Chapter 250: Reason for Abduction

New chapter of The Demon King is out! (1/2 chapters)“It’s definitely the heart. I’d say they’ve been dead for about three hours.” (Enrique)

Enrique said and flipped over the body of the young guard. It was hard to tell from the dark blood, but the hole in the back of his shirt was visible.

“And this one…” (Enrique)

She began to examine the maid’s body.

“The cause of death is the neck.” (Enrique)

She twisted the maid’s neck.

“It looks like someone grabbed her head and chin from the front and snapped it.” (Enrique)

The neck was twisted at an odd angle, indicating a broken cervical vertebrae. It was something Enrique could deduce from the state of the neck. I couldn’t tell that just by looking.

“The perpetrator is a man. Not a short one, either. Snapping a neck from the front requires both strength and a height difference, so unless the attacker was a child, it’s a viable method.” (Enrique)

“I see.” (Yuri)

“This woman is still a bit warm. Naturally, she was killed shortly after the man.” (Enrique)

When I thought about what terrible things they must be going through, my heart began to panic.

“We need to find out who did this and rescue Lily-san as soon as possible.” (Yuri(

“Absolutely.” (Enrique)

“Isn’t Tillet here yet? Where is she?” (Yuri)

We desperately needed the mobility and investigative prowess of the Queen’s Sword right now.

“Yuri-kun, calm down. We need to stay composed to save Lily-san.” (Myaro)

Myaro cautioned me.

“Tillet-san is on her way here as quickly as she can. Rushing won’t make her arrive any sooner.” (Myaro)

“I understand.” (Yuri)

I tried to focus and think, but my anger and anxiety kept unraveling my thoughts. The frustration only grew.

“Damn it.” (Yuri)

“Wait.” Enrique said, stepping in front of me. She placed one hand on my cheek and, before I realized what was happening, slapped me hard with the other.

“Hey, you bastard—” (Yuri)

I instinctively grabbed her collar, ready to lash out, but her mischievous smile disarmed me. She seemed almost delighted by my reaction. The urge to hit her subsided, and the slap had a strangely calming effect.

“Haah… Thanks. I’ve calmed down.” (Yuri)

I released my rough grip on Enrique’s collar.

“That’s boring” (Enrique) sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Alright. Is that all the information we have for now? An experienced assassin, a large man, left about three hours ago.” (Yuri)

“…Yes, that’s about it. Enrique-san, anything else?” (Myaro)

“That’s about all I can gather from here.” (Enrique)

While waiting for reinforcements, I had searched the house but found no other useful clues. We had to start from here.

“There are very few clues. Let’s think step-by-step about how to rescue Lily-san. First, what information do we need to save her?” (Yuri)

“To be blunt, if we knew where Lily-san was, we could rescue her. Besides that, analyzing the perpetrator’s identity and motive might provide us with some leads.” (Myaro)

We might not be able to determine her location, but if we could figure out the perpetrator’s identity, it could lead us to where they’re hiding.

“Let’s start by considering who the perpetrator might be. An individual? Or an organization?” (Yuri)

“Lily’s a beautiful woman with a large chest and she’s a scholar, right? Maybe a colleague is suspicious?” (Enrique)

“If they’re getting paid a lot, they could hire skilled kidnappers. Scholar-type men often save money and tend to become obsessive when they fall in love.” (Enrique)

“I think it’s highly unlikely. If someone helped kidnap a person as important as Lily-san, we’d hunt them down thoroughly. Whether it’s an organization or an individual, no professional would take on such a job considering the aftermath. Depending on the price, of course, but it’s not a job that can be done with a sum that an individual could afford.” (Myaro)

Myaro argued from another angle.

“So, could it be a robbery targeting Lily-san’s wealth?” (Yuri)

“In that case, I think the house would be more of a mess. If they could clean up this well after making a mess, they could easily switch careers to housekeeping right away.” (Enrique)

Enrique said.

“Maybe Lily-san just told them where her valuables were, so there was no need to search the house?” (Myaro)

“There would still be signs of interrogation… Hmm.” (Yuri)

I muttered, finding it difficult to piece everything together.

“Lily is a shareholder of Hou Company, right? Is that why she’s so wealthy? Were those shares kept here?” (Enrique)

Enrique asked.

That was a critical point.

I had introduced the concept of a stock corporation for smoother entrepreneurship and investment soon after becoming regent, and the relevant law was enacted a year and one month ago. However, it was a novel concept, not yet widely understood by the public. Stock certificates, unlike currency, do not simply change ownership through possession. The issuing company records the owner, linking the stocks to individuals.

A stock certificate was essentially a proof of ownership, not something that could change hands like money. Stealing a stock certificate didn’t transfer ownership to the thief, just as stealing a qualification certificate didn’t grant the thief the qualification. However, robbers might not understand these details.

