CH 35

(3rd person pov)

With every step she took, the hem of her black dress moved.

Brilliant silver hair fluttered in the light wind. Even though her face was covered with a mask, the heavy atmosphere and invisible gaze entangled them.

“Or have you come here to feed the children? That’s not a bad thing.”

Contrary to the dazzlingly alluring atmosphere, the words she uttered were terrifyingly eerie.

As the woman approached, they couldn’t react. They forgot how to breathe and couldn’t even tell if their hearts were beating properly.

The two men lost the strength in their hands and dropped their pockets.

A few small jewels then tumbled out from it.

The masked woman approached them slowly and picked up the fallen jewels.

“Mahone stones…”

A short, sneering laugh echoed through the mask.

The chilled air creeped down the back of their necks.

Then they came to their senses and fell flat at her feet.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! We just picked up the jewels that were on the ground…!”

The two of them trembled.

No matter who she was, they could only feel that the woman in front of them was a great being.

Lucia flicked the black jewels in her hand.

The number they took was not very large. Judging by the behavior of the two men, it was hard to see them as monster hunters.

They are probably thieves who came to pick up the mahone stones.

“It’s not even worth killing.”

She roughly waved her hand.

The monster, who had taken a step back quietly since Lucia appeared, started kicking again with a creaking sound.

The men once again groaned at the ferocious look and she spoke in a whisper.

“Move your feet right now. Get out of here.”

Having said that, Lucia turned around lightly.

The next moment, she heard the sound of breathing and running away from behind her back.

She moved on without hesitation.

“…There’s too much work to do.”

Lucia clicked her tongue lightly.

She walked further and further away and headed towards the high hills. Unlike the forest area where large trees and swamps were lined up, the hill was empty with only green weeds and fog.

Lucia whistled in the empty air.

“Elbrica-“

As if responding to her call, a great wind blew with a cry from afar.

The strong wind blew the grasses of the field, and a large bird with white wings flew in and sat there.

Although Elbrica was a baby that had been hatched from an egg less than two years ago, it was very large because of its race. She is the last remnant of the legendary Snow Wyvern clan.

[Please don’t take the child… take me, my lord.]

At the last request of the dying Snow Wyvern chief when the barrier was broken two years ago, she came to take care of the one who was about to wake up from the egg.

Even so, it was a rare race with a small number of individuals. They were already waiting for the day they would die due to a curse engraved during the battle with other Wyverns years ago.

~Rescue the last snow wyvern~

This was one of the quests that the warrior did not break.

For two years, the story of the original game became twisted and she searched for quests that the warrior had either skipped or hidden route quests that she could remember.

Even if the devil breaks the warrior quest for him, it doesn’t mean the experience or status will go up, but she’ll be able to get excellent rewards for an item.

“Elbrica, come here.”

Elbrica slowly approached and bowed her head. Lucia then patted her head lightly.

“Let’s go back to the devil’s castle.”

Lucia climbed carefully on Elbrica’s low back.

The good thing about taming Elbrica was that it could easily travel long distances without teleportation or a motion-sickness carriage.

Elbrica, who has Lucia on her back, flapped her wings slowly and flew up into the sky.

~*~

(Lucia’s pov)

“I’m here.”

As soon as I arrived at the castle, I flung off the mask on my face and the cape covering my shoulders.

Before the thrown things fell to the ground, Deran quickly caught them and hung them on one side.

[You are back, my lord. How was Belishat Forest?]

“Deran, you were right. Two humans infiltrated, but they were not a threat, just thieves.”

[Also… these days, there seems to be an insufficient supply of mahone stones in the human market, so the number of times that not only thieves but also ordinary humans come in to steal seems to have increased.]

“That’s bound to happen.”

I lightly put the jewels I got back from them on the table.

Lately, I have been thoroughly monitoring the mahone stones so that it cannot escape outside of my territory.

Moreover, most of the monsters in the realm now obey my orders by not going out of the barrier recklessly, so there is less chance of them being sacrificed to humans.

Finally, even the warrior who was the only one who supplied the mahone stones to humans did not comply with their requests, so it became even rarer.

The price increased drastically, and some people even risked their lives coming here trying to get them.

‘However, it’s not possible to apply a barrier to all areas.’

The devil’s realm is divided into three broad regions which are around the castle.

The first is the land where low and middle class monsters live. It was called ‘the land of demons’ because the demons settled in a place where humans were originally barren, and it was the size of a small town.

If there were no barriers here, it would have been the number one target for humans.

The second is Belishat Forest. There’s a lot of pretty strong monsters living in that place, so there’s no barrier.

Originally, the demons living in Belishat Forest didn’t listen to me until two years ago, but recently they have started to obey me.

