Chapter 16: My Overly Competent Subordinates Are Driving Me Crazy (4)

This is the first time they had seen Sir Demon since the ‘Zero Corps Training Ground Intrusion’ incident.

The corps members tensed up like never before as they waited for him to arrive.

After ‘that day’, Sir Demon didn’t visit the training ground again.

He was, of course, someone who visited very rarely, but since there had been a significant incident, they wondered if he would visit at least once. However, as if to mock the thoughts of such corps members, he had not visited the Zero Corps until today.

Naturally, the corps members were bound to be overcome with anxiety.

“Is he still angry?”

“But he obviously didn’t seem to care at the time.”

“Idiot, do you believe everything you see?”

“Maybe he’s angry at our incompetence for not being able to notice the intruder…”

“…..”

A silence, closer to gloom than quarrel, descended. 

It’s hard to deny it, but when Sir Demon personally fights with his daggers, he has a greater impact on the situation of any battle than when he commands the corps.

So, to such a person, whether the corps members were there or not made no difference.

Therefore, they trained harder. They worked hard to make sure they wouldn’t be a hindrance even if they couldn’t be of help.

In the end, they ended up where they started. 

Sir Demon’s abilities were beyond their imagination, and they still couldn’t even keep up with his toes.

So if they thought their abilities had improved a bit, it was just an illusion…

On the day that things were somewhat relaxed, Sir Demon visited and caught the intruder who was hiding in the training grounds without anyone noticing. And it was a reminder that the abilities they believed had grown were completely useless.

They felt frustrated. 

Because they were incompetent. Because it would be more convenient and advantageous to be alone.

“…Let’s just train.”

“Yeah, they say the Corps Commander is going out in a few days, so we need to at least improve our abilities a little so we won’t be a hindrance.”

“After all, there’s nothing else we can do.”

The corps members couldn’t tell what Sir Demon was thinking, so all they could do was make all kinds of speculations while waiting for the day of his appearance.

And today.

All the preparations were made and they were currently waiting.

‘…Why isn’t he coming out?’

Even though a significant amount of time passed, Sir Demon still hadn’t come out. Even his Aide, Ed, went to fetch him.

The cold early morning breeze began to spread unease throughout the corps.

They couldn’t move because they didn’t know when Sir Demon would come out, but finally, the firmly closed door opened with a bang.

Sir Demon, with a firmer expression than usual, walked out calmly, but then stopped after seeing them.

And as Sir Demon’s face became increasingly colder, the corps members became certain.

‘He still dislikes us.’

Silence flowed.

The morning wind was cold, but sweat was pouring down all of their forehead like rain.

Everyone had the same feeling of dryness in their mouths, and someone was heard gulping down dry saliva.

‘We aren’t going to be abandoned as soon as we go out, are we?’

The corps members were frantically  exchanging glances with each other, trying to think of a way to quickly pacify Sir Demon’s anger.

***

I’m a man of a few words. It’s understandable for someone who was born with a different appearance and had to live under discrimination to be bad at talking.

Responding appropriately to others’ words is a task that consumes a lot of my energy and mental strength, and it’s a tiring task for me.

To twist this a bit, it’s difficult to come up with a suitable response, and in this awkward silence, I can never be the first to speak. 

So right now, I-

‘…..’

Am just waiting for someone to break the silence. 

Luckily, the silence wasn’t as long as the ones I’ve experienced before. 

“What are you all doing? Sir Demon is angry!”

 “?!” 

The interruption came from someone who was neither a member of the corps, Ben, or even Ed. 

That alone was surprising, but the contents of the interruption made me even more shocked.

‘I-I’m angry?’

I wasn’t in a situation where I could get angry in the first place. It’s obviously my fault for being late…

No no, that’s not the point…

“Ririnell?” 

Why are you here?! 

I slightly turned my head towards where the voice came from and saw a small, floating figure in the sky. 

The appearance of her with her back turned to the moon is quite dreamy, but unfortunately, her short and petite body couldn’t contain more than cuteness.

Maybe she wanted to look cool… You should’ve just bought me some milk later. I can’t watch this because it’s too bad.

“I’m sorry!”

Oh, please…! 

While I briefly took my eyes off the sky, the corps members lowered their backs as one. 

The resonant voice echoed in the sky.

‘Why are you all like this… there’s nothing that you need to apologize for… Ah, is it because of Ririnell?’

The 11th Corps Commander and the owner of the second most magical power after the Demon King. 

I often forget due to her cute appearance, but her power is not something that is to be underestimated. 

So, to the ordinary corps members she must be like a god-like existence. 

For such a god-like existence to shout at them to apologize quickly? Even if they didn’t do anything wrong, they have no choice but to apologize.

‘But the resentment will fall on me…’

Ririnell, who couldn’t know the burning inside of me, descended towards my direction. 

She made a light bow and looked at me with a ‘Did I do well?’ expression… Dammit, I can’t even be mad at that expression. 

If I get mad, I feel like I will become a shameless adult who gets angry at a child.

Of course, I do not have the courage to do so. 

First of all, I have to deal with this situation. What should I deal with first? The corps members? Ririnell?

Well, firstly, I should address the corps members who are still maintaining a posture that looks like they have a backache.

“First of all, everyone raise your heads…” 

It was quite hard to persuade them.

The corps members were quite persistent. I had to tell them several times that I was okay before I could finally look at their faces. 

I seriously wondered why I had to persuade them, but at least I managed to break this uncomfortable atmosphere, and I could consider it a satisfactory outcome. 

The reason for the apology was also quite ridiculous. 

The incident where I caught the intruder by luck. 

I was annoyed because of their lack of skill, something like that.

But shouldn’t that be considered as the enemy’s fault? 

