The Demon King spoke with a light tone as if asking about the lunch menu. It was so casual and light that I almost answered without thinking, but I quickly shut my mouth and took a step back.
The Demon King raised his eyebrows as if that was strange, but now was not the time to worry about such things.
Someone's life depends on my every word. Since entering the Demon King's Castle, I have not opened my mouth in peace even for a single moment, but at this moment, I have to be more careful than usual.
Really....
"I'm amazed."
"Huh?"
"I didn't know the situation was already over."
The Demon King muttered that he thought he had heard something strange, but then turned his attention to what was being said.
"Then what did you decide to do?"
"I told him to not grow that plant anymore."
"That's too weak a punishment."
"Yes?"
Dissatisfaction appeared on the Demon King's face.
"It attacked you. It's not a matter that simply ends there. You are an important talent, and as such, you should not be looked down upon by anyone. It may not happen, but what if you let your guard down and get hurt? Is it so easy to get over it? No matter how much I respect you, this leniency is not possible. At least the limbs should be cut off."
I don't know where to start. It's one thing to cut off the limbs of Hien, the gardener, and a completely different thing to show respect for me.
I feel like my blood pressure is rising after hearing so much nonsense.
...Seeing as a nosebleed started then, I guess it wasn't because of my mood.
"Demon?!"
The embarrassed Demon King threw Hien away and comes towards me.
Hien suddenly fell to the floor...
"Demon!"
Why are you up, drawing attention to yourself? Just lie down.
He jumped up and ran towards me, even rolling his body around as if he was going to come at me at all costs.
It feels like the ground is shaking. ... Now that I think about it, I ended up hanging upside down because of that damn plant. It was enough to make blood rush to my head.
I covered the lower half of my face, which was clearly a mess, with my hand and tried to balance my body as it was about to collapse.
The weak skin burned and the eyes that had been exposed to fire feel stung. My vision became distorted here and there, and my ankle, which had been caught by a plant stem, began to feel sore
Wow, this body is really pathetic.
"Hey... sit up!"
"Demon... can you... hear... my voice?"
This is a new record in a different sense. Shit.
In the midst of a faint voice, I slowly closed my eyes, resenting my weak body.
At first glance, before I closed my eyes, I thought I heard Ben's voice behind me, but before I had time to figure out whether it was true or not, the darkness came.
It must have been a mistake. The room he stays in is far away from here, so how could he have known about my condition already? Even if someone called him via communication, it would be impossible to get here in that short a time.
***
As soon as I opened my eyes, what I saw was a very familiar ceiling. I rolled my eyes a little more and looked at the walls. I saw that there were huge, well-fitted puzzles hanging in frames... it was 100% my room. Hmm.
Without thinking, I tried to get up, but I curled up with a short moan due to the faint pain that surged throughout my body.
Then, a familiar voice came from a room where I thought no one would be present.
"It would be best not to move around for a while."
"...Ben?"
"Yes, Commander Demon."
Ben, who was sitting at the table in the middle of the room preparing medicine, pushed his chair aside and stood up.
He approached me, checked my eyes, sighed faintly, and grabbed my arm and lifted it up as if showing off. White bandages were carefully wrapped around my arms, all the way to my fingertips.
"Do you see it? They are mild, but you have suffered burns all over your body."
"...."
"Your eyes are a little damaged, probably from looking at the fire for so long. Fortunately, it is a self-healing part, which would have been permanently damaged if I had not been careful."
"...Uh, um."
"Why did someone whose skin turns red after just 20 minutes of exposure to sunlight set themselves on fire? If you're angry, shouldn't you just kill that person?"
Was he always this extreme...? What should I say? Aren't you normally gentle?
However, the atmosphere is not suitable to say anything.
Look at those eyes. It's burning brighter than the flames I saw in the garden. The emotion contained therein is...
Anger?!
It's a little unfair, but it would be better to get out of this topic quickly. After desperately racking my brain, I remembered the unpleasant memory.
Ben's voice that I thought I heard at that time.
"Ben. Did you come to the garden when I was having a nosebleed?"
"Yes? Why are you asking this again? You even talked to me."
"...Yes?"
***
It was only after talking with Ben that I was able to get a rough idea of the situation. In short, I was out of my mind. I faced the demon lord half-conscious, and as a result, Hien survived with all four limbs intact.
In Ben's words, I spoke confidently in front of the Demon King.
'If you respect me, can you respect me just this one more time?'
"To be exact, you said, 'Did you say you respect me?' and when the Demon King said yes, he said, 'Then, can you respect me one more time?'"
Then the Demon King asked, 'What?' and I said cheekily, 'What?' and pointed at Hien with my finger.
Ah, the expression "cheeky" here is something I added arbitrarily. There's no way Ben would have said such a mean thing.
In any case, the fact that I dared to say and do such things to the Demon King does not change.
I couldn't bear to show my frustration openly and spoke to Ben, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression, flexing his facial muscles.
"...You have a good memory."
"Thank you. In fact, none of those who were there at that time will forget that scene. No matter how much time passes."
I mean, it was unbelievable. Ah, I want to be alone. I hope everything goes away.
I quietly buried my face in the pillow.
I can't believe I did such a terrible thing. I feel like I want to deny reality if I can. If I had remembered what happened back then, I would have done whatever it took to forget it. So, the loss of memory is not completely incomprehensible.
