The Changing Process - Part 3
The moment Eldin grabbed Eri’s wrist and unleashed the power of an incubus, it had no effect on her. The incubus’s charm did not work on married women—more precisely, on pregnant women. Rea had called Eldin over specifically to confirm this, and indeed, his seduction had absolutely no impact on Eri.
While Eri stood frozen in shock at the revelation, the others were already congratulating her.
“It seems things progressed quite nicely between you and Dane.”
“A wonderful development.”
“Congratulations, Miss Eri.”
Eri stared at them, completely dumbfounded. Rea, who had been offering her blessings, continued gently.
“Then we should bring Dane back. But we’ll need someone who can infiltrate the human realm…”
“I’ll go,” Secily volunteered, raising her hand. She had accompanied Seere to the human realm before, so she was the perfect choice.
“Good. Secily, you handle it. Eldin, report all of this to Her Majesty. She should be on the 50th Floor right now.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And Eri.”
“Yes…?”
Rea smiled warmly. “Congratulations. Your room has been kept ready, so go rest for a while. If there’s anything uncomfortable, just tell us.”
“Ah…”
Eri nodded. As she left the room, Rea’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.
“This should give Her Majesty just the right kind of push.”
“Tch.”
Dane glanced behind him. He had successfully shaken off the rest of the trash, but one person refused to lose his trail.
“You’re fast. One of the best on the continent, I’d say.”
That kind of praise brought him no joy whatsoever. Dane slipped a small, razor-sharp throwing dagger between his fingers from beneath his robe.
With a sharp whistle, he hurled it. But Adelbert was no easy prey. He dodged most of the blades and even caught the one flying straight for his forehead with his bare hand.
At the acrobatic feat, Dane muttered crazy bastard under his breath and poured on even more speed. Yet no matter how fast he ran, Adelbert matched his pace perfectly, never letting the distance grow.
This is…
The intention was becoming clear. The fact that he could keep up so effortlessly meant he had the ability to overtake Dane whenever he wanted. Matching speeds on purpose could only mean one thing.
“Hmm?”
Dane suddenly spun around and came to a halt. Adelbert stopped as well and asked calmly.
“Giving up on running, are we?”
“...Says the man who’s been herding me the whole time. Spare me the nonsense.”
“You noticed. Looks like the first plan was too much after all. Time for the second.”
Adelbert clicked his tongue in mild disappointment and drew a dagger from his belt. His weapon was a jambiya dagger with a gracefully curved tip. Dane’s, by contrast, was a Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife optimized for thrusting.
In a clash of blades, the jambiya held the advantage. But the Fairbairn-Sykes was designed for one purpose: killing a man as quickly as possible.
Adelbert smiled leisurely as he examined Dane’s blade.
“Whether you aim for the sword or the man—your nature is already showing.”
“Nature? Don’t make me laugh.”
A cold smirk tugged at Dane’s lips.
“An assassin pretending to have a conscience. How quaint.”
“...I truly never imagined this day would come,” Adelbert said, crossing the two jambiyas in front of him. “The day I would cross blades with you.”
“That makes two of us!”
Dane threw the dagger in his left hand first. A weapon built for thrusting carried terrifying lethality even when thrown. But Adelbert was not the type to fall for such tricks. He reacted instantly, swinging his crossed daggers at precisely the right moment.
“...Huh?”
Just before the flying blade entered his reach, it suddenly reversed direction. It wasn’t time magic or anything of the sort.
“Tricky!”
Dane had simply tied a thin thread to the dagger and yanked it back. The moment the blade was pulled backward, he was already thrusting his second knife toward Adelbert’s throat from a perfect angle.
Or so he thought.
Clang!
“You reacted to that too?”
“My skills haven’t rusted just yet.”
Adelbert’s dagger had perfectly blocked Dane’s thrust. In that split second, he had twisted his body with fluid grace and positioned his blade to intercept. It was no wonder he was called the world’s greatest assassin.
Dane abandoned the knife and retreated. Adelbert tossed the captured blade to the ground.
“One down.”
“...Yeah. Congratulations.”
