Chapter 293: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 293
"Extra! Extra! No trace of devils was found at Master Giggs' house!"
"The Holy Knights were just kicking at nothing!"
The more the newspaper sellers worked, the faster and further the news spread.
"I knew this would happen."
"That's why we should have waited quietly until Master himself came out."
"I mean, how urgent could it have been..."
While ordinary citizens began to criticize the Holy Knights through newspapers, the blacksmiths were not staying silent.
"The Pope must give a proper apology to Master Giggs!"
"Apologize! Apologize!"
"Do you know how many blacksmiths were hurt when they were forcibly arrested? How are you going to compensate for that?!"
"If there's no apology and appropriate compensation, we won't accept orders from anyone!"
When the blacksmiths began a general strike, the entire Dre Province was stirring. It would not be an exaggeration to say that 40% of Dre's total tax revenue comes from Shalibi. Shalibi is not just a place for swords or armor, but also a place with a developed steel industry.
Because the blacksmiths are leading this steel industry, the steel industry itself has been paralyzed. Modern steel is like wheat in the agricultural era.
As rumors spread that the province’s core business was being shaken beyond Dre, the atmosphere in Dre became gloomy. How would this entire situation be resolved? The Pope was drawing the answer to that question.
"Sir Luca. You definitely said that there was a devil in Giggs' house."
Luca knelt on one knee before the Pope, hiding his trembling fist behind his back.
"To be precise..."
"And you also said that Caesar was a devil worshipper."
Luca knew what the Pope wanted. The Pope was hoping Luca would play the role of a sacrificial lamb to pacify the angry citizens. Luca's hand shook even more severely. Luca did not think he had done anything wrong.
The proof of the blue flame clearly claimed that there was a devil in Giggs' house. If a Holy Knight cannot believe the proof of the blue flame, how could he track a devil? He had simply gone to exterminate the devil after receiving the Pope's permission.
"Sir Luca, you dare to deceive my eyes and mislead the citizens. How do you plan to take responsibility?"
Luca kept his mouth shut. Luca could not silently watch his honor plummet to the bottom. How much effort had Luca made to become a baptized one? From the age of 12 when he first held a sword, for 28 years, he had hunted devils and trained alone, reducing his nighttime sleep.
Was that all?
Luca did not hesitate to go against his conscience and chivalry to truly gain the Pope's favor. And now it was going to end so pointlessly?
"I will deeply consider your treatment, so you may leave now."
"Your Holiness..."
The Pope did not even turn to look at Luca's face. Luca's hand continued to tremble. A sense of betrayal towards the Pope. And his impending fall from grace. Luca could not envision how his end would be.
***
Luca left the Pope's office. Outside, Nivia, Yo-heum, and Mila were waiting. As Luca came out, Nivia approached as if she had been waiting.
"Sir Luca, what happens to us now?"
Luca looked at the eyes of the baptized ones. They all had the same eyes as Luca. They were afraid of falling because, like Luca, they were flying too high.
"...I don't know."
Luca's words caused the baptized ones' gazes to shake intensely.
What were they thinking right now?
Would they wish for Luca to take all the responsibility and die?
Or would they just hope to wait until public opinion calms down?
Whatever it was, they were all thinking only of their own safety, and they didn't care what would happen to Luca. Because Luca was doing the same right now.
"I want to rest. You were all tired too, so rest now."
Luca left the papal court. The garden in front of the papal court was beautifully indifferent.
It was because the Pope, who loved walking and the moon, had planted flowers that bloom even at night to make it beautiful. As Luca passed through the garden, he thought.
How quickly one can be cast down in a moment. How far would Luca fall?
He was not afraid of dying while hunting devils, but he never imagined being discarded like a disposable piece. Anxiety brings remarkable imagination.
And the imagination filled with anxiety tends to expand based on the 'dirty work' Luca had done for the Pope and the Dre Order.
Luca stopped walking. Though he had been walking aimlessly, his feet led him to the 'library' under the papal court. Luca entered the library silently.
