Chapter 61

Chapter 61

That night...

“Your Highness, are you asleep?”

“No, not yet.”

I was lying in the bed, and Eleris was seated in the chair by the bedside. I definitely felt uncomfortable falling asleep, but at the same time, I didn’t mind her presence at all. It was a strange feeling.

“Why, do you have something to say?”

“...”

Eleris didn’t respond with a clear yes or no.

After a long silence, Eleris said quietly, “I do not think that humans are better beings than demons.”

I wondered what she was getting at. Eleris was gazing at me steadily. Sadness lingered in her red vampire eyes.

“You’re right. Demons are a mix of many races, while humans are a single-blooded species.”

I didn’t really know which race was better or worse. There were many individual demon races with superior racial traits. However, even if they were physically superior to humans, they might still be comparatively lacking in intelligence. Perhaps there were even races that were lacking in both, or races that were superior in both.

Eleris shook her head in response. “That is not what I mean.”

“Then? What do you mean?”

“I’m saying that I do not believe humans are more virtuous than demons.”

“Oh. Is that what you were talking about?”

“Yes.”

Eleris might have considered the demons’ defeat to be a fortunate event, but perhaps she simply hated war.

Factually speaking, Eleris was basically a betrayer of demons.

“Humans as a race know what prosperity is.”

To Eleris, the Demon Realm focused only on war, and was all about establishing a stronger army and better weaponry. However, humans as a species knew how to focus on life itself. She had felt this difference after she came to the imperial city, and did not wish for such a world to be destroyed.

The whole Demon Realm revolved around the sole purpose of war with humans, and Eleris did not like that world.

“But humans go to war with their own kind and kill each other too,” Eleris said.

Yes, humans also waged war and committed massacres against their own kind. Eleris disliked the demon world, but she knew that even the human world had its dark side. Perhaps Eleris merely thought of human society as the lesser of the two evils, and did not think humans were more virtuous than demons.

“That’s why at times, the wickedness of humans is utterly repulsive.”

“Like that Borton guy, the swindler?” I asked.

“Yes. He could be considered one example.”

A man who would play with another’s life for the sake of money. That could indeed be seen as the epitome of human malevolence. However, it didn’t seem like that was the story Eleris was aiming to tell.

Eleris remained silent for a while, trembling quietly as if lost in thought.

“Your Highness...”

“What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Tomorrow... You will find out tomorrow...”

It seemed Eleris could not bring herself to say any more out loud.

***

The following day...

I headed to the Rotary Club with Eleris. It was the same meeting place as always; a large cavity inside a drainage channel.

The sound of the water streaming inside the cavity was loud, probably because of the recent rain. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Loyar was standing in front of a campfire, quietly observing us. We had contacted Sarkegar beforehand, and he had also come to the meeting.

While Eleris was casting a soundproofing spell, Sarkegar approached and hugged me tightly.

“Your Highness!! I never doubted you! I believed you would become the owner of a mighty power someday! Truly, Your Highness, you are befitting of your lineage, one that inherited the qualities of a world ruler! It is my earnest hope that you will progress quickly and bring down the fury of the Demon Realm on those human scoundrels—”

“Can you quiet down? I think I might start bleeding from the ears.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He always talked too much.

Since Self-Deception was an ability that was relative to the size of one’s belief, the ability would have been really effective if Sarkegar wielded it. He, without a doubt, believed that I was going to become the next great leader of the Demon Realm, and his belief was so strong and firm that I probably wouldn’t have to do anything in order for it to become a reality.

Eleris had already conveyed the broad details to everyone when she called them the day before to schedule the meeting, so there was no need to go over how I became a superhuman.

“Your Highness, aren’t your actions a little too flashy? At first, I heard that you were going around beating up kids, but now, a duel?”

If a violent incident or homicide involving magic occurred, the empire would carry out an intense investigation, since magic had the potential to cause a massacre when misused. Likewise, though, using magic to dominate every competing business organization was just as dangerous.

Sarkegar looked at me with an ominously-pleasant smile. “Your Highness, if it’s a matter of killing them all, please leave it to me.”

Indeed, with his shape-shifting abilities, Sarkegar could easily wipe out the thugs without leaving any evidence behind.

Of course, this made Eleris’s face turn pale.

“Carrying out a massacre in the heart of the imperial city? Whether it’s feasible or not, I absolutely cannot permit that.”

Above all, seeing how casually Sarkegar spoke about killing people was so eerie that it almost sent shivers down my spine. Each time I realized he truly meant what he said, it chilled me to the bone.

As heinous as those guys might be, killing them wasn’t the solution. Yet, we had to take some sort of action...

“Hmm.”

While I was mulling over this, Loyar suddenly stood up and headed towards the cistern’s exit.

“What’s the matter? We’re not done here yet!”

“There seems to be some disturbance outside. I’ll go have a look then come back.”

‘A disturbance?’

***

Sarkegar and Eleris stayed by the reservoir, and I, who was also a member of the Rotary Club, followed Loyar outside. Eleris had suggested I stay put, but I felt the need to see what was happening with my own eyes.

As we stepped outside, I saw that all the club members had gathered together.

We pushed our way through the crowd and saw Dybun standing in front.

“What’s going on?” Loyar asked.

“Oh, boss! And... Reinhart? When did you get here?” Dybun asked.

“Just now,” I responded.

“Never mind that. Tell me, who are they?”

“Ah, well...”

Across from where the club members were gathered, about a dozen men were staring intently at us.

“It’s him! That’s the guy, hyung!”

A man with a face I recognized all too well pointed at me.

It was definitely the guy from the subway that I’d beaten up after he tried to mess with one of our club members. The man whom he called “hyung” did not appreciate the sudden outburst and slapped the back of his head.

Slap!

“Argh!”

“Are you an idiot? You got beaten by a kid like that?”

“Well, he... he might look scrawny, but he’s ridiculously strong!”

It seemed they had assumed I was a member of the Rotary Club and had come here for revenge. Loyar glanced at me with a reproachful look that said, ‘Why did you have to cause such trouble?’

The one who’d been called “hyung” looked back and forth between me and Loyar.

“So, are you the famous Hound of Irine, Loyar? It’s our first time meeting, right?”

“That seems to be the case. What do you want?”

“Oh, nothing much. It’s just that our young friend over there who is part of your group beat up my little brother in front of everyone.”

“Ah, I heard about that,” Loyar replied.

Loyar stared at the guy intently, as if taunting him to continue yapping.

“Personally, I think that if someone gets beaten up by a kid, it’s their own fault... But, you know, we have our own pride to consider too,” he continued.

“And who exactly are you all?”

In response to Loyar’s question, the guy performed an exaggerated gesture and clapped his hands.

He sure was good at making people feel upset.

“Ah, apologies for the belated introduction. Ever heard of Seven Stars?”

‘Seven Stars? Isn’t that a brand of cigarettes?’

No, wait...

“My name is Argent, the vice squad leader of the Seven Stars Action Team.”

The Seven Stars was basically the Chilseong Pa[1], right?!

1. Chilseong Pa (???) is a well-known large-scale criminal organization based in Busan, South Korea. ?