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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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After the hour-long meeting, I finally left the audience chamber, breathing a sigh of relief.
Phew, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
While I had maintained a calm facade, I had been completely caught off guard when they asked for my opinion.
I had managed to bluff my way through, but my plan was still a rough draft. It needed more work, more detail.
“You did well, Kaldrash. I’m not good with such things…”
“You did well, too, Princess Ozma. You must be tired. Go and rest.”
Ozma, who had been with me during the meeting, looked exhausted, likely from the mental strain.
I sent her to her room and then went to find Vanessa, who had likely been briefed by the Demon Lord.
Creak!
“Ah! You’re still here!”
Just then, the door to the audience chamber opened, and a red-haired witch poked her head out.
“Long time no see, Kaldrash!”
Dorothea, whom I hadn’t seen in almost two months, looked just as she had when we parted.
The only difference was that she was wearing a fluffy black coat instead of her usual revealing attire, likely due to the formality of the meeting. The red lining of the coat complemented her image.
“Dorothea.”
I greeted her warmly, and Ozma, standing beside me, narrowed her eyes.
“Kaldrash, what’s your relationship with Dorothea?”
“Uh, well…”
“We’re friends!”
Dorothea declared, wrapping her arm around my waist.
Ozma’s eyebrow twitched at the blatant display of affection, but Dorothea, feigning ignorance, rubbed her face against my back.
“‘Friends’? You seem a little… close for friends.”
“Well, we’re sex friends!”
“AAAAAGH! You crazy bitch!”
I quickly covered Dorothea’s mouth, but it was too late. The cat was out of the bag.
“S-Sex friends?”
Ozma, who had been a virgin just a few days ago, muttered, her face frozen in shock.
Dorothea, ignoring Ozma, waved at Camilla, who had been waiting for me in the hallway.
“Long time no see, Camilla.”
Camilla bowed politely.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Lady Dorothea.”
The two, having shared a bed and a cock, seemed to have maintained a close relationship.
Anyway, Ozma, having recovered from her shock, looked at me, demanding an explanation. I scratched my head and decided to tell the truth.
“Well, what Dorothea said is true. We had a little… incident while drinking on the Eastern Front. We’ve been… enjoying each other’s company ever since.”
“…Fine. Honesty is better than lies.”
Ozma, surprisingly, took the news in stride.
“Are you alright? You seemed quite shocked.”
Ozma nodded.
“I was. But as long as a man is capable, there’s no problem with him having multiple partners. I never expected to have you all to myself. A good man always attracts women.”
She then turned to Dorothea.
“I look forward to getting to know you.”
Dorothea, who had likely blurted out the truth to provoke Ozma, looked flustered and nodded.
“Y-Yes.”
After their brief exchange, Ozma excused herself, saying she needed to rest.
Dorothea, watching her leave, looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“How did you manage to seduce the princess?”
“I have no idea.”
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After a brief chat, Dorothea returned to the audience chamber, saying she had some unfinished business. I then went to find Vanessa.
Unlike in the Dragonkin village, where I had to hide my identity, I didn’t need to wear a mask in the Demon Lord’s castle, which made things much easier.
Vanessa, who was patrolling the castle with her Death Knights, greeted me warmly.
“Kaldrash, I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Did the Demon Lord tell you?”
Vanessa, holding her head under her arm, nodded.
“You’re going to the dungeon to investigate the Hero’s murder, right? I’ve already informed the guards.”
She jingled the key ring at her waist, a hint of glee in her voice, as if she was happy to have an excuse to skip her patrol.
“Then, lead the way, just like before.”
“You got it. Follow me.”
Vanessa, with a confident stride, led the way.
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This was my second time visiting the Demon Lord’s dungeon.
The first time had been to gather information from the Warrior and check on the Hero. This time, it was to confirm the Hero’s death.
We passed through the familiar first and second levels and descended the secret staircase hidden behind a wall.
The dark, winding staircase, lit only by torches, seemed to stretch endlessly into the depths of the earth.
After about ten minutes, we finally saw a light.
At the bottom of the stairs, the entrance to the third level was brightly lit by glowing stones embedded in the ceiling.
We cautiously entered the corridor.
“…”
Nothing much had changed.
The same cold, stone walls and floors.
The same mana-suppressing iron bars.
The same listless prisoners, their hopes seemingly extinguished.
But one cell was different. The bars were bent and broken.
The location seemed familiar.
If my memory served me right, that was the Priestess’s cell.
I asked Vanessa, a sense of unease growing within me,
“Was it the Priestess who killed the Hero?”
Vanessa looked at me, confused.
“Yes. Is this the first you’re hearing of it?”
“Yes.”
It was completely unexpected.
If a demon with a grudge against the Hero had killed him, it would have been more plausible.
But the Priestess, who wouldn’t even harm an ant? And then to commit suicide…
Something was very wrong.
“Any witnesses?”
Vanessa shook her head grimly.
“It happened at dawn, when the guards were changing shifts. The other prisoners were all asleep.”
“But there must have been someone. A witness to the incident.”
Vanessa, rubbing her neck awkwardly, said,
“Well, there was one. But the problem is, the witness is also from the Hero’s party.”
She pointed to a cell.
Inside was the Warrior, looking haggard and disheveled, a far cry from her vibrant self just a few months ago.
She had cried herself to sleep, her eyes still wet.
I grimaced.
“Is there anyone else?”
Vanessa shrugged and pointed to the cell next to the Priestess’s.
“She might have seen something.”
The Sage’s cell was covered in graffiti.
The Sage, wrapped in her purple cloak, was curled up and sleeping peacefully. She seemed to be in better condition than the Warrior.
I looked back and forth between the Warrior and the Sage’s cells and decided to question the Sage.
“Should I wake her?”
“If you would.”
Vanessa opened the cell door and entered.
She gently shook the Sage’s shoulder.
“Mmm…”
The Sage stirred, muttering in her sleep.
Her once vibrant blue hair was now dull and dusty.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Kyaa!”
She was about to scream at the sight of the headless Vanessa, but Vanessa quickly covered her mouth with a black gauntlet, silencing her.
The Sage’s eyes darted around in fear.
Vanessa, as if holding a rabbit by its ears, lifted the Sage by her slender wrists and gestured for me to ask my questions.
The Sage’s pupils constricted as she finally saw me standing outside the cell.
I asked her directly,
“What happened here on the day the Hero died?”
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