Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Second Request □

After meeting the hero and my former comrades in the underground prison, the two-day holiday flew by quickly.

Yesterday, I was locked up in my room all day due to the aftereffects of overdrinking.

The villagers, celebrating with a party, had fed us so much alcohol that I woke up at lunchtime.

Thus, Camilla’s sex education schedule, which should have started yesterday, also got postponed.

Fortunately, Camilla herself had drunk as much as the rest of the village, so she didn’t say anything about it.

After resting for a day and fully recovering my condition, today is the day.

I was called by the Demon King almost immediately after eating breakfast in the dining hall.

“Come in.”

Thinking it would be another one-on-one meeting as usual, I had relaxed, but the moment I entered, I straightened up right away.

There was an unfamiliar figure sitting on the sofa inside the office.

“Grumble…grumble…”

Even while seated, this beastman was overwhelmingly larger than an average standing human, his presence dominating the room.

Thanks to his immense size, the teacup in his hand looked like a toy.

The Demon King, who had been sitting opposite him, stood up and briefly introduced us.

“Introduce yourselves. Caldlasth, this is one of our Four Heavenly Kings, the Beastheart King Walter Leonhart.”

Upon hearing that name, I couldn’t help but be startled.

Walter, the Demon King’s right-hand man, is more famous among humans under that name.

The undoubted second-in-command of the Demon King’s Army, he commands all beastmen in the Great Forest to the west.

As I awkwardly approached and extended my hand, Walter set down the teacup on the table and shook hands with me.

“Pleased to meet you, Grand Mage Caldlasth. Please call me Walter informally.”

“A, yes, Walter.”

When I addressed him casually as he requested, Walter nodded approvingly with a loud sniff.

“We were just talking about you. Come sit down.”

Following the Demon King’s instructions, I sat in the remaining spot on the sofa.

At that moment, Seneca, the chief steward, naturally placed an elegant teacup in front of me as well.

From the spout of the teapot he held, a red liquid dripped into the cup.

While I was momentarily distracted by the beautiful sight, the Demon King explained why Walter was here.

“I sent a message asking for two wyverns from the Great Forest for your eastern front deployment, and Walter personally arrived with them.”

Listening to this story beside me, Walter nodded in agreement.

“I heard that the person whose name I’ve heard endlessly from others was in the Demon King’s Castle, so I came out of curiosity.”

“Others?”

Then the Demon King smiled wryly and explained instead.

“He’s referring to the other two Heavenly Kings, Mephisto and Dorothea.”

“Ah….”

During the year I spent with the hero, I personally fought against two of the four Heavenly Kings.

One was Mephisto, who relentlessly pressured the hero, and the other was Dorothea, who constantly clashed with me in a rivalrous manner.

Both had experiences where they were overwhelmed by my magic, so they must have complained.

Lifting his teacup again, Walter shrugged jokingly.

“I’ve known those guys for quite some time, but you’re the first one they’ve complained about so angrily. What kind of magic did you use to make them react like that?”

Hearing this, I shrugged.

“I didn’t do anything special. It’s just that they didn’t get along well with me.”

“Hmm… That confidence is appealing. I’d also like to fight you once.”

Clack-clack…

Was it because he couldn’t drink hot liquids well with his cat-like tongue? Watching the ferocious-looking Walter lap up the tea with his tongue was honestly a bit unsettling.

Turning my gaze to the Demon King to avoid looking, he seemed to understand my feelings and smoothly changed the subject.

“In any case, I summoned you for the same reason we discussed the other day. You probably anticipated this already, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I’ve already prepared everything for departure.”

“If that’s the case, there’s no need for long explanations. This is my formal second request. From this moment onward, proceed to the eastern front and assist the Heavenly King Dorothea in safely retreating the Demon King’s Army back to our territory.”

“Understood.”

Standing up from the sofa, I knelt on one knee and performed the ritual of submission. The Demon King nodded with satisfaction.

“The wyvern you’ll ride should be waiting in the stable within the castle. Since it will be a long flight, if you have anything left to do on the ground, take care of it beforehand.”

“Thank you for the advice. Then, I shall take my leave now.”

Saying this, I bowed to both of them and was about to leave the office when the Demon King suddenly stopped me.

