Chapter 360: translated
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 360
Cleanup is always tedious and headache-inducing.
Checking the extent of damage, identifying available food and resources, and determining who should receive priority support.
All these tasks require legwork, but ultimately they need to be organized in writing, reported, and decisions must be made, which is why excellent administrative personnel were needed.
Of course, since Homigraph was a place where magicians and intellectuals gathered, there was no problem in recruiting administrative personnel.
However, the most troublesome issue was convincing citizens to accept the decisions made by the provisional government.
"Here, take my seal and stamp it."
Caesar solved that problem with a single stamp of his seal.
The citizens easily accepted decision documents stamped with Caesar's official seal. Of course, citizens would think that all administrative orders issued in Homigraph were decisions made directly by Caesar, but Caesar was neither idle enough to make such detailed decisions nor was it his specialty.
All of this was simply Harrison, acting on Caesar's behalf, sitting in his place, diligently reviewing and stamping documents.
Above all, Caesar had other things to do.
"Hmm, why did you call us to gather here?"
An old magician stroked his smooth beard.
The magicians looked better than other citizens because they received all kinds of benefits claiming they were high-quality personnel. They demanded accommodations, temporary laboratories, free storage for research materials, and even requested luxury soap for showering.
Homigraph accepted all their demands without refusal. But as always, when kindness continues, people start to think it's their right.
When Harrison desperately begged to stop the magicians from making any more unreasonable demands, Caesar finally agreed to intervene.
"I hear you've been causing trouble lately?"
"Hmph! The research facilities are too small!"
As the old magician first voiced his complaint, others began to express their dissatisfaction as well.
"There's too much dust, and the laboratory keeps getting contaminated!"
"We're short on flasks and other equipment!"
"When will the facilities I requested finally arrive?!"
The magicians started firing complaints one after another.
'What entitled complaints.'
While some people weren't even receiving proper rations and were starving, these people were making a fuss about not having enough space for their leisurely magic research.
Well, if that's the case, they should be given space to research.
"Alright. So you need a place to freely conduct magic research?"
"That's right."
"Then I'll give you three options."
Raven's eyes narrowed subtly. She probably couldn't believe there were three options.
"First, you build the research facilities you want here yourselves."
The place Caesar pointed to was Sapientia, filled with the waters of the Eileen River.
"What? You want us to build our own laboratories?"
"Yes. In return, I won't interfere with the form or method. Of course, I can help coordinate so your territories don't overlap."
"How are we supposed to build laboratories on a lake?"
"That's for you to figure out. That's why I'm giving you freedom."
Most magicians dismissed this as absurd, but some younger magicians began to seriously consider it.
The young magicians had never had their own laboratories, having spent their time serving their masters. And although the magic tower was spacious, it had a limited number of rooms, so they could only get rooms after the old magicians retired.
So even though it was just water, the idea of being able to build laboratories freely was quite attractive to them.
"What's the second method?"
"I'll allow you to build laboratories in the Coral Archipelago."
"Coral Archipelago? You mean the Coral Archipelago that was in the Kingdom of Dior?"
"Yes."
"I heard that place became uninhabitable due to pollution?"
"If you purify that place, the mer people have agreed to support research that can be conducted in the sea. They could catch and supply deep-sea fish or obtain various magical materials that can only be found in the ocean."
Some magicians' eyes sparkled.
Materials that could be obtained from the deep sea were only available through specialized deep-sea adventurers.
Moreover, since there were hardly any adventurers exploring the deep sea, obtaining research materials found only in the ocean was nearly impossible.
"Finally, third, I'll let you build laboratories in the ancient ruins beneath the Eileen River."
The magicians' eyes widened at the mention of ancient ruins.
"Ancient ruins?"
"Yes. It's a forgotten ruin where dragons once lived."
"Such a place exists underground here?"
"Indeed. Atan, isn't that right?"
Atan, who had been submerged in the lake, emerged and spoke.
"That's correct. Although you have to navigate through a complex maze, you can see quite mysterious artifacts."
Caesar continued, building on Atan's words.
"The mer people have agreed to guide you there. Since it's a ruin from a forgotten era, you might discover interesting dragon relics or ancient magic."
