Tap.
A hand pale enough to look bloodless forcefully pressed down on the desk.
What lay beneath it was none other than a sheet of white paper.
After a brief pause, the hand that had stopped for a moment slowly withdrew, leaving only the paper behind.
The man who had been watching the retreating hand lowered his gaze and took in the paper on the desk.His eyes, which had been directed at the paper without much thought, halted when he saw the words written on it—"Letter of Resignation"—and then widened to the size of large marbles.
Until he hurriedly lifted his head, a man with white hair and red eyes, who had watched that entire process without the slightest tremor, met his flustered inverted pupils head-on and spoke in a voice as stiff as his hardened expression.
"I will quit my job."
If the Empire has "Heroes," then the Demon King's Army has "Legion Commanders."
If the Empire puts forward capable generals, then the Demon King likewise puts forward "Legion Commanders."
That is how much the Legion Commanders are the Demon King's sword and shield, and a symbol of his power.
Officially, the Demon King has twelve Legion Commanders, from the 1st Legion Commander to the 12th Legion Commander, but in truth, there is one more legion that is openly concealed—so openly that calling it a secret is almost meaningless.
The 0th Legion.
Known not only by everyone in the Demon King's Castle but even by the enemy Imperial Army, yet still an undeniable secret.
A legion whose commander is the one who killed the "Last Hero"—in effect, the Demon King's strongest card.
A card whose mere possession brings reassurance to one's heart.
And that card suddenly says he wants to quit.
"No! Ab-so-lute-ly not!!"
With the will of There's no way I can let go of talent like you, Demon King Kaber clung to his subordinate's pant leg.
He was usually taciturn and didn't move around much, so when he came all the way here in person, it had felt unusual. He had even been glad.
But for the first thing he said to be this—
Surely, he didn't mean it.As always, it must just be something he was saying once, just to try it.It had to be.
Still gripping the pant leg tightly, he lifted his head.
Red eyes met his gaze, and silence flowed between them.
If it were him, he would surely have noticed what the Demon King was trying to say with his eyes.
I'm going this far—surely you're not really going to quit, right?
Perhaps the intention landed properly, because the eyes that had remained rigid trembled ever so slightly.
At a glance, it was hardly noticeable, but the Demon King, who had been focusing solely on him, caught it keenly.
He's wavering.Then I can't stop here.
Letting go of the leg he had been holding, the Demon King sprang to his feet.This time, the part he grabbed was both shoulders.
"Why on earth? What is it that you don't like? Are your subordinates treating you badly? Are they discriminating against you because you're human? Which bastard is it?! I'll execute them immediately—!"
Despite the somewhat heated voice, inwardly he was convinced they would never do such a thing.
Power so overwhelming that it could not be denied, even though he was human.
No—what do you mean, acknowledge?To the demons, his martial might was at a level so absolute that it didn't even allow room for competitiveness. Not competitiveness—everyone revered and respected him. What audacious fool would dare provoke him?
Even so, there was a reason he was acting like this.
Deon Hart.Known in the Demon King's Castle as "Demon Arut."An "human" who effectively stood second only to the Demon King.
As the only human in the Demon King's Castle, he didn't know about other humans, but at least he himself was clearly different from the demons in that he extremely disliked seeing someone else's blood.
So if he came at him like this, he would have no choice but to react somehow.
—And sure enough.
Just as he was about to leave the office, his wrist was grabbed with a clunk.
When he turned around, red eyes reminiscent of blood were gazing quietly in his direction.
The Demon King forced the corners of his mouth upward.
…Looks like you finally feel like talking.
If he wanted to shake him off, he could do so easily.
But the other party was his most cherished subordinate—a subordinate who had just submitted a resignation letter—and since this had been his intention from the start,
instead of shaking him off, he deliberately let out a long sigh and slumped back into his seat.
"I'll ask again. What's the reason?"
"…Will you kill me?"
He had only been curious about the truth, but what came back was not an answer, but a question.
Kill you?What kind of terrifying thing is that to say?
