To the Place Where Stars Flow (3)
The soft crunch of footsteps echoed without pause.
Namgung Sim, who had been deep in meditation, slowly opened his eyes at the ceaselessly irritating sound.
“Why must you move about so restlessly? It is quite distracting.”
“But, young master of the Namgung family. Isn’t it fascinating?”
“What is?”
“This space, of course. It feels like an array, yet somehow it doesn’t feel like one at all.”
Sosu Manyeo wandered around without rest, chattering away the entire time. Even so, she continued circulating her inner energy without pause. It was likely thanks to the supreme realm she had reached with the arts she cultivated.
Hyun Eum Dong Gong — the Profound Yin Movement Art.
A peerless divine technique widely known to be practiced by the guardian of the Heavenly Demon Cult. Whenever Namgung Sim examined her body with his internal vision, he would always be stunned by its structure, which resembled a weapon more than a human physique.
“If you were going to teach Lady Regina any martial arts, you should have started with that technique.”
“Weren’t you the one who opposed teaching her the Cult’s arts?”
“I am now recommending that you cease immediately.”
“Why?”
Namgung Sim did not answer. He simply closed his eyes again and fell silent.
Reading his expression, Sosu Manyeo spoke as if she already understood without needing words.
“Aha. So you’re afraid?”
“…Afraid?”
“Am I wrong? You’re thinking that the child who so closely resembles him might truly become the second Heavenly Demon.”
“…….”
Namgung Sim, unable to answer right away, kept his lips tightly sealed for a long time before finally speaking.
“…That is nothing more than a baseless worry.”
“It might be.”
“In life, one sometimes encounters people who look alike. This young master once saw a boy in the markets of Huizhou who looked exactly like a servant from my own household.”
“Young master, you always start spouting nonsense whenever your mind gets too tangled.”
“…….”
“This lady has seen his appearance as a child.”
“You saw the Heavenly Demon’s childhood?”
“Indeed.”
Her eyes grew misty with beautiful nostalgia.
“He was incredibly adorable. If only the color of his hair were different, he would look exactly like that child.”
“…Even so, she is different from Lady Regina. While she certainly possesses a fiery temperament…”
Namgung Sim paused for a moment, gently stroking the blade of his sword before continuing.
“She is someone capable of distinguishing right from wrong. She clearly understands what is righteous and what is not.”
“Oh my.”
“Lady Regina will not become the Heavenly Demon. This young master will not allow it.”
“But didn’t you see it too? The way she looked when learning martial arts from me.”
…Indeed, Namgung Sim had seen it. He had witnessed Regina learning the Pale Hand Demonic Art.
“Even though it was clearly her first time learning the Cult’s techniques, she displayed monstrous talent. She achieved entry-level mastery in less than two hours.”
“…It must have been a coincidence.”
“A coincidence? The Pale Hand Demonic Art is not an easy technique to begin with. Especially if it is one’s first encounter with demonic arts.”
“…….”
“That child is destined to become the Heavenly Demon in her own world. Without fail.”
Sosu Manyeo’s soft laughter echoed throughout the illusory world.
After changing clothes with Bella’s help and stepping out of the room, the middle-aged man was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did that uncle go?”
“If you mean His Grace the Bishop, he left earlier. He is a very busy man.”
“I see.”
Busy to the point of ruin, huh. Must be tough.
We barely exchanged a few words and now we’re parting ways. It felt a little disappointing. After all, he was a bishop, wasn’t he?
Didn’t that mean he held quite a high position?
I feel like I could have squeezed a few things out of him…
For example, using the fact that Leona had tried to kill me as leverage to demand compensation.
Truly, the saying that growing old means surviving is no empty phrase. His senses were frighteningly sharp.
Well… nothing I can do about it now.
I’ll just have to make proper use of these guys instead.
Leona stood there awkwardly, while the man continued avoiding my gaze with a strange expression.
“Why do you keep avoiding my eyes?”
“…There is no particular reason.”
He seemed incredibly tense. It felt like watching a new recruit who had just met the drill instructor for the first time.
“Really? Anyway, what’s your name?”
“M-my name is Rian!”
“Lilian? That’s a unique name.”
“…It’s not Lilian. It’s Rian.”
“Got it, Lilililian. Let’s get going.”
“…….”
Leona and Ririririan followed me in silence. Bella, carrying the massive dragon horn on her back, came along as well.
Leona reached out to take the horn from her, but—
“I will carry it.”
