The more Myungho explained, the more astonishing it became. At first, I thought he had merely been fooling around with that unruly old man by using both sword and pen. But it turned out Myungho had tampered with everyone—starting from the soldiers guarding outside, to the cooks, maids, and even the knight captain inside. He claimed he messed with everyone’s heads, making them kneel and confess.
Moreover, in the end, it was practically equivalent to killing an innocent person. To them, it must have felt like they lost consciousness briefly and woke up to find themselves part of an unprecedented event where no one in the mansion knew what had happened.
“…So you’ve grown a little stronger, but still can’t see anything important, huh? What if there were others hiding that you didn’t notice? Or what if someone visited while everyone was unconscious—did you even consider that kind of situation?!”
“…I made a mistake, please forgive me…”
A sigh escaped involuntarily. The boy seemed to realize his wrongdoing, so it was hard to say much more. Even his usual morning erections behaved now, sensing the inappropriate timing.
Still, I couldn’t stop scolding him.
“What exactly were you thinking? How did such a spineless person come up with this idea… huh…?”
I weakly tapped the back of his bowed head. As I did so, I felt like I’d become a terrible person, but decided to ask about his plans moving forward instead of dwelling on past actions.
No matter how unsatisfactory it was, having turned an entire nation’s king into a puppet, surely he must have thought about the aftermath, right? But when Myungho raised his head, he said nothing.
There was none of that. Of course not, considering this was the same guy who rashly made a contract with a demon just to grow stronger. He probably hadn’t prepared for anything like this. With a heavy sigh, I resolved to spend the day figuring out what to do next.
Though I don’t know how strong the knight captain is, judging by the fact that Myungho managed to incapacitate all the king’s guards, even if his identity as a Dark Magician were revealed, it seemed unlikely he’d be easily caught…
Still, I didn’t want Myungho to gain such a notorious reputation. Frankly, I found his use of such powers unsettling too.
“So, today we need to figure out how to cover up what you’ve done. That thing… wasn’t it called the slave mark? If it’s still active, maybe we could manipulate Akashi with it.”
Though I hated to admit it, if we handed Myungho’s problems over to that annoying white-haired man, they’d likely be dealt with efficiently. However, after hearing Myungho’s response, I began to think it might be better if we handled things ourselves.
“That… thing. After marking him, I dismantled it about a week later. Up until now, I’ve just been pretending to follow along…”
Ah, so he’s been playing us all this time. Thinking back, it makes sense—he could have pulled out his teeth anytime without issue.
At first, I thought Myungho couldn’t use much magic, but whenever he did, its power was incomprehensible. If he had truly wanted, erasing me or Myungho secretly would have been child’s play.
And yet yesterday, I hit him because he annoyed me. Until now, for some reason, he hasn’t erased me, but will he continue to forgive me today?
Cold sweat trickled down my back. Though I may have hit him a bit too hard, if I knelt and begged, would he show mercy? Pride, likes, or dislikes aside, at the snap of his fingers, I could turn to dust.
Somewhere along the way, he ended up with the book too. That must have been why. When I quieted down, Myungho subtly shifted his posture and asked if there was any problem.
“…There are many. That guy could cast magic on me anytime, right?”
“Probably not. Akashi doesn’t hold grudges over trivial matters. As long as we keep things ‘interesting,’ he’ll cooperate. His definition of ‘interesting’ may be strange, though. Even if he decided to kill us, he wouldn’t make it boring or anticlimactic.”
Is that so? Then it’s fortunate. While sleeping deaths might be avoided, it seems Akashi might not help us either. We should only count on minimal assistance from him.
“He could betray us.”
“Yes… but there’s no need to worry too much. He still seems interested in us, so we can set aside the Akashi issue for later.”
In the middle of discussing how to handle Akashi, suddenly a vibration came from the hallway, and the door burst open. There was no need to check—it was the only white-haired guy around.
“I heard chatter between lovers last night, so I thought you two were reminiscing about your passionate evening. Instead, I find you plotting sinister schemes. No love-making, I see. Tsk.”
“A-Akashi? Were you listening?”
“I overheard because my name came up. Sneaking around while the doorframe creaks? Are you fools?”
