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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“Haaaaam~”
Even the mere sound of Jekkiel stretching sent shivers down Neltarion’s spine.
Golden hair, golden eyes.
Countless scars etched upon her body, and an aura of overwhelming confidence.
This Dragon, the one who currently led the Dragonkin, was none other than Regita, the Sin of Greed.
Finishing her stretch, Regita asked slowly,
“Maligos failed?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“And you said Jekkiel himself intervened?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm~”
Regita’s expressions were always either filled with laughter or boredom.
It was impossible for Neltarion to even begin to guess what she was truly thinking.
However, if he had to guess her mood, it would be safe to assume she was angry.
There was no way she could be pleased with such an outcome.
“Acting so boldly even after relinquishing the throne. Is it because of Christine?”
Neltarion desperately wanted to interject, but no words came out.
He knew nothing about the situation, so naturally, he had nothing to say.
“How severe are Maligos’s injuries?”
“It’s not that he’s injured, exactly…”
“Then?”
“His body was dismembered… He’s currently being put back together.”
“Dismembered…”
Regita slowly nodded.
“So Jekkiel used Thanatos.”
Muttering this, she turned back to Neltarion and asked,
“Neltarion. Why did this happen?”
“It’s not that we were incompetent, if that’s what you’re implying, Your Eminence. We were simply overwhelmed by our loyalty to serve you, and our abilities haven’t quite caught up…”
“What are you talking about?”
Neltarion’s words were cut short, dismembered by Regita’s sharp gaze.
As Neltarion struggled to find the right words, desperately trying to gauge her mood, Regita let out a small chuckle.
“It’s because I didn’t intervene personally. There’s no other reason, is there?”
“Ah, of course… that’s also true.”
Regita.
Anything she desired, she obtained, by any means necessary.
And if her unique methods failed, she simply destroyed whatever stood in her way.
If it couldn’t be hers, then it was only right for it to vanish from existence—that was Regita’s philosophy, and she possessed the power to enforce it.
“The reason I sent Maligos this time was to assess his abilities. I was curious to see how far a Black Dragon could go… But well…”
Regita let out a yawn.
“…It seems even a Black Dragon can’t overcome the blood of a Sin. As expected, I should have intervened personally, shouldn’t I?”
Neltarion simply lowered his head.
He knew he had to agree with whatever Regita decided, but that didn’t mean he could easily condone it.
Lepista’s Wand was supposedly located in the human world.
He shuddered to imagine the chaos Regita would unleash upon the human realm.
And what would happen to the Dragonkin while she was gone?
As he pondered these things, Maligos finally made his appearance.
“My apologies, Lady Regita.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Regita casually toyed with a few swords.
“It was my mistake for not going myself from the start. I shouldn’t have believed your confident words, even if it was just for a moment.”
Whoosh!
Regita casually swung a sword through the air.
Even that casual movement generated a terrifying shockwave.
“So, how was he? Jekkiel.”
Maligos’s expression hardened.
What should he say?
No, where should he even begin?
He agonized over what to prioritize in his explanation.
“Strong.”
That single word was all he could manage.
‘Strength’ was something even Gold Dragons coveted, so Regita’s gaze turned serious.
“He was on a completely different level. Even Black Magic powered by a sacrificed soul couldn’t touch him.”
“Aha.”
Instead of anger, Regita’s face lit up with what seemed like amusement.
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The Western region of the Demon Realm.
This land, where the Sin of Envy and the Lamias resided, was abundant with trees.
It wasn’t entirely due to the terrain; Lamias simply enjoyed coiling their bodies around trees or resting atop their branches, leading to the land naturally developing in this way.
Among these trees stood a single, snow-white tree known as “Eve.”
And atop this tree, Vivian sat, meticulously sorting through information.
“Low-grade.”
This was useless information.
It was so blatantly false that she could practically taste the lie.
She wanted to rip it to shreds, but she kept it nonetheless.
One never knew when such things might come in handy…
And so, Vivian continued her task, organizing the information reported to her.
Gathering information quickly was the Harpies’ forte, but buying it at the lowest price and selling it at the highest was the Lamias’ specialty.
After all, they were the race of Envy; this much was to be expected.
“Again… low-grade. Boring.”
Christine’s coronation ceremony had brought in quite a fortune.
