"Being on screen means becoming a representative of the demon world. Deon might not know, but it would be too difficult to put another human in that position..."
"That's right! I'm sorry Deon, but I don't understand. I want to tell you in advance that if that person tries to appear on screen, I might kill him before he does!"
3rd Corps Commander Ashild expressed his disapproval, while 7th Corps Commander Silua strongly agreed. In addition, many Corps Commanders agreed with their facial expressions, although they did not open their mouths.
On the contrary, there were those who were in favor.
"That sounds fun. I agree."
"Dvelania!"
"I agree too. It's new, right? I think it'll be fun."
"Even Trover...!"
The 2nd Corps Commander and 9th Corps Commander. Lirinel, Commander of the 11th Corps, also agreed, but for slightly different reasons.
"Anyway, if Deon shows his face and reveals that he is a hero, nothing else will be noticed. With all his beauty, what kind of person would pay attention to a bumbling squid? They probably won't even know if the speaker is a human or a demon!"
"A squid?"
"It's a phrase used to call a very ugly person. I heard it from the 5th Corps Commander."
If this continues, the story will leak somewhere else.
The Demon King was quietly watching the situation unfold with an expression that made no sense as to what he is thinking. I glanced at him and tapped the desk, drawing
attention again.
"The last time I came forward, I claimed that the demon world accepts humans without prejudice, citing the fact that I am the Commander of the 0th Corps."
It was to induce human betrayal and internal strife.
"But there was a rebuttal."
"... Ah."
The expressions of some Corps Commanders changed as if they had some understanding. Dvelania, who was originally in favor of listening to the opposing and neutral sides, looked interested. In particular, Idelia, who was mainly in charge of information processing, seemed to have clearly realized this and changed her position to agree.
"What did they say over there?"
"... They accepted you specifically because you are Deon Hardt... they refuted it by saying something like that."
"That's right."
They claimed that it was specially allowed because it was 'Deon Hardt'.
I smiled sweetly at Idelia, who surprisingly gave an appropriately condensed answer, and continued speaking again.
"Dan is proof."
I was not the only evidence. To achieve this purpose, evidence that it was Dan rather than me is more important.
If the 'warrior' Deon Hardt is the stick, Dan, the 'common man', is the carrot.
Heroes who are on the same side as the Demon King will feel the fear that comes from the overwhelming power gap, while ordinary people who are doing well in the Demon King's castle will have the courage to turn to the Demon King's Army. That would be a pretty plausible and sweet temptation.
That's why Dan has to stand in front of the screen himself. I have to let people know that I am living well like this without shaking with my characteristic shamelessness and eloquent tongue. Dan is not the only person living in the Demon King's Castle who speaks shamelessly, but...
'They can't do that.'
Their 'good at speaking' has a completely different meaning from Dan.
You can say that they are good at speaking because they speak confidently without being nervous... but they are only good at 'talking' as the word says. The most important 'logic' is missing.
How can we trust these people who are armed with shamelessness and confidently push forward without logic and give them a place where everyone can see? Crazy dogs are not allowed. Anyway, no way.
After organizing my thoughts, I put a smile on my face.
A calm voice flowed out that no one would know what I was thinking.
"This is excellent proof that the Demon King's Army accepts humans other than me. Do you understand why this is the case?"
There was no answer, but the atmosphere changed as if they were somehow convinced.
It was only then that the Demon King, who had confirmed that a rough conclusion had been drawn from the softened eyes of the Corps Commanders, opened his mouth.
"Bring Dan."
"He'll be right outside the door."
I added as if I had been waiting. There was a satisfied smile on my face as the situation went as expected.
It was not for nothing that I ordered Dan to wait in front of the conference hall before coming here. The Demon King's eyes narrowed, but I pretended not to notice and turned my head to ignore his gaze.
***[1]
The new arrival, Dan, was bowing in greeting.
'... I've been fooled.'
The Demon King followed my gaze and immediately laughed when he saw Dan.
