Chapter 178: Formal Meeting? (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178: Formal Meeting? (1)
It was a bit of a letdown.
"Shouldn't you be giving those to the Black Swordsman?"
These were weapons used by the legendary heroes of the Empire.
The Princess didn't exactly seem fragile... but still. I felt they’d be better off in the hands of the unofficial sandbag of the Kingdom of Knights rather than the Imperial Princess.
"I am merely returning them to the descendants of their former masters. Do not be so greedy."
But what could I say when the man holding the stolen goods put it like that?
As Altear said, those weapons would eventually find their way back to the descendants of their original owners anyway.
Of course, in that process, the Imperial Family—or more accurately, my junior, the Princess—would gain some political leverage.
"Besides, those things aren't even that great."
"You're saying the swords used by the Emperor and his companions aren't good?"
"They’re relics of a bygone era. The materials are decent, but the craftsmanship is bound to be inferior to modern technology."
"I don't know about that. People still consider artifacts from the Mythological Era to be the absolute best."
"Humans should stick to the human realm. Bringing the Mythological Era into this is a bit of a low blow, don't you think?"
Well, he had a point there.
"Even if you combined all of those, they wouldn't compare to that thing on your head."
—Gwaaaaahhh!
Was it because it had absorbed too much modern magic?
The Helmet of the Demon King had been making nothing but nonsensical noises for a while now, but its value was undeniable.
Even if I couldn't use it myself, weakening the future Demon King was a definite win.
Plus, it was an opportunity to weaken the entity that the dragons and the heroes of the Empire had sealed away—the one that might have broken loose in the future.
Following Altear to our destination, what I saw was...
"It's huge..."
"He was called a Great Demon, after all."
"So that's the 'Great' part of the name."
It was a giant, standing at least twenty meters tall.
Holy water is a substance that deals fatal damage to "unclean" entities. It’s effective against the Demon Tribe, dark mages, and even those who have merely absorbed magi.
Its efficiency is supposedly absurd; it’s said that no more than three drops of ordinary holy water are needed to torture a dark mage.
And this was the holiest of holy waters.
The holy water created by the RoFan heroine—the one the Goddess told she could do whatever she wanted—possessed power on an entirely different level from the ordinary stuff.
...Boradori had explained this to me with a look of utter patheticism when I complained about not being able to damage the Demon Tribe before, so it was probably accurate.
That’s why I thought about a liter of the stuff might do some damage, even to a Great Demon, but...
"Will this be enough?"
"Hmm... Well, it is holy water made by a Saintess. It should have some effect, right?"
No matter how efficient it was, the law of conservation of mass still applied.
I couldn't quite picture this single bottle neutralizing that massive giant.
"By the way, you said this thing woke up once. How did you seal it back then?"
"It tried to resurrect, but it wasn't in its right mind. It was crawling around instead of walking on its legs. And it talked just like that thing on your head is talking now."
—Gwaaaa-eek-eeee-ah-ne!
Looking at the helmet, which couldn't even form proper words anymore, it seemed we had been quite lucky.
"To think they tried to resurrect something like this..."
"We didn't know! We didn't know a Black Dragon, the kind people call an evil dragon, would be guarding something like this! We had no intention of resurrecting it either!"
The world had almost gone to hell, but somehow, we had managed to stop it.
However...
"To be honest, I don't really know how I'm keeping it suppressed either."
"What is that supposed to mean...?"
"Actually, I'm just maintaining the seal the previous dragon made with some rough patchwork. I've been researching it ever since I took over this place, but a dragon is a dragon, after all."
"Is it some high-dimensional barrier that's incomprehensible to human knowledge?"
"No. It's just that they made it however the hell they felt like, so there's no logic to it. It's like, 'My thoughts are magic'? I don't know if I should call it pure talent or just a racial difference."
In short, it wasn't built on set rules like the essential components of magic defined by humans. Dragons constructed magic through pure intuition.
