Chapter 21: Humans and Demons Are No Different
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“By the way, did Mona really retire from the military?”
The question came from a horned man sitting in the cafeteria of the Demon Tribe Nation’s military training grounds. He had been in the command tent during the recent conflict with Weimar.
Listening to him was a man with pointed ears and a sharp nose, who sat across from him.
“Yeah. Apparently, her parents’ health has deteriorated. She retired to take care of them,” the smaller man replied.
The larger man let out a disappointed sigh at the news.
“I see… I always thought Mona had a great physique, and I was hoping to ask her out someday,” he lamented.
“Stop with those vulgar thoughts, Decker.”
“You’re as serious as ever about this stuff, Cornell.”
It seemed the horned man’s name was Decker, while the pointed-eared man was called Cornell. As Cornell admonished Decker, the latter shrugged his shoulders in a “whatever” manner.
“This isn’t about being serious. I’m just telling you not to look at your colleagues that way.”
“But come on, there are people in the military who date their coworkers. What about them? If they weren’t looking at each other that way, they wouldn’t end up in those kinds of relationships.”
“…A romantic relationship is different from a purely physical one.”
“Oh, right, I guess that’s true.”
Decker laughed heartily, while Cornell looked at him with an exasperated expression.
Such exchanges were no different whether between humans or demons. They clearly demonstrated that, at the core, they were all just people.
“But still, Mona’s absence is going to hurt us. Not for her physique, but for her intelligence-gathering skills,” Decker added.
“That’s true. Mona was the best in the intelligence division. They even said she was the next candidate for head of the intelligence department.”
“Well, if her parents are sick, there’s not much she can do about it. If my mom fell ill, I’d rush back home in a heartbeat.”
“…”
“What’s wrong, Cornell?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Cornell felt something was off after hearing Decker’s words, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Despite the nagging feeling, he couldn’t figure out the reason behind it.
“Speaking of which, what’s going on with Weimar and the humans since then?” Decker asked.
“Hmm? Oh, Weimar has completely pulled back their troops. According to reports from the intelligence division, the soldiers on the ground argued for a counteroffensive, but the higher-ups issued a retreat order,” Cornell explained.
Decker crossed his arms, frowning at the news.
“Wow, a human nation that was so persistent in invading the Demon Tribe Nation just backs off like that… Doesn’t it seem suspicious?”
“Who knows?”
Just then, a large man approached them, interrupting their conversation.
“Hey, you two, having lunch?” It was the Commander from the other day.
“Ah, Commander Yarman! Good to see you,” Decker greeted.
“Good to see you, sir,” Cornell added.
“Yeah. Mind if I sit here?”
Commander Yarman took a seat next to Decker.
“So, what’s with the serious faces? What were you two talking about?” he asked.
Decker proceeded to recount their earlier conversation to Yarman.
As they ate lunch, Yarman paused, turning to them with a lowered voice.
“You both know that Mona went to investigate Kenta Maya’s background, right?”
“Yes.”
“Indeed. That was her last assignment.”
“Exactly. According to her report, it seems that Weimar and Kenta Maya didn’t just team up; they ended up in conflict.”
“「!？」”
Decker and Cornell nearly gasped at Yarman’s words, but they managed to hold back their surprise.
“They didn’t know the reason behind it, but it seems Weimar is too preoccupied with that situation to focus on us,” Yarman continued.
“Ah, I see,” Decker said, nodding in understanding, while Cornell’s face twisted in displeasure.
“Why do humans always create their own problems? I don’t know what caused the conflict, but Kenta is technically one of them, right? To put him on a wanted list and then stir up trouble like this—are they really that foolish?”
Hearing Cornell’s sharp words, Yarman couldn’t help but chuckle at the humans.
“Ha! They probably are. That’s why we demons have been suffering for so long.”
“Can’t argue with that!”
Decker burst into laughter at Yarman’s comment, while Cornell let out a small chuckle, “Heh.”
“Well, for now, we can leave Weimar alone. However, other nations still haven’t lifted the wanted status on Kenta Maya. It seems the human nations aren’t in sync. For a while, we’ll just have to keep an eye on things.”
Yarman concluded, but little did they know…
That prediction would soon be turned on its head in a different way.