Were all of the previous remarks just a starting point for the present, or were they guided appropriately to suit the situation? Either way, it doesn't matter as the point is that Deon had made the calculations in advance before participating in the meeting.
He looks like a fox. He said he looked like a fox, but it looks like he really wants to become a fox.
For some reason, it seemed like he could see in Deon the image of a fox happily wagging its tail, pretending not to be the case, so the Demon King closed his eyes as if he was amused.
'Now that I think about it, you were planning on pretending to be a fox from the beginning, right?'
He remembered when he recruited him into the Demon King's Army and first sent him to the Empire.
He thought he was completely on the Demon King's side, but cutely, he was walking a tightrope in the middle. When he returned to the Demon King's Castle, everything, including his mood, eyes, attitude, and tone of voice, gave off a subtle sense of discomfort, which he immediately noticed.
'At that time, he was still a clumsy fox cub.'
At the time, the only thing he knew how to do was show his teeth and bite his enemies, and it was almost like an immature dog trying to pretend to be a fox, but now he was a proper fox.
'It is said that humans are originally beings greatly influenced by the environment...'
The human in front of him was so dramatic that it seems like he could be used as a model.
Although he was caught up in Deon Hardt's guidance, he did not feel anger. On the contrary, the Demon King felt extremely satisfied that he had in his hands a specimen that steadily grew, changed, and showed various aspects, so he looked through the altar with a generous heart.
'... You're more powerful than I thought.'
It's quite impressive to see him standing firmly in front of the Demon King while avoiding the sharp gaze of high-ranking demons in a place where everyone is paying attention.
'At least you won't be nervous when you appear on screen.'
At this level, the minimum conditions were met.
The silence was getting longer as the Demon King did not open his mouth. Without further ado, he opened his mouth.
"Human."
"Yes."
"Can you stand in front of everyone?"
"... Yes?"
It was a word that came out of nowhere after cutting it all out. It was natural not to understand.
He suddenly called and asked what this meant. Confusion appeared in Dan's eyes.
"This time, it looks like the screen will be shown across the entire continent, so I'm asking if you can stand there."
"...!"
Dan, who understood the situation from the added explanation, widened his eyes.
It was just a moment. Dan, who was surprised for a moment but calmed down his emotions and expression as if he had never been surprised before, lowered his gaze as if he was thinking about something.
And how long has it been?
"If you just leave it to me, I will do my best."
He raised his head and grinned before the gaze of the demons with short patience showed signs of urging.
In a silence filled with understanding and affirmation, several Corps Commanders clicked their tongues in disapproval and turned their heads, while Deon rose an eyebrow as if he was suspicious of something. The Demon King quietly looked down at Dan.
'He has something else on his mind.'
What is he trying to do?
He'd curious, but he had no intention of stopping it. There was no certainty that he will do anything harmful to this side, and there was no way that a human who faithfully follows Deon Hardt will do anything harmful to him.
Since he was neither a demon nor a hand-picked human, the Demon King studied Dan quite carefully and figured out his tendencies.
That's why he was able to calmly remain silent even though he knew there were other thoughts.
'He's not a foolish guy, so even if he gets into an accident, it'll be within a reasonable range.'
Maybe it was the human knights who came in later, but at least the people in front of them weren't stupid.
From the looks of it, Dan had been ordered to wait in front of the conference hall door in advance, but since the current situation had come to an end, even if there had been no prior notice, he would have roughly figured out the situation. He probably realized that Deon Hardt had planned this situation.
In other words, he got into this position thanks to Deon Hardt's recommendation.
Having an accident in a situation where you are standing in front of everyone because of someone's recommendation means that you are tarnishing the recommender's face and at the same time placing responsibility on them.
The Demon King glanced at Deon and slowly nodded.
"Okay then, let's just proceed like this...!"
"...?"
"..."
"Demon King...?"
