I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake. Chapter 124

I Killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.

Chapter 124

The day after the meeting with Agatha.

Caesar headed to the Great Ark Library.

The Arch Duke was standing in front of the Great Ark Library.

“Let’s go together, Your Grace.”

The Arch Duke silently got into the carriage.

When the Arch Duke struck his cane once, his ears went numb.

Apparently, he cast a spell to block sound from leaking out.

“So, what were the results of yesterday’s meeting?”

“If you establish a non-aggression treaty with vampires, succubi, and doppelgangers, and do not invade their territories, we will guarantee you the mining rights for magic stones.”

The Arch Duke nodded.

It seemed to be within the expected range.

“But remember this. You have not yet established an autonomous region in the demon world, nor do you have magic stone mines. You should know that negotiating with non-existent magic stone mines and autonomous regions is nonsense.”

“Then isn’t this insurance? If the demon world’s front line collapses, we will provide trading rights for magic stone mining only through Your Grace.”

Caesar used psychometry.

-Securing a stable magic stone supply within the potentially collapsing demon world’s front line in exchange for establishing an autonomous region isn’t bad.

-Having me trade magic stone mining rights exclusively is also not bad.

-But it would be meaningless if the demon world’s front line doesn’t collapse.

Your Grace.

The demon world’s front line is bound to be destroyed anyway.

I’ve seen it from a different world line.

And you know this too, don’t you?

Even if it doesn’t collapse now, when the ‘demon flood’ scenario occurs, the demon world will be abandoned.

When devils begin to fully occupy the continent, it will be nearly impossible to distribute magic stones to the Wizard’s district even if mined.

That’s why the Arch Duke is making a deal with Caesar.

Because the Arch Duke is running out of time.

“I understand. But manage public opinion well. After establishing an autonomous region in the demon world’s front line, if your soldiers attack or suck blood, it will be difficult to treat you as ‘people’.”

“We know that.”

Caesar extended his hand for a handshake.

The Arch Duke clasped Caesar’s hand.

At the same time, a knocking sound was heard.

Caesar opened the door.

“I’ve arrived.”

“Then I will inform Minister Hilos that I will support with the wizards.”

“Right. I’ll go in and rest a bit.”

As Caesar got off the carriage, he saw the Sapientia Station.

Caesar headed to the Sapientia Station platform.

On the platform, Hilos was being escorted by Dawn Knights.

“What did the Arch Duke say?”

“He said he would support the wizards.”

Hilos looked at Caesar with slightly surprised eyes.

“…Really?”

“Yes. Please call the practitioners to discuss the details.”

“Did he allow it easily?”

As if.

I’ve returned multiple times to create this future.

My mental state was truly being torn apart.

“It wasn’t easy.”

“What did he want?”

“That should also be discussed.”

Caesar used psychometry.

-He’s more surprising the more I see him.

-The fact that he allowed it unconditionally means the Arch Duke doesn’t want the demon world’s front line to collapse.

-Putting that aside, I have no idea what magic he used.

-The Arch Duke is not someone who would easily release wizards.

“Understood. I’ll send practitioners by lunch today.”

“Understood. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Caesar left the platform with a light expression. 

***

Six days later.

Caesar closed his eyes and thought of Agatha.

But he couldn’t enter Agatha’s shared dream world.

Communication had been cut off as the full moon became a half-moon.

Was it because of the distance?

It seems communication becomes difficult even with a slight reduction in the moon’s size.

‘How would I know if Pepe contacted her or not?’

At that moment, a familiar black silhouette flew to Caesar’s window.

“Oh?”

It was a black pigeon.

Gook- gook.

Caesar opened the window and let the black pigeon inside.

“What? Why no letter?”

“No need.”

“You… Don’t tell me.”

“It’s been a while, Caesar.”

This guy is Pepe.

Caesar looked at Pepe with a surprised expression.

“How did you fly from the demon world here in just six days?”

“I didn’t sleep even once while flying.”

Are you… Really okay?

You’d fly off if you fly drove while drowsy.

Pepe let out a big yawn.

“I’m tired, so can I get to the main point?”

“Yes. How’s the current situation in the demon world?”

“First, all our doppelgangers are living well. Of course, that’s based on the ones I’ve discovered.”

“As expected, a doppelganger.

A truly innate adapter.

Well, they’re the ones who survived that hellish demon world war.

Of course, only those who could survive would have survived.”

“Doing well?”

“For now, I’ve discovered about 12. Some are living as humans, some as beast-people, some as orcs. Some are living as animals like me.”

“That’s fortunate. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Each is transforming their body to match their needs. There’s nothing specific you need to help with.”

Caesar used psychometry to verify.

-My throat is a bit dry.

Seems genuine, with no particular thoughts.

Caesar placed a water bottle in front of Pepe.

“Okay. Are there any important things I should know before going to the demon world?”

