Pursuit (1)

In a remote corner of the Northern Mountains, Nezra stroked his chin and let out a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠low hum.

"You lost quite a lot."

"He says it was necessary," a voice replied.

"I'm sure it was. What isn't necessary to him?"

Before them lay an endless expanse of magic beast carcasses. Most of the corpses were mangled by swords and spears, with the occasional arrow perfectly embedded in a beast's eye. These were all beasts slain by the Rangers of the Northern Mountains.

Decarabia suddenly took control of Eric's body.

"Hmm. Do you no longer even need your host's permission?"

"There is simply no need to obtain permission through words. Though I wouldn't call this much of a harvest."

"Shouldn't you hurry? The brat's mental state seems highly unstable."

"It is no different from how he was before I laid a hand on him. I merely gave him a gentle nudge. My relationship with this child is perfectly amicable, so you need not worry."

The Empire's Rangers were highly capable. As the elite guardians of the treacherous mountain range, they dispatched the magic beasts with flawless efficiency. Even the minion Decarabia had cherished so dearly failed to make much of an impact. Although Decarabia had been prepared to sacrifice it if necessary, he hadn't expected it to be wiped out so easily.

Had Eric's evil spirits not intervened directly, the Rangers would have concluded the battle with only minor casualties. That would have been problematic. They were far too competent. The search net tightening around him day by day had pressured Decarabia, ultimately forcing his hand.

He would feed them the 'Red Feather' they sought. In exchange, he would inflict devastating losses upon them.

"Those troublesome Rangers should quiet down now."

"And yet, you'll just be scraping together more magic beasts from these mountains for a while, won't you? I came here thinking I'd finally get to join the fray, but this completely ruins the mood."

Nezra was there as insurance. A safeguard to slaughter every last Ranger in the area if things went south. Fortunately, there had been no need to use him. Regardless of their casualties, the Rangers had slain their target, and Eric's existence remained hidden throughout the process.

No. At this rate, insurance wasn't even necessary. Decarabia could have handled it alone.

The magic beasts they had painstakingly gathered were utterly helpless against the Rangers' onslaught. In other words, it was Eric's evil spirits that had claimed most of the Rangers' lives. That was how dangerous and powerful Eric's evil spirits were. What was worse, they grew stronger with every passing moment.

Even to a fellow demon like Nezra, they were a grotesque sight. The pitch-black evil spirits wearing the carcasses of magic beasts like suits was physically revolting. Already unstable and packed with pure malice, they were now running wild with Decarabia's demonic mana. It seemed the old Demon King was truly poised to fulfill his long-cherished desire this time.

Nezra thought of the swordsman he had been eagerly waiting for. Next time, they would surely be able to test each other's true strength. The boy would undoubtedly throw everything he had to avenge his father. He had better. With shallow schemes, he wouldn't even be able to stand before Nezra.

One of the gains from our time in Eshyk County was engraving Baron Iklan's face into our memories. Isha, who had been itching for real combat anyway, readily agreed to help us, and surprisingly, Russell made no move to stop her.

Thanks to that, I could leave everything regarding Baron Iklan to Isha. In the original novel, Isha was an exceptional assassin. If I trusted her with this, she would surely bring back sweet results. There was no doubting her skills, either. Even I couldn't perfectly replicate her silent footsteps and swordsmanship.

Isha didn't seem particularly interested in working as an assassin like she did in the original novel. However, she showed a great deal of enthusiasm when it came to the Crescent Moon information guild.

It's probably because Russell survived.

This, too, was a divergence from the original timeline. In the original novel, Russell's death would have worn away at Isha's heart, but that wasn't the case now.

A few days passed like that. The Marquis, who seemed poised to retaliate at any moment, was surprisingly quiet. Instead, Baron Isquente practically leaped out of his sickbed. It seemed the advice that he still needed rest fell on deaf ears. Even though he must still be suffering from phantom pain, Baron Isquente was as energetic as ever.

"Are you sure you should be moving around already?"

"You know how I am. Lying around in bed just doesn't suit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. If anything happens, I'll fly right back, so don't worry too much!"

"I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about you. Are you sure you'll be fine heading back without us?"

"There won't be any issues. This time, investigators from the Imperial Family and the Pantheon will be accompanying me. If they have any sanity left, they won't dare attack me again."

The process of getting the Order of Hibras recognized by the Pantheon was also progressing steadily. Since the investigators had to head to the Isquente Baronetcy anyway, Baron Isquente planned to travel with them. With the eyes of both the Imperial Family and the Pantheon on them, even Marquis Eloran wouldn't dare pull any tricks.

It was a lull of sorts. The calm before the storm. Or perhaps the eye of the hurricane. If an investigator were to die, the Imperial Family would be thrown into an uproar, so they wouldn't even be able to deploy Nezra.

The only slight disappointment was that the Rangers' search had ground to a halt. I heard they suffered heavy casualties in exchange for subjugating the magic beast 'Red Feather', but there was no mention of Nezra. Surely, either the Marquis or Nezra had pulled some strings.

Still, it was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠relief that Dersian was stepping up to fill the void. Now that the Rangers were diminished, Dersian was the perfect figure to stand as the shield protecting Edelmarion.

"But if I do happen to die, I'd appreciate it if you decorated the inside of my coffin with fragrant flowers. There's a massive tree behind my manor; it would be lovely if my coffin were crafted from its wood."

"Sorry, but we prefer cremation. We'll just use that tree as firewood."

"Oh, come on! At times like this, you're supposed to say, 'Nelloa, if you die, I'll be so lonely, what will I do?' Is this all there is to the bond between Lord Rajen and me?"

Sirien put a stop to Baron Isquente's dramatic antics.

"You've been rambling for a while now. You're being noisy, so just hurry up and leave. Everyone is waiting because of you."

"O-Oh... Yes, ma'am! I shall take my leave then."

"Don't get hurt again, and travel safely. Don't forget to write regularly."

"Of course. You know how thorough I am when it comes to handling business."

"If only your actions matched your silver tongue."

The Baron bowed deeply, bending a full ninety degrees. Ever since Sirien revealed herself as the successor to the Grand Duke of Ilencia, Baron Isquente had become slightly more respectful. It seemed even his madness couldn't overcome Sirien's.

Though the person in question was currently reading a book with an air of leisure. Come to think of it, it seemed to be a different kind of book from the ones she usually read. Judging by the pages she had turned, she was still near the beginning.

"By the way, what book is that? There's no title on the cover."

"...It's nothing."

"Is it theology again? That stuff is always a bit too difficult for me."

"Mmm. This time, it's just a book for amusement. Though I'm not going to tell you what it's about."

Sirien giggled. Her expression seemed strangely alluring, prompting me to look away. This is getting dangerous. I shouldn't be falling for her in a place like this.