Why did he suddenly stop while speaking? Someone carefully spoke to the Demon King, who kept his mouth shut without even finishing his sentence, as if he was worried that something was wrong.
Only then did the Demon King's face distort mercilessly.
"... A guest has arrived."
"...?"
A guest. Was there any guest worthy of coming to the Demon King's Castle?
The moment when doubt and caution appeared on everyone's faces.
Kock.
"I'm sorry, Demon King. Now, the heads of each tribe...!"
"Move!"
The door suddenly opened and someone burst in.
***
Just a few hours before the incident occurred.
The leaders of each race, except for the most difficult opponent, the Demon King, gathered together again.
The Fairy King, who was quietly drinking tea and looking around in one side of the desolate and gloomy garden of the vampire castle, took his eyes off the scenery to protect his eyes and looked at the organizer of the meeting.
"We've been gathering together more often these days. Why did you call us this time?"
"It's obvious."
The vampire leader frowned and set down the teacup a little roughly. A low voice, as if chewing, followed along with a clattering sound.
"It's the monster problem."
"... There is definitely no sign of improvement."
"This is not a problem that simply stops there. Even though the heads of the races visited and spoke directly, there was no change in the situation. No, it actually got worse."
A grinding sound was heard.
... It seems like there's a lot piled up. Did they say that a swarm of monsters recently crossed into the realm of vampires? He heard that the damage was extensive.
He understood how he felt, but... The Fairy King swallowed a sigh and rolled his eyes. He made eye contact with the leader of the mermaid tribe.
After a brief exchange of glances, she seemingly nodded and spoke in a soft voice with the intention of calming the other person down.
"So, are you planning to go protest again?"
"Yes. Monsters are born from the Demon King. The Demon King deserves to be held accountable. Since he has caused damage to other races like this, we need to protest and receive compensation for the damage."
"It seemed like he was doing his best. However, it seems that the troops have been lacking recently. I think there are unavoidable circumstances, so please be a little considerate..."
"Hah, what on earth are you doing?"
"..."
The leader of the mermaid tribe fell silent again. A brief glance was exchanged with the Fairy King again.
The vampire leader did not know that the Demon King was still targeting the human world. In fact, he almost brought down the Empire.
All she knew was that the ignition of this war was Deon Hardt.
Afterwards, she stopped taking interest in the topic of the Demon King with a cynicism and wondered how long a low-quality game of playing house that matches the rhythm of a human would last, saying it wasn't worth his age, so she had no idea what happened after that. They even intentionally blocked her view, so unless she tried to find out, she had no choice but to not know.
'If she finds out about the current situation...'
'She will probably try to kill Deon Hardt.'
It is dangerous for humans to freely invade the territory of demons, but it is also dangerous for demons to devour the human world and increase their power.
Because the Demon King is not a being that can be trusted.
When the boredom reaches its peak with the human world as a distraction target gone, and he decided that 'chaos' would be more fun, he will immediately turn your weapon in their direction. It will disrupt the barely established order of the abyss and cause confusion. So, based on common sense, it was right to be on guard in advance and try to prevent it.
In the process, it would be natural to kill Deon Hardt, who was the ignition point of the war and played a major role in the conquest of the human world.
Of course, this only was from the perspective of the vampire leader who did not know the future that the conquest of the human world will fail.
The head of the fairy tribe sees the flow of the world, and the leader of the mermaid tribe sees the future.
On the day the Demon King visited the realm of the Fairies with a demon gardener and Deon Hardt, the two confirmed that the World was showing favor toward Deon Hardt. It was a bonus to be sure that it can't happen without a reason. So they exchanged information and put their heads together to predict the future.
Of course, unless it is a 'prophecy', there is a possibility that the future may be wrong, but it is a future predicted by two beings working together, not just one being. The chance of being wrong was very small.
The two thought about the future with such a high hit rate.
'If things continue like this, it will not be difficult for our species to establish itself in the human world in the future.'
