4.General Deon Hart (2)

"Nice to meet you. I hear you're a gardener. I hear you tend to almost every plant on the planet?"

A favorable, kind voice. Hien dared to raise her head and stare at him, forgetting her predicament.

... That ridiculous probability actually happened.

0The corps commander's kindness far exceeded my expectations,

"It's quite a large castle, that's great."

Hien had something against him.

Recognized by the Devil himself, he has been granted the rank of Legionnaire 0. There's nothing arrogant about that.

Still, he was using honorifics and showing respect for the other person.

"Is this what I've been hearing about... the powerhouse margin?

The less confident I am in myself, the more I inflate my skills and raise my voice to try and crush my opponent.

In that sense, it was clear from his words and actions that he was at least as confident in himself as I was.

Whether he realizes it or not, they are elevating his presence....

"I'm curious about the plants on the planet Demon, can I ask you to guide me?"

Not only does he acknowledge the incubator, he even asks for guidance on what to do.

There, Hien broke his stony expression and smiled.

[What's his name?]

[I don't know what he said, it was faint....]

"Daemon. Daemon root."

A name more demonic than a demon.

That day, Hien repeated the name over and over again.

We've been trying to get to know each other ever since.

No, I didn't dare try to get close to him, I was just concerned about his health, hoping he'd take a walk in the garden.

Again, unlike the other Legionnaires, Mr. Daemon did not ignore me; there was no violence or verbal abuse.

He would often stroll through the garden, answering steadily, if not with a rigid expression.

He always walked beside me when we went for a walk, even though he could have kicked me out or at least pushed me away if I wanted to be alone.

That's why I've become a contributor.

How dare you, incubus.

"What a mistake.

Today, a line was crossed.

***.

I still regret what happened that day.

At first, it was just a matter of seeing the garden from a distance before entering the castle and talking to the demon about it, and then learning of the gardener's existence.

I should have just left it at that and said, "Oh well.

But I, who knew nothing, rejoiced. A gardener, I never knew such a wholesome profession existed in the city of Demon King.

An oasis of sanity in a place overrun by bloodthirsty demons, I was scared to death to complete all the necessary procedures.

And sooner than I thought I would, I found myself face-to-face with a man who seemed to have a great personality.

"Nice to meet you. I hear you're a gardener. I hear you tend to almost every plant on the planet?"

This is a den of demons. No matter how insignificant they may seem, they're probably stronger than you, so respect is a must.

If I get on your nerves and get punched in the face, I'm done for the day, and that's not a good way to die, is it?

"It's quite a large castle, that's great."

You can't be too condescending, though. If you come across as condescending, you're going to get in trouble. You just have to show that you're giving them some respect, with some flattery thrown in for good measure for fear of offending them.

Great, by the way, I keep trying to talk faster because I'm excited.

I paused, cleared my throat, and spoke again, feigning nonchalance.

"I'm curious about the plants on the planet Demon, can I ask you to guide me?"

After a moment's puzzlement, his face breaks into a blossoming smile.

He said he would be happy to do so,

─and then I saw hell.

Demons are demons!

It's a mantra etched into my life philosophy.

Since then, Hien has invited me to take a walk in the garden whenever we meet. I don't think I've ever been able to say no, because I don't know what he'd do with those fearsome plants, so I've walked through the garden crying and eating mustard.

Of course, Hien, the one who suggested the walk, had to stay behind.

What if those horrible plants try to eat me while he's gone? I can't die alone! If I die, let's die together! Well, that was the general idea.

...For some reason, he seems to be getting friendlier and friendlier by the day.

***.

I looked at Hien, who was apologizing profusely, with a troubled expression.

Why is he apologizing again? I couldn't figure it out, so I rolled my eyes and started to replay the previous situation.

Before he apologized, what happened?

...Nothing.

"Nothing really happened.

I was silent, and he was silent. The silence only lengthened a bit.

Then our eyes met, and I apologized profusely to....

'...No way.'

Does this mean I'll bend over backwards to apologize, and we'll walk around the garden together, even if it takes a bit of time!

It's hard to say no to that, right?

You bastard. I thought I was being subtle, but now I realize I was being blatant.

Well, that's good. I've survived every time, so I'm sure I'll make it out alive this time.

After taking a moment to compose myself, I looked down to see Hien still crouched at the waist.

"You don't have to, just raise your head."

He glances up. Seeing his expression still stony, I shake my head inwardly.

I'm coming, I'm coming. I'm coming, just relax your face.

"So, where are the new flowers you brought in?"

"Is that ...?"

I didn't answer enough.

He took off toward the garden. As he hesitantly followed, I spoke again in a reassuring tone.

