Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Pretending to Be Human: Episode 045

‘If he’s a non-commissioned officer… he wouldn’t have met me before.’

I approached and patted his shoulder to ease his tension.

“That’s enough now. I heard you well.”

“Th-thank you so much!”

Reisi lowered his arm and stiffened into an attention stance. I sighed and issued another command.

“At ease.”

“Yes, sir!”

Only then did Reisi’s body relax somewhat. Though tension still gripped him.

‘Despite appearances, he looks considerably older than me. I feel a bit sorry about that.’

Moreover, Grid’s gaze from behind was unsettling. As if he were observing some unidentifiable creature.

I fetched a guest chair and had him sit.

“Now, Reisi. Take a deep breath first. I’m not keeping you here to scold you.”

“Y-yes, sir! I understand!”

I patted him as he forced himself to breathe deeply, then asked in a low voice.

“First, do you know who I am?”

“I-I apologize. I don’t know your name. I only sense that you’re someone of… very high standing.”

He deserved credit for not using the term Demon. I nodded in acknowledgment.

In an army where hierarchy is paramount, superiors and subordinates are trained to discern each other’s magical power through training.

The moment I saw him, I detected he was a Subordinate and Soldier. He, in turn, must have sensed the aura of a (very high-ranking) superior from the faint magical presence in the room.

What mattered more than the sheer quantity of magical power was its nature—he must have sensed I was at least a mid-rank superior officer.

His complexion had turned ashen the moment he entered the room for precisely that reason.

He’d come to punish a fraudulent Diviner, only to find a Captain-class superior waiting for him instead.

‘I really don’t like being given hints this way.’

I’d heard before that whenever I mentioned taking a simple walk, the entire garrison would mobilize for cleaning and preparations. After learning that hundreds, thousands of Soldiers would react to my every schedule, I’d spent every holiday without moving an inch from my quarters.

Because of that, this situation—frightening a single Soldier—sat poorly with me.

“For now, call me Deina. You know who I am, don’t you?”

He glanced at my platinum-colored eyes as he spoke.

“Y-you’re the Princess, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

I was about to offer a suitable response when he introduced himself first.

“Please, call me Gunter. That’s my current name.”

He’d lived as a human long enough to instinctively match the role. It was far more comfortable than dealing with Ruslara or Gregory.

I nodded in acknowledgment, then asked in the gentlest tone I could manage.

“First, tell me why you came here. Was it really to throw your weight around?”

“No! Those children asked me to come with them, so I simply followed!”

He explained his grievance indignantly.

It was true that Gunter was a long-standing Diviner at the Black Market. But he was merely a Diviner who’d scraped by in a small shop, hardly the sort to earn the nickname “godfather” as those children claimed.

“Those children simply exaggerated my importance on their own. I never approved of their tribute rules or anything like that.”

He repeatedly protested that he’d only been brought along because they needed a shield.

‘He does seem genuinely wronged, though….’

Still, it was difficult to trust him outright. When I turned my gaze toward Grid, he pondered for a moment before nodding.

“It’s unlikely to be a lie. I’ve heard the name Gunter before myself. They say he’s a Diviner with excellent instincts for reading situations. If the rumors are true, he wouldn’t involve himself in something this foolish.”

If that was the case, there was nothing more to interrogate. The fault lay with those who had fled, and it would be unreasonable to hold Gunter accountable now.

‘Why a Demon…and one who’s been possessed at that, is living in the Empire—I’ll have to ask about that later.’

But that wasn’t a conversation to have in front of Grid.

“Then Gunter, we plan to conduct a bit more business here before closing up. You won’t interfere, will you?”

“Of course not! I’ll warn not just those kids, but other Diviners as well! They absolutely won’t touch this place!”

Hearing the sincerity in his response, I nodded gratefully.

But Grid didn’t seem convinced. He rose from his seat and approached Gunter.

“Before I let you go, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

Suspecting he might be pressing about the origin of the name ‘Reisi’ or the military-style language, I stepped in front of Gunter.

Those were unfamiliar terms to Grid, so it was reasonable for him to be suspicious.

But he merely shrugged and spoke.

