No matter how demons may be, humans have a line that they instinctively try to protect even during war.
Examples include the reluctance to stab an enemy's eye so deeply that it penetrates the brain, or the tendency to refrain from setting fire to a mountain in order to win.
Obviously, to win, it's easy to poke people in the eye. Even if it doesn't reach the brain, it would be beneficial because it can take away the opponent's eyesight, but they still target the neck or heart.
'The same goes for fires.'
In war, conscience determines victory or defeat. Those who adhere to the minimum principles and those who put aside such things and focus only on winning. It was natural that the latter would be easier to win.
We were not defeated. It wasn't like we gave up.
Just.
"We're going to set fire to the mountain, but if we're there, it's just like committing suicide."
I just thought.
Enemies made great use of the terrain feature called the forest. As demons who are not accustomed to the forest environment, they have no choice but to be helpless.
There I suddenly realized something.
'Yes...'
Demons live in a world where there are not many decent plants.
'So, let's just burn it all down.'
I know that the reason demons covet the human world is because of the 'sun', not 'plants'.
Of course, Hien's goal might be plants, but...
'They are demons that live for a long time anyway, so they will be able to recover them before they die.'
If we win the war and take over the entire human world, we won't have to wait for recovery and will just look at plants in other areas.
Whether the humans hiding in that forest burn to death or suffocate to death is none of my business. What we need to focus on is their suspicious behavior that keeps taking time and getting to the castle walls while minimizing damage before any action is taken.
"It's a nice day."
"... Yes?"
"It's dry weather, so it's a great day to start a fire."
So I calmly gave the command.
"Burn everything that gets in the way of the advance."
These words were also passed down to demons who were fighting in other areas.
Feeling the shame of being tied down by humans and the stress of the battle itself, they had no hesitation in using fire as a method. Soon, reports began to come in about flames rising from all over the continent.
I received reports that the Revolutionary Army, which was standing in a makeshift camp outside the forest and facing off, burned it along with the landmarks out of frustration, abandoned a village, retreated, and burned it down out of fear that other humans would use it. It was the village where I had previously met the shaman, Ran. I tilted my head when I heard that it had already been burned before the fire.
My eyes turned to Dan, who was standing on one side.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Nothing."
It would have been a village with no one since everyone had left anyway.
Should I say that revenge was certain or should I say that it was just a needless anger outburst?
In any case, since it was none of my business, I lost interest and left the military camp. A forest engulfed in red flames filled my vision.
'Considering the size of the forest... it will take quite some time to burn it all down.'
There will be work to keep the fire from going out...
I'll have to spend some time here for a while until the forest burns down.
It was just yesterday that I thought...
I slightly widened my eyes and looked at the communication stone as if I could not believe my ears. A shaky voice suddenly came out.
"So, what about the Fairy King?"
"Immediately... stop burning the forests of the human world..."
Ed's rare, hesitant voice filled the military tent. I was so dumbfounded that I let out a laugh.
'Whose will it be?'
What authority did the head of a race that was neither a demon nor a participant in the war have to intervene and argue?
The cry of "stop talking nonsense" rose to the tip of my tongue. For reasons of dignity, I couldn't spit it out raw. As I was about to purify it and say it out loud, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
"... Deon?"
"..."
"Deon, are you okay?"
"What did he say he would do if we don't stop the fire?"
"Yes?"
The Fairy King has power.
At least, he had the authority to export some of the fairy herbs.
I remembered the report I received from Dan.
'The guild is steadily increasing its influence by distributing amulets.'
However, I heard that it was difficult to completely swallow the competition with just that.
I thought about distributing some of the magic stones, but it was blocked due to the Demon King's opposition, and there were things I had to focus on right now, so I put it off...
Deon slowly raised the corner of his mouth.
"Tell the fairy king. Can I take that statement as a 'trade request'?"
I didn't wonder what the Fairy King was thinking when he said those words. No, actually, I had some doubts, but I had no intention of asking or digging into it.
If I could use this to my advantage, that's fine.
"... All right."
After hesitating as if he didn't have the confidence to confidently convey those words to the head of a tribe, the solemn voice returned for a moment. I added calmly.
"Oh, and don't forget to tell him that we will continue to burn the forest until a 'deal' is made."
"Yes."
***
The call came quickly.
Contrary to my expectations of a tiring battle of wits, the arrogant leader of the fairies calmly threw the matter away as soon as he was contacted.
"What do you want?"
"Fairy herbs."
I didn't say anything else and gave his answer directly. I knew what kind of response I would get if I closed my mouth like this, so I continued speaking without waiting for the other person's answer, preventing any backlash that would come out.
"I'm not asking for much. A human who follows me runs a business, and I would like to supply a small amount of medicinal herbs there on a regular basis."
In the first place, even if it was possible to distribute magic stones or fairy herbs, I had no intention of releasing them in large quantities. A monopoly system that releases limited quantities will help strengthen the influence of the guild, but if released in large quantities, the power of the human world, which must be swallowed up before the influence is strengthened, would be greatly strengthened.
