Deon Hart, 0th Legion Commander (2)
"Nice to meet you. I heard you're the gardener. They say you manage almost all the plants in the Demon King's castle?"
A voice full of kindness, warm and polite.
Hien, forgetting his own place, dared to lift his head and stared blankly at him.
...The impossible had actually happened.
The 0th Legion Commander was showing kindness far beyond what Hien had expected.
"The Demon King's castle is quite large. It's impressive."
Before Hien even realized it, something inside him stirred toward this man.
He was someone who had earned the status of 0th Legion Commander by being recognized directly by the Demon King.
Someone with every right to be arrogant if he wanted to.
Yet he spoke respectfully, treating the other party with consideration.
'Is this what they mean when they talk about the composure of the truly powerful?'
Those who are unsure of themselves tend to exaggerate their strength and raise their voices, desperate to crush others.
In that sense, everything about the 0th Legion Commander's words and actions made it clear: he had complete confidence in himself.
Whether he knew it or not, it only enhanced the sense of presence he exuded.
"I'm curious about the plants here at the Demon King's castle. Would you mind giving me a tour?"
He didn't just acknowledge a mere incubus — he even asked for a favor instead of simply commanding it.
At that moment, Hien finally let go of his blank expression and smiled.
[What's his name again?]
[I vaguely heard it before, but…]
"Daemon. Daemon Arut."
A name more fitting for a demon than any demon.
That day, Hien repeated that name over and over again in his mind.
After that, he tried hard to get closer.
No — he didn't dare to hope to get close.
He only worried about Daemon's health, thinking it wasn't good for him to stay locked up in his room all the time, and so he tried to gently encourage him to at least stroll through the gardens.
As expected, Daemon-sama didn't ignore Hien like the other commanders did.
There was no violence, no harsh words.
Even with a stiff, expressionless face, he consistently replied to Hien and often took walks through the garden.
More than that, even though he could have easily chased Hien away or told him he wanted to be alone, he always allowed Hien to walk beside him during those strolls — showing him deliberate consideration.
That must be why Hien had grown arrogant.
For an incubus, of all things.
'How could I make such a mistake?'
Today, he had crossed the line.
I still regret that day.
At first, it was all coincidence.
Before entering the Demon King's castle, I had caught a glimpse of the garden from afar.
While chatting with the Demon King about it, I learned there was a gardener.
I should have just thought, "Oh, okay," and moved on.
But knowing nothing, I got excited.
A gardener! Who would have thought such a wholesome profession existed in the Demon King's castle?
In a place crawling with blood-crazed demons, there was someone normal, like an oasis in a desert.
I couldn't wait — I sought him out as soon as all the formalities were finished.
And sooner than I expected, I met a man with a graceful appearance.
"Nice to meet you. I heard you're the gardener. They say you manage almost all the plants in the Demon King's castle?"
This was the den of demons.
Even if he seemed insignificant, he was probably stronger than me, so using polite language was basic survival.
If I somehow got on his nerves and he decided to hit me, that could be the end for me.
What a pointless death that would be.
"The Demon King's castle is quite large. It's impressive."
Still, going too formal could also cause problems — like I was looking down on him.
The trick was to show just enough respect.
Of course, I tossed in a bit of flattery too, just in case.
Ahem. Anyway, my happiness was making me talk faster and faster.
I stopped for a second, pretending to clear my throat casually, and continued.
"I'm curious about the plants here at the Demon King's castle. Would you mind giving me a tour?"
A bright smile, blooming like a flower, spread across his previously blank face.
He readily agreed.
─And then I saw hell.
A Demon is Still Just a Demon!
That painful truth is engraved into the very core of my life philosophy.
Since that day, every time we crossed paths, Hien would suggest taking a walk through the garden.
I couldn't refuse — who knew what kind of horrible tricks those terrifying plants might pull if I said no?
So I had no choice but to force myself to wander the garden with him, like a prisoner walking to his doom.
Of course, I made sure to keep Hien by my side at all times.
What if those horrifying plants tried to eat me when he wasn't around?
There was no way I was dying alone!
If I had to die, we'd die together!
...Well, that was basically my mindset.
...And yet, somehow, Hien seemed to grow more and more friendly as the days went by.
I stared at Hien, who was bowing and apologizing profusely, with a troubled expression.
Why was he apologizing now?
I had no idea what for, so I rolled my eyes around, retracing the events that had just happened.
What had happened right before he apologized?
...Absolutely nothing.
'Really, nothing happened.'
I stayed silent, he stayed silent.
That silence just stretched on a bit longer than usual, that's all.
Then our eyes met, and out of nowhere, he apologized…
'...No way.'
Was this his way of saying, "I'll bow and apologize like this, so even if it takes a bit of time, let's walk through the garden together"?
He was making it so hard for me to refuse!
This guy... I thought he was just sly, but now I realize — he's blatantly sly.
Well, whatever.
I've survived every time so far, so if nothing too crazy happens, I should be able to survive again.
I took a moment to mentally prepare myself, then looked down at Hien, who was still bent over in apology.
"You really don't need to do that. Please raise your head."
He slowly lifted his head.
Seeing his still-stiff expression, I shook my head internally.
Fine, I'll go. I'm going. So relax already.
"So, where's this new flower you said you brought in?"
"...Huh?"
Was my answer unclear?
To make it even more obvious, I started walking toward the garden.
As he hurried to follow me, I spoke clearly, to reassure him.
"You said to come see the flower, didn't you? Are you not going to guide me?"
