Ben only examined what was in my glass and was unable to examine the liquor bottle as there was a huge fuss as soon as there was confirmation that it was poisoned, so there was some hope.
Personally, I don't think I would have heard it.
Ed was drinking when I just came into this barracks.
That means there was no poison in his glass up to that point, which meant that the intruder poisoned our glasses while Ed and I were talking.
Now that I thought about it again, it took a really dangerous person to hide at a level that even Ed wouldn't notice, right?
...Anyway.
'From what I remember, there was only one time when the table was out of sight of me and Ed at the same time.'
When we heard a clink.
I reflexively turned my head to find the place where the sound came from.However, that was a very short moment, and it was an absurdly short amount of time for the assassin to come directly and poison him.
So how did it get poisoned?
'It must have been thrown in.'
The assassin had outstanding skills that could not be caught by Ed. In other words, he must have had enough skill to throw the poison accurately.
But even so, there was not enough time and the risk was high to throw it into a bottle with a narrow spout.
Assassins had a strong tendency to refrain from taking risks, so they would not have taken the risk of trying to poison a bottle.
...Was my opinion.
'Then, let's check.'
I quietly picked up the bottle of alcohol.
My conscience pricked me for trying to drink it alone when the owner was not around, but I guess he was trying to offer it to me anyway.
With that shameless thought in mind, I continued to smell it.
As expected, there was no peculiar scent.
It made me smile.
'I think he prepared a drug that is said to be colorless and odorless in its own way.'
Solid medicines that are easy to carry require specific ingredients to maintain their shape, whether they are made from purified liquid or powder.
Usually, even this is said to be colorless and odorless, but I didn't think so.
'If you've been exposed to a lot of medicine or have an incredibly good sense of smell, you'll notice.'
That could be said to be the unique smell of the medicine.
In any case, this liquor did not have any subtle medicinal smell at all. That meant...
I grinned.
'This drink is mine now.'
There was no glass, but that is not a problem.
Afraid that someone might come and disturb me, I slightly lowered the cloth covering my lower face and tipped the bottle without hesitation.
***
"He is dangerous."
"Hmm..."
The assassin spoke passionately.
Cruel silently listened to the assassin's words without any particular expression.
In contrast to his expressionless face, his fingers were tapping the desk as if revealing his complex thoughts. After listening to the entire explanation after a long period of silence, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Okay, let's go out and see."
"Yes."
After the assassin left, Cruel's thoughtful expression did not look very good.
In the end, wasn't the skill of the Commander of the 0th Corps at least as good as that assassin's?
The assassin he sent was by no means an easy person. Due to the nature of the job, he may be weak in head-to-head combat, but hiding and assassination were enough to make even Cruel himself nervous.
'What a pain in the ass.'
The 0th Corps Commander was real, and his skills were not a lie.
What could be more painful than this?
He slowly closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair.
The decision had already been made. It was just a bit of a waste.
He was tilting his head with a slight frown, then opened his eyes and slowly stood up.
Sensing that the atmosphere had changed, the subordinate cautiously asked about his decision.
"What do you want to do?"
"...The order given to me is to 'protect the territory of the Empire.'"
In this way, Cruel participated in a battle where Imperial forces were being pushed back, and as a result, he went beyond protecting his territory and pushed into the realm of the demon realm.
The higher-ups seemed to like it, but unless the order was something like 'expand the territory to the demon realm,' there was no need to force a confrontation.
"I tried to expand the area as much as possible in preparation for when the demons attack again later, but there is no choice."
The 'time when you can' is over.
Greed brought anger. Cruel was more cool-headed and rational than anyone else to be swayed by greed.
If this side's morale was high, they might be able to see how they would stick together, but unfortunately, while that side's morale is the best, this side's morale is at its lowest.
If the only issue was his combat ability, he would have had less to worry about.
Perhaps this was unlucky, but the Commander of Corps 0 was a being who could influence morale with his mere presence.
If they fought against them in this situation and this atmosphere, they would be defeated horribly. It was not that there was no one in the Empire who could overcome this situation, but since they were not here right now, Cruel's options were extremely limited.
"We need 'that guy' to defeat the Demon Lord's army with Commander 0."
"Ah..."
"But not right now. The request for support is also late."
Another hero of the Empire.
Thinking of someone who had become a hero before him, Cruel closed his mouth for a moment and then slowly spoke.
"In the current situation, it is best to stop the fighting. That's the only way to stop the Commander of the 0 Corps from participating in the war. However, it is impossible to make an open agreement with the demons, and there is no way they will just sit back and watch as they barely get a chance to counterattack..."
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
His index finger rapidly tapped the desk.
This, too, was the hesitation given by the title 'hero'.
Although it was a title he earned because he had power to protect the Empire, it seemed to often hold him back, so he frowned but eventually revealed the plan in his head.
"We retreat."
"Yes?"
"However, those who come after us will be killed unconditionally. We have to kill them with such certainty that it cannot be compared to anything we have done so far. We should never look like we are being pushed around."
They would slowly back away without showing their weak side.
They must retreat to their original territory, the human world, and show that they will not fight unless the demons invade the human world first.
"If we step back now, wouldn't it be too obvious? Even the demons will notice."
"That's why I said, make sure to kill those who are chasing us."
"..."
"They will find out when they attack us as we retreat and are crushed horribly."
They are not retreating after hearing the news about Commander 0.
It's not like they're being pushed around, and they're not rushing back because something's wrong.
