The demon realm is full of monsters that I can't do anything about, but I think it's better to move than to stay locked in my room.
I quickly got up from my seat and put on my coat.
Since I wasn't planning to go out of the Demon King's Castle and only wanted to look around, I didn't need to prepare in detail and just took the basic things I needed and stood in front of the door.
Before opening the door, I glanced back. What I saw was the completed puzzle scattered on the floor.
I wondered for a moment if I should clean it up, but there was no place to put it away...
'If I leave it alone, Ed will clean it up on his own.'
As always, he will frame it and hang it on the wall.
After confirming that there was nothing more to worry about, I opened the door and went outside without hesitation.
"Ah, Demon!"
Yeah, it seemed like that for some reason. I was expecting that we would meet some time... but I never thought we would actually meet this soon.
I vaguely knew that his liver[1] was unnecessarily large, but I never imagined that he would be this shameless.
Hien approached, smiling as if nothing had happened, as if Ed hadn't dragged him aside to warn him not to approach me again.
I took out the secret weapon I had brought with me in case I met him.
I can't be swayed by him forever, right? It's not like Remember gave it to me to use it for this purpose...
However, I choose to use it this way, it's up to me.
'I couldn't believe it, but I brought it out like this... but I can't believe I actually ended up using it.'
As expected, Hien immediately showed interest in what I had in my hand.
"Daemon? What is that...? It looks like a seed..."
"It's a flower seed."
"Flowers? What does the flower look like? Does it have eyes or a mouth? Or tentacles? If nothing else, does it have the ability to possess creatures or emit poison? What about feeding? Do they eat humans or demons and monsters? Or both?"
His eyes flashed, and I slowly put my head back to avoid Hien, who was right in front of my nose, and quickly spoke.
"I don't know either."
"...Yes?"
"I know that it is the seed of a special plant that is different from the normal demon realm plants, but I am not sure about the exact details."
I can't say it's the seed of the human world. No, there wouldn't be a big problem if I say it, but it would be difficult for me if I revealed it in this situation.
Because I plan to use this as bait to send Hien away.
If I give him this, he won't appear in front of me for a while because he'll be busy germinating this seed. This is the distance I set between him and me.
'I can't keep him around or completely kick him out, so what can I do?'
I have to keep my distance at least in this way.
"Would you like to grow this?"
"Yes? Me?"
"Yes."
"Can I really raise this precious thing...?"
I nodded.
It was not particularly precious... these were rose seeds. It's just that you can't raise it in the demon realm. Most plants in the human world require sunlight. It would be impossible to raise it in the demon realm where the sun never rises.
When I thought of Hien, who would appear with a sullen face later, my conscience pricked me a little, but if I could quickly send him away from me with this, then pricking my conscience is no big deal.
Hien took the flower seed with his hands shaking. With a face filled with emotion, he held the seed tightly in his arms and bowed down.
"Thank you! I will make sure to make a flower bloom and show it to Demon!"
"Um... yes, I will support you."
As if he wanted to start right away, Hien nodded and quickly ran off somewhere.
Okay, I did it.
Praising myself for defusing a time bomb so cleanly, I picked up the pace I had stopped and leisurely crossed the hallway.
There was nothing to do. Let's go down to the first floor. If I have time, I should go outside and look around the building.
I postponed going down to the first floor for a while. On my way down, I found a library.
I raised my head and saw a huge door showing off its immense grandeur.
'Now that I think about it, have I ever stopped by the library?'
Let's go in now. But is it okay to go in...?
As if my worries were for naught, the two demons guarding the entrance to the library immediately stepped aside and made way as I stepped in front of the door.
Stiff eyes followed my actions. I was confused as to whether they were telling me to go in or not, but I decided to trust their actions rather than their eyes.
As I entered, the first thing I saw was not books, but a librarian. The librarian who was sitting down reading a book glanced at me as if checking on the other person, then fixed her eyes on the book again.
"..."
"...!"
Thunk!
The book fell to the floor and the chair fell backwards.
"C-c-co... Commander Demon! What are you doing here...!"
Ah, I was slow in understanding the opponent. Are you surprised that someone you didn't expect to come came?
Maybe they were surprised by someone who wasn't supposed to come. Even though I was in the Demon King's army and a Commander, in the end, I was still human.
"I just wanted to look around... Can't I?"
"Yes, yes! Feel free to look around as much as you like! If there is a book you are looking for, please let me know."
The librarian hurried away. As I watched them go back to their seat and clean up after themself, I turned my head and looked at the numerous bookshelves that occupied the large space.
Since I was just there to look around, I don't have any intention of wandering around this space. I roughly reached for the bookshelf near the entrance. I took out the book I could reach and looked at the cover.
[Information on the Heroes of the Current Empire]
[Author: Idelia, Dvelania]
'Current Empire?'
If the 'current Empire' is the 'current Empire' I think of, it means that content is added immediately whenever new information comes in. So this book was recent.
I opened the book. My eyes met a familiar portrait.
[First hero. Nemeseus.]
[...He became a count for actively helping the current Emperor Eduardo Desert, who was the 9th prince, during his rebellion. Afterwards, he served as Commander-in-Chief during the 'Eight Year War' and received the title of Marquis. Among the current Empire's nobles, he is the only one without a 'surname'.]