Oh, I don't want to think about it anymore. I just hate thinking about this.
The good news is that the number of people who talk to me in the Demon King's Castle is extremely limited. So, if I just keep quiet, no one will say anything about this matter anymore.
There was a time when I thought...
"Hmm."
I sat on the bed, hugged the pillow, and closed my eyes as hard as I could.
If you don't notice that I'm uncomfortable even after seeing this, then you're a guy who doesn't even have a clue.
I feel very uncomfortable right now. So much so that if anyone talks to me, be it a demon or something, I will glare at them with all my might.
'As you said, I respected you and decided to keep him alive.'
Even the tactless Demon King who came to visit me.
'Demon, I was really grateful for what happened then.' And, 'I'm sorry. It's because of me...'
Even the gardener, Hien, who had been ignoring me from the beginning, came to visit me.
Even my doctor, Ben, who stopped by every day to look at my wounds, mentioned the work in the garden whenever he got the chance.
'Many people were impressed. You stood up to the Demon King just to save one gardener.'
Do you think I would've done that in my right mind?! How can everyone be so oblivious? Is it a demon trait?
"Mmm."
"...Are you uncomfortable?"
"No, thanks."
Even today, Ben was changing bandages next to me.
Well, let's just think about it here. Still, it seems to be less so these days.
Every time I closed my eyes, Ben twitched his fingertips, and I really wonder where the spirit that scolded me when I just woke up after what happened in the garden has gone.
By the way, I thought it was just a full-body burn, but I actually suffered many mild burns all over my body. I didn't jump into the fire, I was only briefly exposed to the heat, but I still got burned.
It would be nice if I could forget this memory too. No, it is impossible to forget because of the wound, so it would be better if the memory was distorted and remembered as having been in direct contact with the fire. Then it would be less shameful.
But unfortunately, such a miracle did not happen.
While I was desperately trying to think of other things to drive away this shame, a question I had from before suddenly came to mind.
"...By the way, Ben."
"Yes."
"Isn't there a considerable distance between the room Ben is staying in and the west garden?"
"Yes, there is."
"But how did you get to where I am in such a short amount of time?"
It's strange if you think about it.
After the day I submitted my resignation letter to the Demon King, whenever I felt strange or injured, Ben knew like a ghost and immediately came to me.
At the time, I thought it was an illusion, but seeing him appear in the garden this time, I guess it wasn't an illusion.
I looked at Ben with blatant suspicion. Ben blinked a few times as if my gaze was burdensome, but then smiled as if it was no big deal and took off the necklace hanging around his neck and held it out.
"It's thanks to this."
It was a necklace with a coin-sized stone that gave off a strange light.
At first glance, it looks like a simple necklace decoration, but there is something strangely eye-catching about it that makes it difficult to dismiss it as just a piece of jewelry.
Where did you see this? It's definitely something I remember seeing.
...Ah.
"A magic stone?"
"Yes, there are a few drops of Demon's blood and the Demon Lord's magic in it. If the quality or speed of blood flowing through your body appears to be abnormal, a signal will be sent immediately. We tried in many ways to prevent something like the last time from happening again."
If it's the same as last time, is it when I vomited blood in front of the Demon King? You don't really have to...
It even tells you the location. He pretended not to, but I could see that he was so proud that I couldn't even say anything and just muttered timidly to myself.
'You crazy bastard. When did you take my blood?'
As I keep my mouth shut, silence naturally fills the room.
The atmosphere, which could have been awkward, soon became softer as Ben changed the topic.
"Are you planning on eating in your room again today?"
"Well... it's always been that way..."
"I never told Demon to just lie in bed."
Yes. For three days now, I have been confined to my room and have not gone out even once.
Originally, most of the daily life in the Demon King's Castle was like that, but Ben didn't seem to like it. He spoke in a somewhat stern voice as he diligently finished tying off the end of the bandage.
"I checked the menu at the corps commander's restaurant today and it wasn't bad."
"I am a patient..."
"It was a minor burn to begin with. Moreover, I asked the Demon King directly to use medicine made from the best ingredients, so I was almost completely cured. Your eyes will also have recovered, and your ankles, which were chafed by the stems, will no longer be painful when you run."
"..."
I have nothing to say because I only say the wrong things.
Only then did I know Ben's switch. That switch that made him, who was normally moderate, open his mouth and spit out harsh words without hesitation.
Health.
This is truly a strong professional spirit. He's angry about my health being damaged rather than anything else.
Of course, it's not that he's happy or worried, it's just that he's faithfully following the Demon King's orders, but it's still touching in its own way.
Aside from that, annoying things are still annoying.
I pursed my lips and stood up.
"I'm going to change, so please leave."
"Thank you for accepting my presumptuous request."
He was clearly polite until the end and walked away.
If that's the case, I can't hate you. It's clear that he knows that and does it that way. I grumbled inwardly and opened the closet.
The clothes hanging on hangers come into view at a glance. These are all filled in by the Demon King and the 2nd Corps Commander.
Even if the Demon King is like that, why is the commander of the 2nd corps trying to do something to me like that?
They definitely bring only clothes that suit me well, but I don't intend to wear them. It's obvious that if I try them on once, they'll keep holding onto them for a while, offering to pick out new clothes for me.
Trembling, I pushed aside the clothes the 2nd Corps commander had bought me and took out the clothes the Demon King had given me.