Dan looked this way and smiled. His personality changes every time I see him. Did I get used to it that much, or did Remember' character have an influence on his personality?
No, now was not the time to think about that. I put away useless thoughts and glanced at Dan. I didn't forget to keep my expression firm.
"... What is your intention in saying that?"
"I'm just telling you that there are rumors. I think you should know, Marquis."
"..."
I relaxed my eyes.
I have no idea what this guy was thinking. Was he an enemy or a friend?
What should I do with this guy who became vaguely close to me, vaguely comfortable with me, and vaguely became my person?
... Even if I thought about it now, I couldn't find an answer. I looked down at the documents again and muttered.
"I'm the only one at peace. If this place wasn't a military camp, I might have mistakenly thought the war hadn't broken out."
"I don't think something like that would have happened. The guns of war exploded so spectacularly."
"... That's true too."
Ah, stress.
I quietly took out a handkerchief and put it over my mouth. It is no exaggeration to say that it was a highly absorbent cloth, and the blood that came out quickly seeped into the handkerchief without leaking.
I grumbled to myself as I neatly organized it and put it in my pocket.
'The frequency of hemoptysis has decreased? No, it's no different than before.'
This was all because of stress. Considering that I vomited blood horribly when I was often called out in the early days of the war, there was no doubt about it.
I felt a stinging gaze from one side. When I turned my head, I made eye contact with Dan, who was looking at me with narrowed eyes. That's right, I was talking to him. How much did we talk about?
... Yes, the guns of war exploded spectacularly.
"The war of words between the two monarchs was very colorful."
"The appearance was also gorgeous."
"..."
"I'm kidding."
"... You'd better keep your distance from Remember."
I scolded him coldly and grabbed the pen. However, the hand only held the pen and did not move immediately.
The very impressive declaration of war that day came to mind, and before I knew it, I was lost in thought, tapping my fingers on the desk.
***
Surprisingly, the Demon King declared war by following a very standard procedure.
Maybe it couldn't be considered standard, but since it wasn't a sudden attack, it could be roughly considered similar.
As if to show off his magical power, he sent video magic across the entire continent, as if he had forgotten the magic ban he had issued. So that not only the Empire, but each kingdom and even small rural villages could see this.
As everyone focused their attention on the unfamiliar magic, Jaykar, the Commander of the 1st Corps, who acted as the Demon King's agent, appeared on the screen.
"This is a message from the demon realm to the human world."
It was a start that cut out formalities.
"From the perspective of the demon realm, which loves balance and peace, it was judged that the Empire's war to conquer the continent was overheated and dangerous, so we declared war on the Empire in order to prevent the Empire's excessive actions before they destroyed the human world."
Honestly, I burst out laughing here.
Balance... wow, and peace... love... so much... the demon realm... A lot of time has passed and the people who fought a war against the demon realm were no longer alive, but it was still not enough to be fooled by such lies.
Just looking at history books right now...
'... Do commoners ever... ever read history books?'
Ahhh?
I quietly covered my mouth. I spewed blood as I pleased and covered my mouth as I pleased, causing an uproar among those around me, asking if I had vomited blood again, but their voices were not heard.
There is no way that commoners, who were satisfied with just eating well and living well, would be interested in history not from aristocratic families who provided compulsory education about the dignity of nobility and such! Jaykar, no, the Demon King was counting on this!
"Since this is our goal, we are willing to back down and 'surrender' to the Empire if it promises not to move any further."
Wow, crazy. He just provoked the Emperor.
For some reason, Jaykar looked at the screen blankly, feeling like he could know the Emperor's expression even without looking at it. Then, he looked straight ahead again and gently raised the corner of his mouth.
It's definitely the first time I've seen him smile, so why did it look so familiar?
'I know who you were imitating and laughing at...'
The Demon King.
One thing about his smile is that he smiles pretty and well.
Should I call it a smile that relieves tension?
"Are you watching, Emperor? There must be a shaman there, too. The Demon King gave permission. If you can, try interfering with this magic and try to answer the question. Since the barrier has been lowered, it won't be difficult."
... It would only work if the words were pretty, too. Jaykar's tone of voice was a disqualifier.
Rather, it proved that shamans could reach into the realm of magic. The Imperial family had a dedicated shaman, so at least he wouldn't have to worry about finding a shaman.
'Then the question is whether the shaman's skills are capable of interfering with that magic and whether the Emperor responds to those words...'
The Emperor was not one to avoid provocation. I'm sure he'll call a shaman to intervene.
Sure enough, whether it was true that the words about lowering the barrier were true or whether the shaman's skills were outstanding, it didn't take long for the screen in the air to crackle and shake, and soon changed to the Emperor's face. A young man, for an Emperor, with blond hair and golden eyes, was draping his arms over a book on the armrest of his throne and glaring at the screen as if he were annoyed.
"I heard you barking. I received new information that demons have a unique way of barking instead of human speech. I have to tell the scribe to record it properly."
Laughter broke out here and there.
Fake laughter to relieve tension. Everyone was probably feeling it. If they were not careful, the Empire could become completely isolated from the human world. If that happened, it would have to fight the demon realm alone without any support.
But I didn't laugh.
I was confident as I knew a little more about the Emperor than others. The Emperor never gave up on conquering the continent. He'd probably try to hold the sword as long as he still had breath.
In such a situation, what would happen since Jaykar, or rather the, Demon King, provoked the Emperor by saying, 'I can step down'?
'What choice will our Majesty, who does not avoid an oncoming fight but gladly responds to provocation, choose...!'
