Book 5: Chapter 5

Merdie and The King of the Beastkin

The deer beastkin guided us as we walked through the capital.

Apparently, this man was the person in charge at the checkpoint.

It was still noontime, but only a few people were outside.

A lot of shops were closed, so even if it was the capital, it was desolate.

“Has it always been like this here?”

”No, normally it is very lively… The truth is, a warlock attacked this country around a month ago.”

“By a warlock?”

According to the deer beastkin’s story, a warlock suddenly appeared at the place where the national army was training, and he annihilated the troops.

The king of this country and the beast king soldiers, who comprised ten of the strongest beastkin in this country, somehow drove the enemy back. However, at the time of his retreat, the warlock cast a curse on the king of the beastkin. Because of that, the king fell into a situation wherein he could not even rise.

“Because of the warlock’s attack, many people who belonged to the National Armed Forces died. Those who survived were heavily injured and are currently undergoing medical treatment.”

“O, oh, is that so.”

There were no newspapers and television in this world.

In other words, news from other countries rarely comes in unless through hearsay.

The kings of each nation had their personal intelligence network, so apparently, they could gather information about the other countries; however, that information also have time lags, and they were not disseminated among the masses.

A warlock killed many beastkin, but I did not have the faintest idea.

I felt a sense of dread at the things that were unknown and unnoticed.

If I thought it did not have anything to do with me since this incident occurred in the country of the beastkin, then that would be the end of it.

However, what if this occurs in the kingdom of Glendale now? My precious family will be in danger, yet I won’t notice it.

Well, right now, everyone is gathered at the Ifrus Academy of Magic, and Sage Luarno is also with them. Besides, I also gave all my family members a protective bracelet, so even if the warlock who attacked this country also attacks Glendale, I think they will not be injured.

Just as I hypothesized the possibility of that situation, I thought I should consider how to gather information in real-time, even if I am abroad.

I asked the deer beastkin about another thing that had been bothering me.

“It was said that the warlock attacked around a month ago, but what about his tracks after?”

“We do not know. I heard he sustained a huge hole in his belly from the king’s attack, but…he was not able to finish him off. We do not know if he might have recovered and will attack this place any moment, so as a precaution, all the citizens are basically staying indoors.”

So that’s how it is.

So even though it was the capital’s main street, there were few people around.

Is the warlock who attacked this country the same as the one who attacked us? — is what I thought, but apparently, it was not the case.

The warlock who attacked us did not have a hole in his stomach.

In that case, it would mean that there are two warlocks near this country.

Compared to humans, the physical abilities of beastkin are exceptionally high.

Moreover, the so-called strongest among them could not defeat the warlock even though they attacked him in a group, and he might be lurking nearby.

…It’s better to be a little bit more vigilant.

I secretly released mana and activated several magic spells.

──＊＊＊──

We reached the royal palace after walking for a while.

Contrary to the elegant royal palace of the kingdom of Alheim, this country’s palace was rustic, and its structure was highly practical.

We parted with the deer beastkin here.

There was a separate inspection in order to enter the royal palace, and the deer beastkin who was in charge of the capital’s inspection could not help us.

“Who are you?”

The wolf beastkin gatekeeper stopped us. We could not say we were here to sightsee since we deliberately came to the royal palace.

I glanced at Merdie, who was behind me.

“Yeah, I’ll be the one to negotiate from hereon, meow.”

Merdie went before me.

“Hm? Eh, t, this scent!!”

The wolf beastkin was shocked at something.

Eh, did I stink?

While I was thinking so, Merdie removed her hood.

“Your Highness Merdie!”

The wolf beastkin genuflected before Merdie.

I was relieved.

Apparently, I wasn’t stinky.

Wait, the gatekeeper’s reaction—as expected, Merdie is part of the royalty, right?

.

“I heard that Father collapsed due to the curse, so I returned, meow. May I enter the palace, meow?

“Certainly!”

…yeah.

Merdie really is a princess.