"We're currently closed... Oh, Sir Luca."
"I want to cool my head for a moment. May I enter?"
"Of course. Please look around comfortably."
After the librarian withdrew, Luca headed straight to the basement 3rd floor. The basement 3rd floor was a warehouse storing devil horns and weapons used by devils. As such, it was a place with thorough security, with Holy Knights stationed there.
"Sir Luca, what business do you have here..."
"I have something to look at for a moment. Could you open the door?"
Normally, one would go through a complicated security procedure to enter, but the Holy Knights opened the door immediately.
Luca was a baptized one. There was no place within the papal court he could not go. As he entered the warehouse, a bloody, fishy smell vibrated through the air.
Moreover, with the tools and horns of wicked devils being stored, the place was extremely gloomy.
Luca did not look at any other objects and headed towards the staff stored in the largest glass box in the warehouse.
[Staff of the Fleming Devil of Plague]
The staff used by the Devil of Plague looked quite ordinary.
However, the 'curse of disease' that Fleming actually used remained on this staff, and touching it would turn one into a 'devil'.
Of course, this would be true if this is really the 'staff of Fleming'. Luca pushed the glass box containing the staff with all his might. A secret passage appeared underneath. After taking a deep breath for a moment, Luca entered the secret passage.
***
Lighting the torch always kept beside the passage, the sticky darkness was pushed back.
How far down had he gone? A cavity filled with blue flowers so bright that a torch was unnecessary appeared before Luca's eyes.
Blindfolded blind people were carefully walking among the blue flowers, with some picking the flowers and others sprinkling black powder and red blood on the blue flowers.
"What is happening in the farm, Sir Luca?"
Priests wearing black hoods approached Luca. These were priests who work in the darkest places within the Dre Order, serving only the Dre Goddess without name or light. They were the Blue Iris priests.
"I came to check if management is being done properly."
The baptized ones had the obligation to visit this farm periodically and check if there were no problems with the Blue Iris.
This was because the oil extracted from these Blue Iris was the 'Holy Flame Oil'. It would not be an exaggeration to say that without this, the only means of fighting devils would disappear.
"I believe you already confirmed this a fortnight ago."
"Is there a problem with checking again?"
The Blue Iris priests shook their heads.
"There's no particular problem. We were just curious. Where would you like to start the inspection?"
Luca pointed to the darkest corner of the farm.
"I'll go to the horn farm."
"Then the weapons..."
Luca planted the Balsan he was carrying on the ground and headed towards the horn farm.
***
The path to the horn farm was extremely complex and complicated. Only after passing through five thick iron doors could one enter the horn farm. And the closer one got to the horn farm, the louder the bizarre screams became.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Terrible sounds as if being tortured filled the cave. Luca went deeper inside without caring and could enter the 'horn farm'.
The horn farm was full of bloody smell. This was because the horn farm was literally a place to 'collect horns', and these horns were devil horns.
The priests trampled the heads of devils bound by chains made of Anti-Wizard and cut them with large saws.
"I can do three more. Hang them up."
"Yes."
The devil whose horns were harvested had its limbs pierced by hooks and hung from the ceiling. Luca stared at that horrific scene without even frowning.
"As you can see, the farm is operating normally."
Luca looked at the wooden staff embedded in the middle of the horn farm. The black staff made of ebony was emitting a sinister energy, and its appearance was identical to the 'Fleming's staff' he had seen in the warehouse earlier.
"No...! No! Why, why me?!"
"I only stole bread because I was hungry! I..."
People bound by iron chains were dragged to the staff by the priests. The priests lifted Fleming's staff with long tongs and brought it to the foreheads of the dragged people.
"Uaaaaaaaaah!"
"Aaaaah!"
Then the people began to twist their bodies grotesquely and immediately start transforming into devils. The priests immediately hooked them with Anti-Wizard hooks and hung them up.
"……."
Luca stared blankly at the people transforming into devils. Blue Iris only grows in soil with extremely abundant magic, and in caves without light.
