—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After finishing their meal with the Hero’s party, he headed towards Minerva’s library, as instructed.
As usual, he entered a deserted alleyway, and when he turned around, the library materialized behind him.
“It’s such a convenient ability.”
To be able to create a door to anywhere he wanted. He wished he could use it every day when returning home. He envied Minerva’s power as he turned the doorknob.
Creak-
“I’m coming in.”
“Hoo-”
He walked past Mieng, the owl guarding the entrance. Minerva, as always, was inside the library. He approached her as she built a tower of books.
“Minerva.”
“Ah! You startled me! The tower collapsed, Jun-woo!”
“…You’re the one who called me here.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
Minerva sat down on the sofa as if nothing had happened.
Had she been building the tower out of boredom?
She didn’t seem to care that it had collapsed. He sat across from her.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Didn’t I tell you? The Demon Lords. I found the locations of two of them.”
“Based on the information I gave you?”
“You could say that. Read this first.”
Minerva pulled a black book from the remnants of the collapsed tower.
The title was “The Life of Harrell Gedon.”
He took the book from her.
“Who is Harrell Gedon?”
“A knight of the dwindling Secilia Knight Order. He died after having both his arms cut off by Lennon, the head of the family.”
“…I suppose there’s no reason for a knight to live without arms.”
Severing the arms of someone who had dedicated their life to becoming a knight was like breaking a pianist’s fingers.
It was akin to destroying everything they had lived for. He understood why Harrell Gedon’s book was black.
“Mieng barely managed to find it. If he had died somewhere remote, it wouldn’t have been recorded in the library.”
“That’s a relief. I can just read this, right?”
“Yes, read it without any pressure. The answer is in there.”
The answer to the Demon Lords in the capital.
He hoped it was the Demon Lord of Envy.
He opened the book and read about Harrell Gedon’s life.
“…A rather ordinary and stable life.”
Born into a decent family.
Met good parents.
Trained in his village, honing his skills.
‘Father, Mother, I’m going to the capital to become a knight. Thank you for raising me!’
He went to the capital and took the knight exam, barely passing.
His skills were borderline, neither good enough to confidently pass nor bad enough to fail. And so, Gedon’s life in the prestigious Raven Knight Order began.
“And a happy life followed. A steady income and decent colleagues.”
Saten occasionally appeared in his daily life.
The head of the family’s daughter, quiet and cold.
Gedon developed feelings for the beautiful Saten.
But he also harbored doubts.
‘Senior, why do you call the head of the family’s daughter a demon? I don’t understand…’
‘You wouldn’t understand because you haven’t experienced it. That girl is a demon. A demon who killed her parents at birth. I would kill her if I could… I don’t understand why the head of the family keeps her alive.’
A hateful assessment filled with animosity. Was this how Saten was treated within the family?
Her twisted personality must have stemmed from these judgments.
‘Spreading thorns to defend against attacks…’
A hedgehog.
Saten during that time must have been like a hedgehog.
Anyway…
Gedon’s life in the Knight Order continued as usual.
Escorting, patrolling, training.
As he grew older…
An incident occurred that changed his life in the Knight Order.
“…After Saten’s kidnapping?”
“Yes, this idiot didn’t think to abandon the sinking ship.”
The competent knights sensed the danger and left.
But Gedon, lacking in skill, stayed.
As a result, he lost both his arms at the hands of the increasingly unstable Lennon and threw himself off a cliff. Minerva explained the missing details.
“The conversations within the Raven Knight Order weren’t recorded because there were no living beings nearby. But his last words before his death are recorded. Read it.”
“I was about to.”
“You’re always complaining!”
He decided to read Gedon’s last words, as Minerva suggested.
‘The Raven Knights are no more… There’s no future for a Knight Order that has forgotten chivalry… If only I had realized sooner… I wouldn’t have made this choice…’
He left his final words in the air before falling from the cliff.
