Chapter 68
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Surprise Visit (2)
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Belv, who had been holding back his words, suddenly felt a surge of curiosity upon seeing Roin's sparkling eyes.
"By the way, Lord Roin."
"Yeah."
"Ifand I mean really just ifit turns out that the Demon God's fragment is actually a material that could benefit your beauty regimen... what would you do?"
Belv had a faint 'what if' lingering in his mind.
Roin's answer was predictable.
"Of course I'd collect every single one in sight. Then process them into my personal beauty products."
"It's not just any itemit's a fragment of a Demon God. And you'd still use it?"
"If it helps with my beauty, I don't care if it's cursed or whatever."
"......"
If it was good for his body... no, his skin, Roin was more than willing to use even a Demon God's fragment as an ingredient.
Belv let out a wry smile.
Roin would probably be the firstand onlyperson to come up with the idea of using a Demon God's fragment for beauty products.
"So? What were the results? Don't keep me in suspensespit it out already."
At Roin's urging, Belv shared the findings from his research with Iroa.
"It's not impossible."
"Really?"
"Yes. But this only applies to this purple-tinged Demon God's fragment. This is a separate matter... or perhaps, in a broader context, it might connect to something else."
Belv decided to reveal one fact that Roin didn't yet know.
"This purple Demon God's fragment seems to belong to a Demon God associated with 'appearance.'"
"What do you mean by a Demon God associated with appearance?"
"In other words..."
Belv spoke to Roin in a tone that suggested he brace himself.
"You could think of it as the Demon God in charge of ugliness."
The moment he heard the word "ugliness," Roin's face hardened.
"No wonder. I always thought Oval, who swallowed the Demon God's fragment, looked particularly grotesque compared to the other possessed ones. So there was a reason."
A Demon God that wielded ugliness as its weapon.
Because of its aftermath, just seeing Oval had caused the instructors and trainees to vomit on the spot, suffer dizziness, and exhibit other abnormal symptoms.
Why had that happened?
Roin finally understood.
"A Demon God I'd rather never cross paths with in my lifetime."
"I hope the same."
"No, but waitthis is a fragment from a Demon God that handles ugliness, and you're saying it could be used for beauty products? Wouldn't a cream made from that just make your face hideous the moment you apply it?"
Belv shook his head at the question.
"Focus on the fact that it induces changes in the appearance of objects or living beings. If used in a positive way, it could actually be beneficial. It's like using a stronger poison as medicine to counter a weaker onethe same principle."
However, as Belv said, nothing was confirmed yet.
It was just a possibility.
No solid research results had emerged.
Still, uncovering the existence of yet another Demon God was a tremendous achievement.
The research team that had recovered the purple Demon God's fragment from Oval hadn't even discovered this much.
Belv. Roin was once again reminded of just how valuable a talent he was.
"Work with Iroa to uncover as much as possible about that aspect, as quickly as you can."
"Understood. But Lord Roin, what should we do with this information we've uncovered?"
Whether to share through the palace that a new Demon God's fragment existed.
That was the question.
"Tell Helond to leak the info subtly. The others need to know too, so we won't get dragged around by lunatics like Ratio later on."
"Understood."
"But don't reveal everything."
"Pardon?"
Roin planned to withhold certain details.
"Leave out the part about how this purple Demon God's fragment could be an amazing ingredient for beauty products. Share everything else."
He didn't want any competitors popping up.
Hearing that, Belv unwittingly let slip,
"Even if we did share it, I doubt anyone else would show interest like you, Lord Roin..."
No matter how obsessed with beauty someone was, the average person wouldn't dream of touching a Demon God's fragment.
It was something only Roin could conceive.
After hearing about the Demon God's fragment from Belv, Roin returned home.
He sank into deep thought.
A Demon God's fragment that affected the appearance of objects and living beings.
Roin decided to call it the 'Fragment of the Outer God.'
'No way that fragment was connected to my past face, right?'
The idea that it made appearances ugly had been echoing in his ears since earlier.
Of course, nothing was proven yet.
However.
'Doubts keep creeping in.'
During the final Mid Knight exam.
Raiken had once said something like that to him.
That even if the culprit who ruined Roin's past face wasn't human but something beyond, would he still seek revenge?
'No way... was that referring to a Demon God?'
It was hard not to suspect.
But nothing had been properly uncovered.
'Belv said he'd investigate more, so I'll have to wait until then.'