“There is no need. It is only natural for me, as the maid, to handle this. Despite how I look, I am quite strong, you know?”
Bella, fully committed to her concept, refused with a graceful, ladylike smile.
Oh really?
Alright then. Let’s see just how far this fake, elegant concept of hers goes in front of others.
I had no idea when she had started acting all refined and noble in front of the other succubus maids.
I swear I will rip that mask off her face in front of everyone.
With that firm resolve, I did one last check to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Spare sword… check. Money?”
“We have the funds His Grace the Bishop provided.”
“Change of clothes?”
“This Bella has already prepared all the outfits my lady will need.”
“Food?”
“I have taken care of that as well!”
Hmm.
So the only thing I prepared was my sword. Am I actually useless?
No, wait. Isn’t it enough for a martial artist to bring a single sword?
Which means it’s these guys who are weird. Why are they so competent?
At least Bella had taken the most important item—the horn of the Mad Dragon—so there didn’t seem to be anything else to worry about.
Though seeing her carry a horn as big as her own body did look a bit ridiculous…
Well, Bella is strong, so I don’t need to worry about it.
I had realized it the moment she blocked me with her scythe. Bella was stronger than she appeared.
At the very least, she was probably stronger than me when I wasn’t using my full power. If she hadn’t let her guard down and allowed me to strike her pressure points that day, returning to the mansion quickly would have been impossible.
Incidentally, neither of us had spoken about what happened that day.
Bella and I both. It had somehow become an unspoken agreement to just quietly let it slide.
There’s no real reason to bring it up anyway.
Everyone has a secret or two they keep hidden. I’m the same way.
Power in reserve. It’s nice, isn’t it?
Hiding your strength normally, then revealing your true power at a critical moment always gets people going “Whoaaaa…!”
If I had to describe myself, I guess I’m kind of the same.
Though in my case, it wasn’t exactly by choice.
Lost in these thoughts, I walked leisurely until we eventually stepped outside the castle walls.
“Wow. It really is huge.”
Looking up at it now, I could truly feel just how massive the Demon King’s castle was. I really want to become the Demon King.
“So which way do we go now?”
“If we follow that road straight ahead, we will reach a village with a crossroads leading to the Heavenly Star Furnace.”
“Aha. Your navigation skills are pretty good.”
“Navi… gation?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle softly at Leona, who tilted her head in confusion.
“Ah… I see. You don’t know what that means?”
“I do not.”
“Then you don’t need to know yet…”
“……?”
Leona tilted her head once more before losing interest and taking the lead.
That kind of reaction is a first… I’m so sad!
“I will take the lead. Please follow me.”
“Okay!”
I trotted along behind Leona as she strode forward with confident steps.
Somehow, the formation ended up with her at the front, me and Ririririan walking side by side behind her, and Bella bringing up the rear.
Perhaps because we were still awkward with each other, no conversation passed between us as we walked in silence. After about thirty minutes of that, it started to get boring.
When I glanced sideways, Ririririan—who had been staring at me for some reason—hurriedly looked away.
…I don’t really feel like talking to this guy.
His reaction when I stretched earlier, and the way he was just staring at me… he really does seem like a pervert.
But is it okay for the Holy Church to have a pervert like this? Isn’t something wrong here?
I shook off my thoughts about Rian and called out to Leona.
“Hey, Leona.”
“Please speak.”
“So you’re not going to be an inquisitor anymore?”
“…Correct.”
“Is it because of me?”
It had been bothering me a little. After all, her previous mission target had been me.
If she had failed the mission to assassinate me and had to give up her position as an inquisitor because of that failure…
I feel a bit sorry now…
It’s my fault Leona lost her job because I’m too strong!
“That is not the case. That position was never truly mine to begin with.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“There was a vacancy for the inquisitor position that needed to be filled. Since I had time before entering the Academy, I was simply filling in temporarily.”
“Aha. So you were just a stopgap?”
“Yes. I was merely acting as a substitute inquisitor for a short while.”
I understood perfectly.
It was like being a temporary grim reaper in Bleach.
That aside, Leona is also going to the Academy. The fact that she quit her temporary inquisitor role at this point must mean she’ll be enrolling with me this time, right?
I’ll have to revise my plans.
I had originally planned to work Leona and Ririririan to the bone, but if they might end up as my classmates…
What if I boss them around too much and they spread rumors that I’m a terrible person?
Getting ostracized at this age might actually break my spirit.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to do all the chores myself.
I’ll just make Bella do everything.
I didn’t feel particularly guilty about it.