"... How much is left?"
"I just have to burn this."
"Then let him in."
Permission was given and the entrance was opened to let him in, but the person involved did not come in.
Was there some problem? The Emperor looked at the entrance with doubt. As the steps got closer, his sensitive ears heard Deon Hardt muttering, 'What kind of smell is this...'
After some time delay, Deon Hardt finally entered. As soon as he entered, he thought it was unusual to see him coughing while covering his mouth and nose...
"Cough, cough, glory to the Empire... Cough!"
"... Blood?"
At this moment, everyone except Deon Hardt was of one mind.
Nemeseus and the emperor reflexively looked back at the shaman. After understanding the meaning of his gaze, she couldn't help but shake her head.
A talisman that suppressed the energy of evil spirits. Deon Hardt hesitated, mentioning the 'smell' before coming in.
And as soon as he entered, he started coughing and bleeding. Moreover, when the shaman approached to check, he even started to gag.
Could a coincidence like this even happen? Naturally, he was suspicious, but the shaman who covered his mouth resolutely shook her head.
'That person also committed a lot of sins. He's carrying a grudge on his back.'
'Then Deon Hardt...'
'Certainly my talisman does not affect the living, but that does not mean he is an evil spirit. It's just pure coincidence.'
"... Then is it because of the Demon King's curse? How can this not be solved?"
The day Deon Hart retrieved the warrior's body with an unprecedented brand on it, of course he first went to a shaman to remove it.
The shamans who saw his brand said that it was magic that the Demon King had planned and used, and that no shaman could interfere here.
"... I guess I should call a physician first. They say there is no treatment, but we can't just leave him spitting out blood like that."
The Emperor snapped his fingers.
***
What on earth are you burning in the space where the Emperor is? It's an acrid smell.
My throat burned and I coughed. Because of that, I put too much force on my stomach and the blood ended up flowing backwards. It probably hurt my delicate neck too.
In the meantime, General Nemeseus was watching me with his hand on his sword, and a woman I had never seen before slowly approached me and made me nauseous...
"... Then is it because of the Demon King's curse? How can this not be solved?"
The presence of the two was immediately erased by the Emperor's voice.
"... I guess I should call a physician first."
You don't have to call him.
This is very ordinary hemoptysis, no different from usual. At this point, I've gotten used to it.
Of course, the thoughts I muttered to myself never reached the Emperor. The strange woman disappears and the Imperial physician came in... The Imperial physician?!
"Your Majesty?"
"The only member who came the fastest was the Imperial physician. You don't have to worry because he is more capable than other physicians."
That's because he's exclusively for the Emperor!
If you call, of course they will think something is wrong with His Majesty's precious jade body and will come running!
What a burden. I wondered if I could dare to receive a medical examination from the Imperial physician... After looking at him, I quietly took a step back.
"Honorary Marquis Deon Hardt. Are you ignoring the Emperor's words now?"
I had to stop at that.
In the end, it was only after the diagnosis was made that no action could be taken that I was finally able to escape from him.
Even though I endured the pressure and even received a medical examination, the mood was not very good.
When they were told that no action could be taken, they would have been told that the Demon King's curse was the cause.
"... Everyone, leave except Marquis Hardt."
The Emperor pressed his eyes and held out his hands as if he was tired.
I was left alone with the Emperor, who seems uncomfortable! I feel like I was left alone in a beast's den. I lowered my gaze slightly, fearing that I might offend him in this breathtakingly quiet space. I was so preoccupied that I forgot, but I was summoned by the Emperor. It's probably not a good thing, and it's probably related to the contact with Ben, the demon.
'It really wasn't intentional...'
It's unfair.
Ben, what a bastard... While I was chewing out Ben in my mind and thinking about how to prove my innocence, the Emperor's voice came.
"Raise your head."
"...?"
Following his words was a reflexive action.
The Emperor made eye contact as if he had been waiting for me to raise my head. Fierce golden eyes captured my gaze.
"..."
"..."
There was no way he didn't know about the demon incident that was widely known in the world, but he didn't mention it at all. He simply looked into the eyes, softened the corners of his mouth as if reading something, and spoke.
Unlike his soft mouth, the words that followed were quite... sharp.
"You will be going to war soon, so prepare in advance."
It was fortunate that there were no persistent interrogations and reprimands, but I couldn't to be happy.
***
After being called to do odd jobs for a while, I ended up on the battlefield again.
'It would be nice if I could just leave it to someone else to deal with trivial monsters.'
After inspecting the white uniform that seemed like it had been a long time since I wore it and fiddling with the white mask and cloak hood that covered my face, I looked up. A clear, high sky filled my field of vision.
I can't be sure because of the mask, but the air seemed clear and clean. Well, it's going to be full of a bloody smell soon, so I don't really want to take down my mask to check.
While I was just staring at the sky, I felt someone's presence behind me.
"Junior."
An unfamiliar yet familiar title and a neat voice.
I turned my head reflexively. A man with a straight and upright posture was smiling elegantly in this direction.
