'Where is Deon?'
First of all, there was no one in the office. Was he in his room?
Ed closed the office door he had opened and started crossing the hallway again. In the first place, the office and Deon Hardt's room were not that far away, so it didn't take long for him to reach his destination within sight.
There, Ed stopped walking. Someone was opening the door and coming out.
"You?"
"... Adjutant?"
Dan looked back at Ed and was shocked when he unconsciously responded to the familiar voice. A demon who looked exhausted like never before was standing in the middle of a dark hallway.
As Master kept pushing him away, the wounds he received piled up and eventually exploded. This was his first time seeing it. Even when Deon Hardt became General Commander and was buried under a mountain of documents, things didn't get to that point, so Dan had no choice but to ask, even though he knew that the other party didn't view him favorably.
"You look kind of tired... Is something wrong?"
"Ah."
Only then did Ed realize his condition and raised his hand to stroke his face.
The place where the hand passed was replaced by the same orderly expression as usual. He answered calmly as if it was no big deal.
"There was a conflict between the 9th Corps Commander and the 5th Corps Commander."
"Ah..."
In the end, it all went according to plan. Dan's expression became strange.
Then, did that demon come stop it?
There was no need for it, but he went through a hard time because of it.
He undersood. If it were a normal General Commander, a conflict between major internal forces would be a sure loss, so Ed, who knew nothing, would have stopped it for Deon Hardt's sake. Dan suppressed the sound that was about to escape.
'What kind of demon is so devoted...'
His conscience, which he had completely forgotten about, secretly complained of pain.
Dan, who had been trying to avoid eye contact, suddenly realized that there was some confusion in his gaze, so he pretended not to notice.
"It must have been difficult."
"Not really..."
He couldn't finish his negative words. Ed trailed off, looked away for a moment, and then asked a question as if to end the conversation.
"Is Deon inside?"
"No, Master is probably in the Lofty Knights' exclusive training hall. I was planning to go there too. Would you like to go with me?"
"... No. Go first."
Since there was nothing to talk about anyway, the awkward atmosphere would continue throughout the trip. Since they don't get along well, it would be more convenient and better for both of them if they go separately.
Dan, who sensed what Ed meant, shrugged his shoulders and took the first step. Ed waited a moment and followed him at a certain distance.
Despite the fact that they moved separately, the two had to stop at the same place before they even reached their destination. The first person to stop was Dan, who had been walking ahead of him.
The brain that received the shocking scene from the towering eyes stopped working for a moment. All movement temporarily stopped.
"... Crazy."
"Hmm...?"
Ed, who had been walking without thinking, raised his head at the swear word that came out without warning.
"What is that..."
The distance between them had narrowed again, but that wasn't important right now.
Ed struggled to keep his eyes, which were shaking mercilessly, fixed straight ahead to understand the situation. His eyes held the Lofty Knights and Deon Hardt.
The member 'holding' Deon Hardt shouted.
"Did everyone get it once? Now throw him! Whoever drops him, prepare to die! Of course, not by me, but by the Captain!"
"Do you think we'll miss our Captain? We haven't just practiced once or twice, we've already experienced it in practice a few times."
"No, even if it's true in real life, practice is different. We always practiced with a sack filled with rocks and sand. I've never actually caught Captain."
"Is the conversation over? Anyway, are you going? Captain, relax your body!"
Deon Hardt took to the skies. A member of the Lofty Knights was waiting where he fell and took him in with a sense of security. Deon Hardt was thrown into the air again for a moment.
'Oh my... No, my God.'
Don't they know that Deon is not a prince?
Ed's complexion turned pale as they threw and caught Deon Hardt in a big way.
This sight alone was enough to make one wonder, but they shamelessly complained about Deon Hardt.
"Captain, we are practicing jumping in case our Captain has difficulty moving in an emergency situation, right? If you keep tossing and turning, you'll be in trouble."
"... That won't happen anymore."
"You don't know, right? Come on, trust us and relax your body. Just stay still and we will take care of everything."
He's not that heavy so they could throw him really high. Ed gave up thinking at that point.
While Ed was losing his mind, Deon, who was floating in the air again, muttered absently, as if he, too, was half lost for a different reason.
"If it's a situation where I have trouble moving around, you've already..."
"Huh, then you can turn on your head and practice jumping before such a situation arises! The Captain may rebel at that time... Feel free to toss and turn, Captain! But we'll practice not to drop you!"
"If I truly rebelled, you wouldn't be able to endure."
"Are you going to rebel so much that we get hurt?"
"... Huh."
"The reply was late."
"Huh."
"It's already too late. I can't hear you. Here we go again!"
... When he stopped by the room, he heard there was a lot of noise outside the window, and this was why. He thought it was just noisy because Master was visiting. Dan, who had barely managed to come to his senses from leaving the inside, shook his head.
After coming to his senses, he finally noticed the presence of other demons on one side of the training ground. Dan's eyes wavered again as he belatedly recognized that their identities were the 11th and 8th Corps Commanders.
Even if the 11th Corps Commander Lirinel was like that, why was the 8th Corps Commander here? He was even sitting down with blood all over his body, hugging his knees.
He slowly approached the two.
"Hello."
"Yes, hi."
"... I... won't be able to..."
"... Excuse me, Commander of the 8th Corps, why are you doing this? No, before that, Master, why are you so mesmerized?"
There was no way Deon Hardt, who was normal, would just ignore their crazy behavior. Probably, no matter what excuse they made, the moment they tried it for the first time, he would have drawn a dagger and punished them.
