"Ah Ed."
Deon, who was talking to the plant with a relaxed expression, immediately hardened his expression. Ed had a bitter smile on his face as he clearly drew a line and showed caution.
Should he consider it fortunate that he was not hostile? If it had been before, he would have tried to make small talk by asking what kind of picture it was, but... He felt like he was shrinking for no reason, so he just cautiously extended his hand.
"Give me the picture. I'll hang it on the wall in your room."
"You don't have to do that..."
"... Do you have any other storage methods in mind?"
"No... I guess do whatever you want."
A picture was held out.
... Now that he thought about it, he said a little while ago that the painting wasn't all dry. Ed, who noticed that the paint was less dry just before he touched it with his keen eye, quickly changed the position where he was holding it and accepted it carefully so as not to damage the painting.
"The paint seems to have dried less. I will dry it first and then frame it later."
"As you wish..."
"If I leave it in the room in this state, it will stink and I will have to open the window for ventilation, so I will dry it somewhere else and then hang it in the room..."
"... No, just leave it in my room. My room window is open 24 hours a day anyway, and the paint smells better."
Better than the smell of blood.
Deon, muttering inaudibly, waved his hand and opened the door, as if telling him to take care of everything else. Dan, who was waiting inside, immediately welcomed him.
"You're here. Did you have a nice time meeting the Demon King? It looks like he painted a portrait or something because a picture appeared that wasn't there before."
The confident eyes of someone who was sure he would not be rejected landed on the picture Ed was holding.
"I didn't know there was a demon with such outstanding drawing skills in the Demon King's Castle. Who painted that picture?"
"The Demon King."
"Well... he is a multi-talented person."
Leaving Dan and Deon's conversation behind, Ed looked around the room filled with completed puzzles, chose the right place, and hung the picture there.
The gaze that went up to check the angle soon fell with sadness in it.
'Why...'
It's almost like Dan's one-sided bragging, but anyway, Deon didn't stop his talking and was accepting it well. Perhaps that's why Dan's voice, which would normally be passed off as just an unpleasant human babbling, was annoying.
To the point where he couldn't even get into a light fight like he did every day.
Ed was aware that if he opened his mouth now, he might cross a line. He didn't mind crossing the line with that person, but he can't go against Deon's wishes.
"... It's done."
Finally, he got the angle right and took a step back.
Only then did the red gaze reach here. His eyes had an indifferent light, unlike their intense color.
"Great job. Go out."
"... Yes."
The short praise followed by an order to leave was familiar. Ed, with a self-mocking smile, bowed his head deeply to hide his expression and walked away. Dan, who was watching the scene, turned to Deon just as the door closed.
"Um... Master. Are you taking good care of your lieutenant?"
"Why bother?"
"Looking at it like this, it seems a bit weird. Still, isn't he a demon who served his master with sincerity before I came? No matter how unbelievable it may be, at least it is reasonable..."
"But."
A stern voice interrupted.
Dan closed his mouth and silence fell. Instead of opening his mouth right away, Deon leisurely played with the strange plant that was still hanging on his side, then took it off and placed it on the table.
Eventually, a calm voice pressed down on the space with heavy content.
"I will kill the Demon King."
"...!"
"It is true that Ed served me wholeheartedly. Even now, efforts to achieve that are visible. But he is also very loyal to the Demon King. Would a guy like that really choose me in a situation where the Demon King and I face off?"
"..."
Deon smiled bitterly after reading the affirmation in the non-answer. He remembered he had a conversation about that topic last time. At the time, Ed said that he was serving 'authority' and not 'Deon Hardt'.
And when he got to the present and saw the white gloves he was still wearing, he was honestly a little shaken. When he heard that the reason was because it was a gift from Deon, he thought that maybe it was about serving 'Deon Hardt' rather than 'authority'.
But then what?
He could see a future for him that no one will be able to choose between the Demon King and Deon Hardt.
"I can't have a half-baked guy like that by my side in a game where life and death are at stake."
It would be better to induce him to leave.
The demon he encountered most often while living in the Demon King's Castle was Ed. Because Ed was by his side even when he was timid and withdrawn, Deon knew about Ed and Ed knew about Deon.
The Ed he came to know thus could be defined in one word.
'A soldier.'
A typical low-ranking soldier who is faithful to his duties and quickly becomes indecisive if he does not have a task to undertake. He may seem flexible at first glance, but he will break down when he has to make decisions on his own, so he will be useless in critical situations.
"It would have been better for both of us if we had been complete enemies."
Blood was flowing everywhere, as if asking him to look at it.
Deon didn't care and put his hand on the back of the chair to sit in front of the table... and then took it back.
"Hiek."
"Uh... yes... Thank you..."
"... Is that a plant? It's so gentlemanly for a plant."
A long, straight trunk was waiting with the chair pulled out.
It's a bonus to push Deon back when he sat down with a nervous look on his face.
At Dan's words that he was a gentleman, he placed the thin stem against the thick stem and bent down the flower bud.
Deon and Dan's expressions became subtle, putting their hands on their chests and lowering their heads.
"... Is it really a plant?"
"I don't know..."
Anyway, thanks to this, the atmosphere was brightened.
Now that the conclusion had been made to stay away from the adjutant, continuing this topic would only add to the atmosphere without any gain, so Dan changed the topic, thanking the monster in his heart.
The next small topic of conversation was the picture currently hanging on the wall. Deon, who left empty-handed, brought back a portrait of himself.
