Episode 3 – Princess, It’s Time to Change Jobs (3)
Prison located deep within Demon King’s Castle.
“It’s only called a prison by name…”
According to the prison resident guide, it was true that this place once actually held prisoners, but that seemed to be a story from long ago.
Now its purpose had changed completely, to the point it was embarrassing to call it a prison.
“Yawn… The facilities are really amazing.”
A huge yawn unfitting of her status.
Princess Eileen, who had gone missing from the Empire, sat on a soft sofa in a space reminiscent of a hotel suite, looking out the window of the Demon King’s Castle.
The Demon King’s Castle scenery had pitch-black darkness and thunder and lightning in the sky, but below it brilliant lights shone like a modern city center.
‘The Demon King’s Army’s Magical Engineering is like this…’
A sight reminiscent of the night view of modern skyscrapers.
Eileen gazed at that night view while reading the booklet [Demon Realm Adaptation Program for the Fallen].
‘It seems the Demon King’s Castle hasn’t changed like this for long.’
It was the result of the reform program of the newly enthroned Demon King.
And it was thanks to the Magical Engineering of Earthlings like herself, called Transmigrators here, who made it possible.
Eileen murmured while looking far beyond the Demon King’s Castle, at the dark parts of the Demon Realm.
Most areas of the Demon Realm except the Demon King’s Castle were dark.
“To light up the night view even in that distant place, my ability is needed, is that it?”
Knock knock-
“Yes. Come in.”
Beyond the door, Erica entered, neatly dressed in a black Demon King’s Army uniform suit.
Instead of a lavish feast, she carried a modest tray in her hands.
“Princess, it is time for today’s interrogation.”
“That joke again.”
“Its official name is new employee training.”
“What is that supposed to mean? That’s even scarier.”
The Princess tilted her head as if she could not believe her ears.
“We still haven’t gotten used to our new names either. Hmm… The Fallen Team also has an official name, but it doesn’t stick with anyone, and everyone complains it doesn’t sound like the Demon King’s Army… It’s a long-standing practice of the Demon King’s Army.”
“Do you have any plans to change the names? Why is this room still called a prison?”
“…Please ask the Demon King directly about that. It seems to be his personal preference.”
What Erica set down on the table was a cup ramen in a round container with steam rising from it, and two Triangle Kimbap wrapped in plastic.
“Today’s meal.”
“I think I know this… ramen? Right?”
Eileen smacked her lips.
“It’s instant food from a convenience store in the Demon Realm’s new city. Is it too shabby for an interrogation tool? Like last time, the fried chicken made in the kitchen…”
Eileen opened the lid of the cup ramen with practiced skill.
“No. I lost. Once I eat all of this, I can spill the Empire’s secrets, right?”
The Princess declaring defeat.
“You don’t need to answer anything. It’s only called interrogation.”
Along with the declaration of defeat, dried flakes and powder soup were sprinkled over the noodles.
When Erica poured hot water in, a spicy scent pricking her nose filled the room.
It was something that no imperial banquet of the Empire could imitate, a crystallization of modern master’s and doctoral degree holders, artificially combined and stimulating!
‘Wow, it’s not cheap. Look at these ingredients…’
It was the nostalgic scent of her past life.
“Ugh, this smell… It’s completely cruel. As expected of the Fallen Department Director.”
“It’s the masterpiece of an imperial chef whom I made Fallen. Since it was commercialized, it’s been quite popular in the Demon Realm?”
“The chef is, well… also from a Transmigrator background like me?”
“Yes, that’s right. When he heard that ingredients not in the Empire’s scripture could be used in cooking, he immediately defected to the Demon King’s Army.”
Eileen swallowed dryly.
She could no longer sit still and endure the smell.
“Ms. Eileen, it’s still undercooked. Put down your chopsticks. Do you know how to eat it?”
“I know.”
She could not simply wait for the cup ramen noodles to cook.
“A Korean can’t wait. You’re telling me to just wait?”
In case there was a spot the water hadn’t touched, or the top of the noodles was undercooked, she flipped it over to the bottom again.
Eileen kept stirring the noodles with her chopsticks and flipping them over.
“I miss this. This feeling… Back then, I thought I was so pitiful eating something like cup ramen.”
…
There was a past life where she ran around the world’s logistics warehouses day and night.
Days of checking product codes, matching inventory quantities, reducing travel routes, calculating pallet loading rates, and redoing dispatch schedules.
The dense writing in her notebook, her laptop and PDA had no time to rest.
If one item was picked incorrectly, the inventory got messed up.
If the route got tangled, she walked the same aisle back and forth again.
If she miscalculated space, trucks ran carrying empty space, and if the dispatch schedule fell behind, clients called frantically from dawn.
And those mistakes led to losses and could threaten her entire career.
It was a continuous tension under the pressure that she must never make a mistake.
Her days were a repetition of such days.
To reduce the time from request to delivery by even one minute, she forced people, goods, and vehicles to mesh together.
Every day she ground up her own schedule to process the schedules of goods.
Dawn came after she returned utterly exhausted.
Her smartphone showed the next schedule, and in her head the things she had to do starting tomorrow morning clung to her and tormented her.
The only thing that welcomed her then was this cup ramen.
In a cost-effective business hotel room, she half-opened the lid, poured in the soup, and added hot water from the hotel room’s electric kettle.
A three-minute wait.
To her, who was always chased by time, it felt like a long rest period.
Those three minutes waiting in front of the cup ramen were strangely long and warm.
That artificial taste that never betrayed her.
That was the driving force that dragged her to the next day.
It was time she endured by calculating her upcoming vacation plans, overtime pay, and bonuses.
