Between Responsibility and Respect (2)
I was a fool.
Truly foolish.
Utterly idiotic, even.
"......."
The Combat Engineering Corps' commander, Forkray, pressed his lips tightly together.
He felt ashamed.
Ashamed of himself.
Ashamed of the thoughts he had held.
'I… really am an idiot.'
He suddenly turned his head to the side.
Thud! Thuuud!
Alongside the Combat Engineering Corps walked the statue of an Archangel. That towering statue carried a special frame upon its back. Atop that frame were boxes that hadn't been there before. They contained the remains of the 9th expedition team, recovered over the past three days.
Seeing that, he felt a renewed sense of reflection.
'I didn't expect it would take three whole days to recover the remains.'
He recalled what had happened three days ago.
They had discovered the remains of the 9th expedition team and began recovering them. During that process, he had been astonished by Kim Jangcheol and the demon race.
They had been respectful.
Not a single joke was made about the remains of the team. Their solemnity surpassed mere politeness—it was profound.
And it was, in fact, the very attitude and value of humanity he had always considered ideal.
"......"
He had never imagined he would witness such behavior from demons.
Those very demons, defying all his expectations, had spent three full days meticulously recovering the remains.
Care and precision beyond imagination.
Such delicacy and reverence.
It was a level of devotion and honor that he himself, nor any other member of the Combat Engineering Corps, could ever have matched.
And so, he felt ashamed.
'Even now…'
Thud! Thuuud!
All remains had been carefully sorted, placed into boxes, and loaded onto the statue.
And then...
"As we discussed earlier… once we reach the center of the Abandoned Land, we'll only unload the supplies we need, and immediately send Whitey back to the capital. Along with Lady Artanis, and a few engineer corps soldiers to guide her. Would that be acceptable?"
He had been lost in thought when he heard Kim Jangcheol speak beside him. Commander Forkray snapped out of his thoughts.
Then turned to Kim Jangcheol.
"…Ah. That's fine. What about the timeframe?"
"Well, after stopping by the capital, informing the royal family, delivering the remains to the bereaved families, and handling all that… maybe two weeks if they rush, or about a month at most?"
"Only that much?"
"Whitey's stride is quite long."
"Heh. True enough."
The commander let out a dry chuckle and looked up at Whitey, the statue of the celestial angel.
Indeed, Kim Jangcheol was right.
If a 63.5-meter tall statue truly sprinted, the speed from its stride alone would be incredible.
"Though, the soldiers riding on Whitey will probably have a rough time. Motion sickness. Serious motion sickness. Catastrophic motion sickness, even."
"It's fine. Our soldiers aren't weak enough to lose their guts over something like that."
"Yes. I'm counting on that. And thank you for your cooperation."
"......"
Forkray closed his mouth again.
And he thought.
That it was he who should be grateful.
Grateful to the man who had so devotedly gathered and returned the remains of the kingdom's fallen comrades.
"…Truly, thank you."
Commander Forkray, overwhelmed by shame, bowed his head.
He was ashamed of the thoughts he had harbored toward the demon race until now, and the scorn he had carried toward them.
And at the same time, he found himself respecting them.
'Sir Kim Jangcheol… I truly thank you.'
For your greatness that awakened me to my own foolishness. For pulling me from a fogged dream.
I thank you.
And I respect you.
Sincerely,
"...."
…But saying that aloud would be too cringe-inducing, so he absolutely wouldn't.
Instead, from that moment on,
His attitude toward Kim Jangcheol became noticeably more respectful.
Meanwhile, Kim Jangcheol led everyone toward the teleportation magic well.
"Alright, Tbong? Let's turn it on."
"Tbong!"
Chap, fwaaaAAHH—!
The moment Tbong lightly tapped its plump butt on the well, a blinding light burst forth!
"Everyone! Grab hands, don't be late!"
Kim Jangcheol shouted as he grabbed Tbong's tail. Zephyros grabbed his hand. Then Asurat, Sirgi, Baal, and Artanis followed suit.
And then Artanis held out her hand to the engineer corps commander.
— Take it. Hurry.
"......."
Was it alright to…?
Thanks to overcoming his prejudice, he didn't hesitate long.
The commander took Artanis' hand.
And then he experienced something wondrous.
Fwoooosh!
"...!"
His whole body floated upward!
Was it magic?
Or perhaps a miracle?
There was no time to think.
"What are you doing! Gonna leave your men behind?"
"…!"
Kim Jangcheol's scolding flew his way.
Only then did Forkray realize his mistake. He quickly reached out toward his adjutant. The adjutant grabbed his hand. Then he reached for the next engineer. That engineer grabbed it. The chain of hands continued from one soldier to the next.
Thus, the chain of hands that began with Tbong and Kim Jangcheol extended to the last engineer.
And at the final moment, when the last soldier reached out a trembling hand—
Chup.
Whitey's giant fingertip met the soldier's hand.
And so, everyone, without exception, was engulfed by the well's magic. Lifted into the air.
Higher.
And higher still.
High enough to view the entirety of the Abandoned Land.
At that moment, the commander and his men all had a similar thought.
'Is this… spatial teleportation?'
'It has to be, right?'
'At this scale?'
'This is even possible…?'
'There's this level of magic technology in the Abandoned Land?'
They couldn't believe it.
They had thought the Abandoned Land was nothing but barren, desolate wasteland. They never imagined it would hold not just signs of civilization, but high-level, large-scale magic like this.
And yet—
"......"
Awe beyond shock.
In that awe, they all crossed through space.
Through the well.
Beyond perception.
Breaking boundaries.
Shattering prejudice.