Dane opened his robe. When Adelbert saw what was inside, he frowned slightly. Dane pulled out an identical dagger and said,
“One out of ten.”
“You’re carrying that many weapons and still moving at that speed?”
“Practice makes perfect.”
During his time in the Demon Realm, Dane had trained every single day while wearing sandbags, running at full speed. As a result, he had far more muscle than the average assassin—more like a seasoned warrior. Eri had felt that strength herself whenever she hugged him.
“Heh… hehehe!”
“...What’s so funny?”
“Nothing… I just realized something while talking to you. You’re different from Luke.”
“What?”
“I thought you might have been mentally manipulated like your friend, but that’s not the case. You’re perfectly sane, aren’t you?”
Mental manipulation. At those words, Dane’s eyes widened.
“...What are you talking about?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. The real reason I had to eliminate Luke. Did you think it was simply because he was acting as the Demon Realm’s errand boy? I don’t kill adventurers from the guild so lightly.”
Dane studied Adelbert’s expression, his gestures, his breathing, his eyes. But none of it…
...No.
It wasn’t a lie. Unable to accept the truth, Dane inwardly denied it and tried to shut out Adelbert’s words.
“Don’t try to confuse me with your nonsense. Does the fact that you murdered Luke change just because you say so?”
“...No. That fact remains unchanged.”
Adelbert looked at Dane.
“Then I have a proposal. I wasn’t planning to do this, but after seeing your skill, I’ve changed my mind.”
“...What?”
“Complete your revenge. In exchange, you must succeed me.”
“What the hell are you—”
“And I’d like Eri to come with you as well.”
At that moment, Dane’s expression changed completely. The face that had been stunned by shocking revelations turned savage in an instant.
“You.”
“That reaction is quite telling…”
The atmosphere shifted. An overwhelming killing intent, enough to freeze the air itself, washed over Adelbert.
“What did you do to Eri?”
“...I only went to retrieve her. If she doesn’t resist too much, she won’t be hurt.”
“Ha… So that’s it. You knew from the beginning. Where Eri and I were staying.”
Dane spoke as if all the pieces had finally clicked into place.
“You planned to separate me from Eri from the start, and you’ve been tailing me ever since. That’s why you showed up at the tavern at just the right moment.”
“A cool-headed judgment. You’re almost entirely correct. But there’s one thing I must correct.”
“What?”
“The ones who knew about your activities weren’t me… but someone else’s idea.”
Dane listened to Adelbert in a daze. If the guild members had truly gone after Eri, a mage with no one to protect her would be in grave danger—especially against an assassin-class adventurer like Adelbert. He would be her natural predator. No matter how skilled she was with magic, without protection she would be helpless.
“...If I listen to you… will Eri be safe?”
“I won’t make promises.”
“......”
Dane gripped his dagger tightly. Should he trust Eri, believe she could handle herself, and continue fighting? Or should he abandon this uncertain path and choose her safety instead?
“I…”
“What are you hesitating for? Your friend might be in danger.”
“You don’t need to listen to him, Dane.”
At that moment, a woman naturally stepped between them. Neither Dane nor Adelbert had sensed her approach. The perky fox ears atop her orange hair and the fluffy fox tail clearly marked her as non-human. Strangely, she was wearing a maid uniform.
Dane recognized her immediately. Adelbert did not. That was why Dane understood her sudden appearance, while Adelbert could not.
Adelbert broke into a cold sweat at the incomprehensible sight.
“...Just how long have you been there?”
An S-rank assassin like himself hadn’t noticed her approach. That meant this woman could have killed him at any time if she wished.
“I just arrived. Dane, Eri is safe, so you don’t need to entertain such nonsense.”
“I-is that true?”
“For now, please return. Carrying out orders in this situation would be difficult.”
“...Understood.”
Dane obeyed without protest. Watching the scene, Adelbert stared at the fox-eared maid with clear tension and asked,
“...Are you the mastermind?”
“Pardon?”
The fox-eared maid stared blankly at him for a moment, then the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. She let out a light laugh.
“Hehe, I’m just a maid.”