This wasn't the time to act rashly.
It was a time for waiting.
He could hear the information he wanted, verify if it was true or false, and then move.
'No, what the hell did I do in my past life for even a Demon God to get tangled up with my face?'
Irritation suddenly surged.
'Screw the Demon Godmaybe I should just wipe it out.'
If it turned out a Demon God had truly played a major role in Rodri's ugly face, Roin was even considering deliberately summoning it and erasing it with his own hands.
And then,
'Collect the fragments and use them for my skin care.'
As he formulated such plans and approached the house,
Emilia spotted him and reacted dramatically.
"Lo-Lo-Lo-Lo-Lo-Lord Roin!"
"Why are you stretching out my name like that?"
Whenever Emilia reacted like this, Roin's first instinct was to be on guard.
Because,
'Something must have happened at home again.'
It was obvious without looking.
Emilia's fussing continued for a while.
"Come in and see, Lord Roin! The Baron was just looking for you."
"Father?"
"Yes."
"......"
The fact that the one seeking him was Lucas only amplified his unease.
But he couldn't pretend not to hear.
'I guess I'll have to go see.'
He cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.
Roin was famous for not flinching even when facing dangerous monsters.
But he had a weakness.
Ugly people.
Standing before an ugly person triggered memories of his past self, causing trauma.
That was why he was particularly wary of Lucas Leyden.
Elien was fine.
Her beauty was healing just to look at.
'But Father is...'
Dragging his heavy feet, Roin entered the house.
Then Lucas's booming voice echoed through the rooms.
"Roin! My pride and joy, my youngest!"
He suddenly charged over and enveloped Roin in a tight hug.
Roin panicked.
"Wh-What's gotten into you?"
It was a father's embrace full of love for his child, but sadly, Roin didn't want to receive it.
If he had to, he'd prefer one from Elien.
Lucas was a hard pass.
There was a reason for Lucas's over-the-top behavior.
Elien smiled and said to Roin,
"Congratulations, Roin. You passed the Mid Knight exam."
The exam results had finally come out.
Roin already knew he had passed the Mid Knight exam.
So it didn't bring overwhelming joy.
But for Lucas, it was different.
"Graduating in just two years after enrolling! My son! Well done, so well done! Hahaha!"
The shortest graduation time in Loud Swordsmanship Academy history!
And as the top student, no less.
For the declining Leyden family, producing such a talent was truly astonishing.
Moreover, that protagonist being Lucas's son made him even happier.
But Roin wasn't as thrilled as Lucas.
If anything, the happier Lucas got, the more tormented Roin felt.
Buried in soot-covered muscles, Roin shot Elien a pleading look for help.
Elien immediately understood her youngest son's call for rescue and approached Lucas, patting his back a few times.
"How about letting go now? Roin looks like he's struggling."
"R-Right? I shouldn't do that!"
Thanks to Elien, Lucas snapped out of it and finally released Roin.
"Sorry, son. I got carried away in my excitement..."
"It's fine. More importantly, could I see the acceptance notice?"
"Sure, go ahead. You have it, don't you?"
Elien nodded at Lucas's words and handed the notice directly to Roin.
"Take a look."
"Thank you, Mother."
Roin double-checked the acceptance notice.
Lucas and Elien assumed he was savoring the fact of obtaining Mid Knight qualifications.
But that wasn't the case.
'As expected. It doesn't list the other trainees' results besides mine.'
He wanted to check if Remina and Luem had passed too, but this notice alone wasn't enough.
'Jerka's a givenhe must have passed.'
Before the interview with Raiken, Roin was top, Jerka second.
That duo had held strong.
Barring any major upset, Jerka would have received a Mid Knight acceptance notice just like Roin.
'Come to think of it, Jerka helped me out big time last time.'
Thanks to Jerka, he had avoided suspicion for being absent from the social gathering for so long.
Remembering that brought Veronica and Mion to mind as well.
'No news so far, so probably it's all blown over quietly?'
That was what Roin hoped for.
If it passed without suspicion, just like this, that would be ideal.
...Or so he thought.
"M-My Lord Baron!"
Gillion suddenly burst through the door.
This was utterly unlike the usual Gillion.
But not today.
"It's bad!"
"What's happened?"
"R-Right now...!"
Gillion pointed outside.
And delivered shocking news.
"Th-The Queen... is coming here!"