The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 77

Henry held his cheek. It burned with a sudden, stinging pain.

With a shocked look, Henry blinked his big eyes and looked at Baron Veil.

“…Uncle?”

In Henry’s memory, Baron Veil was always a kind uncle.

From when Henry was very young, his uncle had watched him grow up and given him anything he wanted.

There was even a time when he liked his uncle more than his parents.

That’s how important his uncle was to Henry, who never thought his uncle would hit him.

Tears filled his eyes.

It was harder to understand in his mind than the pain on his face, that his uncle had hit him.

Even though Henry was upset, Baron Veil didn’t even look at him. He looked at Roman with an awkward smile.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry about that. I should have taught my nephew better, but he’s been spoiled since he was a child, so he seems to have made a mistake. I apologize for him. Please, for my sake, forget about what just happened.”

The person he was talking to was Roman Dmitry.

Roman’s future was unknown, but he had a lot of potential.

Plus, Marquis Benedict liked him, so Baron Veil decided he needed to apologize quickly.

It was a smart decision.

No matter how much he cared about his nephew, it wasn’t worth risking his own future.

Really, even Henry’s parents would have hit him in this situation.

The problem was solved.

Henry was shocked, and Baron Veil was asking for forgiveness.

There was no need to make things worse.

Henry’s actions were like a child’s game to Roman, not really worth calling him an enemy.

Of course, if Baron Veil hadn’t been so smart, things might not have ended so easily.

“I’ll let it go because you asked me to, Baron Veil. I’ll be going now.”

“Thank you.”

Baron Veil forced a smile.

As Roman turned to leave, he glared at Henry with narrowed eyes.

“Henry, do you even know what you did wrong?”

“…Still, how could you hit me, Uncle?”

“You foolish boy! Marquis Benedict is interested in Roman Dmitry because he is talented. Marquis Benedict would do anything to get Roman on his side. What good do you think will come from making such a person angry?! Henry, when are you going to grow up? The Albert family might act like they own the world, but if you act the same way here, we can’t protect you like they do back home.”

It was a harsh truth.

If the Albert family was really that powerful, Henry wouldn’t have been sent to the Southern Front. He would have been excused from military service.

That was the reality.

Their power was not as great as they seemed.

Henry didn’t understand this and didn’t realize Roman’s power was growing.

Then, Baron Veil had an idea.

“Roman Dmitry might have bad feelings about us because of what happened today. So, Henry, from now on, I’ll have you work with Roman on everything, from training to forming the reserve unit. Do whatever it takes to become close to Roman Dmitry. And remember, if you don’t do what I say, I’ll send you to the Western Front, even if your mother complains. Do you understand?”

When he heard that, Henry understood.

His easy life in the military was over because of one mistake.

After the trouble died down, Roman went to his room.

The training camp just gave out rooms, and as soon as he got there, it was clear he was getting special treatment.

‘Baron Veil went to some trouble.’

On the way, he had seen other nobles unpacking in old, run-down buildings.

The Southern Training Camp was old and run-down. So, it made sense that most rooms were bad. But Roman’s room was different. It was brand new and clean.

It was a single-story building for only one team to live in.

This clearly showed that Baron Veil really wanted power.

‘A person who is open about wanting power is easy to deal with. Life at the Southern Training Camp might not be so bad after all.’

As Baron Veil had asked, Roman would not be the one to bring him into the central government.

However, because their goals were the same for now, he needed to take advantage of the situation.

Creak.

He opened the door to his room.

Inside, the soldiers were almost done unpacking.

When they saw Roman and were about to salute, Roman lightly rang the bell hanging from the door.

Ting-a-ling.

Right away, the soldiers stopped moving.

They knew what the bell meant.

Over the past few months of training, they had learned one command very well.

“Emergency!”

“Everyone, get ready for battle!”

The once neat room quickly became chaotic. The soldiers dropped their things on the floor.

Then, they stuffed items into small military bags. All thirty soldiers were moving at the same time.

Roman stepped outside.

He had done something that shocked everyone in the room. Now, he watched the door with a relaxed look, as if it had nothing to do with him.

How much time had passed?

Soldiers started running out of the room.

Tap tap tap.

Thump, thump, thump.

They lined up in two rows in front of Roman in the order they came out.

They were quick and orderly.

Even though they were breathing hard, they stood straight to keep their formation.

Roman spoke.

“Two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Even though you were unpacking, it’s too slow to take more than two minutes to get ready for battle. I’ve told you many times, the enemy won’t wait for us to be perfectly ready. We don’t know when, where, or who will attack us. So, we must prepare as best we can in a short time to survive this endless war. If the next emergency signal takes more than two minutes, you will be punished.”

