Translator: Tseirp
Nadia and Lydia looked like they made their resolve for something.
The two of them looked at each other and nodded before Nadia replied.
âLuciel-sama, we wish to return to our country and speak to Kamiya-dono.â
âSpeak? About spreading my rumors? Or about how he gathered information on the two of you? Or about the demon race?â
âWe thought that we wonât involve ourselves with the country after becoming Adventurers ⦠but, we canât turn a blind eye to the topic on demons that can possibly even destroy the country.â
Beside Nadia, Lydia was also nodding vigorously.
âDo you have any plans or have any connections capable of doing so?â
Having abandoned their position of nobility to become Adventurers, I canât think of any connections that they can use.
Furthermore, without knowing the principle in which the people turn into demons, I canât expressly let the two of them go.
â ⦠No, we donât.â
Nadia replied softly.
âThe human supremacist Kamiya-dono and the Principality of Blange suspected to be dealing with the demon race. I think that itâs folly to go there without any plan, what does everyone else think?
Despite that, do you still wish to go to the Principality of Blange? Or should you first carefully gather information? Please think about it rationally.â
âNadia and Lydia, like Luciel-sama said, itâs better to gather information first. If that Kamiya-dono fellow is the only one involved in this incident, then the problem could be solved quickly. However, if the country is involved, in the worst case, this might concern the fate of the country.â
While listening to Lionel try to convince the two of them, I once again understood that if all of Garba-sanâs information is correct, it might concern the fate of the Principality of Blange.
â ⦠Yes.â
Nadia nodded weakly.
With this, the choice of going to the Principality of Blange was struck off.
âAt any rate, Iâll request Garba-san to continue investigating the Principality of Blange and weâll make our move if anything happens.â
Nadia and Lydia acted like their position was something like a follower of mine but that wasnât how I see it at all from the start.
I only took them along with me after saving them so I followed-up to reassure them.
ââThank you very much.ââ
The two of them bowed but ultimately, their wish was denied and the topic ended.
âThen, go ahead, Lionel, Cathy, Kefin.â
âLuciel-sama, we are people who have already left the Empire. But honestly, I have a score with someone that I absolutely have to settle.â
âNot with the Empire or the Emperor but with the guy named Cloud who is currently using the title General SenâOni?â
âYes. I thought that I was betrayed by the subordinates I trusted. Furthermore, even my former master, the Emperor, did not listen to my words. Thatâs why I thought that I was betrayed but it looks like I misunderstood it slightly.â
âThen, donât you want to return as a soldier of the Empire?â
âHahaha, after such a long time, I no longer have the desire to return to the Empire at all. It is incomparable to how I can get to experience all kinds of things when I follow Luciel-sama and my child is going to be born in Ienith after all.â
Lionel rejected my offer to allow him to return with a laugh.
The first emotion that I felt was relief.
As expected, if I had to fight against Lionel, it canât even be compared with fighting against the Knight Corps.
âReturning to the topic, just like how Lionel misunderstood the situation, I also had a misunderstanding about the Empire.â
âMisunderstanding?â
â ⦠To be honest, not all my unease has been dispelled but from the conversation last night, I realized that the Empire actually has not plotted against me at all.â
I felt a question mark float above everybodyâs head after I said that.
âWe clashed with the Empire in Ienith and in the Dwarf Kingdom nya.â
âThatâs right. Although we didnât actually fight, Luciel-sama should have a quarrel to settle with the Empire.â
Cathy and Kefin were puzzled and began explaining to me the conspiracy by the Empire and our fight with the Empire but what I was referring to was a vastly different thing.
âItâs true that I have a quarrel with them but thatâs because I crushed the Empireâs plan. When I thought about it carefully, my contact with the Empire began since Ienith. To further clarify, the conspiracies were already in place far before I even went there.â
âWhat do you mean nya?â
âPlease explain it in a clearer manner.â
Including Cathy and Kefin, all the gazes were focused on me, asking for an explanation.
âIn Ienith, the Empireâs people were undercover as slave dealers and they utilized the tiger beastman Shaza to cause chaos. Furthermore, in the Dwarf Kingdom, they pulled the Dwarf Kingâs son to their side and tried to crush the Dwarf Kingdom using huge ants right? Nevertheless, those plots were already in place before I went there. They werenât aimed at me.â
â ⦠That does sound true if you put it that way nya.â
âI see. Itâs true that there might not have been a plot directly aimed at Luciel-sama all this time.â
It seemed like Cathy and Kefin understood what I was trying to say.
However, Lionel was still looking unconvinced.
âLionel, you look like you have some doubts?â
âAh, I just have something Iâm still wondering about.â
âSomething that concerns you?â
âYeah. Luciel-sama, do you know where did you have your first battle with the demon race?â
âWhere? It was in the village between the Holy Capital and Meratoni?â
âWrong. It was at the Dwarf Kingdom.â
â?! The Dwarf Kingâs son!?â
âYes. That guy said then that he would obtain the greatest power if he swallows the magic stone. That was most definitely planned by the slave merchants who enter and exit the Dwarf Kingdom.â
âSlave merchant huh ⦠if we entered the Empire and it turns into a battle, do you think you are able to win with your current strength, Lionel?â
âIf I have Luciel-samaâs Area Barrier and Healing Magic then it would be easy.â
Lionel laughed ferociously, showing his white teeth.
