As a side note, this time it will be from the perspective of the enemy who appeared in the first chapter, the Demon Lord's Army, and the commander of the Third Legion, Armira Bergret.
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I, Amira Bergret, was forced to flee in the battle against the Kingdom of Ringle.
I took responsibility for it, and when I was stripped of my position as commander of the III Corps, I chose to fight as a mere soldier.
The reason why I should fight is not to defeat Rose, who is my opponent, but for the sake of the Demon King, and by extension, the Demon Tribe, because I realized that I was defeated by humans and the words of the Demon King.
I had stepped down as a corps commander and was training as a soldier for the battle that was to come, but when the commander of the Second Corps called me, my situation changed.
The Demon King gave him a special order, and he told me to join him.
I can't complain about the mission. If you have received it from the Demon King, it is the responsibility of those who belong to the Demon King's army to carry it out, no matter what the content is, even at the risk of your life.
The problem, however, was that I had to temporarily subordinate to the commander of the II Corps.
"Lieutenant Commander Bergret, you've been frowning all the time, are you tired?"
Second Corps, Deputy Commander.
That was the temporary position that was given to me when I became a mere soldier.
I wrinkled my brow and returned the disgust to the man walking in front of me.
"Oh, I'm tired of being with you."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that."
I sigh for the first time to the man who called out to me while holding my forehead.
In addition to the horns and brown skin typical of the Demon Race, the creature dressed in black, without even wearing armor, uttered a token apology for my swearing, and looked forward again.
The Demon King's Second Legion, Corps Commander Koga Dingal.
At the age of seventeen, he is a genius with the title of corps commander – which, as good as it sounds, is actually a lazy man who entrusts his subordinates with tasks other than combat.
"Huh......"
Currently, we have left the Demon Lord's Territory and are making our way through a lush green valley.
The man in front of me and I were accompanied by five of his subordinates, and although they were following us so far, we were beginning to see fatigue on their faces.
"Hey, it's time to give your men a rest, if you keep going like this, you'll fall before you cross the valley."
"Hmm? Oh, yes."
After telling his subordinates to take a break without breaking a sweat, he sits down on the trunk of the nearest tree.
I glanced at my subordinates who were taking a breath and turned my suspicious gaze to him.
「...... Was it really okay to have this number of subordinates? You would have brought more of them, wouldn't you?"
"This mission isn't about intimidating, we're just going to see if the beastmen can use it or not."
The order given by the Demon King was to "find out if the beastmen are capable of fighting humans."
With the help of the Demon King, we can still fight the army of humans at this time, but the more the better. If you are a beastman who has a close relationship with humans, you are likely to cooperate with our demon tribe -- but if you are a hindrance, it is not worth joining us.
To that end, the Demon King sent Koga, the commander of the Second Legion, as a messenger and ordered him to identify the beastmen.
...... However, I still doubt whether the choice was correct.
"Is it possible that it is hostile?"
"You and I, we have an active corps commander and a former corps commander, which would be too much for a force."
"If you don't talk to them too much, they'll get your feet scratched."
"That's good, because it's funny."
He is irritated by Koga, who has a smirk on his face, but he understands that there is no point in being angry with this guy, so he can only sigh.
"Besides, it's impossible to cross this place with a large number of people, because it is a demon realm, and there are many powerful demons. I don't want to irritate you and make it a troublesome situation."
「...... Certainly."
This is not the realm of humans or demons, but the realm of demons.
If you pass through this place, you can go to the land of beastmen without crossing the great river, but the risk of being killed by demons increases. With that in mind, I can understand the idea of a small number of elite people.
"Well, it's easier with you because you don't have to worry about your subordinates."
「......」
...... This guy is going to leave the instructions of his subordinates and all the other things to me from now on, right?
Is this why they almost forcibly appointed me as the deputy commander and brought me in?
This man has the ability to live up to the name of the corps commander, and perhaps because of his cheerful personality, he is trusted by his subordinates. It's pretty bad in nature.
"You look like you don't really like it...... Don't forget that you owe me, right? I haven't forgotten that my treasured child was taken prisoner by the Ringle Kingdom."
"Gu...... I know."
He was probably referring to the fact that during the battle with the Ringle Kingdom, the Black Knight who had been sent by the Second Legion was taken prisoner.
I myself had no idea that the Black Knight with that foul counter would be taken prisoner.
"Well, as for me, treasured child...... I didn't think Ferm would be captured. After all, even if he was a dark magic user like me, his magic was different."
Dark magic with the property of "inversion".
