The bet between the Duke and Cruel, which had been postponed for a while due to Deon Hardt's absence to go to the demon realm under the pretext of a mission, began as soon as he returned to the Empire.
The bet where the first person to kill Deon Hardt is granted a wish.
'You survived today, too.'
Cruel, who received a note reporting how many attacks were made, how many poisoning attempts were made, and how they were resolved, quickly closed his eyes while calculating how many times Deon was at the risk of life and death in one day.
'Thank god.'
But the Duke wouldn't give up just because of this level of failure.
That was why the request was entrusted indefinitely.
Even though it was clear that money was leaking out of his pockets, Cruel did not give up on the request to protect Deon Hardt, knowing that the operation was persistent.
***
The Duke requested murder, and Cruel requested protection. Both targeting the same person.
When the Emperor was reported this fact, instead of saying something right away, he sat down, lowered his eyes halfway, and raised his hand to smooth the corners of his eyes.
Golden eyes wandered here and there, seemed to focus on empty space, and then hid under the eyelids. The Emperor pulled out his dagger with the dexterity he had become accustomed to.
Phew!
"... Whew."
The gaze of Nemeseus, who was standing still, landed on the emperor's pierced left hand.
The Emperor exhaled slowly while holding the handle of the dagger, opened his eyes, and pulled it out. As blood spurted out from the affected area with an eerie sound, Nemeseus familiarly approached and began treatment.
A sneer appeared on the Emperor's lips as he held up the dagger with his right hand and picked up the document he had put down for a moment, leaving his left hand to him.
"... Okay. One wants to kill him, and one wants to protect him."
Two people who were seemingly on the same side.
Deon Hardt even hated the one who was trying to protect him with all his heart, so what should he say about this? The story involved was too heavy to be considered funny, and the Emperor was not given the right to take it seriously.
He forced his mouth, which wouldn't open easily, to open it.
"Really..."
"...."
"It's an unfortunate fate."
This was not something he should say as a person who had a hand in that unfortunate fate.
Since when did the Emperor start talking about qualifications? He shamelessly commented on this laughable comedy and turned to the next document.
"The treatment is not over yet. Please remove your hand."
"... It's become a habit."
Without realizing it, he withdrew his hand from reaching for the affected area on his left hand.
Ignoring the gaze of Nemeseus following him, he focused his eyes on the contents of the next document. This document also did not contain very good content.
Words filled with sighs flowed out.
"Again?"
"..."
"It doesn't seem like they're getting tired of it. I guess I'll use the time to spread rumors like this to think of ways to deal with the demons. There is a rumor that the fighting styles of the Demon King's Army's 0th Corps commander and the Empire's hero Deon Hardt are similar."
Both of them have their faces covered, use daggers, and adhere to a brutal fighting style, so suspicion is reasonable.
It was the Emperor and the Demon King's job to remove these suspicions from the beginning.
"As always, handle it quietly."
"..."
The hand that was wrapping the bandage stopped.
The Emperor, who felt strange that there was no sign of completion of the treatment no matter how long he waited, let alone an answer, raised his head and saw Nemeseus, who was not willing to avoid his eyes, stared into the golden eyes for a moment and then slowly began to speak.
"... May I dare to ask if the two are really unrelated?"
"..."
Until now, he had done everything he was told without asking any questions, but for the first time, he was asking questions about this rumor.
He was sure he'd had quite a bit of trouble himself. The Emperor could not easily tell a lie, so he remained silent for the time being.
Silence descended, along with a strange sense of tension. The silence, which was derived from a war of nerves that was not truly a war of nerves as they stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, was broken when the Emperor fixed his gaze on the documents again.
"I... didn't allow questions."
The Emperor did not answer with lies.
"... I apologize."
The general realized the meaning behind those words.
The Emperor, who was about to add something to that, looked at the signal from the communication stone and raised an eyebrow.
This communicator was connected to Deon Hardt.
'What's going on? Because of the rumors, I haven't given himany special missions yet.'
Did something happen?
He stretched out his hand and grabbed the communicator and softly gave a command.
"Leave."
"... Yes."
***
Only one guy got it right.
If you cruelly kill one in front of their eyes as an example, even those damn big monsters will get scared and back off.
Deon's eyes rolled back and he twirled his dagger as he looked at the monsters running towards him, then raised the corners of his mouth with a grin.
'I heard that the monsters are increasing exponentially, and it seems like that's true.'
He thought that as long as he had this brand, he would never be attacked by a monster. How hungry must they have been to think of attacking him?
Hunger enough to overcome the Demon King's energy felt from the brand. The fact that he was alone, separated from the group, and that he was small and unformidable in appearance must have removed their hesitation.
"You can't do that."
The bright red eyes sparkle with madness.
Everything else was fine. Even if something more was added to this weak body, nothing would change. As long as he doesn't come across as easygoing, it's okay to vomit blood, get stabbed somewhere in your body, and have your limbs fly off.
But.
"You can't do that."
It was not okay to appear easy-going.
After making a name for himself in the Eight Year War and making a rather extreme appearance in his first meeting with the Demon King, no one in either the human world or the demon realm looked down on him.
So it's been a long time since he felt this way. It didn't matter to the monsters he met before without the stigma, as it was natural for them to rush at him, but now that the stigma existed, their actions meant that he looked easy enough to ignore the Demon King's energy.
