Deon, who returned to the room, slept for three days as if he was going to get the sleep he had not had in a while.
Although he was likely to wake up in the middle of the night, he continued to sleep without opening his eyes even once, so the Lofty Knights seemed anxious and snooped around the door...
"Are you sure he's okay?"
"I heard he hasn't woke up! If he has a problem..."
"Hey, you bastard! Don't be ominous! ... By the way, have you tried putting your finger under his nose?"
"... He's just sleeping a little longer. He's sleeping soundly, so don't disturb him and go back quickly. Not only are your voices loud, but the hallways are jammed with people rushing in like this."
They were blocked by an iron wall and had no choice but to return to their respective lodgings.
Dan came in after driving away the barking crazy dogs in front of the door, carefully walked up to the door, locked it, and turned around to prepare for those who didn't give up. He saw Deon sleeping quietly in bed, like a character from a fairy tale, as if he hadn't woken up despite the commotion outside. The wooden box on his bedside table was a bonus.
'... Why are you sleeping with that by your bedside?'
Should he say that it was better than hugging and sleeping with it? No, maybe it would be better to just cuddle and sleep with it.
The way he slept vaguely and uncomfortable made him feel like he wanted to sleep with it in his arms, but something was holding him back so much that he can't, and it looks like he slept with it nearby instead.
After looking at Deon with a strange look, Dan turned his head for a moment and started tidying up the room.
In fact, there was nothing to organize. The person who was going to clean things up has been lying in bed sleeping ever since they arrived, so what is there to clean?
He simply swept the area with his fingertips to see if dust had accumulated and looked at the vase on the window sill. He thought it would be just as vivid as before, so he took a quick look and tried to move on, but soon Dan couldn't believe his eyes and had no choice but to turn around and look at the flower again.
'A little... wilted?'
Even when it was dry on the inside due to not being watered, it was still vibrant.
Was it because it has been severely affected by being in the demon realm for a long time? It was impossible to predict whether it could remain lively or wither.
'On the outside, it looks like an ordinary flower from the human world.'
He looked at the flower with a slightly wilted tip with suspicious eyes and then turned his head.
It's suspicious, but he needed Deon Hardt's permission to clean it up unless it looks dangerous. There was nothing he could do about this flower now.
***
Three days passed and on the fourth day, Deon Hardt finally woke up.
Contrary to expectations that he would jump back into conquering the human world in earnest after taking a break, he suddenly became lethargic and locked himself in his room. It was natural that many people were dumbfounded.
'The reason is obvious.'
There was a person who moved calmly while the demons were confused, not knowing how to respond to an unexpected and unfamiliar situation.
Dan sighed as he forced Deon, who was drooping, to sit up, fed him, and pushed him into the bathroom to wash up.
'Because he achieved one big goal.'
Because he had achieved one big goal, which was to destroy the Empire and take revenge on the Duke, he felt a sudden lethargy. It's impossible for a person to constantly burn out their emotions, whether it's revenge or something else. Rather, he thought it was brave of him to hold out until now.
'If it were an ordinary person, their spirit would definitely have collapsed.'
Was it because of his weak appearance, or was it because of his sharp-edged atmosphere that made him feel as if he will collapse at any moment?
Frankly, Dan judged Deon Hardt's mental strength to be below average.
Just looking at the current situation, it was like that. It looked like he was holding on to glass that was already close to cracking.
'... When I thought about it, it's amazing that he endured until now even after going through such things.'
From the age of 14 until now, the merciless hammer has struck Deon Hardt's spirit mercilessly. Not gently, but strongly with each hammer blow, strongly and continuously.
It was entirely thanks to his mental strength that his spirit, which could have already been reduced to dust, was able to survive even though it was in a cracked state. Perhaps the person with the strongest spirit was none other than Deon Hardt.
'Maybe that's the limit, but right now it feels like he might break if he gets hit.'
Dan looked back at Deon, who came out wearing a robe, noticed his steps heading straight to the bed, and quickly opened his mouth.
"You have to wear proper clothes."
"Bothersome."
"No, Master... ha."
Deon was lying down on the bed, his face buried in the pillow, not moving. Dan wondered for a moment whether he might die from suffocation, but Dan decided that there was no way a warrior could die from something like that, so he put aside his worries and spoke again.
"The Corps Commanders have come again."
"They met me once. Okay then, what more do they want?"
A muffled voice muttered.
Yes, he did meet them. In front of the Corps Commanders who had come to conquer the human world, he slumped on a chair and spoke insincerely. The main point was to figure it out in the end.
'You guys are capable of that much. If I have taken down the Empire, which is the biggest obstacle, you should take care of the rest.'
'But.'
'The ban on magic has disappeared, but you really can't do that?'
'...'
'Right'
He was a warrior, the General Commander, and Commander of the 0th Corps at the same time. Everyone kept their mouths shut and went away because they couldn't rebel against the Demon King's most cherished being, but there couldn't be no complaints at all.
What if an enemy arose inside the Demon King Castle? Dan, who was looking at Deon with complicated eyes, turned his head when he heard a knock.
"This is Ed, Deon."
"... Yes."
Now, as if speaking was too much of a hassle, the index finger clicked with a faint sound that made no sense.
It was not even a full hand gesture, it was just a finger. Dan, who had just laughed for a moment out of bewilderment, read the meaning and walked over to open the door.
"Please come in."
"..."
