—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A demon woman is looking at me with a displeased expression right before my eyes.
The moment I recognized that she was the mother of Elisia, who had worked with me,
and that she was Elias, who had clashed with the hero party in the original story, I couldn’t help but feel quite complicated emotions in many ways.
‘In the original story, she was just an incredibly competent demon lord commander…’
Honestly, having watched YOUDIE quite a few times because of Elias, I automatically assumed that the identity of this being clad in red armor would obviously be a burly male demon or someone with a very cold demeanor.
In fact, starting from her distorted voice, which was closer to that of a man, there was almost no feminine aspect found in the description of Elias in the work.
Riding a horse as red as blood and wielding a gigantic axe that felt almost like a spear with tremendous force, she displayed an utterly terrifying presence.
And she was the one who vanished, vowing revenge, even in her desperate final stand and during that unexpected escape when the ground collapsed.
Although it was an enemy I had to defeat, the striking image of that red knight stirred the romantic notions of a man within me.
Despite the fact that Elias had been a challenging target, I felt a slight thrill upon witnessing her form.
However…
The realization that this figure, which evoked such masculine fantasies in me, was actually a woman—specifically, a mother with a child—hit me with a heavy shock in many ways.
‘Why are there so many characters with such twists in this world? First the Demon King, and now Elias…’
This unexpected situation left me feeling quite dazed.
With that, Elias directed her voice, filled with clear hostility, toward me.
“By the way, what brings you here, Hero? Even if you have submitted to the Demon King, you are still undeniably human, aren’t you?”
Although Elias’s demeanor had softened somewhat thanks to Elisia’s mediation, she still maintained a sharp edge.
Feeling a deep confusion, I suppressed the awkwardness and quickly gathered my thoughts before responding.
“I, too, have merely come here at the Demon King’s summons. There’s no suspicious reason as you might think, so rest assured.”
Honestly, I wanted to ask if she was truly Elias and if Elisia was really her daughter, but I knew this wasn’t the right moment for such questions. What mattered now was to alleviate the suspicions of this commander who had fought against me in the past—as both a ‘gamer’ and now as a ‘hero’—and to create as friendly an atmosphere as possible.
I wanted to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
“…The Demon King, you say?”
“….”
Elias, showing a reaction of disbelief at my words, slightly turned her head toward Elisia.
In response, Elisia nodded, confirming that my words were not false.
“If the Demon King said so, then there’s nothing we can do about it. But remember this: even if the Demon King trusts you, I will continue to keep an eye on you”
With those words, Elias passed by me and disappeared down the corridor.
Watching her leave, I suddenly turned my gaze to Elisia, who was looking at her mother with a hint of disappointment.
‘Come to think of it, when we first went on a mission together, Elisia said something similar, didn’t she? In that sense… it seems like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’
Although Elisia had softened a bit now, she had been wary of me from the very first time we met. From that perspective, I began to think that perhaps one day I could build a more comfortable relationship with Elias, who was currently growling at me.
However… just after that thought crossed my mind, another realization slowly emerged.
In response, I set aside the current tension and looked over at Elisia beside me before speaking.
“… I’m sorry.”
“Huh? What for?”
Elisia looked at me with a questioning demeanor. Observing her confusion, I continued sincerely.
“Regardless of everything else, I almost killed your mother in the past. Although she was an enemy back then, we are allies now, so I want to apologize for that.”
“Ah…”
Elisia finally seemed to grasp the meaning of my words.
Surprisingly, in response to my apology, she broke into a light smile and said, “You don’t need to apologize for that.”
“Uh… why?”
Elisia responded far more calmly than I had expected, and I felt more bewildered than angry at her reaction.
In a serious yet untroubled voice, she spoke to me.
“At that time, you were our enemy, Hero. You had the obligation to defeat us. From your perspective, my mother was clearly someone who needed to be taken down, and you were simply doing your best to achieve that.”
“Well… that’s true”
Despite her youthful appearance, Elisia spoke with a clarity that made her seem quite mature.