"Even if I just had it, there was no point in raising my sword for this useless land that doesn't get a single ray of sunlight."
"..."
"We have to imply that."
Although formal agreements could not be made, implicit agreements were possible. It was something a hero of the Empire should not do, but Cruel did not dwell on such things.
Rather, it was more important not to ruin his first debut as a hero.
"Of course, this will only be possible if the Commander of Corps 0 does not go on a rampage in the process, but he is the support that came after the Demon King's army was pushed back, so it will probably be okay. There's no reason for him to step up when things go back to their proper place without him having to do it himself."
"Well... I heard that it is very rare for the 0th Corps Commander to go directly into battle."
"Alright."
The higher-ups only looked at the results. Rather than considering what process went through to arrive at these results, they cared about just the results.
In that sense, if the troops commanded by Cruel were pushed back by the Demon King's army and were allowed to invade the human world again, the higher-ups would definitely start discussing his qualifications as a hero again.
'That's why it's difficult.'
Why did he come here?
Cruel quietly chewed his lips and opened his mouth to give another command.
But no words came out.
"Commander!"
Because of an uninvited guest who quickly entered the tent.
After seeing his pale face, heavy breathing, and dirt-covered clothes, Cruel stood up without a word.
While waiting for the soldier to catch his breath and report on his own, he put on the gauntlets he had temporarily removed and put his sword on his waist.
There was no reprimand for rushing in without any hesitation.
In order to deliver news effectively and quickly, he was the one who ordered that anyone could come in immediately if it was urgent or important.
Therefore, instead of reprimanding him, Cruel quietly prepared for battle and waited for his next words—
"The Demon King's army is advancing! The leader is the Commander of Corps 0..."
Rumble.
Before the soldier could even finish his report, he immediately grabbed his helmet and went outside.
The plan went awry.
The situation was miserable.
Cruel's eyes, which had already figured out the entire situation on the battlefield before he could even look at it, sank coldly inside his helmet.
There was no need to look. The pungent smell of blood stung the tip of his nose even though the battle had barely begun. The front line was being pushed back helplessly. In addition, a desperate scream and a sound of laughter were heard.
Whose scream was it and whose laughter was it?
"...Demons."
A laugh sounded again.
Cruel grabbed his sword and glared at the battlefield.
At least among the soldiers under his command, there was no crazy person who laughs while killing the enemy.
Yes, they were demons. They were carrying out the massacre, laughing cheerfully as if to relieve their anger.
'It's completely gone.'
The atmosphere has gone over to the other side.
War was greatly influenced by morale. Even in an unfavorable war, if your morale is high, you can fight off enemies like you've taken a drug, and even in a war that is advantageous, if your morale is low, you often struggle.
So, the empire was at a disadvantage in this fight right now.
'No.'
The hand clenched into a fist gained strength. It can't go on like this. How did he get this far, only to be pushed around in vain?
He had to use his own hands.
─How?
'In order to resolve this situation...'
With all of his senses becoming clearer, Cruel looked at a certain place.
It was the only place in the noisy battlefield that is so quiet, as if the space has been cut off.
There was a demon standing there.
***
"Hahahahaha!!"
The dagger turned freely in his hand.
The dagger, which was sometimes held straight as if performing a trick, sometimes held backwards, and sometimes even passed across the back of the hand, drew in those who were mesmerized by it even for a moment, creating yet another victim.
How many people were sacrificed like that?
Blood spurted out from where the dagger was pulled out. The faint moans of a colleague who could no longer scream were heard by those around him.
The black-robed demon in front of them never killed his opponent easily. Whether it was severing a tendon, cutting off a hand, or stabbing an eye, he completely cut off any possibility of a counterattack and cut the person to pieces, smiling happily as the enemy was unable to do anything.
Even if he accidentally killed the person right away, he tore the body into pieces, revealing his cruelty without hesitation.
"Oh, fuck..."
A trembling voice came out from somewhere like a moan.
They probably said it without even realizing it. A weak voice on the battlefield was not good for morale.
Nevertheless, no one could blame him.
Even the soldiers who were here right now felt the same way.
Because their barely suppressed emotions were struggling and they were expressing strong agreement with those words.
'Yes, he's a demon.'
If you can't call him a demon, then who would be a true demon?
The soldier's hands were shaking. His legs felt like they're stuck in the ground and he couldn't move much.
The sight of the enemy chopping up a corpse while exposing his back was extremely defenseless, but the soldier could not bear to point his weapon carelessly.
Aiming itself is easy. All he had to do was raise his weapon and point it at that defenseless back.
But if that happens.
'I'll be like that too.'
Fear.
The soldier was not confident that he would not face the consequences of his actions.
He wanted to run away, but he couldn't.
Because his instincts were telling him that the demon in front of him would come after him as soon as he turned his back.
In a situation where he could neither run nor escape, the soldier closed his eyes tightly. His white lips were trembling.
'Someone, please.Please save me.'
A short cry rose up from the lungs, but was suppressed in the throat and swallowed.
It was at that time that something strange happened.
Clag!
"...Uh?"
A strong wind blew along with the sound of something breaking.
As he closed his eyes and opened them as the dust blew in, the armor he had once seen from afar filled his field of vision. At the same time, the soldier lowered the arm holding the weapon.
"Ah, ah..."
He survived.
Relief gently thawed the frozen body.
The soldier stood with barely any strength on his legs, which seemed ready to give out at any moment, and clearly saw what was in front of him.
The Empire's new hero. A star on the battlefield. A rational commander.
Cruel.
He had come.