Pepe moistened his throat with the water Caesar provided.

“The current demon world situation is extremely chaotic. Humans are antagonizing each other, and beast-people and orcs are also in conflict.”

What could this mean?

Why are beast-people and orcs fighting?

“You’re probably wondering why beast-people and orcs are fighting. Well, it’s simple. The orcs want to immediately attack humans and reclaim the Demon King’s castle, but the beast-people don’t want to fight.”

“I’ll accept that orcs were always crazy, but why don’t the beast-people want to fight?”

“Actually, the beast-people are in a state where they can’t start a war. A serious epidemic has swept through the beast-people.”

Caesar deeply read his thoughts.

Suddenly, images of beast-people dying from the epidemic appeared before him.

Beast-people were sprawled on the ground, tongues out, dying.

Their bodies were emaciated to the point of skin and bones, and the surviving beast-people were abandoning their villages, unable to handle the dead bodies.

Caesar turned off psychometry and spoke.

“What kind of disease is this?”

“I’m not exactly sure. But when infected, one experiences extreme fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.”

A disease flashed through Caesar’s mind.

Fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and an epidemic – there’s only one possibility.

“Isn’t this typhoid?”

“Typhoid? What’s that?”

This is tricky to explain.

Pepe would hardly know about ‘bacterial pathogens’.

Caesar decided to answer simply.

“It’s a disease you get from drinking contaminated water.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Could this really be a disease affecting beast-people?

After all, the demon world’s endemic diseases had already been transmitted to humans, so why wouldn’t they be susceptible to human pathogens?

“To confirm if this is precisely typhoid, it would be best to get a doctor’s help.”

“Is there a way to cure it?”

“No, you survive if you endure, and you die if you can’t.”

With no penicillin available, how could there be a typhoid treatment?

One can only boil water thoroughly and heat food.

“What’s the mortality rate?”

“If 100 are infected, 70-80 die.”

“What? Typhoid’s mortality rate isn’t that high.”

“It seems particularly fatal to beast-people. They’ve always been vulnerable to high-fever diseases.”

Come to think of it, dogs and cats don’t have sweat glands.

The details are surprisingly well-researched.

“What about the orcs? Didn’t they get typhoid?”

“Don’t you know how they dispose of those sick?”

“Ah.”

The orcs gather those who are sick or diseased into separate units.

And these units always rush in first when war breaks out, faithfully serving as meat shields until they die.

Their appearance is so grotesque that there are even allied soldiers who can’t shoot and flee.

“Before typhoid fever could rage, those guys had already rushed to the demon realm’s front lines and died. Taking advantage of that gap, the Orcs occupied the Eagle Vally east of Luxhope.”

“The beast-people won’t be very pleased. Because they still don’t want to fight with humans.”

“That’s right. The ‘Otter Tribe of the Dark Moon’ is trying to find answers about this disease, but it seems there’s no progress yet. Humans are protesting to the beast-people because of this issue, and the beast-people are protesting back to the Orcs.”

Pepe climbed onto the water glass, drank some water, and then spoke:

“The problem is that there’s no ‘king’ to unite the Orcs.”

“Ah… So even if we persuade one Orcs tribe, other Orcs tribes might think differently?”

“Exactly.”

“Then the leader on the beast-people’s side must have made a non-aggression treaty with the demon race.”

“The biggest tribal chief among the Orcs also signed. The problem is that this tribal chief died fighting another tribe a few months ago.”

Oh my…

It’s complicated.

“How did these Orcs guys even survive the peaceful era before the demon realm war? Are they so eager to fight?”

“Goblins fight with orcs. Orcs fight with trolls. They fight between different tribes. They’ve been controlling their population this way. Or they would gather an army without the Demon King’s permission and wage war to occupy Friedrich the Margrave’s Iron Fortress.”

I seem to be learning quite a lot about the demon race today.

Since I was more active on the allied side during the demon realm war, I hardly had the opportunity to learn about the demon race.

“To summarize, the Orcs are preparing for war again, but the beast-people are in a state of inability due to the epidemic. And humans are also struggling to maintain their front lines because of the rebel army?”

“Exactly.”

The demon realm is truly like hell.

An epidemic, rebel army, and war maniacs.

Am I really okay to go to the demon realm?

I might actually die doing this.

“I roughly saw in the letter what you want. You want to call back the compatriots on Shipwreck Island and establish an autonomous region in the demon realm, right?”

“Yes. More precisely, I want to establish an autonomous region in the Eagle Canyon currently occupied by the Orcs. Is it possible?”

“It won’t be easy. Currently, Orcs are gathering there.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t I say? They want to recapture the Demon King’s Castle. If they can somehow break through the Eagle Valley or the beast-people’s Forest, the Loran Plains will open up, and if you go a bit further on the Loran Plains, you’ll reach the Demon King’s Castle.”

