Chapter 335: Hero and Demon Lord
The group took the week after that for a trip to the Holy Capital Marlomar.
To report to the delegation.
In the lounge after the lobby on the first floor of the delegation lodgings.
“I see. I understand the situation.”
Commander Hugh McGrath received the report, nodded, and said so.
“I heard from Cardinal Oscar that the Knights Templar had shown movements, but…”
Cardinal Oscar was one of the personnel from the church responsible for hosting the delegations of the Central Countries.
Especially in the case of Harold, from the very beginning of the matter, such as the issuance of the ‘Sacred Seal’, he had been very accommodating toward the delegation.
“Icy grounds and hail… it certainly sounds like something Ryo would do…”
Because he muttered softly, it didn’t reach the ears of Ryo, who was enjoying the delicious cake and coffee.
Niels and Etho, who were reporting right in front of Hugh, could hear him clearly.
“Well, as long as you didn’t use force to eliminate them, there shouldn’t be a problem. They won’t be able to raise any complaints.”
Hugh didn’t see any issue with how they dealt with the situation.
“That leaves us with the blood of the Demon Lord. You’re meant to deliver it to the upper echelons of the church, but well, there’s only one choice to deliver it to…”
“Cardinal Oscar.”
“Yeah. He’s stationed in the Holy Capital as one of the negotiators with the mission, so I’m sure he’ll meet me anytime. Of course, there’s no guarantee that Cardinal Oscar will always be on our side… Well, we have no control over that. But the fact that Merlin is a Genie…”
Hugh seemed to be concerned that Merlin is a Genie.
“Grand Master?”
“Well… we were there when the Genie of the South was released, right? And it’s another Genie this time? I feel that neither of the Genies has the ‘destructiveness’ we hear about in folklore…”
Hugh replied as he recalled.
“Certainly, the Genie of the South was like that. However, Merlin seems to have been fighting people for thousands of years as an officer of the Demon Lord’s Army… so I wonder what his true form is like.”
Niels commented.
“I see. So this time, he was friendly because …”
Hugh stopped at that point and looked toward Ryo eating the cake deliciously.
“Because Ryo was there?”
“Yeah.”
Niels nodded at Hugh’s confirmation.
“Well, Genies and such are not beings that humans can fight and win against anyway…”
Hugh’s mutter was mixed with a sigh.
One week after the promise with Merlin.
The party dived into the 80th floor.
Immediately after the transfer, Merlin appeared in front of them.
“Welcome. Shall we?”
Before his words even ended… immediately, the group felt an overwhelming sensation of floating and they immediately landed on the ground.
Grass was under their feet.
There was a blue sky when they looked up.
One small cottage was in sight.
A forest could be seen in the distance.
“Hmm? Something feels weird?”
Merlin muttered softly.
It was at that moment.
A shadow flew toward Niels, who was on the outermost side of the group…
Clang.
The shadow’s high-speed strike… was blocked by an ice sword.
“Roman, that’s dangerous, you know?”
“Eh… Huh? Ryo …?”
The shadow that attacked was the Hero Roman.
“I am sorry…”
Hero Roman apologized.
“It’s okay…”
Niels couldn’t say anything beyond that.
“Roman’s Holy Sword Astaroth would shatter the parrying sword if it strikes a normal sword, right? My Murasame is fine.” (TLN: Was written as Holy Sword Astarte the previous time it was introduced)
Ryo answered while nodding with a sly look.
“Hero, what’s wrong with you?”
“Sir Merlin, this place … seems to be surrounded by the enemy… the church.”
“What …”
Hero Roman’s explanation of the current situation caused Merlin to be at a loss for words.
“Then, I suddenly felt a presence, so I wondered if the enemy had rushed in…”
“That’s why you attacked…”
Roman continued his explanation, and Etho nodded in reply.
“Well, what should we do… I wanted to at least explain.”
Merlin muttered.
“If it’s just to buy time, shall I cover this area with a wall of ice? It should take some time to break through.”
“<Ice Wall> it is!”
Hero Roman agreed to Ryo’s suggestion.
“Umu, please do.”
Merlin nodded too.
“<Ice Wall Package>”
An ice wall surrounded the house and its surroundings.
