129 – Interlude (1)
The war is not over.
However, the silver-haired man who returned to the Devil Castle felt like the war was over. The order that came down to him who lost the cavalry and knights was to transfer his position to the head of the guard knights. Being appointed to an internal defense position, who was an important force in the Demon Army, meant that the Demon Army was on the defensive.
Also, the fact that the demon king thought of defense rather than attack also meant that the demon king’s army had really come to an end.
Lucifer was appointed as the new commander, and Stauffen moved to the front commander. This demotion at this critical juncture made the man think a lot.
Stauffen, there is no strategist as good as him, but there is probably no one who has made many enemies inside the castle like him.
“Report.”
The man stopped thinking about Stauffen for a moment and accepted the salute of the soldier who had just opened the door and entered. It was because he had far more important things than sympathizing with Stauffen or thinking about the future of the Demon King’s army.
“Yes! Captain!”
The man hesitated for a moment at the title of captain, tilted his head, and then smiled and gestured. The soldier, who watched the man’s actions with a puzzled and withdrawn attitude, nodded and continued his report.
“We have received testimonies about the Hero party and the commanders you mentioned from soldiers who complained of injuries and trauma on the frontline and are being treated at the Devil Castle.”
“Tell me. First of all, about the commanders.”
As the man waved his hand, the soldier nodded and opened the paper wide. The names of the commanders were written there, and next to it was written in red letters, ‘Not a convert’.
“Yes. Captain. After questioning the Intelligence Service and the soldiers, it has been confirmed that none of the current kingdom commanders have turned from the Empire. There were about four commanders of unknown origin who had recently appeared out of nowhere, two of whom were now dead and the other two confirmed to be of non-Imperial origin.”
“If you’re not from the Empire, where are you?”
“One is a member of the Kingdom, but the collected information was insufficient and could not be confirmed.”
“What about the other one?”
“This is Kiberes.”
“…Why did you investigate Kiberes?”
“Because he told me to investigate all the commanders… … .”
The man brushed his hair once. Contemplating what to say, he felt the soldier staring at him and decided to just move on. If you work hard, you may make mistakes.
The man blinked and asked the soldier again.
“Did you find out about the Hero party? He told me to investigate the Hero party and the porter.”
The soldier clicked his feet together and shouted with confidence.
“Yes! As a result of asking the soldiers, there were soldiers who actually met and survived the two, and soldiers who had heard rumors. However, most of the content coincided, so I will explain without distinguishing between the two!”
“yes. tell me.”
The soldier unfolded the paper and shouted.
“First! A hero is nothing to a flirt!”
“…I wasn’t really curious about that. Should I even listen to that information?”
The man shook his head and spoke again. The soldier tried to read the next page in a cold sweat. The man looked at him and said.
“Are other pieces of information important? Are there any weaknesses or peculiarities listed?”
“no. Just, with the testimony that using a sword that emits light is very strong and dazzling. There are testimonies that he is handsome. She wears her blonde hair and likes to put ‘hero’ in front of her horse.”
“…..Right.”
The madness of war makes people strange. The hero the man had seen did not seem likely to do such a thing, but since rumors and testimonies say so, it occurred to him that there was a side he did not know.
“Okay with the other members, did you find out about the porter first?”
“Yes! It was hard because there was not much information! Testimonies and eyewitness accounts have been collected and perfected!”
The soldier showed a subtle condescension as if he had suffered a lot. The man tapped the desk with his fingers, rolled his eyes, and spoke to the soldier.
“Yeah, I got it. If your information seems helpful, I’ll give you a reward.”
“thank you! Then we’ll let you know!”
“yes.”
The soldier took a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and read.
“Yes! The porter of the hero’s party has grown a beard, his hair is disheveled, and his eyes are so ferocious and clear that they say it makes people cringe!”
The hand that was tapping the desk stopped. When the soldier looked at the man in surprise, the man rubbed his chin and nodded.
“more.”
“He is a bit taller than an average adult man, and he uses the imperial sword with a straight back. There are rumors that he was from an imperial soldier, but nothing has been confirmed in detail.”
