I Took the Demon King as My Wife

The major construction project that took half a day was finally over.
Hans delicately put down the hammer after shaping the last protruding nail.
“Whew….”
He sighed deeply while fluttering his collar. His body was completely drenched in sweat, enough to make his spiky hair wet and flat.
“This should be….”
Brushing back his dripping bangs, he lightly tapped the stairs with his fist.
Thud thud. Hans finally showed a satisfied expression at the solid boards that didn’t shake.
“Whew….”
He awkwardly left the stairs and headed upward. Having hammered continuously in a confined space, the sweltering heat made him repeatedly exhale heavily.
Opening the window across from him, he slowly began unbuttoning his clothes from the nape.
While cooling off in the gentle breeze, his hand stopped abruptly at about the third button.
“……”
Hans naturally turned his head toward the right corridor. He could see a slightly open door.
It was Eilena’s room.
Hans stared intently at the door before hurriedly rebuttoning his clothes.
“Whew….”
Shaking his soaking wet hair, he went downstairs.
Following the stairs all the way down, he headed straight to the backyard.
He hurried toward the well he had previously spotted through the window.
Upon reaching the well, Hans looked around several times before quickly taking off his top.
“Hmm….”
With the covering removed, his muscular body was fully revealed.
A firm body that seemed to not allow even the slightest layer of fat.
His entire body was well-developed and balanced, without any part being exceptionally prominent or deficient.
Even the best sculptor in the kingdom couldn’t create a statue more perfect than this.
However, his well-trained body was far from the beauty of a sculpture.
“Ugh…!”
Hans frowned as he felt his back.
His broad back was red and inflamed with the skin peeled off.
That wasn’t all.
A large scar starting from his right side spread throughout his body like roots of an old tree.
From his shoulders to his ankles, large and hideous scars were engraved all over his body like tattoos.
The injuries were so severe that some parts looked as if the flesh had been cut away and reattached.
After caressing his sore back, Hans raised his arm to examine his right side.
At the center of the swirling scar, a mysterious pattern the size of a palm was prominently placed.
‘Is it… really sealed?’
It was the “Hero’s Mark,” which had manifested when he was 9 years old and was the source of all his power.
As could be seen from the scars spreading like lotus flowers, all the marks on his body began with the manifestation of the Hero’s Mark.
He, the 12th hero, had 11 near-death experiences.
As the power of previous heroes began to manifest in his body one by one, his flesh burst and his bones broke.
Moreover, this power didn’t simply refer to physical strength.
It encompassed everything from the previous heroes—their memories, knowledge, martial arts—literally everything from the predecessors.
On days when all of these flooded into his mind at once, he would lose consciousness and collapse for days.
Then his bones would break again and his skin would tear, waking him with pain, only to lose consciousness again.
It was a repetition of this process.
“……”
Hans silently touched the scars on his chest.
As if the pain from that day still remained, the scars stung just from his touch.
Because of this, the aftereffects were tremendous, to the extent that he had to receive periodic healing from Lasia even after more than a decade.
“…Huh.”
Hans pressed his stinging chest and tried to dispel his thoughts.
‘These are all things of the past….’
The pain, the suffering, the sadness—all had been buried more than a decade ago.
Therefore, regretting the past would be foolish.
He needed to envision the future and move forward.
“Time only flows forward.”
It was one of the few sayings he remembered from his father from childhood.
With a somewhat bitter expression, Hans pulled the pulley.
The bucket rose from the deep well with a clattering sound.
-Splash!
Without a moment’s hesitation, he poured the cold groundwater he had just drawn over his head.
The sound of water soaking his entire body made his hair stand on end.
“……”
Thick droplets fell from his soaking wet bangs.
Hans immediately lowered the bucket to draw more water.
-Splash!
Twice.
-Splash!
Three times.
After pouring cold water over his body repeatedly, Hans shook his face and roughly wiped away the moisture.
He removed the water by vigorously shaking his skin, then wrung out his wet clothes and put them back on.
Contemplating whether to button up, Hans stared at the second floor of the mansion and gently shook his head.
‘She doesn’t seem interested in this side anyway….’
In the end, he entered the house with his loosely draped shirt billowing coldly.
*
“Hmm….”
Hans, who had aimlessly returned and wandered around the house, suddenly stopped in front of the dining room.
It was already well past lunchtime.
-Growl.
Having worked hard since early dawn, his stomach growled even more loudly.
‘I wonder if there’s anything to eat here.’
For a mansion that had been abandoned for quite some time, the interior was relatively clean.
There were still many places that needed fixing, but it was more than enough space for two people to live in.
Judging by the simple bedding, clothes, and necessities already prepared in his room, it seemed the Emperor had made arrangements in advance.
“If he was so considerate, I wish he had paid attention to the stairs as well….”
Hans mumbled in a low voice, recalling his morning of hard work.
“What am I saying….”
Then he crossed his arms and shook his head.
‘A man who spent his entire life in barracks the size of a rat hole doesn’t even know how fortunate he is….’
A dull fellow who only knows how to use his strength—on whose behalf has he been living as a hero to the people until now?
They say not knowing gratitude makes one a beast.
Hans smiled bitterly at another of his father’s sayings that came to mind.
-Growl. Rumble.
“Oh my.”
While hesitating and wasting time, the beggar in his stomach began to protest loudly.