I found her somewhat cute and continued to listen attentively to her words.
“Of course, now that you have suddenly become an ally, both my mother and I cannot help but feel suspicious of you. However, this is because we are allies now; we must have a relationship built on trust. Therefore, I believe there’s no need to hold any grievances or resentment about your actions when you were an enemy.”
“Hmm…”
Elisia spoke with a surprisingly mature tone, exuding a calm and dignified presence befitting her high position as a member of the royal guards.
In response, I could only nod automatically, and with that, our gazes shifted back toward the meeting hall.
“Then let’s wrap up this conversation and hurry along. We shouldn’t keep Her Majesty the Demon King and the others waiting.”
“Understood.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In the grand conference hall located at the deepest part of the Demon Castle, a massive oval table dominated the space where I, the Demon King, four members of the royal guards, and three of the five legion commanders had gathered.
“Now, we will proceed with the strategy meeting as per Her Majesty’s command. The main point is how we will drive out the Allied Races that have infiltrated our kingdom.”
The officials of the Demon Kingdom focused their attention on Belzebuth, the prime minister of the Demon Kingdom.
In Belzebuth’s words, there were details I had already known, such as the loss of the supply base and the weakening of the alliance between the races due to internal strife.
And then… right after she finished her story,
“If this is such a good opportunity, wouldn’t it be right to advance immediately?”
A male demon occupying a significant portion of one side of the conference hall stood up.
He was nearly 3 meters tall, his body covered in thick muscles, and his face was adorned with a bushy beard—he exuded an unmistakable aura of a true macho warrior. With a burning intensity, he spoke with fierce aggression.
“Commander Samson will take the lead! Your Majesty, please give the order so that I can wipe out those filthy Allied Races immediately!”
“I think the same. They are exhausted and confused from hunger and internal strife. I believe now is the perfect time to drive the enemies out!”
The two commanders urged immediate action with a strong attitude.
As I listened to their passionate and aggressive remarks, the atmosphere began to heat up with enthusiasm for battle.
At that moment…
“I would like to say something,” a calm yet clear voice interrupted the two commanders.
Her words felt like cold water being splashed on us, and all eyes turned toward Elias.
She then began to speak in a composed tone.
“I also agree that we need to act as quickly as possible. However, even if the enemy is exhausted and starving, they are not fools; they must have some plans in place. I believe we need to take a bit of time to devise a more meticulous strategy,” Elias stated cautiously.
In contrast, Commander Samson, who seemed ready to charge out at any moment, shouted in an anxious voice,
“Elias! Don’t you know that by hesitating, we might miss this opportunity? Our brave warriors of the Demon Kingdom would have no trouble dealing with weakened enemies!”
“When a rat is cornered, it bites back. If we lose our caution until the very end, we could end up tasting the bitter fruit of defeat”
“Ha! Is that why such a capable person like you was unable to stop the hero’s party and ended up retreating disgracefully? No matter how much Her Majesty forgave you, you haven’t forgotten that you were the one who lost, have you?”
“I would like to point out that the circumstances then and now are different”
At Samson’s words, a vein began to throb slightly on Elias’s forehead.
However, as I listened to their conversation, I knew very well that Samson was speaking without understanding the full situation.
In the original story, Elias was not just strong; she had cunning strategies that scattered the hero’s party and used various traps to attempt to defeat them.
If the hero’s party had been even slightly weaker or if the hero’s combat power had not been so overwhelming, they might have fallen victim to Elias’s strategies.
‘But there are always people who speak without knowing this, especially those who are just strong and ignorant…’
Even with these thoughts in mind, I remained silent as the only human present and, as a newcomer, chose not to speak up.
Then…
“Since we have the Hero here, I would like to ask: Hero, what do you think? Is there any reason we might lose against those weak humans in this situation?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Samson turned his attention toward me.
I felt as if I had been ambushed and began to sense the gazes of everyone in the meeting hall converging on me.