The answer and facial expressions were vague, so it's obvious that he's lost. Dan was sure.
As expected, Lirinel shrugged her shoulders.
"It seems like he was very surprised to hear that the Demon Cult succeeded in summoning a Corps Commander. He's been like that ever since. The knights think Deon is in a bad mood, so they're making such a fuss to get rid of him."
"Yes?!"
"Didn't you hear the shouting just now? They said, 'Here we go again until you come to your senses!' The voice was a bit quiet in the middle part."
"I didn't hear... No, that's not it."
He knew that the Demon Cult was constantly trying to summon high-ranking demons, but was it really successful?
After overcoming such rare odds, they ended up summoning a Corps Commander?
"... Seeing someone who has never been here before acting like this means that the 8th Corps Commander has probably been summoned. Have you even signed a contract?"
"That's right. When I was summoned, the situation was a mess, so I signed a contract in a hectic manner."
He didn't know what the situation was, but he did know that it had something to do with the blood on the 8th Corps Commander.
They had only just begun to lay the groundwork in the Demon World, but a huge variable has appeared in the form of a Corps Commander who has not succeeded in being summoned and has even signed a contract, so Master was understandably anxious. If the human world collapses to quickly, there won't be enough time to prepare.
Dan, who was looking sadly at Deon, who was flopping around and being thrown around, lowered his gaze when he suddenly heard a voice.
The 8th Corps Commander was crouching down as if he were going to become a ball.
"It's true that Deon feels bad... After all, even when I was summoned, I ended up like this..."
"Huh? Is that so?"
"Of course it is...!"
Hell, the Commander of the 8th Corps, collapsed at Lirinel's innocent grin.
'No, why here?'
Why did the 11th Corps Commander speak with disapproval when she knew the 8th Corps Commander's personality? Dan thought as he looked at the 8th Corps Commander who seemed ready to dig into the ground. Adjutant... We need a deputy.
He remembered that the Commander of the 8th Corps, whom he only saw a few times, always had his adjutant by his side, comforting him well. Where was the adjutant?
He quickly looked around to find the 8th Corps Commander's adjutant to see if he had missed them again, but before that, Ed, who had been watching the situation nearby with his mouth shut, stepped forward first.
"No. Deon is well aware of the outstanding abilities of the 8th Legion Commander. So, it is definitely not because he is disappointed in the 8th Corps Commander."
"... Yes...?"
"Yes."
The 8th Corps commander slowly raised her head. Ed willingly met those eyes and nodded with determination.
Demons who go to the human world through a legitimate contract face fewer restrictions. For other ordinary demons, the difference may be minimal, but if demons as high as Corps Commanders have signed a contract, the Commander's strength will increase significantly and it will be much more convenient.
Even so, the war was showing signs of becoming entrenched, so he couldn't help but welcome this news.
Not only did he do it purely for Deon Hardt's sake, but also out of personal interest.
'Is it time to return to the Demon King's Castle?'
As he moved from the first city to return to the Demon King's Castle, Ed slowly organized his mind and thought.
'If Deon stays away from me because of the situation, that is, the environment, I can change that environment.'
If he were to guess, the environment probably meant war with the human world.
He still didn't understand why he should distance himself from him... but he couldn't think of anything else, so he had no choice but to cling to this.
Therefore, he wanted to end the war as quickly as possible, but contrary to his wishes, the war seemed to be solidifying into a standoff. This was evident from the fact that Trover, the Commander of the 9th Corps, who was supposed to be on the border, returned to the Demon King's Castle.
'Then it will be troublesome.'
The long standoff causes the return of a Corps Commander who has no work to do, and the returning Corps Commander is unable to overcome his boredom and causes problems with other Corps Commanders, causing conflict.
This does not simply end there but causes problems in the management of troops. This means that if they are not careful, it can lead to a situation where power is cut off. The reduced power will accelerate the consolidation of meaningless standoffs and wars of attrition. The vicious cycle repeats itself.
For Ed, who wanted to quickly end the war with the human world and return to the same relationship he had with Deon, from whom he had grown distant, it was the ending he most wanted to avoid.
Therefore, the 8th Corps Commander who can shake up the game is very important. Ed spoke firmly in place of the absent 8th Corps Commander's adjutant to revive his spirit.
"Deon is probably thinking about how to use the great 8th Corps Commander at the right time."
"Is that so...?"
"Yes. Isn't that right?"
Deon.
Ed looked back. Before he knew it, Deon, who was nearby and watching the situation, nodded slowly.
Behind him, the members of the Lofty Knights were complaining of pain while rubbing parts of their heads, such as their foreheads and the backs of their heads.
"Well... right."
"You heard, right? So get up. The floor is dirty."
Deon nodded and gazed at the 8th Corps Commander who was slowly getting up. He felt like sighing, but he suppressed it because he felt like if he did that, the Corps Commander with such low self-esteem would dig himself into the ground again.
'I really didn't intend to have him be summoned.'
It was simply one of the excuses used by Demonism to remain in the human world. He was so dumbfounded when he heard that they had actually summoned him and signed a contract.
'They said the probability was low...'
He was completely lost for a moment.
Still, something that has already happened must be used somewhere.
Deon first called out to Lirinel, who was snooping around and watching him.
"You did a good job, so you don't have to worry about it. Great job."
"Yes...! It's only natural! It's for Deon's sake!"
"... And Hell?"
"I'm sorry..."
Why did he just call him by name?