That’s because the one who got cursed was the king, right? By calling him father, that would mean she was his daughter, right.

Unwittingly, I made the princess of another country wear a maid uniform and made her serve…

Sorry, Merdie.

And to everyone in Vestier.

With these thoughts, I followed the wolf beastkin and Merdie to a room guarded by numerous soldiers.

The wolf beastkin informed the guards about Merdie’s return, and all of them genuflected before her.

We entered the room after.

A remarkably huge beastkin was sleeping on a bed surrounded by beastkin who looked like they were physicians.

“Father!”

Merdie ran towards the beastkin.

“Father, I came back, meow. It’s Merdie, meow, do you understand, meow?”

Tears overflowed from Merdie’s eyes.

I stood a little further behind Merdie and assessed the condition of the sleeping beastkin.

A black pattern had emerged in his entire body.

Maybe it’s the Black Death Curse.

Black Death Curse was a kind of curse that culminated in death, and it would start with a small black pattern, but it would gradually progress until it covered the entire body.

As the black pattern spread, the whole body would experience intense pain akin to being pierced with nails. 

Then, after approximately one month, the whole body would become pitch black, ending in death.

By the way, death by the Black Death Curse also depended on the aptitude, but it was also possible to fall into darkness and become a demon or a warlock.

This curse also forms a certain bond with the caster, so there was no way to remove it other than defeating the caster, or else he revoked the curse.

“Merdie, is it?”

We could hear a weak voice.

The sleeping beastkin seemed to have woken up.

“Father!”

“…Haha, I did not want you, only you, to see me in this weak state.”

“That doesn’t matter, meow.”

“Nevertheless, it’s good that you returned home. I was ashamed that I got a curse cast on me, so I could not bring myself to inform you…Sorry. ”

It would take around two days for red Letter Birds to fly between Glendale and Vestier.

However, the Letter Bird came to Merdie today. In short, even though the curse had progressed to this point, this beastkin did not want to inform Merdie two days prior.

“However, it was not good that my body became weak. I wanted to see you one final time no matter what. Honestly, I thought I would not make it.”

“Don’t say it’s the end, meow. Halt even brought me here, meow.”

Merdie turned her head to me after saying that.

“Let me introduce myself. I am Halt Elnor.”

“Human, is it… What’s your relationship with Merdie?”

He glared at me with a glint in his eye that was unbelievable for someone supposedly weakened by the curse.

I, is this the feeling one gets when asking a father for the hand of his daughter? I’m a bit scared.

“We’re classmates in the academy of magic.”

I did my best to stay calm, then I answered him.

“S, so Merdie entered the academy of magic. In that case, you are her friend, then.”

Somehow, that beastkin seemed to be relieved.

And he also emphasized the word ‘friend’.

Would he get mad if he were to know that I made Merdie wear a maid outfit and let her serve at my mansion? 

“—Gaahhh!”

Suddenly, the beastkin, who was lying down, screamed in agony.

The black pattern slightly spread in his entire body.

“Your Majesty! Please hold on!”

“It’s no use. The curse’s progression cannot be stopped.”

“Oy, hurry and get the analgesics!”

All the surrounding physicians began to panic.

However, even if he was injected with painkillers, the Black Death Curse’s pain won’t subside, and even healing and restorative magic were useless.

The king of the beastkin endured the pain for a few minutes, and he somehow withstood it, but if the patterns spread further two more times, he will end up dead.

“Halt, I’ll do anything meow. So…. please help my Father, meow.”

Merdie’s tears spilled as she begged me.

I also wanted to help him if I can.

However, Black Death Curse cannot be cured by normal means.

—Yeah, by normal means.

If possible, or rather, it was a magic that I would never use normally, but I know a magic spell that could dispel any curse, except the [Static Status] curse cast on me by the Evil God.

“Merdie, you did say anything, right?”

I confirmed Merdie’s thoughts.

Merdie listened to my words with a slightly bewildered expression, but she still nodded.