Ah, right. The doorframe. I almost broke it yesterday. I momentarily felt dizzy. If someone had overheard, I’d need to silence them, but where should I start?
“Don’t roll your eyes. I put up a sound barrier. Idiots, if you’re whispering secrets, common sense dictates you should hide under the covers. Ugh, my teeth still ache…”
Akashi irritably pointed out our mistakes while touching the spot I hit yesterday. Although he looked much better than yesterday, it was still evident he’d been struck.
…Actually, isn’t Akashi an incredibly good person? It’s just that his speech skills leave something to be desired. Upon reflection, he hasn’t intentionally caused trouble, and he does everything we ask of him.
If I were in his position, I’d report anyone who beat me yesterday the moment they made a mistake. Suddenly, my opinion of him improved significantly.
Regardless of his past misdeeds, it’s none of my business. At least while he’s with me, he’s behaved well, and his wrongdoings haven’t particularly harmed me.
Since demons can likely be handled by humans even without me, ultimately, he hasn’t committed any sins against me.
“…Mi…”
“Hm? Speak up clearly. I can’t hear you.”
Seeing him get irritated, I suddenly doubted if this was the right move. Still, I felt it necessary to acknowledge his kindness.
“…Sorry. For treating you poorly until now.”
I bowed my head and apologized to Akashi. Both men stared at me as if I were some bizarre, unnatural sight.
“Did you think I’d get mad just because one of my countless terminals got slightly damaged? Ha, not a chance. I’ll only get angry when you two become boring. So lift your head already. You’re giving me goosebumps.”
“Alterra apologized to Akashi…?”
Why? Can’t I apologize? I’m not some beast in human form. I do have a conscience. Until now, I just concealed it due to caution. Stop looking at me like that.
—
Putting Alterra’s shocking behavior aside, when I asked Akashi if he could offer advice temporarily, he readily agreed to help.
Whether he genuinely intends to assist or is pretending while secretly sabotaging us remains to be seen, but apparently, he plans to help us for now.
“…Then, isn’t it fine if you use me as you wish? Once I became a slave to your sword, I vowed to obey your every word. After establishing some merit, whether we meet separately or remotely manage things, we can stage a drama where we send the summoned Hero back to his homeland. A puppet, after all. Use me freely.”
“But wouldn’t that raise suspicion? People don’t usually change so drastically…”
“It should be fine with Durandino. He’s an old man, after all. His erratic behavior won’t surprise anyone. Even if you reappear, they’ll likely attribute it to old age. Anyway, you have to return to Koluscia eventually, right?”
His words were reasonable, yet why did I feel such resistance? Despite acting decisively before, the thought of manipulating him made me uneasy.
“I’m fine with it, but what about you, Myungho? You were chased away by that old man. Think of it as revenge.”
Revenge. That works. If Alterra needs to seek out a potentially helpful Dragon, she’ll eventually have to go to Koluscia anyway. Once the Demon Tribe issue is resolved, we can adjust the puppet Durandino to bring us back home.
Let this be the first and last time we make someone a puppet. Though I tried not to dwell on it, it kept bothering me.
Clearly, ruling above others isn’t my nature. Unless it’s about being with someone, that is.
“Then… let’s end the discussion here. Alterra, do you have any specific plans for today?”
“One. Continue following and monitoring you.”
“With how friendly we are now, how have we not had sex yet? Beautiful Demon would cry seeing this, cry…”
Speaking of which, the Beautiful Demon has been quiet. Quiet is good. Hopefully, it stays quiet, but I suspect it’ll resurface once things improve.
Amidst random conversations, someone gently knocked on the door.
Who could it be? Is it a soldier urging Alterra to head to the battlefield? Checking through the broken door gap, it was indeed a soldier—Yuna.
When we opened the door, Yuna asked what everyone was doing gathered here.
“Ah, we planned to rest today. Because of yesterday’s events.”
“I also got hit yesterday. I’m not in condition to go out.”
“That’s how it is, Yuna. Do you want to rest too?”
Yuna questioned why we didn’t plan to march into battle, but neither Alterra nor Akashi seemed inclined to go.
“…What’s going on, you guys? Why has your relationship suddenly improved?”
There was a reason for it. No matter how much I explained, that was all there was to tell.
