The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 382

A few days earlier. Knight Commander Jonathan listened as Lucas told him a worrying story.

“I can’t stop worrying about Ares,” Lucas said.

“…What are you trying to say?” Jonathan asked. The topic was delicate. Jonathan became very still. Lucas looked around quickly before speaking quietly.

“Knight Commander,” Lucas began, “you are in charge of Dimitri’s security. I lead the Information Guild, and our lord has made me an inspector. My job is to suspect everyone in Dimitri. If anything looks strange, I must investigate their private lives to find the truth. Lately, I’ve been watching the new soldiers closely. Spies often try to join as soldiers, so we must consider that some new recruits might be spies.”

“Are you saying you have proof Ares is a spy?” Jonathan asked.

“No, not at all.” Lucas shook his head.

If there was proof, Roman Dimitri would have killed Ares publicly before leaving for Valhalla.

“Ares seems perfect. His past is clear, and nothing looks suspicious. He even did amazing things recently, defeating those strong Valhalla fighters. Honestly, I had no reason to doubt Ares. But this trip to Valhalla is the problem. Our lord is going to Valhalla again, but Ares said he’s staying in Dimitri because he’s tired.”

“Yes, he did do a big job,” Jonathan replied.

“Knight Commander Jonathan, the Information Guild’s job is to be suspicious of everyone. I have to get information by questioning even normal people on the street – who are they, why are they here? Even if only one out of a hundred suspicions is right, we’ve done our job.” Lucas explained.

Before this, Knight Commander Jonathan thought Lucas was just guessing too much.

But as Lucas continued to talk, Jonathan started to feel a dark worry growing inside him.

“Let’s think about ‘what if’,” Lucas continued. “What if the Chronos Empire put a spy in Dimitri? If they wanted to cause trouble, who would be the most dangerous spy? With our lord, Chris, and Kevin gone, Ares is someone who *shouldn’t* be a spy. That’s why I started to suspect him. Because if he *was* a spy, he could destroy us. So, I’ve been watching Ares closely, especially now. Everything looks normal. No real proof to suspect him. But I still don’t understand why he didn’t go with our lord. Valhalla is his home. If there’s a mission in Valhalla, Ares is the best person for it.”

He shifted his viewpoint. Thinking like the enemy, Jonathan realized Lucas was right. Ares was in the perfect position to help the enemy win.

“If something goes wrong in Valhalla, we must treat this suspicion about Ares as almost certain. Worrying about being fair to a friend is not important now. We don’t understand why Ares stayed behind. If war starts, he becomes much more dangerous. So, Knight Commander Jonathan, you must stop Ares the moment you see anything even slightly suspicious.” Lucas warned.

“…This is very difficult,” Jonathan said.

He felt a weight in his chest. There was no proof, but Lucas’s words made sense. Jonathan was troubled by the idea of suspecting his friend.

Then, a question popped into his head. “Did you tell Lord Dimitri about this?”

If there was real suspicion, Roman Dimitri would have said something about what to do.

Lucas had told Roman Dimitri as soon as he became suspicious, but the reaction was surprising. “Yes, that’s why I came to see you, Knight Commander Jonathan,” Lucas confirmed.

Lucas told Roman Dimitri the same story as before. But Roman Dimitri remained calm, showing no worry.

“Lucas,” Roman Dimitri said.

“Yes, my lord,” Lucas responded.

“How many spies do we have in the Valhalla Empire?” Roman Dimitri asked calmly.

“Around 10,000, my lord. Most are in small groups, living as normal people in different parts of Valhalla,” Lucas answered.

“Exactly,” Roman Dimitri said. “We have 10,000 spies in Valhalla. Valhalla might find some, but not all. That’s the problem with being strong. The bigger you are, the more enemies you have. Powerful countries must know that many spies are always hiding within their borders. No matter how hard they search, they can’t find everyone. So, knowing where some spies are, but not catching them, can actually help us. We can watch them to understand what they are planning. If we always remember that spies are out there, even if we can’t see them, we can be ready for anything unexpected.”

