The massacre tour with Master had finally ended after days on end.
I was exhausted.
All I wanted right now was to sleep. I hadn't slept once during the entire tour.
Dragged out without a single word of explanation, I'd been sent to storm some organization's base day after day, doing exactly as I was told.
At first, I didn't even know what organization we were hitting. That's pretty extreme, honestly.
Well, me just going along with it without explanation and casually assaulting people is pretty "me" too, I suppose.
Eventually I figured out it was the elves and their collaborators, so I started moving with more purpose from then on.
But even though they never gave me the important explanations, Master would micromanage every detail on the ground.
Kill every single person at this base — don't let a single one escape.
On the other hand, this one person must be spared.
Don't leave any unrelated witnesses.
And yet Master's only contribution was dropping me off at the scene — beyond that, not a shred of help.
High Status or not, tiring things are tiring.
There was probably some reason behind all those specific instructions, even if Master would never explain it to me when asked.
Knowing Master, it was probably a reason I'd never have thought of on my own.
I really could've used a bit more explanation.
Desperately.
I felt like we'd visited all sorts of places, but there was no leisurely sightseeing anywhere.
Arrive via teleport, get ferried to a restaurant, then assault the elf base.
That was it every single time.
Once it was done, we'd immediately teleport to the next location.
We'd come all this way to unfamiliar lands and the only thing resembling tourism was eating meals? What was that about?
And missing a meal was apparently out of the question, no matter what.
Which meant I ended up tagging along for food even when I was already stuffed.
How many meals did I eat in a day? I even picked up a Skill called Overeating.
Or was it my imagination, but my waistline seemed a little…
I should cut back on portions for a while.
Lost in these thoughts, I headed toward my private room in the Demon King's castle.
After graduating from the academy, I'd been given a private room in the Demon King's castle.
It felt a bit like having my escape routes cut off.
Running into Fermyna in the corridor on the way there.
"Oh?"
Running into her was fine, but was she okay?
She had huge dark circles under her eyes, and her complexion was plainly blue.
Yet her back was ramrod straight — was that the pride of a former aristocrat?
She looked unwell to the bone, but her composed bearing was admirable enough to earn respect, even from an enemy.
"Are you alright?"
"I have no need for your concern."
Here I was being unusually worried about her, and she shuts me down flat.
Still, there was noticeably less vigor in her tone.
"Stop being stubborn and get some rest, why don't you?"
"If I could rest, I would. I'm not the irresponsible type who'd disappear without a trace during busy times like some people."
Was "some people" referring to Master?
Or — wait — was it me?
"Some people — do you mean Master? Or me?"
"Both."
She said it with unmistakable resentment.
Well, yeah.
The commander who should've been handling postwar cleanup had vanished, and all that fallout landed squarely on Fermyna.
"Where have you been all this time?"
"Taken around to various places by Master."
I wasn't trying to be evasive — I genuinely had been dragged to so many places that even I didn't know where we'd been. Fermyna seemed to pick up on my bewildered tone and didn't press further.
"You being back means Master's returned too?"
"Yes. Should be."
"Understood. If you happen to see Master, please tell them to come to the office immediately."
Fermyna let out a deep, very deep sigh and turned to walk away.
Without thinking, I called out to her retreating back.
"Want me to help?"
The words left my mouth before I could stop them, and I surprised even myself.
Even if she was on the verge of collapse, volunteering to help this woman of my own free will?
And here I was exhausted too.
It must be that fatigue was impairing my judgment.
Yes, that had to be it.
"Are you in your right mind?"
See?
Even Fermyna doubted my sanity.
"Oh? And here I'm offering out of the goodness of my heart. How cruel."
"I'm genuinely surprised you have anything resembling goodness."
What a cruel woman.
Did she have to go that far?
"Either way, I'll pass. I have no need for help from someone whose only talents are fighting and keeping men in line."
Truly, genuinely cruel!
Yep, I hate this woman.
"Ah, sure. Well then, work yourself to death for all I care."
Arguing any further would just make us both feel worse, so I beat a retreat.
Somehow I felt even more tired than before.
The next day, I heard Fermyna had actually collapsed from overwork, but that wasn't my fault.
It was all Master's fault for dumping all the work on her.
And now Master was supposedly doing Fermyna's share too while whimpering about it — well, that was their own fault.