I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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The Mage Emperor issued only one command to Jean Helmut.

“The enemy’s advance is too close to the Demon King’s Castle. Push the enemy back to secure at least a minimum safe zone.”

The betrayer, a duke with higher innate intelligence than the Gargoyle Queen, understood this command perfectly and demanded the highest military authority of the Demon King’s Army from the Demon King. Emperor Moriarty, lamenting the disappearance of the Gargoyle, readily granted Helmut control of the army.

The Demon King could not leave the Demon King’s Castle recklessly. Given this new authority to utilize the full strength of the Terkeon Empire Army, Helmut began focusing on pushing the Imperial Army back, absorbing tremendous losses as per his plan. In the meantime, the west was pacified, and the encirclement from the east loosened, creating a breath of fresh air for the suffocating Demon King’s Castle.

Even Harker acknowledged that this counterattack was led by an exceptionally competent commander. If he had known that such a capable general existed within the Demon King’s Army, he might have fought back with more strength. It was hard to blame Jenis. No one expected the northern nobles, who fought the Demon King’s Army first, to switch their loyalty while retaining their abilities. From the Empire’s perspective, there was sufficient reason to believe that with the death of the Gargoyle Queen, all commanders of the Demon King’s Army capable of independent operations had perished.

Jean Helmut was a descendant of Ryan Helmut, who served under the Hero of the time against the first Demon King, Terkeon, a millennium ago. With his ancestor’s military achievements being the second most distinguished among “humans without superhuman strength,” the family’s honor was immense. Furthermore, the failure of Marius Modrian, who possessed exceptional capabilities among ordinary humans and died disgracefully without leaving descendants, further elevated the family’s status. However, Duke Helmut was always dissatisfied with his ancestor’s history, believing his death to have been absurd.

The ancient Caprice Empire, which succeeded in subduing the Demon King, saw illustrious heroes point swords at one another, igniting a civil war among familiar friends. This war was a tremendous event. General Helmut, believing the war to be unjust, sought to mediate both sides or follow a better leader.

However, both the invincible swordmaster entrenched in the Imperial Palace and the Great Sage of the Magic Tower wielding the red staff showed no willingness to yield even a step. In the end, General Helmut, who could not win the favor of either side, took his own life, leaving only his honor behind. Although he gained that honor, Jean Helmut was someone who never thought well of his ancestor’s actions from the start. At the war’s onset, with plenty of provisions stored in well-built fortresses, it was a situation where they could endure for a month. Helmut’s surrender after only a week, opening the gates to the Demon King’s Army, was influenced by this mindset.

At that time, the Demon King, still cautious about revealing her identity, approached Duke Helmut, clad in thick armor that concealed her face and body. She spoke to Helmut in a magically-modified voice.

“To surrender after just a week with a castle that I, too, struggled to breach? Pathetic human, you either lack guts or seem to have some expectations of me.”

“In a realm ruled by demonkind, what could a human like me possibly hope for?”

Duke Jean Helmut bowed before the Demon King and spoke.

“Just don’t kill me; make me a slave instead. But if I must have a request, let me be appointed as their overseer when you enslave all humanity.”

“An overseer for slaves? How unexpected. I thought you’d at least ask for a general’s position.”

“Outstanding demons follow your majesty. I wouldn’t survive if I encroached on an unnecessarily high position.”

Dying in accordance with one’s fate had been Helmut’s most important goal from the very beginning. The Demon King found his reaction amusing, laughing heartily as she nodded.

“You’re either the most pathetic garbage in the world or a potential candidate worth taking in. If you’re saying such things without guts, you’re garbage; if you have the guts, then there’s something on your mind.”

In fact, until then, Helmut had been mildly bending his head beneath the Demon King, secretly planning to gain her trust and escape. Still kneeling, he asked.

“How do I prove my guts?”

“Well… we’ll see.”

At that moment, Duke Helmut was startled to hear the Demon King’s voice. Before he knew it, the Demon King, having removed her helmet, spoke with her original voice, which was enchanting and alluring, a voice unique to those of Succubus blood.