“…I understand, my lord, but if Ares betrays us, it would be too dangerous,” Lucas agreed.

Ares. He had improved so much under Roman Dimitri’s teaching. Everyone knew, without saying it, that Ares was becoming Dimitri’s second most important person. He was incredibly skilled in the soldier recruitment. Even Chris struggled against Ares. Dimitri’s power structure was changing because of him. If Ares betrayed them, it would be a disaster. Roman Dimitri knew this too.

“We have no proof Ares is a spy. It’s just a suspicion, so I won’t hurt him. Lucas, as Dimitri has grown, everyone we’ve welcomed could have been a spy. The Northeast Alliance, Marquis Valentino, Count Fabius, Fernando, even Fred – we knew he was a spy when we took him in. They all became important parts of Dimitri. If we had turned away everyone we suspected, Dimitri would never be this strong, I’m sure of it.” Roman Dimitri explained.

“It was the same in my past life. The stronger you are, the more danger you face. I don’t want to be someone who only sees a small part of the world. I dream of a great country, not a small one. I want to rule the whole Salamander Continent. When I rule so many people across such a huge land, what would happen if I started suspecting everyone without proof? If I don’t trust people, they will fight each other. If they are unsure of me, they will lose faith in me. That’s why I choose to trust my people. Blind trust is risky, as you said, but it doesn’t mean we ignore problems. That’s why I gave you power. Trust people, but also suspect everyone, even me. If I become crazy and start hurting the country like the Valhalla Emperor, you must encourage people to rise up against me.”

“Lucas,” Roman Dimitri continued. “Your job is important. To build a great nation, like a vast ocean, we must accept all doubts and worries. And,” he added, his voice hardening, “if Ares *is* a spy, Dimitri must not look weak, like we’ll fall apart just because one person betrayed us. We must stop his plans, catch Ares like an animal, and show everyone what happens when you betray Dimitri. Even if they sent him to be a spy, we must make them regret it so much they never try again. If we start to doubt ourselves because we are worried, Dimitri will stop growing.”

That day, Lucas looked up at the sky, feeling amazed by Roman Dimitri’s strength. Seeing how Roman accepted problems as part of being powerful, Lucas bowed his head deeply. “I will do as you command, my lord. I, Lucas, will suspect every problem and stop anything unexpected.”

A few days later, Lucas went back to Knight Commander Jonathan. To get ready for even the smallest chance of something terrible happening.

Ares staying in Dimitri. The Second Continental War. And Ares acting strangely. Jonathan started to see how it all fit together. With Chronos trying to attack Dimitri, he knew he couldn’t ignore his suspicion about Ares anymore.

Knight Commander Jonathan spoke, his voice serious. “Ares, what I’m going to say might upset you. But I am the commander here, responsible for Dimitri’s safety. That includes protecting the castle. I gave you a job to do. Why aren’t you doing it?”

“So, you’re accusing me based only on suspicion?” Ares’s face tightened with anger. Jonathan had just gone too far. Ares spoke, his voice sharp.

“If you’ve misunderstood what I’ve done, I can’t explain myself. But I think I’ve done enough for Dimitri not to be treated like a spy just because of suspicion! Remember when we rescued the prisoners? When we went to Arcadia? When we fought those Valhalla fighters? I risked my life for Dimitri every time! So, what’s wrong? Do you think it’s fair to call me a spy just because I didn’t go to Valhalla and wasn’t where you expected me to be?” Ares defended himself.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. If you had just followed orders, I wouldn’t be suspicious at all.” Knight Commander Jonathan stood his ground. Now that he had said his suspicion out loud, he had to deal with it strongly.

Commander Jonathan was stubborn and would not change his mind, even if it was difficult.

He was as stubborn as always.

His face was serious as he spoke clearly.