"Could that be the dragon's ruin?"
"As far as I know, it seemed to be a ruin of Sturungarden, is that right?"
Atan nodded.
"There were fire dragon paintings on the walls."
The magicians' eyes were filled with manic excitement.
"When can we go to the ancient ruins?"
"Well, if you actively participate in the census and actively help with Homigraph's reconstruction and sign a memorandum promising to actively participate in it, it could happen right away?"
If you asked what a magician's lifelong wish was, it would be to freely investigate dragon ruins. It was clear that just researching dragon magic and the lifestyle systems of that time could achieve tremendous academic progress.
"Bring that memorandum right now. Signing it won't be difficult."
"It's not just about writing a memorandum, you'll need to actively respond to the requests of administrative officials."
"That's nothing, we can do it quickly."
"Then go to that table over there and fill out the documents. The faster you finish, the sooner you can be the first to go to the ancient ruins."
The magicians rushed to the table where the officials were waiting. It was quite amusing to see them pulling at each other's beards and hair trying to get ahead.
Atan burst out laughing at the sight of the magicians causing a commotion.
"You sure know how to manipulate those finicky magicians."
"Magicians always go crazy over ancient ruins. And if you tell them it's first-come-first-served, their competitive spirit explodes. They'll listen well to you guys for a while, so handle them as you see fit."
"Handle them? How are we supposed to handle them?"
"Well, tell them they can't go to the ancient ruins unless they clean up the Coral Archipelago first. Then they'll have no choice but to follow your instructions."
"Won't they rebel instead?"
"The one who wants something is always the first to move. They can't enter the dragon ruins without you, so how could they complain? Just handle them well."
Caesar mounted Whitey.
"Where are you going now?"
Caesar tightened his grip on the axe tied to the Whitey.
"The demon realm."
***
When Yan opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was bloodstains. The bloodstains reflected in the flickering torch, shining like rubies.
Clink!
When he instinctively moved his hands, he felt resistance in both arms.
Sturdy handcuffs fixed to the wall gripped Yan's ankles and wrists tightly, not letting go. Yan tried to recall his faint memories.
Why am I tied up and where is this place?
As Yan tried to recover his foggy memories, the door opened.
"You recover quickly."
The man who pushed open the heavy iron door was Elijah.
Seeing Elijah, Yan remembered why he was captured here. Yan had been captured in a single moment, overpowered by the combined attack of Elijah and that strange mirror version of himself.
Elijah took the torch and illuminated Yan's face. Yan stared directly into the yellow beast-like pupils reflected in the torch. He instinctively tried to move his hands to break Elijah's neck. Yan was strong enough to fold a coin three times with just his thumb and index finger.
But he couldn't tear out the handcuffs embedded in the wall. The fact that his aura didn't move suggested these were special handcuffs embedded with anti-wizard properties.
"...That strange mirror... That version of me in the mirror attacked me. What was that?"
"It's a dragon language relic."
"I've never heard of such an artifact."
"Of course you haven't. It's a dragon language relic made from Grezawa's right horn."
Yan didn't know how to gauge this emotion.
Should he call it anger, or should he call it frustration? It was too settled to be anger, yet too boiling to be frustration.
Whatever it was, Yan's complex emotions stimulated his heart, and his heart pumped blood violently.
"A dagger is most effective when it stabs at an unexpected moment."
Elijah took ‘Mercy,’ which Yan had been holding, from a Steel Lion Knight and placed it on Yan's nape.
"I'm a doppelgänger who has lived nearly 300 years, and I haven't spent those long years foolishly. I've refined my swordsmanship, developed the Friedrich region, and prepared several weapons you don't know about."
Elijah pressed Mercy closer to Yan's neck. The blade dug into his nape, and blood flowed down.
"In other words, yesterday's defeat wasn't because Mitchell or you were incompetent. It's because I prepared more than you did."
"Someone as impressive as you couldn't stop Sith? Is that it?"
Elijah removed the sword and wiped the blood off the blade with a handkerchief.
"A general should avoid unfavorable battlefields and choose favorable ones. Knowing how to choose a battlefield you can win is also a virtue of a commander."
