Ch.186Side Story 2. The Story After, Garnet (2)

# After the Story, Garnet (2)

Robeno is a corps commander who chose to remain with the Demon Lord’s army even after the Demon Lord changed from Belphegor to Lug.

Though the world had become peaceful, authority doesn’t simply disappear. Moreover, now that he had become the head of a household, shouldn’t he maintain his dignity for the sake of his future children?

That’s why he stayed.

But that wasn’t the only reason. Robeno was strong and capable, so he could have received similar treatment wherever he went.

He chose to remain with the Demon Lord’s army because he felt indebted to the new Demon Lord, Lug.

Even though Lug had ascended to the position of Demon Lord for political reasons rather than strength.

He knew what Lug had done.

He had purified the demon realm, which had been a dead land, by burning everything he had.

He had performed such a miracle and lost his power as a consequence.

Others might exploit such weakness, but Robeno held deep respect for someone who had sacrificed everything to save the world.

Yes, that’s why Robeno could serve Lug with relative sincerity.

It also helped that the former Demon Lord, Belphegor, supported Lug as well.

And now, in this situation, the Demon Lord he was supposed to trust, follow, and pledge loyalty to was being carried by a hot-tempered crazy woman.

Not to mention, he was covered in burns and groaning in pain.

“This crazy bitch finally did it.”

The unkind words naturally sprang from his usual impression.

“What? Crazy bitch? You bastard?”

And Garnet, with her personality as foul as her impression suggested.

Even though the situation could have been resolved through conversation, neither chose that path.

“Now, now. Let’s calm down, Lord Robeno. This is a misunderstanding. I suggested this mode of transport. Since my pace is slow, I thought this would be the quickest way to move.”

“Am I supposed to believe that? Ha! No, I suppose it’s hard to say otherwise with that crazy woman right beside you. Fine, anytime is good. If it’s difficult to speak, just blink when you see an opportunity. I’ll rescue you immediately.”

“???”

That was Robeno’s way of being considerate. But he didn’t realize that blinking is unavoidable for humans.

Basic warriors who engage in close combat might practice not blinking, but Lug was a Mage.

Robeno, being part of the Demon Lord’s army, might think everyone does that while fighting, but his standards were simply too high.

Moreover, Lug was now essentially a regular person who couldn’t even use magic.

No matter how hard he tried not to blink, it was impossible.

And being conscious of it only made his eyes feel drier.

“Um…”

Just as he was about to explain the situation.

Lug naturally blinked, and Robeno, interpreting it as a signal, immediately attacked Garnet.

“Let’s do this, shall we?”

“With the likes of you? Me? Don’t make me laugh. This is pest control.”

Red flames that could devour the world crossed with blue blades of water.

Just once.

It was merely a probing attack, but its impact was significant.

The air, which had been somewhat chilly, became scorchingly hot, making it hard to breathe, and the steam that filled the surroundings obscured visibility.

Due to this sudden change, Lug was launched into the air.

He was blown away by the rapidly expanding air as the water evaporated.

“Ah.”

I’m going to die.

Looking at the vast sky, Lug came to that conclusion.

He never imagined his death would be from a fall.

Floating, then stasis, followed by a fall—a three-stage transformation.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Lug screamed.

He screamed for someone to hear. If anyone had any sense, wouldn’t they try to save him?

And Lug’s prediction was right.

As if caught on something, he stopped in mid-air, breathed a sigh of relief, and looked up to see who had saved him.

“Hello, Demon Lord?”

“…I think both you and I made a mistake in our marriages.”

“I’m happy though?”

“Then that’s fine.”

The culprits of the incident, Robeno and Garnet.

Neither of them had tried to save Lug. On the contrary, they were still going at each other with wild eyes. They were clearly venting their accumulated frustrations under the pretense of caring for him.

“Could you please stop those two? They won’t listen to me.”

“Hmm… Alright.”