Hearing that, I talked about Wisdom-dono who I met in Nelldal.
âLionel and Dolan might still recall him but I actually had the chance to meet the Rubruk Kingdom noble youngster who was a slave at Ienith when I was at Nelldal.â
âThat guy is still alive?â
âYes, I think ⦠he has also been released from slavery through some means. It might have been possible that his slave crest was dispelled when I applied Recover and Dispel on him though. More importantly, he had a magic stone embedded within his body. He said that the one who did that to him was the fake Lionel.â
âTo embed a magic stone in the body, I can only think of it as an act of sheer madness.â
âYeah his, ah he is called Baron Wisdom from the Rubruk Kingdom, his body was tampered with using magic engraving and magic stones so he fainted from the immense pain and apparently woke up in a mountain of corpses because they thought that he had died.â
âItâs slightly hard to believe but ⦠why did they do that?â
âHe said that the Empire was doing that as a countermeasure against the demon race, to allow them to draw power from the magic stone. However, his case was seen as a clear failure and the magic stone was already gone when I met him but miasma was overflowing from his body and half of it has probably undergone demonification.â
â ⦠Doesnât that mean if it is Luciel-sama, you can dispel the demonification!?â
Lionel looked at me with a surprised expression and everyoneâs gazes gathered on me.
Thereâs no way I can ⦠actually, it might be possible.
âEh? Really? No, there might be some kind of a condition but itâs true that it might be possible to dispel it if we encounter similar opponents at the Empire with magic stones embedded in their body.â
âThen we should try restraining a person who has turned into a demon and let Luciel-sama try if it is possible to convert that person back.â
âThereâs no way a demon would appear with such an opportune timing. Well, Iâll give it a try if we meet one. So, in the end, do you wish to go to the Empire.â
âIf thereâs no need to rush, I would like to first continue training. Until I have the strength to protect the ones I wish to protect.â
âI agree nya. Iâve not fought with monsters since then but if another demon of a similar class that we fought in that village appears, it is doubtful if I am able to win nya.â
âThatâs certainly true.â
If thatâs the case, then it would either be the Grandol Labyrinth Paula talked about before or the foot of the mountain at Ienithâs unexplored forest where the Dragon God resides in.
What should I do?
Just as I was at a lost, Garba-san came rushing over looking slightly flustered.
âLuciel-kun, sorry but could you go to the Holy Capital with me?â
âWhy are you in such a rush?â
Iâve never seen Garba-san panicking before so I replied while wondering why the Holy Capital.
âI didnât receive the regular contact from Catherine last night. Maybe her double spy identity has been found out.â
Even if he mentioned Catherine-sanâs name and tell me that her spying has been revealed, I still didnât think that I have to save her at all cost.
While feeling shocked at myself, looking at Garba-san, he was panicking after all.
Thereâs a lot to consider but thereâs no reason to reject Garba-sanâs request.
âHoly Capital huh ⦠to be honest, I donât really want to go but since it is Garba-sanâs request, thereâs no way I can reject it. Even though she was a spy, at the very least she still belonged to the Popeâs side ⦠Dolan, what would the flying ship need to fly?â
âIt flies using the magical power from magic stones or by directly inputting magical power. With the magic stones I received just now, it can easily fly for a long time.â
I didnât know how long it would last exactly but in the worst case, I can still use my own magical power to keep it in the air.
If thatâs the case then thereâs no problem with going there using the flying ship.
âItâs unlikely that they will punish Catherine-san, the Knight Captain, right after what happened yesterday. Furthermore, Iâm also concerned about something and I had planned to pick up a talent anyway so lets go together.â
âOo, thank you Luciel-kun.â
âIn exchange, please properly let Shisho know.â
If we donât tell Shisho, I could imagine him asking why we didnât call him along even though it was something so interesting.
âAll right. Iâll immediately get ready.â
Garba-san said that and disappeared.
When I turned back, Cathy muttered.
âThat guy might have fallen in love nya.â
Ah, that might be possible.
Well, without Garba-sanâs level of tolerance, itâs probably impossible to be with Catherine-san.
While vaguely having such thoughts, I thanked everyone and decided on our direction.
I feel that I wonât be able to move forward well if I do not clear up the things I left behind in the church and the promises I made to Pope-sama would be empty promises.
Furthermore, if the Human Supremacists are seriously aiming to cause the church to go into decline, it wonât be surprising if they have people inside the Executives Department that can be turned into demons.
Since the magic circle encompassing the church was no longer functioning.
âIâm sorry that the discussion here has been wasted but I think I should go to the Holy Capital and knock down those people who tried to bring me down. However, I will be entrusting all the punishments to Pope-sama so until that ends, please decide on either to continue training or to go the Empire.â
I lowered my head and asked them.
âWe are Luciel-samaâs followers so we will just follow your decision.â
Everyone showed their agreement by nodding to Lionelâs words.
âThank you.â
Having reliable companions is seriously refreshing.
While thanking everyone, in order to tidy up what I left behind at the Church, just one day after leaving, I was once again heading towards the Holy Capital.
Authorâs note:
Thank you for reading