Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Hey! Are you really that good at fighting? □

After finishing a quick breakfast at the dining hall, I headed toward the aerial garden located in the backyard of the Demon King’s Castle as recommended by the maid.

At first, I thought the “aerial garden” actually floated in the air, but it turned out to be a garden built atop a high cliff, hence its name.

“Ho.”

As soon as I stepped into the garden, the first thing that caught my eye was the meticulously maintained ornamental trees and flower beds blooming with all kinds of flowers.

Back in my days as a prodigy mage renowned throughout the kingdom, I often attended parties where I saw gardens like this. Even compared to the gardens of any noble family, this one held no less beauty.

That means the gardener who takes care of this place must be quite skilled.

A maid who had been following me quietly from behind like a shadow gave me a brief explanation about the aerial garden.

“This garden was created for the leisure of Charlotte, the second wife of the 2nd Demon King, Tiberius. The blue roses filling the flower beds symbolize her love for her husband, making this a famous legend.”

Upon hearing the story, I became intrigued and squatted down in front of a flower bed while walking through the garden, plucking a single blue rose.

The petals, moistened by last night’s rain, were glowing faintly.

‘This is impressive.’

Originally, blue roses cannot exist in nature.

Rose petals do not contain delphinidin, the pigment responsible for producing blue color.

However, the rose in my hand displayed a vivid blue hue, which meant it was an artificially bred variety.

To successfully genetically modify plants 800 years ago without any scientific knowledge must have required someone extraordinary.

The tale of the chaste lady told by the maid didn’t quite match the tenacity and madness behind this result. Just imagining the trial-and-error process involved made me feel delighted.

Though I smiled for other reasons, I decided there was no need to clear up the maid’s misunderstanding when she said:

“That flower seems to please you.”

I nodded slightly in agreement.

“Yes, it’s quite beautiful.”

“In that case, I’ll pick a few more to decorate your room.”

Although I was amused for different reasons, it seemed unnecessary to clarify, so I let her proceed.

Even though I spent some time admiring the roses, after walking for about 30 more minutes, I managed to tour the entire aerial garden.

After completing a round and returning to the entrance, the maid, who had been silently following me, asked quietly:

“What do you plan to do now?”

Rubbing my chin upon hearing her question, I felt somewhat reluctant to return to my room just yet.

The Demon King will call me once he finishes his work, so I probably have around 1-2 hours of free time?

“Let’s proceed to the training ground as originally planned.”

“…Please follow me this way.”

After hearing my answer, she slightly bowed and began walking towards the training ground inside the Demon King’s Castle.

While following her back, I thought to myself:

‘Are these guys pretty strong?’

After approximately 15 minutes of walking from the castle’s backyard aerial garden, we arrived at the training ground, which wasn’t much different from what I’d imagined.

A vast grassy area on the ground with straw dummies placed at regular intervals, soldiers swinging wooden swords and spears at them.

And in the corner of the training ground, black-armored Death Knights were engaging in sparring matches.

From afar, I muttered indifferently:

“There’s nothing particularly special here.”

Apparently, places inhabited by people are all the same.

The maid standing silently behind me like a shadow flinched slightly upon hearing my mutter but didn’t say anything in rebuttal.

Despite potentially offending their pride as demons, they showed restraint, indicating they must receive proper etiquette training regularly.

Anyway, watching the demon soldiers train under the instructor’s commands was frankly uninteresting.

Having participated in several wars against the demons, I’ve seen too much to be impressed by such scenes anymore.

On the contrary, the sparring matches between the Death Knights were unexpectedly entertaining.

Death Knights are monsters born when knights die with strong grudges or regrets.

Though their appearances resemble emaciated skeletons or mummies, they wear heavy armor and wield massive Zweihänders, their tattered cloaks billowing dramatically as they roam battlefields, exuding an overwhelming presence.

Since they possess undead bodies that don’t die unless targeted by a cleric’s Turn Undead or mana-infused attacks, they’re one of the most feared undead by frontline warriors.

Right before my eyes, two such monsters were engaged in a fierce duel.

“Grghhh!”

“Uuuuaaaa!”

Despite being clad in heavy armor, the two skeletal Death Knights swung their swords wildly, unleashing lethal moves that would never be allowed in human sparring.

Since their wounds heal instantly anyway, they had no hesitation in severing each other’s limbs.

There was a strange sense of catharsis in it all.

Generally, Death Knights are considered undead that move purely on instinct, but they retain perfect mastery over the swordsmanship they learned in life.

Ironically, in battles between these immortal monsters with endless stamina, the deciding factor ultimately comes down to their sword skills from their mortal lives.

BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!

The Zweihänders clashed repeatedly in the air until one developed a crack and broke in half, creating an opening.

Without missing a beat, the other severed the opponent’s head cleanly.

