Ch.3The Reason He Is Needed (1)

The Reason He’s Needed (1)

The center of the demon realm.

And there, the castle Pigritia of the Demon Lord, Belphegor.

Demon Lord Belphegor sat on her throne, listening to her subordinates’ reports with her usual look of boredom.

‘Hmm, how boring.’

Demon Lord Belphegor.

Having overthrown the previous Demon Lord Leviathan by force and usurped her position, she belatedly realized that she lacked any sense for politics.

Above all, there was too much work.

Wasn’t it absurd that someone called the Demon Lord of Sloth had to work this hard?

Therefore, Demon Lord Belphegor decided to take a direction that would maximize her epithet.

“The 5th Corps has encountered the Ancient Red Dragon ‘Agni’ on the eastern front! Commander Five managed to cut off its wings, but our forces have also suffered massive casualties. Immediate reinforcements are needed.”

“Hmm, what do you think we should do, General Lilith?”

All she had to do was sit on the throne, listen to reports, and simply nod.

She could dump the work onto her capable aide, Lilith.

Her only job was to sit languidly on the throne and maintain an air of authority.

‘Still boring though.’

Belphegor let the reports of her subordinates go in one ear and out the other as she began to think about other things. The Emperor of the Human Empire, whom she had secretly met with recently.

‘Come to think of it, doesn’t the Empire’s Emperor not have to listen to each and every one of these things?’

He was quite impressive. How should I put it… he had an imperial dignity.

Unlike her, he was of royal blood from birth.

Having secretly met with such an emperor, Belphegor had many new realizations.

Though she had become a Demon Lord simply because of her strength, she needed the dignity befitting the position.

‘First, my first-person pronouns…’

Let’s emulate the Emperor!

As she was listening to her subordinates’ reports with one ear and letting them go out the other, Belphegor suddenly snapped to attention.

“…Extra Lieutenant Colonel, who failed to rescue the lieutenant, has died, and the small unit he led also couldn’t avoid annihilation. Your Majesty, I believe continuing this operation would cost us too much…”

Belphegor, who had been organizing her thoughts, frowned at the report that happened to catch her ear.

She was the Demon Lord. She was the only one who had to lead all these subordinates.

But did she, as the Demon Lord, have to listen to reports about matters as trivial as a mere lieutenant, not even a lieutenant colonel?

“Ahem, ahem.”

Belphegor cleared her throat to metaphorically express her dissatisfaction. This was a good opportunity, wasn’t it?

It was a perfect time to imitate the solemn appearance of the human Emperor she had seen.

“We are a special existence.”

Do I, being such a person, need to concern myself with each and every such report?

With this implied meaning in Belphegor’s roundabout statement, the audience fell silent.

‘What’s this? Is there something special about that lieutenant?’

‘Perhaps the Demon Lord’s illegitimate child? Is that why she assigned him such a task?’

‘Damn, I think I broke that guy’s joints at least six times…’

Belphegor’s sudden declaration of “We” instead of her usual first-person “I” was enough to throw everyone into confusion.

In an instant, the ordinary demon lieutenant named Lug was transformed into something special acknowledged by the Demon Lord, saving his life.

‘That seemed fine, but the atmosphere is a bit… Was it premature?’

Of course, Belphegor, who had been letting all reports go in one ear and out the other, saw the audience’s bewilderment at her first change in first-person pronouns and wondered.

Perhaps it didn’t suit her? Should she keep using it?

Maybe she still lacked dignity.

And then, there was a brave subordinate who opened his mouth to hear the exact truth.

He was one of the corps commanders.

“He-he didn’t seem particularly special, but perhaps there’s something…”

A loyal subordinate’s question!

Belphegor couldn’t believe her ears.

“What the hell is this guy saying?”

Unable to imagine such blatant insubordination, Belphegor shouted with tears in her eyes.

Any pretense of solemn acting had long disappeared.

At the sight of Belphegor shouting in a choked voice as if wronged, the audience immediately fell silent.

“Hey, drag that bastard out! Purge him! Purge! How dare you insult We?!”

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty! Just a moment, please give me a chance!!”

After immediately having the insubordinate subordinate dragged away, Belphegor spoke without hiding her displeasure.

“Anyone else curious?”

“…No, Your Majesty.”

“Good, then I’ll take that as no objections. We… no, I will be going now.”

Belphegor reverted to her original first-person pronoun, thinking that “We” didn’t suit her yet. Not a single demon in this place could notice the discrepancy.

“These damn bastards…”

There wasn’t a single demon who understood Belphegor’s hurt feelings.

***

The lieutenant colonel who came to rescue me was killed by the Hero. I knew very well what that meant.

“My life is ruined.”

Though I was distracted eating that soup, my current situation is extremely precarious.

Me, who infiltrated the Hero’s party, and the lieutenant colonel and operation team who came to rescue me but ended up annihilated instead.

Would the Demon Lord’s army still actively try to rescue me despite such a major failure?

I wouldn’t if I were them.

The merit gained wouldn’t be worth the manpower required, would it?

If it were me, I’d abandon them. Cut them off cleanly. They’d be lucky to throw flowers on an empty coffin at the base, saying Lug, you were a valuable asset.

