When I finished eradicating the troops in the square, I told my men who rushed in after me

Don't kill anyone who doesn't want to. That's a military order. And if he surrenders, treat him.

　I told him tightly, and I headed to the lord's mansion.

　There were a few soldiers waiting in front of the mansion, but as soon as they saw me

Uhhhh!

　He raised the words "I'm sorry," and ran away.

　They're rude.
　But I can't help but understand how they feel.

　A man with a skull mask, jet-black robes, a disastrous staff, and a return blood splattered all over them came in like a monster.

　The screams that came from the square would have also helped to diminish their courage.
　It would have been reckless to demand that they give their loyalty to their lord to the end.

　I entered the lord's mansion, where the gatekeepers were gone, with impunity.
　Not as a guest, but as a conqueror.

　In the office, the lord was waiting for me.
　He was a primitive man with a fine beard.

　He was dressed entirely in armor, placed his longsword and kite shield, and sat in a chair in the office.

　He doesn't show any signs of being upset when he sees me barging in.

　I had seen him from a distance several times in the field, and his command was brave and courageous, and his ability was quite impressive.

　If this man hadn't been the commander, the damage on both sides must have been much less.

　The lord looked at me.

It appears you are the commander of the Demon King's army.

　He said in a warrior-like tone.

　I responded.

"That's right,

　Then, in a manner of warrior civility, he asks.

You are left with three options.

　You can surrender and become a prisoner of the Demon King's army.

　Two ways to die gracefully and end up

　Three, while I'm gazing out this window at the view, the secret path to escape.

　Take your pick.

　I would recommend the third.

　I hoped in my heart that the man would probably choose the fourth option, but I knew that he would probably choose the fourth option.

　In fact, the lord seemed to choose that option as he slowly shook his head.

　He picked up the longsword and kite shield that were propped up and opened his mouth, ''I'm not sure what to do.

It's not a good idea to apply for a job after the trend of the war has been decided, but if possible, I want to end up like a warrior in my last days. But if possible, I'd like to end it like a warrior. I challenge the good general and honorable leader of the Demon King's army to a duel with you!

　I knew it would happen, right?
　Well, that's what I expected from the beginning, so I'm not surprised.
　Why do nobles have such a high level of pride?

　I let out a sigh of relief in my mind and put some strength into the staff of the circular snake (Ouroboros).

　I could have gone easy on him, but I felt that would have been rude to this brave man.

　This man is also a renowned warrior.
　It's not just a matter of time before you're ready to go easy on them.
　I've died once, but I don't want to die a second time.

　I've decided to accept this nobleman's offer with all my might.
　I've decided to accept the nobleman's offer with all my might, which means I'll end it with a single blow.

　I'm going to give the Ouroboros staff a magical power, and then release it to slash the kasaya.
　The lord rips off his longsword to the side to behead me.

　It was a special strike for both of them, and if their skills were the same, both of them would have died instantly, but unfortunately, the difference in 'power' was obvious.

　The power of me, wearing the armor of the Immortal King, is not something that a human being can compete with.

　In a matter of seconds, rather than a moment, the lord received a decent slash from my kesa-slash and fell down as it was.

　The lord collapsed, blowing bubbles.
　There is no doubt that he is seriously injured.
　At the very least, his bones are probably crushed and damage to his internal organs has been reached.

　In the meantime, I cast a recovery spell on him and ordered my men to treat him as a prisoner of war.

　Then he made his subordinate step back, saying that he wanted to be alone for a while, and sat down on the chair that the lord had been sitting in earlier.

''Fuu.........''

　I let out a sigh.

　It would be a lie to say that I don't feel guilty for hurting people.
　I'm just a Japanese in my past life.
　I couldn't possibly be on this bloody battlefield.

''No, I don't think so...''

　I argue to myself, pouting.

　I know a few demons who have memories of their past lives, but they lost their human minds long ago.

　I'm the exception, as I still have the mind of my previous life to this day.

　As I was thinking about this, I noticed a large mirror placed in the corner of the room.
　The reflection there was a jet-black sorcerer who was covered in return blood all over his body.
　A typical demon sorcerer was there.

　Just--.

　I take off my Immortal King's mask and robe.

　What was there was an unmistakable human being.
　With black hair and dark eyes, he was not a handsome man, he was an ordinary human being.
　He didn't have horns or fangs.
　A genuine human being was there.

　Yes, I, Ike, was not a demon with a Japanese past life.

　I'm a human being with a previous Japanese life.

　There are only three people, including me, who know that.

　One of them is a dead grandfather, so in effect, there is only one person in this world who knows this secret.

　If that secret is revealed, there will be a huge commotion.
　The man who was called the bosom of the Demon King's army was actually a human.

