Corps Commander Deon Hart of the 0th Legion (1)
"I hate paperwork!"
That was the first thing I blurted out when the Demon King initially offered me a recruitment proposal. Thanks to that, I ended up taking on the unofficial position of the 0th Corps Commander — essentially a scarecrow who only needed to occupy the seat.
Not that I have any complaints. Watching the other corps commanders groaning under mountains of paperwork, I almost feel proud of myself for speaking up back then.
But if I had to point out one fatal flaw...
"I'm so bored!"
Way too bored! There's nothing to do, and even if I go outside, the Demon Realm is always shrouded in night, with only horrific plants growing in the garden.
Of course, seeking out the Demon King would be madness, and visiting the other commanders would be like walking into my own death sentence. As for my subordinates, they seem to avoid me at all costs, not wanting to deal with humans — and honestly, I don't trust them either. So, in the end, my options for killing time were severely limited.
Things like playing with a cube or working on puzzles — very wholesome activities...
"I give up!!"
Clatter.
Thousands of puzzle pieces scattered through the air. I scowled and looked around my room. Neatly completed massive puzzles were framed and decorating the walls.
What started as a simple pastime with 50- or 60-piece puzzles somehow escalated to me completing 6,000-piece monsters before I even realized it.
Damn it, I could probably sell these. Ugh, what a waste — all that concentration with nothing to show for it.
A sudden wave of emptiness washed over me, and with a hollow laugh, I threw open the door. The attendant standing outside flinched visibly and quickly bowed his head. Pretending not to notice his desperate attempt to avoid eye contact, I spoke.
"Bring me some liquor."
"E-Excuse me?!"
"Liquor. Any kind is fine. As long as it's alcohol."
"B-but…"
Despite his earlier look of desperation to obey any command, he hesitated now with a face like he was about to cry.
I could guess why. No doubt Ben had forbidden it.
I was born with a weak body — this abnormal white hair, red eyes, and skin so pale it looked almost sickly were proof enough. The constant blood coughing fits, too.
At least here, I could brush it off as "aftereffects from fighting a Hero," which was a small blessing. But still, not being allowed to drink was just depressing. Or rather, it was Ben's fanatical sense of duty that was truly regrettable.
There's something a physician said when I was young:
"It seems all the health that should be spread evenly throughout your body is concentrated in your liver!"
And honestly, it didn't seem like a lie — I rarely got drunk easily. That's probably why I could survive drinking all sorts of nasty medicines too... Anyway.
Point is, I can drink. I won't die from it.
So hand it over. Now's exactly when I need it most.
After all, realizing I'm a 0th Corps Commander sitting around doing puzzles with nothing better to do... it's just too much to bear sober.
I stared pointedly at the attendant, trying to hurry him along. He flinched again before dashing off somewhere in a panic.
...Wait, where's the answer?!
"He's not not bringing it, right?"
Yeah, yeah, he's just getting it. Definitely not running away or doing something weird.
Even as I mumbled, an ominous feeling gnawed at me.
And, as expected, my gut was right. The attendant returned — but not alone.
—He brought the Demon King with him.
You traitorous bastard.
"You said you wanted to drink?"
I glared at the attendant full of resentment but quickly lowered my gaze at the sound of the Demon King's voice.
If I answered, I'd just get scolded. But at this point, it was too late to deny it. Half resigned, I nodded.
But the reply that came was far beyond anything I expected.
"Feeling that restless, are you?"
"...Huh?"
"I figured you'd be bored without any battles lately, but I didn't realize it was this bad. Seems I was too soft on you. My apologies."
N-no, wait, hold on a second.
All I wanted was a drink — why is the conversation heading this way!?
"If you really want, I could arrange a small battle for you. The 9th Corps Commander currently stationed at the frontlines has been whining about being bored too. If you went, it might change the tide. How about it? Want to head over there?"
The place where the 9th Corps Commander was stationed...
'That's the frontlines.'
