Chapter 44: Waking Up From the Slumber
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༺ Waking Up From the Slumber ༻
The back alley at nightfall is one of the most glamorous yet scary places in the Empire.
Why? As the sun disappears, the back alley glows bright enough to put other red-light districts to shame, while simultaneously becoming a hotspot for crime.
Hence, there are only two ways you can die in the back alley: from pleasure, or from a hole through the chest.
– Click-clack.
At this very moment, a woman covered in a robe was passing through the streets of such a back alley.
Whether it be nobles or the homeless, men or women, the back alley was always brimming with people. This street, on the other hand, was exceptionally bleak.
"…Hm."
Nevertheless, after looking around her surroundings, the woman quietly walked into a bar.
"Who is it?"
When she opened the old door, she was greeted by a man in a neat suit.
"Not sure who you are, but would you care for a drink?"
"No, thank you."
"…Is that so? Then I guess I'll drink alone."
The man popped open the wine bottle on the table and quietly began pouring it into the glass in front of him. After staring at him for a moment, the woman opened her mouth.
"…Please give me the latest news about the Demon Army."
The man stared directly at her. He grinned, picked up his glass, and muttered.
"Was wondering who you were… the Demon King, is it?"
"Now you recognize me?"
The woman's voice quickly changed to a more arrogant tone. He took a sip as he kept his eyes on her, then spoke.
"Then allow me to do a quick test."
Immediately, the space around the bar began changing all at once.
The long road began folding on itself and soared into the skies.
Eventually, all buildings, signs, trees, and decorations around them soared into the skies, as the area distorted.
– Craaaaack!!!
With the entire area half-destroyed, the man swung his hand with all his might while being drenched in a cold sweat, and then the 'space' itself lay siege on the woman.
"…You dare."
Despite all this, her face remained expressionless. The woman simply lifted a finger.
– Spaaark!!
Then, the space attacking her was purged in an instant.
"I-I kneel before Your Majesty, the Demon King!"
After blankly watching it disappear, the man hurriedly knelt with his head on the ground and shouted.
"To dare test the Demon King, I accept any punishment you see fi—"
"How does that deserve punishment?"
The Demon King looked at him in confusion, then said with a grin.
"…It took only the effort of lifting a single finger. It doesn't matter."
"My Lord…"
"Speak casually. It's uncomfortable to listen."
The man sighed, still on his knees. He got up and settled down at the only desk left in this scorched area.
"My Demon King, before I tell you the news… May I ask some questions?"
"… I'm not yet the Demon King, but a successor. Why are you demons always exaggerating?"
"Isn't it only a matter of time?"
"…Well, I don't feel like arguing over that. Call me whatever."
After Demon King's permission, the man took a sip once more and started asking questions.
"Isn't Your Majesty, the Demon King, not allowed to leave the Demon King Castle?"
"That is true."
"But since you are here now, that would mean… it has finally begun?"
The man asked with an anticipated look. The Demon King shook her head and answered.
"No. My body is in the Demon Castle. This is just my vessel."
"…Then, how did you wield such power just now?"
"That is none of your business. We'll end this discussion here."
After the Demon King resolutely dismissed it, the man shook his head and asked the second question.
"Why are you hiding your identity?"
The man asked the Demon King, who had been hiding her identity with an extensive amount of stealth magic until then.
"With the heir locked within the Demon Castle, no one can enter to know your identity, My Demon King. So why are you still hiding your identity so thoroughly here?"
"Hmm…"
"It is unnecessary to hide your face even in front of me, as I'm the Deputy Commander of the Demon King's Army and will never betray you. Please, at least for the sake of boosting our morale…"
"No."
The Demon King resolutely shook her head. The man looked down and simply sighed.
"Then do we have no choice but to continue having uncomfortable meetings like this, or by chatting through letters?"
"There is none."
"…Can't you tell me why?"
"I don't want to."
The man sighed again from the lack of information from the Demon King, then looked at her for the last question.
"Third and final question, My Demon King. Is it true that it was you who sent the message: 'I found the Hero'?"
"Yes."
"Then please, reveal the information as soon as possible. We, the Demon King's Army, will make sure that the Hero does not become a hurdle…"
"…I can't."
"Pardon?"
The Demon King quietly stared at the skies and murmured.
"…It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't."
The man looked at her, slightly disappointed. He emptied his drink and got up.
"Well, if that is the word of the great Demon King. We will follow."
Having said that, the man shook his arms and began to restore the area that had been devastated moments before.
"Then, here's the report."
"Yes, go ahead."
The eyes of the Demon King glimmered like crimson ruby as she listened to the man's report.
.
.
.
.
.
"…Pa-password?"
"Lady Ferloche, the password is not asked by the person trying to come in from the outside, but by the person inside."
"Ah…"
Meanwhile, in another bar in the back alley, a bit far from where the Demon King was.