“So they’re already gathering their army?”

“Yes.”

Ultimately, it seems the battle with the Orcs is unavoidable.

I’m fortunate to know this now; if I had found out after going to the demon realm, there would have been no hope.

‘Still, the situation isn’t entirely hopeless.’

The beast-people want to avoid fighting, and the Orcs aren’t united.

Tens of thousands of Orcs are scary, but tens of thousands are not that difficult to deal with.

If we aim to defeat them individually, we might surprisingly easily solve the demon realm problem.

“Oh, by the way, do you know how many doppelgangers have transformed into humans?”

“Two in total. One is among the rebel army leaders, and the other is Margrave Friedrich.”

“…What?”

“Oh, wasn’t that easy to understand? Currently, the rebel army is divided into several factions, and one of their leaders…”

“No, that’s not it. Margrave Friedrich is a doppelganger?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re saying a demon spy is currently commanding the entire demon realm front?”

“That’s right.”

“When did this start?”

“I don’t know that either. I haven’t really investigated this doppelganger in detail.”

What the hell…

I was wondering why the demon realm front collapsed so easily… It was because our doppelganger friends were working very hard.

“Then he must want something. What is it?”

“The collapse of the demon realm front.”

“…”

“I’m canceling what I said earlier about the positive aspects.

The demon realm front is now over.

How can a front that has fallen to the doppelgangers be maintained?

More importantly, now all the puzzle pieces are finally fitting together.

The moment I inform Margrave Friedrich about bringing the mage army, the doppelganger will think this is their only chance to collapse the demon realm front.

So they’ll deliberately collapse the demon realm front, and humans will be massacred.

Conversely, if I send a message that I won’t bring the mages, the demon realm front will be maintained, but the rebel army will commit a ‘magic stone mine terror’ that the imperial kingdom would most hate.

…As expected, the doppelgangers do all the big things.

“Does he have no desire for revenge against the beast-people or Orcs?”

“Of course he does. But considering how much suffering he went through to reach this position, it would be a hard temptation to easily give up. It’s almost the only opportunity to drive all humans out of the demon realm.”

“…I suppose so.”

Originally, sending support troops was a messed-up plan.

If support troops are sent, he would think that human forces would be reinforced, potentially leading to a long and difficult fight.

“Did they already know about the imperial kingdom sending support troops?”

“Of course. Because I told them.”

Damn it.

That’s right.

I passed the information through Agata.

Now the scenario of secretly sending support troops is impossible.

Caesar wiped his face dry.

If Caesar were just an ordinary doppelganger, he would have cheered and danced about how well the two doppelgangers are doing.

But Caesar is not just any doppelganger.

He’s a doppelganger who knows about the continent’s destruction due to the demon flood.

If the demon realm front collapses now, everything will be truly screwed.

It’s not the right time yet.

“Let me make one request.”

“What request?”

“Please ask them to stay still and trust me. Then I’ll divide the imperial kingdom itself, not just the demon realm. The picture is almost complete now.”

Pepe’s eyes sparkled.

“Really?”

“Yes. If all rebel armies are wiped out and the demon realm front collapses, we’ll be unable to do anything. And we need to take revenge on those Orcs and beast-people who sold us out. Ask them to be patient for the bigger picture.”

“But it’s difficult for Margrave Friedrich to wait, trusting only you. His position is currently very shaky.”

…Of course that would be the case.

Looking at the current state of the demon realm front, I know how well he’s done.

“Do you have any concrete information or evidence?”

Caesar thought for a moment and then spoke.

“What do they hate the most? Yan coming? Or Mitchell? Or the mages coming? What do they hate the most?”

Pepe thought for a moment and then spoke.

“Come to think of it, there was something Margrave Friedrich particularly disliked.”

“What is it?”

“Margrave Friedrich hated having his command authority taken away. He said he would be bothered by a new commander sent by the emperor who would interfere and give orders.”

Caesar’s eyes gleamed.

Yes.

Why didn’t I think of this before?

The doppelgangers don’t want their achievements to be sprinkled with ash.

Although the rebellion is unavoidable, if the imperial kingdom fully intervenes in Margrave Friedrich’s work, they would think their command authority could be shaken or taken away.

“Then we just need to ensure that Margrave Friedrich’s command authority is guaranteed. What do the rebel armies hate the most?”

“Their numbers decreasing. They’re actually the most urgent. Because support troops are coming to wipe them out.”

“What if we say the support troops are to protect against Orcs attacks, not to wipe out the rebel army?”

“If definitive evidence comes, they won’t cause a fuss. The current doppelganger on the rebel side is working to unite the rebel factions that are currently divided.”

Good.

A solution has roughly emerged.

Caesar stood up and put on his coat.

“Where are you going?”

“To the Arch Duke.”

Caesar’s eyes gleamed.

“Now I can finally draw the proper picture.”

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