"Ah, ah! Yes, of course!"
Hien scrambled to find a torch.
Unlike demons who were used to the dark, as a human, I needed a torch to properly observe the plants.
Honestly, I had zero desire to closely examine any of them, but that damn demon always pressured me into it.
Did he say it outright?
Of course not! But that "silent pressure" thing is real for a reason.
After he'd excitedly explain the plants, he'd look at me with those sparkling eyes, and how could I not go take a closer look?
"Then, please follow me!"
Somehow, he had recovered his energy and was smiling brightly like nothing had happened, holding the torch.
Fast recovery, huh.
Still wondering why he had apologized earlier, I absentmindedly took a step after him — then suddenly stopped and looked down at my empty hands.
I quickly took the torch from Hien and gripped it firmly, following his lead into the west garden.
As always, the sight was abnormal, disgusting, and terrifying.
The memory of the eyeball-bearing plants glaring at me from the hallway…
Just remembering it made my skin crawl.
When I hurried my pace to get out of their sight, their eyeballs rolled to follow me.
It was so creepy, I almost dropped the torch.
"Um, Daemon-nim."
"Yes?"
"The torch, could you maybe..."
"I'm fine."
Hah, trying to steal my weapon, are you?
I tightened my grip around the torch.
Man-eating plants or whatever, in the end, they were still just plants.
No matter how much they wanted to eat people, once you set them on fire, they couldn't do anything.
In this place, the torch was both my weapon and my lifeline.
No way was I handing it over.
"More importantly, how much farther do we have to go?"
My mental stamina was seriously running out.
Staying calm also drained a lot of my mental energy.
I was seriously starting to wonder if I might faint standing up, when thankfully, Hien pointed somewhere with his finger, as if responding to my silent prayers.
"We're almost there. It's right over there."
My eyes followed the direction his fingertip indicated.
"...Oh…"
My mouth dropped open, and an exclamation escaped.
But to be honest, it wasn't really an exclamation — it was a suppressed scream.
My brain, bleached white with shock, commanded me to release the loudest noise I could muster.
'What the hell is that?! You call that a plant?!'
This is insane! In what universe is that considered a plant?
No, this place is all wrong.
I need to get out of here immediately…
"Daemon-nim?"
"...Ah."
I barely managed to stop myself from instinctively stumbling backward.
Honestly, thank goodness my complexion was naturally pale — otherwise, the blood draining from my face would have been painfully obvious.
My reaction was totally justified.
Any other human in my place would have reacted the exact same way.
That wasn't a plant. That was an animal.
The thing was moving so vigorously, it looked like someone whose feet had been cemented to the ground but was desperately thrashing to escape.
"KIEEEEEK!"
...Correction. It wasn't just moving — it was going berserk.
"Since when do plants scream?!"
Ah, damn, I slipped into informal speech without thinking!
I worried Hien might get offended, but instead, he seemed more concerned about the content of what I said.
"It's because it's a man-eating plant. You might not have noticed because you're so powerful, Daemon-nim, but that shriek actually carries a weak magic pressure. Most ordinary beings freeze up as soon as they hear it and can't even run away."
"..."
"I guess it's fortunate it's only a man-eating plant. Since it doesn't eat demons, the servants of the Demon King's castle don't have to worry about getting eaten."
No, you've got it all wrong.
It's not that the plant is weak — it's that I'm too pathetic to even sense the magic pressure.
And by the way…
'I'm human, you crazy bastard…'
Could you maybe try remembering that I'm not a demon?!
Actually, forget that for a second — you see how that flower's dripping water? That's saliva, right? That's definitely saliva!!
The monstrous plant — no, the abomination — was furiously shaking its stem, so wildly that it looked like it could reach me at any second...
BOOM!
'Hiiik!'
I barely dodged it!
"What's with that insane range of attack?!"
"Haha, it looks like even Daemon-nim was surprised. Its range really is something, isn't it? I think it can cover about 10 meters.
We're working hard on propagating it right now, so soon, it should be able to cover the entire Demon King's castle. You can look forward to it."
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MOVE AROUND THEN?!
YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL ME, AREN'T YOU?!
I really should've submitted my resignation letter back when I was coughing up blood.
No — actually, forget it — I'm handing it in now.
I need to get out of this insane place while I'm still breathing.
Humans simply cannot survive here.
Ironically, the fact that I couldn't feel the magic pressure worked out in an unexpected way.
Normally, I would've hesitated endlessly, steeling my resolve a dozen times before making a decision like this.
But right now, I was moving forward without a second thought — in other words, I wasn't even in my right mind anymore.
'Let's go. Where's the Demon King right now?'
If I at least had a strong body, maybe I could've toughed it out.
But sadly, I was physically weaker than the average person.
In a place like this, where survival depended on constant caution, the Demon King's castle was literally the worst environment for someone like me.
So I turned to head straight for the throne room to hand in my resignation — but my foot wouldn't move, as if it were stuck to the ground.
"Daemon-nim!"
"...Huh?"
Whoosh!
The sound of rushing wind grazed my ears.
My vision spun wildly, and when it finally stopped, the world was upside down.
Ah. I'm hanging upside down.
But… why?
"...Holy shit!"
Right in front of me, a flower bud the size of a human opened up wide, revealing rows of grotesque, sharp teeth.
The stem coiled tightly around my ankles to keep me from escaping.
So basically — yeah.
I was about to get a firsthand tour of the inside of a man-eating plant.
...A very, very unwilling tour.