"You told me to look at the flowers, aren't you going to show me?"

"Ah, ah, ah, I'll do it!"

Hien fumbles for the torch.

Unlike demons who are used to the night, I, a human, need a torch to see the plants in detail.

To be honest, I don't really want to observe it closely, but the devil always demands that I do.

Did I say that directly? Of course not! But the term "unspoken pressure" isn't used for nothing.

After explaining the plants excitedly, he stares at me with those sparkling eyes, and I can't help but take a look.

"Now follow me!"

Hien, who has apparently recovered his strength, grins broadly as if nothing had happened.

As I absentmindedly started to follow him, thinking things like, you're recovering fast, so why did I apologize earlier, I paused and looked down at my empty hands.

I took the torch from Hien, gripped it tightly, and followed his lead into the western garden.

As always, it's abnormal, gross, and scary.

That creepy feeling when the plant with the eyeballs stares at you down the hallway....

As I quickened my pace to get out of sight, its eyes rolled and stared at me. I was so scared, I almost dropped the torch.

"Me, Daemon."

"What?"

"The torch gave me...."

"That's fine."

Uh-huh, where are they going to take my weapon? Slowly, he gripped the torch.

They're cannibalistic plants, but in the end, they're all plants. Whether they eat people or not, they're pretty much useless once they're burned.

So here, it's my weapon, my lifeline. I don't want to give it away.

"How much further do we have to go?"

It's getting to be too much for me.

It takes all my willpower to stay calm. Just when I thought I might actually faint standing there, Hien lived up to my expectations and pointed his finger at something.

"We're almost there. That's it."

My gaze traveled to where his fingertips pointed.

"...O...."

Jaws dropped, exclamations escaped.

Actually, that wasn't an exclamation. It was a stifled scream. A scream that was the last thing a head that had been whitewashed by a massive impact could command.

"What the fuck is that? That's a plant?

Crazy! Where did you think that was a plant?

You're wrong. This is not normal. You need to get out of here now....

"Daemon?"

"...a."

I barely stopped myself from retreating.

I'm very fortunate that my face is naturally pale, so I don't notice when I get any whiter. If my blood color was normal, the whiteness would definitely be noticeable.

My reaction was understandable. It's probably the same reaction I would have had if I were any other human being.

That's not a plant! That's an animal!

The plant was actively moving, like a person whose feet are stuck in the ground and who is using evil to get out.

"Kie-e-e-e!"

... Correction. It was glowing.

"What plant is screaming?!"

Oops, I said half a word!

Despite his worries about losing his temper, Hien paid attention to the content rather than the tone.

"It's a cannibalistic plant. It's so insignificant that Mr. Daemon must not have noticed it, but even if it looks like that, it contains a weak peer. They'll freeze as soon as they hear it and won't even be able to run away."

"...."

"The only good thing about it is that it's a 'cannibalistic' plant - demons don't eat it, so the servants of the demon castle don't have to worry about being eaten."

No, probably the other way around. It's not that he's insignificant, it's that I'm too insignificant to feel the peer.

And in case you forgot....

'I'm human, you crazy person....'

Would you mind reminding me that I'm not a demon? No, more than that, right now, he's dripping water from a flower, is that saliva or something?!

I don't know what's so angry about that boneless monster, or plant, shaking its stalks. If it bends well enough, it might even reach here....

Boom!

"Hic!

Narrowly avoided!

"What range!"

"Haha, I see you're surprised too, Daemon. It certainly has a long range, doesn't it? It can probably cover a 10-meter radius. We're breeding them hard right now, so they'll soon be able to cover the entire planet, so you can look forward to that."

Then how am I supposed to get around? Are you going to kill me?

I should have handed in my resignation then, bloodied or not. No, I should do it now, not later. I need to get out of this crazy place as soon as possible. This is no place for a human being to live.

The fact that I hadn't felt that monster's peer had worked in an unexpected way.

I was about to make a decision that I would normally have hesitated over and over again. In other words, I'm not in my right mind.

'Let's go. Where is the demon now?'

If I had a stronger body, I might have believed it. But unfortunately, my body is less than normal, and for someone who needs to be extra careful to survive, the planet of Ma Wang is the worst possible environment.

I'm about to hand in my resignation, but I feel like I have one foot stuck in the ground.

"Daemon!"

"...?"

Boom!

The wind whistles in my ears. My vision flickers, and when it stops, the world is upside down.

Oh, I'm hanging upside down, but why?

"...Crazy!"

Before my eyes, a human-sized flower bud popped open, revealing ghastly teeth. The stems tighten around my ankles to keep me from running away.

So in this situation, yeah. You've been given the opportunity to explore the stomach of a carnivorous plant.

...forcibly.