“…Should I just defect?”

Come to think of it, I’m half-human, aren’t I? I could abandon the Demon Lord’s army that’s surely going to abandon me and live as a human from now on.

Yes, that’s the only way.

Beeeeeeeep───

“Gah?! I’m sorry!”

At that moment, a ringing in my ears.

Like a thief startled by his own footsteps, I immediately apologized even though no one was watching.

Because it was the perfect timing as I was thinking about betrayal.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Belatedly realizing my mistake, I pretended to clear my throat.

This is our army’s main communication method that only demons can hear.

It seems the moment of judgment has come.

If they say a rescue operation is impossible and I should escape on my own, I’ll immediately defect to the human side.

“…I need to use the restroom for a moment.”

“The restroom? Should I escort you?”

Just as I was about to leave with a suitable excuse, the Hero Esmeralda’s shocking statement hit me.

Judging by her smirking expression, she’s clearly trying to tease me.

“You might get kidnapped again like yesterday, so you should be careful. Right? We still have some time before meeting up with our comrades, so we need to be thorough.”

“…I’ll be fine.”

“Then if you don’t come back in 10 minutes, I’ll come looking for you!”

“Yes, let’s do that…”

For some reason, I feel like the Hero’s control has intensified, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Although I was able to excuse it as a kidnapping, I’ll have to fully bear the consequences.

“Hehe.”

I headed into the middle of the forest, leaving behind the Hero who was staring at me with a seemingly stupid smile.

“Secure communication, this is Lieutenant Lug. Lieutenant Lug. Please identify yourself.”

-Nice to meet you, Lug.

“…Who is this?”

A cold female voice, different from the usual gruff-voiced communications officer.

And above all, an attitude that completely ignores the rules of military communication.

It’s certain. This woman is not part of the military. Has the communication network been hijacked? Does such magic exist?

-Excuse me, I’m not familiar with this form of communication as it’s my first time. I am General Lilith, from the Demon Lord’s Army Operations Staff and direct aide to the Demon Lord.

“General Lilith… ma’am?!”

I belatedly realize that the other person is my vastly superior officer.

And General Lilith, no less—the Demon Lord’s direct aide.

A person who received a shockingly preferential appointment because she’s the Demon Lord’s cousin.

But no one complained about it. Because she’s competent?

Of course, competence is part of it, but that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that she’s one of the few women in the Demon Lord’s army, which is 95% male.

Moreover, it’s also important that she never had to participate in grueling training, only faithfully performing her role as an aide, so she never got worn down.

Black hair that reaches her waist and cold yellow eyes. A black suit and stockings the same color as her hair.

I still vividly remember that appearance. She was the one who set the hearts of many soldiers on fire, keeping them awake at night.

“How is it that General Lilith…”

A demon like that contacted someone like me?

She doesn’t even know military communication protocols because she only has opportunities to speak with high-ranking officials?

-First, I would like to express my deep regret about this incident. Somehow, you’ve become the sole survivor of Extra Lieutenant Colonel’s platoon.

“No, not at all. I should be the one apologizing. For not completely deceiving the Hero…”

More importantly, was the lieutenant colonel’s name really Extra…? That’s unfortunate.

I’m in no position to talk, but I wonder who gave him that name.

-Wasn’t the Hero someone even Lieutenant Colonel Extra couldn’t handle? Our military made a grave mistake in allowing such a hasty approach without considering that fact.

An unexpected humble attitude.

I never imagined she would care about me this much.

Was obtaining intelligence on the Hero’s party that important?

I’ve already leaked almost all the information I could, and all that’s left is the Hero party’s future schedule?

I don’t know how to react when no less than General Lilith, the Demon Lord’s aide, contacts me to acknowledge my efforts.

-There’s been some delay, but we’re reorganizing a new team that can safely bring Lieutenant Lug back.

“Is, is that really true?”

They’re doing that much for me? It’s almost suspicious.

What am I, really? This might sound strange, but there are plenty of replaceable parts in the Demon Lord’s army besides me.

-It’s natural to be suspicious, but there’s no need to worry. The Demon Lord herself made this decision. I believe she must have foreseen the threat of the Hero in advance.

“Aah…”

As expected, the Demon Lord is different. When I first infiltrated the Hero’s party, I was thinking of quitting the Demon Lord’s army if things went wrong.

But it seems the Demon Lord has been paying attention to even these small matters.

As expected, long live the great Demon Lord Belphegor, ruler of ten thousand demons.

“As expected of Lord Belphegor… I’ve always believed in her.”

-…I, I see. So you did have some kind of relationship with the Demon Lord…

“Pardon?”

-No, I was just giving orders to a subordinate… Ahem, anyway, I’ll contact you again soon. Until then, please stay safe.

“Yes, General Lilith!”

I’m moved that the great General Lilith is concerned about me.

And I’m glad the Demon Lord’s army isn’t as cold-hearted as I thought.

Thanks to that, I feel relieved.

They’re doing this much for me.

I’ll completely abandon any thoughts of defecting to the human side.

Those nasty humans.

“Mr. Lug, it’s been 5 minutes! I’m coming to find you now! Starting now!”