Chapter 158

—Then, why do you hate them?

‘Because that stinky Casanova ruined my first love. And right in front of my very eyes to boot.’

Apollo, the damn God of Archery, was a sleazy man from the High Elf Race. He was also the reason why Davey’s fantasy and image of an elf had been ruined.

—Your innocence and fantasy have been ruined?

‘Death Lord Rho Aias was my first love.’

One day, Davey had gone to Rho Aias’ lodgings to train his dark magic. However, upon his arrival, he had witnessed Apollo and Rho Aias entering the bedroom together. That sight had left him in a daze for a few days.

What had happened after the two entered the bedroom? Had there been an alternative ending aside from the most obvious one? Of course not. Just like oil in a frying pan, Davey had burned bright red from what he had seen. It was only natural. After all, he had entered the Hall at only ten years old.

Compared to those heroes, who had lived for thousands of years, Davey had just been a bloody childish brat. Well, it was true that he had been a brat, but how could they have destroyed a child’s innocence like that?

When he had finally returned to his senses, Davey had run straight to where Saintess Daphne had been and had told her everything. It was safe to say that the events that followed after had been very fun and interesting. All Davey could say was that it had served them right! They had reaped what they had sown!

—How could you be so childish...?

‘You’ve been single since birth. You will never understand the shock that I felt back then.’

—You really are a bastard.

The furious ex-Demon Lord tugged Davey’s earlobe and yelled at him.

Davey did not like tough and ill-tempered women. Rho Aias with her bright smile and soft, innocent, and elegant image, was still and would always be Davey's ideal type and first love.

‘A person only has one first love in their entire life.’

In his past life, Davey had only lived up to twenty years old. When living that life, he had spent almost every single moment inside a sterile room accompanied by educational videos, comics, movies, games, and the internet gallery. He had done that from a young age until his very death. Of course, he had never interacted with anyone and could only watch.

As for his current life, he had fallen into a coma the moment he had turned ten. Needless to say, it was very difficult for Davey to find an ideal type, which that high elf had easily ruined. With that incident alone, the list of crimes that the sleazy and crazy high elf had done had grown longer, ruining Davey’s fantasy about the elves and forcing him to hate anyone who was of the same race.

“Didn’t you have something to say to me?”

“Th... uhm... Something urgent suddenly came up.” Jack took one, two steps back. His voice faltered before disappearing completely from Davey’s sight. In the end, he still failed to say anything to Davey.

—Why did you do that?

‘I was just joking. I didn’t think that he would run away like that.’

However, one thing was clear. What Jack, or Aina Helishana, wanted Davey to do was somewhat related to the elves.

“I really like the elves’...spirit magic.”

Well, the elves’ spirit magic might not be any more powerful than his spirit magic since Davey’s affinity with the spirits had been forcibly modified to go beyond his race’s limitations. Still, he liked the fact that the elves could use spirit magic. It was a solution to his problems. After all, if Davey personally managed and maintained even the smallest part of his territory, then it would mean that the territory’s vitality and life would end once he died.

“I should try to secretly summon some spirits.”

—Isn’t it hard to do here?

“As long as the place is good, then it would not be too hard to do some summoning. I have to get ready. The most ideal place would be the elven forest just right outside the territory... I’m used to dealing with spirits, but this will be my first time summoning them...so I’m still not sure.”Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

Davey had learned how to use spirit magic by borrowing spirits. This was because they hadn’t been allowed to summon spirits in the Hall. However, the most important reason why he had to make preparations was...

“Just one look at that, and I know that I won’t be able to do it now.”

***

There were, of course, pros and cons. The pros were a good and comfortable life. However, it could also have a negative effect on security, an area where plenty of problems could arise as well as the territory’s development.

“I have seen several other territories and cities in my life, but there are only a few places as vibrant and lively as this place.”

“You must have been to a lot of places, gramps.”

