I can't just be dragged off to the slaughterhouse like this.
I can't end a perfectly good life here like this.
You have to dodge a sudden shower, and when a meteor falls, you'd better use your umbrella well. And if your wife finds your emergency stash, the first thing you blurt out should be, "I was saving up to buy an anniversary gift."
That's how you survive in society!
That's how you survive, period!
Today was no different.
".....Hoo."
Kim Jangcheol steadied his quickening breath. Then he carefully observed the darkness surrounding the campsite.
"....."
No one.
Nothing could be sensed.
Other than his own group, there was no trace of the Aged Kimchi or his party—no presence, no shifting, nothing at all.
But I can't relax.
He tightened his loosening vigilance and turned to his side. There stood Zephyros, Baal, Asurat, and Sirgi, all dragged out half-against their will.
"Um, my Lord?"
Was it that he didn't understand the situation?
Zephyros whispered quietly.
"Why exactly are we running away like this?"
"...."
Why, you ask?
Because I don't want to die, that's why.
Kim Jangcheol whispered seriously.
"I told you earlier."
"Because of that human called Aged Kimchi, you mean?"
"Yeah."
"But…"
Zephyros responded with a puzzled tone.
"Then I really don't understand. He's just an ordinary human. On the other hand, we've got you, my Lord, the ruler of the Abandoned Land, and three of the Four Heavenly Kings, the finest elites of the demon race. So why are we sneaking off like this in the middle of the night just because of that one human…?"
"..."
Kim Jangcheol was at a loss for words.
Should he just be honest?
That he's scared of that guy?
That they might all get annihilated in one shot? That this was all to prevent such a disaster? That they should please try to understand. No, that they should cooperate.
'But…'
He couldn't say that out loud.
To admit weakness?
To acknowledge fear?
There was nothing more dangerous than that.
'Sure, they recognize me more than before now… but these guys still live by the rules of the Abandoned Land.'
The strong rule over the weak.
That's the way of the Abandoned Land.
If he showed even a hint of weakness in front of them, nothing good would come of it.
In the end, Kim Jangcheol had no choice but to make something up.
"It's unsettling. Nothing good will come from getting involved. Besides, we don't need to go to the royal capital with them. We've got no reason to."
It was true.
All they needed was to sell some chuno around here, use that money to buy seeds, and then head back to the Abandoned Land. No more getting involved with Aged Kimchi. No more dealings with him whatsoever.
"So let's just move, quickly."
If Aged Kimchi woke up, it would all be over. He tried his best to hide it, but he couldn't stop the cold sweat running down his back in thick lines.
That must've been the reason.
Zephyros, Baal, Asurat, and Sirgi could clearly sense that their Lord was very, thoroughly, fully, and bountifully afraid.
'…No way, is our Lord really afraid of that Aged Kimchi human?'
Asurat closed his beak tightly and glanced at the others.
Zephyros gave a subtle nod.
'Seems like it. Do you think so too, Lady Sirgi?'
'Mm, probably.'
Sirgi let out a quiet sigh and blinked her large alpaca eyes.
'Honestly, I find him a little scary too. Don't you, Asurat?'
'…I hate to admit it, but yes. I think even Baal would agree.'
'Baal gets goosebumps every time that guy twirls around in that floaty pink skirt.'
Even Baal, usually oblivious to subtle cues, nodded in agreement with his comrades this time. Even the cold and rational Zephyros was the same.
'To be honest, I feel the same way. Traveling with someone who wears that kind of outfit 24/7... I don't know. I just can't relax. I don't even know where to look.'
'Right?'
'Yes, Lord Asurat.'
'Exactly. The Demon King must've felt the same way as us.'
'Seems so.'
'Sigh, the human world... really isn't easy.'
'Truly.'
All of them recalled Aged Kimchi's outfit from their half-day together. And they were instantly filled with secondhand embarrassment.
That airy flare skirt wrapped around a well-toned muscular body. The frills and pink decorations that would suit a dainty magical princess. The dainty ribbon adorning the nape of his neck, and that girly, girly heart-sparkle magical girl wand he always held.
"......"
Yeah.
That combination is definitely something to be afraid of.
Anyone who isn't scared would be the weird one.
No, wait—these days, if you casually say something discriminatory like "weird," you might get canceled by society. So let's just say... he's special.
Anyway.
"Everyone, from now on, stay sharp. We can't get caught."
At Kim Jangcheol's solemn warning, everyone nodded. Then they lowered their postures and quieted their breaths.
Tiptoe.
Careful.
Silently pulling the cart.
Kim Jangcheol took the lead, parting the bushes.
One step.
Luckily, there was no reaction from the campfire area. With his heart pounding like a drum, he took another step.
Two steps.
Still no response.
Aged Kimchi, Reivaj, and his servant all still seemed deeply asleep.
Hoo. He wanted to let out a sigh. But not yet. Not now. Suppressing his breath, he stepped forward again.
Three steps.
Had they not been caught yet?
Must be.
Hope began to swell a little.
'Yeah. That's it. We're almost out. Then we head back toward that village I noticed earlier today. It was way out in the sticks, sure, but I saw some potatoes, pumpkins, even beans. We can buy those and return to the Abandoned Land.'
Then it's goodbye to Aged Kimchi.
No more trips to the human world.
Just peaceful, simple farming life at the Demon King's castle, living happily ever after.
"..."
Yeah.
Now that he thought about it, a peaceful life like that didn't sound so bad. At least it beat being drained dry in a lab by some professor with no end in sight.