Lacrima was relatively favorable towards Lug. Partly for the same reason as Robeno, but also because Lug was easy to deal with. She had been disciplined numerous times for her manner of speech when Belphegor was the Demon Lord.

“Come on, everyone, stop the violence!”

“…”

“…”

With just one word from Lacrima, Robeno and Garnet, who had seemed ready to kill each other, stopped.

Robeno was a husband who listened well to his wife, and Garnet was personally uncomfortable with Lacrima.

It was because she had witnessed countless cockroaches when Lacrima’s illusions had taken physical form in the past.

Eventually, the battle between the two stopped.

In that short time, Garnet seemed to have been pushed back considerably, as various parts of her dress were torn.

On the other hand, Robeno, befitting someone who had reached transcendence, was without a scratch.

But Garnet’s resilience was not to be underestimated, as Robeno was also standing still, catching his breath.

However, that’s not the important thing.

Yes, the important thing is…

‘They didn’t even listen to a word I said…’

The feeling of being neglected.

Are these guys really loyal to him?

Robeno might be, given his century-long vow with Lacrima, but Garnet is Lug’s wife—how could she not think about him at all?

Such thoughts of discontent swirled in Lug’s mind.

“Why were you two fighting?”

“Well, that crazy bitch…”

“That idiot bastard…”

“Enough! Do you think I stopped you two to hear you blame each other? The Demon Lord almost died because of you two!”

Lacrima’s charisma.

Lug felt intimidated by Lacrima’s charisma, which exceeded his own.

Of course, Lacrima is much stronger than someone like Lug.

Still, her actual combat power is lower than Robeno’s and Garnet’s, isn’t it?

Even with her special skills.

Even if she perfectly designs a battle.

If she gets hit even once, Lacrima would die instantly.

How can one not be amazed by her confidence as she walks on such a tightrope?

“No, I mean…”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

But that’s that, and this is this. The relationship between Robeno and Garnet was already irreparably hostile.

So there was no way they would explain properly.

In the end, the explanation fell to Lug, the other party involved.

“I’m trying to escape from the Demon Lord’s castle. Garnet was helping me with that.”

Lug answered honestly.

“…So now, the person responsible for the entire demon realm is abandoning everything and running away?”

“I can’t deny that.”

Honestly, it was uncertain whether they would be persuaded.

***

The one burdened with the role of Demon Lord abandons that role and runs away.

In such an absurd situation, Robeno made an unexpected decision.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.”

“There might be great chaos.”

“Maybe. No, if it goes on for too long, it’ll be tough for us too.”

Robeno turned a blind eye to Lug’s escape.

And he even swore not to answer if anyone asked.

Unlike Garnet, he wasn’t being blackmailed, and he knew that stopping Lug’s escape would be better for the demon realm than allowing it.

Despite this, he made such a decision because…

“…I understood his feelings.”

His interactions with Lug weren’t lengthy.

His interactions with the hero’s party weren’t lengthy either.

What Robeno could judge was that Lug had thrown away everything to purify the demon realm and had been forcibly placed on the Demon Lord’s throne.

He acknowledged that nobility and also felt sorry for Lug’s situation.

But the reason he decided to pretend not to see Lug’s escape was different.

The forced marriage arrangement between Robeno and Lacrima in the past.

The conversation with Hero Esmeralda.

Robeno felt it then.

“It’s natural to want to escape.”

The Demon Lord’s partner had considerable madness hidden in her eyes.

***

Day 1 after leaving the Demon Lord’s castle.

Lug and Garnet decided to spend the night in an abandoned hut nearby.

Though brief, the battle with Robeno had left them fatigued, and Lug was also mentally exhausted from his terrifying experience.

So when they found an abandoned hut nearby, they thought they were lucky.

But when they entered…

“…”

They could see.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary hut. But the inside was different.

A room barred with iron bars, and next to it, equipment filled for restraining and torturing someone.

“Oh shit…”

Garnet realized.

She had developed trauma after being restrained and abandoned once by Extra and the “Eye of Truth.”