LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Misunderstanding Mishap
“—Why are you here?”
At my question, Emelgias narrowed his brows, seemingly offended.
“That’s my line! Why the heck are you here? Did you get lost or something?”
He spoke with a nonchalant attitude, but the bewilderment in his voice was genuine.
Following Emelgias, two more demon warriors dropped down from their dragons. They weren’t as vividly colored as him, being a green-haired man and woman. They were armed with quality magical chainmail and sturdy spears. Were they from his clan?
“Young Master, who are these folks?”
“The sassy-looking brat in the middle is the Demon Lord’s Prince No. 7, Zilbagias, age five.”
“That…?”
A warrior woman with a big-sister vibe cast a wary glance at me. “Five…?” the man said, sounding confused. The folks around me wore similar expressions; even the village chief, the cat beastman who had regained consciousness, was scratching his cat ears in disbelief.
I might need to consider age deception soon.
“………”
An awkward silence lingered as we sized each other up. Emelgias opened his mouth as if to say something but fell silent, twisting his lips in annoyance.
—Should I just take him out?
I suddenly thought that. There were three of them on their side, but I had Virosa and my crew. Aside from the mental exhaustion, we were all in fine shape. If I silenced the outsider beastman village chief, perhaps I could erase them without anyone noticing.
…No, the dragon riders would witness it. They likely wouldn’t participate in a fight between demons, but unlike Faravgi, they could fly away.
Even though Emelgias only had two followers, I couldn’t finish him off in one move. Plus, even if Faravgi was weaker, I had three dragons to deal with before they made a getaway—
It’s impossible. Attacking now is premature.
—Damn, looking at it this way, this guy’s pretty strong too.
The fourth Demon Lord’s Prince, Emelgias. His demonic energy swirled lazily around him like a coiled serpent ready to strike. While he may not compare to his older siblings, he still held a strength befitting a princely demon.
Even if I brought out all the forbidden magical power I raised, it wouldn’t be enough. I had made progress since then, but he was still above my level.
Being superior means my magical interference would likely be repelled. If I used “Naming” with Alexander, the curse might pass, but that would force me to silence my own crew.
Things don’t go my way.
And since he’s the Demon Lord’s son, Emelgias can use “Naming”. His power would multiply even more in battle—great, just what I need…
Plus, I have no idea what hidden cards Emelgias and his crew might hold. Antendeixis’s “Forbidden” included, demon magic often comes with unreasonable quirks. The reports hadn’t mentioned what spells Emelgias could use.
‘You currently have no decent weapon. Acting here would be rash indeed.’
Antendeixis warned with a grin. I clicked my tongue softly.
“Hey.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Emelgias raised his voice in irritation.
“I have a mission to clear out that fortress.”
“Clear out mission?”
I repeated, somewhat surprised.
“Yes. Apparently, a call for aid came from a beastman village at the foot of the mountains.”
Emelgias pulled out a document from his chest.
“There’s concern about goblins breeding in an abandoned ruin. However, over ten beastman warriors sent to subdue them have gone missing. There’s a possibility of mid-tier magical beasts lurking. Well, it’s a dull mission—”
He glanced at the fortress behind us.
“—And while flying here, I spotted several odd light pillars in the distance. When I arrived, there you were. You have an obligation to report the situation to me, Zilbagias’ squire.”
At his words, his two lackeys snickered. Here I was, the most junior squire in the Demon Lord’s kingdom. So they chose to assert some dominance over me, huh?
I glanced at the faces of the lackeys. I’ve memorized that look.
Still, a clear out mission, huh? I’m here for an exercise, though, is there a double booking or what?
“—I was in a similar situation, coming to this fortress for a drill.”
Well, I guess I should explain.
“In the fortress near Kakoa Village, there’s concern about goblins breeding… but the documents didn’t mention anything about magical beasts being present, Emelgias… um…”
I hesitated.
“…..What was your title again?”
“Count!”
Emelgias snapped back, as if biting down. The hierarchy is Demon Lord → Duke → Marquis → Count, so it seems he’s still not qualified as the successor. I guess he’s trying to gain some merit for tackling such a dull mission.