“My question isn’t because of your conversation. Does the Princess have only one or two secrets? I understand there are things I shouldn’t pry into.”

He grumbled that he disliked questions about the ‘how’ and ‘why’ in the first place.

‘Come to think of it, when we first met, he didn’t ask how I recognized the spirit either.’

I had thought it was because he was too preoccupied then, but it seemed it was actually his nature.

Of course, with a spirit attached to me, he would have already learned that my past life was as a Demon.

“Then what is it you’re curious about?”

“From what I understand, Gunter immigrated from the Jins Kingdom Royal Palace ten years ago.”

“The Jins Kingdom, you say….”

It was the name of the Princess’s homeland that we sought to meet.

Grid nodded and spoke.

“Given his profession, he would hear far more information than a mere merchant. Since Your Highness mentioned being acquainted with him, I thought this would be an opportune moment to inquire about the Jins Kingdom.”

“For my sake?”

“Everything I’ve done thus far has been for Your Highness, has it not?”

His words were honeyed flattery, yet it was clear there was something darker beneath the surface.

Still, since it would prove useful, I decided to consent for now.

“In exchange, you wait in that room over there. I’ll speak with Gunter alone.”

“To think you distrust me so, Your Highness. How disappointing.”

“Go on.”

Grid pouted reluctantly and made his way toward the hidden chamber where I had been.

I turned my attention back to Gunter.

“So then, could you tell me something about the Jins Kingdom?”

“That shouldn’t be difficult….”

He glanced toward the room Grid had entered and whispered to me.

“Your Highness, there are quite a lot of perverts among Dark Spirit Mages.”

“I’m aware. I’ll handle it.”

Gunter nodded reluctantly.

“I’m not sure where to begin… Ah, you’re aware that a rebellion broke out in Jins Kingdom, correct?”

“Yes, actually we’ve decided to go retrieve the Princess who fled there for asylum.”

“A Princess… Do you mean Princess Chloe?”

“That’s right. Do you know anything about her?”

Gunter’s complexion darkened.

“I don’t know much. But if someone was granted asylum, it would likely be Princess Chloe. She’s the only member of the Royal Family they treated with any dignity. Still, even so….”

“Wait.”

A phrase with unmistakable implications caught my attention.

“When you say ‘they,’ you’re talking about the Rebel Army, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yes. It was likely the Ducal Faction.”

“You know them?”

Gunter turned the question back on me.

“You don’t know them? I naturally assumed you would.”

“What are you talking about? How would I know them?”

“Because they’re soldiers, sir.”

“…What?”

“The mercenaries the Duke hired—they’re all Demons. Former military, at that. Since you hold such a high position, I naturally assumed you were their superior….”

My mind went blank. When I couldn’t find the words to respond, Gunter hastily added more.

“Then you wouldn’t know their unit name either? It was quite the sensation back then. I thought any Demon in this world would have heard of them.”

“What kind of unit name is that?”

“Pind Di… You’ve never heard of it?”

I hadn’t heard of it. But I understood what it meant.

‘Pind, in the Demon language, means “find” or “search.”‘

And Di… that was the abbreviation I used for my previous life’s name, Asmodina.

In other words, their unit’s name was.

[Find Asmodina.]

That’s what it meant.

I exhaled deeply and dragged my hand across my face.

It seemed my subordinates from the Demon Realm had come to the Human Realm to find me.

‘And they even toppled an entire nation.’

My head began to throb as I tried to figure out where to even begin solving this problem.

“Is there any other information? Who is the leader of this Pind Di?”

“I don’t know the executives. Besides, I fled to the Empire just trying to survive… Ah! But I do know what kind of power Pind Di uses! They fight so loudly and conspicuously.”

He raised his index finger as if recalling that time.

“They controlled trees. There were earthquakes, and the earth itself was overturned.”

‘I know who it is.’

I covered my face and lowered my head.

A commander who controlled trees and earth. An eccentric who even created a unit name to announce their search for me.

‘Listen well, Mother. If you die while I’m gone, I won’t let it slide. I’ll chase you to hell itself. If you’re going to die, die with me.’

The Second Legion Commander with a sharp tongue.

And the daughter I adopted in my later years.

It was Asmo-rina.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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