The carriage carrying us arrived at a place where rubble was scattered about like an ancient ruin.
With the magical lights emitted by the Sleepless Kingdom, Shechem, visible in the distance, the carriage was blocked by debris and came to a halt.
“Good work.”
I stepped down from the carriage, grabbed the scruff of the man who had driven us, froze him, and shattered him.
Casting aside the shards of ice that had turned red, I began to explore the area with Nifl and the others.
“Abandoned ruins… is this a hidden realm?”
“The [Ancient Relic Group], a Level 5 Hidden Realm Dungeon. The level is moderate, and it’s about two hours by carriage from the nearest city. Because the rewards are small, Explorer rarely visit. The deep part of the realm can be entered through the temple ruins over there, so ambushes are possible. It’s a perfect place for a hideout.”
“You’re well-informed.”
“I make no mistakes in information gathering.”
“As expected.”
Nifl pointed to a building that stood out even among the old ruins. The sturdy door that must have been at the entrance was destroyed beyond recognition, left wide open as if it were a mouth waiting for Explorer.
The interior was hidden by the darkness of the night, making it impossible to see inside.
“King, there’s no scent of demons around here!”
Garm, sniffing the air, spoke with total confidence.
To have not even a Lesser Demon, let alone an Intermediate Demon, inside a Hidden Realm… it was clearly an unnatural situation.
Tricking this girl’s nose is an incredibly difficult feat. Maybe a Greater Demon could do it, but it’s impossible for low-intelligence Lesser Demons.
Did they wipe them out when making this their hideout? …No, that’s impossible.
I’ve never heard of anyone erasing demons from a Hidden Realm. At least, humans can’t do it. I can say that for certain.
“The Helheim executive… that guy was just a human back then, but I wonder about this time.”
The magician of [Strategy] I met in the forest where I was summoned.
Was he really involved with Helheim, or did he just use the name? Now, there’s no way to know.
Being impulsive is a bad habit of mine. It would have been more rational to capture him alive instead of killing him.
Well, it’s too late now either way.
Whether the one using those pseudo-bandits was Seere or someone else, I should refrain from acting on my emotions.
“Gurba, I’ll leave you to guard the carriage and the stolen goods.”
“Understood. I am not suited for subtle brawls, after all.”
Gurba leaned his great hammer against the rubble and nodded magnanimously.
We crossed the debris blocking the path and proceeded through the ruins. Even accounting for it being night, an eerie silence hung in the air, to the point where one felt hesitant to make any noise.
Then Nidhogg, in her small dragon form, yawned on Nifl’s shoulder, flapped her wings, and landed on my shoulder.
“My King, I wish to go on a rampage soon.”
“Yeah. If things get dangerous, I’ll count on you.”
I could tell that Nidhogg’s face was pouting even in her dragon form. It’s true that she’s been in her small dragon form for a long time since entering the Sleepless Kingdom, so it must have been quite boring for her.
But there are only a handful of beings, even among Greater Demons, who can handle her full power. If this Seere person is the opponent, it might serve as a bit of a distraction…
“Nifl. What do you think about this Seere guy?”
I asked for the opinion of my reliable right hand. Nifl, as if she had an answer ready and was waiting for the question, began to speak without hesitation.
“As you suspect, Corpse King, there is a possibility that this series of robbery incidents is a diversion. However, it cannot be said that we should just ignore it. He is a troublesome enemy whose true intentions are subtly hidden. It is also unclear who this diversion is intended for.”
“I thought it might be a diversion to lure away the patrol guards if they’re trying to do something inside the Sleepless Kingdom…”
“Would a Greater Demon really be so cautious of mere patrol guards? I believe the probability is low.”
“I see…”
Because they are highly intelligent, there are individuals among Greater Demons who are excessively cautious. I thought Seere might be that type, but they are generally the kind of people who simply kill anyone who gets in their way. There shouldn’t be a need to lure the patrol guards away.
Then what…? Is this not a diversion by Seere, but a completely different matter…?
While immersed in thought, I didn’t neglect my vigilance. However, there were no strange noises or feelings of discord in the surroundings.
That peacefulness, in the context of a Hidden Realm, was the ultimate discordance.
We passed through the path to the temple ruins without any issues, and before us appeared a grand staircase leading to the temple. Around the grand staircase, just like before, there was rubble and, mixed in with it, scattered trash.
Guided toward it, we climbed the stairs and reached the temple entrance, which was gradually drawing closer, without any particular sentiment.
It was only then that I finally felt the anomaly I had been looking for.
“……Blood?”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
A linear mark, as if something had been dragged. A thick line, looking like red paint drawn with a large brush, led into the interior of the temple.
The trail of blood, reflecting the moonlight shining directly above, had not yet completely dried.
“……It continues from the outside to the inside. Judging by the fragments of a wooden stick, like a spear shaft, mixed in with the rubble at the bottom of the grand staircase, it’s likely they killed a guard or someone similar and then dragged them inside.”
“Which means someone got here before us… Wait, Nifl, you’re really observant.”
What I thought was trash was apparently the shaft of a wooden spear.
“I am your right hand, after all.”
“Well, that woman isn’t very useful in combat, so it’s only natural she’s useful in other ways.”
“Rich words coming from a dragon who’s only good for combat.”
The two of them, who complement each other, were bickering again.
“Sigh… things always get weird when the King is involved… Wait, let me scout for danger!”
Garm, who ignored their exchange as if she were used to it, volunteered to scout.
Sniffing around the temple, Garm suddenly jerked her shoulders.
In the next instant──
“────Everyone, get back!!”
Garm’s tense voice echoed through the silence like an explosion.
At her warning, we jumped back without a second thought, and right before our eyes──the temple blew apart.
A violent gale shook the surrounding trees fiercely.
“Garm!”
“Ough… mgh.”
I caught Garm, who had been blown back by the wind pressure, and while dodging the massive fragments of the temple flying everywhere, I carefully watched the front.
“Oh? Oh my, oh my!?”
Like a blade cutting through the air that had frozen in an unexpected sight, a frivolous, high-pitched voice echoed through the ruins.
Simultaneously, an unpleasant sound of dragging iron grated on my ears. Along with it was another sound—the sound of dragging something else, slither, slither.
The source of the sound was where the temple had stood moments ago. Straining my eyes through the dust cloud caused by the temple’s collapse, a single silhouette emerged.
Clank… clank.
The sound that rang out every time the silhouette took a step was that of armor.
“Wait, wait!! Did you really come to see me!?”
The voice, bouncing with genuine joy, sounded like a young girl who had just received a gift.
It wasn’t just a voice I knew; it was a voice I could never forget.
Clearing the dust, there appeared under the moonlight a literal demon, dragging a sword and the remains of flesh.
His jet-black armor, contrasting with his terrifyingly white hair, was stained with dried blood in places, turning it a reddish-black.
“……Furcas.”
“I missed you so much, Shiou-kun!”
With blood on his face, he wore an innocent smile on his feminine features.
Carrying a silver greatsword in one hand and dragging a mangled object that had lost its original shape in the other, he tilted his head upon seeing my face.
“Oh, could it be, Shiou-kun… our objectives overlapped!?”
Furcas happily tossed the object he was holding in front of me.
With a squelching sound that a solid object shouldn’t make, it rolled across the ground, splattering red liquid everywhere.
Perhaps because magical power was still writhing within it even after death, the object continued to make a disgusting, high-pitched, viscous sound.
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