Startled, he jerked his head up—and their eyes met.
Those chilling red eyes were staring at him without blinking even once.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
I didn't mean it like that, but if I push him any further here, I really might get my throat torn out.
Even though he was the Demon King, with no equal except the Hero, the man before him was still a threat.
If he truly aimed for his neck, he too would have to accept a fair amount of damage.It would become quite troublesome.
With an obvious intent to calm him down, his voice flowed out gently.
"There's no way I'd kill you. So what's the reason? I'm just curious."
"…That is."
After a brief silence, he opened his mouth.
And then—
Gush.
"…Gush?"
"Blood! Blood!!"
"Ah."
Blood poured out—very naturally—onto the desk piled with documents.
Reflexively, he reached out his hand to catch the blood.
His mind was spinning too chaotically to even think of doing anything else.
Poison?No—ever since seeing the blood, he had been using poison detection magic, but there was no reaction.
Then there was only one thing left.
Aftereffects.
Officially, Deon Hart killed the Hero.
A Hero, no less.Of course, he had to bear immense damage, and because of that, a body that hadn't been in good condition to begin with was completely ruined. Even now, he would occasionally cough up blood like this.
The truth is different, but in any case, they are aftereffects, and the result is the same.
He had coughed up blood several times before, but it was clear that the frequency had increased noticeably.
Grit.
At the thought that he might lose such precious talent, his teeth ground together on their own.
Only then, perhaps belatedly realizing the situation, Deon covered his mouth and stepped back a couple of paces from the desk.
In a voice that clearly sounded like he was suppressing blood, words crawled out with effort.
"I'm sorry. The documents—"
"That's not the problem right now! Chief Physician! Call the 0th Legion Commander's Chief Physician!! The patient under your care is sick—what on earth are you doing somewhere else?!"
At the roar that thundered throughout the entire Demon King's Castle, a huge commotion broke out.
From far away, the attending Chief Physician Ben came running in a panic.
As I stained the carpet of the Demon King's chamber with filthy red blotches, my impression was extremely simple.
Fuck. I'm screwed.
All I wanted to do was submit my resignation letter and quit my job.
But of all times, blood surged up right then, ruining the documents, ruining the carpet, and even bothering the attending Chief Physician…
No matter how you look at it, isn't this a perfect situation to get beaten to a pulp?
If I only got beaten, that would be fortunate.
The opponent is demons.
If they were human, it would be something they'd just get angry about and move on from—but these are the kind of people who would swing a sword shouting, "Atone with your life!"
That's why I turned pale, stiffened like a board, and desperately complied with Ben's examination.
"Lord Demon, can you hear me? How many fingers do you see?"
"Three."
As I gave a diligent answer in a desperate struggle for survival, I recalled the situation from just a moment ago.
My name is Deon Hart.
Due to a slight misunderstanding, I am known in the Demon King's Castle as 'Demon Arut.'
No—no, that's not right.It's not just slight.
The very reason I submitted a resignation letter lies in this "misunderstanding."
What misunderstanding, you ask?
It's that everyone in the Demon King's Castle, including the Demon King himself, mistakenly believes that I am absurdly strong.
Ha. What a joke.
The cook in this castle is probably stronger than me.At least that cook is a demon, isn't he?
Anyway, that's not the important part.
The excessive evaluations continued, instilling fear in me, and it felt like a warning that I needed to get out before it was too late.
Isn't generous evaluation a good thing?Sure—if it's reasonable.
Excessive praise makes the aftermath frightening.
Especially since the place I'm in is the Demon King's Castle.
Even the Demon King himself overestimates me and treats me accordingly—just imagine what happens if the truth comes out.
That day would probably be the day I die.
And even if I died, it wouldn't be a peaceful death.
I want to run away.
But if I just run away silently like this, the Demon King would definitely chase after me with an army, shouting, "I can't let talent like you go!!"
If I'm unlucky, it won't end with being caught—I could be imprisoned, or in the worst case, killed.
Even among humans, there are people who think, "If I can't have it, I'll destroy it!"There's no way demons don't have the same kind.