Thirdly, there is a place called the Dungeon of Construction… It didn’t matter because it was a place I couldn’t think of without really wanting to die.

After all, the most problematic place now was the middle-class Belishat forest. It’s much larger than the land of the demons, so it was harder to build a barrier there.

“Tsk, I can’t just leave it like this.”

[Do you have any ideas?]

“Well, it wasn’t unexpected, so I have something ready for you.

I walked quietly and headed to the main hall in the middle of the Devil’s Castle.

The place which had been destroyed by Haron is now completely restored.

Every time I stepped on the red carpet facing the center, countless demons from both sides bowed their heads towards me.

[My lord, welcome back.]

[Welcome, my lord.]

[We were waiting for you to return.]

Deran followed next to me.

It was very different from two years ago. Although some demons have not returned yet, Sagna said that this was a great achievement.

As I sat down on the huge red throne, Sagna flew from the chandelier that hung from the ceiling as if he were waiting and sat lightly on my shoulder.

“Then shall we start the meeting? Report in turn what news you have today from where to how.”

Sagna, who sat on my shoulder, seemed to smile proudly at my vicious words.

It was a peaceful day at the Devil’s Castle.

~*~

“What about Tina?”

On the way out of the meeting, I asked Deran next to me.

[She’s coming this holiday. I contacted Derakal in the morning.]

“Really?”

The corners of my mouth raised from delight. It was the happiest news in the midst of the head-to-head messes with boring meetings.

“Is she okay? She’s doing fine on her own, right?”

[Of course. She’s a clever princess.]

“That’s right, the cutest and smartest kid in the world.”

I nodded my head several times and walked towards the room.

Tina’s currently attending an academy in another kingdom a little far away.

‘I want to learn more in the future and be a little more helpful to the Devil!’

I really didn’t want to let her go, but when I saw Tina talking with a wide smile, I had no choice but to agree.

At the same time, I didn’t forget to give her an artifact that temporarily changes her appearance just in case anyone recognizes her who is wanted in Lochastin.

To prevent anything from happening, I sent Derakal as Tina’s escort.

Along with that, Derakal and Deran’s ability to communicate with each other were tasked with keeping me informed about Tina’s condition on a daily basis.

[You seem to be starting a new research this time. I heard you mumble that you need a lot of ingredients…]

“Okay? Give me all the materials or money that are locked in the Devil’s Castle.”

[Oh my.]

I could hear Sagna clicking her tongue.

“This is not the best thing to do. It’s just that Tina is cute.”

[I- I can’t.]

After entering the academy, Tina sent her report cards a few times, and they all had good grades.

Of course, even if the grades weren’t excellent, I would have cursed at the academy for not recognizing Tina’s real talent.

“Before Tina arrives, I’ll have to give the orders to decorate the Devil’s Castle. I should also buy her favorite snacks. Make the central banquet hall pretty while you’re at it. Three days is enough, right?”

[…You vicious person.]

“Someone taught me that.”

Sagna fluttered away through a nearby window as if he didn’t want to hear any more.

Even though he did that, he’s still a responsible bird, so he must have done everything he was told.

I smiled once as he flew away and headed for my office.

“The devil!”

As soon as I opened the office door, a little girl with white hair and long ears jumped into my arms.

“Oh, Anne. When did you come? Is the town okay now?”

“Anne is fast! And thanks to the Devil for expelling the wolves from our realm, it’s so peaceful these days!”

She had a big smile on her face.

Anne was a rabbit beast who lived in a nearby rabbit village.

After chasing out the wolves for a quest a while ago, she came to there to help me

“I’m so glad. I moved the village deep into the forest to avoid humans, and it was really hard because wolves were running after me. If it weren’t for the devil, I would still have a hard time avoiding them!”

The constant chatter was as cute like Tina when she was a child, so I just left it to live in the Devil’s Castle. It was more comforting since Tina wasn’t here.

Watching those rabbit ears pricking up when excited was one of the new little pleasures.

“Oh yeah. Come to think of it, Anne. I have something for you to do.”

Above all, Anne had a pretty good ability to help me.

It was her main ability to make rabbit burrows by magic which allowed her to move anywhere in an instant.

It was like teleporting. However, only the one who dug can enter the rabbit hole, and since she runs directly through the hole, the longer the distance, the longer it takes.

Still, it’s very capable for communication.

“Are you going to have me send another letter?”

“Yes, you can go where you always went. You didn’t forget the route, did you?”

“Of course not! Trust the smart Anne!”

She was so cute when she pounded her chest with her tiny fists and stroked her white hair.

I then went to the desk, sat down, and picked up a pen and paper.

I hesitated for a moment trying to figure out how to start the letter, and I moved my hand to write the first line.

「Dear Haron.」