The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Millinia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 028 – The Mysterious Woman[B]
“…”
Leonhart looked around the village.
He succeeded in seizing the village, which was now under control of the Demon Army. Although it was a small village just like Carol said, the site itself was larger than expected, especially considering the number of dwellings built there. Which was probably due to the majority of the land being occupied by farmland and forest behind it.
However, with that being said, it wasn’t large enough to accommodate two hundred thousand demons at the same time. Most of the demons were made to camp around the village and used for patrols. After all, there was no guarantee there were no remnants of enemy soldiers or the mysterious woman from the reports might attack.
Although the majority of demon soldiers were not inside the village, those who were, were now exploring the village under the lead of the demon captains. It was an important activity for them, since it could lead up to any fun they might get later on. Although they did their duty seriously, one could tell they were impatient.
Eventually a demon captain came to Leonhart after a round of inspection. Leonhart was currently stationed in a reasonably large square in the center of the village; he was waiting to receive the report. With him was Carol and all nine demon generals, whose numbers were reduced due to the earlier battle. A simple headquarters was built there.
The demon captain who approached spoke with a rushed voice,
“No… no good! We can’t find any humans here!”
The captain reported. The demon generals who listened were all growling.
The demon general aide spoke his thoughts to Leonhart.
“…They got us. Perhaps the woman who attacked earlier did so to buy time so the villagers could escape.”
“…Well, that would most likely be the case.”
Leonhart already expected that as he listened to the report about the surrounding area. There was something strange about the immediate evacuation right after the war began. It was also brought up by Carol, who was standing behind him. She spoke confidently as she usually did.
“We could tell the village was recently inhabited by the villagers. The farm tools and harvesting tools were left there as they were; it’s a sign they were panicking and escaping in a hurry!”
Carol said that with an excessively proud expression. Leonhart thought it was only to show off to him, but it seemed that she also meant to show it off to the demon general aide. She seemed to want to show off her conclusion to them. Perhaps she arbitrarily thought the demon general aide as her rival ever since her days as a commander. The demon general aide who heard such a report was troubled as to how to respond and could only say, “A-as expected of Carol-sama…” to praise Carol, but everyone there was already aware of what she reported without her needing to point it out.
“Just in case, we also sent a search unit to the forest behind, but… looking at the state of the village, I doubt we should expect much.”
Another demon general spoke his opinion this time. It seemed that the villagers had already escaped, as they expected.
Leonhart thought to himself, but then opened his mouth to reiterate the policy to the people there.
“…It can’t be helped. We will continue the patrol, but we will also turn this place into our base as is.”
The people there nodded to his command. It seemed they also had the same opinion. However, the disappointment of the demon captains and the demon generals who received his command was palatable. Since the headquarters was located in village square, their voices could easily be heard outside.
However, that was better in that it quickly let people know his commands.
Rather, it was convenient for Leonhart if the villagers managed to escape. Since they all managed to escape, he didn’t have to force himself to order something he was reluctant to commit to.
Even for the demon soldiers, they couldn’t commit atrocities if there were no humans in sight. It was no longer a matter of whether he permitted them or not. It was a situation where they were forced to give up.
I’m slightly disappointed since it didn’t end up in combat, though… Well, this is good too.
Leonhart was inwardly grateful for the unknown woman who attacked the Demon Army—though he also had a complicated feeling about it. He might be unable to fulfill his personal recreational needs, but he couldn’t ask for luxuries. Since the number of casualties were reduced overall, this should be the optimal outcome.
Leonhart exhaled involuntarily. It felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. All that was left to do was construct the base so he could go home. There was nothing to be gained from worrying about things that didn’t happen.
“Command the demon soldiers to construct the base. First of all, the material should be—“
Just as Leonhart relaxed and began commanding—they heard a voice.
“Hey! Let us go!!”
It came from the road leaving the farm which led to the forest. A woman’s voice was heard from that direction. The other people in that place should’ve also noticed it. As they all looked toward the same direction, they saw two humans tied up with a rope.
