"There is something, but seeing as you don't speak up and ask for standard, it probably doesn't have a direct connection to the Demon King."
"..."
"Is that report directly related to the demon realm?"
"What is the standard for 'direct connection'?"
"If you keep asking about the criteria for 'direct connection,' it probably means it's ambiguous."
It was not directly related to the Demon King, and it was difficult to say that it was directly related to the Demon World, but it was still an important report that the Emperor must know...
There was no doubt that the information was important, given that Deon Hardt has kept it in his head.
The hand that touched the back of the hand became rough.
Red blood showed through the bandage.
The Emperor was constantly shaking his head and muttering words.
"Is it a monster problem?"
The fact that the Emperor needed to know even though there was no 'direct' connection to the Demon King or the demon realm showed that this issue was a problem for both the human world and the demon realm.
A common problem between the demon realm and the human world. Monsters.
"No."
"Then it must be a boundary issue."
"A border line connected to the demon realm has been discovered in the Taehon Kingdom."
The Emperor's head tilted to one side.
"Isn't the border directly related to the demon world?"
"In the current situation, the 'direct connection' I judged was 'information related to the war' or 'information related to demons'. Sorry."
"Don't. I had a rough understanding of it."
That's why he was able to come up with the correct answer without difficulty.
If it were the Taehon Kingdom, it would be a Southern kingdom, but there was a border in the South... Did they really not know?
'It didn't matter whether they knew it or not.'
If they knew, he'd get an immediate answer as to why they didn't inform the Empire, and if they didn't know, that's the end of it.
What was important was 'the existence of a border'. It was important before, but in the current situation with the war against the demon realm approaching, it was undoubtedly very valuable information.
The Emperor smiled as he moved his hand from fiddling with the back of his left hand to the handle of his sword.
"Good work."
***
As always, important reports passed by in the blink of an eye. Not a metaphor, really.
"It will probably be during the hunting competition that I will meet you in person."
What, when did the report end? I blinked once, but time flew by so quickly.
It was clear that the report has been completed. The Emperor's words had already turned into a casual conversation before ending the conversation.
As I was still dazed and could not answer, a voice filled with doubt came over the communicator.
"It's not like you don't want to participate in the hunting competition."
The priority was to answer the emperor's words. I opened my mouth calmly.
"No. I will participate. When will the competition be held?"
"A week later. An invitation must have already arrived at the mansion."
"All right. I'll see you in a week."
"I'm not looking forward to it. Oh, I hope you don't come back with your white clothes dyed red like last time. I don't really care about the mess, but it seems to be quite scary in the eyes of the weak-hearted nobles."
Ah, back then... I was scared too.
I had just returned to the Empire and was on my way to the imperial palace to report. On the way, I was attacked by the Revolutionary Army, and as if that wasn't enough, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found myself in front of the Emperor with blood all over my body.
Was I more scared than I was back then?
"If you want to wear blood, wear clothes of a color that makes the blood less noticeable."
"Yes. Yes?"
"In that sense, I'll send you some clothes. It would be nice if you could wear it on the competition day."
"Yes?"
"It's red, so you can bleed it as much as you want."
No, I don't think this is right...
"You don't like it?"
"No. Thank you..."
Those in power were bullies.
A week passed by in an instant. My attempt to punish Remember for daring to throw me in front of the communicator connected to the Emperor collapsed in front of a mountain of documents.
Calling out to Remember, I opened the door with great force and went in, but when I saw the documents lying on the ground, I turned around with great force...
"Aren't you going to let go of this...?"
"If we keep doing this, even old people will be defeated. You must fulfill your duties."
"You always say old man this, old man that, but honestly, Remember is healthy, right? The person who also overthrew and subdued the Revolutionary Army..."
"You missed the point of what I was saying. You must fulfill your duties, Count."
"...Help me."
"How dare I try to harm the Count? I'm scared that someone will hear it. Come here now."
