The Demon Goes to Work Today As Well - Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Demon Empire (4)
T h i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k i n g mt l . o rg

As the gates of the Verin Kingdom opened,

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

70,000 goblins and 5 million Demon Servants marched in unison into the city.

“They’re letting this many inside the city walls…?”

“…Is the Verin Kingdom doomed as well?”

“This is the end for the Verin Kingdom…”

The citizens of Verin, faces etched with terror, scurried into their homes and hid.

“S-Sebastian-nim?”

A massive knight cautiously approached Sebastian.

“What is it?”

“I-I will escort you to the throne room.”
T hi s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g

At the knight’s words, Sebastian nodded and addressed the soldiers behind him.

“Everyone, move to the royal palace.”

The knight’s face paled at Sebastian’s declaration.

“S-Sebastian-nim, are you planning to bring all these troops to the royal palace?”

“Yes, why?”

“A-Aren’t there too many… How about you leave them here and proceed alone?”

Sebastian, visibly annoyed by the knight’s suggestion, retorted,

“You, you’re awfully bold, aren’t you?”

“…Pardon?”

“You make us wait outside the gates, and now you want us to leave our troops behind? Are you being serious?”

The knight, well aware of the agreed-upon schedule for the following day, desperately wanted to argue. However,

‘If I say the wrong thing here, it’ll turn into a war…!’

Seeing Sebastian’s imposing demeanor, the knight’s eyes darted around, struggling to find the right words.

“Well, that is…”

“Enough with the excuses. I’m taking them with me to the royal palace. You’d better remember that.”

“…Yes.”

Unable to sway Sebastian’s decision, the knight reluctantly began leading them toward the royal palace.

As they entered the palace,

“Everyone, drop your weapons.”

Sebastian ordered the knights guarding the palace to disarm themselves.

“…”

The knights grimaced at the sudden command, tightening their grips on their weapons. But then,

“If you don’t comply within one minute, we will consider it an act of defiance against the Demon Empire and declare war.”

The ensuing threat left the knights with no choice but to meekly lay down their weapons.

“These knights might try something while we’re meeting with the King. Tie them up.”

“””Yes.”””

The Demon Servants, with sinister smiles, forced the knights to the ground and bound their limbs.

“…Ugh!”

The knights, unable to resist, felt deeply humiliated by their forced submission.

“A few of you, follow me to the throne room. The rest of you, station yourselves inside the palace. If there’s not enough space, surround the palace.”

T h is wa s c o p i e d f ro m k i ng mt l . o r g
Within minutes, Sebastian’s orders were carried out, and the royal palace was effortlessly captured.

“Hmm, it seems the preparations are finally in order. Let’s proceed to the throne room.”

T h is w a s c o p i e d f rom k i ng m tl . o r g
“…Yes.”

The knight, with a dejected expression, led Sebastian to the throne room, resembling a defeated soldier.

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i ng m tl . o rg

The doors of the throne room swung open.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…

Hundreds of Demon Servants poured into the room, followed by

Thump, thump, thump.

A young boy, seemingly around eight years old, entered the throne room.

“…Welcome.”

The King, having been briefed on the situation, forced an awkward smile, choosing to overlook Sebastian’s disrespectful behavior.

“I’d like to order the knights in the throne room to drop their weapons as well, but… I’ll refrain from doing so out of respect for Your Majesty.”

The boy’s words were audacious, unbefitting someone his age.

Under normal circumstances, the King would have roared in anger and ordered the boy’s execution. However,

“…Thank you for your generosity.”

Facing a critical juncture, the King couldn’t afford to act impulsively.

“We informed you that we would be visiting tomorrow, yet it seems there are no preparations whatsoever. Unless this is intentional, I’m deeply concerned about Your Majesty’s memory.”

The King felt an indescribable shame, having never been subjected to such disrespect, not even from the Emperor of the Holy Empire. But,

“…Haha, we were preoccupied with other matters and planned to prepare at night. I apologize if you were offended.”

With immense restraint, he endured the boy’s condescending tone.

‘If I show any displeasure here, it’ll immediately lead to war…’

Raising his voice would only provide justification for war, forcing the King to swallow his pride and accept the disrespect.

“But… Your subjects seem to be holding their heads a little too high. Or is it just me?”

When his initial provocation failed, Sebastian shifted his attention to the King’s subjects, seeking fault.

“Such insolence toward an envoy of the Empire… I trust it’s safe to assume this is an act of disrespect toward the Demon Empire?”

It was an absurd accusation.

“…Quickly show proper respect to our envoy.”

Yet, the King had no choice but to comply.

“””…Yes.”””

The subjects, with displeased expressions, knelt and bowed their heads.

“Now that’s more like it.”

Sebastian retrieved a letter from his pocket and declared,

“I shall read the letter written by the Demon Lord. I expect Your Majesty to show proper decorum.”

The King, bewildered by the mention of the Demon Lord, asked,

“…Did you just say a letter written by the Demon Lord?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

“…N-No.”

He had assumed it was a letter from the Emperor, but it was directly from the Demon Lord?

The King finally felt the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

‘…The Demon Lord is directly involved.’

The Verin Kingdom had always embraced Demon Servants, showing no discrimination as long as they possessed strength. The King prided himself on his extensive knowledge of Demon Servants.

Creatures driven solely by desire.

He hadn’t been overly concerned, believing they were incapable of unity. However, he hadn’t anticipated the Demon Lord’s direct involvement.