One of them, a woman, was trying to cover another human, a girl, by speaking bravely to the demon captain.
“You can just drag me alone! Let go of this girl!”
“Uh… O-onee-chan, what should we do…”
“Eeei! Shut up, shut up!! You’ve been noisy all this time!”
“I’ll shut my mouth if you just let us go!”
“Cih… however, I’m curious how long you can keep that tone of yours… Leonhart-sama!”
“…!”
The woman must have noticed the people who were in the village square. Perhaps she was silenced out of fear as she saw the people there. Using that opening, the demon captain bent his knee and greeted Leonhart.
“You might be aware of the situation just by looking, but please excuse me for reporting. We brought two people who were late to escape.”
“…Carol.”
“Yes! Demon captain, bring the two of them forward.”
“Hah!”
“Ah, hey…!”
Carol, who read Leonhart’s intentions, gave her permission and the demon captain brought the two humans to the center. The woman tried to resist by fluttering about, but it held no meaning before the demon captain’s strength.
Then one of the demon generals spoke out.
“To think there were humans left behind… however, there’s not much we can do with just two people.”
A demon captain gave his opinion to the demon general who spoke with disappointment.
“That might be true, but how about we ask these two humans where they escaped to? If we knew that, we could still catch up to them since humans aren’t as fast as us…”
“Hah?! There’s no way I would tell you! Are you idiots?!”
“Kuh, shut up! The-then how about it, Leonhart-sama? We could interrogate these two to make them tell us where they went… hehe.”
“…O-onee-chan…!”
“Wha-wha… you bastards! It doesn’t matter if it happens to me alone, but this girl is not related to my conduct! Just let the kid go!”
She gave a look and tone of disgust. Considering how the girl called the woman, they were probably siblings or something with similar relationships. The girl was plump but her appearance was quite decent. Even as the woman understood what was about to be done to her and protested, no one responded to her. The demon captain merely looked at her with a vulgar gaze.
The demon generals were slightly dumbfounded at such a sight. It was clear what he wanted to do from the gaze he gave. The person who reacted with a calm voice about the demon captain was not Leonhart, but his apostle Carol instead.
“…Leonhart-sama, what should we do?”
She said that and waited for Leonhart’s judgment. The other people there were also waiting. Although it was clear what the demon captain intended to do, it was considered the demon captain’s privilege since he was actually the one who found them. Even if that wasn’t the case, Leonhart was still the one who made the final decision.
Leonhart spoke to the two humans for the first time.
“…Fumu, so there’s two of you.”
“O-onee…chan…”
They were meaningless words that merely confirmed their number. The little sister’s words might’ve called out to her elder sister, but her gaze was fixed on Leonhart and she shivered in fear. It couldn’t be helped. It was hard even for demons to stay unabashed before Leonhart, the high-ranked majin and member of the Four Elite Majin. There was no way for the two humans who didn’t know how to fight to endure the pressure.
However, despite feeling such pressure, the woman still spoke up to Leonhart.
“Kuh! So…so you’re a majin, huh?! Hey, you! Are you not embarrassed as their leader?! To think you intended to make a move on this child, what a scumbag! You pervert!”
“!”
“?!”
Everyone froze as they heard the insults fly toward Leonhart. The fact she could still speak was also surprising, but her attitude was even more problematic. It was common sense even for demons that they might be killed if they slighted a majin. It was an action that made them doubt her sanity. Even the demon generals were terrified.
The first person to speak up was a demon captain.
“Wha-wha-wha, you! What a thing to say to Leonhart-sama…?!”
“Kyah!”
The demon captain pulled the woman to the ground, forcing her to kneel. Leonhart was staring at such a scene.
Then the demon captain apologized and suggested a punishment for the woman.
“…”
“I’m terribly sorry, Leonhart-sama. It seems this human lacks tact… How about I teach manners to them as I interrogate them? If Leonhart-sama so desires, then—“
Leonhart cut off his sentence by giving him his decision.