The Black Knight's magic that inflicts wounds on his adversaries was supposed to be an invincible magic that could inflict fatal wounds on any powerful enemy.
Koga would have been thinking the same thing as I did when he brought in the Black Knight.
"So when I heard that he had lost to a human, I was really surprised, I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of being beaten by a healing wizard. Why would a guy who heals allies beat up a vicious dark wizard? What's that?"
"Hey, aren't you worried, your subordinates?"
What is it like to laugh when your men are being held prisoner?
- At the unscrupulous remark, she involuntarily glares sharply at Koga.
"I'm not too worried, in fact, I'm even thinking about the possibility that you're falling asleep to the other person, aren't you?"
「...... How can you say that?"
"For him, the Demon King Army is about that level, and fighting in the Demon King Army is not for the Demon King's sake, but for his own sake, and he just wanted an environment where he could wield his power to his heart's content."
With that being said, it seemed that the Black Knight was fighting for himself rather than for the Demon Lord's army.
As expected, fight for the Demon King to others! I'm not forcing him, but I wanted to know why he was fighting .......
At that time, I was full of drinks in my position as a corps commander, so I only remember yelling at the Black Knight.
Now that he has stepped down from his duties as a corps commander and has calmed down, he may have had more to say.
"Dark wizards, everybody wants someone who understands."
"Do you understand?"
"From the day you are born, you will be treated as an abomination and you will grow up being feared, and if you are raised like that, you will naturally have a twisted personality."
"Like you?"
"It's just that I haven't come out yet."
With a sly smile on his face, Koga stared at his palm.
His profile was smiling, but his eyes felt empty, as if he was looking into the distance.
"So, if there is someone in the Lingle Kingdom who can be an 'understanding' for Ferm, he won't come back to the Demon Lord's army, because that's why he exists."
Why does it exist?
It's not as simple as just talking about a traitor.
This is because it is none other than us demons who have shunned the users of dark magic and created such an environment. Normally, it would not be strange to abandon the demon tribe.
I crossed my arms in annoyance, and Koga looked at me as if I suddenly remembered.
"I'm more concerned about the healing wizard who beat Ferm and the two heroes."
「...... It's just a bitter memory for me."
A second healing wizard and two heroes.
The one who restored the hero who was incapacitated by the Black Knight to almost full recovery and returned to the front.
Two heroes who handled thunder magic, light magic, and powerful and unrivaled magic, and defeated the serpent demon Barginak, who was the main force of the Demon King's army.
Their existence is nothing but traumatic for me.
The same goes for the two heroes, but the fact that there is only one other person who is almost invulnerable is the worst of all.
Koga seems to be very interested, and unlike his usual lethargic appearance, he talks to me with interest.
"From what I've heard from soldiers who have gone to war, I'm even more surprised to hear that the healing wizard and the two heroes are not so much the same age as me."
「...... Huh? It's probably a coincidence."
"Really? As for me, I see some kind of connection between the healing wizard and the hero."
It's not so much about her age as it is about where the same healing wizard who wasn't in the fight two years ago came from.
"But you're pretty enthusiastic."
"It's not so much enthusiasm as that...... If I get the chance, I'll fight."
「...... It's unusual. You don't say that."
"Certainly."
I was honestly surprised that this guy, who was too lazy to fight, said he wanted to fight.
"All I'm going to do is fight my nemesis, and at the moment the only candidates are the Hero and the Healing Wizard. ...... Well, I don't expect much from the healing wizard."
Was it a nemesis?
My impression of this guy, who seemed lethargic until now, has changed a little.
「...... Has that nemesis ever existed?"
"No, you have to have the mettle to at least punch me."
"Huh, anyone trying to fight you at close range is just an idiot."
Koga nodded deeply at my words and smiled fearlessly.
His smile was more belligerent than I could have imagined from a brainy guy.
"It's okay, you idiot, I love that kind of thing."
"Koga, you—"
At that moment, the demon's battle cry sounded as if to interrupt my voice.
At the sound of a battle cry not far away, Koga slowly rose to his feet and motioned for me and my men to stand.
"You don't have to fight demons in vain, haven't you rested enough? Let's move on."
「...... Ahh
Nodding at Koga's words, he and his men stand up and begin to walk down the steep road again.
"Everyone who uses dark magic wants someone who understands."
Koga's own words were spoken, but if they apply to none other than himself...
「...... No, let's focus on the mission."
That's not the time to think about it right now.
Shaking off the distractions and focusing on the scenery in front of me, I stepped on the ground to carry out the mission ordered by the Demon Lord.
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This time there were no gags.