Chapter 343: (Mid-Rank) Keep Up the Good Work, Deogandai!

* * *

Suddenly enveloped in a dazzling purple light, Deogandai instinctively closed his eyes.

And a few seconds later.

He cautiously opened his eyes.

What he saw was a vast, white, seamless space with walls and a ceiling.

He could hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

This place is completely different from the Ashgo Kingdom's royal capital, where he should have been fighting until just now.

In other words.

He was crushed by Emi and sent to the so-called afterlife.

......Well, not really.

This is the Demon Lord's castle.

More specifically, it's the teleportation room in the Demon Lord's castle.

Deogandai was urgently summoned back to base by someone, narrowly escaping death.

Who is that someone?

Of course, Deogandai had an idea.

Because he had been saved from the brink of death in a similar way before.

"............"

Anyway, his whole body aches from the intense battle.

Furthermore, he's currently lying on his back, and the wings on his back and the tail on his backside are being crushed by his body weight, which is quite painful.

Somehow, couldn't he turn to his side...... or lie on his stomach?

"Aah!? Ow, ow, ow, ow!? Ow ow ow ow!?"

Trying to move his body, he cursed his own carelessness.

He currently has a broken bone.

Of course it would hurt if he tried to move.

"......What are you doing? What are you doing?"

Deogandai heard an exasperated voice.

He managed to move his head and looked to the side. The owner of the voice was his subordinate, Longinus, the low-ranking assistant.

She was driving a small, silent magic forklift, approaching Deogandai.

"......Longinus?"

Deogandai, out of pride as her superior, gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and made a stern expression.

"You don't have to act tough now. You're smart, but I know better than anyone how much of an idiot you can be."

"You! How dare you speak to your superior like that...... Ow, ow, ow, ow ow!?"

Ignoring Deogandai's desperate scolding and groans, Longinus jumped off the magic forklift.

She's short, so even getting on and off a small vehicle is a struggle.

"Anyway, Deogandai-sama."

Longinus crouched down near Deogandai, looked him in the eye, and said.

"Good work."

"......Yeah."

Deogandai closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.

"......I lost."

"Yes, you did."

He muttered.

With a tinge of regret.

"But, Longinus. You saw it, right?"

"Yes."

"That...... Kukaka, she said it, right?"

"Yes."

"That I was...... 'strong'."

"......Yes."

Deogandai laughed.

His expression seemed somewhat relieved...... cheerful.

Longinus, on the other hand, was somewhat dissatisfied.

Her usually unfriendly face was even more so now, with a frown and a pout.

"......Hey, what's with that weird expression?"

"I've known that for a while now."

"Huh?"

"That you're strong...... and passionate."

......Hearing such an unexpected assessment from his usually aloof and cold subordinate.

Deogandai was speechless for a moment, and then.

"......Kukaka...... Kukakakaka!"

He laughed happily.

"Well, your personality is bad, though."

"Hey!!...... Ow, ow, ow ow ow!?"

* * *

"Well then, Deogandai-sama...... It's time to talk about work."

Saying that, Longinus returned her slightly softened expression to its usual unfriendly one.

And she took out a document from the bag slung over her shoulder.

A stiff paper with purple patterned borders.

In other words, it's a letter of appointment.

Deogandai involuntarily held his breath.

"Zeithawne-sama entrusted this to me...... I'll read it aloud."

"Please......"

He already knew the outcome.

But he did what he could.

He'll accept it.

He closed his eyes, exhaled deeply, and waited for Longinus's words.

"'Deogandai the Puppeteer, middle-ranked commander, is hereby relieved of his duties as a middle-ranked commander......'"

"I see......"

He'll accept it.

He was recognized as a strong opponent in the end.

He'll embrace that fact with pride and offer his body to the magic dissolving furnace.

He'll become nourishment for the newly born demons.

That's what he thought, but.

......Tears streamed down his face, uncontrollably.

He was still, regretful.

Achieving results beyond his abilities, beyond his stats.

And overturning the stat-centric hierarchy prevalent in the Demon Lord's army.