"... Senior Stigma?"
"Yeah, it's been a while. I was looking forward to meeting you again, but I never thought we would meet in a place like this."
"Yes, yes..."
"You seem very embarrassed by the way you keep talking. If anyone sees me, they'll think I'm scaring you."
Honestly, you are a bit scary... no.
"Hmm, I see that they put two heroes in one place in a situation where power is important..."
This place seems to be very important. Well, I heard it was a bit of a dangerous situation.
I watched him muttering like that, dumbfounded. I gave up thinking about this a long time ago. Why should I get stressed out by thinking about something when all I have to do is do as I'm told?
These thoughts seem to have surfaced. Stigma slightly narrowed his eyes and called out to me.
"Junior."
"Yes."
"Junior, don't you also have troops under your command that you have to take responsibility for?"
"That's right."
"So that means my junior is also a commander. I'm sure you don't know the dangers of a commander who doesn't think..."
Scary... Scary!
Is it because the place is a war zone? Why is he so scary? I'm sure he wasn't like this when we first met...
... Wasn't he? Was he like this when we first met? As I was shaking and unable to answer, someone who seemed to be one of Stigma's knight approached him.
"My lord. The war of nerves between the Lofty Knights and the Nameless Knights directly under the Imperial Family is overheating and is affecting our morale. What should we do?"
"I'm sure none of the guys under me will act rashly. If so, take responsibility and make sure they are educated."
"Yes, I understand..."
"And."
Stigma grabbed the knight by the collar and pulled him.
"I'm talking to my junior. Don't interrupt just for something like that."
"... Sorry."
... Okay, now the Stigma from a little while ago is no longer scary. Instead, I'm very scared of the current Stigma.
He was being very kind to me...
I shrunk even further and started shivering, then suddenly raised my head as a thought crossed my mind. No, wait a minute. Didn't I hear something very familiar in the conversation a little while ago? The Lofty Knights...
'They're my legion!'
The official name of the Murderous Knights! I was startled and looked around for them. Finding the crazy dogs wasn't difficult.
"In a place where there is no fragment of a hero!"
"On the topic of the nameless knights!"
"The name of the knights has nothing to do with combat power?!"
"We fight well even without the hero's fragments!"
"... If you fight properly, you will lose!"
As expected, there was a constant commotion where they were.
Where has Sir Lien gone?
As I quickly looked around, thinking that a fight was going to break out, I heard a voice.
"If you are looking for the knight commander under your command, she is away to talk to our knight commander."
"Ah."
That's right, she said she'd be away for a little while to do the bare minimum.
The only person who can control the crazy dogs...! As I silently despaired, Stigma, who was looking at me blankly, suddenly asked.
"Isn't there a vice-captain?"
"It's Milan... The guy in front with his sleeves rolled up is the vice-captain. Yes, the one who just drew his sword."
"... Your knighthood as a whole will need training."
The tone was extremely light and elegant, but for some reason it was scary.
I suddenly wondered how well Stigma's knights had been trained, so I turned my head and saw knights waiting in an angled posture as if they were in a completely different world.
Their gazes were straight ahead and their facial expressions were expressionless.
'Wow... I wonder if this is what elites are like.'
"It is said that the attitude of subordinates sometimes replaces the dignity of their master. Junior, you need to learn more about the posture of nobles. If a noble is noble, shouldn't he be treated as a noble?"
"Uh..."
That... doesn't have a good feel to it.
Though it seems unlikely, is Stigma also that way? Aristocratic supremacy?
This time, Stigma added, as if his thoughts were being revealed.
"It seems you misunderstood what I meant. This doesn't mean you should be arrogant. I don't mean to catch your subordinates like you would catch rats. When people judge others, they usually judge them based on their facial expressions, posture, tone of voice, and the way other people treat them, right?"
Ah, I understand.
But was my expression this easy to read? Probably not.
In that case, the only assumption that remains is that Stigma has a good sense of vision or that he is focused on me enough to notice even the slightest change in facial expression.
... The latter is scary, so let's think of it as the former.
"I'm just saying this because I don't want my junior to go somewhere and be ignored, so I hope you'll listen carefully. Especially, if you are ignored not because of your mistake but because of the attitude of your subordinates... I think you will feel quite bad."
I can feel the murder in his words...
I couldn't answer and was staring at him fiercely, and when he met my gaze, he gently raised the corner of his mouth.
"More than that, if you don't do that, someone is really going to die. Do you mind if I don't stop you?"
Oh, right!
"I'll be back for a bit!"
"Please come back."
***
'Hero candidates' do not recognize Deon Hardt as a hero. How coud a human being without a fragment of a hero be a 'hero'? The place should have been theirs.
No matter how outstanding his achievements were and how good he was in battle, he was ultimately only an average human being and was confident that they would win if thy fights properly, so the eyes of those who saw Deon Hardt were naturally based on a mentality of looking down on him.
What was the reaction of the Murderous Knights who saw this?
'How dare you, my child... no, the Captain... Are you looking down on the Marquis?'