Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Peaceful Angmar #3
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“Eek...!”
The imp Marmar let out a sound like a sickly chicken the entire time she was in the palace.
Her eyes couldn’t stay fixed in one place, her limbs trembled uncontrollably, and her tail wagged back and forth like a car windshield wiper.
“To think I’m inside the Witch Queen’s palace...!”
Marmar looked utterly terrified of Aira’s presence.
“Save me! It’s scary! Get me out of here! She’s gonna skin me! She wants to use my tail as a wand!”
Aira, who had been strolling through the palace, replied indifferently.
“You don’t need to fear your queen. You should respect and love her instead. And I don’t need a wand anyway.”
That seemed to be the case.
I had been worried about what to do if Aira got angry at the imp’s rude attitude and flattened her head.
Fortunately, neither the imp Marmar nor Aira continued the conversation further. In Aira’s case, I figured it was simply because she’d lost interest.
“Then, Theo, I’ll go rest. You rest in the palace too. Don’t go back to your house—the messenger will come out.”
“Understood. I’ll try educating this one a bit.”
“Yeah, she does look pretty dumb.”
To think she’d call an imp dumb right to her face. That must mean the imp’s terrified state looked utterly pathetic.
“Bye.”
With a light farewell, Aira headed to her chambers.
Now, all that remained were me and the imp Marmar, trembling like a wild-caught sika deer.
What should I have her do?
Twelve gold coins was a huge sum even for me.
It was enough to bribe twelve people with just one coin each, so for her to break even, this imp needed to handle twelve times the work of a normal person.
She seemed pretty intelligent from the way she talked, but her physique looked weak, so manual labor was probably out of the question.
I wonder if she’s good at paperwork.
I asked Marmar, who was glancing around to check if Aira had left.
“Do you have any skills you’re good at?”
“Imps are good at everything! We were handcrafted by Lady Angmar herself! Anyway, the queen’s gone, right?”
“Yeah. Follow me. I’ll introduce you to your tasks.”
I led the imp to my office.
It was a mess, piled high with documents I’d stacked up, along with all sorts of scattered papers.
“For now, can you sort these documents by color?”
“Easy! But even though I’m obeying you now, I’m definitely not your slave—keep that in mind!”
The confident imp Marmar shouted as she started rummaging through and organizing the papers. I was surprised at how skilled she seemed.
But Marmar was just as surprised.
“Slave Rights Improvement Act, Defeated Monster Allocation Employment Law. Why are these drafts here? Are you... Theo Gospel?”
“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you?”
The imp quickly flipped through the drafts I’d written, trembling in shock.
Her body shook parr-parr-parr nonstop, making me tense that she might wet herself any second.
The imp user manual from the Torch Legion had said something about imps using the bathroom well, right?
As I suddenly grew concerned and rummaged through my pocket, the imp raised both hands high and shrieked.
“Oh my god! It’s an honor to meet you! Theo Gospel! You’re the one who created these brilliant acts and ordinances! They’re very imp-righteous!”
This sudden shift in atmosphere left me struggling to keep up a bit. It reminded me of that nymph Biernoy I’d seen recently.
“The Anti-Slave Abuse Law is a fantastic piece of legislation!”
“Thanks. Glad you like it.”
“Of course, there are parts that need fixing or tweaking. For example, the term ‘slave’ itself is a bit outdated. It’s not imp-righteous.”
After that, Marmar chattered on with her opinions about the Anti-Slave Abuse Law.
Things like using “labor assistant” instead of “slave,” or introducing a severance pay system for long-term workers who quit.
Smart, or overly nitpicky? Hard to say.
“Done sorting the documents!”
At least her work ethic seemed solid.
Having help really speeds things up.
She’s earning that “labor assistant” title.
With the work done, I figured I’d ask some questions I was curious about. I sat Marmar in a chair and started inquiring.
“I’m curious about the imp race. Do all imps care about laws and rights like you?”
“Mostly! Unlike nymphs who live off government subsidies and relief funds without working and just play around, imps value labor. Our sisters have different interests, but we generally do.”
“Hm.”
“Some conspiracy theorists say we imps originated from nymphs. That’s utter nonsense! We imps were specially forged by Lady Angmar!”
“Oh.”
Uh-huh. I half-listened to her responses as I opened the dictionary.
This was an encyclopedia made by the sage Pakurites, a treasure trove of common knowledge and facts I needed to survive in this world.
I found the entry on imps and read it.
「Imp: Noisy little devil. Deceives people with all sorts of clever rhetoric. Originally derived from nature fairies called nymphs, modified by the Demon King Angmar from his nymph subordinates.」
Got it.
「True to their nymph origins, they don’t cause major harm to people.
On the contrary, like nymphs, their hair, nails, bodily fluids, etc., are valuable magic ingredients, and wands made from imp tails are extremely expensive tools.
Nymphs are legally protected, but imps, classified as monsters, receive no legal protection.
As a result, as of the time this entry is being written, they are over-hunted beyond necessity and classified as an endangered species.」
Aha.
So she’s like a dark evolution of a nymph.
“More importantly, you give off a strange aura! Similar to my sisters.”
“Really? Maybe because I’m half-nymph.”
“Half-nymph!?”
Marmar exclaimed in surprise.
“That’s such a fascinating race!”
You’re one to talk—. I wanted to say it but held back.
“Anyway, it’s an honor to meet you, comrade Theo Gospel! To think there’s someone as imp-righteous as you in this stolen palace—how fortunate!”
