After grabbing a simple breakfast at the restaurant, I headed towards the Floating Garden located in the backyard of the Demon King's Castle, as recommended by the Maid.
At first, I thought 'Floating Garden' meant it was actually floating in the air, but it turned out the garden was built atop a high cliff, hence the name 'Floating Garden'.
"Ho."
As soon as I set foot in the garden, the first thing that caught my eye was the well-maintained garden trees and flowerbeds blooming with all sorts of flowers.
Back when I was making a name for myself as a genius Mage in the Kingdom, I often had the chance to see gardens like this when invited to parties, and this one possessed a beauty that was by no means inferior to the gardens of any noble family.
That means the gardener who manages this place must be quite skilled.
The Maid, who had been following quietly like a shadow, maintaining a slight distance behind me, briefly explained about the Floating Garden.
"'This garden was created for the relaxation of Lady Charlotte, the beloved consort of the second Demon King, Tiberius-nim, who built this Demon King's Castle. At that time, the flower symbolizing Tiberius-nim's family was the blue rose, and it's famous for the legend that Charlotte-nim, wanting to express her love for her husband, filled the flowerbeds of this Floating Garden with blue roses.'"
Hearing the story piqued my interest, so I stopped walking through the garden, crouched down in front of a flowerbed, and picked a blue rose.
Perhaps due to the rain last night, the petals, holding just the right amount of moisture, shone subtly.
'This is amazing.'
Blue roses cannot naturally exist in the natural world.
This is because rose petals contain absolutely no delphinidin, the pigment that produces blue color.
However, the rose in my hand was a vivid blue, which meant this rose was an artificially created breed.
To succeed in breed improvement, akin to genetic modification, 800 years ago with no scientific knowledge whatsoever, what kind of person was the Queen back then?
The result of such obsession and madness, unfitting for the story of a virtuous lady the Maid told, just imagining the trial and error they must have gone through during the actual breeding process made me grin.
But as I giggled while holding the blue rose, the Maid standing behind me seemed to have misunderstood.
"'You seem to like that flower?'"
I nodded along, playing along.
"'Yes. It's quite pretty.'"
"'Then I shall pick a few stems to decorate your chambers.'"
Although I was laughing for a different reason, I didn't see any need to correct the misunderstanding, so I agreed.
Although I lost some time admiring the roses, walking for about another 30 minutes allowed me to tour the entire Floating Garden without issue.
After completing the circuit and returning to the garden entrance, the Maid, who had been following silently behind, asked in a quiet tone.
"'What are your plans now?'"
I rubbed my chin at her question.
I felt a bit reluctant to just return to my room.
The Demon King-nim would likely call for me after finishing his work, so I figured I might have an hour or two to spare?
"'Please guide me to the training grounds as originally planned.'"
"'…This way, please.'"
Hearing my answer, she bowed slightly and said that, then began walking towards the training grounds located inside the Demon King's Castle.
I followed the Maid's back, thinking.
'I wonder if the folks here are any strong.'
The training grounds, reached after about a 15-minute walk from the Floating Garden in the castle's backyard, were not much different from the usual image one might have.
It was a vast open space with a grassy floor, dotted with training dummies standing at regular intervals, and soldiers beating them with wooden swords and wooden spears.
And black knights, seemingly Death Knights, were gathered in a corner of the training grounds, sparring.
I watched them from a distance and muttered indifferently.
"'Surprisingly, nothing special.'"
As expected, places where people live are all the same.
The Maid standing behind me like a shadow seemed to have heard my muttering, flinching slightly, but she didn't offer any rebuttal.
Despite it likely being an insult to their pride as demons, her ability to endure it suggested she had received good etiquette training.
Anyway, watching the demon soldiers beat the training dummies according to the instructor's commands was honestly not very entertaining.
Having participated in battles against demons several times myself, I had spent too much time on the field to be impressed by such things now.
However, the Death Knights sparring was surprisingly hilarious.
Originally, Death Knights are monsters born when knights who died with strong grudges or lingering attachments become undead.
They look like emaciated skeletons or mummies, but their imposing presence, clad in heavy armor, wielding giant Zweihanders, and roaming the battlefield with tattered cloaks, is overwhelming.
Because they possess immortal bodies that cannot be killed unless by a Cleric's Turn Undead or attacks imbued with potent mana, they are one of the undead most feared by front-line soldiers.
And here, two such monsters were pitted against each other in a free-for-all under the guise of sparring.
"'Grrrroooaaar!'"
"'Ughhhoooaaaaa!'"
In stark contrast to the heavy armor they wore, the two Death Knights, left with only bare bones and skin, swung their swords while letting out monstrous roars.
It was a chaotic brawl, unleashing lethal blows that would never be permitted during sparring among humans.
Since their bodies healed quickly from any wounds, they had no hesitation in slicing off each other's limbs.
I felt a strange sense of catharsis from it.
It's generally known that Death Knights are undead driven purely by instinct, but they possess the characteristic of perfectly executing the swordsmanship they learned in life.
Ironically, in a fight between monsters with immortal bodies that never tired and could never die, no matter how much they were cut, it was their swordsmanship from life that ultimately determined victory or defeat.
Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!
The Zweihanders, clashing repeatedly in the air with deafening sounds, eventually cracked at one point, splitting in half and flying through the air.