Making everyone acknowledge him.

......He couldn't achieve that goal.

And he was afraid.

......Of dying.

But.

But, that being said.

This is not the time to cry.

He has to say this.

"Longinus...... Longinus! Thank you...... for everything......!"

Deogandai, crying, somehow managed to lift the corners of his mouth and smiled at his reliable subordinate.

Longinus looked away from the letter of appointment, stopped reading, and looked at Deogandai's face.

"I was an incompetent superior...... I'm sorry! You always helped me...... I couldn't even repay you for your hard work, and I'm going to die, but you, from now on......"

"Hold on, Deogandai-sama? Stop, stop!"

Longinus hit Deogandai's head, who had started muttering something while crying, quite hard.

"Ouch!? That hurts!"

"Slipping into your own world is your bad habit, you know? Listen to me until the end. And what do you mean you're going to die?"

"Huh?"

Deogandai, dumbfounded, stared at Longinus's face.

Longinus coughed and started reading the letter of appointment again.

"'Deogandai the Puppeteer, middle-ranked commander, is hereby relieved of his duties as a middle-ranked commander, and newly appointed as a high-ranking investigator.' ......This is the letter of appointment issued to you. Congratulations, you've been promoted."

Longinus, with her usual expressionless face, informed Deogandai.

Deogandai, on the other hand, was still dumbfounded.

"Huh? Promotion? Why?"

Seeing Deogandai's reaction, Longinus sighed in exasperation.

"First of all, the reason you were relieved of your duties as a middle-ranked commander is because of your major blunder in Liheid. You understand that, right?"

"U...... Uh-huh."

"But you've also achieved results in your monster ecology survey missions and others. Don't tell me...... you were completely unaware?"

"Eh? Eh? Eh?"

Yes, Deogandai had completely ignored the true achievements he had accumulated.

Because his passion was solely focused on achieving military results beyond his innate abilities and wiping the smirk off the faces of the Demon Lord's army higher-ups.

Monster ecology research and the like were just means to that end, and he never even imagined that the research itself would be evaluated.

"So, it took some time for the issuance, but it's a transfer and promotion based on your aptitude. It's a bit of a shame that your promotion was slightly affected by this recent failure, but this appointment is final. By the way, I'm being transferred with you, so I look forward to working with you in the future."

Saying that, Longinus took out her own letter of appointment from her bag and showed it to Deogandai.

It says, "Longinus, low-ranking assistant to middle-ranked commander Deogandai the Puppeteer, is hereby relieved of her duties as a low-ranking assistant, and newly appointed as a middle-ranking assistant to high-ranking investigator Deogandai the Puppeteer."

She also smoothly got promoted to middle-ranking assistant.

"Wait...... Wait, Longinus, let me organize my thoughts."

Deogandai, confused, slowly.

Slowly, began to understand.

"So, I"

"Yes."

"Don't have to die, and"

"Yes."

"My department is changing, but"

"Yes."

"......I'm getting promoted."

"Yes."

"I've been acknowledged."

"Yes."

"I've...... been acknowledged?"

"Yes."

"Kukaka...... Kukakakakaaaーーー!!"

Deogandai finally understood Longinus's words.

He grasped the situation!

And then...... he laughed triumphantly!!

"Ow!! Ow, ow, ow, owーーー!!"

And then, he remembered his broken bones and writhed in pain!

"But you can't just be happy, you know?"

Longinus sighed, looking down at the idiotic Deogandai.

"Some higher-ups argue that 'Even if he's an investigator, you don't have the combat ability worthy of a high-ranking position'. I said 'a bit of a shame' earlier, right? If you stay like this, you'll be tripped up."

"Ow, ow ow...... Well, I understand the principle of the Demon Lord's army that we should be strong. It's inevitable that there are such voices, but."

"By the way, that's the opinion of Makkoymakkoy-sama, the master of brute force."

"What the hell, that muscle-brained idiot! Get the intelligence worthy of a member of the Four Archdemons before you say such arrogant things!!"

"......I'll just ignore that fluent rant."

