As soon as we returned to the Demon King's Castle, we headed straight for the office.
Just as Camilla had told me, it was to report the completion of the mission.
"Welcome."
Beyond the office door, opened by the goat-headed Chief Steward, Seneca, the Demon King, looking no different than four days ago, was already waiting for us, seated in the place of honor on the sofa.
It was quite late, so his official duties must have already concluded, and he seemed to be spending his personal time.
The moment our eyes met, I bowed deeply at the waist and reported.
"I have safely returned after completing the first mission you entrusted to me, Demon King-nim."
Then, the Demon King-nim greeted me with a benevolent smile.
"Yes, you've worked hard. Kaldraash. Were you injured at all during the mission?"
"No. Thanks to the Maid you assigned me, who took utmost care of me, there was nothing like that."
Hearing my words, the Demon King-nim's gaze naturally shifted to Camilla, who was standing behind me.
"Camilla, you worked hard too."
"…I am humbled."
Judging by the way she clenched her fists, she seemed genuinely pleased to have received praise from the Demon King-nim.
'Hmm. This should be enough.'
Since reporting the mission results felt like mere formality anyway, I decided it was time to move on to other topics.
Glancing subtly at Camilla behind me, I sat down in the seat opposite and asked the Demon King.
"So, Demon King-nim, if you don't mind my asking, may I inquire in advance about the next mission you'll assign me?"
Surely it wouldn't be something like rural community support again.
The Demon King-nim, pausing his leisurely tea drinking, blinked his eyes in bewilderment.
"You're quite impatient. You just got back; why not rest comfortably today?"
"Isn't leaving powerhouses like me idle also a loss for the Demon King's army? I also want to work hard and earn your trust, Demon King-nim, as soon as possible."
Perhaps sensing my sincerity, the Demon King-nim put down his teacup with a thoughtful expression and stroked his beard.
"Actually, it's not that there aren't any places where your strength is needed."
"In that case…"
"However, there's someone there who knows your face, which is a problem."
"Someone knows my face?"
Before I defected to the Demon King's army, meaning during my time as the main damage dealer of the Hero's party, not many demons who met me managed to return alive.
As I looked at the Demon King-nim, signaling I wanted more information, he sighed softly and replied.
"Among the executives of our Demon King's army, there's only one person who clashed with you the most. How many such people could there be in the world?"
Only then did I realize who the Demon King-nim was talking about.
"You mean Dorothea."
The Western Witch, Dorothea Gale.
One of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings.
Another name she was called was 'The Calamity in the Guise of a Girl'.
Wearing ruby-red shoes and turning every place her feet touched into ashes, she often clashed with me, the sole Mage of the Hero's party.
Coincidentally, her original affiliation was the Ruby Tower, one of the continent's four great Magic Towers, making it perfect for forming a rival dynamic with me, who came from the Emerald Tower.
I hadn't seen her for a while, so I thought she'd died from some stray arrow, but to think she was still alive.
"Currently, she is preparing to withdraw the troops from the Eastern Front, where she serves as Commander-in-Chief, to the rear."
As soon as I heard the Demon King's words, I understood the reason for pulling the soldiers back.
"It's because winter is coming soon, isn't it?"
"That's right."
To maintain the lands occupied from humans, a certain number of garrison troops needed to be left behind, but it was better to redirect any excessive surplus forces to the rear.
Moreover, the Vulcan Mountains, where the Eastern Front is formed, are lands of extreme cold.
In a place that's already cold, winter would bring even greater hardship due to supply issues; dawdling around carelessly would lead to running out of food and fuel, resulting in nothing but unfortunate deaths from freezing.
The Demon King tapped his finger on the armrest of the sofa and said.
"If we openly withdraw our troops, the Kingdom will likely launch a full-scale offensive to reclaim the lands lost in the summer. To prevent that, we need to stage a show of force to demonstrate that the Demon King's army is still strong. However, as you know, Dorothea, the commander there, isn't suited for such a role."
As he said, Dorothea, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was not suited for that role.
Her specialty, having honed fire magic to its limits, was annihilation battles.
However, in lands of extreme cold like the Eastern Front, one shouldn't completely annihilate the enemy, nor should one burn the enemy's belongings.
Only by looting the items left behind by the enemy forces was it possible to sustain the army for even a little longer.
Considering that, Dorothea was always wearing invisible shackles whenever she faced the Kingdom's army.
But my situation was different from hers.