Fortunately, the Emperor was also smart enough to not say directly, 'Are you not going to stop the war of conquest?' Instead of answering the question, 'Are you going to continue?', he started by pointing out the blind spots in the other person's words.
"The fact that demons love balance and peace is something that will turn the world upside down. If the whole world knows how cruel you are, how do you have the audacity to tell lies? While I am showing my face right now, isn't the Demon King hiding behind the 1st Corps Commander and manipulating him? The personality of those who have such a person as their ruler is obvious even without looking at it."
They put on a good-natured mask and lie often, causing internal division or backstabbing.
"... Oh."
"..."
The flow changed again. The distrust toward demons that had been sown for some time became fertilizer and sprouted. The eyes of people who were previously filled with anxiety showed determination and vitality.
From the perspective of an Imperial citizen, it was fortunate, but I did not understand. It's not like the Demon King didn't know anything about the Emperor, so why did he allow interference? There's no way he couldn't have expected this situation.
The moment my thoughts went crazy, a new screen appeared right next to the screen floating in the air.
"It's a shame that I hid."
Reversed eyes in which the white and black colors were reversed. A familiar face with a gentle smile. It's the Demon King. It didn't seem like that would happen, but it seemed he eventually fell for the Emperor's provocation.
He's not just blocking interference, he's creating an extra screen...
'Do you have any magic power left? Have you really abandoned the ban on magic?'
"I never thought the emperor would step forward in person. Thanks to this, I got to see your face in person for the first time. Of course, it's difficult to say it's in person, but it's the first time I've seen it live and not just a painting... I knew your age, but you look much younger than I thought. It's really surprising."
"... You're confusing the point of what you're saying. Was there anything in my remarks that seemed off-putting?"
"What do you mean by the lying part?"
The Demon King closed his eyes and smiled as if drawn. His attractive appearance, which was not much different from that of a human except for his eyes, shone.
"There was no lie in what we said?"
I could hear the maids expressing their admiration.
That was definitely intentional. I intentionally smiled to hide the parts that were different from other humans.
"With that face, he can do anything..."
"That person, that demon... is he the Demon King? I believe it, Demon King..."
The Emperor seemed to have sensed the intention of that smile and narrowed his eyebrows.
The only way to deal with this was to smile brightly in turn, but there was no way for the Emperor to smile brightly. Ugh, I got goosebumps just thinking about it.
While I was wiping away my goosebump-covered arms, the Emperor, as expected, chose logic over face-to-face confrontation, and opened his mouth with a growl in his throat.
"This hypocrite..."
"Hmm?"
"Get rid of that stupid mask because it's disgusting. Did you say that if I retreat, the demon realm will also retreat? It's not even funny. Did you think that just because so much time has passed since the war between the demon realm and the human world, your past actions and remarks would be forgotten? No way!"
Voices get louder. The world fell into silence.
The Emperor's voice soared high into the sky through the quiet space.
"Knowledge, wisdom, and events that occurred in the past are passed down to descendants through records. Let's take this further to prevent the same mistake! This must be the "proof!
He picked up the book he had placed on the armrest and shook it against the screen.
"This is a history book that was sleeping in the library of this palace. There are quite detailed records of the war that took place in the past war against the demon realm. There was a lot of interesting content. Let's read just a bit of it..."
He opened the book, found the page, flipped through it, and fixed his eyes on one spot as if he had found the part he was looking for.
"It's said that a human king who was cornered during the war desperately cried out. He asked why they invaded the quiet human world. Then the Demon King laughed lightly and answered."
After saying that, the Emperor raised his head.
He looked straight at the screen with fierce golden eyes, as if looking at someone beyond the screen, and spoke slowly. A slow but serious voice resonated throughout the world.
"'As a demon, isn't it natural to covet a land where the sun shines?'"
For that moment, no one could open their mouths, as if someone had used magic.
Truly an eerie silence.
Even as I was endlessly staring at the golden eyes on the screen, the Emperor struck the final nail, breaking the silence that seemed like it would last forever.
"In the end, the Empire's actions were just an excuse and an attempt to induce division within the human world, but weren't you originally targeting the human world at will?"
"You're saying you're making an excuse, but aren't I sincere when I say that if the Empire withdraws, we will also withdraw? Just pretend to surrender and take a step back. If we don't retreat, it will be too late to move again."
Both monarchs seemed to be talking to each other, but they did not forget their goal of inciting and persuading the majority of people watching this screen.
There were probably quite a few people nodding their heads at the Demon King's remarks that just came out. For example, people from other kingdoms who looked at the Empire that was waging an aggressive war of conquest with uneasy eyes, or people who opposed the war against the demon realm within the empire.
The Emperor, who could not have been unaware of this, did not give up and raised his voice again.
"This book also contains stories about the lifespan of demons. It's so long that it can't even be compared to a human. So I was able to guess without difficulty. Currently, the Empire is the most annoying opponent in the human world, so it may be your intention to keep it in check and waste time, and then as time passes and a generational change occurs and the Empire declines, you may easily swallow it up... That's a pretty reasonable guess. In the end, you have only two choices, given to the current generation of humans."
It was only after hearing the next words that I could understand what the Emperor intended when he said those words.
"Do you seek to ensure the safety of your descendants by immediately going to war with the current Empire, which is so strong that even the demon realm feels uncomfortable, or do you plan to run away in the vain hope that it will disappear someday and delay it, leading to the extinction of your descendants?"
The cause of the war against the demon realm had completely changed.