Longinus looked around to make sure no one was there, and sighed in relief.

"Anyway, I've already taken care of that."

"You have......!?"

Deogandai was amazed and impressed by how quickly Longinus had acted!

This shorty is truly a capable subordinate.

He was truly glad that Longinus was his subordinate.

Deogandai sincerely thought that.

And then, he asked.

"What kind of 'care' did you take?"

Did she find a high-ranking official who could back him up?

Deogandai had lived his life harboring rebellious feelings towards the higher-ups, so he had deliberately distanced himself from such political networking.

Therefore, he had no idea.

Who?

Who is backing him up?

Longinus grinned at Deogandai, who was puzzled, and confidently answered.

"Modification surgery!"

"......Huh?"

Hearing those ominous words that were completely different from what he had imagined, Deogandai froze.

But Longinus, paying no attention to his reaction, jumped onto the magic forklift and started operating it.

The forklift slowly moved between the floor and Deogandai's body.

"Hey, hey, Longinus? What exactly is modification surgery?"

"Deogandai-sama. You've always been distressed by your low stat cap. I understand that very well."

"Uh, yeah."

Longinus spoke while lifting Deogandai's body with the forklift.

"To be honest, I used to dislike you quite a bit, so I ignored your concerns. But lately, I've grown fond enough of you to want to help you somehow."

Longinus, blushing slightly while operating the levers, clunk, clunk.

But she avoided making eye contact with Deogandai.

It's a slightly cute gesture.

But for Deogandai, he had nothing but a bad feeling.

"So, a circular came around recently about recruiting test subjects for body modification surgery, which the technology department is conducting experimentally."

"Yeah."

"So I applied on your behalf, Deogandai-sama, as a test subject."

"What are you doingーーー! I, you know, even becoming my 5th form has made my daily life incredibly inconvenient! So, you know, I'm glad you thought of me, but, you know, being modified even further...... I'd like to decline."

Deogandai, no longer trying to maintain a superior tone, desperately pleaded with Longinus, who was in the driver's seat, from atop the forklift, hoping she wouldn't do anything unnecessary.

Longinus listened to him silently and then took out a different paper from her bag, not the letter of appointment.

"Well, I already applied. Here's a copy of the application form."

"What have you doneーーー!?"

That paper is indeed a copy of the application form for human modification surgery!

At the bottom of the document, which listed terrifying consent statements such as "I will accept any and all consequences resulting from the surgery, and will not protest", in the applicant signature section, the name "Deogandai" was already written in rounded handwriting!

"Y-You signed my name without permission!?"

"I took the liberty."

"How could you do such a thing! Don't decide my future without my consent!"

"But, Deogandai-sama, your stats have already reached their limit. If you want to become stronger, there's no other way than body modification surgery."

"There is! There must be another way! And why was that application accepted!? That signature is clearly not mine!"

"It went through smoothly when I said, 'Deogandai-sama can't hold a pen properly because of his 5th form, so I signed on his behalf'."

"The screening process is too laxーーー!!"

Ignoring Deogandai's protests, Longinus started operating the magic forklift and began moving.

They passed through the large automatic doors from the teleportation room and entered the corridor.

Deogandai desperately protested, but because of his broken bones, he couldn't resist any further!

He was being carried away on a forklift, like mere luggage, to somewhere.

"Don't worry, Deogandai-sama. You'll probably be able to acquire combat abilities worthy of a high-ranking investigator through this surgery. Maybe."

"Who can be reassured by being told 'probably', 'surely', and 'maybe'ーーー!!"

"Now, let's head to the operating room. Great power is just around the corner."

"Eh, wait? That surgery is happening now? Isn't that too soon?"

"It seems there are no other test subjects."

"I don't want that surgeryーーー!! I don't want to undergo itーーー!!"

Seriously, is this shorty really a capable subordinate?

Was he really glad that Longinus was his subordinate?

Deogandai sincerely thought that.

Well, anyway.

Former middle-ranked commander, now high-ranking investigator, Deogandai the Puppeteer.

Your battle seems to continue.

Good luck, Deogandai!