With that, they should be able to earn some time to explain.
Inside the house was a girl with a cute face.
Probably around the age of fifteen or sixteen?
As the party entered, she stood up and greeted them.
“N-nice to meet you. I’m Nadia.”
Perhaps she was nervous as her face was a little flushed.
“Oh yes, nice to meet you.”
Ryo spoke and the other six bowed their heads in silence.
“Nadia is the current Demon Lord.”
“Ah, I… see?”
Merlin explained without putting on any airs, and Ryo tried to nod but failed… the other six froze.
The six who froze were still frozen… Ryo was the first to recover.
Her body shape was human. A girl.
It didn’t look like she had horns on her head.
As for a tail… it didn’t look like she had one either.
The color of her eyes… dark brown. Not red or gold.
Five fingers… it didn’t even look like her nails were sharp.
As for her teeth…her canine teeth didn’t seem to be particularly developed.
Conclusion, human race.
“Nadia is a human… right?”
“Yes.”
Nadia nodded in response to Ryo’s confirmation.
In other words…
“So there are times when a human becomes a Demon Lord. When Demon Princes do not evolve into Demon Lords.”
“Seriously…”
Ryo confirmed and Niels muttered.
“It’s a very rare example. I have followed the Demon Lords for generations, and I’ve seen more than 100 demon lords, but I only know one other human Demon Lord apart from Nadia.”
It was rare even for Merlin.
“Eh?”
Ryo noticed. No matter how you look at it, Nadia in front of them was in her mid-teens.
Since she seemed to be human, his guess was probably close.
If so…
“When it was announced that the Demon Lord was subdued three years ago… you didn’t actually subdue the Demon Lord, right?”
“Yes, I didn’t. I gave false evidence to the church.”
Hero Roman admitted easily.
Well… if such a sweet girl appeared… even if he was told to defeat her because she’s a Demon Lord, Roman wouldn’t be able to subdue her.
Ryo was convinced.
Moreover, it seemed that in the past 100 years, the Demon Lord’s army was not raised and has not taken any hostile action toward humanity.
In that case, there might not be any need to forcefully defeat her…
“Well, first of all, let’s solve the mission’s problem.”
Merlin looked at Harold and said.
“Ah, yes. Please.”
Harold stepped forward.
Roman pulled out his holy sword and pointed the tip towards Nadia.
Nadia applied the tip of her right index finger to the holy sword and cut it.
And then she reached out her hand… and dripped the flowing blood onto Harold’s forehead.
At that moment, the light burst forth.
“Oh…”
Was it Zeke or Gowan who muttered that unintentionally…
The burst of light receded.
“The spell has been lifted.”
Nadia said with a smile.
“Th-thank you very much…”
At the corner of Harold’s eye, there was something that shone a little…
Zeke and Gowan pulled Harold into a hug.
“I’m glad…”
“Yeah”
Ryo muttered to Amon’s agreement.
Niels and Etho nodded to each other.
Harold was finally freed from the Rupture Spirit Curse.
“Then, next is the problem on your side.”
When Merlin said so, Hero Roman nodded once and brought a pot from the back.
A metal pot, not ceramic. Its decoration was quite extravagant.
It had about two liters capacity?
“It’s a simple alchemy pot. It can’t store it for decades like the one in the church, but the blood won’t deteriorate for a few months.”
Merlin said and opened the lid.
When Niels peered into it, he saw that it was filled with blood.
“Understood. I will take responsibility and deliver it to the church. Arrangements are in place.”
“Umu, please do.”
Niels accepted and Merlin nodded.
“However, we’ll have to escape from here.”
“That’s not a problem. With a reversal of what I cast, we can transfer to my dungeon. But the problem is…”
Merlin paused and looked at Nadia and Roman.
“Neither of you can stay here anymore.”
“Yes…”
Merlin announced, and Nadia and Roman answered in unison.
The church forces had surrounded them.
Even though they were protected by ice walls, there were probably powerful Magicians in the church as well.
Alternatively, there may be magic from the Western Countries that Ryo and the others didn’t know about.
Someday they would break through…
“Escape is easy. You can go to my dungeon… but the problem is beyond that.”
“Can’t they stay in the dungeon forever…?”