THUD!

The Death Knight holding the broken sword collapsed, and the victor raised his massive sword overhead with both hands, seemingly preparing for the finishing blow.

“Hold!”

But the action was stopped by an unexpected voice.

“Number 5, return to your position!”

The Death Knight, who moments ago looked ready to brutally slaughter his opponent, obediently sheathed his sword and returned to his spot.

“Tch. Savage.”

Approaching the Death Knights with a clatter was a headless knight.

A higher-tier entity than the Death Knights, classified as a high-ranking demon in the Shrine of Courage – the Dullahan.

The Dullahan, carrying his black helmeted head under his arm, glanced down at the headless body of the defeated Death Knight.

“…”

Though undead, the Dullahan retained much of his sanity and demonstrated his exceptional swordsmanship from life with a clean cut.

After confirming this, he picked up the fallen Death Knight’s head and reattached it to the severed neck.

CLANK! CLANK!

Then, as if nothing had happened, the previously motionless Death Knight stood up and saluted the Dullahan.

With a casual wave of his hand, the Dullahan dismissed him, and the Death Knight ran back to join his comrades without looking back.

This naturally cleared the space, and I assumed today’s Death Knight duels were over.

But apparently, the highlight was yet to come.

Among the neatly lined-up Death Knights on parade, a neat-looking demon walked out.

His most distinctive feature was his shoulder-length dark purple hair and animal-like yellow eyes.

Though very similar in appearance to humans, his corpse-like pale skin and two black horns protruding from his hair revealed him as a noble-blooded demon.

“Barnett, thank you for the training today.”

“Leave it to me, Lady Ozma.”

While sitting on a distant stand observing these two, I heard a sudden shout:

“Hey, you over there.”

The demon resembling a freeloading older brother suddenly called out to me.

Thinking he couldn’t possibly be referring to me, I sat there blankly until the black-haired demon frowned and shouted again louder:

“Hey, you sitting on the stand with the green cloak! I’m talking to you!”

Now that he accurately described my appearance, I realized he was indeed addressing me.

As I hesitantly got up, the demon gestured for me to come forward.

“Come here. I want to talk to you.”

“…”

Uncertain if this was appropriate, I glanced at the maid behind me.

She hesitated briefly then nodded.

So this person is a high-ranking demon?

Though I didn’t feel like it, it seemed I should go.

After pulling my hat lower on my head, I approached the black-haired demon, who eyed me suspiciously.

“So, who allowed you to sneak around the training grounds?”

At this, the maid quickly interjected:

“Lord Ozma, forgive my presumption, but this gentleman is an important guest invited by His Demon Majesty…”

“Enough. Show your face.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m curious what kind of impressive face dares to keep a hat pulled low in front of me. Show it.”

“…”

I silenced the maid’s awkward attempt at explanation with a gesture.

In situations like this, weak excuses only backfire.

I boldly removed my hat without hesitation.

“Wha-”

Upon revealing my face to everyone, the Dullahan standing beside the black-haired demon reacted noticeably.

The one who issued the command also appeared quite surprised.

“A human… No, could it be…”

Muttering to himself, he soon grinned knowingly.

“Grand Mage Caldlasth, rumors of your betrayal to our Demon King’s army, persuaded by your father, proved true then.”

Upon hearing his words, I praised my decision to remove my hat without resistance, as usual.

Now I understand why he felt so authoritative – he’s the son of Demon King Nero.

I almost ended up on bad terms with my boss’s son on my first day.

Relieved internally, I listened as Ozma, now showing renewed interest, spoke:

“Though I rarely leave the Demon King’s Castle, I’ve heard much about your overwhelming martial prowess against our kin during the Human-Demon War five years ago through those who participated. Would you mind granting me the opportunity to witness your skills, if it’s not too much trouble?”

Unlike humans who worship the Goddess of Courage among the Trinity, the original three gods, demons have long revered the Goddess of Power and respect strength.

This is also why the Demon King holds great authority among the essentially tribal confederation of demons – because he is chosen directly by the goddess.

Perhaps akin to something like the Heavenly Horse Divine Sect?

Anyway, since it’s a request from the boss’s son, I can’t outright refuse, and I happen to feel like working up a sweat. With mutual interests aligning, I readily accepted the proposal.

“Very well. I’ll spar with you.”

Upon accepting the unexpected duel proposal, Ozma approached me with a surprisingly friendly attitude, unlike his initially cold impression.

“What weapon will you use? If you have any preferences, just tell Barnett here. Anything can be prepared.”

While introducing the Dullahan standing beside him, Ozma extended this offer, but I declined with a wry smile.

“I appreciate Lord Ozma’s consideration, but I’ll use this.”

Saying this, I showed the long wooden staff I’d been carrying from the start.

Ah! Staff!

An excellent tool for conversation.