All I could see was the shield, so I couldn't confirm it directly, but it was definitely him. It's been so long since we met, I never thought we'd meet again.
He seemed to have calmed the chaotic situation just by appearing, and he leisurely asked a question among those who had already become quiet.
"What's the situation?"
"It is estimated to be stage 1."
"Estimated? Have you not checked properly yet?"
"Sorry."
"It's okay. Just call Ben."
"Yes."
"Then—"
The words were like a death sentence. The shields that were tightly interlocked were moved aside and the Demon King appeared between them.
He took a step inside, waited for the shield to be completely closed, and then looked at me frozen and cautiously opened his mouth.
"Demon."
"..."
"Demon, can you hear me?"
I can hear you, but I don't know what to say first.
"There's no way you can't hear what I'm saying from this distance, so it seems like you're ignoring me, but it's nice to hear, so I'll just say it."
"..."
"First of all, those here are not enemies. No one is going to attack you and there is no need for you to kill anyone right now."
"..."
..I know. I know. I know it very well.
The war is over, battles do not occur except in special cases, and I am living in reality.
What are you saying out of nowhere?
As I watched the Demon King speaking softly to calm me down in a serious manner, I felt like I was going to burst into laughter, so I kept my mouth shut.
The Demon King opened his mouth again, and I wondered how he interpreted my silence.
"So calm down a little and put down that bottle of alcohol in your hand..."
"Demon King! I heard you called! No matter where you are hurt...!"
Ah, this voice. It's Ben.
Why did you call the doctor? You really want to kill me and then treat me...?!
But the Demon King's attitude was too kind to say that. You're not the type to kill someone with a gentle smile... right?
...Right?!
While I was in deep thought, the Demon King, who had removed his shield and wielded a sword, gave a cold command without taking his eyes off me.
"Demon drank. Check what level he is at now."
"Yes, I understand."
How many steps?
While I was tilting my head at the unknown conversation, Ben came out.
He took a step forward with a solemn expression and looked at me, swallowing dry saliva. And the first thing he did was lower his upper body, raise his hands slightly as if pushing, and say, "Commander Demon, I am not your enemy."
It was said.
While he was saying that, he did not avoid my eyes or lower his raised hand.
As if I were some kind of wild beast... Oh, the fuck, I guess this is right?
"Now then, Demon? If you can hear me, can you answer me?"
"...Yes."
"!?"
Ben froze at the reluctant answer. The same went for the Demon King next to him.
I was so shocked that I tried to remember if I had said something wrong, but all I said was 'yes'.
I was rolling my eyes and looking around, wondering what was going on, but Ben, whose eyes were wide open, stuttered out the words.
"Demon...?"
"Yes."
"Daemon?"
"Yes."
"Ugh, Demon, are you speaking politely now...?"
"Yes? Yes."
I spoke using honorifics as usual, so I wondered what the issue was.
"..."
At this point, someone could have explained the situation to me, but that didn't seem to be the priority.
The Demon King and Ben left me alone and whispered something seriously.
From time to time, harsh words such as 'false report', 'punishment', and 'shall I kill' were exchanged, but it soon stopped and the Demon King raised his head and looked at me.
"Did you drink alcohol, Demon?"
"I didn't drink it."
I'm finally saying it now. I felt relieved, but I'm a little worried about what happens next. The matter has gotten so big, will it be easy to get over it?
However, contrary to my worries, the Demon King, who had never once raised his voice in front of me, showed his unchanging attitude this time as well. He calmly nodded as if he had roughly anticipated the situation.
There was no sign of anger or irritation brought about by the sudden commotion anywhere in the scene.
"Okay... then what about that drink in your hand?"
"It was here. It's a drink that is commonly known in the human world, so I thought it was strange..."
"Demon King, I think it was an attempt at drinking it. There's no way Demon would just leave the alcohol behind."
...What was he saying?
What on earth was Ben thinking of me? What about the Demon King who nodded his head at that?
That alone was absurd, but the words of the 2nd Corps Commander Dvelania, who had jumped over the shield and entered, wondering how he knew about this place and what his purpose was, were shocking.
"It looks like Demon is bored. How about allowing him to go out for a while? For example, going to the second city with me to buy clothes..."
I laughed, clearly showing my shock at the absurd and unexpected remark.
Damn. Do you think I will go? I plan to stay confined to the safe Demon King Castle. And even if I go, I will never go with you. Why would I go?
***
I was hit in the back of the head.
By whom?
"Would you like to go to the second city with Dvelania?"
"Yes...?"
The Demon King. It was a suggestion, or rather an order, that came only a week after the tumultuous drinking incident ended.
I was a little relieved because he didn't call me for a week, but then he came in like this. How dare you attack with such a shameful delay in time.
