the problem was my eardrums.
"You know. Demon, I heard that humans create and give birth to children directly from within the womb. I heard that this is not something you want to do, but that it is possible with a certain probability if you 'love'..."
"..."
"... A child created that way is said to be a 'blessing.' I also want to receive a blessing, so I went to Dernivan..."
Don't finish that sentence!
Although it hasn't been long since receiving examination and treatment from Ben, there were signs of bleeding from the ear again.
I quickly waited for the carriage to stop and the door to open, just to quickly free my eardrums. What was this?
Crunch.
"...!?"
The carriage stopped, but instead of opening the door, it was torn off! And then a wild beast the size of a house jumped in through the open, or rather torn, entrance. The beast that attacked so fast that an afterimage was left, fortunately, did not aim at me, but attacked Dernivan in no time…
"...?!"
"What are you doing, Commander of the 9th Corps?"
"Let's spar!"
Oh, it wasn't a wild beast. I was mistaken because I only saw an afterimage.
The person who had jumped into the carriage was Trover, Commander of the 9th Corps. He claimed that 'magic' was his specialty, but in reality, he claimed that martial arts that were used by training the body to the limit was 'magic'... He was a very strange Corps Commander.
'...Fuck.'
I quietly retreated to the corner of the carriage.
Fortunately, Trover was unaware of my existence. Until Dernivan, who casually blocked his fist, spoke in a voice as dry as his expression.
"The Commander of Corps 0 is watching. Please refrain from acting."
"Ah?"
The eyes of a wild beast... no, the Commander of the 9th Corps landed on me.
At that moment, I saw his eyes light up like an animal that had found its prey. No, wait a minute... Why did you have to risk me...
"Excuse me, Demon. You're also great at hiding. I couldn't feel your presence at all."
"Yes? No, I've never really been in hiding..."
If it's good at hiding, then it's the 2nd Corps Commander.
As if he didn't want to get caught up in Oel's barrage of questions after joining the 5th Corps, he looked shocked as he remembered Dvelania sitting alone on the roof of the carriage.
That traitor.
'Now that I think about it, he must have seen Dvelania before he came in. Why did he come right in without touching her?'
As if to answer my question, Trover tilted his head while snooping around inside the carriage.
"Now that I think about it, I saw the 2nd Corps among the troops deployed outside. Didn't the 2nd Corps Commander follow you?"
"... Wasn't she on the roof of the carriage?"
"Yes? yes."
"..."
"...?"
This little... where are you going to go and leave me alone? While I was swearing all sorts of things towards Dvelania, a note slipped in through the window of the carriage and landed on my lap.
'Demon, something suddenly came up, so I'll go first. Sorry for not being able to see you until the end!'
"... Fuck, oh my..."
She really jumped out!
The hand holding the note was trembling and I was quietly shocked, but for some reason Trover hesitated and retreated.
Then he quietly avoided eye contact and spoke in a muttering tone.
"I thought you must have been tired from traveling a long distance, so I tried to sign up for a sparring match, but I couldn't do it either..."
His voice got quieter. Rather, I focused on the shocking content I had heard earlier.
Sparring match? With me?
"Of course not...!"
I hurriedly stopped talking.
I almost said the words that came to mind without thinking.
Since this was the Demon World, I have to think about it before speaking, but I was a little surprised.
Trover's left hand, with its black, jagged fingernails and a truly hideous appearance, came into view belatedly. When I kept my mouth shut, my doctor, Ben, who had been watching me next to me, stepped forward as if speaking for me.
"It's not worth answering."
No, wait.
"If we have traveled a long distance, shouldn't you keep in mind that your opponent will be tired before sparring? Not all demons have monstrous physical strength like the 9th Corps Commander. Of course, our Demon is human!"
"Are humans different from demons? How is it different?"
"Physically, humans are weaker. Of course, our Demon is special!"
"How is Demon so special?"
"Oel, I don't think it's appropriate to ask that question here."
"Why?"
A mind-blowing conversation went on without knowing its meaning or purpose.
Meanwhile, Trover, who had been silent for a moment and seriously thinking about something, raised his head and looked at Ben.
"Then... is it okay if I ask to spar tomorrow?"
"To completely relieve fatigue, he will need to rest for a week. Especially due to the nature of Demon's body, which still has aftereffects..."
"Okay, one week!"
"..."
Why is my sparring schedule being set arbitrarily...?
It was right to refuse right away, but my senses were warning me that if I expressed my intention to refuse, something worse would happen.
'If I refuse for no reason, there may be a misunderstanding and things may turn out strangely. Because it's always been like that.'
After leaving me speechless and unable to refuse, Trover turned to Dernivan again. Dernivan was watching the situation unfold with an expressionless face the whole time.
"You'll be okay, right?"
"I've told you this many times, but my specialty is archery, not martial arts."
"Still, we sparred well. Are you going to refuse?"
