Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 60

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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 060

“I’m joking. If that happened, it would only create more troublesome complications.”

I deliberately cast aside my wandering thoughts.

‘I should call for reinforcements. This isn’t something I can handle alone.’

Three Mercenary Groups represented a force of an entirely different magnitude compared to dozens of Assassins. This was beyond what the Princess could manage alone. The Emperor surely hadn’t issued orders expecting me to overcome such hardship by myself.

The moment I resolved to request reinforcements from the Emperor, someone knocked on the door.

“Your Highness, it’s Emma.”

“Come in.”

Emma entered the Room and was startled upon seeing Ruslara, but she quickly composed herself and greeted me with courtesy, approaching without sparing a glance at Grid.

“What brings you at this hour?”

“An urgent dispatch has just arrived at the Imperial Palace via emergency courier.”

Emergency couriers were rarely used except in times of war, so something grave had clearly transpired.

I broke the seal on the letter she offered and examined its contents. It bore the Emperor’s personal seal.

‘This is….’

The contents were shocking. I read the letter repeatedly, my eyes filled with disbelief.

Grid’s curiosity surfaced.

“What does it say?”

“…An earthquake occurred.”

“Pardon?”

“A localized earthquake struck two days ago, and the Road we traveled has been blocked off.”

Interpreting the letter’s contents through the Emperor’s manner of speaking, it amounted to this.

[An earthquake has collapsed the main road connecting the Capital and Gilli Port.

Therefore, take a detour through the Neutral Zone and return.

In preparation for contingencies, I have dispatched Soldiers to the Neutral Zone. You need only rendezvous with them in four days.]

‘Does that even make sense?’

After hearing my explanation, Grid furrowed his brow with evident displeasure.

“We can no longer receive immediate support from the Imperial Palace. Even if we send a request now, detouring through the Neutral Zone will take twice as long… Meanwhile, the Mercenary Groups are already near the port.”

Ruslara, standing beside me, interjected urgently.

“Wouldn’t it be better to fortify ourselves here and await reinforcements? This port should have Soldiers stationed here as well.”

Then Emma stepped forward in opposition.

“I cannot recommend that. The administrator of Gilli Port comes from the Nobility Council. In the worst case, they could exploit this chaos to obstruct the Princess’s mission. It would be better to seek out Viscount Gorden again….”

“But you said the plague there was only recently cured? They won’t be of much help.”

“Still, it’s better than cooperating with the Nobility Council faction….”

Emma, Grid, and Ruslara’s opinions clashed. Each held merit, save for the fact that every option demanded sacrifice or required gambling on uncertain odds.

As this absurd situation repeated itself, laughter escaped me unbidden.

“Ha, haha.”

The three of them fell silent upon seeing me laugh.

“Y-Your Highness?”

As my fury surpassed its threshold, laughter bubbled forth. Even during my time as a Demon, I had rarely laughed with such hollow despair.

“Haha, hahaha! Misfortune and coincidence—this is absolutely ridiculous.”

I tore the Emperor’s letter to shreds and hurled it into the fireplace in the corner of my room.

I couldn’t even bear to look at a useless old man’s letter.

“Playing games with fate should have limits. Do I look that ridiculous to you?”

If I ever found the bastard who had concocted this absurd curse, I would have put an arrow through their skull on the spot.

No—one hole might not be enough. No matter how I thought about it, this was an insulting scheme.

If they truly wanted me dead, they should have come directly.

They should have drawn their blade, unleashed their magic, and confronted me head-on.

But what was this?

I couldn’t fathom why they would circle around like this, borrow others’ hands, twist circumstances, and torment me in such a roundabout manner.

To subject me to this tedious, cowardly approach—repeating the same trials endlessly as if testing my patience.

‘What infuriates me most is that I remain unscathed while everything around me descends into chaos.’

Plagues spread, mercenary groups arrived, and finally even natural disasters like earthquakes struck.

It felt as though someone had orchestrated a grand design, gradually escalating the misfortune they hurled at me.

The death toll kept rising. The letter’s postscript mentioned that the earthquake had reduced three or four cities to rubble.

Yet I remained perfectly fine.

Always stepping aside at the last moment.

As if the curse deliberately avoided me.

That fact was unbearably repugnant.

As if someone were deliberately destroying everything around me just to see my expression and reaction.