“Ah, Caldlasth. There’s one more thing I’d like to ask of you before you go.”

“Yes?”

“Would you please convey my regards to Dorothea? It’s been quite a while since we last saw each other, so tell her to return to the Demon King’s Castle when she has time.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult.”

After speaking to the Demon King in a reassuring tone, I finally left the office.[[#]]Heading straight to the stables inside the castle with Camilla, who had been waiting outside, sure enough, there were two wyverns tied to a tree at the entrance, brought by the Heavenly King Walter.

Wild wyverns cannot be tamed unless raised from infancy, making them usable only as mounts. For this reason, most nations treat wyverns as strategic resources.

As I approached, the wyverns emitted a screech: “Keeeekkkk!”

It was an incredibly high decibel.

Covering my ears instinctively as it felt like blood might start flowing from my eardrums, a panting demon soldier ran out of the stable and handed me something.

“Oh! If you’re riding a wyvern, earplugs are essential! Their calls are so loud that they can detect anyone approaching from 100 meters away!”

Glaring resentfully at the soldier for not mentioning this sooner, I quickly put in the earplugs.

“Keeeekkkk!”

Ah, that’s better.

It’s still loud, but at this level, it’s tolerable.

As I adjusted the earplugs with a satisfied expression, the demon soldier handed Camilla some earplugs as well and kindly explained how to handle the wyverns.

To summarize his explanation, riding a wyvern is similar to riding a horse; the control methods aren’t very different, but if your body slips even slightly, you could die instantly, so staying alert is key.

This was quite useful information, so after thanking the demon soldier, we took hold of the wyverns’ reins tied to the tree.

The ones that were so wary of me earlier became docile once given the horse treats provided by the soldier.

It seems that feeding animals makes them friendly, no matter what kind of beast they are.

“Yee-haw.”

Mounting the wyvern and kicking its side with my foot, it let out an unpleasant screech, “Keeeekkkk!” and flapped its wings powerfully.

In just a few seconds, the massive body that seemed incapable of flying lifted off gracefully.

Exchanging glances with Camilla beside me, I turned the wyvern’s head towards the east.[[#]]As mentioned before, the eastern front is the largest battlefield between humans and demons.

The two armies advance and retreat along the snow-covered ridges of the Vulcan Mountains, and it was also the land where much blood was shed during the Human-Demon War five years ago.

Heavenly King Dorothea oversees all forces in this area, while on the kingdom’s side, Lord Hamburg, the father of warrior Rachel from the Hero Party, is responsible for defending the Vulcan Mountains.

The Hamburg family, which has long taken root in this barren Vulcan Mountain range, has voluntarily taken on the role of a bulwark protecting humanity.

“Huff… Finally arrived.”

The icy air penetrating deep into my lungs every time I breathe confirms that I’m back in the Vulcan Mountains.

Looking down from atop the wyvern after a long five-hour flight, the Demon King’s base on the eastern front appeared rather crude from above.

This was partly due to the unpredictable weather of the Vulcan Mountains.

In an extreme environment where temperatures remain below freezing all year round, regardless of the seasons, the preferred items are light, sturdy, and durable—qualities that often come at the expense of aesthetic appeal.

As the wyvern adorned with the Demon King’s emblem gently landed in an open space, soldiers guarding the surrounding area rushed over.

Among them, the most conspicuous was a centaur-like demon, half-human and half-horse.

Instead of heavy armor, this centaur wore thick fur clothing and asked me curiously:

“You’re unfamiliar to me. What brings you to such a remote place?”

Dismounting from the wyvern’s saddle and handing the reins to another soldier, I confidently stepped forward.

“I am Partarth, a lich under the Demon King’s Castle. I have come here on the orders of Demon King Nero to meet the commander, Lady Dorothea.”

The centaur then made an odd expression and tilted their head.

It was likely a reaction to the unfamiliar name ‘Partarth.’

But soon nodding in understanding, they said:

“Well, that’s convenient. I serve as Lady Dorothea’s adjutant, so I’ll guide you directly.”

Things seem to be going smoothly.

Since the other side has offered to guide us willingly, there’s no need to refuse, so we decided to follow them quietly.