'Why did I have to meet that professor anyway.'
People say it doesn't usually get that bad.
Getting your research budget swindled?
That was just the beginning.
Why him, of all people?
How did his life get so messed up?
For just a moment, he found himself resenting his unlucky past. And he even started to think, absurdly, that maybe being in the Demon King's body now was fate's way of paying him back.
But Kim Jangcheol quickly shook off those thoughts.
This wasn't the time for that. First, escape. More than anything, he had to get away from Aged Kimchi.
So, the fourth step.
"…Sneaking around like this, where do you think you're going?"
"Kkyaaaack!"
A sudden voice from behind.
A voice so creepy it gave him chills.
The voice of that Aged Kimchi bastard!
…The moment he heard it, Kim Jangcheol flinched in terror and let out a girlish(?) scream. And the moment he turned around, he realized it.
Thud.
"......."
I'm done for.
I'm dead.
Step, step.
With the faint light of the campsite at his back, that disturbingly familiar silhouette was approaching.
A fluttery skirt and a girly, heart-sparkle magical girl wand.
It was Aged Kimchi.
He wanted to deny it, but it really was Aged Kimchi. Those eyes glowing ominously from within that terrifying(?) silhouette. And the sharp suspicion he soon threw this way.
"And in the middle of the night, with your entire group, no less."
"Th-that's…!"
His mind felt like it had been bleached blank.
They were caught.
He had to come up with an excuse somehow. It was the only way to survive. No—could he survive? That guy was already this close. If he reached out, he could probably yank his spine out through his neck.
Just like how he used to wreck demon race mobs in games.
"I had to pee!"
"...."
For a moment, silence settled around them.
Even Aged Kimchi, Zephyros, the Four Heavenly Kings, everyone.
Thanks to that, Kim Jangcheol tightly shut his eyes.
But he had already taken the first step.
"Uhm, so, this guy, Zephyros said he had to pee…!"
"......"
Zephyros sank into an even deeper silence.
Kim Jangcheol laid down a thick layer of shamelessness across his face.
"Y-you see, actually, Zephyros is more timid than he looks. And he kind of has night blindness, too. But he said he really needed to go to the bushes, and he absolutely refused to go alone."
"…Is that so?"
"Exactly."
Did it work?
Maybe?
Aged Kimchi tilted his head and stared straight at Zephyros. And in the dead of night, even the way Zephyros' face flushed bright red was plainly visible.
'...'
I'm sorry, Zephyros.
"Uhm, so at first I offered to go with him. But then he started trembling and said he still wasn't reassured. So we had no choice. We were forced! To all go into the bushes together."
"With a suspiciously large pelican, a pink alpaca that hasn't even been dyed, and a cart full of valuable things? All together?"
"Baal's here too! Don't leave me out!"
"......."
Why did his eyes involuntarily shut like that? Was it the karmic price of spinning such an embarrassingly lame(?) excuse? Or was it the resignation that everything was over?
But then, Aged Kimchi, who had gone quiet for a moment, responded in an unexpected way.
"…Right. In difficult times, sticking together is what gives you strength."
"…Huh?"
"Then maybe I should come along too."
"Uh-uh?"
"I happened to wake up needing to pee as well."
"O-oh…."
Honestly, he never imagined this.
That deep in the forest, in the middle of the night, a day would come when he'd stand side-by-side with Aged Kimchi, pants down, gazing out at the same view, peeing together.
"......"
"Why are you sneaking glances?"
"I wasn't looking!"
"Is that so?"
"Of course!"
"But I am watching you. You know that, right?"
"....."
That came in hard and sudden.
So this was a warning, wasn't it?
At some point, Aged Kimchi was staring directly at him.
"I just haven't made up my mind yet."
"....And if you do?"
"Then I'll make my decision."
"....."
Decision, he said.
What kind of decision?
Whether to dispose of him or not?
He couldn't bring himself to ask the rest. Because of that piercing gaze from Aged Kimchi that made his legs feel like jelly. It was the kind of look that said he could end him at any moment if he felt like it.
Thanks to that, he realized something.
'This guy… he almost knows who I am.'
He was already suspicious that Kim Jangcheol was the Demon King.
No, he was on the verge of being certain.
Right now, he was simply in the phase of confirming it.
"......"
So that's why he offered to come along. To confirm it properly and then kill him?
That's what it seemed like.
A wave of crisis crashed down on him.
'I can't let things go on like this.'
The moment that guy's suspicions turned into certainty—
That would be the day he dies.
Not just him. Zephyros, Baal, Asurat, and Sirgi, who had followed him without knowing anything, would all get sliced to death alongside him.
Without mercy, without forgiveness.
Just like how he used to do it in the game.
Just like how he had carved countless techniques and memories of slaughter into that guy's body.
"......"
He didn't want that.
He wanted to avoid it, no matter what.
But no method came to mind.
Escape? A night time dash?
'No.'
That guy was watching him.
It had to be the same today.
But in this situation, a half-baked escape attempt would only serve to solidify that guy's suspicions into certainty.
'Then what should I do?'
He pondered all the way back to camp with Aged Kimchi. Once he pushed his fear aside and maintained a cool head, the answer came surprisingly easily.
'What else? If there's no opening, I just have to create one and run.'
And never return to the human world again. As long as he didn't run into that guy, everything would be fine.
With that in mind, he waited for the right moment.
And maybe because of that—
The opportunity came sooner than expected.
Roughly around the time he realized that Reivaj's party had the pitiful weakness of being completely broke.
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]