But,
“Right, in the Empire… no matter how many nights I stayed up working, there was no period like this. There was always the next task waiting…”
Finally, Eileen lifted the noodles with her chopsticks.
She slurped the still slightly undercooked, but therefore chewier, noodles.
As the ramen broth went down her throat, the tears she had been holding back fell from Eileen’s eyes.
“Life in this world was too hard…”
She remembered her past life.
And beside her was the contract she had signed with the Demon King that afternoon.
“This ramen is delicious. It’s so delicious it makes me angry.”
“I understand. When I was first scouted by the Demon King, I saw the bathtub in this prison and wept loudly.”
Erica continued speaking with a calm smile.
“At the monastery, they said hunger was also faith.”
Erica smiled, but one side of her lips twisted upward.
“But it was strange. When I was hungry and exhausted, prayer didn’t deepen; I began to hate people and God.”
Erica made a rough joke and then spoke again with a bright smile.
“The Demon King told me this. Rest as much as you have suffered. That is the law of the Demon King’s Army. That’s when I decided. I would work for the Demon King’s Army.”
Eileen listened to her story and took a sip of the cup ramen broth.
“Have some kimbap too.”
“How do you get something like this?”
“Because we help ability users like you, Princess, express their desires freely in their own domains.”
Erica opened the Triangle Kimbap wrapper for Eileen and placed it neatly beside the ramen container.
“I learned from the Demon King that people fall not to grand causes, but to consideration that recognizes them, acknowledgment of their abilities, and reward.”
Eileen wiped the broth from around her mouth with the tissue placed beside the tray.
“I like that ideal.”
Her eyes were no longer afraid.
The eyes of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“Good. I surrender. I want to repay you. This is the list of those who will enter the Demon Realm’s Dungeon tomorrow. This is certain.”
“You mean the party with the Guide that the Princess mentioned.”
“Yes. They will soon enter a Dungeon near the border. It’s perfect timing to approach them.”
Eileen projected a mana map into the air with her finger.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, because it was the expedition plan I drafted. The supply wagons should have departed yesterday. Food for fifteen days, twelve boxes of mana stones. That means they plan to go deep into the lower levels. But that Dungeon is sealed from the fifth floor onward, with paths splitting and traps. Without a Guide, they’ll be blocked within half a day.”
Eileen spoke while chewing the kimbap in her mouth.
“Don’t let anyone get hurt.”
“What?”
“I’m not telling you to destroy that party. What I want is to extract only the Guide. The Imperial Knights are being worn down just like me.”
“…Princess, you’re already speaking like a member of the Demon King’s Army.”
“That’s right. I’m speaking like your boss. Useful talent must be retrieved without damage.”
The information she leaked was top secret of the Imperial Knights.
But she continued without hesitation.
“Director Erica, I’m saying this confidential information is an investment in my career.”
“An investment…”
“I will build convenience stores all over this world that never turn off their lights 24 hours a day.”
“Convenience stores?”
“Yes. Places where people returning from work don’t have to fall asleep hungry, where they can drink warm soup instead of hard bread. Places where even at the edge of the Demon Realm, they can receive gifts in time for their birthdays.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“I will build a logistics network with this ramen everywhere in the Demon Realm. I’m sick of wasting my time on things like war. In this Demon King’s Army, I will prove I can live my past life again.”
Erica nodded.
Because she had seen the look in Eileen’s eyes on the day she brought her here.
The decisive card that made her choose to Fall.
The reason she, who was serious about moving goods, crossed over to the Demon King’s Army.
“By using the Magic Portal.”
“Yes. You showed the potential of that Portal. If people can move safely, moving goods is easy. If only we can increase its size.”
Eileen rose from her seat and stared straight at Erica.
“To properly use that Portal magic, we need the Guide’s engineering knowledge. We need that guy in the Empire’s Hero’s Party. Tell the Demon King. That guy must be made to Fall no matter what.”
Erica wrote down the information Eileen gave her with a satisfied expression.
“I sincerely welcome your Fall, Ms. Eileen. The Demon King will also be pleased with this information. When can you start work?”
“Tomorrow, right away. A proper job has appeared after a long time; do you think I want to rest?”
“Then another Demon King’s Army employee will come to escort you at tomorrow’s work time. I’m going on vacation starting tomorrow.”
Eileen nodded and coolly drained the remaining cup ramen broth.
The Demon King’s Army knew exactly what the Princess wanted.
“Kidnapping… Brainwashing… Fallen… Not bad.”
After Erica left the room, Eileen stroked the edge of the empty cup ramen container for a long while.
Then what she had to do naturally came to mind.
“Should I get ready for work…?”
Eileen stood up from her seat.
She opened the wall closet inside the prison and touched her Demon King’s Army uniform.
A suit with a stylish design, stretchy fabric, and her name tag attached.
[Four Heavenly Kings Eileen]
“Four Heavenly Kings, huh… Heh heh heh.”
The title of Four Heavenly Kings was awkward, but it might be better than being called a fake Princess.
“Ahahahaha! Me, in the Demon King’s Army!”
Eileen looked at the name tag and laughed wildly.
She had never laughed like that during her days as Princess.
“Something this good! I never knew until now? Why didn’t I know!”
She laughed wickedly like the Four Heavenly Kings she had read about in books during the Empire.
“Why bury your bones in the Empire? It’s not a columbarium!”
Her laughter echoed throughout the Demon King’s Castle prison.
At the same time, she thought of the capable talent she had left in the Empire.
An Earthling like herself, a Transmigrator.
The Guide who had just handed information to a Demon King’s Army executive.
A specialist in Magical Engineering.
“I need you. You’ll have to Fall together with me.”