His body had never missed a meal no matter what happened… so it was understandable.
‘Maybe I should at least check inside.’
Hans gently rubbed his rumbling stomach and pulled open the large dining room door.
“Wow….”
As expected of a mansion’s dining room, the interior was spacious and splendid.
Sunlight passing through the long stained glass windows illuminated the interior, creating an antique atmosphere.
The large chandelier hanging from the ceiling scattered the incoming light in all directions, creating a dreamlike space.
At the far end of the table, spread with a red carpet, was the most luxurious chair along with a large landscape painting on the wall. It seemed to be the homeowner’s seat.
It was more like a banquet hall than a dining room.
It had a completely different atmosphere from when it was dark.
‘Do people really eat in places like this….’
Having lived his entire life on military rations, this unfamiliar environment felt strange.
After wandering around the dining room, Hans discovered a small door leading to the kitchen and immediately headed there.
“Well, well….”
The kitchen was also as spacious as the dining room.
Moreover, whether someone had already worked on the interior or not, it was the cleanest and neatest space he had seen in the mansion.
There were four large magic refrigerators, and it was a perfect kitchen equipped with stoves, ovens, and water facilities.
The more he looked, the more convinced he was that this place was closer to a huge party venue than a private home.
Due to the increasingly loud sounds coming from his stomach, Hans quickly searched through the kitchen.
Inside the four refrigerators were various food ingredients packed tightly.
There were also several large crates filled with fruits and vegetables.
Indeed, the Emperor was a meticulous person.
Hans placed several ingredients in the middle of the kitchen.
“Hmm….”
Hans swallowed a short cough and examined each ingredient carefully, picking them up one by one. They all looked fresh.
‘The problem is….’
He had no idea how to cook.
Well, he could certainly handle simple “preparation.”
He had quite a bit of experience catching and roasting wild animals during training.
But that’s not what people call cooking.
He was hungry now. Very hungry.
Thinking about it, he had gone a full day without food, from last evening through breakfast and lunch.
In such a state of hunger, he could probably eat anything….
But he didn’t want to settle for crude food.
He wanted proper “cooking.”
Even during his time in the military barracks, his palate was of a fairly high standard thanks to a cook with considerable culinary skills.
Even after setting out on the journey to subjugate the Demon King, he was always able to maintain high-quality meals due to Yeomje’s so-called creative cooking magic.
-Rumble rumble.
“Oh dear….”
While he continued to hesitate, the beggar sitting in his stomach began to angrily shout louder.
Hans hastily washed a familiar fruit and took a big bite.
Slurp. The juice overflowed, spreading sweetness throughout his mouth.
Crunch crunch. He chewed loudly on purpose. He wanted to at least show that he had eaten something.
However, it seemed quite insufficient to calm his sensitive stomach.
Having instantly devoured a fruit the size of his fist, Hans licked the juice that had spilled onto his hand and fell into thought.
“……”
Licking his sweet-smelling lips, he stared at the remaining ingredients.
While he was contemplating what to do, his black eyes had already drifted upward. It was exactly the location of Eilena’s room.
“Maybe….”
Hans, who had been muttering, slapped his lips together and then closed his mouth.
Shaking his head, he sighed deeply.
Of course the Demon King wouldn’t do something like cooking….
Even if she knew how, the thought that she would cook for him didn’t cross his mind in the slightest.
It was more likely she would poison the food if she did cook.
“No choice.”
Hans clicked his tongue and picked up another fruit.
Living in this world, to think he’d end up having fruits for meals.
Suddenly, his fate seemed very unfortunate.
-Beeeeeep.
“…?”
Crunch. Just as he took a bite of the new fruit, a loud mechanical sound came from outside.
Startled, Hans turned his gaze in that direction, and once again, a piercing sound was heard.
-Beep. Beep.
The sound was coming from the entrance of the mansion. Hans quickly headed to the entrance, stuffing the remaining fruit into his mouth at once.
‘Who could it be?’
There shouldn’t be anyone coming.
This mansion was personally bestowed upon him by the Emperor.
Was there someone who knew that he, who had not yet officially returned, was in this mansion?
Otherwise, who would come to this remote mansion in broad daylight?
‘Is it His Majesty?’
That couldn’t be.
Then was it someone sent by him?
With growing questions, Hans quickened his pace.
Arriving at the entrance, he slightly opened the large door.
“…Who is it?”
As he poked his face through the gap, something suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
“Ah!”
Startled, Hans tilted his head back and pulled his body away. He saw a curved staff with a blackened tip.
“Wh-what’s this?”
Hans blinked and slowly lowered his gaze along the staff.
“Ye-Yeomje!”
“……”
It was the mage Yeomje, his colleague and only friend.
Yeomje slightly raised the brim of his wide hat and looked at Hans with hollow eyes.
Eventually, with a deep sigh, he slowly opened the door with the tip of his staff and entered.
“H-how….”
To Hans’s question of how he knew to come here, Yeomje didn’t respond and just looked around the mansion.
Finally, he removed his hat, placing it on the tip of his staff, and slowly turned his head.
“Nice house.”
“Hmm…?”
“Really fucking nice.”
Above his deeply set dark circles, eyes full of discontent shot toward him.
“…?”
Hans, who had no idea what was going on, could only blink.