In this life, I have been trapped in the Demon King’s castle for a whole three years.
Every single day, I looked at the same buildings, the same scenery, and faced the same people.
So, I had longed for the days when I could go outside the castle.
At the age of three, when I became old enough to receive education and have some say, I immediately made plans to go outside.
Yes, I was making plans.
“Get off the carriage.”
I never expected to be dragged out like this so suddenly…
“This is the residential area from here. Over there is the square, and beyond that is the commercial district.”
And I never imagined the scene I would face would be so miserable.
“………”
The domain of the Demon King’s castle.
To be precise, the domain of Count Daimon is a bit unique.
With the castle standing at the peak, there is a fan-shaped plain stretching out below, with the northern ice wall at its back.
You might think that since there is a plain, farming would be possible, but you can’t ignore the cold northern weather. It was always cold here, and there were very few days in the year when it didn’t snow.
‘It’s because of the dragon’s corpse inside the ice wall.’
It’s a legend known by everyone living in this world.
The last outburst of an evil dragon just before its death.
‘I curse you all until my existence is erased!’
That curse is what created the current weather.
Later on, priests tried to remove the dragon’s corpse, but they repeatedly failed because they couldn’t break through the thick ice wall.
‘The fact that the dragon was actually a monster or something comes out in the later part of the game, so it has nothing to do with me.’
After all, I’m only in the early stages of the game. I’m just a pawn used for the hero’s awakening, so I don’t need to pay much attention to the later story.
Anyway, due to the harsh weather, it was difficult for people to live here.
To be precise, only people who had no choice but to live in such a harsh environment remained. Criminals, escapees, slaves, and the like… In other words, only those who couldn’t properly integrate into society gathered here.
And even demons mixed in with them. Demons who utterly loathe humans and have no basic understanding of them.
Demons who don’t know anything about human society.
Humans who have turned their backs on human society.
These two groups are what make up Count Daimon’s territory.
So what kind of place would it be?
“A mess…”
I laughed in disbelief as I looked at the trash scattered all over the streets and the vagrants lying around like garbage.
Just within my narrow line of sight, I could see five people.
Three were demons, two were humans. And that wasn’t all—despite the howling wind, I could smell alcohol. These people were drunk, lying around in the streets in this freezing weather.
“Ughhh…”
“My head hurts… Ugh…”
Of course, their heads would hurt. There were more than ten empty bottles scattered around them.
‘If this were a normal domain, those kinds of people would only be found in alleys.’
But here?
It’s not normal, is it?
That’s why they’re lying in the middle of the street, using garbage as pillows.
“Ah, it’s William from the 2nd Legions.”
At that moment, Lyat approached the demon lying on the ground and poked him with the end of his staff, frowning.
“You scoundrel. What are you doing here? Are you out of your mind?”
Well, at least Lyat recognizes that this is a problem. Yeah, if I can persuade Lyat, maybe we can do something about this mess…
“You should cover yourself with a blanket! What if you catch a cold?”
…Or maybe not.
I stared blankly as Lyat gently covered the demon’s face with a soft, microfiber blanket.
***
Lyat shifted his gaze away from the demon lying drunk on the ground and looked out at the street.
Maybe it was because the priests had announced their visit. The streets were more pleasant than usual.
Normally, the streets would be full of people passed out with no place to step, but today there were only five.
This isn’t too bad, all things considered.
Of course, Lyat didn’t even notice the trash scattered all over the street. He had never been concerned about that kind of thing in the first place.
So, he looked back at Shekina, standing behind him, with a slightly proud face.
“Well, how does it look? Do you see anything that could be a problem?”
“………”
Shekina didn’t answer.
Well, that’s understandable. This situation is actually quite good.
“This is the residential district, so there shouldn’t be any issues. We should head to the commercial district. Follow me.”
And with that, Lyat turned without hesitation.
But something felt off.
Shekina wasn’t following him.
Why not? Lyat tilted his head in confusion.
“Do you have something to say?”
Shekina slowly lifted her head.
Her light purple hair, tied in a ponytail, swayed and shimmered. Her plump cheeks, flushed from the cold wind, twitched slightly, and her sparkling, transparent eyes, like aquamarine jewels, gleamed with a strange light.
Now I understood why the demons of the 1st Legion were so obsessed with worshipping her, Lyat thought as he adjusted his monocle with his palm.
