James fingered the bit of white fur and weed roots carefully tucked in his chest. Everyone had said they’d leave the castle or whatnot, but quite a few remained. There must be some newly recruited ones too.
A few days ago, a tax cap decree was issued throughout the entire Demon Realm. Because of that, several lords banded together to plot a rebellion, but yesterday rumors came that the current Demon King personally visited and turned them into bloody pulp.
…Were they remaining out of fear?
The servant next to him shrugged his shoulders and lowered his voice.
“Isn’t it obvious? They give you money even if you just bring rabbit fur scraps and roughly drawn pictures.”
While saying that, the servant took out a crumpled paper from his chest and showed it to James.
“I hastily drew this morning too. You should draw one too. They say the Demon King buys anything as long as it’s a rabbit picture.”
The servant’s lips curled up with greed as he said he must not be in his right mind. James looked at the paper the servant held out and immediately scrunched up his face.
“No, how is this that rabbit? It doesn’t look like it at all?”
Where did the white, fine-textured fur go—not only was the body painted some dreary ashen gray, but the eyes that were clear, transparent, and sparkling like precious gems were painted shit-brown for some reason. Above all, the dainty pink nose was bright red as if it belonged to a drunkard who guzzled alcohol.
The rabbit James knew absolutely didn’t look anything like this.
“Huh? What do you mean it doesn’t look like it? It’s exactly the same. And is that important? What matters is that this is that ‘rabbit.'”
“No… Even so, this is too much…”
Perhaps the servant didn’t like James’s reaction at all, as he snatched away the stupid rabbit picture he’d drawn.
“If you don’t want it, forget it, you bastard. You don’t even know I’m giving you such a good tip. All rabbits are the same anyway.”
The servant who clicked his tongue tucked the dirty paper back into his chest as if it were gold and silver treasure.
“The same? No, that rabbit is…”
“Oh, it’s my turn. I’m going.”
As if he had no intention of listening to James, the servant hastened his steps as soon as the number on his waiting ticket turned red. Watching him walk away, James made a somewhat dissatisfied face.
While making the absurd resolution that if the Demon King bought that stupid picture saying it was indeed that rabbit, he would take that cute and clever creature for himself.
If he looked at such a picture and said it was his rabbit, he wouldn’t notice even if the rabbit was switched.
* * *
The servant heading to the reception room on the third floor of Orte Palace had light steps. To be able to earn money so easily bit by bit—what a happy thing this was.
“What does that bastard mean it doesn’t look alike? It’s practically an exact copy.”
The servant who examined his picture this way and that was still bothered by James’s lukewarm reaction. From the looks of it, he must be embarrassed and jealous that he couldn’t think of such a thing. At least in the servant’s eyes, the rabbit picture was perfect. However, the one fact that needed to be hidden was that the servant had never properly seen the Demon King’s rabbit.
What’s so special about a rabbit—just make the ears long and the fur fluffy.
Keeping it in his chest lest he drop the picture, he this time took out a yellowish fur clump. In fact, this fur wasn’t that rabbit’s either, but some monster’s fur he’d found on the outer wall of the Demon King’s Castle. Since he’d captured the monster alive and confined it in his bedroom, if he now plucked and sold its fur every day, he wouldn’t have to worry about money at all.
Even trying to obtain real rabbit fur, the competition was too fierce, so it was practically difficult to get. Nevertheless, the reason over 100 demons swarmed was—
〈He doesn’t notice at all. How could he possibly tell if it’s rabbit fur or not?〉
Because they made fake traces of the rabbit and brought them. There’s no free money like this free money—the servant who was walking with a chuckle had already arrived in front of the Demon King’s reception room. He instantly erased his sordid smile and knocked.
Then the door opened automatically and the Demon King sitting on the sofa smoothly moved only his eyeballs to look ahead. From his blood-red irises came a strange light. In reality, the Demon King’s eyes tended to emit light due to his mana.
Just sitting on the sofa, yet at the inexplicable pressure, the servant needlessly swallowed as his throat went dry.
“Come in.”
