Defense 999,999,999 Corps Commander

47 – Banquet (7)

“Enough with that joke, Overlord.”

I quickly shook my head.

Don’t be fooled by that plain appearance.

Because there is a monster in it that has lived over a thousand years.

“The 7 lords are really not fun, so at times like this, you should get in the right mood and run.”

“I decline.”

Ariel shuts her mouth with her pouty face.

I crossed my legs and winked at him as if telling me to go ahead and tell him what I wanted to say.

The overlord only then began to dress.

“You asked me for Phoenix Tears, right? You should have reached the Monarchy by now.”

“That’s great.”

The skirt went up.

After returning from the battlefield of Maslantia, you asked for Phoenix Tears from the overlord.

That will be a very useful item in the future.

“It’s too early to rejoice. I also sent you another present.”

‘… Another gift?’

I felt chills running down my spine for no reason.

You didn’t even ask for it, did you put something on it?

This must have been another favor.

“Did you notice? Actually, I have a favor to ask of you.”

As if I was right, Ariel chuckled.

I hurriedly got up from my seat.

“Let’s just pretend we didn’t hear it. The gift will be returned within two days. I solved the Maslantia case, so I guess I can tell the other lord this time.”

“Hmm, what should I do? I don’t think that will work. This mission can only be done by you, a capable human being.”

Ariel continues her words in a very serious tone.

She’s here even if she backs down she will eventually put pressure on me.

I said with a sigh.

“I will listen and see.”

“Hero Marilyn. If you’re human, you’d know, right?”

‘Hero… ?’

I sat down again at the completely unexpected story.

Due to the timing, it will be a while before the overlord finds a hero.

Why is she talking about this at the right time?

“If you are a warrior, you know. I heard that you, overlord, were seriously injured and disappeared.”

“Right, Marilyn lost the last battle and is recovering her body hiding behind her divine power.”

“So, is she telling me to find her and kill her?”

If that’s the case, I had to refuse this mission somehow.

Because the hero is humanity’s last hope.

Ariel smiled and waved her hand.

“Seven Lords, please refrain from such harsh remarks. I’m basically a peace-loving demon.”

“Didn’t I shed too much blood for that?”

When I took it seriously, Ariel continued with a bitter smile.

“Well, from your point of view as humans, we will look like invaders. But I couldn’t help it.”

“I couldn’t help it. Could it be that the land mass was narrow? Or are you here for sightseeing?”

I was really curious about this question, but the words jumped out as if it were unintentionally sarcastic.

I glanced at her.

Fortunately, Ariel didn’t seem to mind at all.

“I’m glad it was for that reason. The Demon Realm was a land where life could not live. Um, would you mind explaining it like this? The only thing to eat was the corpses of monsters and rotten, twisted plants. And it rained acid at night, and when you hit it, it melts your skin. Ah! Also, most of the plants you see on the road are carnivorous plants that eat monsters and demons!”

“… ….”

She was speechless.

The Overlord is pleasantly speaking, but we usually call such a place Hell.

‘… Does this make sense?’

In the original work, the details of the invasion were not covered.

Because the focus was just on getting rid of the demons and recapturing the human world.

So I thought the demons invaded because they were bastards.

I never thought there would be such a detailed reason.

‘This must have invaded Gandhi too.’

How did the land inhabited by humans feel to them living in living hell?

It must have felt like finding a ray of light in pitch-black darkness.

The question is, would humans have welcomed the blue-skinned demons?

He must have told me to shut up.

That’s why the war broke out.

Demons live in a land overflowing with life.

Humans are meant to protect their livelihoods.

I could understand the position of both sides.

In the war for survival.

There was no meaning in discerning who was good and who was evil.

“You seem to understand?”

I nodded at Ariel’s words.

“I knew what I wanted to say.”

“I’m glad. So, I want to stay current. I want demons and humans to coexist like they do now.”

I thought as I took a sip of jasmine tea.

‘It sounds like you want to live in a world without war.’

The overlord’s words cannot be fulfilled in reality.

During the Japanese colonial period, what would you do if independence activists were given the option of coexisting with the Japanese?

He may bite his tongue and kill himself.

