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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Jekkiel.
Jekkiel…?
‘The Sin of Pride?’
Whenever one heard the name Jekkiel, they typically associated it with the words “Sin of Pride.”
Of course, while he had heard countless stories about him, this was the first time he had seen him with his own eyes.
In a way, that was to be expected.
It wasn’t common to see someone of such high rank, and opportunities became even rarer after Jekkiel left his position as a Sin, and departed from the demon realm.
Come to think of it, Jekkiel was the first one in history to voluntarily give up the position of a Sin.
What could have been his reason?
A demon who simply wanted to enjoy wealth and glory in the demon realm couldn’t have made such a decision.
Moreover, what process did he go through to give up his position as a Sin?
The story of how one had to satisfy the Demon King’s interest just once to give up the position of a Sin was very famous in the demon realm.
The tale of how all of Jekkiel’s loyal subordinates died in that process was equally well-known.
Jekkiel seemed out of his mind, but the hearts of those subordinates were equally unfathomable.
Anyway, the important thing now was that this vampire claimed to have no position.
Also, that he had no affiliation.
Yet he came to this lawless area and declared an end to interactions with the dragon folk?
‘What on earth is he relying on?’
That question naturally arose.
Looking at his calm demeanor, one couldn’t help but wonder.
He seemed as if he had come for a leisurely stroll rather than to handle a difficult task.
“What business do you have here?”
“I won’t tell you.”
“……?”
Malygos’s head tilted askew.
He looked around once.
Apart from the terrified harpies, the place was filled with confident dragon folk.
Even for someone born as a vampire lord, wasn’t it a bit strange to act this way when surrounded alone by other races?
“You won’t tell me?”
“I said we won’t interact with the dragon folk from now on.”
“So?”
“Even the reason I’m here is information. There’s no way I’d tell you.”
He was confident to the point of being suspicious.
Perhaps this man, despite having no position, was backed by the vampires…
As Malygos pondered this,
“Tegaru sir!”
Harpia, the harpy with the injured wing, called out.
Tegaru’s face instantly lit up with joy.
“Harpia! You’ve returned safely!”
“I’ve brought the vampire lords!”
Malygos nodded slowly.
Of course.
Even if he claimed to have no position, he was still someone who had sat on the throne of the Sin of Pride.
He must be backed by all sorts of vampires.
“Yes! The vampire lords have come! And none other than Lord Jekkiel!”
Nothing about this situation has been resolved yet.
However, just the fact that a vampire had visited Peltir Hill was enough to move Tegaru to tears.
The fact that it was Jekkiel made that emotion even stronger.
It was natural.
The era when harpies and vampires interacted the most was when Jekkiel was the Sin of Pride.
Tegaru rushed over and grasped Jekkiel’s hands.
When Harpia had barely managed to escape from there, honestly, he hadn’t had high hopes.
It was literally like grasping at straws.
But it seemed that straw was the very thread that held the fate of Peltir Hill.
To think that Lord Jekkiel himself had come!
“L-Lord Jekkiel has personally come! So the vampires are indeed helping the harpies?”
“Not the vampires, just me.”
“……?”
An invisible question mark appeared above Tegaru’s head.
If it was the current Sin of Pride… then…
“Didn’t you come as a representative of the vampires to help us, with Lady Christine’s agreement…?”
“No.”
“Then…?”
“I’m acting on my own. Literally.”
Now it wasn’t just one question mark.
Many invisible question marks appeared above Tegaru’s head.
What did this mean?
Did it mean that while the vampires had decided not to help the harpies, only he had independently decided to act?
Although he had doubts and couldn’t understand, Jekkiel’s gaze was incredibly serious.
Tegaru didn’t miss that serious look.
The most important things were affection and trust.
There must have been a reason for this person to act this way.
Jekkiel pointed at Harpia with his chin.
“I’ve heard everything from that harpy. I heard the dragon folk came here without knowing their place, trying to obtain the map. Is that right?”
“Uh… well…”
Tegaru glanced nervously at Malygos.
With so many dragon folk around, was it okay to use the phrase “without knowing their place”? But Jekkiel continued.
“Tegaru, you’re too kind, that’s the problem. If it were me, I would have cut off those lizards’ tails long ago.”
Lizards.
Lizards?
The ground of Peltir Hill trembled once.