“Yes, sir!”

“We will remember that!”

The soldiers replied, their necks strained with eagerness.

It was a very strange sight.

Of all the troops at the Southern Training Camp, none were as well-disciplined as the soldiers who followed Roman.

The Southern Training Camp was a resort for nobles and was not very disciplined.

Yet Roman, who was giving the orders, and the soldiers, who were following them, acted as if everything was normal.

At that moment, McBurney, the head instructor of the Southern Training Camp, sighed as he got ready for training.

“To think I’m preparing training like this.”

He used to be a brave warrior who fought on the Western Front.

He was loyal to his country and volunteered for the Western Front. He protected the Cairo Kingdom for about ten years, fighting in many battles.

He was recognized for his work and became a centurion.

He started as a commoner and reached the important position of commanding a hundred men, but his downfall happened quickly.

Three years ago, the Cronos Empire deliberately attacked across the border.

They attacked the Cairo Kingdom as a warning, and many soldiers defending the Western Front died.

McBurney was one of them.

After a hard battle, they stopped the Western Front from falling, but McBurney lost his right arm, the one he used to hold his sword.

More than the pain of his arm burning, McBurney knew that his life as a warrior was over.

And he was right.

There was no place for people with disabilities on the battlefield.

McBurney lost his position as centurion, but luckily, the Cairo Kingdom didn’t completely abandon him.

“McBurney, we recognize your work on the battlefield, so we are making you a training instructor at the Southern Training Camp. We know this means leaving the battlefield, but we hope you will continue to work for the Cairo Kingdom there.”

McBurney’s life had changed.

Back then, he still thought he could help Cairo.

But the truth was sad.

Unlike the Western Front, people in the Southern Front didn’t care much about war. Most of those who went to the Southern Training Camp weren’t ready for war. They just wanted to spend their time and go home.

So, the training system at the Southern Training Camp was a mess.

Usually, at the Western Training Camp, even nobles had the same training as the soldiers. But at the Southern Training Camp, nobles didn’t have to train at all.

While the soldiers trained in the hot sun, the nobles took naps in the shade.

The commanders of the Southern Training Camp ignored this, which made the training instructors frustrated.

“What’s the point of all this?”

He looked sadly at the training schedule.

He had carefully planned the training, starting with three weeks of basic physical training, but it didn’t matter if the nobles commanding the soldiers didn’t train.

War is not just about fighting, it’s also about thinking and planning.

Commanders don’t just give orders. They must also know how good their soldiers are and be able to move with them.

Those who haven’t been in war don’t know this.

Most of them were just trash who thought they could easily win a war by giving orders.

“Hoo.”

He sighed.

He had already been at the Southern Training Camp for three years.

He didn’t want to do it anymore, but he couldn’t ignore the truth.

“…I have to do the bare minimum.”

It would be the same this time.

While the nobles enjoyed themselves, McBurney planned to at least train the soldiers properly.

On the fierce battlefield, he had learned how scary the word ‘if’ could be.

As expected, the next day, the nobles arrived at the training grounds and gathered in the shade of a large tree before training even started.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, it is. If you visit my estate later, I’ll show you what true pleasure is.”

“You promised. I trust you, brother, and I’ll definitely visit!”

“You’re always welcome!”

They had already exchanged names.

They were connected by the shared duty of defending the nation, and they chatted excitedly like old friends.

The soldiers waited for training under the hot sun.

Unlike the soldiers Roman had brought, these troops were assigned by their families to defend the nation.

From the start, they were not good soldiers.

Each noble family didn’t care about the quality of the troops who would be stuck at the Southern Front for two years. So, they filled their ranks with people who had almost no military training.

The soldiers couldn’t even line up properly.

McBurney looked grim from the start as he watched them sweating and taking off their gear.

‘It’s always like this.’

He always hoped that this time would be different.

He would be proud if he could train soldiers who were as loyal as those on the Western Front. But as always, McBurney only saw people who were ashamed to even be called ‘soldiers.’

If such a weak group had to defend the Western Front, he was sure that the defense line would fall in less than a day.

‘How can it be so different in the same warring nation?’

He controlled his emotions.

As the head instructor of the Southern Training Camp, he had to do his job.

Even if it hurt his pride, his past life was gone along with his arm.

It was then.

‘…?!’

The soldiers lined up according to their groups.

But among them, there was a group that stood in formation, unlike the disorganized soldiers.

Also, Roman Dmitry was standing at the front of them with the soldiers, even though the sun was hot.

McBurney’s expectations were wrong.

This year, someone different from the trash he had seen so far had entered the Southern Training Camp. It was Dmitry.