“Comrade... sure, whatever. So, what exactly do you mean by ‘imp-righteous’ that you keep mentioning?”
“Exactly what it sounds like! It looks good from an imp perspective!”
“Like, politically correct?”
“Yeah, you could say that. Politics is just another name for imps.”
I see.
I quickly added an entry in my head about imps.
Imps: Sister race to nymphs, not as smart as they seem—something like that.
Anyway.
It was a relief that my new unwilling slave... no, labor assistant didn’t hate me.
In fact, she was positively inclined toward me.
To have someone who liked my ideas, not my money, power, or status?
Just a tiny bit, but it felt rewarding to have my past efforts praised.
It made me think what I’d done wasn’t meaningless.
* * *
“So, we all fear Queen Aira. It feels like staring into an endless black hole.”
Marmar kept talking nonstop until I finished all the office work.
It was a bit ear-aching, but there was plenty of new info for me, so it wasn’t too bothersome.
“We have no choice but to follow the current Angmar. No other way, so we adapt and live.”
“I see.”
Ogre Gorgor.
Imp Marmar.
Like these two, the Angmar Kingdom actually had quite a few monsters blended in among the people.
Having intelligence means they can live together.
Among them, beasts with limbs similar to humans—at least arms and legs—are called “humans.”
Of course, their treatment was undoubtedly poor.
They were the old Demon King Angmar’s subordinates, reduced to stragglers and prisoners.
This world wasn’t kind enough to extend a warm hand to such beings. Wage theft was basic, and if displeasing, they’d be burned at the stake in no time.
Because of that, to me, those monsters felt like ticking time bombs ready to explode.
Disgruntled monsters sparking sporadic riots like Gorgor’s caused problems all over Angmar...
If such incidents kept draining manpower and resources, it was natural for national power to decline slowly.
That’s why I wanted to pass the Anti-Monster Discrimination Law.
But the labor assistant owners, having tasted their cheap labor, fiercely opposed the monster rights bill, so I couldn’t push it through.
Even just classifying imps, ogres, and other monsters as “humans” like humans, elves, dwarves, and nymphs had met massive resistance.
The owners lay down in front of the palace and everything.
━If we pay monsters minimum wage, small and medium owners like us are dead meat!
━Everyone, let’s all lie down—!
Recalling that, Marmar snorted hmph-hmph.
“But we have hope. Someday, the savior Lady Angmar will return to this land. She’ll create a world where all things are peaceful and equal.”
Imp Marmar clenched her fists like a passionate activist.
The savior faith in Demon King Angmar was common among monsters.
Ogre Gorgor had said the only true king was Demon King Angmar.
What made them loyal to a long-dead demon king? Just story setting?
Thinking there might be a hint to controlling monsters, I asked Marmar.
“What makes you think Angmar will return? From what I know, the four houses united to tear her apart and burn her corpse.”
Wise Tarantara House.
Valiant Lioness House.
Free-spirited Belhock House.
Pious Draco House.
These four great houses banded together in rebellion, succeeded, and Tarantara House, with the most merits, inherited the throne via treaty.
That was the known story.
But maybe the monsters knew more.
Imp Marmar darkened her face with a mughuhu- and said.
“King Angmar will return. She hasn’t died yet. This is proof. Long live Lady Angmar.”
Swish-.
Imp Marmar moved her hand through empty air. It looked like she was “manipulating” nothing.
I knew what that meant.
“My god, Marmar, do you have the system?”
“Yeah. It’s only permitted to Lady Angmar’s loyal followers.”
“Ooh...!”
I felt a shiver.
The system.
Come to think of it, there was such a thing.
The original novel ‘Villain Hunter’ was moderately popular.
But it had a divisive element: the convenience-heavy setting that got heavy criticism.
Commonly called the status window.
The one listing levels, skills, titles, etc.
Back then, I’d skipped those parts entirely because they felt lazy and insincere, just text scrolling up.
But now, in this situation, I desperately wished one would appear for me.
Of course, I don’t have one now. If I did, beating the story would be a breeze. Damn it.
Anyway, Marmar had a status window.
Marmar swished her hands through the air like miming and said.
“This is made of Lady Angmar’s unique magics: Revelation, Foresight, and Grant. Having this means Lady Angmar lives somewhere.”
Unique magic.
Encyclopedia knowledge flooded my mind.
“Unique magic means the personal spells that 5th-circle or higher mages have, right?”
“Exactly.”
Like personalized ultimate moves, Devil Fruits, or Breathing Styles. Mages’ signature techniques.
Marmar continued.
“Honestly, anything below 5th circle isn’t worth calling magic. It’s just charlatan tricks.”
“I see.”
So 5th circle and up makes a real mage.
By that measure, there couldn’t be ten people in this world worthy of the title.
Marmar said.
“For reference, Lady Angmar was the first and last to reach 10th circle, the unparalleled archmage. King of Mages. The very Magic God...! She had three unique magics...!”
I knew that story.
His 10th-circle power literally mocked and twisted the world’s rules. It transcended magic into something like authority.
That overflowing power left a massive rift in the world.
A really huge rift, in many ways.
Was me falling into this weird world due to that rift?
As thoughts chained together, Marmar said.
“You said you’re half-nymph. You could receive Lady Angmar’s blessing. Want me to help?”
“Is that possible?”
“Yeah! For some reason, imps and nymphs have a lot in common. Probably because nymphs are a race imitating us superior imps.”
Twelve gold.
I’d written it off as lost.
But now it felt like an unexpected gain.