[He was a commoner and, in need of money, worked as a gladiator in a gladiatorial arena and met the current Emperor, Eduardo Desert. Eduardo, who was the 9th prince at the time, praised his sword skills and generously supported him on the condition that he become his master...]
I felt like I was prying into someone else's private life. I quickly turned to the next chapter.
Information about the general was still presented. I turned the page again.
'How much research did you do... Why do you even know the general's tastes?'
My hands became faster as I flipped through the pages.
My busy hands stopped moving when a new character appeared. A portrait with bright eyes was glaring at me.
[Second hero. Stigma Primero.]
[Viscount Lowfel's illegitimate son. In recognition of his contributions during the 'Eight Year War', he received a new title of Marquess. He is focusing on eradicating barbarians from the southern border of the Empire, using overwhelming force...]
Uh... Wait, if it's like this, it'll also write about me, right?
I quickly turned the pages of the book. After the information about Stigma, my name appeared.
There was no portrait there.
[Third hero. Deon Hardt.]
[Investigation is prohibited by order of the Demon King.]
[Do not be curious.]
The tension was relieved.
Yes. There is no way the devil would handle things sloppily.thank god. I sighed in relief and turned the empty page, and a portrait appeared again. Black hair and green eyes. An expressionless man with a cold aura and staring straight ahead.
[Fourth hero. Cruel Hardt.]
[Known to be related by blood to the third hero, Deon Hardt. Although he is known not as the Emperor's person but as the person of the Duke who opposes him...]
Just looking at him made me so irritated that I closed the book.
As I was about to put it back in its place, there was a book that caught my eye.
A title written in old-fashioned handwriting, as if someone had written it by hand.
[About the Hero and the Demon King]
[Author: Caver]
Without thinking, I reached out my hand and took out the book.
[Hero.]
[A human being chosen and given power by the world to kill the Demon King.]
[Talent in weaponry, innate strength, brain, and even lifespan. Everything that makes up the hero is far beyond human standards.]
[A hero has two choices when he dies...]
I thought there was something special, but what was this? I knew everything here, right? I turned the pages roughly, turning two or three pages at a time. After flipping the page a few times, an explanation about the 'hero' appeared.
[...the dregs of a hero. What is called a hero's fragment I the imperial language can be called a 'fragment of the world' in other words. The fragments that were floating around, invisible and undetected, are absorbed into humans by pure chance, without any foreshadowing or reason, and these are the 'heroes' who possess the fragments of heroes. Although they are not as good as a warrior, they surpass the average human...]
[※ Originally, humans with hero fragments were called 'heroes', but in the Empire, 'heroes' are those who have meritorious actions that can be recognized by everyone regardless of whether or not they have hero fragments. With the inclusion of humans, the meaning began to become confused. 'Hero candidate' and 'hero' are mainly used to refer to humans who possess the fragments of a hero, so if you are worried that the other person will be confused, use these two words appropriately according to the situation.]
I also know roughly this.
...Was there something a little different?
Demon King, Demon King... Ah, I found it!
[Demon King.]
[The world calls for a hero...]
Before I could even finish reading the sentence, I heard a voice right next to me.
"What are you doing here?"
"!"
Ack! A breath on my ear!
I was so startled that I dropped the book. The pages of the book, scattered around randomly, flapped and stopped at a random place.
Wow, the book isn't spoiled, is it? I quickly stretched out my hand, wondering if the demon in charge of the book might have a grudge against me.
The text on the page that seemed to be the last page caught my eye. There was only one sentence written there, as if it summarized the main points.
[The hero and the Demon King are proof that this world is immature.]
Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any significant damage when seen with the naked eye. After checking the cover, I lightly dusted the outside.
Only then was I able to recall a fact I had forgotten for a while.
"Uh..."
"Now you see me."
What was the reason I dropped the book in the first place?
Wasn't it because someone suddenly spoke to me?
I barely raised my stiff head. I made eye contact with a man with a mask-like smile.
As I suppressed the scream that was about to burst out, a moan-like voice came out between my lips.
"Ma... King?"
"Huh."
"Here... why..."
"I came to look for a certain book."
He pointed to the book in my hand with his chin.
I looked at the book and him alternately and then held out the book. The Demon King, who naturally took the book from my hand, casually put it under his side and called to me.
"Why did you come here?"
"Ah... I just wanted to look around..."
"Aha."
"..."
"..."
There was an awkward silence. I don't know if other demons have, but I've never had anything like this with the Demon King.
The Demon King, who was unable to leave the situation as he was experiencing it for the first time just rolled his eyes, looked at me with incomprehensible eyes for a moment, and opened his mouth.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something else for a moment. Do you have anything more to do here?"
"No."
I met the Demon King here, so why would I stay here?
"If you're going because of me, I'll go, so you don't have to worry."
"No."
There was nothing to do here anyway. I'll just have to go outside the building as planned.
I hurried out of the library as if running away from the Demon King's gaze, which was staring at me as if trying to gauge whether I was sincere or not.
And I succeeded in going outside as planned... but I got lost.
[1] Liver = guts = courage. Since this is the second or third time it's said this way so far, I'll stop notating this every time it comes up.