Don't Take What's Mine! (1)
The moment Arhen made his declaration, the key figures of the alliance shot up from their seats. They fled the conference hall as if they’d seen a demon, practically tripping over each other in their haste.
Prince Prinz and the court mage were the first to bolt, not even glancing back. The rest of the delegates from various kingdoms scrambled after them, desperate to escape.
No one needed an explanation for why they were running.
…
Liberio also wanted nothing more than to kick this uncomfortable situation to the curb and leave. His dissatisfied gaze naturally drifted toward the man sitting over there. To think he would dare enter the presence of the Holy Kingdom’s Saint reeking of blood. And not even demon blood—human blood. Was he truly in his right mind?
Mad dog.
As a Saint, he had an image to uphold. He couldn’t use crude language. Even when others called Cain that, he had always restrained himself.
But watching this scene, even his saintly composure began to crack. In this important, sacred gathering. In this place of harmony called the alliance. In front of those who fought according to God’s will—he shows up covered in blood? Everyone present knew it was essentially a threat!
“Ahem.”
Yet the reason Liberio cleared his throat and remained in his seat was—
“You said your name was Elsir?”
—because of a family matter regarding Luciel that even he, the Saint, was hearing for the first time.
“That’s right. So you’re the Saint of the Holy Kingdom? As expected, you really do look like someone overflowing with God’s love.”
“God looks at the sincerity of one’s heart, not outward appearance, Elsir.”
“Oh my. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”
True to the claim that they were sisters, their appearances were remarkably similar. The silver hair characteristic of elves. Blue eyes. The human ears they possessed due to their mixed blood. But the atmosphere they gave off was completely different. It was like night and day. Like looking at summer and winter at the same time.
“Commander, why did you hide the fact that you had family?”
At Liberio’s rebuke, Luciel glanced at Elsir standing in front of her. It looked like she was scolding her for saying unnecessary things and putting her in an awkward spot. After a brief moment of thought, Luciel gave the wisest possible answer.
“There were… circumstances.”
“Circumstances. Circumstances serious enough to hide from the Holy Kingdom itself. That makes me both curious and concerned.”
“Please don’t be too hard on her, Saint. There really were unavoidable family circumstances.”
“While you two may be family, this is clearly a matter concerning the Holy Kingdom, Elsir.”
The clear warning not to interfere made Elsir smile bitterly. Just as Liberio was about to continue his reprimand toward Luciel—
“Ah! Um, Liberio? Would you like to take a walk with me?”
“Brother Arhen? Why are you suddenly—”
“Well, you see… Hmm. We were academy classmates, weren’t we? I thought we could talk about the academy a bit.”
“I’m currently…”
“E-Estelle! We can talk about Estelle too!”
The moment Estelle’s name came up, Liberio’s expression changed. He glanced briefly at Luciel with a hint of hesitation, but—
“Very well, Brother Arhen. I’ll speak with the Commander again a little later.”
In the end, he left the conference room first, leaving Luciel behind.
…
Arhen glanced back slightly and made a face that said, Is this good enough? It was a look that pleaded for his efforts to be recognized since he had done his best. Cain gave a small nod and lowered the fist he had been clenching. It was a message that the mission was successful and he wouldn’t hit him today.
“Hehe.”
Having noticed the brief exchange of signals, Elsir let out a small laugh. Then she gracefully turned and approached Cain’s side.
“It’s nice to meet you, Demon Slayer.”
A pale, slender hand was extended toward Cain. He looked at it for a moment before moving to shake it.
Smack!
Luciel suddenly cut in between them, completely blocking the way. She swatted Elsir’s hand away and wore an expression full of wariness.
“Luci? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Don’t act so familiar.”
When did you even learn about Cain, to suddenly ask for a handshake? I haven’t even done it yet! All I got was his signature! There’s no way I’m letting you shake hands with Cain before me!
“It’s not acting familiar, Luci. We’re meeting for the first time, so I’m trying to get close from now on!”
“That’s what you said when you seduced the other elves too. How many have you made cry so far?”
“What are you talking about! I just smiled and greeted them, and they misunderstood all on their own!”
“That’s enough. Please stay away from Cain. I’m warning you.”
“What’s the big deal about wanting to shake hands?!”
Even after Elsir’s protest, Luciel’s wariness showed no sign of easing. If anything, she tried to completely block the space between Cain and Elsir with her own body.
“Hmm.”
Elsir, who had been watching with her arms crossed, narrowed her eyes. It was an expression she had never seen on Luciel before. And the blush on her face. She had always been mischievous, but if her adorable little sister was reacting like this? As her big sister, it was only natural to poke at her sides!
“I understand, so could the Holy Knight Commander please step aside? I came here as the representative of our race. When I try to greet one of the Empire’s most famous powerhouses, if the Commander blocks my path, it could be misunderstood as the non-humans being wary of the Empire, you know?”
…!
She had shifted the angle from a personal relationship to one between the alliance factions. At that point, even Luciel, as the Holy Knight Commander, could no longer interfere. Biting her lip, she eventually had no choice but to step aside from her sister.
“Thank you, Commander. Now then…”
Elves were inherently a very sensitive race. All their senses were superior. That was why they could detect powerful beings faster than anyone else. Although she was a half-elf, Elsir’s senses were even sharper than those of pure-blooded elves.
She hadn’t been chosen as representative simply because she was a half-elf. She possessed the skill to match the role. The alliance might not know it, but Elsir had killed quite a number of demons herself.
“Is the family quarrel over?”
