Ch.1Prologue

Prologue.

Chiiiiick.

I light a match and ignite some Demon Realm tobacco.

How long has it been since I last smoked?

I nod my head, shuddering at the sensation permeating my internal organs.

“Phew… Ah, yes. This is it.”

After taking a long drag, I exhale slowly. I wanted to savor this lingering sensation as long as possible.

“…You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”

“No, Lieutenant Colonel. You shouldn’t say that. You know how much I’ve suffered…”

My name is Lug.

A soldier of His Majesty the great Demon King.

An officer belonging to the 5th Corps.

The reason I’m running around like a headless chicken here in the human realm rather than the demon realm is simple.

“What suffering? You were just having fun with women.”

“…I didn’t enjoy it. Far from enjoying it, do you know how dangerous a tightrope I’ve been walking between those women just to protect myself?”

I look relatively human compared to other demon army soldiers.

That’s because I’m a half-blood between human and demon.

Perhaps because of this? Our Corps Commander, who was contemplating how to best utilize a rare half-blood soldier like me within the corps, made a harsh decision.

Namely, to infiltrate the Hero’s party.

“But wasn’t it nice? I heard they were all pretty.”

“I used to think so too.”

I took a deep drag of tobacco and answered with a frown.

“But the Hero’s party… there wasn’t a single normal person there.”

But when I actually did it, it wasn’t like that at all.

As time passed, I began to wonder if they were trying to expel me from the military because I was a half-blood. It seemed possible, considering I was already despised within the corps.

“Still, I tried my best in my own way, didn’t I?”

To infiltrate the Hero’s party, I thought I’d need a detailed backstory, so I did some acting.

Since it was an important mission, my requests wouldn’t be denied.

First, I created a village in the Hero’s path and destroyed it. The purpose was to make it look like there had been a village there.

So I sat down in this hastily constructed ruined village made of trees, and sure enough, the Hero came looking.

-*Sob sob!* The monsters living in the forest reduced the village to this state! I want revenge, but I don’t have the strength! Please, Hero, I beg you…! Please…!

I already knew the Hero had good character thanks to our intelligence department’s work.

The Hero gladly accepted my request and defeated the Hydra we had placed in the forest with their companions.

When the Hero and their companions returned covered in blood, I played my trump card with a dejected expression and a single tear rolling down my cheek.

-Thank you, Hero. Now the villagers can rest in peace.

-Oh, no. I just did what anyone would do.

-I see. So for the Hero, this was just an ordinary deed.

-No, that’s not what I meant…

-I’ve already lost everything. Hero, please allow me to repay your kindness.

The kind-hearted Hero couldn’t bring themselves to refuse a grown man crying his eyes out at a respectable age.

And so I became the Hero’s party’s porter. Of course, at that time, I was stronger than the Hero and their companions.

I am Lug, a proud Lieutenant of the Demon King’s 5th Corps.

A ragtag bunch struggling against a mere Hydra was no challenge for me.

With such thoughts, I infiltrated the Hero’s party, only to witness hell not long after.

-Breath attack! Get out of the way!

-AAAAARGH!

Our demon race’s enemies weren’t just heroes. No, the Hero was merely a variable; the real enemy was something else.

-How dare you pathetic mortals!

The dragon race.

Dragons were considered a threat not only to demons but also to humans, elves, and dwarves due to their characteristically arrogant and violent nature.

I believe the Demon King left these ragtag groups alone to keep the dragons in check.

Normally, when there’s a common enemy, people should unite to fight, but what’s this?

These crazy humans started inciting that they couldn’t cooperate with demons. What’s more surprising is that this incitement worked perfectly, with dwarves and elves siding with humans.

-HAAAAAAAP!!

Dragons are threatening beings.

Even among demon soldiers, at least a field-grade officer would be needed to defeat one in a one-on-one battle.

And when I saw the Hero defeat such a monster, I realized something was seriously wrong.

-AAAAARGH!

It’s fine when fighting demons. They don’t attack me seriously. Given the nature of my mission, the acting continued there too.

Even if they attacked me, it would be just enough not to cause fatal injuries.

Of course…

-Where do you think you’re going!

-Kuhek! Mere humans…

-Mr. Lug! Are you alright?

They were all killed by the Hero’s hand. They had become too strong.

Not just the Hero, but their companions too.

And I remained the same. In other words, I was a shrimp caught between fighting whales.

While demons were just acting, dragons were crazy beings trying to reduce everything to ashes indiscriminately.

Surviving while hiding my demon identity in such a situation was difficult.

-Hero.

-Yes, Mr. Lug! What is it?

-I think this is as far as I can go.

-What? What do you mean…

-I’m too weak to continue this journey. I’ll just be a burden.

-Well, Mr. Lug is Mr. Lug. What else could you be?

-I’m not talking about my name.

-Oh, my mistake.

-Anyway, I don’t have the confidence to continue this journey. Will you accept my resignation?

-What? I don’t want to.

Riiiiip!

The Hero tore up my resignation letter right in front of me, smiling brightly.

Seeing that, I finally realized.

I had thought the Hero was a bit lacking. They were too kind and didn’t know how to doubt.

But that wasn’t it. It wasn’t naivety; it was madness.

-Mr. Lug will continue traveling with us from now on.

-…

-So, Mr. Lug, no matter what happens, we’ll protect you, so you don’t need to worry about that.