Ed looked at Dan, who came out from inside, with disapproving eyes, then patted him and walked past him to stand next to Deon's bed. There was something in both his hands.
"I brought you a new puzzle."
"Yes."
"I was wondering if it might help with mental stability..."
"Ugh."
"... Maybe I did something useless."
"Yes."
"..."
At a loss for words, Ed's eyes turned to Dan as if he needed an answer. Dan, who met blue eyes, calmly shrugged his shoulders.
"These are meaningless words spoken without thinking. Don't get hurt."
"... I wasn't hurt. And what kind of manner of speaking is that in front of Deon?"
"It was just a simple explanation."
He wasn't in the mood to argue. Ed, who was about to say something more, shook his head and sighed as if he had come to terms with it. The box containing the puzzle was placed on the table in the middle of the room.
"... Deon."
"Yes."
"Can you at least tell me why you are doing that?"
"Yes."
Whether or not Ed was making meaningless attempts at conversation, Dan took a quick look at the puzzle on the table. Oh, he was completely amazed.
'It looks like they used some pretty high-quality pictures as puzzles.'
It was a puzzle that, when completed, created a beautiful landscape painting. Every time he looked at the puzzles hanging in the room, Dan wondered who had gotten something like that, but he never thought it was the adjutant.
Even if it weren't for that, it would have been difficult to save this from the war-torn human world, so he guess he should say the ability is good.
"Please, Deon."
"... Ah, really."
Finally, as if he couldn't ignore Ed's call, an irritated voice filled the room.
Deon was in a prone position, with his head turned to the side, half of his face buried in the pillow, and his brows slightly frowned.
"I'm just tired and want to get some rest."
"But we're at war right now..."
"Even the Demon King isn't saying anything, so do you think this is an area where you can come forward and speak up?"
"..."
Deon, who was looking at Ed, who was speechless, with a crooked gaze, turned his head to the other side.
"Go. I'm tired, so don't disturb me."
"..."
"Master, are you going to sleep again?"
It was Dan who overtook the frozen Ed.
"You've already had enough sleep, right?"
Dan, who passed by Ed as if he wasn't even paying attention, naturally started talking. Ed looked down at his hands for a moment to see if he had become invisible.
"I'm still tired."
"The only thing Master did today was eat and go to the bathroom."
"What should I do if I'm just sleepy?"
"Even though you spend most of your daily life sleeping?"
"... I'll call Ben."
Even though his existence had faded due to being pushed around by that obnoxious, mean person named Dan, he was not so easygoing as to be treated like he doesn't exist. Ed raised his voice appropriately.
"Feeling drowsy even when you sleep may be a sign that there is a problem somewhere in your body. I think it would be a good idea to get a detailed examination."
"But..."
Only then did Deon, who turned his gaze to Ed, trail off. The red eyes rolled around as if they were bothered.
"I'm a hero?"
"Even warriors are ultimately mortal. It's not good to have too much faith in the strength of a warrior."
"... Okay, whatever. Do whatever you feel like."
Although it was a reluctant answer, the following events took place quickly.
Ben, who received the signal from Ed and rushed over with fire in his feet, forced Deon, who was lying down, to sit down and began various examinations. Deon continued to feel soggy and tried to lie down, but instead of allowing Ed and Dan to help him, he shouted sharply, asking them what they were doing.
Dan, who was supporting the dripping Deon, asked playfully.
"Master, has that new spine melted? Your body looks like it's turned into some kind of octopus..."
"Your speech habits. I don't know why Deon keeps you around."
Ed narrowed his eyebrows in annoyance as he gently lifted Deon, who was trying to lie down, and put him back in his position. Dan chuckled.
"Maybe he likes this about me."
"That's not true."
"..."
"..."
Though he felt too lazy to talk, he always answered clearly.
Ed cleared his throat as if he was holding back laughter as Dan was speechless for a moment. Thanks to this, Dan came to his senses and looked at Deon as if it was too much.
"Master..."
"... So what is the result of the checkup?"
"Your body is fine, but..."
"Ugh."
Deon muttered, clearly showing his annoyance, and shook off the two hands holding his arms and crawled back into the blanket. At this point, everyone was told to shut up, but it wasn't enough to overcome Ben's strong work spirit, which he hadn't finished speaking yet.
"It seems to be a mental problem."
"... What?"
Deon jumped up at the remark that could not be ignored.
Bright red eyes, tinged with sharp anticipation, looked at Ben, as if wondering when he had relaxed.
"Do you want to tell me I'm crazy? A psychopath?"
"No! That's not it!"
Ben, who felt his life was in danger, jumped up.
"You, Deon, have been through a lot during the long war recently. Due to the nature of the battlefield, mental fatigue would have built up and there would have been no way to relieve it."
"... Hm."
H roughly knew what he was trying to say. Deon, who was blinking his drowsy eyes again, slid down to lie down. Ben's voice continued as if confirming his expectations.
"I think the mental fatigue that had accumulated so far was released by taking a break."
"If you rest, shouldn't you stabilize rather than explode? Master, why..."
"No. If you make a small hole in a dam to let out a little water, will it explode or not?"
Cracks will gradually form around the hole, and soon the dam itself will collapse.
However, he can't rest forever, so he supposed it was a good thing that it happened at this point. First of all, since they had passed the great juncture of the Empire, they had some time to spare.
Dan sighed as he saw the white back of Deon's motionless head.
"So what should I do?"