Therefore, the seal before us was essentially "spaghetti code." There was no way to study it, let alone fix it.
—Yes! That is true magic! Not the arbitrary rules humans set for themselves! But magic itself—
The helmet, having regained its senses for a moment, shouted triumphantly.
"I even gave my seal of approval to the Dragonkin, who are descendants of dragons, you know?"
—Kuaaaaagh!
It collapsed again at the mere mention of the Dragonkin's approval.
"So, what's the plan?"
There was too little holy water to just splash it on the giant.
"In the first place, if we apply external shock like that, its consciousness might wake up and try to break the seal. So, the method I came up with is..."
As expected of a hero of the Empire.
What kind of spell was the legendary Archmage recorded in history about to cast?
"......?"
I waited for his words with high expectations, but instead of speaking, he pulled out a syringe from somewhere—something a pile of bones would have absolutely no use for.
"Why are you taking that out?"
"You asked me what I was going to do."
"I did."
"I was going to use this."
"......?"
"I was going to draw some blood, dilute it with holy water, and keep injecting it back in."
"......"
"With a lot of dilution. If I minimize the rejection response and dilute the demon's blood... it should be effective. I've done some research, and the blood of these demon bastards contains a unique source..."
I had asked to hear the magical wisdom of an Archmage, but the answer I got was that of a mad scientist.
However...
"Do you have any of that research left?"
"Why? You don't look like the type to do research."
"I'm collaborating with the Empire to grind up demons and make magic swords."
"Grinding up demons?"
"But since they're corpses, there's hardly any blood."
"I suppose so. As you can see with this guy, drawing a few liters won't make much of a difference. Want me to draw some for you?"
"That would be great."
Since it seemed like it would actually help with the magic sword research, I decided to take some.
—You damn humans. You have no right to criticize the Demon Tribe!
The helmet tried to take the moral high ground, but...
"Want me to grind you up and put you in too?"
"I am curious. How much damage can an ego-equipped item take before it loses its ego?"
"The Saintess picked up something similar to this guy, and after a few rounds of divine power massages, its ego completely shattered."
"Now that's something I haven't heard before."
—......
Human malice was far too potent for a mere piece of iron with a personality to handle.
After that, it shut its mouth and went back to just absorbing modern magic.
And so, I assisted in the "Demon Blood Purification Operation," which involved a bit of blood donation followed by injecting diluted holy water to replace what was taken.
Since a single mistake could lead to a catastrophe upon contact, I had to do all the manual labor.
"Is this enough?"
"It's more than enough."
I had obtained several bottles of demon blood, so the labor costs were well-covered.
To be honest, if the Leon Magic Tower were a normal magic tower, they would have gone crazy for demon blood.
But knowing them, someone would probably just think, 'If I drink demon blood, won't I get stronger?' so I was actually considering overcharging Dale for it instead.
Despite drawing such a generous amount, the sealed demon did not wake up.
"Well then, I'll be going now."
"Right. Next time you come, bring some modern magic books."
"Didn't I just show you some modern magic?"
—Gwarara-ara!
"That's a bit too fast for humanity to keep up with. I need to see some other things too."
Looking at Altear, I made a mental note to bring him some of the Leon Magic Tower's latest research papers next time.
"Oh, and one more thing."
As I was about to leave with the half-insane Princess and the fully insane helmet, Altear made a request to me—the only one with a sane mind.
"You said that Dragonkin ancestor is around."
"Yes?"
"If you can get word to her, could you ask if she can pass a message to the Black Dragon Adella?"
It was a name I was hearing for the first time, but I got the gist of it.
"To the original owner of this place?"
"Yeah. Tell her the tenant wants to move out, but he can't get in touch with her."
"You're not a tenant, you're a squatter."
"Then tell her the squatter says he's sorry and wants to apologize."
It was a statement that would make the victim weep with indignation, but...
"I'll try to pass it along."
"Thanks."