As if I could feel a mocking gaze asking, ‘How will you respond to this?’

So my anger only deepened, and laughter spilled from my lips.

That laughter simply would not stop.

“I can’t hold back any longer.”

Then I would show them.

I would destroy the malice masquerading as coincidence right before their eyes.

‘Preparing the Mercenary Groups at the end was a mistake. War is what I do best.’

My Guard force—approximately ten soldiers.

Princess Chloe’s Guard force—five soldiers.

And myself, Asmodina, daughter of the Demon King.

The enemy: the Free Mercenary Troops. Their numbers at minimum in the hundreds.

My forces were sufficient. More than sufficient, in fact.

I turned to the three frozen figures and spoke.

“Raise an army. Wake everyone.”

Was it not called treason for one without a Domain to raise private soldiers without permission?

It was the dead of night.

The perfect hour for plotting sedition.

* * *

“Ha ha, ha ha ha!”

The moment Deina’s laughter erupted, the air in the room froze and settled like ice. Emma, Grid, and Ruslara could only hold their breath and witness that laughter steeped in madness.

Deina’s shadow, wavering in the fireplace’s flames, crawled across the walls and consumed the entire room. It was as though darkness itself had taken form.

‘What in the world is this….’

Grid felt the urge to block out the screams of Coco, the spirit of darkness.

Coco was whimpering in a terrified voice that they needed to escape this place.

My sentiments were no different. The oppressive aura emanating from Deina right now was no different from that of a Demon King who would destroy the world—the kind that only appeared in fairy tales.

A pure malevolence that would force any human to instinctively bow their head—I could feel it radiating from her.

Meanwhile, Emma clenched her fists as anticipation and tension welled up within her.

‘As expected, my choice was not wrong.’

The expectation that she would create a whirlwind in the Imperial Palace and help achieve her goals was now unfolding into reality.

With this level of power and madness, she would certainly overturn the stagnant dynamics of the Imperial Palace.

And finally, Ruslara.

While trembling with fear, she gazed at Deina without hiding the ecstasy seeping through her terror. Her eyes, where fear and joy mingled in a strange mixture, wavered with a light bordering on fanaticism.

‘Ah, my Deity!’

Deina’s name and presence, which had seeped into my ears like a lullaby in childhood, were now vividly manifesting before my eyes in this very moment.

Transcending time and dimension, I, a Descendant of Baban Si, was witnessing such a glorious sight.

What sacred honor this was!

Deina turned her head toward the three of them, each trembling for different reasons.

Her platinum eyes gleamed with murderous intent and fighting spirit.

“Build an army. Wake them all.”

“Yes!”

Ruslara was the first to respond. Without any hesitation, she rushed off to gather the people.

Emma swayed for a moment, then bent at the waist and moved to wake the servants.

Finally, Grid answered with a sigh threading through his voice.

“Your Highness, as you know, I am a merchant. Though I am bound to you, without proper compensation….”

“Your spirit—Coco, was it? Do you know what rank that spirit holds?”

“Rank… you say?”

I had never heard that spirits possessed ranks. Deina continued as though she had expected this, her arms crossed.

“Your spirit is merely low-grade at best. During the day, its intellect is diminished, its functions are limited, and its magical duration is brief. I will change that rank for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will evolve it. To intermediate grade.”

At those words, Coco, who had been clinging to Grid’s back, trembled violently. From Coco emanated both fear and anticipation.

“Low-grade and intermediate-grade are worlds apart. This is your chance to become a true spiritist.”

“Is that… truly possible?”

“That’s unlike you to ask. Have I ever lied to you?”

No.

I had never encountered anyone as worthy of investment as Deina.

Grid suppressed the corners of his mouth from rising and knelt on one knee.

“Please give me your command. I shall procure the finest goods worthy of such compensation.”

“Good. Then first….”

She pointed beyond the window.

“Acquire about twenty horses.”

“May I ask what purpose these are for?”

“War horses. We’re abandoning the carriage and assembling squads with combat personnel only.”

Deina spoke like a seasoned commander.

“Our objective is guerrilla warfare. We’ll crush each mercenary group individually before they can unite.”

“Is that possible with this force?”

“It’s possible. Or rather, I’ll make it possible.”

If it cannot be done.

Then make it so.

It was the soldier’s universal incantation.

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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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