The other Death Knight, not missing the momentarily exposed opening, ruthlessly severed the opponent's head.
-Thump!
The body of the one holding the broken sword collapsed onto the ground, and the Death Knight who had instantly decapitated its sparring partner raised its greatsword, held with both hands, high above its head as if to finish the job.
"'Stop!'"
But its action was halted by a voice that suddenly intervened.
"'Number 5, return to your spot!'"
The Death Knight, which had seemed moments away from viciously slashing, calmly sheathed its sword and took its place among the others.
"'Tsk. How barbaric.'"
Clicking his tongue like that, the headless knight stepped forward before the Death Knights.
A Dullahan, a higher-tier entity than a Death Knight, classified as a high-ranking demon within the Temple of Courage, belonging to the fairy race.
The Dullahan, carrying its helmeted head under its arm, glanced down at the headless body of the Death Knight, then flipped it over with its foot.
"'…'"
Although its reason was mostly gone after becoming undead, the clean cut surface proved its exceptional swordsmanship skills from life.
After confirming that, it picked up the defeated Death Knight's head rolling on the ground and placed it onto the severed neck.
-Clank! Clank!
Then, the Death Knight, which hadn't moved an inch until moments ago, stood up as if nothing had happened and saluted the Dullahan.
When the Dullahan vaguely gestured for it to leave, the Death Knight dashed back among its comrades without looking back.
This naturally cleared the space, and I thought the Death Knights' sparring for the day was over.
But it seemed the highlight was yet to come.
From among the Death Knights lined up in formation on the training grounds, a demon with a neat appearance walked out.
Its most prominent features were its shoulder-length, dark purple hair and its beast-like yellow eyes.
While its appearance was very similar to a human's, its corpse-like pale skin and the two black horns protruding through its hair proved that he was a demon of noble lineage.
"'Vanessa, please provide good training today.'"
"'Leave it to me, Ozma-nim.'"
I was sitting on a distant stand, quietly watching the two of them.
"'Hey, you there.'"
The demon called Ozma, who looked like a gigolo, suddenly looked towards me and raised his voice.
Not expecting to be called, I sat there blankly, but the black-haired demon frowned and called out again in a loud voice.
"'You, sitting on the stand wearing the green cloak, yes you! You!'"
This time, he described my appearance precisely, so I knew he was calling me.
As I awkwardly stood up, the demon beckoned me forward with a flick of his hand.
"'Come over here. I have something to say.'"
"'…'"
Wondering if this was okay, I looked back at the Maid behind me.
She hesitated slightly, then nodded.
Is he that high-ranking a demon?
I wasn't particularly keen on it, but it seemed I had to go.
I pulled my hat down lower over my head and approached the black-haired demon, and he looked at me with suspicious eyes.
"'I haven't seen you around the castle before. Whose permission did you get to be peeking at the training grounds?'"
Then, the Maid behind me quickly interjected.
"'Ozma-nim, forgive my presumption, but this individual is an important guest invited by the Demon King-nim…'"
"'Enough of that. Just show me your face.'"
"'What?'"
"'I'm curious how handsome your face must be to dare wear a hat like that even in front of me. Take it off.'"
"'Um…'"
I waved off the Maid, who was trying to say something with a troubled expression.
Making flimsy excuses in a situation like this would only backfire.
I unhesitatingly took off the hat I was wearing.
"'Huh-'"
Upon seeing my face revealed to the world, the Dullahan standing next to the black-haired demon stirred.
The one who gave the order also looked quite surprised.
"'How did a human get here… No, could it be.'"
He muttered to himself, then grinned-perhaps having a suspicion.
"'Archmage Kaldraash. So it's true that you betrayed the Hero's party and joined our Demon King's Army after your father persuaded you.'"
Hearing his words, I praised my own judgment for complying obediently without resistance, just as I usually did.
I had a feeling he was someone important, but to think he was Demon King Nero's son.
I almost got on the bad side of my boss's son on my very first day at work.
As I let out a sigh of relief internally, Ozma, who seemed intrigued by me in a different way, spoke up.
"'Although I am confined mostly within the Demon King's Castle, I've heard much about the overwhelming valor you displayed against our kin from those who participated in the Human-Demon War five years ago. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you grant me an opportunity to witness that skill firsthand?'"
Unlike humans, who often worship the Goddess of Courage among the primordial Three Gods known as the Trinity, demons, who have worshipped the Goddess of Strength since ancient times, respected the strong.
The reason the Demon King holds such authority among demons, who are essentially tribal federations, is because he is a demon personally chosen by the Goddess.
Should I compare it to something like the Heavenly Demon Cult in martial arts novels?
In any case, it wasn't something I could outright refuse, being a request from the boss's son, and since I was in the mood to break a sweat, our interests aligned, so I readily accepted his offer.
"'Very well. I accept your challenge.'"
As I accepted the sudden sparring challenge, Ozma, contrary to his cold first impression, spoke to me with a rather friendly attitude.
"'What weapon do you use? If you have any preferences, tell Vanessa here. She'll prepare anything.'"
Ozma said that, naturally introducing the Dullahan standing beside him, but I declined his offer with a wry smile.
"'Thank you for your consideration, Ozma-nim, but I shall use this.'"
Saying that, I showed him the long wooden club I had been carrying since the beginning.
Ah! Staff!
A fine means of communication.