The Emperor, who glanced at me who was in suppressed astonishment that leaked out like a groan, jumped off his horse, scanned the remaining monsters, raised his sword, and lightly slashed from left to right. At the same time, the upper and lower bodies of the two monsters were separated.
'I almost died...'
Once again, I could feel the Emperor's skills.
The rest of the arrangements were done in an instant. In the quiet forest, he lightly swung his sword to shake off the monster's blood, put it back in its sheath, and looked back at me.
"... For someone who has difficulty moving around, you look better than expected..."
"... Ah, glory to the Empire...!"
"I guess that's not it. Was it miasma?"
While trying to say hello in a hurry, he picked up the body that was collapsing as if pulling out a radish... Since he held my arm, I guess I can see him as a supporter, right? But why am I so embarrassed?
As I was hanging on by one of his hands, the Emperor, who was silently looking at me to see what I was thinking, slightly raised the corners of his mouth and spoke leisurely.
"This is my first time meeting you like this. Isn't that right, Commander of the 0th Corps?"
"...!"
"It looks like you confused the communication stones. Both are magic stones, so it's easy to get confused, but it's better to be careful next time. Does a spy have to be this sloppy to be useful?"
The communication stone was on the left...!
It felt like all the blood in my body was draining out. The world, which had barely found its color, turned white again.
My face was probably whiter than anything else in the world right now.
As if my stress had exceeded its limit, something hot surged up inside my body without any time to suppress it.
"Keuk...! "Cough!"
"Is this an internal injury or a curse..."
He clicked his tongue softly as he looked at the red liquid dripping down my chin and slowly sets me down.
The Emperor looked down at me with eyes that I couldn't tell what he was thinking, and soon he opened his mouth as if he had discovered something strange.
"Your eyes aren't focusing well."
"Ah... this is...."
"I don't need an excuse, just answer this. Is this a temporary or permanent injury?"
"This is a temporary phenomenon."
"That's... fortunate."
"..."
It was an ordinary voice, just a little slow and nothing special, but I had to do my best not to show the fear that washed over me like a tidal wave.
A moment ago, the Emperor's mood was one of measuring the usefulness of objects rather than treating people.
If I had answered that it was a permanent injury, I would have died right here. If I lost my eyes, my usefulness as a spy dropped and I would lose my combat abilities.
The Emperor was not one to keep a broken sword in his hand out of affection. This was probably the same for the Demon King as well.
As I was calmly breathing to calm my pounding heart, a bundle was thrown right next to me.
"Clean clothes. It looks like you came out secretly. If you went back like that, wouldn't there be an uproar?"
"Oh, thank you."
"And..."
The Emperor paused for a moment while handing me the bandages and medicine, looked me up and down, and sighed.
"... It's almost like my vision is blurry. Do you know that blood is flowing from your side right now? It's almost flowing like water."
"Yes...?"
Oh right. When I was assessing my body's condition, I felt pain in my side.
I lowered my head slightly. As if I had overlooked it because my entire clothes were stained red, I saw the affected area bleeding through the torn clothes.
The front turned white not because of the pain, but because there was a lack of blood.
"The wound... looks like a cut. Why is that? Was it difficult for you to come to your senses because of the curse?"
"..."
"Or could such a wound have been caused by a monster attack? It seems like you let your guard down."
Why don't you think it might be a lack of skill? The Demon King and the Emperor... how highly do they rate my skills? The Emperor looked at me blankly for a moment, and I wondered how he could handle being speechless from the absurdity, then took out disinfectants and hemostatic agents, lined them up, and took out a bandage.
"Anyway, it would be best to get treatment quickly."
"Yes, thank you..."
"Take off your clothes. No, the wound may open in the process of taking it off, so it would be better to just cut it off."
"... Yes?"
"Stay still. If you're not careful, you could end up with one more wound."
No, no, I'm going to die if I don't! Are you going to cut my clothes off with that scary-looking sword? You're not cutting me too?
'That's the sword that was cutting monsters just a little while ago! I just don't want to get treatment. Please don't use that...!'
Save me...
The opponent was the emperor, so I couldn't run away. As I looked at the Emperor holding the sword with trembling eyes, I eventually gave up and closed my eyes.
Please don't cut me in two...
The brutal treatment was over.
When he picked up the sword, I thought I was going to die like this, but fortunately, after cutting off my clothes, he treated me well as usual. Should I call this surprising?
"Thank you... thank you."
"Now that we've treated it, let's get dressed."
After fiddling with my neatly bandaged side as if curious, I took out a clean shirt from the bundle the Emperor had given me and put it on my arms.
The Emperor, who was standing a step away with his arms crossed and watching me button my shirt, opened his mouth.
"You buttoned it wrong."
"Ah."
I was nervous because I was in front of the Emperor.
While I was finding the wrong button and fixing it properly, he took out his pocket watch, checked the time, and called to me.
"Can you walk?"
"... Yes."
Maybe.
There was no way the Emperor would believe an answer that showed such obvious hesitation. He frowned slightly, then came back and grabbed my ankle.
...?!
'No... Your Majesty the Emperor...?!'