I've never heard the saying enemies resemble each other before, but of all things, he had to resemble the Empire's Emperor in cherishing talent.
Telling the truth wouldn't make them believe me, and even if they did believe me, they might say, "You deceived me until now?!" and cut off my head.
So I decided to face it directly and tie things up.
If things went south, I even planned to gauge the atmosphere, leave behind my resignation letter, and disappear like the wind.
I never imagined the Demon King would cling to my pant leg.
"No! Ab-so-lute-ly not!!"
I had expected him to stop me to some extent.
But this wasn't part of my plan!
Pant leg—Does the Demon King have no pride?!
Even as I screamed internally, I couldn't move a muscle.
Because—I was scared.
My leg… the Demon King… fuck, the Demon King!!
The opponent is the Demon King.
The strongest Demon King in history, who protected the Demon King's Castle without major losses even while constantly clashing with Heroes.
If he so much as flicks a finger, my life will go snip—gone.
So what would happen if I moved wrong and accidentally kicked him?
There was no need to test it. The outcome was obvious.
That's why I stood perfectly still, like a statue, until he let go first.
I was so tense that if he had let go even a little later, I'm certain my muscles would have cramped.
Anyway, perhaps something changed in his mind—when our eyes met, the Demon King let go and sprang to his feet.
Letting go of my pants was fine, but this time he grabbed my shoulders!
As if trying to appeal in his own way that he would hold onto me no matter what, he placed his hands on both my shoulders, met my eyes, and started pouring out words.
But, Demon King—
"Why on earth? What is it that you don't like?"
The reason I submitted my resignation letter in the first place—
"Are your subordinates treating you badly? Are they discriminating against you because you're human?"
—Is because you treat me too well, to the point it's burdensome.
You all think it's "treatment befitting one's ability," but I don't.I really have no ability at all!
On the contrary, my physical abilities are worse than an average person's—I'm just a frail human.
Back when they first tried to recruit me, I should've doubted it then.
I should've questioned why someone like me would be useful at all.
I couldn't refuse because the atmosphere made it feel like I'd be killed on the spot if I did, but—
…Huh?Now that I think about it, I never had a choice from the beginning.
…Life.
I swallowed down the sigh that surged up to my throat.
I need to escape this place, even now.
Since the final boss, the Demon King, is treating me better than expected, it's not an entirely impossible story—
"Which bastard is it?! I'll execute them immediately—!"
No! No, no!!
I panicked and grabbed him as he strode toward the office door.
Is there anyone you need to execute?If you execute your subordinates, who do you think will get blamed?Obviously the cause—me!
See?Aren't you treating me too well?
Damn it, why do I feel like I'm about to cry?
Fortunately, he seemed to calm down and sat back down with a sigh.
"I'll ask again. What's the reason?"
Somehow, his voice dropping so low makes it feel like there's killing intent mixed in.
It might just be my imagination, but it felt safer to be careful.
So instead of answering, I gauged his mood and asked,
"…Will you kill me?"
Ah, this isn't good.
I was so tense that my words came out far too blunt.
As expected, the inverted eyes—the symbol of the Demon King—took on a strange hue and turned toward me.
What does that look mean?
How did you know?Or Should I kill him or let him live?
Maybe it even means, This is why quick-witted subordinates are troublesome.
S-should I apologize now…?No, before that—would apologizing even save me?
No matter how much I think, only a bleak future comes to mind.
Unable to avoid that intense gaze, I fidgeted helplessly, only my lips twitching.
After scrutinizing my face as if trying to peel away my inner thoughts, the Demon King finally shook his head.
"There's no way I'd kill you. So what's the reason? Let's hear it first."
I hesitated briefly, but only briefly.
I had intended to settle things anyway—this was a necessary step.
I couldn't run, and I shouldn't run.
So just as I opened my mouth—
"…That is."
Gush.
A sensation all too familiar—the metallic stench of blood exploded from my mouth to the tip of my nose.
"Blood!! Blood!"
"Ah."