Everyone wanted to know what had transpired between them, what their relationship was truly like… She had made a killing, truly.
And to top it off, it had been incredibly entertaining, making her work far from tedious.
“But what is this now?”
It was truly dull.
The Dragonkin had recently taken an interest in Lepista’s Wand, leading to conflicts with the Harpies, but no concrete information had reached her yet.
She needed that information to extract the most valuable bits and sell them at a premium.
She was bored, so very bored.
Material wealth was no longer a concern; she had amassed more than enough.
What she craved now was entertainment, something to break the monotony.
“Lady Vivian.”
Several sheets of paper slithered up from below.
Red paper with gold lettering.
This signified information of great importance.
“Let’s see, shall we? Tsk.”
The information written on these sheets had to be interesting, exciting even.
That was the only way to cure her boredom.
“Dragonkin have seized control of the Harpies’ Hill using violent tactics.”
How predictable.
This was common knowledge to anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of the information network.
She wanted to rip this up even more than the previous ones.
Using red paper for such trivial news was a travesty.
“Tsk, tsk.”
She glared down at her subordinates and crumpled the paper, tossing it aside.
It landed with a soft thud in the hands of a waiting subordinate.
“Next. The former Sin of Pride, Jekkiel, has come to the Harpies’ aid. There was physical conflict with the Dragonkin, resulting in the defeat of the Black Dragon, Maligos…”
Eh?
Vivian ran her tongue over her parted lips.
“Eh?”
She quickly scanned the next sheet.
Similar content.
The bond between the Harpies and Vampires had deepened.
Jekkiel had obtained the map from Maligos.
And so on…
To receive such a volume of consistent reports… there was no way this could be false.
“Oh.”
Her exclamation shifted from a questioning tone to one of genuine surprise.
This was interesting, very interesting indeed.
She had assumed the matter of Lepista’s Wand had been settled, with the Vampires seemingly out of the picture.
But Jekkiel’s involvement changed everything.
And if Jekkiel was involved, it was only a matter of time before Regita stepped in on the Dragonkin’s behalf.
‘This is interesting. This is very, very interesting.’
If these reports were true, then an event of unprecedented scale was about to unfold.
And to make things even more exciting, the location of Lepista’s Wand was in the human world!
Two top-tier beings clashing in the human realm… it would be a spectacle for the ages.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
This time, the sounds of amusement weren’t her own.
She was deep in thought when someone dared to interrupt her train of thought.
Vivian shot a sharp glare at the offending subordinate.
However, the subordinate simply said,
“Um… Lady Vivian. We have a guest? Or rather… someone you need to see…”
“Ehhh? Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
She would humor them, but… she could tell from the subordinate’s tone that this was no ordinary visitor.
And the scent… a distinct, non-Lamia scent wafted towards her.
“Y-you’re supposed to wait outside!”
“Lady Vivian will be furious! Furious!”
The commotion seemed to be coming from the same direction as the unfamiliar scent.
Vivian turned her head, her gaze fixed on the source of the disturbance.
“Silence.”
She spoke softly, but her words carried an undeniable weight.
The commotion ceased immediately as the subordinates fell silent.
However, one individual remained defiant, their actions speaking louder than words.
Thump.
Thump.
Lamias, naturally, did not make a sound when they moved.
They didn’t have feet.
And yet, clear, distinct footsteps approached.
The one who had arrived, without permission, stood before Vivian.
“Vivian.”
He had entered without a word of greeting, yet his demeanor remained as arrogant as ever.
“I have a proposition.”
She knew instantly what he wanted to discuss.
And she also knew it would be incredibly entertaining.
However, she couldn’t let him off so easily.
She had to at least pretend to be difficult.
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit too bold, waltzing in here as you please, especially now that you’re no longer the Sin of Pride? Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Jekkiel simply tilted his head towards the side.
“Of course, the current Sin of Pride is also present.”
Vivian’s gaze followed his gesture, landing on a hesitant Christine.
Their eyes met, and Christine offered an awkward greeting.
“…How are you?”
“?”
Vivian tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
This was the one variable she hadn’t anticipated.
Or rather, there was one more.
Christine seemed… sullen.
This was a side of her she had never seen before.
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[The main thing I remember from this chapter is that Lamias don’t have feet lmao]