It was because the bodies of all the dragon folk present vibrated with anger.
For dragons, there was nothing more insulting than being called lizards.
If one had to compare, it was similar to calling vampires mosquitoes.
Sensing the atmosphere, Tegaru and the harpies’ faces turned pale.
Yet Jekkiel remained calm.
If there was someone who found this nonchalance most unpleasant, it was naturally Malygos.
Malygos slipped between Tegaru and Jekkiel and asked:
“Did you just say you’re acting independently?”
“That’s right.”
“Acting independently…”
Malygos widened his eyes.
He looked around with an incredulous expression.
Sure enough, the other dragons also wore expressions of disbelief.
‘He’s saying he’s acting like this, trusting only himself.’
It also meant that without any backing, he was willing to turn all these dragons into enemies based solely on his own judgment.
Ha, he couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.
The other dragons felt the same.
‘Did he even think this through?’
If Jekkiel had come representing the vampires, it would have given the dragon folk a justification and pretext to wage all-out war against the vampires.
But if Jekkiel was truly acting alone, even that became impossible.
They had heard that Jekkiel had openly protected Christine at her recent coronation ceremony.
So why was he now doing something that would incur Christine’s displeasure?
No matter how one looked at it, something was suspicious.
The doubt couldn’t be erased.
At that moment, another dragon subordinate approached Malygos and whispered in his ear.
“Lord Malygos, we just received information from a spy who had infiltrated Christine’s castle.”
“What information?”
“It seems Christine and Jekkiel don’t share the same bedroom. They appear to be quite distant. Moreover… our spy overheard a few words from Christine.”
“Overheard what?”
“She mentioned that she hates Jekkiel. Clearly.”
At this, Malygos’s face instantly showed confusion.
Could it be that his claim of acting independently without any backing wasn’t a lie?
Jekkiel added one more thing to the confused Malygos:
“What? Don’t you believe me?”
He turned away from the speechless Malygos and fixed his gaze back on Tegaru.
“Hand over the map with the Wand’s location to me. Considering our past affection, it shouldn’t be a difficult request.”
“Ah… yes… well, it’s not difficult, but…”
Tegaru’s gaze shifted slightly towards Malygos.
Sure enough, Malygos shouted:
“How dare you! Lepista’s Wand belongs to Lady Regita!”
“Then tell her to come and get it herself.”
Jekkiel approached Malygos.
“That gal always takes action personally when she wants something. So the fact that you’ve been dispatched here means…”
His eyes narrowed.
“…Are you perhaps plotting something behind Regita’s back? I’d rather ask that.”
“How dare you! What nonsense!”
Malygos burst out angrily.
Jekkiel.
Born as a vampire lord and renowned in the demon realm as the Sin of Pride.
But if he had given up that position, there was no need to maintain formalities.
Especially with this attitude, he didn’t want to be formal at all.
Moreover, if this was indeed an independent action, it meant that aside from the one vampire beside him, there were no other vampires following him, right?
“Let me make one thing clear. Are you declaring that you’re going to intervene in this matter alone, without any affiliation?”
“Precisely.”
Malygos glared directly into Jekkiel’s eyes, refusing to back down.
“It seems since you stepped down from your throne you have forgotten how aggressive and rough the dragon folk can be. If we start acting our way, it wouldn’t be too difficult to turn this place into a scorched wasteland.”
Tegaru swallowed hard, watching Jekkiel’s reaction.
He must know the right answer.
A way to resolve this situation without devastating Peltir Hill…
Because he was Jekkiel, after all.
And finally, Jekkiel spoke.
“Do as you please.”
“……?”
“…?”
Tegaru and Malygos’s expressions simultaneously turned dumbfounded.
“If you have your own way, do it your way. I’ll do it my way. Why, wasn’t that what you were planning to do anyway?”
Instead, Malygos studied Tegaru’s expression.
This man doesn’t seem to have come to help you.
He’s saying he doesn’t care if you’re annihilated?
Sure enough, Tegaru was drenched in cold sweat.
“Ah, right. I’ll even set a precise time limit for you.”
Jekkiel casually stroked his chin.
“Whether you scorch the earth or do whatever else, do it by the end of today. I will receive half of the map and leave this place before today is over.”
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like they had brought the wrong person…
Harpia covered her face with her wings.
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[Adrian is a MENACE lmfao]
