The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

I tried to catch a soldier of the Demon Lord's army at a corner, but for some reason, the commander of the Third Army was there.

When I managed to break the illusion magic that had hit me at the beginning of our encounter, he gave me a look of fear and begged me for my life.

"What the hell is going on here? ......"

"Usato, is she the leader of the Third Army?"

Yes, she is .......

Leona's gaze turns to the woman sitting on the wall.

Twisted horns on her head, a characteristic of the demon tribe.

Hannah, a woman with light purple hair that is pulled through one of the horns like a side-tail, notices my gaze and begins to tremble.

"...... really?"

"Of course it's ......."

You've been through too much trauma, haven't you?

Nair sees Hanna's frightened state and speaks to her in a hushed voice.

"Well, I think I'm the reason she's like this, so I'm going to interrogate her.

"Okay. ...... Bulrin, you're on the lookout."

He spreads his magic like a shadow from his feet and brings out Bullyn.

She is even more frightened when Bulrin comes out from under her feet as if summoned, and Nair bends down to look down at her.

"Hello again, my dear.

"...... what?"

"Oh, you don't remember?　Then, is it easier to recognize me in this form?"

Nair transforms into a black owl and Hannah backs away in surprise.

"Oh, the owl from that time ......?

"Yes, I'm going to ask you some questions now, and I want you to answer them truthfully.

Nair, who had reverted back to her demon form, began to ask questions to Hannah, who nodded her head in fright.

"Tell me where you belong to."

"...... I am Hannah Romiah, Commander of the Third Legion of the Demon King's Army."

"How did I get here?"

"......"

"Tell me. Or do you mind if I let the master behind you take care of it?"

I was trying to get out of here, out of here, out of here!

Hannah confesses as soon as Nair points at me with a wicked smile on her face.

I'm getting more and more uncomfortable with the way she's treating me, but I'm more .......

"Running away ......?"

"What do you mean?　Explain it to me."

According to her, she was trying to escape before the battle between us and the Demon Lord's army got into full swing.

Why would she, the leader of the Third Legion?　I wondered, but the situation of the Demon Army---the Demon Tribe is worse than we thought, and she was about to give up on the Demon Tribe when she was caught by us.

"The demon tribe is that far......"

If he wants to escape, he should just keep on ...... or at least get the information out of him.

Either way, if you have no intention of harming us..,

Usato, don't underestimate him.

"...... hmm?"

"I know what you're thinking right now. I know what you're thinking right now... that if we get the information out of you, we can let you go..."

Nair turns her head toward Hannah.

She tries to look away from him, but he puts his hands on her cheeks and forces her to make eye contact with him.

"Hmmm...?

"She'll betray anyone to save her own skin. Even if he pretends to obey you now, he may lie to you or let your enemies know your whereabouts.

Her eyes sparkle for a moment as she looks into Nea's eyes up close, but after a few seconds or so, they instantly turn pale.

"See, you just tried to cast an illusion spell on me, didn't you?"

"No, no. ......"

"No, you're not.　But it's too bad. I'm a demon, so it doesn't work.

"Uh-uh. ......"

What am I being shown?

Bad girl vs. bad girl?　The one with the worse personality is going to win.

Well, the reason why the illusion magic doesn't work is that Nair had cast a resistance spell beforehand.

"It's better for you to be honest. We don't have much time. In some cases, I have to do what you hate the most, but ...... I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Hi, hi. ......"

I'm usually scared.

I wonder what it means that I am not naturally included in the content of their dislike.

But I thought it was too much.

"Wait, Neah."

"...... what?"

Nair looks away from Hannah and back at me.

"I don't think fear is enough."

"......?"

For a moment, Nair tilts his head, not understanding what he is saying.

"What's that fear-monger saying?"

"Guh."

"You noisy little animals."

Oh no, you can't get all riled up here.

Taking a small deep breath, I kneel down on the ground to make eye contact with Neah as she sits down to take her place.

"Hannah!"

"Hai, ......"

"Give us honest information and we'll let you go."

"...... what?"

If what she said is true, she did not want to be in this fight in the first place.

I don't know why, but it must be something she dislikes so much that she avoids fighting.

I don't want to imagine why she would want to run away from the battle with her strong magic of illusion, but if her words are true, I think we can let her go.

"If you want to get out of here, so be it."

"So you're going to let me go to ......?"

Yes. I won't lie.

I smile as naturally as possible and Hannah regains her composure.

Okay, I'm not the only one who's been called the devil all my life.

Let's keep on with the information.

"The terrain here is..."

Just then, a faint flapping of wings echoes overhead.

He reacts instantly, turns around, and at the same time throws a healing magic bullet from his right hand.

"There you are!

The released healing magic bullets hit the wall with a bang and disappear as green particles.

After that, a black feather falls from the sky.

I knew someone is watching us.

"Don't think you can escape!　Next time I'll make sure I drop you. ......!　...... Oh, I'm sorry. So, to continue where we left off...

"I'll lead the way!　I'll be right behind you!　So don't kill me after you let me go!"

What?

...... Oh my God, I've done it.

I nodded at Hannah, who was trying desperately to accompany me, and Nair smiled at me.

"I'm impressed. You've managed to get her to cooperate with us!　Yo, devil!"

"Usato ......"

Ferrum is pulling back and Leona is holding her forehead.

And Hannah is clinging to my leg.

I check my situation again, fold my arms, and close my eyes.

"Okay, let's go!"

I think to myself, let's just keep going.