Just like the demons, the fairies and mermaids have also longed for the sunlight-filled human world for a long time.
To be exact, we should say that the fairies covet the beautiful, yet fragile plants of the sunlit land, while the mermaids covet the brilliant light that illuminates even beneath the surface of the water, but anyway.
The conclusion thus reached was simple.
Let's not disturb it.
Even if we don't step in, the Demon King will fall before he devours the human world.
Also, the key to everything is Deon Hardt. If possible, help him get out of the way.
The human world, which he cannot reach, is his responsibility, so there was no need to go out there. Who could possibly disturb him in this abyss within their reach?
'The vampire leader.'
It's not that they didn't think about informing her of this future with a very high hit rate and asking for her cooperation. But there was a very big problem preventing that from happening.
The vampires do not crave sunlight.
There is no way she would leave everything to a future that is not 100% perfect and ignore the demons' conquest of the human world for the sake of a land with unwanted sunlight.
Even if the future predicted by the two comes true, if it doesn't, it will cast a dark cloud over the fate of the race.
They will most likely go on a rampage to stop it.
So she was blindfolded, and now, in the present, the two have come to a conclusion again.
'After all, it would be better to hide it.'
'As expected, it would be better for her not to find out until the work is finished.'
Now that the conclusion has been reached, it was time to choose an answer. While they were looking for an answer that could adequately hide the current situation in response to the vampire leader's question as to why the Demon King's army was so lacking in strength that they could not even properly clean up the monsters, someone who had been silent all along suddenly intervened.
"It's because of the war."
"...!"
"War...?"
"Yes. Isn't the Demon King's Army currently engaged in a war to conquer the human world? The Empire has already collapsed, right?"
Oh my god.
The mermaid leader quietly closed her eyes and the Fairy King frowned.
The vampire leader, who was slowly considering what had been heard in silence filled with strange tension, immediately stood up from her seat.
"What?! Are you saying the war is still going on? They didn't stop even after destroying the Empire?"
You tactless dwarf. The Fairy King gritted his teeth inwardly.
If you are frivolous and without dignity, you should at least have some tact. What should they do if you open your mouth arbitrarily?
It seems that his overly calm attitude actually created a sense of discomfort. Sensitive red eyes turned in this direction. A voice filled with calm anger and faint doubt continued.
"I was originally not interested in the human world, so that's okay. Seeing at that even Dunchi knows, there's no way you didn't know."
"..."
"You mean you just let that happen...?"
A war of nerves took place amidst the silence. Even the dwarf chief shrugged his shoulders and kept his mouth shut, so the silence that came was broken some more time later when the vampire chief snapped her fingers.
"Please properly investigate how this happened."
"All right."
A vampire appeared from nowhere and lowered his head.
The leader of the mermaid tribe stretched out her hand toward the guy who was about to disappear again, but...
"Wait a moment..."
"Don't move."
"..."
She had to stop when the being with her red eyes rose them fiercely.
The vampire leader looked around the audience and spoke in a threatening tone, as if telling them not to even think about such nonsense.
"This is my territory. You have to respect what I say, right?"
"..."
As more time passed, she was able to obtain information from her quick subordinate.
After reading the report on the current situation to the end, she immediately jumped out of the room and ran out. The mermaid leader and the Fairy King, who sensed something ominous, hurriedly chased after her and shouted.
"Where are we going?!"
"To break his damned toys!"
"...!"
No!
***
A demon could be seen through the gap in the door, rolling around in the hallway as if he had been pushed. I looked around the hall, saw him, and frowned as I saw the vampire leader approaching without hesitation.
I heard the Demon King mumbling.
"Be quick too."
I don't think that's important.
She just got here nails done. Even at first glance, it looks like it could be used as a weapon. I don't know why, but judging by the looks, the target was clearly me.
'... Should I deal with it?'
I hope it won't be a problem even if I kill her.
[1] There was originally no break here, but I added it to make the change in perspective flow better~