…
The man sat comfortably, spoke comfortably, and looked completely full of openings. But that was only how it appeared. Everything was a trap he had dug. In Elsir’s eyes, she could see it clearly. A beast with its maw wide open. The strongest and most dangerous beast in continental history was right before her eyes.
Ordinary beasts constantly asserted themselves while keeping their opponents in check. Because even a beast could fall to another beast if it wasn’t careful. But this beast was different. He never lost his composure. He knew that no matter who came, he could devour them all.
Demon Slayer. Executioner. God’s Right Hand. Just as his titles suggested.
“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Elsir, from the North. You can call me El if you’d like.”
“I’m Cain.”
When Cain took Elsir’s hand, a faint smile touched his face. The moment she saw it, Elsir felt an instinctive chill run down her spine. She barely managed to suppress the urge to immediately drop into a combat stance.
Why…
Why is he faintly angry with me?
“You’ve killed quite a lot.”
“What…”
“It seems quite a few demons have crawled into the North as well?”
…
The first demons had appeared in the South. Afterward, they began advancing northward. In the process, the southern part of the continent had literally been turned into scorched earth.
The southern kingdoms had fallen, and countless people had been devoured. That was why the alliance had poured most of its forces into the southern front. They had to prevent the tragedy of the South from repeating in their own lands.
But demons had never appeared only in the South. True to their arrogant claim of being gods, they had revealed themselves in the West, the East, and even the northern reaches of the continent. It was simply that the South had the most abundant food, the largest population, and the most prey. That was why they had swarmed there.
“That’s right. Humans in the alliance might not know this, but we also fought for survival in our own territories. As expected of the Demon Slayer. You noticed right away?”
“Because your hands are soaked in the screams of many demons.”
As Cain spoke, his expression grew colder and colder. So he went to the North too. Ah. How many of them were there? Were there any high demons? Did the ones I couldn’t kill go there? I should have killed them. They were mine. And now they’ve been taken by the non-humans.
“By any chance… are there still a lot of demons appearing in the northern non-human lands?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t tell me! Don’t tell me you need support or something!”
Please say yes. Tell me there are still demons left in the North!
Cain’s maddened eyes screamed that plea at Elsir. Unfortunately, the answer that came from Elsir’s lips was the complete opposite.
“No. The demons have almost all disappeared now. Thankfully.”
“Thankfully… you say.”
Cain’s voice dropped noticeably, but Elsir didn’t notice anything strange. She simply thought his tone had changed because he was relieved.
“The demons that were advancing north are currently retreating back to the South, aren’t they? That’s what the alliance told us. Naturally, the relatively fewer demons in the North couldn’t hold out.”
“I see.”
What a shame. Tsk. Cain clicked his tongue inwardly. It looked like he would have to make even more use of the protagonist. And the academy. It was the only place where the fleeing demons might gather. Maybe he should pretend not to notice even if they dug tunnels underground later.
“I heard the non-humans will also be sending students to the Continental Academy.”
Perfect. The non-humans would also be joining the stage called the academy. It was clear proof that the academy was the center of every incident and accident.
“Yes. Elves, beastmen, dwarves—we’ll be sending the children of influential families from our side. And I’ll be staying here permanently to coordinate with the Empire and take responsibility for the safety of our races. Just like my little sister over there. Like Luci.”
Elsir smiled brightly. The fact that she dared to smile in front of Cain made Luciel bite her lip even harder.
That means at least one more male lead is going to appear.
Dealing with the non-human faction was a more sensitive issue than dealing with the nobles. After all, humans had once enslaved them long ago. If he wasn’t careful, he might be branded a speciesist. Of course, Cain wasn’t the type to hold back his fists out of fear of such a label.
“I suppose we’ll see each other from time to time.”
He still had to finish turning Sion into a proper person, keep a closer eye on Arhen, figure out what to do with Liberio, Evan, and Prinz, and while he was at it, get a look at who the non-human male lead was. They would probably run into each other at the academy occasionally.
“No.”
But Elsir’s thoughts differed slightly from Cain’s.
“Not just occasionally. How about we see each other more often? Since things have come to this, what do you think about meeting frequently?”
She was speaking while looking at Cain, but she wasn’t smiling at Cain. As expected, the sound of Luciel’s breathing behind her grew slightly rough.
“I’m not interested.”
You already took my demons, and now you want to see me often? Do you even have a conscience?
“Come on, don’t be like that.”
However, Elsir was far more persistent than he expected.
“While there are almost no demons left in the North, that doesn’t mean they’re completely gone.”
…
“If you’d like, I could even tell you about a rather large hideout where they’re hiding.”
…!!
The non-humans. Maybe they could become much better friends than he thought?
“How many are hiding in that hideout?”
“We estimate at least thirty individuals.”
“What about their ranks?”
“The weak ones died long ago. Most are mid-tier… and there might even be one high demon, if we’re lucky?”
That was enough. In Cain’s mind, his reconstruction of Elsir was complete. He was a bit upset that she had taken some of his demons, but she was a good friend who handed over demons!
“So we can see each other often from now on?”
“As much as you want, Elsir.”
“Will you call me El?”
“Sure. El.”
They had met less than an hour ago, and he was already using a nickname. Unable to endure the sight any longer, Luciel tried to cut in—
“…Hyeet?!”
Luciel jumped in surprise and staggered backward. Elsir was gently tickling the area around her belly button. With every touch, Luciel’s face grew redder and redder.
S-stop it…!
Luciel shot her sister a venomous glare. But Elsir simply wagged her finger at her little sister.
I’m in the middle of a conversation right now, you know? Hehe.