Since it bordered the Empire, large and small battles broke out there frequently.
And now they were planning to send me to such a place?
Ah, I see. Since my body was so weak that I might as well die even if I drank alcohol, they probably figured it'd be better for me to die being at least somewhat useful as a meat shield on the battlefield.
Seriously. How dirty and petty.
Whatever. I just won't drink, then.
"I'm fine."
It's absolutely not because I'm scared. It's because it's disgusting.
"Good decision. You wouldn't have seen enough blood to satisfy you anyway if you went."
I couldn't even speak anymore.
Correction — I froze up out of fear.
Still, wasn't this going way too far? I just wanted a drink, and now I was being threatened.
Worried my feelings might show if we made eye contact, I lowered my gaze. The Demon King's voice continued.
"Either way, no drinking. You planning to turn the Demon King's castle upside down?
If you're really that bored, why don't you patrol your legion or take a walk through the garden? I heard Hien is delighted about bringing in a new flower."
I flinched and looked up.
That madman?
Of course, he's a demon too, so that goes without saying.
Hien is the gardener. And let me tell you — he's not just crazy, he's absolutely insane.
Crazy about what?
About grotesque and dangerous man-eating plants!
At first, I thought it was strange that the Demon King's castle even had a gardener. But after touring the garden with him, I completely understood — in the most brutal way possible.
[Only someone like this would work at the Demon King's castle! I thought gardening was a peaceful job! I believed that! Never again will I trust a demon!!]
A priceless lesson seared into my bones.
Because I couldn't just brush it off, I gave the Demon King a serious look.
"I'll patrol my legion."
Sure, the legionnaires could be dangerous too, but they were definitely safer than that crazy gardener.
...Or so I thought — up until about five minutes ago, when I was headed toward the 0th Corps' training grounds.
"Oh, Lord Damon!"
"...Hien."
I quickly raised a hand and wiped my face, trying to hide my paled expression.
When I lifted my head, there he was — a man with an elegant, striking face, standing right in front of me.
Gah! Scared me!
"You look tired."
"Well, a little..."
"In that case, smelling flowers is just the thing!
I just brought in a new bloom — would you like to see it? I'll show it to you first, Lord Damon, as a special favor."
The devil.
A literal devil was smiling at me, his eyes crinkling gently.
Normally, anyone would be enchanted by that face, but I was too busy desperately searching for an escape route. His good looks didn't even register in my mind.
Why wasn't I falling for it, you ask?
Because he's a man.
If he were a succubus, maybe. But he's an incubus. There's no way I'd fall for that.
Even if life in this castle has been driving me insane lately, I haven't lost my mind to the point of questioning my own sexuality.
Now that I think about it...
This guy's pretty sly, isn't he?
Maybe because he's an incubus, he's got a knack for funneling the conversation into a single choice.
Feeling tired?
A Route: Yes → "In that case, flowers are perfect!"
B Route: No → "Then you must have time — come see the new flower!"
Normally, I would've fumbled my way into wandering that horrifying garden.
But right now, I had a perfect excuse.
"I was just on my way to inspect my legionnaires, so I'm afraid I can't."
"Ah... would it be possible to delay it...?"
"..."
Persistent, isn't he.
Of course, I could delay it if I wanted.
The 0th Legion members didn't seek me out anyway. Even when I did visit, all they did was silently glare at me with burning eyes, carefully observing my every move instead of speaking.
Honestly, all I could do there was fiddle with a sword in a corner and quietly leave.
(And by "fiddle," I mean literally just touching it. If I pretended to swing it around and my true lack of skill got exposed, I'd be in big trouble.)
So yes, I could delay it, but I really didn't want to.
The whole reason I was heading to the 0th Corps' private training grounds in the first place was to avoid this guy!
"..."
"..."
Suddenly, I realized the silence had dragged on longer than expected.
I'd thought too long and missed the right timing to answer.
Feeling uneasy about whether he might have gotten offended, I subtly glanced over at Hien — and just at that moment, our eyes met.