I was caught like that for a long week.
And now, as I smoothed out the dark shadows that filled my eyes, I sighed.
"I don't want to go..."
"You're talking about big trouble. The host of this hunting competition is His Majesty the Crown Prince. If you care about your life, please refrain from saying anything."
This hunting competition was intended to deal with the increased number of monsters and to show off that the Empire had enough leisure to do such things even while fighting a war.
The person who carried out this on behalf of the Emperor who was busy going to and from the battlefield was none other than the Crown Prince.
I heard that the Emperor will probably come around the middle or latter part of the competition.
'When the Emperor comes, of course he will talk to me.'
I hate to admit it, but I was one of the Emperor's favorite swords.
So what will the topic of conversation be? Of course, it's probably related to the demon realm. Since this report was conducted via communication rather than face-to-face, he may want to add or hear more.
"I don't want to go any further... Eup."
"I'm sorry for touching you carelessly. But I really feel like the Count's head will fall off if this continues."
I later noticed that the hands of the maids handling my clothes were shaking.
As I closed my mouth and looked around, Remember, who had dismissed the maids with a wave of his hand, approached me. As he adjusted the clothes the Emperor gave me, he said something bordering on lament.
"These days, you often make this old man's heart sink."
"..."
Instead of responding, I looked into the mirror and looked the other way.
Red clothes with a design similar to a uniform.
I felt anxious that I might actually see blood on the way, but soon my stream of consciousness went somewhere else.
Red. Blood and... war.
Yes, war.
"As expected, I will have to resign."
A war between the human world and the demon realm. It was obvious that I, caught in the middle, would be in trouble.
Up until now, they were just bickering with each other and I was seeing the passing, so I was able to endure, but from now on…
"Is that so? Now here's the last one. Put on this cloak."
"Ah yes. Rather, my resignation letter..."
"If it were the Count's resignation letter, it would probably not have been written in advance. Because this old man threw it all away. Would you like the mask to be red as well?"
"It seems strange. Just do what you normally do, wearing a white mask. Rather, you threw away all my resignation letters? Why... no, it doesn't work. I'm going to write a new one, so get paper and pen right now..."
"The shirt is white, so it's not strange to have a white mask. Now, we are ready. Please go quickly."
"Yes... no, Remember!"
Why do you keep interrupting me?
"Sorry. But there is nothing we can do to protect the Count's head."
"..."
I know, too. If I resigned, I will actually die.
Even though I say I'll quit whenever I get the chance, I give up right away when I get rejected. I did that because I knew that if I sincerely insisted on resigning, the other person would kill me.
Regardless of the fact that the Emperor and the Demon King care about me, they were monarchs and I was well aware of the danger.
In short, the resignation story was just a statement of hope.
It's almost like complaining... something like that.
'Rather, if they accept it, I should be wary.'
I sighed. Anyway, I had to leave, so I picked up my bag and walked towards the door, but as if trying to lighten the mood, Remember opened the door and spoke to me.
"We have plenty of time. Why not stop by the top of the altar[1] on the way?"
"Has Dan... dressed up?"
I remembered the man who had visited Deusa a little while ago and then left.
I wondered where he got the Deusa tea leaves, but was it really one of the items covered at the top? He has good skills too.
"I think it started with teaching swordsmanship, but why did it end..."
"In the first place, talent is discovered by trying various things. Thanks to this, the Count's finances are very wealthy."
Originally, there was no shortage.
It felt strange that the person I brought in happened to be successful and was helping me. There was no special bond between him and me.
He followed me and I let him stay at the Count's house. That was it.
'Oh, he happened to make some investments.'
I got on the carriage. I felt a vibration as if Remember, who had come along to guide me, told the driver of my destination, sat down across from me, and started off.
"But are you still going to carry that bag yourself?"
"Yes."
Anyone could see that it contained life forms that were not from the human world.
I desperately tried to avoid Remember's gaze.
