The Fairy King promised to hand over herbs and the Dwarf Chief promised to hand over weapons at a lower price, and the Vampire Chief promised that all demons, including the Demon King, would have no responsibility for monsters crossing into the vampire's territory.
The Fairy King, who was walking away with a noticeably crooked face, frowned belatedly when he saw the leader of the mermaid tribe next to him.
"Demoon King. Why don't you get anything from this guy?"
"Because I'm the only one who wasn't cocky."
"..."
"Originally, I was only going to get something from the vampires, but you guys were too arrogant."
One was running wild like the vampire in the conference hall, and the other was cheering and screaming as if watching a game. How could he just ignore something like this? If he just ignored it, they might take something like this lightly, so the only thing he could do was fight the most arrogant vampire and punish her.
"I'm glad I didn't get the same deal as a vampire."
The treaty she made was poisonous to the vampires.
Even if the demons find it too difficult to deal with the demons and force them into their territory, they will have to deal with it on their own and cannot say anything about it.
Of course, for moral reasons, he wouldn't do it openly, but the possibility of doing it 'accidentally' is very high. She will have to suffer a lot in the future.
"..."
He expected a rebuttal right away, but it was quieter than he expected. The Demon King asked teasingly towards the silent Fairy King.
"I guess you guys know how cocky you were, right?"
"... Tsk."
The Fairy King turned his head and opened the door and went out. He made eye contact with several people waiting in front of the door.
For a moment, the Fairy King's eyes fell on a human other than Deon Hardt, and he turned his eyes to see a tall demon.
Naturally, their gazes became entangled and silence fell.
"..."
"..."
Pointy ears and black skin that was originally white.
The Fairy King looked at his twin brother, who was a proud warrior of his clan but had become a demon due to the influence of the Demon King's magic, with an inexplicable expression, and slowly opened his mouth.
"It's been a while."
"... Yes."
"Is this place worth living in?"
Jaykar, who had been looking at the Fairy King persistently without even blinking, finally took his gaze away from him.
His downcast eyes blinked once and his head slowly shook up and down.
"I am very satisfied."
"... Is that so."
For a moment, an indescribable expression flashed across his face.
"It's disgusting."
Blatant contempt and disgust appeared on the Fairy King's face.
Dan, startled by the unusual atmosphere, pretended not to have heard anything and snuck away. The Fairy King glared at Jaykar without even paying attention to the sign of him moving away.
Contrary to expectations, the lips that seemed ready to burst out at any moment were unable to easily spit out words and eventually closed. He clicked his tongue and passed by Jaykar, exuding cold air.
It was clearly a movement indicating a break in conversation, but a low voice followed behind him.
"I think you were in such a hurry that you couldn't fully appreciate the central garden."
"..."
"Take a look around before you go back."
The Fairy King did not answer.
***
Jaykar. The Commander of the 1st Corps of the Demon King's Army and the Demon King's agent. He uses the most basic type of sword, and due to his extreme fighting style, the edge is easily damaged, so he mainly steals weapons from enemies.
This was generally known information.
'And...'
At the entrance to the greenhouse-shaped central garden where he arrived to return to his domain, the Fairy King closed his eyes for a moment. Maybe it's because they haven't seen each other in a long time, but useless information was passing through his mind.
A clan tainted by demonic energy and a shame for the race.
The Fairy King's former right-hand man and twin brother. A collection of repressed murderous intent, completely different from the rest of his compatriots, etc... The memory that kept going back to the past suddenly returned to the present and pointed out the most recent conversation.
'He said he was very satisfied with his life there.'
That's right. Poison was spilled.
Unlike when he was in the realm of the fairies, he wouldn't have to suppress his murderous intentions.
In any case, since he became a demon, his relationship with him was over. The Fairy King lightly shook his thoughts off and stepped into the central garden. A scenery that he had not seen since he was rushing after that damn vampire filled his field of vision.
"... Hah."
The Fairy King had no choice but to stop in place.
He had no idea what name to give to the emotions he was feeling at this moment. He blinked blankly, as if he had just entered an unfamiliar world.
The garden was filled with flowers from the human world, which were the only things he was interested in.
***
Dan, who left the room due to the unusual atmosphere, did not return to the room right away.
Calm steps hit the dirt floor. He gathered his thoughts as he headed towards a corner that was once an abandoned training ground.
He didn't say he would just stand in front of the door like a puppet and say what he was told. There was another reason why he accepted the Demon King's offer. That's why he's already thought about where he's going to go when he left the conference room.
'Originally, I was going to take Master to his room and then go, but I think he'll understand because the situation is the same.'
It seemed like the waiting time would be long. There was nothing he could do because there was no time to waste.
... He never ran away because he was pressured into an uncomfortable situation.
'I haven't heard the exact date, but I'll be standing in front of the screen soon.'
All preparations must be completed before then.
In the distance, he could see a training ground exclusively for the Mad Dogs, or Lofty Knights. The grounds were noisy again today, as if they were playing here all day because they had nothing to do.
"Dernivan, the baby laughed at me again!"
"Is that so."
... He didn't know why those demons were there.
Dan, who was looking at the 5th Corps Commander and her adjutant with a shocked expression, took a step forward and approached the members of the Lofty Knights. The knights seemed to have already noticed that he was coming and were welcoming him with bright faces.
"Dan!"
"It's been a while! Why don't you come here more often?"
"That's right, every time we go, you kick us out and only come when you want to!"
"Wow, this is disgusting!"