“...What?”
“Be grateful you haven’t laid a hand on Dane yet. If you had injured him… I wouldn’t have let it slide.”
Adelbert was cautious. He had already realized he couldn’t afford to provoke an unknown maid with such skill. But his moral conscience—his sense of justice—made the idea of simply letting a demon race member walk away feel like a sin.
“...Tsk.”
Yet in the end, the prudent Adelbert chose rational judgment. The beautiful fox-eared maid smiled sweetly and left him with one final remark.
“Wise choice.”
The mysterious maid disappeared with Dane. Adelbert let out a sigh, feeling like a perfectly cooked meal had been snatched away right before his eyes.
“Tch.”
The peaceful daily life they had built crumbled overnight.
Dane was quietly mourning the two years he had spent alone with Eri. He might never have such peaceful days again.
It was so good…
Seeing Dane’s face full of open regret, Secily let out a small chuckle.
“Dane.”
“...Yes?”
“There’s no need to look so gloomy. There’s some incredibly happy news waiting for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll understand when you see it.”
Dane tilted his head in confusion but followed Secily. She led him straight to the Demon King’s castle. The moment they entered the corridor, the place felt unusually noisy.
Secily stopped a passing maid and asked,
“What’s going on? Why is it so loud?”
“Ah, Her Majesty has arrived. She heard about Miss Eri and…”
“I see.”
That explained the commotion. Dane wondered what news about Eri could possibly make Seere so excited, growing more puzzled by the second.
“Just what is it?”
“You should hear it from her yourself.”
Secily opened the door to Rea’s noisy room. Inside, several guests had already gathered.
“There’s really a baby in there?”
“I-I still can’t believe it myself…”
“But I don’t hear anything.”
“W-well, it hasn’t grown much yet…!”
“By the way, how exactly did you seduce that guy? Teach me your secrets.”
“E-eh?!”
“Hehe.”
Seere was pressing her ear against Eri’s belly in a very un-demon-king-like posture. It took Dane a long time to process the scene before him. Secily simply laughed in amusement.
“Congratulations.”
“...Pardon?”
“Eri is carrying your child.”
“......”
Dane’s eyes widened. He couldn’t utter a single word. He slowly turned his head and met Eri’s gaze. When she blushed furiously and looked down, reality finally hit him.
“Ah.”
“D-Dane, I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“...Is it true?”
“Huh?”
Dane approached slowly. Seere watched him for a moment, then graciously stepped aside. Without even having time to thank her, Dane was drawn to Eri as if by a magnet.
“Is it really true?”
“...Yes.”
Eri answered in a shy, quiet voice. Dane’s face lit up with a brilliance that seemed almost impossible for him.
“Eri!!”
“Kyaa, Dane?!”
He lifted her high into the air, laughing brightly. Watching them, Seere smiled softly.
“He’s really over the moon. His face is about to split in half.”
“Hehe, of course he is. When Sire obtained Your Majesty, he reacted the same way.”
“Father did?”
“Yes. What you’re seeing now is nothing. Back then, Sire was so overjoyed he distributed money to every resident on the floor. It caused inflation, and fixing it afterward was a nightmare…”
Seere had heard more information than she cared for, but watching the two of them so happy sparked a thought in her mind.
What about Teacher…?
Would Teacher be happy too if he had a child?
Back in the present.
Nahen listened to Veronika’s story with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
“...Veronika.”
“Yes?”
Nahen asked with a serious face.
“What does any of that have to do with the current situation? It’s just that something good happened to Dane and Eri.”
“You told me to tell you everything that happened. So I started with the bright news first. It would feel weird to begin with the dark stuff, wouldn’t it?”
“...Fine. My mistake. Tell me why the 69th Floor ended up like this. I want to hear the story connected to the Heavenly Demon War.”
“Alright. But do you know the name of the child born between those two?”
Nahen glanced at Veronika. Before the story began, he was curious to hear it.
“What is it?”
“Luca.”
“...I see.”
Luca. The moment he heard that name, another name flashed through Nahen’s mind. Because that name was…
...the root of the name Luke.