"Come on, kids. It's been a while."
I will kill you very well.
The dagger spun, and the thumb folded and unfolded several times as if it were going to use the handle. Deon Hardt, throwing away any thoughts of safely returning, smiled brightly and opened his arms to greet his opponent.
***
The monsters ran away in fear. If anyone in the human world had seen it, they would have been shocked and thought it was impossible. To humans, 'monsters' that were stronger than a certain level were those that would flinch at an opponent's strong inaction but would not run away.
I stood firm and watched their backs, and only collapsed when they completely disappeared from sight.
'It hurts...'
My wrist hurts. My sides, too. My legs also hurt, as if all their muscles had been torn. There was a fishy, metallic taste in my mouth, as if I had vomited blood. When I looked down, I saw that most of my top was stained red.
When I came to my senses, I realized how absurd it was to see that my body was in this state. I don't remember, but I think I know what I did. It's the only thing that can destroy my body so delicately.
'It was quite a dangerous situation for me...'
The only way to do it was once while still in a normal state. Drawing on and using power beyond physical limits.
'Or maybe I panicked and used the technique recklessly...'
It was natural that my body, which couldn't withstand it, was destroyed.
... No matter what the situation, going back is the priority. I was away for too long.
Strengthen your legs to get up from your seat...
"... Huh?"
I looked down at my legs dumbly and then gave them strength again. I only felt sharp pain and no strength.
I did not give up and tried to strengthen my legs several times to get up, but as soon as I could barely take a step, I fell hard and ended up hitting the floor with my throbbing wrist.
It hurt so bad that I rolled on the floor without a sound.
"Haha, I'm screwed."
Although I expected it to some extent.
Should I crawl too? What is the distance from here to the military camp? What if the monsters come again in the meantime...
I was lying down on the floor and staring blankly at the sky, then a thought crossed my mind and I suddenly raised my upper body.
'Let's report it to the Demon King first...!'
And he was asking me to do something about it! That it's enough to send just me rather than multiple troops!
I put my trembling hands in my arms and rummaged around, perhaps because of the pain or something else.
So... I'm in a daze right now, probably because of the aftereffects of the battle, but... the 'communication stone' was on the right, right?
***
"Mission completed. I plan to return to the Empire right away, but I am injured and have difficulty moving. I would like to ask you to send just one demon to help me."
"..."
Communication was cut off.
The Emperor, who had been looking down at the 'communicator' while leaning loosely in his chair, stood up.
Without saying a word, he put on his cloak and took his sword. After taking a quick look at his condition, he went outside and Nemeseus, who had been waiting a little distance away, approached him. The Emperor stopped him, who was accustomed to following him, and summoned another soldier with a wave of his hand and ordered him to do so.
"Bring a first aid kit and a set of clean clothes."
"Yes!"
Nemeseus, who was quietly watching the scene, suddenly spoke.
"Where are you going?"
"A walk."
Even if he wanted a first aid kit, there was no way he would take clean clothes with him just to go for a walk. He even prepared a horse, so how could this be a walk?
... But there must be a reason for him to go for a walk.
Normally, he would have retreated as he wished, but this time, Nemeseus, who had been silent for a moment because of what wind was blowing, opened his mouth in an attempt that would not work.
"..."
"That's it. Don't follow me."
Of course, it was cut with a single knife.
The Emperor gathered the prepared items and turned around without regret. The hem of his cloak fluttered in time with his movements.
The general watched his retreating figure and calculated which direction he was going, then realized his disloyalty and closed his eyes.
***
The monsters caught me lying down a little while ago. It looks like I couldn't completely chase them out in the end. Yeah... these guys are simple and one feeling doesn't last very long. It is natural that persistent hunger is more influential than a moment of fear.
'Wait a minute, isn't this almost a mission failure?'
I should have chased away the monsters and left. That way, monsters that haven't gone far didn't know where I might be wandering around, so they would take precautions and run far outside the area that is inferred to be my territory.
The mission failed, my body was damaged, and now my life is in danger...
Haha. I laughed as I looked at the monsters running towards me with a confident spirit.
'Great. Just great.'
Of course, this was irony.
I summoned my will based on my survival instinct and managed to stand up, ignoring the pain I felt in my legs.
Perhaps because of the pain, my vision became blurry, but I waited a little longer, it would return to normal. Dripping cold sweat can't be helped, but I can hide my facial expressions. Holding the dagger, I pretended to be as nonchalant as possible and fixed my gaze on what I could infer was the front.
As if the aftereffects of the fear from earlier had not completely gone, I felt the footsteps that had been relentless for a moment slow down.
'Just go like this... please. Huh?'
Otherwise, I'll die.
Despite my expectations, the sound of footsteps became faster again as if it had never happened before. The vibration of the ground beneath my feet conveyed their harsh energy to me.
The hazy vision slowly cleared and the world began to appear on my retina. The first thing I saw through my blurry vision was the monster that had arrived right in front of me.
Suddenly!
─It was a sword that cut it like cutting tofu.
'... Are they demons sent by the Demon King?'
I blinked blankly for a moment, then moved my gaze along the hand holding the sword and looked at its owner.
Brilliant blonde hair and golden eyes like a beast. A very familiar atmosphere.
"Uh..."
Why are you here...?!