You asked with an expression as if you were going to do something if he refused. Actually, he had no choice.
Dernivan was silent for a moment as if he had read that in Trover's expression, then glanced at Oel and slowly shook his head.
"No. I will spar."
"Well..."
"But not right now."
Trover, who was about to drag Dernivan somewhere, stopped. Dissatisfaction was clearly reflected in the face that looked back. As if he was not afraid of the wrath of the Corps Commander, Dernivan said what he had to say without any hesitation.
"I have to sort out the miscellaneous things that Oel brought with us, and I also have to clean up after the 5th Corps that fought several battles."
"What a mess! It might come in handy someday!"
"Anyway."
"Then when is it possible? A week for you too?"
"I know you won't wait even if I call you for a week."
Dernivan took off his outer clothes and folded them neatly on one side of the carriage. He unbuttoned a couple of buttons on his shirt, which was buttoned all the way to the point of being stuffy, and stretched out two fingers.
"Please wait two hours."
...
The 2nd and 5th Corps were disbanded respectively. Ben, who had completed his duties, went back to his room, and I, who had finished reporting to the Demon King at the communication stone before departure, went straight to my room without going to see him.
...I tried to stay stuck.
"Now, the judge will be Demon."
"..."
Why was I here?
I sat blankly in the prepared spot.
Yes, I will make a hundred concessions and understand that I am here as a referee for the sparring match between Trover and Dernivan. But those two were not everything. Why was everyone gathered here?
"Who will win?"
"Well, normally I would have predicted Trover, a Corps Commander, to win, but... as you know, the situations between those two are a bit different."
"Well, the vacant position of commander of the 9th corps was offered to Dernivan before Trover..."
"Normally, everyone would accept the Corps Commander offer without even thinking about it, but this time, unusually, many people turned it down?"
"Yes. The first one to receive an offer was Ed, the adjutant of the Commander of the 0th Corps, and then Dernivan, and when that was rejected, the Demon King went to Trover."
"I can understand Ed, but why Dernivan reject?"
11th Corps Commander Lirinel, 3rd Corps Commander Ashild, 2nd Corps Commander Dvelania, 4th Corps Commander Idelia, and 1st Corps Commander Jaykar.
Are you kidding me? It's like almost all the Corps Commanders residing in the Demon King's Castle were gathered here. Weren't there other things to do? '
Besides, Dvelania ran away earlier because she's busy...'
I secretly glared at the demons sitting on one side of the training ground.
Lirinel, who looked very excited, answered right away.
"Oh, you still didn't know? Oel and Dernivan are lovers."
"...Dernivan is dating?"
And with Oel?
It felt like I was hearing words that I couldn't say before.
Lirinel did not bother to answer the meaningless question. I just raised my finger and pointed somewhere.
There was Oel approaching Dernivan.
"I read a romance novel in the human world, and it said that the knight who goes to sparring would offer victory to the heroine."
"Is that so."
"Huh. So, win and offer your victory to me."
"All right."
"Yes, this is a reward given in advance."
Oel wrapped her arms around Dernivan's neck and lifted her heels. Dernivan grabbed her waist and supported her tightly as she clung to him, and soon their lips meet and separated.
The expressions of the Corps Commanders who saw that scene turned strange.
Anyway, Dernivan, who was indifferent to everything, and Oel, who was trapped in her own world, continued their conversation.
"How about it? Do you feel like your heart is racing?"
"My heart was beating from the beginning."
"No, not like that. Do you want to do something more special?"
"It doesn't seem any different from usual."
"Oh, then it's difficult. They say it's love only when the heart beats. Only then can we have a baby..."
Even Jaykar's face, which had been maintaining a stern expression, collapsed.
With a distorted expression on his face as if he didn't know what to say, he was silent for a moment and slowly spoke while Dvelania was rolling on the floor laughing in the distance.
"Those two... don't they know that demons can't have children?"
"Even if Oel said that, Dernivan would know. It's obvious. This is not the first time Dernivan has matched the rhythm of Oel. I didn't know that matching the rhythm could even lead to 'love.'"
Idelia responded by tapping the corner of her mouth with a folded fan.
Demons were born from the power of the Demon King.
This meant that no matter how much the two loved and mixed as humans, a demon child would never be born between them.
Why do I have to sit here and listen to their love story?
The more I look at that, the more my stomach turns.
Because I'm jealous? No, not because I'm jealous.
Oel and Dernivan's journey, which was difficult to see with both eyes open, could only end when Trover, who had been waiting, shouted, asking if they would not start.
In a barely organized situation, Dernivan and Trover stood face to face and the hall became quiet as if it had never been so noisy.
In it, I could clearly feel the numerous gazes directed at me.
Yes, I know I have to speak up since I'm the referee, but...
'What should I say?'
Were the rules for sparring in the human world and sparring in the demon realm the same?