“Lily-san’s stock certificates are kept in the executive safe in Hou Company’s secure storage room. Entry requires an executive’s presence, and it’s unlikely they could have reached it during business hours. The storage room is heavily locked at night, and even an executive wouldn’t be able to access it then.” (Yuri)

“So, they took her to force her to open the safe tomorrow? Otherwise, there’d be no reason to kidnap her. If they were satisfied with her home assets, they would have released her here, or killed her and these two if they didn’t want witnesses.” (Enrique)

“…We can’t entirely dismiss the robbery angle, but it feels like we’re forcing it.” (Yuri)

“Honestly, I agree. But we should send some soldiers to the company just in case. If Lily-san shows up, we can easily protect her.” (Myaro)

“Right. Do it.” (Yuri)

Myaro placed a lamp on a nearby desk, took out a notebook from her inner pocket, and scribbled a note before tearing it off.

“You heard it. Leave four riders here as contact personnel and take the rest to Hou Company to assist them.”

“Understood.” (??)

The leader of the knights Myaro had brought saluted and accepted the orders.

“Is it really okay to send everyone off?” (Yuri)

“It’s fine. Reinforcements are already on their way.” (Myaro)

“If we rule out individuals and common thieves… then if it’s the work of an organized group, the possible suspects are the Witch households, the defeated General households, or the Kuran nations, right?” (Enrique)

“Yes… perhaps it’s the work of those who hold a grudge against us, like the Witch households or the remnants of the General households?” (Myaro)

“But then, targeting Lily-san seems strange. Lily-san is…” (Yuri)

“She’s just an acquaintance or friend of mine. Even if I exaggerate, she’s more like a close friend. If those groups wanted to hurt me, they’d target my family or children.” (Yuri)

“I’m an orphan, and Yuri-kun only has Satsuki, Shamu-chan, and Her Majesty Shulika as close relatives, right? Her Majesty is, of course, under the strictest protection, and the other two are guarded by the Hou household, so they aren’t as unprotected as Lily-san. Maybe that’s why?” (Myaro)

“No, revenge or vendetta usually has a more direct motive.” (Yuri)

“No one aiming to make someone suffer would settle for kidnapping a friend just because taking a daughter was too difficult. It’s not likely they targeted Lily out of a grudge.” (Yuri)

“So… the remaining possibility is that it’s the work of the Kuran nations? The Papal States, or the Galilia Union?” (Myaro)

“Could a small elite force have infiltrated Sibyaku? It would be an incredibly difficult operation, and targeting Lily-san doesn’t seem right. They would likely go after me or Eisa-sensei.” (Yuri)

“You’re very strong yourself, Yuri-kun, making assassination difficult. Even when I tell you repeatedly, you still go out alone, but you do take guards when your route can be predicted.” (Myaro)

“Also, while Eisa-sensei is extremely important in the long term, she doesn’t currently influence the outcome of wars. Maybe they’ve deprioritized him?” (Myaro)

“…Well, she does have a substantial number of guards and they are quite diligent.” (Yuri)

“But… even so, targeting Lily-san… Certainly, she is an important figure, but basically, the ideas are proposed by Yuri-kun, and Lily-san’s role is to realize them, right? She may be unfamiliar with the technical fields, but she doesn’t seem to be an irreplaceable person…?” (Myaro)

“Hmm.” (Yuri)

“But they might have only wanted the technology on our side. Even that alone is a considerable achievement… which explains why they didn’t kill Lily-san but kidnapped her. Lily-san knows everything about our weapons, from fire bombs to other technologies.” (Myaro)

“…Could it be that they think Lily-san did everything herself?” (Myaro)

“Like the technology. Everything from the inventions onwards.” (Yuri)

“? Not Yuri-kun?” (Myaro)

“Yes. They might have the mistaken belief that Lily-san is a genius who took care of everything from generating ideas to practical implementation for all of Hou Company’s inventions… What do you think?” (Yuri)

“…Ah, that could be possible. It’s hard to believe that Yuri-kun handles all state affairs, wars, and inventions by himself.” (Myaro)

“Tsk, this is troublesome.” (Yuri)

My thoughts accelerated rapidly, causing me to click my tongue involuntarily.

“…Ah, damn it. This is incredibly troublesome.” (Yuri)

“Yuri-kun? What’s wrong?” (Myaro)

Myaro asked worriedly.

“Enrique. Has Tillet not arrived yet?”

When I said this, Enrique, who had been waiting against the wall for a moment, took out his pocket watch and checked the time.

“They should arrive within the next three minutes.” (Enrique)

“Yuri-kun, could you give us a brief explanation?” (Myaro)

“If their goal was that, then even if they killed Lily-san here, most of their objectives would have been achieved, right?” (Yuri)

“Yes.” (Myaro)

“Not killing her means they’re aiming for a twofold effect, to both abduct and utilize the genius. However, that’s merely an additional goal.” (Yuri)

“—Ah.” (Myaro)

It seemed Myaro understood.

“The minimum success condition is to eliminate the genius who continuously produces new weapons from this country. That goal would be on hold as long as they are in a state where it can be achieved at any time. If there’s even a slight risk of Lily-san being rescued, they would try to achieve it immediately. Given the situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if they stabbed her just for being stopped by a patrol.” (Yuri)