The room was great.
It may not be comparable to the Demon King's Castle, but since that was outside the standard in the first place, I decided to exclude it and walked to the window with a sigh of admiration.
There were three moons lined up in the sky outside the window.
'It's still daytime.'
Of course, there was no sun in the demon world, but that does not mean that there is no distinction between day and night.
You could clearly see this by looking at the three moons that occupy the sky.
If the three moons were stretched horizontally, it is day. If they overlapped and appeared as one, it is night.
Now that they were lined up in a row, it was daytime.
'How about during the day? Daytime drinking also has its own charm.'
I took off my stuffy robe and took a quick look at the clothes I was wearing. Very ordinary looking clothes that were convenient for movement.
I didn't mind if I left like this.
Up until this point, I had been so excited that I had forgotten one very important thing.
"It's not possible."
"This is a city that 'must be protected'. Are you planning to mess up the city?"
That I have two fucking stalkers.
...Shit!
***
"Is this the Commander of the 9th Corps?"
"Yes, it is."
Jaykar looked down at the corpse with cold eyes, where he was currently on the front line.
They came here as reinforcements dispatched by the Demon King, who felt suspicious that contact with the 9th Corps Commander had been lost, but it was already too late.
The Commander of the 9th Corps died.
'This is the Commander of the 9th Corps.'
Still, there was a reason why the body of someone who was once a living being and colleague was just being called 'this'.
The body was so tattered that its original condition was difficult to recognize.
It was more like a piece of meat than a corpse and was 'contained' in a crude coffin that appeared to have been hastily made.
"He was decapitated from the first blow, or rather from the second blow, and was later crushed by a horse's hoof."
"...."
"What did you guys do when you couldn't even retrieve your superior's body?"
"Sorry."
Jaykar's expression was not very good when he saw that this was the Commander of the 9th Corps.
It wasn't because it was cruel. There were many times when he had personally committed more cruel acts.
It wasn't because the great power of the 9th Corps Commander is missing. Of course, it had an impact, but there was a bigger problem than that.
"Commander of the 1st Corps! The enemy!"
"...Again?"
The enemy's powerful offensive exceeded expectations.
A sigh came out of his mouth.There was nothing to prepare, so Jaykar tied the sword he was holding tightly to his waist and left the tent.
His appearance under the sunlight was a mess.
Blood splattered all over his body and pieces of flesh sticking together.
As soon as the 1st Corps arrived, they had to jump into battle without even having time to unpack.
Even though he swung his sword frantically, he barely managed to kill them all. The situation was so dire that another battle had to be fought.
This was all because of one person.
One of the Empire's proud cards that appeared on the battlefield without any warning.
Probably, if other Corps Commanders other than himself, specifically Corps Commander 0, had come here, they would have been helplessly pushed out.
He had to act quickly.
"...A request to the Demon King for support."
A clearly low voice came out gloomily, as if he had been suppressing his emotions.
He hated to admit it, but he had to admit it.
He couldn't lose his soldiers because of pointless stubbornness.
"A 'hero' has appeared and the 9th Corps commander is dead."
There was only one thing he had to do from then on. Wait for help to arrive.
...Until their side's 'Joker' came and wiped them out.
Thinking of Daemon Arut, the Commander of the 0th Corps, who would be in the First City by now, Jaykar glared at the strange, wolf-like being running rampant among the flock of sheep as if he were going to kill it.
***
It had been two days since I came here and I couldn't even drink alcohol.
There was no particular reason. Because there are not one, but two of people who were making a fuss about a battle, and were watching the whole day!
Rotten guys.
I was sick and tired of Ed and Ben's persistent stalking, so I glanced at the cards in my hands with dry eyes and spoke softly.
"I definitely told you that you have freedom to choose what to do."
"Yes, I heard you clearly."
"The Corps members were happy."
"That 'freedom' includes serving you, too."
Damn it! I nervously put down the card and swiped the gold coins piled up in front of me and grumbled irritably.
The guy sitting across from me was holding his head, but it had been a long time since he had any generosity to care about such things.
I was suffocating and going crazy. I don't even get a private life?!
I felt hot inside. I quickly shifted my gaze to the mountain of gold coins piled up next to me.
'Huh...'
My mind became peaceful.
Being on my side meant it was all mine. I guess I wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.
'Actually, money wasn't that tight in the first place...'
Still, there's something called greed.
I fondly stroked the gold coins piled up next to me, leaned against the back of the chair, and crossed my legs.
As you may have noticed by now, I was at a gambling den. Originally, I tried to let go of my anxiety about monsters with alcohol, but now that I was restrained like this, there wasn't much I could do, so I came to the gambling house for the first time in my life as a small act of defiance.
"…I won again."
"As expected, you are amazing."
Why was I so good at this?
If I just quit everything I was doing and just focused on this game, don't you think I'd eat well and live well?
'...Am I really going to quit my job?'
It looks like I won really well. The eyes of the people at the gambling hall who looked at me changed subtly compared to the first time.
Especially the look in the eyes of the guy sitting across from me.
"Why don't we just say I lost and end it here?"
How are you giving in so easily? You only had to win once.
But there was no need to fight over something like that, so I smiled and nodded.
