Chapter 176
Chapter: 176
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 176
>Chapter Title: The Ledger of Contracts (2)
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>After finishing the boisterous meal and wrapping up various errands in the shopping district, Sungjin began plotting how to shake off his companions.
“I’m heading back to the inn now. You all should enjoy yourselves until evening since we’re already here.”
“Is that really okay?”
They pretended otherwise, but everyone’s faces were lit up with excitement. Only the rigidly dutiful Lady Maria looked concerned as she spoke.
“But our mission is to escort Your Highness.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be with Sir Masain.”
It wasn’t an empty promise. With Captain Bruno not yet fully recovered to his aura layer, there probably wasn’t a single warrior in the entire city—or even the accompanying Wolf Knights—who could match Masain.
“You have to consider the feelings of the young folks too. They rarely get to leave the capital, so let them have some fun without their superior around.”
“Young…? Pardon?”
As Lady Maria’s expression turned subtle, Sungjin realized his slip and quickly added,
“I’ll feel freer too. I’m just going back to the inn to train.”
But upon hearing that, Masain flinched in surprise, his face hardening as he began scrutinizing Sungjin closely.
Hm? What’s this? Did I say something weird?
While Sungjin puzzled over it, Masain turned to Lady Maria and said,
“Very well. We’ll do as His Highness says.”
“But Sir Masain…”
“I’ll accompany His Highness myself, so there’s no issue. Besides, those reckless juniors need you to keep them in line, or I wouldn’t feel at ease.”
Fair enough.
Lady Maria glanced at the excited junior knights and nodded in understanding.
After sending them off, Masain fell silent for a moment, gazing down at Sungjin with a complicated expression that seemed full of unspoken words. But before he could ask anything, Masain lowered his gaze and bowed politely.
“Then allow me to escort you back to the inn, Your Highness.”
…What’s gotten into this guy all of a sudden?
Sungjin eyed Masain’s strangely stiff expression, feeling an odd unease as they returned to the inn.
“You’ve returned, Your Highness.”
Sensing their approach, Captain Bruno emerged into the hallway to greet them just in time.
“Ah, Captain Bruno. Rest well?”
“Yes, Your Highness. But you’re back early?”
“Yeah. Feels like we’ve seen all there is to see, so I came ahead.”
Bruno glanced around cautiously before whispering to Sungjin.
“By any chance, did you not meet anyone outside?”
“Meet? Who?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Mumbling vaguely, Bruno tugged at his mustache awkwardly and slipped back into his room!
‘What’s going on? Why is everyone acting so weird?’
Sungjin frowned, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it right now. Dealing with the immediate problems took priority.
Using meditation as an excuse to send even Masain away, Sungjin returned to his room alone and changed into the plain clothes he’d prepared.
They weren’t assassin garb, but their muted, subdued color made them hard to spot in most situations.
[You’re going alone? Without waiting for that woman?]
‘Yeah.’
For Dasha, who was disguised as an employee at the Milo Merchant Guild, to move freely, it’d probably have to be late at night.
But from earlier, a strange premonition had been nagging at him. It felt like he had to move now.
As he activated aura concealment and flung open the window wide.
“…So where exactly are you headed, Your Highness?”
Gah!
Startled by the sudden voice from beside him, Sungjin nearly lost his balance and tumbled out the window.
Looking up, he saw Masain leaning out the window of the next room, arms crossed, peering at him.
“Sir Masain? You knew? Since when?”
“Since you sent the knights away and said you’d feel freer, Your Highness.”
…Ah. I was too obvious.
“Uh, Sir Masain. Look, this is…”
As Sungjin hesitated, gauging his reaction and fumbling for an excuse, Masain shook his head and spoke firmly.
“I won’t stop you from doing whatever it is, Your Highness. But this time, you must take me with you.”
“Eh, but…”
“You must!”
In his stern, rigid face, only his two eyes blazed like active volcanoes.
Honestly, it was a bit scary.
“Uh, alright. Got it. We’ll go together.”
In the end, Sungjin threw up his hands in surrender.
“Is that aura concealment? Fascinating.”
“Urgh…”
Sungjin walked alongside Masain toward the logistics depot.
