"..."
"Did you call Ben?"
From afar, Ben could be seen running like an arrow while shouting, "Deon!" I obediently sat down on a nearby rock where Dan had laid out a handkerchief and prepared me to receive treatment.
Ben quickly arrived and knelt down in front of me, carefully inspecting the wound, then raised his head and shouted sharply at Ed.
"Ed, what did you do to stop Deon when he was acting like this?!"
"..."
"Deon, please refrain from acting like this. The clothes melted and stuck to the flesh!"
"... What melted and stuck to something...?"
A gloomy voice was heard. At this point, even I was completely shocked and stiffened. The Mad Dogs who were fighting with the 0th Corps on one side had suddenly gathered in front of me.
I looked back to find a savior, but Dan turned away, and Ben and Ed, who knew that I was weaker than them, had already backed off to one side.
The members of the Order of Murderous Knights who surrounded me spoke as if they were putting pressure on me.
"Captain... I think I heard something scary..."
"It's your mood."
"What's wrong with my mood!"
Milan reached out. I quickly tried to pull away, but as if he didn't want to let go, he jumped forward and grabbed my ankle and pulled me.
I lost my balance and was about to fall backwards, but Dan, who was standing right behind me, grabbed me shoulders and Ed, who had come up to me, stretched out his left arm and supported my waist, allowing me to sit back down stably.
Cleter, a member of the Knights Templar who was preparing to hold me next to him, was impressed by his quick workmanship. Milan, who had been examining the wound for a moment with his face close to it, raised his head and shouted loudly.
"It's real! The clothes actually melted and stuck to his flesh! Plus, it smells like medicine!"
"What?!"
"Captain, are you taking drugs again?!"
"It even seems like it's on his thighs! If this is going to happen, take a different type of medicine!"
"No, you idiot! You shouldn't use medicine when you're not fighting!"
"Oh, that's right!"
It was a commotion that awakened the mind that had been drowsy only a moment ago.
Feeling rapidly tired, I raised my hands to cover my eyes, but the knights paid me no mind.
"Surgeon! Military medicine eye!"
"You idiot, the doctor is over there! ... Why are you there without giving treatment, you bastard!"
In the end, he even grabbed Ben's collar, so I wondered if I could just watch this happen. I had no choice but to rise up to save these guys' lives.
"I'll get treatment, so you guys stop and go back to your dorm."
"Yes? Can't we just watch?"
"You guys are so loud, I'm thinking of getting treatment in my room."
"That can't be possible!"
I ignored it and stood up. Ed next to me tried to support me, but my bones and ligaments were not damaged and I roughly waved his hand away.
"But these bast... make sure they go in properly and don't head somewhere else."
"I thought you were just trying to say bastard..."
"Come on."
"Captain? Captain!"
Dan made a hand gesture, as if herding sheep, and drove the knights towards the lodgings.
I looked at the back for a moment and then started walking towards the room. Ben and Ed followed behind.
Ed, who had been following my gait ahead of him with his gaze down in the quiet hallway, slowly opened his mouth.
"I have a question."
"Speak."
"Even though Deon has been given the position of general commander... he has not made much use of the Corps until now."
He was always curious.
I sat in a position where I could utilize all my legions. Nevertheless, I only used general troops and generals below the Corps. Except for the 0th Corps under my command, I clearly showed signs of refraining from using other Corps.
The walking ahead stopped for a moment. The red eyes that had been staring straight ahead glanced back at him.
"You're quick to notice."
"..."
"There is no particular reason."
Because I don't want to increase my debt. Because I want to refrain from relying on someone else's forces while relying on the Demon King's mercy. Because I want to take revenge with my own hands if possible.
... I want the Empire to fall, but I also want the human world to survive.
This was disgusting mercy and hypocrisy from those in power.
If you look inside me, you will probably find black chaos seething inside. I answered casually as I resumed my halted steps.
"The number of monsters has increased, making it difficult to deal with them with just two corps. We don't know how the situation will turn out in the future, so it's difficult to rely on the Corps already."
"Ah... it's Deon as expected."
"..."
Instead of answering, I opened the door and went in.
I took ff my outerwear and pulled a chair in front of the table to sit down, and Ben, who was immediately kneeling in front of me, picked up a pair of scissors.
"... Scissors?"
"I think I'll have to cut your clothes off."
"Okay, whatever."
The silence this time was quite comforting.
As I straightened my back and watched the blade cut the clothes near my thighs, Ed, who had organized my outer clothes, came up next to me.
"You said that dealing with the Empire has become easier."
"I did."
"They say Rweche is out of the alliance, but that's it. The alliance between Shanguk and the Empire still remain the same, but do you really think it has become easier to deal with them?"
Tuk-tuk. White fingers began tapping on the table.
"This cannot simply be seen as 'Rweche has withdrawn.' The king of Shanguk is smart. Not to mention the Emperor."
"...?"
What did it have to do with the intelligence of the two monarchs?