“The dungeon is filled with too much magic. It’s a tough environment for a Demon Lord.”
Etho made the first proposal that came to mind but Merlin rejected it.
“Somewhere out of reach of the church would be nice, but there is no such country…”
Most of the Western Countries are under the great influence of the Western Church.
“The only country that advocates complete separation of church and state and is not under the control of the Western Church is the Republic of Mafalda, but… there are church spies everywhere there. You would be discovered immediately.”
Merlin muttered.
(There is such a thing as a republic…)
That was what surprised Ryo.
As far as Ryo knows, there are no republics in the Central Countries.
He got a little interested.
“The two of you… are you going to go into hiding together?”
“Yes…”
In response to Zeke’s confirmation, Nadia and Roman answered in unison.
Nadia’s face was bright red.
Roman looked at Zeke firmly and answered.
“Well, that’s how it is.”
Merlin replied with a grin.
“I see”
Ryo nodded repeatedly with a self-satisfied look.
Yes, if there is love, there is no difference between races… Ah, no, both of them are humans.
Yes, if there is love, even a Demon Lord and a Hero… Well, that’s a common development for a light novel.
“If there are no options in the Western Countries…”
Ryo’s muttering could only be heard by Niels who was beside him.
((Abel, Abel, Abel. Urgently, urgently respond!))
((I was listening. I knew you would make such a suggestion))
((Eh? You know what I want to request?))
((If I would accept Roman and Nadia in the Kingdom of Knightley, right?))
((That’s right! As expected of Abel! What do you think? If you don’t have enough money, I can reduce the aristocratic pension I’m receiving…))
((Money is not a problem. In the first place, you are not receiving a pension from the government. You are only receiving a small allowance for the position of Special Advisor to the King. Well, leaving that aside, of course, the Kingdom is ready to accept the two. Luckily, the number of nobles is still small, so if they want, they can become nobles, or if they want to live a quiet life, they can live in the countryside. They can decide after living in the Kingdom for a while. They can take their time to decide))
It was a prompt decision.
That speed of judgment was one of the things that Ryo appreciates about Abel.
Although it was a bit of a shock that he wasn’t getting a pension.
Light novel knowledge may have many errors…
“Roman, and Nadia. Would you like to come to the Central Countries?”
“Eh?”
The two were surprised by Ryo’s suggestion.
As expected, they probably didn’t even think about moving to the Central Countries.
“We have just received confirmation. The Central Countries, the Kingdom of Knightley, will welcome the two of you to emigrate.”
“What do you mean…”
“We have received direct permission from King Abel I of the Kingdom of Knightley.”
“Abel? Could it be, Abel from the Crimson Swords?”
Roman didn’t seem to know that Abel had become the king.
He was living in the Western Countries, so that couldn’t be helped.
“Yes, that Abel. Due to various reasons, I can talk directly with Abel, so I’ve just received permission. What do you think? After all, you’ve already experienced the streets of the royal capital with a deadly battle.”
“Ahaha…”
Roman smiled wryly at Ryo’s words.
However, the six people who heard it for the first time were surprised.
And Nadia was also surprised.
“But, I’m a Demon Lord… is that okay…?”
“Yes. Hero Roman and Demon Lord Nadia, you are both accepted.”
Ryo nodded with a smile to Nadia’s question.
“Interesting… really interesting”
Merlin looked happy about something.
“Speaking of the Kingdom of Knightley, isn’t that the country where Richard was the King? You can’t fight blood huh… I don’t know if it is because of deep pockets or having an open mind… it’s truly interesting.”
Merlin seems to have known Lord Richard, the founder of the Kingdom.
Then he said something shocking.
“If it’s from my dungeon, I can transfer you to Crystal Palace, the capital of the Kingdom of Knightley.”
“Seriously…”
Niels muttered involuntarily.
“Well, once I send you back, I won’t be able to use it for a few years because it won’t have enough magical power. But if it’s for the sake of you two, it’s not a waste.”
Merlin said with a smile.
Roman and Nadia looked at each other.
No words were exchanged.
Eyebrows did not flutter, lips did not move.
But…
They nodded without any hesitation.
Then Roman spoke.
“We’ll go to the Kingdom”
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