As the saying goes, heroes often have many wives and concubines; heroes were as shamelessly bold as they were great.
Besides, it wasn't like I was doing this for free; my subspace pouch was already stuffed full.
"Ah, and about the golems guarding the dungeon, I'll repair them later, so if you could just leave them..."
"Good luck with that."
"You little...!"
To deliver the message quickly, I hurried out of the dungeon with the traumatized Princess and the helmet.
"......?"
"There he is! Get him!"
"......???"
I was arrested the moment I stepped out.
"This is a misunderstanding."
Having been arrested red-handed for kidnapping the Princess, I pleaded my innocence to Uncle Aeryun.
"I'm the one who's suffering here."
Aeryun, who was conducting the interrogation, looked even more miserable than I did as he voiced his own grievances.
"About what?"
"Why on earth am I even here? Why do I have to be doing this...?"
"Shouldn't that be my line?"
"Misunderstanding or not, you're a suspect! But I'm not!"
Uncle Aeryun slammed his head onto the table and wailed.
To an outsider, it would look like Aeryun was the one who had been caught red-handed, not me.
"I went through hell in the Holy Kingdom... well, maybe not hell! But instead, I was buried in work, and the Empire, perhaps feeling guilty, gave me some time off to return early and spend time with my family!"
He must have had a really hard time.
For even the Empire to allow an agent to return early from a mission for the sake of their mental health.
And not just any agent, but the one specifically assigned to the Imperial royalty.
"So I was going to see my daughter for the first time in ages, and then suddenly, the Princess goes missing...!"
...He could have made any excuse for "family," but "daughter" was a total break in character.
Uncle... you've really been through a lot...
"And then! The missing Princess! After three days! Emerges in a half-insane state! Alone with a man!"
"......"
I admit that, depending on how you hear it—no, just looking at it—the situation was a bit problematic.
Honestly, it was only because the man she came out with was me.
If it had been anyone else, Uncle Aeryun would have started by beating them half to death.
Therefore...
"I understand."
I acknowledged Uncle Aeryun's grievance.
"You're admitting to the crime?"
"I'm the one who was victimized."
"You're the victim?"
"Exactly. I didn't even know the person involved was the Princess."
"For someone who didn't know, you didn't seem very surprised."
"I heard about it in the dungeon."
"From the Princess?"
"From someone else? Or something. Anyway, from them."
"What do you mean 'someone' or 'something' or 'anyway'?!"
"To explain that, I'd also have to explain why the Princess is out of her mind."
"Then hurry up and tell me!"
"If you hear the whole story, you'll definitely regret it. Are you sure you're up for it?"
"...No!"
As expected of a seasoned, elite agent of the Empire.
I was ready to tell him everything without hesitation if he had insisted.
"You have good instincts."
"Just what the hell happened down there?!"
Uncle Aeryun clutched his head in despair, but this was all just "WWE" anyway.
Since they were conducting an interrogation for an incident of this magnitude...
The other agents were probably listening to this conversation as well.
I was sending a message to the Princess.
If she didn't want everything that happened down there to be exposed, she’d better settle this quickly.
I wasn't the one in a hurry; she was!
And as expected, before long...
With a creaking sound, someone came down.
I wondered if the Princess would come down herself, but it was a middle-aged man who looked to be of some years.
Well, I suppose someone else could have been sent.
Still, judging by the aura he gave off, he seemed to be someone of quite high standing.
"......!"
Seeing Uncle Aeryun freeze the moment he saw him, he was clearly someone who could take responsibility for the situation.
Perhaps the head of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau.
Or maybe someone even higher...
"......?"
But was it just my imagination? His face looked familiar.
I was thinking he must be a very high-ranking person...
"You must be Adam Smith. A pleasure to meet you. I am Drake Jeyka."
I nodded at the voice of the man who reached out to shake my hand.
Right. No wonder he looked familiar.
He was a Duke of the Empire, and Senior Loreliya's father.
"......?"
But why are you the one coming out here?
