"For now, let's call it a draw today. We will continue after this."
The moment they heard those words, the Corps Commanders forgot to control their facial expressions and unconsciously showed a complicated expression.
Fortunately, Demon Arut, the Commander of the 0th Corps, turned his head away without looking at their expressions anymore, so it was not a disaster, and they almost got into a big trouble.
The silence of the training hall, which was so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be heard for a moment as the Corps Commanders froze when they realized their mistake, was broken as soon as Demon Arut disappeared.
The first person to speak was Jaykar, the 1st Corps Commander.
"... Does this mean that I will have to see one of the two get harpooned?"
"I think you got it wrong, Dernivan?"
"..."
Dvelania's taunts didn't work. Without answering, Dernivan brushed the dust off his clothes and went to stand behind Oel.
Just when there was another awkward silence, Oel brought up another topic, perhaps by coincidence or intention.
"Demon, didn't he definitely ask him to get off? But why is Trover alive? If he really hated it, Trover would have died for disobeying Demon. Oh, is that really it? Even if you don't like it with your mouth, your body..."
"Oel, that's not the word to use here."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Dvelania rolled over, holding her stomach as the conversation struck a goal. She laughed for a while, not caring whether the other Corps Commanders around her frowned or not, but after some time had passed, she barely stopped laughing and wiped the corners of her eyes.
A languid voice tinged with laughter gave an answer a beat late.
"Demon is usually moderate, so even if he hated it, it wouldn't have been to the point of killing him. Oh, no. If he didn't like it, he wouldn't have gotten caught by Trover in the first place, so maybe he just liked it? I guess what Oel said is right. Even if you don't like it with your mouth, your body..."
"Stop. What are you going to do, Dvelania?"
This time, it was again the responsibility of the 1st Corps Commander to control the Corps Commanders who were so unique that they could not be controlled.
Jaykar, who was the only one to receive recognition from all Corps Commanders except for Corps Commander 0, which was unusual, skillfully organized the situation as always and dispersed the gathered Corps Commanders.
There were no specific regulations on meetings or exchanges between Corps Commanders, but these people were a group that only caused accidents the more they gathered, so it would be better to disperse them at least right now.
***
Fortunately, my worries about what would happen if Trover asked me to spar a week later did not come true.
On the one-week anniversary, the Demon King called me.
"Come in."
When I arrived at the office, he stood up to greet me and naturally led me to my seat. Whether by mistake or on purpose, his hand touched the area around my neck.
I felt a subtle sense of discomfort that I couldn't just ignore, so I rolled my eyes and looked in the mirror on one wall of my office, and saw a black stigma that wasn't there before I came here.
"...?"
"Are you surprised?"
Of course... I know that engraving this is an implicit sign of intention to send me to the Empire. I had a vague feeling that it was time to go.
But this suddenly?
While I was standing there unable to hide my embarrassment, the Demon King sat down again and pushed a separately colored map in front of me.
"Before I explain, would you like to look at this first?"
On the map, the Empire and several surrounding kingdoms were painted in the same color. When combined, the areas were almost half the size of the continent...
'Half the size?'
Already?
I raised my head in surprise. I made direct eye contact with the Demon King, who was looking at me as if he had been watching my reaction the whole time.
The reversed eyes, which I couldn't read from the first time I saw it, smiled as if to show off. The Demon King just touched the map with his fingertip.
"It certainly appears that the Empire is an empire. Soon it will probably eat half of the continent. No, it really will happen that way."
"..."
"The kingdom they are currently attempting to conquer is Esperanes. It is the smallest kingdom on this map. Considering the size of the Empire, I think it won't be long before the gates are opened."
"..."
"Now then, the problem. Will the Empire be satisfied and stop there, or will it advance with momentum?"
There was no one here who did not know the answer.
The Demon King leaned back against the backrest. He placed his clasped hands calmly on the desk and tilted his head toward the ceiling.
"I've never met the Emperor in person, but I know his general personality. The Emperor will not stop. He will conquer each kingdom, unify the continent, and turn the lost tip of his sword to the demon realm. There is no reason for me to just sit here and watch."
"..."
"Now you know what I'm going to say, right?"
I nodded slowly.
He was trying to intrude into the Empire's game, which was shaping up to be superior.
By overturning the board and changing the game itself.
If before it was a battle for territory within the human world, now it was a war for the survival of the human world and the demon realm.
'The Emperor will be quite angry.'
The Demon King predicted interference in the Empire's war of conquest.
Now it was time to be on the side of the empire again.
The Demon King grinned while waving his hand at me.
"Go ahead. You don't have to bring any gifts or anything this time. Even if you bring it, you can bring only your own."
For example, something like 'information'.
Unlike the heavy content, the tone was very refreshing.
***
Deon walked away and the Demon King stretched out his body and swung the chair he was sitting on.
This situation in which the demon realm moved would be felt as a challenge to the Emperor. Given his personality of not avoiding controversy, he was probably preparing for an all-out war against the demon realm.
His pensive eyes stare endlessly at the ceiling. A low murmur filled the quiet office.
"Now we must use Deon Hardt with caution."
His useful but dangerous card.
As he was thinking about him, he suddenly started laughing.
'I don't want to let him go, but...'
If you weigh the gains and losses of sending him to the Empire, it was safer and better not to send him. But that was against the rules.
This was a psychological battle and a battle of pride between the Demon King and the Emperor, with Deon Hardt in the middle. Whoever held him back or killed him would be a coward and a loser.
As the Demon King, who didn't want this fun game to end too early, he couldn't keep Deon Hardt tied up in the demon realm.