Since this was to strengthen influence to make it easier to occupy the human world, there should not be a situation where the role of the guild and the customer are overturned.
"A small amount?"
"It would be an amount that would be undetectable to your fairy race."
"..."
"I didn't ask you, 'Why shouldn't we burn the forests of the human world?' I won't ask again in the future."
It was a subtle pressure disguised as consideration.
I wanted to end this sluggish situation as quickly as possible. If the deal went through and we stop burning the forest, we have to quickly find another way to use it.
That's why I read the opponent's hesitation and pulled out a card I wasn't sure about. If the Fairy King had come forward for a trivial reason, such as being interested in the plants of the human world, it would have been a meaningless remark, but I remembered him from a brief encounter in the past.
'He's not a person so fickle that he directly goes into the affairs of other races and sanctions them for trivial reasons.'
There must be some important reason.
"The forest is still burning. What will you do?"
"... Let's discuss the exact amount of herbs that must be delivered and the standard for 'regularity'."
As expected.
A positive answer came back.
Half of the forest was burned. The surrounding area, which used to be as bright as a sunset even in the middle of the night, was now covered with black smoke even in broad daylight, with ash falling occasionally. Among the ash falling like snow, the Demon King's Army was preparing a temporary camp on the black land that had become a plain, with the burnt and unburned parts of the forest as the boundary.
The military tent was made simpler than before by order of myself.
'This time, we plan to move without taking too long of a break.'
There was no need to put any effort into installing it.
And now I was welcoming a man with a faint smile. Unlike the drawn-up corners of my mouth, the red eyes had a mysterious glow, as if the emotions were new.
"Welcome, Hien."
"It's been a while, Deon. I'm glad you invited me!"
I emphasized again that enemies utilized the geographical feature called the forest. In other words, it means using all kinds of plants as cover. And Hien is a gardener who deals with man-eating plants. If we replace their cover with man-eating plants, we will be able to take down the opponents without much trouble. Who would think that cover would eat them?
I never thought Hien would be of help. But, even dog poop is sometimes used in medicine. I smiled faintly.
'More than that...'
The monster in Hien's arms cried as if greeting me.
In addition to the somewhat familiar shape, my expression fell as I heard a cry that was similar to a strange plant I had encountered in the past.
"... What is that?"
"I came across a flower from the human world and injected it with magical power! Something similar to the seed child that you gave me before was created. It seems that the seeds you gave me back then were seeds of the human world!"
"Fuck!"
I raised my eyebrows at the sound that echoed in response.
That's right, that guy was 'squeaking' and this guy is 'squeezing'...
If I look closely, it looks a little different. At that time, that plant had a shape based on a 'rose' and was dark red in color, but no matter how you look at it, this plant seems to not be based on a rose, both in shape and color, which is black and purple.
Nevertheless, I tilted my head at the familiar shape.
'Where did I see this?'
... Ah.
'By the window in my room.'
I was certain that it turned into something strange because it was injected with magical power. That shape was based on the shape of the flowers in the vase I placed by the window in my room.
I heard that he found it in the human world, but...
I lowered my voice as I thought about what might have happened.
"It looks like the same type of flower on the window in my room..."
"Yes, that's right! On my way, I found it blooming in the field! As soon as I saw it, I remembered that it was Deon's favorite flower. I thought you might need some guard plants too...!"
"... I see."
As long as he didn't touch the flowers in my room, I'm not interested. There was no need for guard plants or anything like that.
Just as I was about to get to the point, Hien, who muttered something regretful, shouted as if something occurred to him.
"In the human world, there is also something called the language of flowers. So I did some research! Of course, I started by learning the meaning of the flower that Deon liked!"
Something I'm not interested in.
I'm not interested... Still, I kept my mouth shut and waited for his next words.
"I don't know if it's for sure, but I heard it means something like 'living without regrets' or 'I'll wait for you.'"
"... I see."
There wasn't much inspiration.
With the thought that I had learned something new, I thought of the shape of the flower near the window of my room, tried to guess whether the flower language matched the shape, and got to the point with a deadpan expression without much success.
"You have work to do."
I had already forgotten about the language of flowers.
***
There was just one day when demons ran around the forest like crazy.
To the dismay of the humans who were lurking and watching, they ran around the forest without stopping for even a moment, and at some point, they left as quickly as they had entered. Because of their quick actions, there was no significant battle, so there was no damage, but despite their initial ridicule, the humans began to experience nightmarish phenomena after that.
The hidden colleagues disappeared one by one.
They couldn't figure out the cause at all.
At some point, contact was cut off and when they went there, the person had disappeared from wherever they came. Due to the repetition of the terrifying situation, the morale of their troops rapidly declined and they were now crawling along the floor.
Margrave Amiable, who had arrived at Miller's territory and was commanding the troops, reported this strange situation to the Emperor without being able to resolve it.
"... A plant-type monster."
The Emperor answered immediately.