This cave was a very suitable place for Blue Iris to bloom because magic continuously flowed, but since only a fixed amount was emitted, they could not propagate Blue Iris in large quantities.
After continuous research, they discovered that by transplanting Blue Iris seeds into soil mixed with devil blood and horns, they would grow properly, and naturally found a way to stably supply devil horns and blood.
This was the 'horn farm'.
In other words, the 'devil farm'.
By fully utilizing the ability of Fleming's staff that turns one into a devil upon contact, they were able to increase the Blue Iris farm nearly tenfold in just 15 years.
Of course, to continue maintaining this vast Iris farm, more devils were needed, and while they initially captured only serious criminals to turn into devils, now they capture minor offenders to turn into devils.
And the 'dirty work' Luca had done in the past was turning the 'Holy Knights' who opposed the Pope into devils.
Luca looked at the devils wriggling while hanging in the sky. He recalled the first time he saw this scene.
-This world is corrupted. Sir Luca.
-If I, the representative of the Dre Goddess, do not set this world right, it will be destroyed.
The Pope truly believed he was chosen by the goddess and that his will was the goddess' will. In the past, such an appearance of the Pope did not look entirely bad.
Luca was also ambitious, believing that as more people would accept the goddess's grace, his honor would rise along with it.
But now it is different.
The Pope is disappointed in him and wants to hold him accountable.
The Pope will corrupt and kill him using any method possible. Luca now had to choose. Would he obediently accept the Pope's punishment and bury all the honor he had built up until now, becoming fertilizer for the blue Iris like those devils? Or…….
'Survive.'
Luca's gaze turned towards the devils hanging.
***
The next day, Caesar visited Pesson.
"You said you would grant me any request before, right?"
"Well, yes."
Pesson said while holding a hammer.
"Say anything. What kind of weapon would you like me to make?"
"Make a weapon?"
"Isn't asking a blacksmith to make a weapon the most obvious thing? Say anything. I'll even take out a loan to make the world's strongest weapon."
"Can you get a loan from there?"
Pesson whispered to Caesar while looking at Giggs nervously.
"Just secretly get a guarantee under Giggs' name."
A crazy blacksmith. Selling out his own master's name to get a loan. Wait a moment, this doesn't seem like something he's done just once or twice.
"While that might be necessary, that's not what I'm asking."
Caesar handed over a note.
"Please work in Homigraph after leaving Shalibi. I will provide all the support."
"...What? Leave Shalibi?"
Pesson said in disbelief.
"Listen, I can't leave here."
"Because it's your hometown?"
"No, there's a more important issue."
Giggs, who had been hammering steel just moments ago, put down his tools and approached Caesar.
"Blacksmiths like Pesson who can handle Terra cannot leave Shalibi. Because the technology of handling Terra could be leaked."
"I know that."
"And you're telling him to go to Homigraph knowing this?"
"Yes. I've been given a difficult request, so I must also make a difficult request. Isn't that good business?"
Pesson groaned and opened his mouth.
"If I go to Homigraph, can I handle it? The Pope will raise hell."
Listening to Pesson's words, it seemed there were no personal issues with leaving Shalibi.
"You can handle it. Of course, you'll have to go secretly."
"How?"
"As soon as we finish our work, we'll stop by Shalibi again. Then, let's go to Homigraph together. Raven will help."
Pesson looked at Giggs nervously.
"Your boldness to say such things in front of the Master is remarkable."
"Well, isn't he the one who owes me his life? Won't you overlook this much?"
Giggs shrugged.
"I didn't hear anything. If Pesson wants to leave, he can."
"Are you really okay with this?"
"Whether you're here or not, Shalibi won't have major problems."
"What? One of Shalibi's top blacksmiths is leaving, and you decide this easily?"
"The top is me. Didn't I purify Nameless?"
"I could do that too."
As Pesson and Giggs started bickering, Raven tapped Caesar's arm.
"We should go now. No time."
"Okay."
Caesar looked at Gloria, who was watching him with tension. Gloria's duel was all that remained now.