“Where does the rumor that you are an Imperial soldier come from?”
“There is a rumor that during the days of Commander Damon, the commander of the kingdom army named Count Ulier saw the porter and muttered that it was not the imperial army.”
“Count Ulier? It’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. When I was a new recruit, I exchanged greetings a few times when I was on the boundary duty. He was a very good fighter.”
The man nodded, recalling old memories. He was a man who would one day disappear into dust, but he was an outstanding warrior whose name could go down in history. The soldier waited patiently for the man’s flashbacks, and the man, soaked in memories, gestured.
“Go on.”
“Yes. And the porter roams around the village to seduce widows, and it is said that he rapes demon women on the battlefield.”
“….what?”
The man blinked and looked at the soldier again. The soldier tilted his head at the man’s attitude and spoke again.
“The porter roams the village to seduce widows, and it is said that he rapes demon women on the battlefield.”
“…Isn’t there some kind of mistake?”
When the man looked visibly flustered, the soldier panicked too. It was the first time he had ever seen a man so agitated.
“There are places on the frontline villages that are on the tavern watch list because rumors spread, and there are victims who were victimized by porters on the southern front. That’s a well researched one. What a piece of trash he is. Seeing him revealing his female color like this, he must have been incompetent and useless even in the Empire.”
“…Are you sure?”
The man paid no attention to the soldier’s gossip. The soldier listened to the man’s question, rolled his eyes for a moment, then nodded in response.
“Yes. sure This is information collected from demons.”
“…Right. i get it. Let’s step back.”
“Yes!”
The soldier quickly left the office, realizing that now was not the time to ask for a reward. The man sighed and shook his head as he checked the documents the soldier had left behind.
“…He’s definitely the guy with the look and impression of using the imperial swordsmanship… … .”
The man narrowed his forehead. It was an expression that is rarely seen in him, who maintained an expressionless and blunt attitude.
“…What am I misunderstanding?”
The man covered his papers and covered his head.
******
“mister.”
unit maintenance period. The porter stared blankly at the horizon, then looked at the hero who suddenly spoke to him. The hero sat next to the porter with an awkward distance apart and looked in the same direction.
“What are you looking at?”
“I was just looking at the horizon. A clean horizon that stretches straight and doesn’t feel any energy from the demons.”
It was only after hearing the porter’s words that the warrior felt like his vision was a little clearer. After defeating the commanders in succession and disappearing, if you turn your head a little from the rear unit, you can see a field where grass is growing.
“Really. The imperial land is also a very beautiful place.”
“This is still just a trick in the end. The real scenery of the Empire is when the mountains and forests are full of flowers. When I was in the Knights, I joked about the scenery that the country folks didn’t know about.”
The porter put on a nostalgic expression as he said that. Those days when we cracked jokes under the flower garden or chatted while clinking glasses together.
Just as the flowers of the fields and forests could not return if Magi disappeared, there was no way that those days would come back.
“really… … . It must be a picturesque landscape.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
The porter nodded at the hero’s words. The hero glanced at the porter and then looked around. Lena was lounging around nearby, and Millet was showing off her bow skills in front of Ashuria.
The hero took his luck with his face dyed red.
“That’s why…”
“Yes. Warrior.”
The porter continued to gaze at the landscape. The warrior looked into his deep eyes and said.
“By any chance, that… what do you think of a girl who can draw well?”
The porter’s face changed strangely and he rolled his eyes. I wondered if it was a question that came at such an unexpected timing, but after looking sideways at the warrior’s expression, I didn’t bother to point out that part.
The porter pretended nothing was wrong.
“It’s charming. If you draw well, you can draw the scenery here as well. You can perfectly capture the scenery of the empire I’m talking about.”
When he stretched out his arms, the entire green field of the empire came into his arms. I want to lie down in the grass and get soaked in the scent, but since the war is not over yet, it is only a wish.
The porter, who had been stretching forward for a long time, finally had to reach out his hand from the field where he could not come into the bosom.
“…I’m good at drawing.”
Looking to the side, the warrior twisted his body and smiled. The porter smiled at the hero and added.
“Nice.”