"Wh-Who are you guys!"
"…These are my subordinates."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Clana looked at Ferloche's foolish entrance with a dumbfounded look.
"…Hmm? Is it just you and me, Your Highness Clana?"
"Ms. Irina says she'll be back in a little while… As for Ms. Kania…"
"What about Ms. Kania?"
"Uh… she has some business to attend to."
When Clana faltered mid-sentence. Ferloche tilted her head for a moment, then sat down and began talking.
"Well, nothing we can do about that. As always, I'll start my report!"
"…Yes."
"First of all, I found evidence related to the Demon King and the Pope!"
"You did?"
"Yes, ever since a few days ago, I started sensing a weird mana from the basement of the church."
Ferloche spoke with an anxious look, then soon tilted her head as if confused by something.
"But, the aura disappeared without a trace when I went to investigate… then reappear when I leave… And that kept repeating, you know?"
"…Suspicious."
"Yes! Definitely suspicious!"
While Ferloche spoke with twinkling eyes, Clana muttered with her arms crossed.
"We can put some pressure on the Pope if this works out… Perhaps even tie him up with Frey…"
"…Your Highness Clana, apart from that… are you doing alright?"
"Pardon?"
Ferloche looked at Clana with a concerned expression. She gathered her strength and said,
"You have quite the dark circles under your eyes… if you overwork yourself…"
"Now is the time to overwork."
Clana answered firmly and mumbled again, looking at the paper.
"As expected… Even the materials of the Starlight family sent this time are all non-substantial documents. This is probably…"
"Yes?"
"Nevermind."
Clana carefully covered the papers and answered Ferloche. She smiled and started another subject.
"By the way, when do you think Frey will wake up?"
"Um… that might take a while…"
Clana replied with a smile.
"That's a relief. I'll be able to reduce his influence a bit more before he wakes up."
"I'm sorry… for not being much of a help…"
"Not at all. You are fulfilling your role just by holding on to your position in the Church."
Clana comforted Ferloche, who looked gloomy, then quietly gazed at the night sky through the window.
"…Soon I'll bring you down, Frey."
One star particularly flickered dimly in that night sky.
– Creak…
After staring at the stars for a long time, Clana quickly turned her head to the sound of the door opening behind her.
"…Hello."
Then Irina, covered in a robe, bowed as she entered the bar.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Irina. With you, our force has increased by one more person."
"…That's right! Ms. Irina is incredibly strong!"
Irina looked at them with sadness in her eyes. She sat down and asked.
"…How much damage did I do to the Demon King?"
"Pardon?"
"Perhaps, I didn't even hurt her at all?"
Irina asked, looking slightly anxious. Clana answered with a smile.
"Because of your blow, the Demon King stopped her march for a week. Thanks to you, we had the precious time to evacuate the people of the Empire."
"…A week?"
Hearing that, Irina's anxiety turned into pure disappointment.
"It was an attack where I poured my entire soul out, using every single magical knowledge and mana I had. It was a grand magic spell historically known for making the Demon King moribund 1000 years ago."
"…Yes, it is."
"But merely a week? It only held the Demon King back for a week?"
As Irina inquired in a sullen voice, Ferloche answered cautiously.
"Well… I heard that when I was captured and killed by the Demon Army, it was… quite a fatal wound…"
"…Ugh."
Irina lowered her head and clenched her teeth hard as Ferloche casually talked about her death.
"Hey… Ms. Irina. I'm asking just in case…"
Clana, who was carefully looking at her expression, asked Irina.
"Is there a magic that can cause such a mass regression?"
"Well…"
"It's strange no matter how I think about it. Not one, but four people returned. Perhaps there are even more people. So… the only answer is… that there must be some magic involved?"
Clana spoke with a serious expression. Irina responded with a slight frown.
"Manipulating space is possible one way or another… but there is no magic that can manipulate time. Even with ancient magic, that's impossible."
"Unless a prophecy magic that receives the memories of the future is involved…"
"No. There is no magic that can prophesize. Unless there's a revelation from the Sun God…"
Irina glanced at Ferloche as she fumbled and shook her head.
"Nevermind, the Sun God is just… ugh…!"
Ferloche suddenly clenched her head and fell onto the table. Irina and Clana looked at her in bewilderment.
"Wha-what's wrong?"
"Ugh… I suddenly had a headache…"
"Out of nowhere?"
"Oh, I feel better now."
Ferloche looked relieved and continued to speak.
"Anyway, the Sun God probably has nothing to do with it. If there are any revelations, the Sun God only reaches out to me."
Clana quietly nodded her head and sighed.
"Well, I'm a little concerned, but… Let's postpone figuring out the reason for the regression. What's important now is what we should do next."
Having said that, Clana turned to Irina and Ferloche.
