Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Demon King's Brother
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The Demon King of Bloodletting, who brought about the Age of Ruin!
Now, she was the Grand Princess of the Blood Sword House.
And Simon was her blood relative.
To be precise, her older brother.
The face of the Demon King of Bloodletting, endlessly cold and beautiful as she shed blood, overlapped with Simon's. Their resemblance was uncanny.
“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that? Am I too handsome?”
“…I’m the better-looking one.”
Chris replied, his expression changing.
That was enough surprise for one day.
Come to think of it, this might be an opportunity.
Simon was connected to many influential figures from the Age of Ruin; if Chris used him well, he might be able to turn the future in his favor.
‘The problem is, he doesn’t seem like an easy person to handle.’
Easy? Far from it.
He was just standing there smiling, but his smile exuded a thick, ominous aura.
One who brings blood in his wake.
He was clearly a dangerous sort one should never get close to.
“Kekeke, you’re right. The Young Master is indeed handsome. I never imagined the young master of the Cazar County would be such a fine gentleman. Not only that.”
Simon continued smoothly.
“He's also skilled enough to ‘annihilate’ a demon.”
“!!”
Chris’s face stiffened.
His heart pounded for a different reason than before.
It was tension.
‘How did he know?’
Just as Count Tiramin had said earlier, everyone believed Chris had simply held out until the demon was unsummoned.
But he knew the exact truth.
This was problematic.
The fact that he had used the Holy Sword—or more precisely, Radiant Mana—must not be revealed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t know?”
Simon looked at Chris with smiling eyes.
His eyes were curved gently, but they were sharp.
It was the look of someone who knew everything for certain.
Denying it would be useless.
“To be honest, I can’t believe it myself. No matter how outstanding the Young Master is, he’s only a 2-Star, yet he annihilated a demon. A miracle!”
“……”
“What kind of miracle did you perform?”
Simon asked, his face full of interest.
In truth, he felt an insane amount of interest in Chris.
‘Annihilating a demon?’
By the time Simon arrived at the cave, it was all over.
All he could tell was that the demon he had contracted with had been annihilated.
It was an impossible feat, so how? How on earth was it possible?
What was certain was that this audacious young master was a figure who surpassed his expectations.
In any case, admiration was one thing, but he had a duty to find out the truth.
“Now, please tell me what happened. What incredible method did the Young Master use?”
Chris kept his mouth shut.
He couldn’t tell the truth.
Making up a lie would also be difficult.
Annihilating a demon with the power of a 2-Star was something no lie could explain.
“For your information, what you say now will be reported to the Old Master. You could think of it as… an evaluation.”
It was pressure.
In the end, Chris made a decision.
Telling the truth was impossible, and so was making up a lie.
That left only one answer.
“I don’t feel like talking.”
“…Pardon?”
“I don’t see why I should reveal my trump card.”
Simon looked taken aback.
“But, Young Master? My question is the same as one from the Old Master.”
“Just because the Old Master asks, must I answer?”
“!!”
“Even the Old Master cannot force a Majin to reveal their hidden trump card.”
Chris raised the corner of his mouth.
To look as arrogant and insolent as possible.
“An evaluation, you said? If I were the Old Master, I think I would look more favorably upon someone who keeps their claws hidden until the end, rather than a fool who reveals their trump card like an idiot just because someone asks.”
Simon let out a chuckle.
But it was a response he couldn’t argue with.
What could he say if the boy didn’t want to reveal it?
It wasn’t wrong, either. No Majin would reveal their trump card to others.
No, forcing such a thing was, in itself, incredibly rude.
“…I understand your point, Young Master. I will not ask further.”
“Is that all?”
“Pardon?”
“It seems you haven’t said what you need to say yet.”
Chris lifted his chin.
“Aren’t you going to apologize to me for this incident?”
“!!”
Simon’s face hardened completely.
But he soon returned to a gentle smile.
“Please forgive my rudeness in forcing you to reveal your hidden technique, Young Master.”
“No, not that.”
His words became curt.
“I’m talking about the summoning of the demon.”
“!!”
“It was your doing, wasn’t it?”
Simon sucked in a breath.
“What do you mean by that…”
“You don’t know?”
Chris stared directly into Simon’s eyes.
Chris’s blood-red eyes shone coldly.
“I’ll ask again. Do you really not know what I’m talking about?”
A voice full of conviction.
At first, Chris didn’t know either.
But once he realized the bat hiding in the cave was Simon, all the pieces of the puzzle connected.
The demon had appeared despite there being no issue with the sealing magic circle.
Simon had summoned the demon using his Blood Art.
“……”
Simon bit his lip.
‘Impressive.’
Simon was impressed, realizing that Christian had figured everything out with just a few small clues. The more he saw, the more amazing this young master was.
In any case, this was a predicament.
Just as Simon was about to reluctantly admit his fault…
Chris said something unexpected.
“Forget it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m letting it go.”
Simon looked puzzled.
“Instead, remember this. You owe me one.”
“…A deal?”
“You could see it that way.”
If Chris made this public, Simon would be in a difficult position.
The Dark Magic Houses strictly forbid anything related to demons.
Yet he had summoned a demon, so even with the Old Master’s protection, he couldn’t escape punishment.
