15. A Midnight Visitor
That night, it came.
The distant sound of barking.
—No, not distant.
The sound of my dogs. In the yard… and in my bed.
I sat up in bed and opened the canopy curtains.
The window was open. The curtains danced in the cool night breeze.
Amidst the Barghests’ barks and growls, it appeared. A towering, muscular, bipedal black goat, bathed in the moonlight.
—A demon.
A rare race, both magically and physically powerful.
The Barghests, still growling and barking, slowly surrounded the demon—
“Down.”
At my command, they all lay down.
“Stay. Don’t move. …It’s okay.” I patted the head of the one nestled beside me.
It was well known that the Virus King, Lord of Disease employed Black Hound Barghests. The fact that a pack of them resided at this mansion was the stuff of rumors in town.
They wouldn’t send someone who couldn’t handle them.
“I presume you are the Virus King, Lord of Disease…”
“Yes, good evening.”
“Such composure… as expected of the Virus King, Lord of Disease. A supreme commander of the Demon King’s army…”
He complimented me in a smooth, baritone voice, like a seasoned actor in his fifties. However, I could predict what he would say next, so I wasn’t particularly pleased. Despite his polite demeanor, the fact that he’d arrived at this hour, bypassing proper protocol, marked him as an enemy.
“However, tonight, you die.”
“Right. I don’t like pain, so sleep magic or mind magic first, please.” I nodded.
“…You overheard? Or… you won’t resist?”
“I said I overheard. You’re clearly skilled. You must have bypassed or disabled the traps to get this far. And the timing… you must be taking advantage of Liz’s absence… she’s my most trusted assassin.”
Very few people knew that Liz wasn’t here tonight. Information that required high-level clearance had been leaked.
“Someone high up must be behind this, even if it isn’t His Majesty. There’s no point in resisting.”
If Liz had intentionally leaked the information, she would have told me. The fact that she hadn’t meant that I’d been completely outmaneuvered, or that they’d decided to cut their losses.
And I believed it was the latter.
“Even if your life is at stake?”
“Like I said, I’m smart enough to know when I’m outmatched.”
Talking would buy me more time than resisting. But if he decided to kill me, it would be over in an instant, so buying time was pointless.
“You’re probably thinking, ‘Humans seem to be gaining the upper hand, so maybe we don’t need this one anymore,’ right?”
“Well… yes, that is the general idea.”
“But I think I’ve contributed enough to deserve a painless death. What do you think?”
“Indeed…” The demon nodded, then shook his head. “…However…”
His eyes, like crescent moons, fixed on me.
“—Why do you fight?”
“For this nation.”
I answered without hesitation.
“Why this nation?”
“Because this nation saved me. And also, because it was the humans who summoned me to this world.”
“This world…?”
Oops, that was a secret.
I smiled vaguely and remained silent. The demon pressed on.
“…Do you have no qualms about slaughtering your own kind with such ruthless methods?”
“That would be a lie, but…” I trailed off.
“But?”
“Um, aren’t you going to kill me? I don’t want to die immediately, but waiting to be killed is making me feel… complicated.”
“…I’m having second thoughts.”
Oh, that’s unexpected. A midnight assassin having second thoughts. He was no match for my cute adjutant.
“You don’t seem insane. But your actions are beyond what any sane person would do… And yet, I have a feeling… that this nation needs you.”
“I’d say it’s a bit of both, but my subordinates are the truly competent ones.”
If Liz, one of my most competent subordinates, had been here, this wouldn’t have happened. But since I wasn’t sure if she could actually defeat this demon, perhaps fewer casualties were preferable.
“Just so we’re clear, don’t harm my subordinates, including these guys.” I stroked the smooth fur of a nearby Barghest, glaring at the demon with as much intensity as I could muster.
“If you do, you die.”
“…What can you do, once you’re dead?”
“Don’t misunderstand, demon.”
I narrowed my eyes, my voice cold.
“I am the Virus King, Lord of Disease. A supreme commander of the Demon King’s army. Whether or not I’m human, His Majesty officially granted me this position. There is no deception.”
I received the standard authority, salary, and everything else befitting a supreme commander.
I had accepted it. So, this, too—was probably just part of the job.
“…Even if I’m killed, His Majesty won’t pursue the culprit. It would divide the nation. —But my subordinates… are a different story.”
If I died, His Majesty wouldn’t use my death as a catalyst for internal conflict. He would reveal that I was human… and try to contain the fallout. That was what his apology had meant.
“Neither I nor His Majesty will tolerate demon killing demon.”
But if a demon did kill a demon—it would threaten the nation’s very existence. This nation was a coalition formed to protect all demonkind.
“Also, I’m a little worried… am I being used as a pawn?”
“A pawn?”
“Ah, right, you don’t have pawns… um, are you planning to dispose of me?”
“…I am a greater demon. You think I would…”
“Well, you said His Majesty probably wouldn’t pursue the culprit, but I’m still a supreme commander, so I thought maybe they’d execute the perpetrator as an example…”
I didn’t know how high up this went, but if a supreme commander was killed against His Majesty’s will… yeah, I was starting to think he was going to die.
That would be the most realistic ‘compromise.’
“…Are you… concerned for me?” He sounded as if he’d seen and heard something unbelievable.
“A human, concerned for a demon?”
“Well, yeah. You don’t have a personal grudge against me, do you?”
“That’s true. This is simply an order, a necessity.”
“Then you’re my comrade. In the Demon King’s army.”
I was a supreme commander. But even if I died, the Virus King, Lord of Disease wouldn’t.
“Well, if you’re going to do it, do it now. My scary maid will be back soon.”
I laughed. Accepting death brought a strange sense of calm.
If humans had souls.
If there was an afterlife, a heaven or hell.
Where would my soul go if I died in another world?
“…No.” The demon slowly shook his head.
“I’ll pass.”
“Wait, are you calling off the assassination?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not going to say, ‘I just wanted to see the look on your face when you thought you were safe,’ and then kill me anyway?”
“…Where do you come up with these morbid ideas?”
“It’s pretty common, actually…”
“Co… common?” He looked stunned.
Seeing a greater demon, a rare sight in itself, make such an expression was even rarer.
“…Your common sense seems… unusual…”
“Is that so…”
Maybe I am the strange one.
This world was waging a war of extinction against other races. My world had been waging wars against its own kind for centuries.
I’d simply brought my world’s methods with me.
“So, you’re really not going to kill me?”
“You have my word.”
“It’s a little hard to trust someone who came to assassinate me.”
“…I… apologize.” The greater demon bowed his head apologetically. His expressions were becoming increasingly rare.
“Well, I’m grateful that you’re calling it off.”
If he changed his mind now, I’d probably despair, but I’d deal with it when the time came.
“Um, so what should I do? Just stay quiet? Should I report this?”
“I will speak with His Majesty and seek his approval. —But before that…”
The greater demon knelt before me.
“My name is Samarkand. By my true name, I pledge myself to you as my master.”
With elegant grace and a resolute voice. Like a knight pledging fealty to their liege, he knelt on one knee.
“I swear my absolute loyalty.”
“Sorry, this is all happening a little too fast for me.”
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