Chapter 244: Rumors

―――― The 45th day of training.

On that day, the headquarters of the Magic Knight Order in Adelheit was unusually noisy. The knights seemed to be distracted from their training and were worried about something, while the servants were busy gossiping. That’s understandable. After all, there’s information that their leader, Nell Lemure, would soon get married. Nell’s wedding would attract a lot of attention from the countries of the Jiba continent in various ways. There are even rumors that many important people from the business world would come, and since it would affect the future of the knight order, everyone’s concern was tremendous.

「I wonder if Leader will retire as a knight if she gets married?」

「Well, she’s still young. Isn’t it too early for her to retire? And if she were to retire, the deterrent to Galdevalan would be bad….」

「Isn’t her living in Adelheit enough for the deterrence?」

「……… You are right.」

「Leader Nell seems to be in a very good mood lately.」

「As expected, the rumor about her wedding is true. Perhaps, in her stomach is already….」

「「Kyaaa ♪」」

「Yes, that’s quite possible!」

‘Maybe she appointed her disciple Chinatsu as the vice leader because she intended to hand over her position in anticipation of her marriage’, ‘The feeling of love she held for many years is finally fulfilled, and her partner is her childhood friend!?’, etc. The content of the gossip was very diverse. It was not just at the headquarters, but also in the castle of Adelheit, and even came to King Dias and Mage Prime Minister Joseph.

「King Dias, you seem to have an unusually difficult look on your face. Is there something wrong?」

In the middle of his duties, Noct noticed that Dias was acting a little strange and then asked him directly.

「Hm? Well, there’s something that might raise some concerns.」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Dias is the king, but he talks with Noct, his longtime best friend, frankly when there are no other people. It’s one of the few relaxations he has. Noct also understands that, so even though he doesn’t change his tone, he tries to act in the same way as in the past as much as possible.

「Something that makes you worried that much, huh? Let’s see, I heard that the problem with the demon king has ended in Crocus, but it’s true that we are still in a situation where conflicts can arise. Especially, we can’t let our guard to the north――」

「――No, you are wrong, Noct. I’m not worried about Galdevalan in the north or Crocus in the south. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumor that Knight Leader Nell is getting married soon.」

「Y-Yes. There sure is a rumor like that, but is it something you need to be worried about? I can understand your feeling since her partner is that suspicious man Deris. Still, he has a close relationship with Leader Nell, so I don’t think we need to interfere….」

Deris and Nell living under the same roof is a well-known fact to those who are close to them. Noct also knows about it, and he doesn’t want it to be known to the public because of her position. Well, he thinks that it’s fine if it’s after they got married and settled down. However, he notices that Dias has wrinkles between his eyebrows and begins to wonder what’s going on.

「The other day, I ordered Joseph to get in touch with people in the countries outside the continent of Jiba to see if there are any major changes. As a result, even though it’s the lowest rank, one of the Eight Great Demons started to move within the Jiba continent. I also heard that they saw the other Great Eight Demons. Then, what about the rest of the Great Eight Demons? That’s what I’ve been wondering.」

「The other Great Eight Demons? I know the famous Vakala and Alezel, the one who trades with humans.」

The existence of the Great Eight Demons is something to learn from the lecture at Adelheit Magic Academy. However, their knowledge is something as legendary beings, and the information that can be obtained there is vague. Noct has never actually seen one, and he was quite surprised when he heard that one had appeared in Crocus.

「About the Great Eight Demons…. It seems that they have disappeared from their bases that are scattered all over the world. It was at the same time that as if they have arranged it beforehand.

「I can’t see what you’re talking about…. Also, how did you know the whereabouts of the Great Eight Demons?」

「They are so famous that they are often seen in everyday life. And Alezel, whom you mentioned earlier, it’s not uncommon for her to appear in person to negotiate with merchants. As for the dragon that’s as big as a mountain, it’s rather harder to lose sight of it. Still, they have disappeared. It’s just a rumor, but when they disappeared, it seems that they gathered somewhere in the world to do something. And strangely enough, there have been several sightings of the Great Eight Demons in the last few days on the continent of Jiba.」

「I-In other words…?」

――――*Gulp*. Noct unconsciously swallowed his saliva and waited for Dias’s next words.

「And what I think is, could it be that they are going to attend the wedding of Leader Nell and Deris?」

「………」

「Noct?」

「…F-Fuhaha, fuhahahaha! King Dias, you are now able to make a joke, huh! Oh no, it might rain spears tomorrow. That would certainly be a terrible situation.」

Noct started laughing while holding his stomach. Dias is taken aback since that reaction is the first time in a long time ever since their student days. And when he thought about it calmly, he gradually became embarrassed by his own thinking.

「No, I’m talking about something serious… ah, forget it. You are right, it’s something impossible. In the end, it’s just my speculation.」

「Please don’t sulk. Still, why did you think like that? If you have some evidence to support it, I would be serious too.」

「Evidence, huh. I don’t have any, but I think that maybe Leader Nell and Deris are as strong as the Great Eight Demons. And since the timing matched with their wedding, I felt that it might be related…. Now, let’s resume our work. The agreement with Hund of the Great Eight Demons, let’s make sure that there’s no loophole.」

「It was a nice change of pace for me. Thank you very much.」

In the end, they treated it as a funny story. The two are unaware of the fact that they hit the mark, and they are unaware of the fact that the demon kings are approaching Adelheit one after another. Some are coming from the sky above the clouds, some are coming directly using a carriage just like royalty, and some are coming on foot―― the disasters are coming from all directions, waiting impatiently for that moment.

「Ah, by the way, I received a letter from Kiel, saying that he’s getting married soon. His partner is Solte, of course.」

「I’m happy to hear that. However, I can’t go because of my position as the king, huh…. I’ll at least write a congratulation letter and send it later. Heh, I’m sure they will have mischievous children.」

「You are right, there’s no doubt about it.」

However, now is not that moment yet. The peace of Adelheit will continue for some time. And in the evening, the heroes returned from Crocus and the country was very excited.