The top that arrived shortly afterwards was quite a spectacle.
To put it in a good way, it was informal. To put it in a bad way...
"Customer, our guild always handles only the highest quality herbs. It will be difficult if you insist like this."
"Why is this like this? I'm a girl from the academy. Do you think I have no eye for medicinal herbs?"
"Sir, can you guarantee that this herb is really ours? Hanging all your hands?"
Is this a gambling place...?
At the center of this chaos was Dan.
"Guild lord! They say the Jukhund Bridge has collapsed! What should I do? Lewece's goods come in through that route..."
"Has the Bergen Bridge collapsed? Change your route there."
"Guild lord, this is the truth... no, please do something to the customer! Speech doesn't make sense!"
"There will be a pay cut later. Let's bring it inside first."
I can feel Remember laughing next to me.
After observing the situation in silence for a moment, I slowly moved after Dan. Perhaps thanks to Remember, everyone recognized me, so the move was easy.
'Are they here?'
I quietly put my ear to the door and concentrated.
"Look at this. I bought these from the guild, but they are all in terrible condition. Please change it or give me my money back."
"Turmeric, goji berry, dandelion, black pepper... they are all southern herbs. There is no record of these being sold at once."
"Because I bought it separately!"
There was no problem with listening.
"Well... even so, there are some parts that are a little suspicious."
"Ha, do you have any proof? Do you have any proof that I didn't buy it here?"
"I am not a sick idiot. Come to think of it, there were quite a few people who were wary of our business, which was growing rapidly recently. Aren't you trying to bury it in the pasture before it gets bigger?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha. You're writing a novel."[2]
"Great. I'll bet my wrist that you didn't buy your herbs here. If you're scared, just go back."
The voice was relaxed. Dan continued.
"If you go back now, I won't ask you anything. But if you continue to hold on and what you say turns out to be false, then the place you will return to will not be home, but heaven."
Was he always that good at speaking? No, rather...
I focused on something else. No longer calling the other person a customer.
Dan had already made up his mind.
"Where is this guy selling drugs now?"
"The person who was so energetic has gone somewhere and only his long tongue remains. Are you running late?"
"Run after me? Hahahahaha! Okay, I..."
"Now wait a minute!"
If this continues, someone was going to be in big trouble. I quickly opened the door and stormed inside.
Dan saw me and gets up from his seat. The customer, who looked at me to see something, also got up with a white face.
"Count!"
"Honorary Count De-Deon Hardt..."
"I'm sorry, but I was listening outside. Couldn't it have been resolved with words?"
"We were just resolving it verbally."
"That is?"
If that's how you resolve something with words, what about actions...?
As I stood there speechless, I heard Remember's voice from the door.
"It looks like the customer is about to leave. Is it okay if I send you away?"
I don't know how long it took to get there, but the customer was struggling in front of Remember, who had blocked the door.
Based on his personality, I thought he would push away at least one old man with force, but I was surprised.
The moment I thought that, I saw the customer's shoulder.
To be precise, Remember's hand was pressing down on his shoulder.
"..."
"The deacon was there too. Please just send it to me. There are a lot of people like that these days. Looking at the Count's clothes, I don't think this is your destination. Where are you going?"
"I want to participate in a hunting competition."
"If it's a hunting competition..."
Dan's face, who had been thinking about something, brightened as if he had come up with an answer.
"I heard that you can also bring assistants to hunting competitions."
"Yes, that's true, but..."
I don't plan on taking anyone with me. I have a bag containing a plant from the demon realm.
I'm planning to carry it on my body throughout the competition to prevent accidents while I'm not looking, but do I need to have someone nearby?
"Could you please take me as an assistant?"
But what should I do if he asks me a favor with eyes full of anticipation?
[1] This is probably a weird mistranslation thing. I'm not sure exactly what was supposed to be here and honestly I'm too tired to try to figure it out.
[2] Basically means he's making shit up.