"I'm going to be very tired from now on."
He raised his hand and pressed the area around his eyes.
Unlike the covered eyes, the exposed mouth was clearly smiling.
The chair that had been spinning came to a halt in front of the desk. The Demon King took his hand away from his eyes and looked down at the map.
Where his eyes landed, there was the smallest kingdom on the map.
"Well... old history doesn't determine the size of power."
We have seen time and time again how long history and tradition were shattered by new forces.
So, no matter how old the kingdom on the map was, it will eventually fall before the Empire.
In any case, what he needed to focus on right now was the Empire. He stretched out his hand and touched the communication stone.
"Yes, Demon King. It's Trover!"
"Now, go back to the border."
"Yes? Oh no, I understand."
In the first place, he abandoned his mission because it was dull and boring. Since nothing had happened yet, nothing much was said, and Trover knew that if there had been any problem, his head would have been blown off right away.
In such a situation, how would you dare to question the Demon King when he told you to go back?
9th Corps Commander Trover, who usually acted as if he had no thoughts, had no choice but to quietly pack his bags at this time.
***
The Demon King was trying to intervene in the Emperor's game.
There would definitely be a collision. It is obvious that my work would increase.
Wouldn't there be a situation in which one would not only receive information but also directly engage in combat with weapons?
'Do I have to stuff a cloth in my mouth again and say that shit?'
Blood pouring out of the mouth all the time was a weakness.
In particular, during the Eight Year War when there was no one to lean on, to hide this, people stuffed cloth inside their mouths and wore masks to hide their appearance. There was a time when I nearly died from suffocation.
'No, no. Now, everyone knows that I'm not in good shape, so it doesn't really matter.'
I'm sure everyone will think about it carefully.
Such as the Demon King's curse or the aftereffects of preventing the hero's self-destruction.
"Ed, I'm going to the human world."
"Ah yes. Are you going alone again this time?"
"Yes."
"I will prepare."
Ed immediately stood up, walked quickly, and opened the door. I ran into Hien holding a strange plant in his arms.
"..."
"..."
The door slowly closed. A foot entered the door before it was completely closed.
"Take it out before it gets cut off."
"Now, please take a moment, Demon..."
"Tell me."
"Then, if you could just tell Demon this..."
Geez.
The dark red flower I saw for the first time let out a shy cry.
Ed's expression became irritated when he saw it moving slowly.
"What is that strange flower? Are you planning to give something like that to Demon?"
"I planted the seeds that Demon gave me and grew them."
"It's a very pretty flower."
"..."
"..."
No, wait a minute. You planted the seeds I gave you and grew them? That?
What I gave you were rose seeds. There was no way you could ever raise it.
While I was at a loss for words in confusion, Ed glanced at me, looked at the flower once again, cleared his throat loudly, and stepped to the side.
"... Come in."
Hien carefully stepped into the room, paying attention.
Ed, who was examining him with a disapproving look, bowed towards me.
"Then I'll go prepare."
"..."
Don't leave me alone.
My silent cries did not reach him. After Ed left the room and I was alone with Hien, I carefully rolled my eyes and examined the plant in the pot.
When I looked closely, it looked vaguely similar to a rose.
The petals looked like roses. Let's pretend we didn't see any dawdling.
How on earth did he grow this?
"That's..."
"Oh, you recognize it as expected! The seeds that Demon gave me have finally bloomed! Normally, seeds sprout within three days when planted, but the seeds Demon gave me were somehow different, and they barely sprouted after a week!"
So that means it couldn't sprout.
"Actually, I couldn't let the seeds that Demon gave me go to waste, so I injected them with a little magic power."
"Ah, so such a strange creature..."
"Huh?"
"No. But wasn't the use of magic prohibited?"
"I didn't use magic, I just injected magic power into it. Fortunately, he accepted it well and grew up quickly."
Hien, who had said that, looked at me with his eyes shining.
Seeing his shining eyes, I spoke in an uncertain voice after a moment of silence.
"Well... thank you for your hard work."
"Yes!"
"..."
"Oh and take this! This is my thanks for allowing me to grow your precious seeds!"
Geez.
If you're going to repay me, shouldn't you give something nice?
Why was this happening?
I looked at the flower on the table with confused eyes, then reached out my hand and pushed the flower pot. My fingertips were trembling as if I could touch the flower for once.
"It's okay."
"Yes? Why... Oh, don't worry. This flower will not attack you, Demon. I made sure to educate them."
Was it an animal?
"I heard you're heading to the human world. Don't you think you'll need an escort to take care of those annoying guys down below?"
"... What does this eat?"
"Oh, that's... Actually, I don't know. When it comes to eating, it seems like it eats all kinds of things, but I don't think it matters if it doesn't have to eat something..."
"This and that..."
"Like monsters and humans and demons."
"It's okay too."
They eat humans! No matter how well you trained them, what if they try to eat me?
Hien suddenly became sullen. It's not that I didn't know his efforts and sincerity, and I felt a little sorry, but my life was more precious.
As I desperately looked away from him, I heard a knock on the door.
"This is Demon Ed."
"Come on in!"
As soon as Ed came in, I jumped up from my seat. Ed's puzzled gaze fell on me.
I looked him straight in the eyes and pointed at Hien with my eyes. In short, it meant this.
'Let's take turns.'
I'm going to run away for a while... No, I'm going to leave, so you can do something with him.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom for a moment."
"Yes?"
"Then."
I quickly went into the bathroom attached to my room.
I ignored the perplexed gazes following me behind my back.