“Demon captain.”
“Hah!”
The demon captain closed his mouth and genuflected at the voice of the Leonhart, the greater being, all while believing that the decision would be what he just suggested.
“I’ll take care of them. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Hah! …eh?”
The demon captain doubted what Leonhart just said. Silence filled the air for a moment. Although the demon generals were surprised with such a decision, none of them were foolish enough to leak their voice to show it off.
His apostle Carol then supplemented his words.
“Demon captain? You seem to be dissatisfied about something… do you have any objections to Leonhart-sama’s judgment?”
“! N-no, I have none!”
Carol’s voice contained hostility unlike her usual tone. She seemed to judge it was unforgivable to have anyone disagree with her master’s judgment—though it seemed there was another reason involved.
Leonhart looked around and pointed at a house at the back of the village and pointed in that direction.
“Demon general, I’ll use that big house. Carol, bring those two there.”
Leonhart spoke as he looked at the demon general then Carol. The majin decided he would stay at the biggest house in the village.
It was a decision that nobody there could show their disagreement to.
“Hah! Certainly!”
“…Certainly.”
For some reason, Carol sounded a little unsettled and looked a little depressed. However, she had no choice but to go with the order, so she went to the demon captain and took over the rope that bound the two, and quickly walked to the house as if she wanted to settle the matter quickly.
“Yes yes, then, let’s go…”
“Wai—don’t decide it on your own—hey, it hurts, it hurts! Don’t pull us!”
“…”
The girl was silently being led, but the woman raised her complaints toward Carol. As Leonhart looked at Carol who walked ahead, he turned around and gave a command to the demon generals with a slightly sharp gaze.”
“…Start setting up the base. I’ll rest for a while.”
“Hahah, we’ll begin right away. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Aaah.”
Leonhart began to walk toward the big house after receiving the greetings of the demon generals. There was Carol who walked roughly ahead and the two humans who were dragged by her.
As Leonhart saw them, Leonhart whispered his inner feelings.
“…I guess my burden has not been lifted off my shoulders just yet.”
Considering what might happen later, he had such a feeling. Leonhart sighed as if to spew out his depressed mood.
T/N:
Okay, long time(?) no see!
This time, I’m doing something a little different(?)
That is, give a short explanation of the magic system, Part 1!
In the Rance world universe, magic is the art of focusing one’s body and mind in order to channel paranormal forces though their body. Learning magic is not an easy task, but almost everyone could learn it. It is advised to learn magic fundamentals from an early age of three, since it would stunt later development otherwise.
Magic is basically unavoidable by nature, but it doesn’t mean it is a flawless method to attack. It takes time to chant, it leaves the caster open after the chant, and scale and power of magic depend on the caster. Depending on the mental fortitude of the foe, spell effectiveness would be reduced or in extreme cases, rendered completely ineffective against them. Also, hanny had innate magic immunity as well.
Magic skill level sets the limit and speed of what people can learn on magic.
Magic LV 0: allow them to cast rudimentary and basic spells, but take them concentration to do so.
Magic LV 1: allow them to easily master basic and intermediate spells. With some effort and training, they could also cast advanced spells.
Magic LV 2: allow them to use most elemental spells, using destruction beam magic if they dedicate themselves to learn and focus, also, with extreme effort, it allows them to create new magic for their own.
Magic LV 3: allow them to cast magic like it is their second nature, achieving incredible feats impossible for others, like casting destruction beam class magic in succession without delay, inventing their own magic, manipulating time and space, or even creating gates that lead to alternate dimensions.
Also, some maous possessed this level of skill the moment they turned into one, like Rance who had no inkling to magic before he turned suddenly had LV3 magic once he became maou.
I’d like to tell you about other types of magic, but since there’s only divine magic other than magic in this era, I’ll refrain and just wait until other magic is discovered.
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