The game was over, so I was putting the gold coins into my pocket that Ed had quietly handed me from behind, when the guy who had quietly moved to the seat next to me held out the glass he was holding.
"You're really amazing. Did you use some kind of trick? Oh, of course, don't take it the wrong way. I was just impressed because you were so good."
"I didn't really use any tricks, but... this is..."
"Oh, I was originally planning to drink it, but I lost, right? I guess I've lost my appetite. Just have a drink for your hard work."
"It's not possible."
Of course, those weren't my words.
You damn stalker bastards...!
Now that I think about it, Ed hadn't gone yet. Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to go?
As I tied the bag of gold coins I had collected on my belt, I raised my head and glared at Ed.
...Well, as soon as our eyes met, I relaxed my eyes, but anyway.
"Didn't I tell you to go, Ed?"
"But... for your safety..."
"Safety? When I came here, I saw that Ben was fighting very well."
He was almost like a berserker.
So I didn't want to be alone, but now that I've been tormented by these two for two days, I've changed my mind. If this continued, I would become a berserker. I need to send at least one guy away quickly.
"...That..."
Ed hesitated, then lowered his head.
I glanced at Ben and saw that he was looking at Ed triumphantly with the expression of a winner.
Now was my chance!
Very naturally, I held the glass as if I were holding a glass of water. And before Ed or Ben could pay attention to this, I continued speaking quickly.
"Even if Ben can't, Ed can rest, right? You must have suffered a lot during this time, so why not take a break now? Isn't this an opportunity that never comes again?"
"..."
"Yes?"
"...All right."
He became sullen and turns his back.
It may seem a little pitiful to see a tall man become so sullen, but...
'It's pitiful.'
It felt cool inside.
How much inspiration would it be if a person of the same sex, not of the opposite sex, was sullen? I smiled like a winner and lifted the glass in my hand to my mouth.
"...?"
And then stopped.
I paused for a moment before the liquid flowed into my mouth.
At the same time, Ed turned his head and looked this way, as if there were eyes in the back of his head. Suddenly our eyes met and I froze in the same position I was holding the glass.
"..."
"...Hahaha."
His eyes turned down as if they were disappointed.
At the same time, Ben's gaze, which had been directed at Ed, also returned here.
I had no choice but to quietly put down the glass I was holding in an awkward posture as both of their stinging gazes passed between the glass in my hand and my face.
"...I was just trying to smell it."
"Yes, I believe it."
"..."
"Still, I'm telling you this over and over just in case, but we're here for the safety of the city. Please refrain from drinking alcohol as much as possible."
"Yeah..."
Okay, so get out of the way quickly.
I waved my hand roughly with that intention.
As if my meaning had been conveyed well, Ed, who had become sullen again, trudged out of his seat and Ben, who had been silent, said again the words I had been hearing so many times.
"Did you hear him? So, please put the glass away."
"Yes, I understand. I was already thinking of doing that."
As I sat crookedly and pushed the glass away with my fingertips, his expression subtly changes.
It's as if he's saying, 'He's really listening?' What was my usual image like?
I felt offended.
I jerked my head, looked away from Ben, and looked at the guy who offered me a drink.
This guy was looking at me with a face full of question marks. I looked straight into his harmless-looking face and spoke slowly with a sullen expression.
"I like alcohol, but I don't really like drugs."
"...!"
You thought it would be masked by the smell of alcohol, right? Even though it looked like this, the smell of medicine is amazingly distinguishable.
Why would I know this? I've experienced it before.
So I guarantee it. This cup contained two types of narcotic drugs.
Probably a sleeping pill or paralyzing drug. It probably had narcotic properties because it focuses only on performance.
It is was drink full of aftereffects that is not at all considerate of the person drinking it. You were holding this to drink yourself? As if.
"You brought this to drink when you lost in the first place?"
"..."
His face turned white.
Silence fell over the noisy gambling hall.
'Drugs' were a sensitive issue that can cause people to stop visiting the gambling place itself. Everyone's eyes turned in this direction.
"That..."
The silence weighed heavily on him.
The choice made by the guy who was breaking out in a cold sweat while countless eyes were paying attention.
"What are you talking about? Do you mean medicine?"
In a word, it was denial. It was stupid to deny it when the evidence is right in front of us.
Sure enough, Ben, who was shaking with anger next to him, mercilessly announced checkmate in a heavily suppressed voice.
"Then you can drink it yourself."
"..."
The game was over. I clicked my tongue as I looked at the guy who couldn't say anything and just bit his lip. Fool.
If Ben had been caught me while I was passed out and create an opportunity to steal the money bag, he would have tried to attack me and achieve his goal, but the other person was the Demon King's doctor.
Oh, it doesn't really seem scary when I say he's a doctor, so I'll correct that and say he's a berserker.
A berserker from the Demon King's Castle. Doesn't he look like a shrewd person even when he pretends not to be? Using such a shallow trick against him was ridiculous from this perspective.
I pushed the chair and slowly stood up.
Anyway, I made a lot of money and I didn't drink any alcohol, so I didn't really lose anything.
I didn't want to make the problem any bigger, so I was about to leave without saying a word... but this was a mess!
Someone acted faster than I could think.