"…Well, it's late, so let's end our discussion here. Let us focus on the fact that a new member has joined our alliance today."
Clana concluded the talk as she got up.
"…I'll tell Ms.Kania about today's discussion. Farewell, everyone."
Clana quietly left the store with the three members and walked down the dark street.
"Ms. Irina!"
"Yes?"
Ferloche grabbed Irina as she got up from her seat. Irina tilted her head in confusion.
"That scar… would you like me to heal it?"
Ferloche asked with a bright smile. But, Irina responded with a slight frown.
"This is a scar from a long time ago."
"Hm… How did you get it? From a curse, perhaps?"
Ferloche asked again, carefully looking at her wound.
"It's not like that. This was when I was young… uh… I mean…"
"…Ms. Irina?"
"A wolf… A wolf… Frey was…"
Irina murmured as she anxiously stroked her scar. She shook her head, returning to her senses, and ended the conversation.
"Anyway, I have no intention of healing this scar."
"Why?"
"…Well, I don't know either."
Irina left the store, leaving Ferloche in bewilderment. As she walked out, she could not hide her confused expression.
"What was that…"
After walking alone for a long time in the dark alley, Irina stopped and muttered.
"…This feeling, as if I was going to remember something but couldn't in the end?"
.
.
.
.
.
"Frey… how did this happen…"
Three months and a day after the end of the 'Raid on the Commoner's Dormitory' incident.
"Kania, you know the truth, don't you? What the hell happened? Tell me. Right now."
Serena sat next to Frey, watching his completely battered body after having not visited his dorm in a long time. She began to corner Kania, who was quietly standing next to him.
"…I don't know."
"Tell me right now."
"…I apologize."
But Kania continued to keep her mouth shut. Serena hung her head low and spoke in a grave tone.
"You know, there are a lot of strange things about his condition. So…"
"…I'm not sure what you mean."
"Sigh, really?"
Serena snorted at Kania's words. She continued with a voice filled with anger.
"The Imperial Hospital has been in chaos for the last few months, with all the top doctors and mages trying to treat him. Yet they failed. You know that, right?"
"I do."
"Even Saintess Ferloche failed to treat him. You know that as well?"
"…Yes."
"And you think there's nothing strange about that!?"
Serena burst into so much anger that she emanated a significant amount of lunar mana and exclaimed.
"Forget the Imperial mages and doctors! But how does it make sense for Saintess Ferloche to fail!?"
"…That is."
"When I first diagnosed him when he collapsed, he was supposed to wake up within a week!! Of course, that's still a big deal, but… now, for his body to get injured this badly!"
"…I apologize."
Kania bowed her head once more. Serena quieted down and stared at her.
"…Is this how you are going to be?"
After staring at Kania for a while, Serena spoke as her expression gradually turned stone-cold.
"If so, I won't just stand st–"
– Knock knock
"…Housekeeping."
Serena's words were cut off as Irina knocked on the door.
"Do you really need to clean at a time like this?"
Serena spoke with a hint of annoyance as Irina walked in.
"I made a 'death oath' with Lord Frey. If I don't do this slave work, I'll die."
"…Pardon?"
Serena was stunned for a while from receiving a very reasonable response. She sighed deeply and muttered.
"Why did you make the death oath, Frey… That's pretty difficult to deal with if you're caught…"
Irina stared at Serena for a while before speaking calmly.
"Anyway, I must clean since I don't want to die… Feel free to continue your discussion."
"".....""
Kania and Serena looked at Irina for a moment before opening their mouths at the same time.
"I think it would be better to go out and continue our conversation."
"Let's go out. We'll continue there."
After staring at each other in silence, the two took a deep breath and walked out of the dorm room with a frown.
"…Tsk."
Irina was disappointed and hoped to overhear Kania and Serena's conversation while cleaning. She slowly turned around and then began inspecting the surroundings with sharp eyes.
"…Now that I think about it, I've been feeling quite a bit of strange energy from there lately."
Her eyes locked onto Frey's bag, approaching it cautiously.
"Wait… I felt something around here?"
Irina rummaged through his bag for a long time. In the end, all she got were a handful of books and dust. She was confused.
"…Hm?"
Finding a strange space in the top compartment of the bag, she put her hand inside it without much thought… until…
"Cough!! Cough!!"
"Kyaaa!!"
Frey abruptly sprung up on his bed and began coughing. In shock, Irina pulled her hand out of the bag and stared blankly at him.
"Wha-What's going on…. Young Master!?"
"Frey…!!!"
Kania and Serena rushed over to Frey, hearing Irina's scream.
"…Damn, imagine waking up to be greeted by a penalty window."
Frey murmured as he stared blankly with a disappointed expression.
"Ar-Are you finally awake?"
Meanwhile, Irina, who was looking at Frey with a panicked expression, held a small device with a date written on it.
You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02