Helen’s Tent- Valefor

After dismissing her guards, she stood in front of me.

“Tell me the truth,” the female general spoke, staring down at me with keen, sharp eyes.

I began to sweat profusely.

She couldn’t have realized that I had lied to her, did she? The thought surfaced instantly.

Where did I go wrong! I shouted in my mind, rattling through our encounter for any errors that might have slipped.

I don’t believe I slipped once! It is impossible, unless… she can read my mind.

Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked, noticing my sudden change in expression, “confess now or else I won’t be merciful.”

“I-I don’t know what you are talking about, my lady,” I opted to play the fool.

She crossed her arms and glared menacingly at me as if I am her prey, “are you going to honestly pretend you don’t know what I am talking about?”

“…”

“If you are not going to say it, then I will. While your alibi was solid,” the female general replied, unamused by my acting skill, “you have forgotten one important thing.”

“…?”

I was beginning to sweat bullets as my eyes darted around the room.

There was no darker, more foreboding sign than the look on her face. It was as if she had checkmated me, or that she had defeated a difficult challenge that had her stressed out for weeks.

My surrounding suddenly turned grim.

The clouds swept through, covering the sun. The sunlight that came through from above grew dim.

If the earth underneath opened up and lava began spewing out from how grim the situation is, I would not be surprise.

“The first error is that you are not dressed the part. Even if you are a knight, you would not be able to afford such an expensive sword, nor would you wear the clothing that you have on the battlefield.” She spoke rather objectively, “not to mention, if you have been on the move for the past four weeks, your clothes would be dirty and you would reek of sweat. Yet, not only are you clean and smell of flower, but there’s not a speck of dust on your body, or wound to show that you were in any sort of conflict.”

I stared blankly at the general.

With the despair on my face evident of how correct she was, she triumphantly asked, “now, tell me, who are you really?”

“I really screwed up didn’t I?” I couldn’t help but frown.

Her deduction was spot on and my identity that I had worked relatively… hard to acquire had completely shattered.

I have been foiled!

It was not my fault that I never prepared myself for such a situation as encountering the human army’s camp in the middle of the wilderness. It was the equivalent of taking a step outside only to be struck by lightning, on a clear day.

“Truth be told, I would have been bought by your story entirely if you dressed for the part,” the general replied.

I sighed and rested my upper body against the table, resigning myself to defeat, “are you going to kill me now? If you do, please, at least give me a last meal. That would be nice… may I request fresh milk and tiramisu… apple pie would be nice too, apples are in season I believe…”

Seeing how I surrendered so quickly, she couldn’t help but chuckle, “If you give me a reason to.”

With a voice deprived of life, my eyes looked up to her from the table, “You are not going to kill me?”

“I don’t see a reason to right now,” she answered, smiling deviously at me, “you may have lied to me, but you only did it in order to save your own life right? Seeing that you did not attack me the moment that your identity was revealed, I see that you are not all that bad either. Besides, I have already tested you with my blade. Had you retaliated to save your life when I drew my sword, then regardless of your race, I would have killed you on the spot.”

Since she was allowing me a chance to redeem myself, I saw that all hope was not lost and shot straight up.

“Ah, perfect,” I clapped my hands together, “please do not kill me. I will cooperate.”

“Tell me the truth, the complete truth, and I will be lenient.”

I smiled feebly, “I guess since I have already lied to you once, and got caught, I will simply assume that you won’t trust me as easily.”

“You already had your chance,” she replied coldheartedly, “this time, you’ll be needing some evidence if you want to support your case.”

“Very well, the truth is that I am not a foot soldier,” I responded, thinking quickly on how to persuade her to remain on my side.

What would make her believe me? Should I tell her the truth?

If I told her that I am a demon lord, the 72nd demon lord that they are about to attack, I would be tied up and hung. That kind of fate would be what people consider a bad end.

Threatening her would be the equivalent of tightening the noose around my neck at this point.

Should I hold her hostage? That would do nothing but set me back! I would have to dispose of this entire army. That would be the greatest waste of resources since Gwendolyn polluted the entire drinking supply with sugar and tea leaves during summer. Granted, I did enjoy it. 

There’s no doubt about it, I must once more… lie my heart out!