Elijah was a tough person. And Yan was not a person with a silver tongue. Yan wanted to somehow scratch at Elijah's insides, but he was frustrated and distressed by the fact that his tongue wasn't as sharp as Caesar's.
"Why did you keep me alive?"
"Because keeping you alive is more valuable than killing you."
The Steel Lion Knights behind him approached Yan. The Steel Lion Knights dabbed at the blood flowing from Yan's nape and tasted it.
"No way..."
All the Steel Lion Knights transformed into Yan's appearance.
"They say falling has wings."
Elijah handed ‘Mercy’ to one of the Steel Lion Knights.
"I'll make sure all the honor and achievements you've built up are thrown into the mud. Hero Yan."
"Elijah!"
Elijah put a gag in Yan's mouth.
"Read him the newspaper every day. If he seems like he's going to faint, pour water on him to wake him up. And make sure he knows everything about what he's doing."
Elijah said this to the jailer and left the prison. The empty prison was filled only with the sound of Yan howling and the clanking of handcuffs.
***
Gloria handed a piece of jerky to Raven.
"Lady Raven, please eat this."
"Give me something else."
"Eh? Why?"
"This one's spoiled."
Gloria tilted her head and smelled the jerky.
"Eck, it really is. You have a good nose."
"It's from the Akashic Records."
Raven opened the Akashic Record and showed it to Gloria. Gloria scratched her head and looked at the Akashic Record.
"Hmm. I really don't understand what this means."
"I know, it says you wouldn't understand even if I showed it to you."
"......Then why did you show it to me?"
"I thought Kos might be able to understand it."
Kos, who was sitting next to them, peered at the Akashic Record and shook her hand dismissively.
"As expected, she doesn't understand either."
"Is that book that supposedly shows the future really legitimate?"
"To be precise, it would be better to think of it as a book that records everything."
"What do you mean by recording everything?"
"It contains information about that jerky being spoiled, that this carriage has lightening and flying magic cast on it, that Whitey is starting to get tired, and that Caesar is about to suggest that we stop the carriage and get out."
Caesar looked back and said.
"Since it came up, let's take a break."
Caesar led Whitey down.
The carriage was attached to Whitey's back, which was a flying carriage designed for Raven and Gloria to ride together.
Whitey landed on a flat roadside.
Thud!
A heavy metallic sound rang out from the carriage.
Gloria pointed to an object covered with cloth in the middle of the carriage and said.
"I think Whitey is having a hard time because of that. Should I put it in the spatial bag?"
"A little later. The enchantment isn't complete yet."
"Yes. I understand."
Gloria sniffed the air.
"There's an acrid smell. Where are we?"
Raven answered while looking at the Akashic Record.
"It's a wheat field that was burned a month ago."
"Does the Akashic Record say that?"
"Yes."
"That's really amazing. Does it also say who burned it?"
"It says it was burned by soldiers who were enchanted by slimes that can change their bodies at will."
"Slimes that can change their bodies at will......"
Raven looked at Caesar and said.
"Doppelgangers, you know."
Caesar touched the crumbled ashes with his hand.
Pepe clearly left Caesar's side because he was afraid of Elijah.
But why would he return to Elijah?
Is it an expression of anger for toying with his life?
Or is it an expression of dissatisfaction?
"Does it also say why Pepe did this?"
"No, that's unknown."
"What are the limitations of the Akashic Record?"
"It seems to be limited to specific places."
Raven got out of the carriage and went outside. Then the Akashic Record stopped moving.
"It seems to stop working when we come out to an open field like this, and starts working when we enter a specific place like a carriage or a house."
Raven handed a turnip to Whitey.
Whitey crunched into the turnip.
"How long will it take to get to Friedrich?"
"At this speed, I think it will take about four more days to reach the Steel Fortress."
"If we couldn't fly, it would have taken even longer."
The sun set and the full moon rose.
"Let's rest here nearby."
It was a month ago when Agatha said she went to attack the Steel Fortress. How did the attack on the Steel Fortress turn out? I think we need to hear more detailed information.
***
That night, Caesar met Agatha. Despite being in a dream world, Agatha looked extremely sorrowful.
"Elijah has kidnapped Yan."