By the way, Aiogias and Rubyphia are Dukes, and Diagias is a Marquis. The former clan leader of the Orgi tribe is a Count, so it’s not a low rank by any means.
“Well, you can just call me brother; we’re close like that.”
I said with a smile. Emelgias clicked his tongue in annoyance but suddenly looked up at the sky and cursed, “…So that’s how it is, damn it.”
“You useless hobgoblins! …It seems a blunder has occurred between us.”
“What do you mean?”
“I took this mission three days ago. But when I arrived at the village indicated on the documents, I found only a pathetic crumbling ruin inhabited by about ten goblins who had kidnapped a human female slave!”
I suddenly felt my body temperature drop.
“Of course, there were no signs of the magical beasts, and the villagers claimed there weren’t any missing persons, either.”
Emelgias slapped the documents in frustration.
“So, when I reported back to the castle, I learned I was sent to a village completely unrelated! The damn bureaucrats mixed up the names of similar villages!”
“…Then, where I should have gone was…”
To that ruin where the goblins had taken the human slave…
“That’s right. And this fortress was actually my intended destination.”
Huff, Emelgias sighed dramatically.
“…By the way, what happened to that human female slave?”
“Huh? I naturally killed them all. Clearly, they seemed like they wouldn’t be of any use anymore.”
“…I see.”
I couldn’t find the words to describe what I felt.
Perhaps “regret” was the closest word, yet this boiling passion within me—what was it?
“Did you, by any chance, enter this fortress? What were those light pillars?”
“….In addition to goblins, there was a White Dragon chief, Faravgi, hiding here, believed to have fled after the assault on the Demon Lord Castle. So, I took it down. That’s all.”
“…A White Dragon chief, you say?”
Emelgias and his lackeys’ eyes went wide. Even the dragons silently waiting behind us were exchanging glances, whispering, “Did you hear that?” “No way!”
“…You took it down?”
“Yeah. Seemed like I was a step late.”
With twitching eyes, Emelgias ignored us and stomped into the fortress. His two lackeys hurried after him.
“…What can I say?”
Virosa, having sheathed her sword, sighed softly.
“Thanks to a mere oversight in the documents, we’ve been through a tough time, Your Highness.”
“Indeed… Well, we’ll also return to the fortress. I’ll keep an eye on my brother.”
The corpse of Faravgi is also a pile of materials from the White Dragon. I can’t let it be tampered with. Plus, those who haven’t regained consciousness are sprawled out too.
“…Hey, if I drink Faravgi’s blood, will I be able to use human transformation magic?”
I asked Virosa softly as we walked.
“…No. It’s a ‘ritual’ where living blood is shared. So, unless they intend to pass on transformation magic, drinking the blood of a dead body would be meaningless.”
Virosa replied, somewhat taken aback.
“However, Your Highness… are you really interested in learning this?”
“Isn’t it better to be able to use any magic? It might help in hiding my presence when needed.”
“If you transformed now, Your Highness, you’d still possess considerable magical power… like Faravgi.”
Ah, I’d weaken, but end up with a “respectable strength as a human” comparable to Faravgi.
In the end, if I don’t learn Virosa’s “scatter magic” skill or some concealment magic, hiding my presence seems challenging…
“—Damn it!”
As soon as we stepped into the fortress, I heard Emelgias’ curse.
Looking over, I saw the green punk angrily kick Faravgi’s head away.
“I’d appreciate it if you stop trampling on someone else’s prey.”
The cold voice surprised even me. What on earth was this guy doing?
“Originally, that was supposed to be my hunt!”
With bloodshot eyes filled with rage, Emelgias glared at me.
“I repeat, it seems I was a step late…”
“……….Damn it!”
Spitting onto Faravgi’s corpse, Emelgias stormed out of the fortress.
“That lucky bastard…”
As he passed by, he shot me a spiteful glance—then took his minions and flew off on a dragon.
I felt a sense of helplessness.
The credit for taking down the White Dragon didn’t matter at all to me.
If only I could have saved the slave held captive by the goblins…
—A dragon carrying a disgruntled demon prince vanished into the night sky in an instant.