And only now did he truly appreciate why Dasha had repeatedly emphasized ‘trust’ while teaching him.
Even with flawless aura concealment, facing this senior knight staring right at him made Sungjin realize he couldn’t fool him. His confidence plummeted, and losing composure made suppressing his presence even harder.
Oblivious to Sungjin’s inner turmoil, Masain meticulously observed and evaluated his movements.
“Truly advanced aura operation. I can vividly sense the delicate processes adjusting the perfectly controlled auras. I had no idea Your Highness had grown this much.”
He looked proud yet somehow wistful.
“It’s probably a technique too difficult for a dullard like me to master. To stay by Your Highness’s side, my only option is to become a Decaron Knight as quickly as possible.”
Masain’s face even seemed resolute as he said it.
Sungjin was dumbfounded. Faster? From him?
Sir Masain was what they called a hardworking genius. Before thirty, he’d already reached a level where few knight captains in the palace could oppose him.
Considering the talent concentrated in Delcross, he was probably in the continental rankings.
Yet the man who’d greatly contributed to the notion that ‘everyone in the Holy Imperial Family is a genius’—alongside the Holy Emperor and Logan—was making such remarks with the face of a failing student barely avoiding a holdover year.
“It’ll be impossible for me to infiltrate with Your Highness this time. But I’ll stay nearby, so call me if you need anything. I’ll come to your aid at once.”
Upon arriving at the logistics depot, Masain surprisingly let Sungjin go easily.
“So what will you do, Sir Masain?”
“Embarrassing as it is, I’m still part of the Imperial Family. I have some connections with the Merchant Alliance. They’ll be surprised by a sudden visit, but they won’t turn me away at the door.”
He smiled gently.
“Please proceed, Your Highness. I’ll wait inside the logistics depot and rush over if anything happens.”
* * *
After parting with Masain, Sungjin slipped quietly into the building under the Demon King’s guidance.
The demonic energy remained fixed at the top floor of the logistics depot, as if embedded there. It was where the offices of high-ranking officials were clustered.
Sungjin ascended the building smoothly.
But as he reached the top floor, the security was indeed on another level. Skilled aura users guarded every door, and assassins with suppressed presences lurked in the gaps between.
‘With this level of security, even Dasha would have a tough time infiltrating alone…’
Fortunately, Sungjin avoided detection by the assassins and approached the demonic energy’s location. His aura concealment had reached a level even Dasha acknowledged.
Moreover, before Sungjin could sense them, the Demon King detected the assassins’ souls and warned him, allowing him to bypass their patrol ranges widely.
The place he arrived at was a spacious office midway down the hallway. A gleaming gold nameplate hung on the large double doors.
-Merchant Alliance Northern Branch Chief: Wilhelm Schmidt
Sungjin had assumed no connection since his divine response showed no reaction, but surprisingly, the demon was hiding in the branch chief’s office.
[Hm. A complete lesser demon. It’s suppressing its demonic energy heavily, but it wasn’t strong to begin with. Unless it’s a human with exceptionally strong holy power, it’d be hard to detect.]
Having entered the office and confirmed the demon’s appearance with his own eyes, Sungjin’s impression was:
‘Oh, a demon.’
[Of course it’s a demon. What did you expect?]
Well, it’s just…
The creature looked exactly like the image one might conjure up thinking, ‘This is what a demon should look like,’ brought to life.
A goat-headed thing with goat horns, a bipedal goat about waist-high to a human.
Wearing tattered rags, with shaggy fur-covered legs and hooves visible beneath.
[Less a proper demon and more like a lesser familiar.]
It clutched a small ledger tightly, pacing the room anxiously, hooves clacking together.
And it bleated “Meeeh” endlessly while muttering to itself.
“What? What? Demonic energy’s approaching from somewhere meeeh.”
Sungjin raised an eyebrow slightly.
Had it sensed the Demon King’s demonic energy?
“I was told to guard this, guard this, but what do I do now meeeh?”
Sungjin approached closely while maintaining aura concealment, but the demon remained oblivious, trembling in vague anxiety.