"That's because you guys are so noisy...!"
Oops, he almost got caught up.
Dan furrowed his eyebrows, took a deep breath, and gestured toward the knights.
"Let's gather here."
"Yes?"
"What? Do you have anything to give us?"
"What? Dan is giving us something to eat?"
"He's empty-handed?"
"That's not it!"
Even taking a deep breath was useless.
He raised his voice and raised his hand to massage the back of his neck. Let's calm down. If he got more angry here, he would be the one who loses.
Regardless of what they say, they've come together properly, so let's just be thankful. That way, he feels at ease.
"... However."
Dan lowered his hand and looked somewhere in the crowded crowd. The knights who felt suspicious of his actions also turned their heads to follow Dan's gaze. They were able to easily find a being mixed in with the crowd.
A being that was absolutely not human.
"?"
She blinks at the sudden focus. Each time, the compound eyes, like those of an insect, would hide between the eyelids and then be revealed again and again.
Dan asked, barely suppressing a sigh that threatened to burst out at any moment.
"Why are you here, Commander of the 5th Corps?"
"You said you would gather together."
"It was only for the Knights."
"Why? I'm curious too. Can't I stay here?"
Instead of answering, Dan looked at her adjutant.
Dernivan, who was holding the baby, seemed to have grown aware of his superior's duties, and immediately called her.
"Oel, it would be better for us to go in now."
"Why?"
"It's time to feed the baby."
"Ah! Okay. Let's go."
The handling of his superior was top-notch. He gave a quick thumbs up as a sign of respect. Even though he clearly saw this, Dernivan turned and followed Oel without any change in his expression.
Seeing complete disregard, Dan shrugged his shoulders and looked at the knights. As if they realized that her had something to say, the people who were watching the two demons moving away turned their heads one by one and focused on this side.
Without missing a moment of silence, he immediately opened his mouth.
As if whispering softly.
"Don't you want to do something for your boss?"
***
After the other leaders left and even the Dwarf Chief who was being mean was sent away, I quietly picked up the cube on the desk and took out a cigarette from my pocket.
My mood was at its worst.
'You're saying you have to kill the person in front of you...'
That wasn't just looking at me funny, it was an act of confidence that she could kill me.
Well, I understand. You would never have thought that the Demon King would protect the human who is his archenemy. I would have thought that with just a little bit of persuasion, he would go ahead and kill me. In reality, she had murderous intentions towards me and I could sense it to some extent, so I would have thought so even more. So there would have been no need to think about the feelings of someone who would die soon.
But what should we do about this?
The Demon King chose me.
'Thank goodness. If they had tried to kill me, it would have overthrown everything.'
I'm not an idiot, and there's no way I'd just die.
Does she even know that the Demon King's choice saved her life?
If the Demon King had tried to kill me as the vampire leader had intended, and a conflict had occurred, she would also have been caught up in the process and died. There's no way that someone who spoke like that in front of people could be saved in a situation where it's a do-or-die situation, right? He probably would have killed her first.
Anyway, it's annoying.
The boiling feelings of discomfort did not cool down, so I ended up putting the cigarette in my mouth.
Come to think of it, I didn't do medicine while I was in the human world. Isn't this the first time in a long time that I will be smoking again? I was thinking about something like that and was about to light a cigarette when a hand suddenly came from somewhere and took the cigarette away.
When I raised my head, I saw the Demon King rolling his eyes and waving the cigarette as if showing pride.
"I understand you're stressed, but medication isn't good for the long term."
"..."
I have no desire to live long anyway.
As if reading my thoughts from my sullen expression, the Demon King crumpled his cigarette and smiled.
"It would be difficult if you died without achieving my goal."
My eyebrows rose.
First of all, if you look at the situation, it seems like it is being said for 'Deon Hardt', but the tone is ambiguous.
I wonder if that purpose is the Demon King's purpose or my purpose... As I was looking at him with suspicion, a voice continued.
"I think you need something else to occupy yourself. Like a hobby, for example."
"..."
"I promised to teach you how to play the piano, right?"
The Demon King whispered.
"Follow me."
***
'The Demon King.'
'A being created by the World to kill heroes.'
A straight finger sweeped down a short sentence. The Demon King lowered his gaze as if lost in thought. The warrior is born to kill the Demon King, and the Demon King is born to kill the warrior.
So what happens if the warrior and the Demon King are one the same side?
'...'
He couldn't hear the piano. The Demon King lifted his hand that had been placed on the emblem and raised his gaze.
He made eye contact with Deon, who was sitting in front of the piano and looking back with a clumsy face.
"Did you play it all 10 times?"
"Yes."
"Liar. You only played it eight times."
"..."
The Demon King smiled lowly, put down his book, and stood up from the sofa he was sitting on. Deon's eyes glanced at the title of the book the Demon King had put down.
'About the Hero and the Demon King.'
'Author: Caver'
This was a book he read at the library. The Demon King took it away while he was reading it. Has it not been brought back yet?
His thoughts about the book didn't last long. While he was thinking about 'abuse of power due to overdue borrowing', the Demon King came closer and touched one of his shoulders.
"It seems piano isn't your thing. Though, seeing as how quickly you learn, it seems like you have talent."
"... Because I am a warrior."
"Yes. A warrior is a collection of talents."
"..."
Instead of saying something, he turned his head forward and looked down at the keys.
The Demon King spoke while fiddling with the ponytail of Deon's hair behind his back as if he was thinking.
"There are many other instruments. Would you like to try them out? There might be one you like among them."