With sharp eyes and pointed fangs peeking out from her crimson lips, a pale face marked by an arrogant smile that seemed to look down on the world, the Demon King licked her lips, preparing to speak, as Helmut gulped and looked up at his new master. Violet spoke.

“If my fight is still ongoing ten years later, and you’re still living happily as my slave, then that alone would be your guts. I’ll be watching you. I won’t make any promises, but for now, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Jean Helmut was an exceptional observer. Even during his time as a lord, he had a knack for controlling the intelligent. Though closer to a tyrant than a benevolent ruler, he knew how to suppress opposition with strength. If he had been a mere incompetent lord, he would have been hanged by the outraged citizens the moment he decided to surrender to the Demon King.

However, in reality, the entire territory of Duke Helmut obeyed his order to surrender. Therefore, it was only natural that he sufficiently satisfied the Demon King as an intermediary for the enslaved humanity.

And about 11 years later, Jean Helmut had donned the uniform of the Terkeon Empire Army and had become the direct commander under the Demon King. Whether the feelings he held towards the Demon King were fear, loyalty, or a subtle, irreverent sentiment that was neither, was somewhat unclear. Regardless, this general never expressed his emotions openly to the Mage Emperor. The Demon King was satisfied with that. She thought Jean Helmut was a worthless pup, but that pup belonged to Violet.

He fought well. He had a tactical sense that allowed him to successfully encircle the Grand Mage with just a human army of 30,000. However, if Jeongjae hadn’t approached the enemy commander to converse, it wouldn’t have been possible to surround Park Jeongjae without considerable damage.

“Fire!”

The soldiers surrounding Jeongjae simultaneously unleashed their bullets toward the Grand Mage. It looked like a horrific execution, but Jeongjae simply raised his robe and blocked all the bullets.

“I hear you’re called Helmut, Duke.”

The Grand Mage lifted his face, peering through his glasses to ask the enemy commander. The unkempt leader of the Demon King’s Army grinned, concealing his twisted smile beneath a bushy beard.

“That title was once applicable, Baron.”

“Why do you follow a being like the Demon King? Do you think our kind can live happily under her rule?”

“Even those under my rule don’t claim happiness, you see.”

Helmut boldly remarked.

“I’m not in a position to care whether the insects are happy or not.”

“You’re the scum of the earth.”

“Her Majesty said the same.”

“She seems to be a ruler who recycles garbage, but I’m here under orders to clean it up.”

Jeongjae shot a lightning spell filled with murderous intent at Helmut. In that instant, dozens of soldiers stood before the commander and took the attack for him.

In an instant, thirty soldiers were fried like canned goods in their armor by the lightning. Helmut shrugged as if he had plenty of soldiers willing to take the hits for him. Just as Jeongjae was about to attack again with an expression of outrage, the soldiers surrounding him reloaded and opened fire.

The Grand Mage deployed barrier magic, deflecting all the bullets.

“You must recognize the Grand Mage wearing Harriet’s Glasses. There’s no mind magic here. I merely raised these individuals to this point. What do you think I raised them for? Go ahead, kill them all. Just remember this: When the Empire retreats, less than half of the three million citizens left behind will willingly return as subjects of Audrich.”

“You made this all happen, did you?”

“Not an untruth. But someone had to do it. And I just wanted to play that part. Surely, there have to be some crumbs falling.”

Jeongjae no longer wanted to hear this. He fired his revolver indiscriminately at the soldiers surrounding him. Human blood splattered across his robe, but Jeongjae found his heart too full to be consumed by guilt over killing people anymore.

For a moment, Jean Helmut observed the Grand Mage’s battle, then seemed to sense a threat from his subordinates and slowly retreated. A soldier approached Helmut and whispered something important. After hearing the soldier’s report, Helmut turned around and issued a retreat order.

“The Eramenia Army is approaching this way? That’s frustrating. I would have preferred them to retreat east instead. But, oh well. If it’s Margaret, I shouldn’t expect things to unfold as simply as I wish. The objective of this counterattack has been achieved. The eastern coast, which had been cut off for a time, will now return under our Lord’s benevolent rule. With this, we have secured the safe zone your majesty desired. Let’s go back!”