“We will follow the rules and deal with this when Young Master Roman comes back. So, if you don’t want to make trouble, listen to my orders now. The order is easy: protect your places on the right wall until the very end. If you stay there and do what you are told, I will say sorry to you myself after this war, no matter what happens.”

The right wall was a long way from the gate.

Jonathan knew that if Ares wanted to get to the gate, this order would get in his way.

“If you don’t listen to my orders and leave where I told you to be, I will have to think you are a traitor.”

He would not give in. Compromise was not an option.

When Jonathan spoke so firmly, Ares’ face changed in a strange way. Everyone watched them.

The soldiers who didn’t understand thought, ‘Jonathan is making a mistake, and he will regret it.’

But then Ares spoke.

“…You’re making things very hard for me.”

His face was now fierce and angry, not calm like before.

To understand Ares, we need to go back in time, to the story of Alexander…

A very long time ago, Alexander was thinking hard.

He had chosen to study magic, but he always wanted to learn fighting skills.

He remembered the cheers of people for the leader of the Demonic Cult, a powerful group.

Even while learning dark magic and planning to take over the land, he couldn’t forget his dream of being known as Alexander, the first to use Aura.

So, he changed his mind.

He thought, ‘If I am not talented enough, if I can’t be better than dark magic myself, maybe I can find someone else to do it for me?’

Even if he couldn’t be as strong as the leader of the Demonic Cult, he wanted to feel like he achieved his dream through someone else.

This was a dream he had for a long time, hidden deep inside.

He waited for the right person to appear. One day, Alexander found someone very talented and bright. It was Ares.

That day, Alexander took Ares as his student, someone who would do what Alexander wanted.

Ares stopped hiding his feelings. He looked very angry.

“‘You have no proof I’m a spy,’ Ares said, ‘but you weak people are quick to judge.'”

He laughed in a mean way.

During the test to become soldiers, Alexander sent spies. People like Fred were found out then, and everyone thought all the spies were caught.

But Ares was different. No one could find out he was a spy. He wasn’t controlled by magic from the start.

Ares was normal and had a good history, so he easily became part of Dimitri’s group. From the beginning, the other spies were just to trick them.

Alexander had a plan for sending Ares as a spy.

‘Ares,’ Alexander had said, ‘you will become a weapon to destroy Dimitri. And you will also learn all of Roman Dimitri’s fighting skills.’

People said Ares was different from everyone else in Dimitri’s group. This wasn’t because Ares was naturally creative, but because Alexander wanted him to be different from himself.

Ares was the most talented genius in the whole land. That was his secret.

Stern Valhalla, Duke Vieto, the Archmage of the Sky Tower, and even Ares – Alexander had power everywhere, no matter how much you looked.

Tap tap tap.

Dimitri’s soldiers walked closer and surrounded him. Their faces became serious.

Ares was a traitor! This was very bad. Ares alone could destroy their whole defense.

Ares said.

“Commander Jonathan, you should have just pretended you didn’t know and let me trick you. Do you really think you can stop me and the Cronos Empire without Roman Dimitri here? Because of Roman Dimitri, I am even stronger now. You can’t stop me by yourself.”

Swish.

He pulled out his sword. It felt like a huge power was coming from him.

Commander Jonathan watched Ares carefully, his face serious. Then, some men came forward from around them.

“Yes,” someone said, “maybe we can’t stop you alone.”

Whoosh.

Fwoosh.

Flames appeared. Fire was swirling around him, showing his strong power.

It was Rodwell Dimitri!

And not just him. Fred, Logan, Felix, Knox, and other important people from Dimitri also got their weapons ready. This was Commander Jonathan’s order. He had told them to be ready for anything, so they were prepared to fight.

“But Dimitri will not lose so easily!”

Those words were the signal.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ares and Dimitri’s swordsmen ran at each other, like they had been waiting for this moment.

Clang!

Rumble!

And then, from outside the walls, many soldiers from the Cronos Empire started running towards Dimitri’s walls.