"If you go to support Dorothea, I can rest easier. However, Dorothea dislikes you so intensely that I can't be sure what will happen once I send you there, which worries me. Even if I wanted to mediate between you two, I cannot leave this castle."
I realized what the Demon King-nim wanted to say.
"In other words, you're worried I might end up fighting her, aren't you?"
"That's right. Dorothea is quite hot-blooded."
I pondered for a moment.
As I mentioned before, the Demon King was reluctant to have my true identity revealed to the outside world.
But if I were to get into a fight with Dorothea in any way, whether we liked it or not, the fact that I am in the Demon King's army would become known to the humans as well.
That would put the Demon King-nim in a difficult position in many ways.
However, there wasn't exactly no way around it.
"After all, even if I'm dispatched, I plan to wear this mask and use the alias Patraash. So, couldn't I just vaguely tell Dorothea that I'm a new recruit to the Demon King's army?"
"…Do you really think that will fool her? Dorothea's perception would instantly recognize your magic."
"Demon King-nim, the magic I can use isn't limited to just one type."
In the world of magic, pursuing multiple specializations was entirely possible if one had the aptitude.
It's just that few people dare to spread themselves thin like that when mastering even a single attribute is difficult.
Perhaps my answer solidified his wavering thoughts, the Demon King-nim eventually granted permission for my dispatch to the Eastern Front.
"In that case, I will send you to support the Eastern Front in two days."
"Two days later?"
I could have gone immediately if told to.
It's not like I came back from some battle; I just went down to the village below for a bit to help with the grain harvest.
But since he offered some leeway, I asked with a hint of confusion, and the Demon King-nim replied as if asking the most obvious question.
"Our Demon King's army considers it important not to exceed 60 working hours per week. Surely you don't think that working continuously without holidays increases work efficiency? That would be a grave miscalculation. Loyalty to one's workplace can only be established through adequate rest and fair compensation."
"??????"
Did I hear that right?
A 60-hour work week in a fantasy world?
"…Just asking in case, but does the Demon King's army offer overtime pay?"
The Demon King-nim tilted his head and asked.
"Are you asking the obvious? Do those Kingdom folks not provide even such basic things?"
Ah… Ahh…
I couldn't bring myself to answer 'yes' out of embarrassment.
It felt like the Demon King-nim was about to say, 'As expected, these humans are primitive'.
With my assignment to the Eastern Front settled and the mission report concluded, it was time to return to my quarters to rest.
After telling Camilla to wait outside first, I cautiously asked the Demon King-nim.
"What is the condition of the Hero imprisoned in the underground prison?"
The Demon King-nim raised an eyebrow slightly, as if surprised by the question, but soon gave me the answer I wanted.
"For now, he is doing well. As you suggested, I've instructed the chief jailer to take special care to keep the Hero alive."
"That's a relief, then."
If the Hero were to commit suicide, it would cause major disruptions to our future grand endeavors.
Thorough management to prevent such an event was paramount.
"Hasn't the imprisoned Hero been causing trouble?"
The Demon King shrugged.
"Actually, I heard he gave the jailers quite a bit of trouble on his first day. But with shackles completely blocking his magic on all four limbs, and considering that a human, whose physical abilities are bound to be significantly inferior compared to demons, how much resistance could he possibly offer?"
Hearing that put my mind somewhat at ease.
If the Hero were to escape from there, the first target he'd aim for wouldn't be the Demon King, but me, the traitor.
"Then, I shall take my leave."
"You must have been tired from rushing here, so go in and get plenty of rest today."
After thanking the Demon King-nim again for his consideration, I left the office.
Camilla, who had been waiting by the door, strode towards me.
"Are you heading back down to the village below the castle now?"
That sounds good, but there was something I needed to do first.
"Camilla, where is the underground prison?"
"Why all of a sudden…?"
"I have some business with the Hero."
As I recall, the one responsible for the Eastern Front on the Kingdom's side was the Hamburg Margrave.
And the Warrior, one of the members of the Hero's party, was precisely the eldest daughter of that Hamburg Margrave.
Since meeting Dorothea on the Eastern Front has become a foregone conclusion anyway, I'm thinking of bringing a gift along the way.
"You're not thinking of betraying us again now, are you?"
"If I had that intention, I wouldn't have told you, Camilla."
In the first place, no matter how I thought about it, the working conditions were overwhelmingly better in the Demon King's army.
The King himself forced 'passion pay' onto the Hero; how much worse would the nobles under him be?
Hearing my answer, Camilla wore a look of unease, but perhaps unable to refuse my request, she eventually took the lead and started guiding me.