Before I could even react, Hien flinched, and then, without his usual soft smile, he deeply bowed.
"I'm sorry."
"...?"
"I overstepped."
At this point, I feel the need to rethink everything I know about demons.
Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have a serious discussion about it sometime.
Alright, today's topic:
Is randomly apologizing a characteristic of demons?
'What's up with him now?'
Hien is an incubus — the kind usually looked down on as vulgar.
It was purely luck that he ended up as the Demon King's castle's gardener.
Collecting and raising all sorts of dangerous plants was his hobby, and while he was carrying a rare man-eating plant across a street, he happened to catch the Demon King's eye during a stroll. That's how he was recruited as a gardener.
But of course, someone like him would never be treated properly by the high-ranking officers like the Legion Commanders.
Even the attendants spat at him and muttered curses when their eyes met.
There was no way a Legion Commander would ever view him favorably. It was a miracle if they didn't actively torment him. Some of them actually did, kicking him and bullying him whenever they felt like it.
What could a mere incubus do against such people?
All he could do was endure.
That day, too, he had been exposed to a full dose of verbal abuse and violence.
"An incubus, of all things..."
Hien, who had been thrown and rolled across the garden he had painstakingly tended to, kept his gaze locked on the ground instead of getting up.
It hurt terribly to see his precious plants destroyed, but there was something more important he had to worry about now.
The 10th Legion Commander — looking thoroughly displeased.
He had flung Hien aside simply because he happened to be standing in his way, and now he stood there scowling, muttering under his breath.
"I'm already stressed enough as it is..."
Hien simply bowed his head lower.
The 10th Legion Commander was the type who loved showing off his strength.
If Hien were to spring to his feet like nothing happened, it would only be taken as a provocation.
Thus, he pretended he was too hurt to get up, trembling slightly as he bowed his head...
"Ack..."
"Hm?"
A tiny voice, utterly foreign to the Demon King's castle, sounded out faintly, almost like a groan.
That part, Hien could understand.
Maybe it was a new attendant who had just arrived and happened to witness the scene by accident.
The real problem was the 10th Legion Commander's reaction.
"Gasp...!"
Hien reflexively looked up.
Did he hear wrong? No — the Commander's expression was far too blatant.
A look of pure shock — no, almost fear and awe — crossed the man's face.
Startled, Hien instinctively followed his gaze and turned his head—
—and saw a 'human.'
A frame so thin it looked weak rather than ordinary.
Alien white hair and blood-red eyes.
Pale skin to top it off.
If not for the faint trace of mana that separated him from normal humans, Hien would never have guessed.
'…Come to think of it.'
Sometime ago, rumors had been sweeping through the Demon King's castle like a storm.
When was it exactly? Probably around the time the war against the Hero had just ended.
["Someone other than the Demon King killed the Hero."]
["The Demon King tried to recruit him on the spot."]
["And they say… he's human."]
'It's him.'
The person at the center of all those ridiculous rumors —
Hien's instincts screamed that it was the man standing before him.
What confirmed it was the reaction and behavior of the 10th Legion Commander.
"You... what brings you here...?"
"I heard there was a gardener here, and thought I'd stop by.
Seems I misjudged the timing."
"N-No! Not at all!"
A Legion Commander — someone of that rank — was treating him carefully.
Which meant that this human was either much stronger than him, or held an even higher status.
Now that he thought about it, Hien vaguely remembered hearing a rumor that this man had been appointed as the Commander of the 0th Legion.
After nervously waving his hands and offering excuses, the 10th Legion Commander quickly retreated, leaving the way clear.
The human, who had paused, now started walking toward Hien.
He said he had come to meet the gardener.
Though Hien was curious about his intentions, he didn't expect much.
'After all, I'm just an incubus.'
And not just any incubus — he was facing the Commander of the 0th Legion.
What were the odds that someone like that would treat him kindly?
—At least, that's what Hien had thought.