　He had two choices: torture them both to death, or be sentenced to death personally by the Demon King.

　That's why my dead grandpa was...

Listen to me, Ike. You must not take off your mask and robes at any time.

　I've been telling myself since I was a little girl that I would never take it off.

　That's why I would only take off this equipment when I was absolutely alone.

　My subordinates are thoroughly trained to do the same, and if I say, "I want to be alone," no goblin will come near me, no matter how stupid they are.

　I was thoroughly trained in that area.

　In the past, I had given a severe punishment to a subordinate who broke that order, and if it was my subordinate, he would never stop by this room.

　No, even if the other Demon King's Army guys came, it would be the same.

　Right now, this room has a powerful warding system in place. Even if you are not one of my subordinates, you can't just walk into this room.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's not.
　I hadn't considered a possibility.

　That possibility was the possibility that someone is lurking in this room from the very beginning.

　As I was removing not only my mask but also my robe, I noticed a sound.
　I heard a rattling sound from the wardrobe that was placed in a corner of the room.

　The wardrobe is slightly open.

　I slowly walk up to the wardrobe, assuming the worst, and open it up.


　--I'm not going to be able to get a good look at it.


　A human girl.
　She was probably between 14 and 5 years old.

　It is a girl with pale pigmented eyes and hair, skin like china, and she was wearing a maid's outfit.

　She was probably a servant or maidservant to the lord of this mansion.

　The girl was trembling like a newborn fawn.

　Her eyes.

Oh, please. Please, please don't kill me.

　That's what he said.

　The girl had tears in her eyes, but the one who wanted to cry was this one.

　She was born in this other world, and the secret she had been guarding for nearly twenty years was revealed so easily.

　Moreover, the other party is neither a strong member of the demon race nor a brave human being, but a simple girl.


''Let's just kill her right here and now, shall we?


　If I was a demon, that option would have come to mind, but unfortunately I was a human being.

　I've never lost my mind to kill a weak and unarmed girl without blame.

　I made a respectful face, turned my back to the girl and silently put on my mask and robes.

　When I regained my monstrous appearance, I said in a tight, low voice: "Listen, you're not doing anything.

"Look, you didn't see anything.

　The girl seems to be trembling and ruminating over her words.
　It seems that she is not so foolish that she does not understand the meaning of them.
　However, she doesn't seem to have enough courage to say the words.
　I nodded lightly to scold her trembling body.

That's right. That's good, because you are the only person in this room. You know that, don't you?

　I guess I'm somewhat more relaxed now.

　This time it was in a thin voice, like the buzzing of a mosquito.

...Yes, yes, I'm the only human in the room.

　I replied.

　It was a satisfactory answer.
　The answer was enough to let this girl go and pretend it never happened, but unfortunately I was a cautious person.

'Well, just as well. I just wanted one person to take care of my surroundings.

　Up until now, he had a little goblin man as a follower, but even though the man was loyal to his orders, he lacked agility and consideration.

　After all, demons can't pay attention to detail like humans can.

　It's not a bad idea to keep at least one human girl as a maid.
　That's why I asked the girl.

'From today, you are my maid. By the way, I don't have the right of veto. There are only two people in this world who know I'm a human being. One of them will never speak. Which means that if the world finds out my secret, it will be your doing.

　The girl denied it in a stronger tone than before.

'Wow! I will never tell anyone about this. I promised my dead mother that I would never tell anyone about this. I'm sure you'll find that the same is true for the demons.

I'm not a monster, though.

　I couldn't help but chuckle, but I was ready to believe this girl's words.
　She may be a weak girl, but she has a strong core of heart.
　Just like her words, she's the type of girl who won't break a promise she made once.
　Convinced of that, I asked her her name.

''It's........Thirteenth.
'Thirteen?　That's an odd name.

'My mother's name is Two. My lord wasn't one to give names to his slaves. So they were called by their numbers.

　That makes sense.
　Well, it's a common story in other worlds.

　As far as the character of the lord I mentioned earlier, he didn't seem to be the type to abuse slaves, but on the contrary, he didn't seem to be the type to be interested in slaves either.

　It was probably simply too much trouble to name them.

'But Thirteen is a terrible name. And it's hard to call me that.

　The girl said when I blurted it out.

'Well my mother used to call me Sati.
'Oh, right, Satie. That's easy to understand and helpful.

　I'll start calling it that today.
　When I tied that, I ordered him to wait there.

　I had to explain to the brigade's demon tribe that I was going to have a human daughter around as a maid, and I still had some post-war post-processing to do.

　Both of these tasks were tedious, but they were tasks that the brigade commander of the Demon King's army could not neglect.