At Helmut’s command, the soldiers simultaneously ceased fire, turned their backs on Jeongjae, and began to march in formation. Their demeanor suggested they had no concern about whether Jeongjae was shooting at them from behind.

Jeongjae, baffled by the behavior of the almost brainwashed soldiers, couldn’t even think of launching an attack. The moment the dumbfounded Grand Mage hesitated, ordering the zombie orc legion waiting in the rear.

“The artillery will be slow to retreat. Go after them, seize the cannons, and watch whether they’re genuinely retreating or trying to flank and attack our forces. You don’t really have to be careful. They’re already dead…”

Jeongjae barked orders at Jenis’s zombies with a tone full of disdain. Without a word, the zombies formed ranks and headed north following Jeongjae’s instructions. Jeongjae couldn’t contain the chaos of the situation and plopped down on the ground. It was disgusting. The similarity in actions between the genuine corpses of the zombie orcs and the still-living humans was repulsive.

As the Grand Mage, Jeongjae knew he would have grasped had there been any brainwashing or necromancy at play. But no, this was the pure result of training. Walter had always emphasized to his comrades that soldiers were humans too, and that substituting their lives merely for a number was a grave error. Jeongjae, who had come from modern Earth, strongly resonated with that principle. But he couldn’t bring himself to view those enemy soldiers as his fellow humans.

“Damn…”

Curse words slipped from Jeongjae’s lips involuntarily. He felt a profound disgust at the idea of raising dead orcs as zombies, and he remained indifferent to the fact that the orcs he had sent out as tasks were dying under the enemy’s counterattack. He simply watched the situation unfold.

Even in such circumstances, the orcs fulfilled their assigned tasks faithfully. As he watched the zombies quietly seize Helmut’s artillery, the Grand Mage let out a sigh.

“Crazy people. The world is filled with nothing but crazy people.”

He missed Walter more than ever. Being a Hero in a world where Walter had vanished made him feel like a child abruptly thrown into society, having lost all his parents upon suddenly reaching adulthood. The shadow of the preceding Hero loomed dark and heavy above him. He had no time to prepare. In truth, there was no time to give.

In a way, it seemed that only Jenis was prepared for Walter’s absence. It made sense. Jenis Harker had been the one to challenge the position of his number one since Walter Hellhound’s era. But was she really prepared, or was she just mistakenly believing she was? In this overwhelming situation, who could make the right judgment without any misconceptions? What is the truth, and what is the falsehood? What constitutes a proper judgment, and what is a severe miscalculation?

Is there someone who could provide judgment? Instead of plunging Jeongjae deeper into chaos, is there someone who could reign him in?

In fact, he had known the answer for a long time. It was a solution that had been suppressed so subtly and powerfully that he hadn’t realized it until now.

“What are you doing, Mage?”

Suddenly, the princess of Eramenia, who had led the reinforcements, looked at Jeongjae, who was sitting on the ground. With a trembling voice, Jeongjae spoke without turning his head.

“Margaret, I need you.”

“Didn’t you just summon me here saying that? But I don’t see any enemies. Did you handle it all by yourself?”

Jeongjae shook his head; he hadn’t solved anything on his own.

“Margaret, I truly need you.”

At that moment, Margaret, who slightly grasped the meaning behind Jeongjae’s words, hopped off her horse and slowly approached the Grand Mage. Jeongjae gently placed his hand on the back of the Elf Lord’s hand resting on his shoulder.

“Explain what you mean.”

“This world isn’t where I was born. Yet, I have so much I want to protect and love in this world. But, among all those things, if I had to pick just one person to entrust everything to… That person would be you. I mean, you…”

It wasn’t a romantic atmosphere. It was closer to a desolate ambiance than romance. But what of it? In fact, the moment an elf revealed their feelings to a human wasn’t all that far from romance, was it?

“Alright… I see…”

The grip of Margaret’s hand on Jeongjae’s shoulder tightened. Jeongjae’s hand clutching Margaret’s was equally tense.