T h is wa s c o p i e d f r om k in g m t l . o r g
‘I’ve never heard of the Demon Lord getting involved like this…’

It was common knowledge that Demon Lords typically made contracts and left their servants to their own devices. He hadn’t expected things to escalate to this point.

‘My foolishness has brought this upon us.’

He wanted to kick himself for celebrating when the Holy Empire was invaded by demons.

‘I must be getting old.’

He should have realized something was amiss when the Holy Empire was attacked. But his narrow-mindedness had blinded him to the obvious.

‘Well, regret won’t change anything.’

With a bitter smile, the King rose from his throne and knelt on one knee.

“Then, I shall proceed with reading the letter.”

Sebastian, with a serious expression, began to read aloud.

The letter was quite lengthy, but its essence could be summarized as follows:

Provide one year’s worth of supplies and food for a population of 8 million.

Hand over the prince and princess as hostages.

‘One year’s worth of supplies and food for 8 million…?’

They had stored food, so they could send it, but…

‘That would leave my people starving for a year.’

Such a move would likely incite riots among the starving populace.

He could somehow endure this demand, but…

T h is wa s co p i e d f r o m k i ng m t l . o r g
‘To openly demand my children as hostages…’

He couldn’t tolerate anyone harming his children.

However, the agonizing truth was that he had no choice but to accept this proposal.

“Your Majesty, you must respond to the letter.”

At Sebastian’s urging, the King answered with a wry smile,

“…We can’t refuse after you’ve shown such generosity. We shall comply with the Demon Lord’s will.”

Fortunately, no one objected to the King’s decision.

‘No one here is foolish enough not to understand that refusal means war.’ There’s a reason why the saying, “It’s better to be alive, even if you’re rolling in a dunghill,” exists.

Even if they were being subjected to extortionate demands, it was still preferable to death.

“Wise decision, Your Majesty.”

Sebastian, seemingly pleased with the King’s response, offered a faint smile.

“Your decision has saved the Verin Kingdom from annihilation.”

“…Thank you.”

“Then, please deliver the supplies and food within a week. That should be sufficient, correct?”

“…We’ll do our best.”

“No, ‘best’ is not enough. You must deliver them.”

“…Very well.”

Having received a firm commitment, Sebastian produced a parchment from his pocket.

“Then, please draw your blood on this parchment.”
Th i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k ing mt l .o r g

The King’s expression hardened as he accepted the parchment.

‘…How utterly ruthless.’
T h i s w as c o pi e d fr om k i n g m t l . o r g

It was no wonder, given that the contract was filled with nothing but unfair clauses.

The contract stated the following:

― ‘Party A’ shall be referred to as the ‘Demon Empire’, and ‘Party B’ shall be referred to as the ‘Verin Kingdom’.

― ‘Party B’ shall provide ‘Party A’ with one year’s worth of supplies and food for a population of 8 million.

In the event of a breach of this clause, the Demon Empire reserves the right to invade the Verin Kingdom without facing any resistance.

T h is w a s c o p i e d f r om k i n g m t l . o r g
― ‘Party B’ shall send the prince and princess to ‘Party A’ as a gesture of goodwill.

In the event of a breach of this clause, the Demon Empire shall not be held liable for any harm inflicted upon the royal family, including death.

― This contract shall be automatically nullified upon the delivery of the supplies, food, prince, and princess to the Demon Empire.

The clauses were appallingly brutal.

He yearned to rip the parchment to shreds right there and then, but…

“…Very well.”

Contrary to his feelings, the King, as requested by Sebastian, pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the parchment.

Sebastian, with a satisfied smile, tucked the parchment back into his pocket.

“The contract will be officially enacted upon my return to the Empire.”

“…I’ll bear that in mind.”

“Then, before we depart, we need to collect the prince and princess who will be joining us in the Demon Empire as a gesture of goodwill.”

He turned his gaze toward the prince and princess standing beside the King.

Flinch—!

The prince and princess averted their eyes, lowering their heads to avoid eye contact.

“I’ve heard rumors that the Third Prince and the First Princess are quite intelligent. Is this true?”

“…”

“Your Majesty?”

At Sebastian’s inquiry, the King reluctantly responded,

“As a father, I cannot compare my children and declare one superior to another… But my subjects do speak highly of them.”

“I see. Then, we shall take the Third Prince and the First Princess to the Demon Empire as a gesture of goodwill.”

At the mention of being taken as hostages,

“”Ah…””

The Third Prince and the First Princess wore expressions of despair, as if they had been sentenced to death.

“””…Sigh.”””

Meanwhile, the other princes and princesses, spared from this fate, couldn’t help but smirk.

“You will eventually return to your kingdom, but you’ll be separated for a long time. I shall allow you time to bid farewell. Please come out when you’re finished.”

As Sebastian and the Demon Servants exited the throne room,

“Father, are you really going to send us away?”

The Third Prince, his face flushed with anger, confronted the King.

“…Elder Brother is right. Do you have any idea how we’ll be treated there?”

The First Princess followed suit, pleading with the King, but…

“It is the envoy’s choice. You must comply.”

The First Prince interjected, effectively condemning the Third Prince and the First Princess to their fate.

“…Brother.”

“…Elder Brother.”

The Third Prince and the First Princess glared at him with resentment, but…

“Pack your belongings and depart at once. We cannot risk war because of you two.”

“Yes, you must sacrifice yourselves for the greater good.”

“There’s no other way.”

The other princes and princesses chimed in, supporting the First Prince.

“…We understand the circumstances and will comply… But we will never forget this day.”

“…We shall see how well you prosper without us.”

The Third Prince and the First Princess, after casting a final, hateful glance at their siblings, left the throne room.