For once, I decide to let go of my thoughts.

I was just going to keep going.

We then followed Hannah's frightened guide as we made our way through the city that had been reconfigured by the Demon Lord's sorcery.

Before we left, Ferrum suggested that we could control Hannah with Nair's vampire power, but it seemed to be impossible.

She has a magic called "illusion magic" that affects the mind, and the same kind of magic would not be effective on her, and she would be unable to speak or hear anything.

This is the reason why we are leading her, and of course we encounter soldiers patrolling the area.

"Hanna-sama!　Why are you here?

"......, I am personally searching for the brave men. You are to continue your search.

Yes, sir!

But that's the commander of the Third Army.

As expected, we were able to part ways with the soldiers we encountered ...... without raising any suspicion, but as we parted, Nair places a hand on the soldier's shoulder.

"Good luck to you, too.

"What?　Aah!

Okay, bye.

Nair waves to the soldier in a casual manner.

As she tilts her head in puzzlement, Nair turns forward and grabs Hannah by the shoulders.

"Did you do something suspicious?"

"!　No, I swear I didn't. ......"

"Oh, ......, then what's this?"

Nair showed me something that looked like a small piece of paper.

When Hannah saw it, she let out a squeak.

"This was stuck in the soldier's armor, what on earth is this?

"......"

"Oh my!　I see it's a piece of cloth!　It looks like it was forcibly torn off, and it says "Help me!

"......"

"Oh dear!　And if you look closely, the hem of your dress is also torn.　I don't know why!　I don't know why! It wasn't ripped before!

Her face turned pale.

Nair puts her mouth to her ear with the same smile on her face as before.

She puts her arms around his neck to prevent him from escaping.

"You'll understand next time, won't you?

"...... yeah."

I'm scared!

I'm scared of Hanna-san, who called out to the soldiers for help without Leona-san and I noticing, and I'm scared of Nair, who saw through it in an instant and tried to threaten us!

I'm honestly scared by the fact that something like a battle is going on outside of our consciousness.

Your messenger is scary.

"Yes, I think he's probably scarier than I am."

"....... Yes."

Leona, what is the silence now?

I follow Hannah's directions, paying attention to her reaction as she walks next to me.

We arrive at the most open place.

The place is still surrounded by black walls, but there is what looks like an iron door in the center of the ground.

The size of the door is about 3 or 4 meters. ...... It is quite large.

"This is the entrance to the underground castle. But it will take a lot of manpower to open it..."

Usato.

"Yes, yes, yes."

He inserts his finger into the large door and exerts himself.

...... you don't need dark magic for this.

"Mnh!"　

He lifts up the door and knocks it down to the ground as if to overturn it.

Looking at the place where the door has been pulled down, we confirm that there is a staircase at the back.

"Okay, we can go in."

"Great. Let's go, Leona."

"Yeah."

"......"

Pushing Hannah, whose eyes are darting around, Nair and Leona go down the stairs leading to the basement.

A short distance down the stairs, we come to an old-fashioned passage lined with stone pillars and cobblestones.

"We've come to a very old-fashioned place, haven't we?

"......, you are in a remodeled castle. The Mad King is on the upper floor of the castle ...... and is now in the lowest level."

Then we'll have to go down even lower.

If that black thing I let go earlier is watching our every move, we should stay where we are as long as possible.

Then lead the way.

"......, but, of course, it would look suspicious if I were walking here. ......, yes!　I'll show you around!"

I wonder if she was thinking the same thing as I was, Nair is rushing Ms. Hanna.

We searched for the ability of Bullein, walked through the corridors, descended the intricate staircases, and steadily proceeded underground.

I wonder if Mr. Nagi, who is fighting against Nero Agence, is safe.

Is Kazuki, who is fighting in the sky, safe?

Did Senpai and Amako make it to the basement?

Walking in a place where only the sound of our own footsteps echoes, I cannot help thinking.

"Hannah-san!"

What is it?

I want you to tell me why you wanted to leave the demon army.

"......a,anata no seidesu."

Hmm?"

"Nothing, sir!"

After a moment's pause, she whispered something in a low voice, and when I tilted my head with a smile on my face, she shook her head and made me correct her.

I take a small deep breath and listen to her words as she slaps a healing bump into Nair, who for some reason erupts right behind Hannah.

"The demon tribe has been over for a long time now.

"...... over?"

In a sense, this may be the first time we hear about the inner workings of the demon tribe.

Ferrum was not so careless about it, so we should ask him now while we can.

The lands of the demon king's domain are dying. I don't know how long it has been that way, but the land is steadily leading us to ruin as it loses its fruitfulness.

"...... I didn't see any signs of that until we got here."

He says this as if to confirm it.

Now let's see if we can make what was once just speculation into something accurate.

"That's because until recently, the Demon Lord has been channeling his magic into the earth to bring about a bountiful harvest. He used his power to let us go in the last battle... ......"

"The earth is so weak that it cannot flow with magic power. This is just as Falga-sama guessed."

Leona nodded her head in agreement to Hannah's faltering words.

To let the demons escape, huh?

I guess that's what that last fireball was about.

"......In fact, if the Demon Lord had not woken up,...... we might not have dreamed about it and we could have been destroyed."

......Hannah's words and actions had been frightening so far, but she was a little different now that she had spoken them.

Her face was stricken with despair, unable to even imagine what lay ahead.

From the first time I had met her, I had the impression that she was a cunning and cowardly person, but this time that impression had changed drastically.