The absurd drinking incident ended in vain. I never drank alcohol in the first place, so it was a natural result.
I really liked the fact that it ended quietly without anyone – especially me – dying, which went against the nature of demons who have to cut off someone's head to relieve their temper if they pulled out a sword, but I really don't like the current situation.
Going with Dvelania to the second city!
"Just think of it as going out to have fun. Oh, instead of going straight there, turn a little to the outskirts."
"...With the commander of the 2nd Corps... That is."
"Huh."
"..."
Can't I go?
As if the Demon King had noticed my flustered appearance, he came towards me with a grin on his face.
He didn't stop at just approaching me, he placed his mouth next to my ear while holding both of my shoulders. He then whispered something, and when I heard what he said-
"What does that matter..."
"Do you really think that?"
"...I'll go."
Even though I still couldn't hide my dislike of going, I had no choice but to express my positivity.
Like a cunning devil. Even if it doesn't seem to have anything to do with me, if I say, 'Do you really think that way?', I felt anxious and had no choice but to go.
If I had known what going around the outskirts meant, I would have never gone, no matter what he said. Fuck.
***
'The war is going to start soon.'
So the Demon King needed his help. Even if that wasn't the case, different races protested over the monster problem.
'...I'll go.'
The Demon King Caver, who had persuaded Deon at once, leaned back in his chair rather than open the closed door.
The Demon King's characteristic dark eyes were low and had a dark glow.
The Empire accepted the surrender of the Kingdom of Ireon.
It was said that there was no proper battle in the first place.
They only trampled on two cities in a straight line toward the capital, but that alone made the King of Ireon lose his will to fight and declared surrender.
No, the news of surrender arrived just as the second city had been trampled, so to be precise, the decision to surrender was made when one city was trampled.
If it was going to collapse so easily, why did they go through such a useless provocation?
Did they think that the 'Empire' built with blood would just ignore provocation? If they really thought that way, they were fools with no room for relief.
There was no need to wake up a sleeping lion and not even scratch it.
'We'll collide with the Empire sooner than you think.'
Now the Emperor began to go on a rampage without hiding his purpose of conquering the continent.
He was an Emperor who had already been at war with several kingdoms at the same time. If you did it easily once, there's nothing you can't do the second time.
He had no intention of quietly watching the Empire devour the continent.
It was obvious that the direction of the power that grows as it engulfs the continent will eventually lead to this demon realm.
He was thinking of moving when about half of the continent was swallowed up, but he didn't think he would have as much time as he thought. Caver, who had been staring at the ceiling with his head tilted back against the backrest, slowly raised his upper body and stretched out his hand on the desk.
Eventually, a voice without a trace of laughter came out of his mouth as he confirmed that the communication stone was in his hand and that he was connected to all the executives of the Demon King's Castle.
"From now on, I am issuing a ban on magic throughout the demon realm. Never use magic other than the magic already imprinted on the tool in your daily life. However, use is permitted only at that moment when life is threatened."
The appearance of a hero wasn't something he normally cared about, but things were a little different now. If a hero appeared during a war with the Empire, it would be quite troublesome.
Either drastically increase the use of magic to encourage the appearance of a hero before war, or stop using magic to delay their appearance.
There was no time to spare until the war with the Empire, and even if they were lucky and a hero appeared before the war, there was no way the Emperor would send a hero to the demon realm at that time, so in the end, there was only one option.
'It's unclear whether the world will follow the intention...'
How could you predict and stop a typhoon?
It's just best to be as prepared as possible.
Thus, the monarch in charge of the fate of a race gave an order.
"Additional duties are assigned to the 2nd Corps Commander, the 4th Corps Commander, and the 8th Corps Commander. If there is someone who uses magic without a valid reason, let them be hunted down and punished appropriately."
It means just kill them.
This method had been used in the past, so there was nothing strange about it.
When the 2nd Corps Commander gathered various information, the 4th Corps Commander combined each piece of information to reduce the scope of those more suspicious, and the 8th Corps commander checks them one by one to identify and kill the target.
This method was also used to identify and eliminate those who had spread the appearance of the Commander of the 0th Corps to other places, so there would be no more problems now.
After that day, the use of magic stopped throughout the demon realm.
This seemingly insignificant change could only be felt by the Demon King, the hero's fateful opponent, and the Fairy King, who was sensitive to the flow of the world. The Fairy King, who sensed this change, sneered lowly in the middle of his forest.
"It's already too late."
The Demon King could only roughly sense that the hero's appearance was getting closer, so he didn't know. The world had already made all preparations. Just look at the timing.
The moment the world sent a hero would be the worst moment for the Demon King.
The end will most likely be death.