“A hero wouldn’t think so.”

“Yes, but there is no way. So your role is important.”

“I’m not saying that I should persuade the hero, right?”

Ariel smiled and shook her head.

“Of course not. All you have to do is find a hero. I and the other lords are demons, so we can’t find the hero behind the ‘sacred power’.”

“The same goes for me. You mean to know where the hero is and find it?”

“The 7 lords should take care of that, right? Because he is competent.”

Ariel smiles enchantingly.

I looked at her with her bewildered expression.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Huh? I’m serious? I am truly a blessed overlord. Because I got such a capable human lord. Will you find it for sure?”

I swallowed my saliva while watching the overlord smile with a sly face.

‘No way….’

Oss on her arm was about to give goosebumps.

Because suddenly a thought passed through my head.

‘Did all of this plan?’

What if everything from accepting me as a monarch to the battlefield of Maslantia and this banquet were all the plots of the overlord?

Several scenarios come to mind.

＜1. The overlord is suspicious of me as a human being.＞

There are not many people who have transcended the human category.

However, one of the few humans came to the banquet hall and volunteered to become the monarch.

Doesn’t it look suspicious to anyone?

By the way, Ariel readily accepted me as her monarch without much doubt.

How could he know that he was a spy who infiltrated to steal information about the demons as an aide to the warrior and so easily say yes?

The answer was simple.

Even if I were a spy, I readily accepted it because I had a corner to use.

＜2. It is the overlord who doubted my ability as a monarch.＞

I had assumed that other monarchs would have raised suspicions by now.

But what if everything was the overlord’s will?

If you think about it, the confrontation with the Lord of the Black Sea and the battle on the battlefield of Maslantia were all the will of the Overlord.

Aren’t both incidents meant to confirm my abilities?

However, I have never properly demonstrated my abilities.

Could it be that as an overlord, the flames of doubt were not kindled?

Because of that, Ariel borrowed a banquet to confirm my ability by causing trouble with the first lord.

And as if he had waited, he gave the order to find the hero.

‘… Crazy.’

All circumstances point to only one place.

This is all a ruse plotted by the overlord, and I am only being used as a horse to capture the hero.

There is no other way to conclude.

Of course, there is no confirmation yet.

It could be because they believed that all the premise was an overlord’s meticulous plan, so they could only come to this conclusion.

I need to think about this a little deeper.

I took a deep breath and looked at the overlord.

“What would you do if I found a hero?”

“Okay.”

Ariel smiles softly.

“Didn’t I say that I was a peace-loving demon? Are you thinking of killing me?”

“No, I won’t kill you.”

“So what?”

“Well, what should I do?~”

The overlord leaned back in his chair, humming his song.

‘What the hell are you thinking, Ariel?’

Her thoughts are completely unstoppable.

First of all, it’s because the thinking is different from that of ordinary people.

It was when I was thinking that.

The overlord suddenly rips out his eyes with his fingers.

It became the same face as below.

(-_-)

“What are you doing?”

“Does it have to be with that face? Have a little laugh, 7th Lord. What if you laugh less than me, a demon?”

“How can I smile when I am given a vague mission to find a hero?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to burden you. The deadline is 2 years! (The Overlord spreads his fingers.) This is a lot for me. Right?”

I jumped up from my seat.

I wanted to organize my thoughts by myself.

“Okay. What do you mean, is that the end?”

“It’s cold. All I have to say is finished.”

“Then I will go first.”

Jerking around.

I headed for the reception room door.

A sound is heard from behind.

“You’re not going back to the mansion, are you? I want you to enjoy the banquet until the end.”

“Think about it.”

I let out a laugh as I walked out of the parlor door.

During that time, I thought I was too full.

What, preparing for old age?

You said you couldn’t decide whether to side with the demons?

He was drinking a whole bowl of kimchi soup.

I don’t know if the person who will give you rice cakes doesn’t even have a heart.

‘I can’t even eat porridge.’

I was still just a scarecrow lord.

Ariel doesn’t fully trust me.

If you go like this, you can’t return to your hometown, and you can’t even board the demon coin.

“Put the coachman on standby.”

There is only one way to overcome the current situation.

That is, double employment.