“Hoho. I loved the thrill of a new adventure when I was younger. Hoho! There was a time when I walked through a vast plain with just my long sword, a staff, and my gray robe and hat,” the old man, who was sitting on the other end of the bench, stroked his well-groomed beard with a delighted smile on his face. “It seems like this territory’s seigneur is quite capable.”

“The seigneur... Ah. Yes.”

“From what I heard, the seigneur is a prince who is not even in his 20s yet. Do you know anything about him?”

“Who knows... I don’t have an idea about what those high-ranking people think.” Davey didn’t feel like revealing his identity here.

“One look and it seems like the seigneur is after something else. Children smiling happily... Kind and friendly dwarves that easily adapted and assimilated into a human’s way of living... Various merchant groups, magic towers, temples, and schools of alchemy from all over the continent...”

“Hmm.”

“A place that first developed commerce would naturally attract plenty of people. However, from my long years of travel, I know that having a very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere is quite counterproductive. This territory’s seigneur seems quite capable, since he is balancing the territory quite well to achieve some balance.” With a laugh, the old man continued, “Since we’ve already met... Young man, how about playing a game with an old man like me?”

Smiling at the frolicking children, Davey turned his head when he heard the old man’s words. “What game are you talking about?”

“How about that famous board game in the Pallan Empire?”

It was chess. No, to be exact, it was a strategy game that used similar terms and rules with chess called Olde. Davey thought that it had been quite a while since he had fun, so there was no harm in trying. Besides, he was also curious why an old man of his position had come here. Davey agreed to the old man’s proposal without revealing his identity, of course.

“Do you know how to set up and play Olde?”

“Well, you can say that I like it quite a bit.”

“Hoho! Young man, I like that look on you! Alright, I will leave the rules up to you. Do you want to play using the Eastern Style or the Central Style?”

Davey pondered for a moment before opening his mouth to say, “Let’s do it with the Harmattan Style.”

“You...” The old man looked quite astonished. He commented, “The Harmattan Style was a very popular style of playing before the Eastern and Central styles came out.”

“It’s because I’m very interested in history.”

In truth, Davey was not really that interested in history. However, he knew about this because he had interacted with living witnesses of that era. The Harmattan Style was the popular playing rules during the time when Saintess Daphne had been active, and it was also the playing rule that Davey was most familiar with. Although its rules had changed a bit over time, its original structure remained the same.

“Hoho! That’s amazing, really amazing. Good, let’s set it up in the Harmattan Style.” Perhaps it was because the old man was motivated; he quickly lined up the pieces with a nice and friendly smile on his face. He went on, “Look at these pieces. You know, this is actually a high-end luxurious item used by high-ranking nobles for entertainment. It’s an item enchanted with magic that automatically prevents foul play just by putting these pieces on top of the board. How about this? If you defeat me, I’ll give this to you as a gift.”

“Well, that’s fine with me.” Davey nodded.

“Even though I don’t look the part, I am still an elder. I will concede the first move to you.”

Davey immediately thought that he should probably be more senior than this old man if they actually compared their souls’ ages. Since it was quite interesting and fun to play the game in this way, he let the old man be.

Olde was a strategy game quite similar to chess. Although they had slight differences in their rules, the fact that the two players would have to deal with and fight each other with their own tactics were the same. For a moment, Davey was a bit curious about how good this honorable man was when it came to reading and anticipating his opponent’s tactics. Besides, he could tell that the old man had proposed this game with a different intention in mind.

‘I’m not going to let you win so easily, gramps.’

Davey grinned as he adjusted his position to a more comfortable one before reaching out.

“Soldiers, knights and priests. All of these pieces are important. I wonder which piece you will move first.”

Davey, after hearing the old man’s question, immediately grabbed the king. He did not hesitate. “It doesn’t matter how important they are. If the king does not move, then there’s no way that the soldiers will follow.”

The curiosity and interest displayed on the man’s face deepened at Davey’s words. It seemed like he already noticed that Davey had found out about his true intentions.