"You have unique taste in having your own portrait in your own room."
Deon responded to the playful, sly remark, leaning back in his chair with a slightly relaxed expression.
"It's better than having a portrait of an unrelated person hanging up. Besides, I can't throw it away because the Demon King himself painted it and gave it to me, and I also like the smell of the paint."
"The smell of paint... What are you talking about? I feel like it's a little harsh..."
"That's why I like it."
Because it smells better than blood.
Deon swallowed his last words, looked away from Dan, who had a puzzled expression on his face, and patted the strange plant on the table. Dan, who noticed that he had no intention of explaining even after waiting, flexibly changed the subject.
"Then, can I take this to mean that by the time the smell of paint disappears, it will only become a burden?"
"What... Yes?"
"Then can I take it and use it as I please?"
"... What are you going to use it for?"
There was anxiety in his voice.
Deon looked away from the plant and looked at Dan. Dan met his gaze directly and grinned proudly.
"It's not right now, but I'm thinking of a place that might be suitable to use it in the future."
"..."
"I won't do anything strange. Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Depending on the other person, I may need a little bit of spit on the picture."
"... What are you trying to do?"
Spit. Although it was not really him, it was a picture of his face that was identical to the real thing. He would feel bad if it was used for something strange. The slightly shaking red eyes turned to Dan as if demanding an answer.
It's enough to tease him like this. Dan shrugged his shoulders.
"I will use it for trading."
"No, you're making a deal, so why do you need spit..."
"Not knowing is medicine. Let's just skip over it. Anyway, I'll take that as permission."
"..."
I don't think it's something that can be skipped over.
Still, Deon was confident that Dan would not do anything harmful and judged that even if he caused damage with the portrait, it would not cause too much damage, so Deon passed on without any hesitation.
"Well... that aside."
He searched his pocket and took out a cigarette.
Snatch!
"Hiek!"
"..."
After pausing for a moment, he took out a new cigarette again...
Snatch!
"Hiek!"
"..."
Dan was already laughing with his mouth covered.
Deon quietly looked at the cigarettes and the monster plant that was pathetically rolling around on the floor, then fixed his gaze on the monster plant. A slow voice that clearly conveyed the feeling of hopelessness flowed out.
"... Are you saying 'don't smoke'?"
"Hiek."
The flower bud shook up and down. Deon narrowed his eyes and observed the strange plant for a moment before putting the cigarette pack back in his arms with a faint sigh.
"They say that if you raise animals, you will live a healthy life..."
"This is a plant, Master."
"It's moving. It also makes a crying sound, so it is closer to an animal than a plant. Anyway."
The atmosphere changed.
Dan, startled by the heavy air again, adjusted his posture.
Bright red eyes shone lazily with the composure of a strong man. Deon closed his eyes. A familiar voice passed through his head.
'... I hope you grow to be my teacher.'
An unexplained impatience mixed with his eyes again, and his clenched jaw slowly tightened.
"I need to finish the work as quickly as possible."
"Are you talking about conquering the human world as quickly as possible?"
"No, the demon world."
"...?"
Too many words have been omitted. Dan's eyebrows narrowed.
Rather than being resolved in the ensuing orders, the doubts grew and became more confusing.
"The Commander of the 5th Corps has a hidden warehouse where she collects valuable miscellaneous items."
"Yeah, I know."
"And the 9th Corps Commander has rough hands when handling things."
"... I know that too...?"
"Please tell the 9th Corps Commander the location of the warehouse."
"... Ah?"
Dan frowned.
He knew the intention as soon as he heard the command. Deon Hardt was trying to create a wedge between the 5th and 9th Corps Commanders.
'But why?'
There's no reason to do that, right? He didn't particularly have any ill feelings towards either of them.
Deon smiled slightly at the confusion that was clearly revealed.
"Didn't you say hatred is either too much or too little?"
The World wants me to get rid of the Demon King, so I, who want to kill him, have no choice but to wipe out not only the Demon King but also the demons.
Well, it is said that demons are hated by the World, so the world may actually like that. Even so, it doesn't really matter since the plan is to wipe out the human world first.
"I think it would be better to strike a balance more than anything else."
"...?"
"If this continues, every country in the human world will be trampled and the entire continent will return to nothingness. Then wouldn't it be fair for the demon world to return to nothingness as well?"
It wouldn't be a bad idea to build up the sins that have already been committed until, as in the lyrics of an old song, the soul is broken and destroyed to the point where reincarnation is impossible.
"Now I have to start working on the demon world. If we had to target the royal families of each kingdom in order to trample on the human world, the demon world would be about the Corps Commanders, excluding the Demon King."
In order to get things done quickly, they need to prepare now.
Following the warning of reason disguised as instinct, Deon decided to finish the job before the Demon King found out what he truly wanted.
"You remember my orders, right? There is no need for the 5th and 9th Corps Commanders to fight for their lives right now, so they can do so without any burden. If you just instill bad feelings towards each other, things will take care of themselves. Perhaps it will be handled on its own without us having to do anything, or if it doesn't explode, we can look at the situation and address it when appropriate."
"... Hah."
Dan thought it would be the end if he just killed the Demon King.
He burst out laughing.
What kind of ridiculous scale is this? In other words, doesn't that mean that he was going to turn the entire world upside down? A slightly raised tone of voice came out filled with excitement, mixed with astonishment, admiration, and awe.
"Master is really... crazy."
Crazy? I was sane from the beginning."