50: The Reason for the Name
After the others and the Barghests left, I turned to Lathus.
“Lathus, thank you again. You saved my life.”
“…Yeah.” Lathus nodded, his expression grim.
“His Majesty… told me.”
“Oh? That I’m a brilliant supreme commander, utterly devoted to the Demon King, his army, and this nation?”
“No, you idiot.” His wolf-like eyes pierced me.
“—That you’re a decoy!”
“Ah, that.” I nodded.
“It’s a rational strategy, isn’t it?” I smiled faintly.
“—I am the Lord of Disease. Humanity’s primary target.”
I had my reasons for using this name.
For maintaining a mansion on the outskirts of the capital.
Even for having a minimal security detail.
“I’m a decoy, to draw their attention, to make their movements easier to predict.”
“!”
“This time, too. The humans risked a dangerous mountain crossing and lost at least one hero-class warrior. And not just him. All the effort that went into supporting him… all for nothing.”
This time had been dangerous, due to the unexpected infiltration route and the ‘unhealthy medicine’ the enemy had been using. But even so, it was all within the scope of my duties as the Lord of Disease.
“Enough with the rhetoric! Why?! Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“I’m sorry. But it’s classified. The location and minimal security are meant to make me look like an easy target, so I couldn’t tell anyone in the Beastman Army, even if they were supreme commanders…”
“…Don’t apologize so readily. It’s infuriating.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m angry!”
“—At what?”
“That… well…”
“Your people tried to kill me too, didn’t they? A fellow supreme commander, just because they felt like it.”
That incident had also been quite dangerous, as an attack motivated by sudden, impulsive emotions wouldn’t be detected by the usual security measures.
“…My apologies.”
“I’m not angry. You stopped them.”
“…Doesn’t it… bother you?”
Lathus lowered his gaze.
“His Majesty is using you.”
“I know. Or rather, I proposed this.”
“…What?”
“The Lord of Disease is a tool. A high-value target placed in a location with minimal security, to draw out enemy spies, to be used by potential rebels, to expose those in our ranks who might disobey orders simply because they hate humans. And of course, it also serves as a cover for the field operative units and as wartime propaganda.”
Even now, I didn’t think I was particularly valuable in this world.
What I’d said was obvious.
No matter how ruthless it sounded, it was simple logic, a theory anyone could implement.
That was why I had taken this name.
To make it seem special.
To make me seem special to this nation.
With that resolve, I had accepted the position of supreme commander.
“Damn it… I’m starting to lose track of what you’re saying.” Lathus muttered, looking bewildered.
“—You… you knew you were a decoy? And you suggested it?”
He shook his head slowly.
“…That nearly being assassinated is… part of your job?”
“It seems that way.”
“Are you insane?!”
“I’m not insane. There are some things you can’t say, even to your lifesaver.”
“What do you call that kind of position… if not insane…?”
Lathus covered his eyes with his furred, clawed hand and looked up at the ceiling.
“Damn it…!” Tears traced paths through his black-grey fur.
“Why are you getting angry and crying?”
“Because you’re not, you idiot…!”
Being the Lord of Disease wasn’t an enviable position, nor was it all fun and games.
“…Thank you, Lathus.”
But if someone cared enough to cry for me…
“I was… happy. To be brought to a place where I knew no one… dragged into a war… almost dying…”
I had been on those ramparts. Alone, with no one to rely on. All I could do was lash out against the injustice, a desperate act of defiance.
“And then, the people of this nation saved me. They healed my wounds, gave me food and shelter, treated me with kindness. …People who were at war with humanity, knowing I was human, still treated me with kindness.”
I smiled, remembering the short time I’d spent with Bridget.
I glanced at the apple bunny Liz had made for me.
There was kindness in this world. Even in this world of endless war between races.
I continued,
“I was happy.”
And to repay that kindness, I had become the Lord of Disease.
“…I see.”
“…Yes.” I nodded, my smile deepening.
“And even though I’ve accepted the possibility of death… I’ve never felt abandoned.”
I might be a tool. But I had chosen this.
And I had people who would risk their lives to protect me.
I had a future I wanted, a role to fulfill. And I had the resolve.
Therefore, there was only one name I could use in this world.
“I am the Lord of Disease. A supreme commander of the Demon King’s army, and an evil sorceress.”
“…You’re… truly something else.”
Lathus grinned, his fanged mouth wide.
“Coming from Lathus, the Broken Fang, a supreme commander of the Demon King’s army, that’s quite a compliment.”
I, too, smiled, my mouth devoid of fangs. Like smiling at a friend.
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