“Ah, yes!”
The frozen servant finally hurriedly entered and immediately the door closed with a thud. Even though such magic was something even a 10-year-old demon child could do, somehow the servant got goosebumps.
Ruan gestured with his chin while looking at the terrified servant. Noticing he should quickly present the rabbit’s traces, the servant put his hand in his chest but hesitated slightly.
‘Will he really… fall for it?’
Now that he was about to deceive the Demon King, he got scared. Because the moment he was caught, it seemed like Ruan would casually cut off his neck right there. But having already come this far, he couldn’t turn back, and surely another servant had clearly told him.
That Ruan would readily buy it.
“Here is the rabbit’s fur and a picture I drew from observation, Your Majesty.”
Gaining courage, he confidently spread out the fur and picture on the table. Naturally the red gaze turned toward the desk and silence flowed for a moment.
Ruan, propping up his chin with one hand, stared intently at what the servant had presented. As Ruan didn’t say anything for quite a while, the servant felt his extremities gradually growing cold.
“Y-Your Majesty, is there some problem…”
“This is my rabbit’s fur and a picture you drew yourself?”
At the returning question, the servant immediately turned pale. W-was he caught? But he had to brazen it out. How could the Demon King actually distinguish real rabbit fur? No matter how much he cherished it, it was just a beast, a lowly creature. The Demon King was obviously just raising it as a mere plaything and would later release it in a hunting ground to hunt.
At least the servant—no, most demons except for a very few thought so.
“Yes, Your Majesty. These are traces left by the rabbit Your Majesty favors.”
“Hmm.”
A large hand with prominent knuckles picked up the picture. Ruan, who had been looking at it with an unreadable expression, put down the picture and picked up the fur next to it, rubbing it between his index finger and thumb. It was rough.
“I see.”
At Ruan’s brief response, it was the moment the servant was inwardly cheering that of course it would be so.
“You must surely have eyes and skin as decorations.”
“…Pardon?”
“Why do you have them when you can neither see nor feel properly?”
Ruan carelessly dropped the fur he’d been holding in his fingers. The Demon King rising leisurely already towered over the servant’s head. Though he knew he had a large build and frame, facing him directly made the pressure feel even more enormous and crushing.
“Y-Your Majesty, what do you mean by… Kyaaak!”
The servant’s face was squeezed tight in Ruan’s hand. With the tremendous grip, the servant screamed in pain as if his skull would split.
“Your eyes and skin should all be in a state where they can’t function properly.”
Otherwise, you would have deceived me. At the murderous gaze, the servant whose head was grabbed pissed himself and fainted right there. Not only did he completely wet his pants, but water dripped onto the floor, making Ruan grimace in disgust.
“Even his pisshole is a decoration, this bastard.”
Can’t even distinguish when to piss and when not to. Ruan threw the servant who’d pissed his pants right there, and simultaneously the door opened. Thwack—as the servant’s body was slammed into the corridor, a nearby Royal Guard knight dragged him away.
“That’s why I’m saying we should verify it.”
Looking at the servant being dragged away unconscious, Marcel entered the reception room. He covered his nose as if the yellow liquid puddled on the floor was disgusting.
“If I leave it to you guys, you’ll obviously say all white fur is Beni’s fur, so what trust is there to give you the task?”
At Ruan’s nitpicking, Marcel ultimately couldn’t say anything. Because he was puzzled about how the Demon King distinguished Beni’s fur in the first place. Ruan avoided the puddle of urine and approached one wall of the reception room. When he pressed one part firmly with his palm, clank—the entire wall vibrated and moved.
It was precisely the Demon King’s secret subspace.
As soon as the Demon King entered, the interior lit up with a click, and inside—
“…You really do seem to have gone mad.”
Display cases organized by location where Beni’s fur was discovered, and pictures with the white rabbit perfectly drawn were placed in golden frames filling the walls.
And in the center, in the largest frame, hung a large portrait not of the rabbit but of Beni’s face.
Looking at that portrait, Ruan replied contentedly.
“How insolent.”