She thought my reason for quitting was due to an inferiority complex.

She didn’t even consider that I might physically die as a reason.

Why? Because I was a proud member of the Hero’s party.

No matter how much I wanted to quit out of fear, to her, it was just a lie from a porter willing to sacrifice himself for the Hero’s party.

Seeing that bright smile, I made a decision. To escape from here.

The Hero may have a human form, but they’re not a being you can reason with.

“It took me three more months to escape like this…”

I explained the current situation through a secret communication with the Demon King’s army and declared my mission abandoned. Perhaps because of what I had done so far, the Corps Commander also allowed me to abandon the mission.

Still, for sacrificing just one Lieutenant, the gains were quite substantial.

Anyway, after communications went back and forth, I successfully escaped on a set date, avoiding the Hero’s attention, which brings us to the current situation.

After all that hardship, the Demon Realm tobacco naturally tastes sweet.

“Did you bring everything, Lug?”

“Of course. Now you just need to take care of this ‘Lug’ as your burden, Lieutenant Colonel.”

“Not funny.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Is there anything else you’ve forgotten?”

Perhaps because the escape was successful without any issues, the Lieutenant Colonel casually asked while watching the soldiers pack.

I’ve packed all my personal belongings and anything that might serve as evidence.

The same goes for the continental situation I learned through the Hero’s party.

“By the way, this is well-made. This might completely crush the Hero, don’t you think?”

“Well, if your opinion is true, it’s certainly possible.”

I bent down to examine the dead doppelganger. Its pain-filled expression and blood-soaked body were impressive.

What expression would the Hero make if they found this, after refusing my resignation saying they could protect me?

“…”

Thinking about it, I didn’t feel entirely good. It seems I’ve been influenced somewhat during our nearly two-year journey. But it’s all over now.

Now I’m going to live my own life.

“Oh, by the way, Lieutenant Colonel.”

It was just as I raised my head after confirming the doppelganger corpse made as my substitute.

“Huh?”

Swoooosh!

The head of a demon soldier who was erasing traces around us flew off.

In that moment of freezing due to the sudden situation, the Lieutenant Colonel, who had assessed the situation before me, drew his sword.

“We’re under attack!”

“Ah! Found you. Mr. Lug, are you alright?”

Brilliant golden hair and emerald eyes that sparkle like jewels in the light.

In one hand, she holds a holy sword emitting a soft golden light.

Hero, Esmeralda.

She appeared with her usual silly-looking smile.

“…”

The Hero’s strength has already far exceeded our expectations.

Even the Lieutenant Colonel would struggle against the Hero. After all, the 5th Corps was more of an intelligence unit than a combat unit. Except for the Corps Commander, there weren’t particularly strong individuals.

Slash!

The demons surrounding the Hero are annihilated by the playfully swung sword, making their encirclement meaningless.

“This is as far as we go.”

The Lieutenant Colonel clicked his tongue and immediately grabbed me by the collar.

“If you come closer, I’ll kill this one! Hero, Esmeralda. Don’t you value your companions?”

“Lieutenant…”

“Shut up!”

When I looked up at the Lieutenant Colonel in this unexpected situation, he immediately silenced me with his rough hand and shouted.

‘You are not one of us.’

‘…!’

There’s no chance of winning. Since this was a covert unit meant to extract me, we couldn’t expect much in terms of combat capability.

Hero Esmeralda furrowed her brow upon seeing me captured by the Lieutenant Colonel, then stopped in her tracks.

“Hehe, good. Drop your holy sword now. Otherwise, this one’s head and body will part ways!”

“…”

The Hero drops the holy sword to the ground. The information that she values her companions is undoubtedly true. Perhaps using this, the Lieutenant Colonel might be able to defeat the Hero.

“Kick it over here.”

“Wait…!”

“I told you to shut up!”

No. She mustn’t send the holy sword over here.

Doesn’t the Lieutenant Colonel know? The characteristics of the holy sword? That can’t be right?

Perhaps to avoid revealing our relationship, the Lieutenant Colonel wouldn’t let me speak.

Thud.

The holy sword kicked by the Hero rolls on the ground and falls right in front of the Lieutenant Colonel.

And I could finally understand the Lieutenant Colonel’s intention.

“…”

A complex, determined look.

The Lieutenant Colonel mumbled something while looking at the holy sword, then spoke in a voice only I could hear.

“Survive. On the battlefield, that’s what winning means.”

Stab!

As soon as those words ended, the holy sword that had fallen to the ground moved as if it had a will of its own and pierced the Lieutenant Colonel’s heart in one go.

“Ah…”

The Lieutenant Colonel who was holding me lost strength and collapsed.

He died to hide me.

In case I might be suspected of collaborating with demons if I were left behind.

He made me a complete victim so that such thoughts wouldn’t arise.

My mouth tasted bitter.

Dying for a mere subordinate… No, he was a born soldier.

In this situation where everyone would die anyway, he chose a path to save at least one person.

“Wow, that was close.”

Hero Esmeralda approaches me with the same smile as always.

Yes, that silly-looking smile that’s always there.

I shudder at the sight of the Hero smiling while covered in blood from head to toe.

“But I’ve defeated all the demons, so don’t worry. Let’s go back to the tent now, Mr. Lug.”

A blood-stained hand extends toward me.

I had no choice but to grasp it.