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I told myself, ‘make a concoction of lies and truth, so wonderfully done that she won’t be able to separate the two!’

“I am a half-breed,” I finally answered her question, “a mix between a human and a demon.”

Time to gain sympathy points!

Tears began to trickle down my cheeks.

In truth, I was able to cry on command. It had saved me from my mother’s lectures in the past.

Since she was a woman, there is no way that she will not fall for the crying trick! Her maternal instinct won’t allow it! Now, feel sympathy for me!

Just as I glanced at her in hope of seeing a favorable reaction, a sword fell down onto my shoulder, hoovering just a centimeter from my neck.

“If you have time to cry, then you have time to tell me the truth,” the female general warned, “no more tricks or else the next time, I’ll remove your head.”

My shoulders sank as low as it could.

This person is too fierce!

When I looked at her, I noticed now unnaturally calm she was.

“You don’t seem surprise by the fact that I am a demon,” I said, quite shocked myself.

“It’s one of the few viable explanations,” the general replied, “Is it right for me to assume that you are an incubus?”

“That’s right,” I replied, dispelling the glamour spell that I had casted on myself.

With my horns, wings, and tail visible, the general simply nodded her head as if affirming her assumption.

“So, Mikhail, if that is your real name, and why are you here?”

This person likes to get to the point.

I smiled helplessly, “if I told you my reason was to help you- would you believe me?”

“No.”

“My demonic name is Erebus, while I received the name Mikhail from my human mother. While it is hard to tell, I am a half-breed, and since I was young, I have been tormented by my birth,” I told her, “for me to have human blood flowing through my vein was bad enough, but since I also have demon blood within me, I am seen as a disgrace to everyone- I am a trash worse than slaves. I figured since I will never have a future if I stay in the demon lord’s domain, why not live as a human.”

There was a split second where her eyes grew wide in surprise, “you want to live as a human?”

“If you didn’t discover the truth, do you think other people would suspect me to be a demon?” I asked.

“No.”

“I thought if I join the human side, maybe I would be able to find a job, fall in love, settle down in a small peaceful town, and live my life out that way. That’s really all that I wish for. Unfortunately, I was caught by a certain sword wielding individual before my new beautifully planned life could start.”

“You have a rather mundane wish,” she replied, drawing her sword back.

Those are some fighting words! I choked back the urge to scream at her.

Even though it may be a lie, that was unwarranted.

“For you, perhaps, but that’s all I really want,” I muttered, feeling a tinge of pain within my chest.

“And for that reason, you want to assist us?”

“That’s one of the many reasons,” I replied, smiling dazzlingly, “wouldn’t it be great if I could take revenge on the people who tormented me?”

“Then, does that mean what you said about the 72nd demon lord was a lie?” Piecing the information, she muttered after much consideration, “Did you just want us to deal with the 71st demon lord?”

“Nope,” I answered, leaning back against the chair with my hands supporting the back of my head, “it’s the truth. Your army won’t be able to defeat him. In fact, it would be a miracle if you could inflict a wound on him. If you fought against him one hundred times, you would lose one hundred times. That is why, if you want to be able to return with the honor of killing a demon lord rather than becoming the food for the crows, then I suggest the 71st demon lord- the weakest one amongst the seventy-two demon lords.”

“Very well, I have decided, I will not kill you,” the female general said, “instead, I will hire you.”

I figured that she would do just that.

There was nothing more valuable than having accurate information on their enemy. Usually, it would be impossible to extract information from demons since they tend to be loyal to their revered demon lords. But because she knew that I have a deep hatred towards the entire demon race, my very existence being my evidence, I figured she would at least see me as a tool to accomplish her duty.

“However, if I find that you lied to me,” she said, glaring at me with a malicious aura befitting of a demon lord, “then I will kill you myself.”

For a moment, I felt like she would do better as a demon lord than a general. In fact, if she continued to act in such manner, I feel like I should surrender my seat to her. Regardless…

“I understand,” I immediately raised my arms up in show of surrendering, “I will do my best in order to assist you in every way I can!”

“You will be joining my group,” she ordered, “that way, I can keep watch on you.”

“…Please have mercy,” I begged out of genuine distress.

If I have to serve such a demanding and unreasonable, merciless woman, I fear that I might bash my head against my sword and die like the many priestesses that serves the demon lords.