And at last—thud.
"...!"
A fair magic well experience, flinging both demons and humans alike to their destination with zero discrimination!
The violent motion sickness that followed was a bonus.
"…Uggghhh…"
Every single member of the engineer corps, under the command of the commander, vomited rainbows onto the ground from their first well ride.
They tried to hold it in, but it was no use.
Yet they were given no time to rest.
"Alrighty, now that you've emptied your guts, let's get moving. We're not there yet."
"U-uaaeegh… huff, huff… wh-where are we?"
"We're at the edge of the Swamp of Decay. The nearest well to the final destination, the Demon King's Castle, is actually inside a place called the Cliff of the Dead, but going there would make it hard for Whitey to move."
Kim Jangcheol explained with a bright smile as they barely regained their composure.
"And to give you a little heads-up, this Swamp of Decay here is the place we'll be developing next."
"......"
This place?
The commander looked around.
The swamp was lined with barren trees standing like gravestones. The color of the swamp was strange. Yellow? No, it had a reddish-orange tint, and even at a glance, it was clear this was no normal place.
"It's toxic. So, we'll have to purify it. But that's not today's task. For now, let's head up to the Demon King's Castle, where the Combat Engineering Corps will be stationed."
"Head up?"
"Over there. Upward."
".....Upward?"
The commander looked up.
And then he saw a sheer, vertical cliff. But the top wasn't visible. Because of the cloud (!) hanging midway up the cliff!
"......"
Surely not?
That place?
We're supposed to climb that?
No way. That has to be a joke.
How could we possibly…? That's just ridiculous… Come on.
…Was what he was thinking when—
"Yes. We're going to climb the cliff you're looking at right now."
"...Huh?"
"It's not a big deal once you start climbing. Now, let's move."
"W-wait a moment. Isn't our mission to develop this area anyway? Do we really need to go all the way up to the Demon King's Castle?"
"Yes, we do."
"Why? For what reason?"
"This isn't just any swamp. It's a highly toxic place."
"........"
"If you try to stay here, you'll run into serious trouble. Are you alright with that?"
"It's fine. As long as we're careful, we should be able to deal with the toxins…"
"You won't be able to. And wouldn't it be better to fall off a cliff and die instantly than to suffer a slow, wheezing death from poisoning?"
"........"
How could that possibly not hurt?!
No, more importantly—
It's terrifying!
The commander wanted to scream for the sake of his own safety and that of his soldiers.
At that moment, Kim Jangcheol gave him a mischievous smile and said,
"And actually, there's a safe and complicated path inside the cliff that leads upward. Now then, let's move again."
"......"
From that point on,
The commander felt a strange sense of injustice (?), while the Combat Engineering Corps could only marvel in wonder as they entered the inner part of the Cliff of the Dead.
In some sense, it was a kind of tour(?).
A rare experience—witnessing the deepest inner parts of the Abandoned Land, something no human, except for Aged Kimchi, had ever done before.
They continued climbing for two full days.
Finally, they emerged from the exit at the top of the cliff.
At that moment, a sight beyond imagination greeted the commander and his engineers.
".....!"
Vast fields.
Lined ridges.
Neat, square plots.
The massive scale of the cultivated land overwhelmed their senses.
It was a scene that could not, by any measure, be denied as farmland.
"What is this…?"
Who would've thought they'd see a sight like this in the heart of the Abandoned Land?
The commander's eyes trembled endlessly. The view of this massive farmland was the greatest shock he had ever experienced in this forsaken land.
"You mean to say… you've already been farming?"
And at such a massive scale?
Not just that—it was organized and intensive?
They didn't even fail at it.
The commander was certain.
What he was seeing were fields after harvest. In other words, they had successfully completed a season of farming.
And that wasn't all.
Next to the vast fields, he saw large mounds piled up.
He could tell at a glance.
'Compost… in such massive amounts…'
This wasn't some amateur setup.
No, this was the work of serious, proper agriculture.
"......."
At this point, he grew curious.
The Abandoned Land, known to the world as barren and lifeless. Its inhabitants, the demon race, who had repeatedly invaded the kingdom over the years.
How have they come so far?
He felt a strong desire to meet their Demon King.
Surely this must all be due to the Demon King's leadership.
He recalled a piece of common knowledge.
Something he'd learned as a child.
That the demon race of the Abandoned Land followed only the rule of usurpation. That the strongest became the Demon King, and all others obeyed the Demon King's orders without question.
Then this astonishing development must have been brought about under the Demon King's command.
Who could such a person be, the Demon King?
How capable must they be, to have led the demons into such intensive agriculture?
…He was thinking just that when—
"Hartok, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, welcomes the return of the Demon King."
"....!"
A demon he had never seen before came forward and greeted them.
But who was he addressing?
Kim Jangcheol, who stood beside him.
'What?'
Wait a second.
What did he just say?
I didn't mishear that, right?
…As those doubts flooded his mind.
"Oh, hey, Hartok. Everything's been alright?"
"Yes, my Demon King."
Kim Jangcheol replied with complete nonchalance, and Hartok bowed his head respectfully.
The commander's eyes trembled violently.
'The Demon King? Wait, so… Sir Kim Jangcheol… is the Demon King…?'
Is this… for real?
Seriously?
Then… this means…
'I need to report this to His Majesty—'
Just as his heart rate was about to spike uncontrollably—
Kim Jangcheol glanced at the commander. Then he raised a finger to his lips.
"Shhh."
And gave a sly wink.
The commander, instinctively, nodded.
And he thought,
If someone so exceptional… no, so noble… is the Demon King, then I'll acknowledge him without hesitation.
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