“…By the way, Ririnell?” 

“Yes, Sir Demon!” 

“Why are you here…?”

“Ah, yes! So… Ah, I wanted to give you this.”

Ririnell, who was looking at me with a somewhat bewildered expression, rummaged through her pocket.

What she revealed was a necklace that looked similar to the one worn by Ben.

For a moment, I had the nasty thought that she had stolen it from Ben, but then I remembered that these were magic stones and nodded my head.

Magicians usually engrave magic stones on their necklaces.

But why is she giving this to me?

“This will save you from instant death at least once.”

“Thank you.”

I didn’t ask for the reason. If someone is giving me a gift, I should just accept it. Where would I find the audacity to question the reason for a gift given to me? That would be impolite.

As soon as I put the necklace on, Ririnell giggled happily.

She is very cute. Even though she’s a Corps Commander, she’s just like a little girl.

Without realizing it, I patted her on the head. At that moment, the ribbon wrapped around Ririnell’s neck wiggled happily.

‘Ah… those were tentacles.’

The two tentacles were disguised as a ribbon to reduce my repulsion as a human being as much as possible.

I watched it wriggle excitedly with an indescribable expression, I slipped my hand off.

I turned around, trying my best to pretend as if nothing had happened, but the sight I saw from where I turned around rendered this effort futile.

‘…What are you guys doing…?’

Before I knew it, the corps members had parted to the sides and made a path in between.

And at the end of the path, a black horse that was releasing gusts of air and snorting, and the capable Aide Ed, who held its reins, was waiting.

I froze on the spot again at the shocking scene.

Curses filled my mouth, as if they were about to burst out at any moment.

‘Right, there was that… damn it.’

One of the reasons I didn’t want to leave the Demon King’s castle was because of that.

The horse looks impressive, but I wouldn’t want to ride it even if you called it that.

The horses of the Demon Realm are unlike those of the Human Realm, and they look terrifying from the start. If you ride one to war, anyone who sees it would avoid it.

Even their temper is dirtier!

If I rode that, I would surely die.

Falling off and dying, being trampled on and dying, or being bitten and dying.

‘Ssh, ssh-ang…’

Regardless, that thing is not right.

I have survived various dangers in the Demon King’s castle for about one and a half years.

But right now I am faced with the greatest crisis.

***

“What is that?”

The Demon King, who was watching Deon through the window, wrinkled his brow.

A horse? Not even a horse from the Human Realm, but a horse from the Demon Realm. And that guy, who threw up and was covered in blood just a while ago, is going to ride it?

“My Lord? Is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

The Demon King shook his head left and right in response to Velitan’s suspicious question and looked out the window again.

He wanted to see Deon off from the start until the moment he left the castle, but the Demon King couldn’t show favoritism even in his official position as commander-in-chief, so he had to find other Corps to prepare for the battle.

But then, he saw Deon trying to ride something so crude with a body that might break at any moment.

‘As expected, if I take my eyes off for a moment, things like this happen.’

“Velitan.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a communication stone?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Is Ed’s communication stone engraved on it?”

“Yes.”

“Great, let me borrow it for a moment.”

He took Velitan’s communication stone and connected it to Ed’s.

He could have contacted Deon, but there was a reason why he didn’t.

Even if he tried to contact Deon, it would not be received.

He doesn’t intentionally ignore it, but rather because Deon gave direct orders to keep it inside his room. So even if he tried to contact him, it would not be received.

There was no inconvenience in particular.

Deon, who is normally inside his room, goes out only when he is accompanied by his Aide, Ed, who is always with him.

As a capable Aide, Ed always carries a communication stone with him.

That is still the case now.

-Yes, this is Ed, the Zero Corps Commander’s Aide.

“This is the Demon King.”

-Ah, yes, my lord. What is the matter?

“Are you in your right mind?”

-…Yes?

Perhaps embarrassed by the sudden reprimand, the response was a beat slower.

But it seemed that the Demon King had no intention of stopping the reprimand and continued to press on relentlessly.

“Why are you trying to put a human who may vomit blood at any moment on a horse, especially one from the Demon Realm? Are you trying to make a person in poor health travel a long distance on a horse? Have you lost your mind?”

-…I’m sorry.

With that, there was nothing more to say. The Demon King was silent for a moment, as if cold water was poured over his head.

In fact, this was unfair for Ed. 

Deon liked the demonic horses, so often when he saw someone riding a horse, he would stare intently.

He has never expressed a desire to ride or see a horse, but if he stared at them so intently, it was clear that he liked horses.

There’s no way Ed, his Aide, wouldn’t know that..

He probably thought it would be difficult to break Deon’s stubbornness with a quick guess and immediately prepared the horse.

It was a long-awaited outing for the human who has been unable to leave the castle, even the outer castle, and has been confined to the inner castle. It is natural that he might want to ride a horse.

“…I understand.”

-No, I didn’t even try to persuade him. I’m sorry.

Convincing Deon couldn’t be that easy.

Breaking his stubbornness wasn’t a difficult task in and of itself. It was a difficult task that required a great deal of perseverance in order to persuade him.

He’s like a ticking time bomb that you never know when it might go off.

Even if he’s usually gentle, it will be quite dangerous once he explodes, so he had no choice but to be cautious.

Perhaps it’s because he’s a human, and the timing of his rage differs from that of demons, making it more difficult to handle.

Of course, it would be easier to prepare in silence than to persuade him.

“Anyway, it’s still a no. Get a carriage ready immediately.”

-Yes.

“I’ll leave the persuasion to you.”

-…Yes.

For some reason, the answer seemed slow, but the Demon King pretended not to notice.

In the end, he too was reluctant to incur Deon’s anger or hatred.