‘Lennon, a head of the family with nothing but pride… I will watch your downfall even in death… I will never forgive you for cutting off my arms and joining hands with that Demon Lord… that trash who resembles a Demon Lord… Someday, your pride will pierce your heart…’
Those were Gedon’s last words. There were no more pages to turn, so he closed the book.
“He must have seen the Demon Lord while his arms were being cut off.”
“That’s highly likely. The stronger the negative emotions, the greater the Demon Lord’s power. So, it’s highly probable that…”
“Lennon, the head of the Secilia family, made a contract with a Demon Lord. We can conclude that.”
Minerva remained silent, as if confirming his answer.
The head of the prestigious Raven Knight Order had made a contract with a Demon Lord. She seemed quite disturbed by this revelation.
“The Emperor of the Empire. The news that his left-hand man has made a contract with a Demon Lord will be a huge shock to the citizens.”
“It would be a huge blow, especially with the Church selling holy water and now this incident with the Knight Order.”
“So, with a Demon Lord already present in the Church, and now this-.”
“…Wait, Minerva.”
There was a Demon Lord in the Church?
Minerva tilted her head, as if wondering why he was asking such an obvious question.
“Isn’t it obvious? I told you I found two Demon Lords. One in the Knight Order, and one in the Church. I knew it the moment I saw them distributing that strange holy water.”
“Suspicion and confirmation are different…”
“I don’t care, I told you now, didn’t I! Why are you always complaining, Jun-woo!”
His head was spinning. He knew where the Demon Lords were and what they were doing.
But receiving so much information at once was overwhelming.
“…Minerva, I need some time to think.”
“Yes, you probably do. You decide who to attack first. I won’t tell you the answer.”
Minerva would respect his decision. He nodded and stood up. Normally, he would make the decision himself, but…
He didn’t intend to decide this important matter alone.
“I should give the Hero’s party a choice.”
He left the library and headed home, his pace quicker than usual.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“So, make your choice.”
Should they eliminate the Demon Lord in the Raven Knight Order first?
Or the Demon Lord in the Goddess’s Church?
He gathered the Hero’s party at the dining table and gave them the choice. Luna raised her hand.
“Mister! Which one is better?!”
“Neither is better. It’s just a matter of order.”
If the first Demon Lord they eliminated was the Demon Lord of Envy…
His death would be hastened.
Since they would eventually eliminate all the Demon Lords, it was indeed just a matter of order.
“You can think of it as choosing between Saten and Estia.”
“Then I’ve made my choice!”
Luna, now that it was framed as a choice between people, made her decision immediately.
She declared loudly,
“Estia first! Because I like Estia! Let’s eliminate the Church first!”
“Alright. One vote for the Church. Anyone else?”
As if waiting for his cue, Saten raised her hand quietly.
“I think we should destroy the Knight Order first.”
“I won’t ask for your reason.”
There was no need to ask.
He knew how much Saten hated her family. Hare, also seemingly aware of this, raised her hand.
“…I-I also vote for the Knight Order. It’s better if that place disappears quickly…”
“Two votes for the Knight Order. One vote for the Church.”
Only one remained…
“Estia. It’s your turn.”
“Huh? Just me? That’s a lot of pressure!”
“Make your choice, Estia. Which one do you want to eliminate first?”
“H-Hmm…”
Estia, for once, adopted a serious expression and began to think.
She had suffered at the hands of the Church, but…
She was content with her current life and didn’t harbor the same level of hatred as Saten.
A matter of personality.
He supposed that was one way to look at it.
‘It’s incredibly frustrating to watch, though.’
But it was Estia’s choice.
He had to respect it.
He waited for her answer.
After about a minute…
Estia raised her hand.
“I’ll… choose the Church!”
“…Why?”
“Because Saten chose the Knight Order! So I’ll choose the Church!”
Blegh-
Estia stuck her tongue out at Saten. It seemed she hadn’t forgotten.
That Saten had pushed her earlier.
Estia hadn’t forgotten.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
why is this chapter not unlocked for sooo looongg