He might have even faced a severe penalty.
‘This is better.’
Chris thought to himself.
Simon was close to the most influential figures of the Age of Ruin.
So, he had to establish a connection.
Only then would there be a chance to twist the future in his favor.
The problem was that Simon wasn’t someone who could easily be won over to his side.
Winning his heart was likely impossible.
A snake that would bite the neck of those close to it.
Only someone like the Old Master could command him, keeping him under his thumb with overwhelming power.
Maintaining a distance and using a transactional relationship to make him move as he wished was the best approach.
“Kekeke, I understand. I will be sure not to forget the mercy you’ve shown me, Young Master.”
Simon bowed his head with exaggeration.
“It was a pleasure meeting you today. I suppose we’ll see each other again soon. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your arrival at the Main House. As the Head Butler, I’ll ensure you’re treated well.”
*Ssssk.*
Simon’s body turned into a blood-red mist and vanished, and Chris furrowed his brow.
* * *
After composing himself for a moment, Chris decided to depart for the Cazar County again.
On the day of his departure, an unexpected person came to see him.
It was Allos.
“……??”
As Chris gave him a curious look, Allos approached hesitantly, his face beet red.
“…Christian.”
“Address.”
“…What?”
“You’re supposed to call me ‘Older Brother’.”
“You… you crazy bastard…! I’m two years older than you!”
Allos snapped, and Chris let out a chuckle.
“Alright, anyway, what is it?”
“Hmph.”
Allos said, turning his head away.
In a voice barely above a whisper.
“Thank you.”
“……”
Chris stared at Allos for a moment, then said in a vexing tone.
“Your voice is too quiet, I can’t hear you. Is an ant crawling by? Why don’t you speak up?”
“Ah, damn it! I said thank you, you son of a bitch!!”
Allos’s face turned an even deeper shade of red, like a carrot.
Allos fumed for a while before speaking.
“…Be careful.”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve probably guessed, but my opposition to you attending the Sacred Black Ceremony wasn’t just my idea. It was instigated by Young Lord Roin of the Main House.”
Roin.
A familiar name.
The one who would become the sixth prince of the Dark Magic Houses, and the star of this Sacred Black Ceremony.
“He’s different from me. You know that not all 2-Stars are the same, right? Especially those from the Main House?”
The attendees of the Sacred Black Ceremony were all young 2-Star Majin from the Dark Magic Houses.
However, even among 2-Stars, the gap between the Main House and the branch families was immense.
It was because of the support they received from a young age.
The best elixirs.
Musculoskeletal enhancements only bestowed upon the direct line.
Black magic blessings.
The Main House’s outstanding secret arts.
And so on.
Such factors create an insurmountable gap.
“Young Lord Roin despises you. You’re going to face great humiliation at the Sacred Black Ceremony.”
Humiliation.
That was a mild way of putting it.
The Sacred Black Ceremony was a field of fierce competition.
Roin intended to inflict the greatest possible insult upon Chris.
“When you get to the Main House, you should do your best not to get on Young Lord Roin’s bad side…”
“Little brother.”
Chris grinned.
“Thanks for the concern, but can I give you a piece of advice, too? For your own good.”
“…What?”
“How about you don’t attend this Sacred Black Ceremony?”
“!!”
Chris twisted his lips into a smirk.
“On that day, I won’t be showing any mercy either. No matter who they are. Everyone who attends the Sacred Black Ceremony will regret ever meeting me.”
“!!”
He was serious.
The Sacred Black Ceremony was a ritual to obtain ‘Dark Magi’.
A power absolutely necessary to learn the secret arts of the Dark Magic Houses.
The problem was that the Dark Magi was distributed based on the strict principle of the law of the jungle.
The more one proved superior to their competitors, the more Dark Magi they could obtain.
And… Chris had no intention of yielding even a single grain of Dark Magi.
The competitors attending with him were in for a nightmare.
“…You lunatic.”
Although he cursed, Allos felt goosebumps rise on his skin.
For a moment, he wondered if he should postpone his attendance at the ceremony until next time.
“Think it over carefully. Don’t regret it later.”
Chris patted Allos on the shoulder and mounted his horse.
Before attending the Sacred Black Ceremony.
It was time to grow one step stronger.
There wasn’t even a month left until the ceremony, but it was enough time.
* * *
Upon returning to the Cazar County, Chris requested to go into closed-door training.
“You want to train alone?”
Count Cazar tilted his head.
“Wouldn’t it be better to receive more guidance from me?”
He hadn’t yet inherited everything from Count Cazar.
But Chris shook his head.
“Right now, I think it would be better to train alone.”
Count Cazar nodded.
“If you say so, then do as you wish. However.”
Count Cazar’s eyes gleamed intensely.
“Are you confident you can land a blow on the Main House?”
Hearing that it was Roin’s will to oppose Chris’s attendance at the Sacred Black Ceremony had greatly angered Count Cazar.
Not just Eshid, but Roin too.
They were continuously playing dirty tricks on Chris.
“Just one blow? What are you talking about?”
Chris shrugged.
“My goal is to bring the Dark Magic Houses to their knees, remember?”
“!!”
As Count Cazar stood there speechless, Chris let out a smirk.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”