“Alert if a priest comes. Alert if a holy knight comes. Alert if a contractor comes meeeh. But what if a regular human shows up? What? What do I do meeeh?”
It stopped in place, twitching its ears and nose. Its horizontally slit pupils shook unfocused toward the air.
“Something’s weird meeeh. Demonic energy’s definitely nearby meeeh?”
Hm. Sungjin crossed his arms, watching the pathetic demon waver before him.
Excluding the Demon King, this was the first time Sungjin had seen a demon with his own eyes.
‘Somehow… it’s barely a handful’s worth.’
Of course, without holy power, he wasn’t sure how effective his strength would be against a demon. Still, smashing its head and snatching that precious book it clutched seemed feasible.
It looked awfully important.
‘Any issues if I just snatch it?’
Before raising his fist, Sungjin pondered one last time.
Demons had no personality rights or property rights under holy law or imperial law. So beating it up and taking its stuff wouldn’t violate any laws.
‘No problem, right?’
Deciding so, Sungjin dropped aura concealment and smashed the demon’s head.
[Gah! Wait, Sungjin! Lesser familiars mean…!]
Thwack!
In the sudden turn of events, the Demon King who couldn’t stop him yelped in shock.
Kieeeek!
The demon shrieked grotesquely and tumbled to the floor. The book it held rolled across the ground toward Sungjin.
[…there’s a stronger demon controlling it…]
‘Huh? What’d you say?’
[…Nothing.]
Sungjin picked up the fallen book.
But uhiiik! Clutching its head with a bizarre scream, the demon looked at Sungjin and burst into tears.
[Meeeeeeeeh! Maaaster!]
Waaah. A soul-shaking wail.
Huh? It has an owner?
Was I too hasty?
[Sungjin! Somewhere, massive demonic energy…]
Before the Demon King could finish.
Whoooosh! Woooom!
A fierce wind blasted in, shaking the entire office. A thunderous roar that tore at the eardrums echoed through the room.
[How dare you! Who dares touch my familiar!]
Oh no, something big just happened.
Sungjin hid the book behind his back and stepped away.
Soon, black smoke-like demonic energy billowed up thickly in the center of the office.
It was demonic energy.
From the rapidly expanding mass emerged an imposing demon.
A hulking, muscular build with black tattoos on red skin. And massive black goat-like horns.
Its textbook appearance was straight out of…
‘A demon!’
[Yes, a demon! What the hell have you been saying since earlier?]
The demon spotted the book in Sungjin’s hand and flew into a rage.
Its already red sclera looked blood-pooled, and its pumpkin-yellow irises flashed with electric fury.
Reflecting its wrath, the black demonic energy intensified, enveloping its body and filling the wide office.
[Hand it over now! Do you even know what that thing you’re holding is?!]
“Hearing that makes me even less likely to give it back.”
Sungjin retorted, swiftly drawing Walnutcracker and aiming it forward.
This one looked pretty strong, so he figured he’d need holy knights with holy power.
Since it was emitting demonic energy so blatantly, someone would notice the anomaly. Masain would move too, so buying just a little time should suffice.
As he probed for openings while calculating inwardly.
An unexpected change occurred.
The demon’s yellow eyes fixed on the sword Sungjin aimed, then it widened them hugely and gaped.
[Why a holy relic? W-wait! That sword! C-could it be? Walnutcracker?]
Then, whoosh. Its demonic energy visibly shrank.
Its body size diminished, horns shortened. Its once purely red eyes now had proper whites.
“……?”
As Sungjin stared blankly, the demon scratched its protruding tusks with an awkward expression and asked.
[By any chance, are you related to the Holy Emperor?]
Hm?
It was suddenly showing willingness to talk?
“His son?”
[What?]
“Uh, I’m a prince of the Holy Empire. So His Majesty the Holy Emperor is my father.”
[……!]
The demon was stunned. Then, in the blink of an eye, it transformed into human form!
The demonic energy vanished completely, revealing a gaunt man with deep, smudged dark circles.
His fatigued face bore an expression of utter dismay, as if he’d stepped on a landmine. If you didn’t know he was a demon, he might even seem pitiable.
“…Damn it all.”
He muttered emptily, staring into space.