“If you have something to say, go ahead. I will listen.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You won’t get mad?”
“I won’t.”
“And you won’t hit me?”
“Just say it.”
“Heew…”
Shekina took a deep breath and stepped half a step forward to stand in front of Lyat.
“Sir Lyat.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know what the biggest problem here is?”
“You’re saying there’s a problem? No, from what I can see, there is no problem. This is perfectly human.”
He shrugged as he looked at the street, which was like a garbage dump, and the five people lying around.
After all, this kind of scene wasn’t an issue in the demon realm.
In fact, it was probably worse in the demon realm.
“Isn’t this how humans live?”
Shekina’s eyes grew cold.
“They don’t live like this. This is just a pigsty. No, even a pigsty would be cleaner than this.”
“Huh? What?”
“Sir Lyat. Haven’t you read any books about the human world? Have you not even looked into it?”
At Shekina’s sharp question, Lyat cleared his throat awkwardly.
That’s true.
No matter how much of a researcher he was, Lyat was still a demon.
Demons do not understand humans.
Nor do they even try to understand them.
Do humans care about the lives of ants? Are they interested in the life cycle of ants? No, they are not.
Demons are the same. To demons, humans are nothing more than ants. They might have a fleeting curiosity, but it goes no further than that.
But why is it?
Why do I feel intimidated by the gaze of this small homunculus, by her words?
Lyat avoided Shekina’s gaze and replied quietly.
“Ahem. There’s no need to bother reading insignificant human books when we are more than sufficient ourselves…”
“Right. You’re more than sufficient. Just enough to be exorcised by the priests. Maybe they’ll burn you along with the street trash.”
“Ahem!”
His throat is starting to feel tight.
Lyat glanced nervously at Shekina.
“The biggest problem here is…”
Shekina picked up a branch lying on the ground and pointed it toward him.
“The problem is that you, Sir Lyat, don’t even realize that everything here is a problem.”
***
I left the dazed Lyat behind and recalled the quest again.
Main Quest <Deceive the Eyes of the Temple!>
How have you been? Lucky for you, you’ve caught Lyat’s eye and now have the chance to venture outside the fortress! Now, you’ll need to prove your usefulness to Lyat.
As you explore the territory, try to correct anything that seems ‘inhuman and suspicious.’
Objective: Avoid the suspicion of the priests visiting the count’s estate.
Time limit: 360 hours
Rewards:
1. Complete support from Lyat
2. Speedier restoration of the Demon King’s powers
Failure: No audience with the Demon King for a year
I was worried because the system didn’t appear after I fast-forwarded through it.
‘What have you been doing all this time?’
We’re on the same ship here, so don’t just disappear suddenly, okay?
[SYSTEM]
There were some circumstances!
Yeah, I’ve got plenty of circumstances, too, you brat. Stop pretending you’re busy.
I felt the air distort slightly, and I smirked as I fell into thought again.
This time, the quest didn’t come with a death penalty for failure. However, the penalty was just as valuable as my life.
‘The Demon King.’
Thankfully, the Demon King hasn’t appeared while I was fast-forwarding. But now I need to meet him soon.
If I fail this quest and can’t meet the Demon King for a year, it will mess up my plans.
So, no matter what, I must succeed in this quest.
The ‘inhuman and suspicious.’ most likely mean, ‘hide the demons.’
I tugged on Lyat’s sleeve.
“I-I’m the problem… I, I’m…”
“Sir Lyat.”
“Ahem! Yes, yes, what is it?”
Lyat, who had been mumbling something strange, trembled slightly and tried to act composed as he looked down at me.
“We should look around more. The square and the commercial district seem important.”
“Well, yes, it’s best to check everything before making conclusions.”
“Yes. And also…”
I pointed to a single flower blooming on the roadside.
“That flower. Isn’t it something that only grows in the demon realm?”
Moon Crimson Flower.
I knew about it because it was part of a quest in the game.
Its vivid red petals, as if soaked in blood, were quite striking.
“Why is it in the human realm?”
“I suppose the demons who fled to the human realm planted it because they were homesick.”
“Aha. So they planted flowers like that in the middle of the street because they missed the demon realm.”
“………”
“There’s a flower like that in the middle of the road, and you think the priests won’t notice? Really?”
A small flame flickered in the palm of Lyat’s white hand.