A question appeared on Ed's face. I glanced at him and smiled lightly.
"With the monarch who was coordinating in the middle gone and two smart monarchs left, what is left?"
As a leader, it is natural to minimize losses for your country and take care of your share. The conflict will definitely intensify.Especially because the Emperor is not a person who will bend down and enter, division is as if it was predestined."
***
"Sorry. Because of me, the alliance..."
"I sent support keeping in mind that the alliance might be broken in the first place."
"But I stepped forward and saved them for no reason..."
"Lien Reiner."
"..."
"I only told you to return home, but I never ordered you to stand by and watch their deaths. No, rather, I called them 'discarded cards'. In other words, you saved the lives of those who even the Emperor had given up on. That is an action that deserves praise."
"..."
"It means that you have nothing to apologize for."
...
"Aren't you hiding something?"
A voice rang sharply over the communication stone. The Emperor, who was lost in thought, frowned for a moment.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"There is no way the Empire did not know that there was a border in the Taehon Kingdom. Why didn't you tell Rweche?"
Ah. That. He slowly crossed his legs. He looked at the communication stone with a crooked and bored expression.
"I knew, but I decided it wasn't my job to make it known."
"What do you mean by that? Anything related to the demon world is theEmpire's responsibility. Of course..."
"Because the Taehon Kingdom did not inform the Empire of the existence of the boundary line. It's not possible for this side to arbitrarily come forward and announce something that wasn't made public by that side. Isn't that right?"
"..."
This was clearly the Taehon kingdom's fault.
The moment the king of Shanguk fell silent, the Emperor's golden eyes sparkled. A low voice came out as if applying pressure.
"We formed an alliance to deal with the demon world. Your partner is not a burden."
"..."
"Don't try to gain the upper hand over me."
He didn't think he would know about their intention to further strengthen their right to speak at this point. It seems like he wanted to see the Empire in trouble.
The Emperor looked back on the previous conversation for a moment, looking at the silent opponent.
'... I don't know anything else.'
The Taehon Kingdom did not inform the Empire of the existence of the border line. If this fact became known to Rweche, the Taehon Kingdom will no longer be able to receive the promise of Rweche's protection.
The Emperor, who was massaging his chin for a moment, suddenly asked a question.
"Are you the person who would create a situation where a weak country is driven out?"
"... It can't be. Why would you do something that has no benefit?"
The king of the Taehon Kingdom would not bother to come forward and reveal the truth, so the truth was buried beneath the surface.
He wondered why he didn't tell him even though he was promised protection.
'Did you think so lightly that you forgot?'
Whatever the reason was, it is not something we should worry about here.
The Emperor, who had prevented the history of a weak country from being cut off with a short question, calmly looked down at the communication stone delivering the next words.
"I don't think we're compatible."
"Yes."
He readily agreed.
Through the alliance, he would be able to talk to him frequently, and he was confident that staying close would only lead to more unnecessary conflicts.
So, it would be better to keep a reasonable distance to prevent the alliance from being broken.
***
Finally, Dvelania came with information about the Duke.
There was still no information about why the Duke did it, but a sufficient amount of information helped us to infer what he valued most.
After scanning and combining all the information with regret behind me, I raised my hand and covered my mouth. Next to him, Ed said, "Master Deon?" He called, but I couldn't answer.
With one hand still covering my mouth, I waved the other hand and gestured for him to leave. When everyone except Dan left and it was finally just the two of us left, I laughed.
"Hahahaha! Ha ha ha!!"
"..."
There was awareness that I will look crazy. However, I could not control the overflowing joy. Of course, that Duke. Stave Illuster.
"There was such a precious being!"
They were not even objects, they are people!
Duke Stave Illuster, who seemed so arrogant that he would not treat anyone other than himself, had someone he cherished. Maybe, no, he definitely cherishes that person more than the throne.
So that's it. Now I understand.
"It's absolutely perfect!"
Now that I have inferred something valuable, there was no need for this wad of paper.
The documents that soared into the sky fell apart one by one. Dan sighed because the room was a mess, but I didn't care and called him.
"Dan. Tell it to the Corps Commanders. Haha, no, I'd better say it myself. Call a meeting!"
I need to change my route.
Instead of the inefficient route of advancing to the capital through Illuster territory, take the shortest route to the capital. It was perfect because the occupied Paras Territory was on the shortest route to travel to either the Imperial Palace or Illuster Territory.
I lay on the bed, still smiling. There were papers scattered all over the room and even on the bed, which made my back sting, but the laughter didn't go away.
'I never would have guessed that the Duke cared for the Emperor!'
From his attitude of trying to take over the position in a peaceful way even in situations where he could have brought down the Emperor, to helping the Emperor at critical moments.
Why didn't I know? His actions aimed at the throne did not go beyond pressure.
So I decided. Kill the Emperor first, and then the Duke.
Have you ever felt the despair of losing a precious person?
I smiled brightly.