The position of your head is lower than my eye level...? Should I bow down too? How to lower my body while sitting...
"You keep sitting there without getting up... What are you doing?"
"... Ah."
I slowly straightened my awkwardly bent upper body.
The Emperor, who had been looking at me with a subtle look, seemed to have chosen to ignore me and move on, lowering his gaze again to look at the ankle he was holding and repeating what he had left unsaid.
"You kept sitting without getting up..."
"..."
"You are not so rude as to dare to sit while the Emperor is standing..."
"My muscles are just a little damaged."
It is better to have been forced to show no manners due to one's physical condition than to be seen as wanton and rude in front of the Emperor.
The Emperor, who was feeling the bones of the ankle, shin, and knee in that order, chuckled at the overly quick answer.
"I guess so. There is nothing wrong with the bones."
"..."
"I'll give you a bandage, so wrap it properly and return home safely. You will be called in a few days, so it would be a good idea to take good care of yourself until then."
"Call... do you mean?"
"Yes, since you followed the Demon King's words this time, wouldn't it be fair to follow my words next time?"
Wow... oh my...
Why is my life like this? It's really driving me crazy.
Even when I reflexively took the bandage the Emperor gave me and was alone again, I couldn't hold back the sigh that had escaped.
***
Ironically, because the ideology of the Emperor and the Duke, the two leaders of the Emperial and Noble factions that were at odds with each other within the Empire, were somewhat similar.
For example, the country and its citizens should be considered top priority.
Nevertheless, if you were to ask why there are so many selfish and senseless nobles, it could be said that it was similar to hitting someone even though you know that you should not hit them, but in any case, no matter what their actual behavior was, the basic common sense of being an aristocrat was clearly embedded in a corner of the heads of the current nobles.
Why did this story suddenly appear?
"As a noble of this Empire who puts the country first, shouldn't we clearly clarify the truth about the rumors about the Honorary Marquis Deon Hardt? It is a rumor that, depending on whether it is true or not, could endanger this country."
There were rumors about the Honorary Marquis Deon Hardt.
The rumor was that he is a vampire!
"I went looking for an old book. The number and territory of the demons was overwhelmingly large, so they were not exposed to the human world that much, but it was said that 'vampires' definitely existed in the demon world."
"Isn't it past tense?"
"There is no way to know at the moment. However, we cannot ignore the possibility that the Honorary Marquis Deon Hardt is the last remaining member of the clan."
"It's definitely suspicious. Also, the fighting style involves excessive bloodshed!"
"His eyes are red too."
"What about that pale skin? I heard they can't be exposed to sunlight for a long time. Aren't the vampires written in the book like that?"
Surprisingly, they were serious.
If it's written in the old book, vampires and demons living in the same demon realm, so wasn't there a high possibility that he will take the demon realm's side when the human world and the demon realm go to war?
"I need to make sure we know this time."
"You're right. But His Majesty surrounded him..."
"What I would like to say to His Excellency the Duke is..."
"I was kicked out before I could say anything."
To the Duke, who knew the truth, it was only natural that it was nothing more than the nonsense of foolish people.
"It seems we have no choice but to find out for ourselves."
"I have already set my eyes and ears on Honorary Marquis Hardt."
"I do, too, but I wonder if the news hasn't stopped..."
"Now that I think about it..."
"He's a hero too, so he must have developed a sense of spirit."
As expected, he was a formidable opponent.
This was the thought that all the nobles present thought of at the same time.
"... I'll have to pick them as carefully as possible and put them back together."
"Then I will attach some people to watch from afar, just in case."
"But... what do you plan to do if he really is a vampire?"
"..."
"..."
Could they get rid of someone so close to the Emperor?
Even if it was revealed to the world that he was a vampire, the only thing that will change is that the hostility towards Deon Hardt will become stronger, and it is unlikely that the Emperor will easily throw away his useful sword.
Maybe it's about knowing and embracing it. He definitely controlled the information about him. Rather, they could not ignore the possibility that vampires taking the Empire's side can be used to form positive public opinion.
"... Let's think about it then."
"Yes. The authenticity hasn't even been determined yet."
The method most people who face unanswerable problems choose is to look away.
The nobles avoided uncomfortable families that were sure to be complex and headache-inducing.
"Oh, and there are rumors that the combat styles of Commander 0 and Deon Hardt are similar... Could it be that they are the same person?"
"Hehehe, what a joke! Could that be possible? Whether it's the Emperor or the Demon King, they wouldn't stay still."
"Haha, that's right. It has been more than two years since the existence of Commander 0 emerged as an open secret. That means there is a possibility that he existed in the demon realm even longer than that. You saw the day when the demon realm declared war, right? It is impossible for the parties involved in such a war of words to have been unaware of it for over two years. It was a funny joke."
"Ahaha, isn't that right?"
In the meantime, a nobleman suggested a unique hypothesis, but this was dismissed as a joke to lighten the mood and was met with laughter.
It was a ridiculously unreliable hypothesis, but it actually lightened the mood.
In a warm atmosphere, everyone praised the nobleman's witty jokes and focused on the 'Deon Hardt Vampire Theory'.