Chapter 38: The Skeleton Warhorse part 1
Misha paid close attention to how the Hero addressed the Goddess this time.
In the past, when Lance couldn’t remember Goddess Gineses’s name, he would at least make up a strange, four-syllable name to fill the void. But today was different. Today, Lance was too lazy to even fabricate a name. He simply filled the middle of her name with gibberish noises, remembering only the first and last sounds.
It was so sloppy that Misha found it hard to watch.
Lance noticed the expressions on Misha and Arlo’s faces becoming increasingly bizarre. Calmly, he reached into the small pouch at his waist and pulled out his little notebook.
Without a shred of guilt, and with a perfectly normal expression, he flipped through a few pages, found what he was looking for, and corrected himself with righteous confidence. “Oh. Sorry.”
Misha: “…”
Arlo: “…”
Lance: “Does Goddess Gineses have a new Oracle?”
Misha: “…”
Misha had mixed feelings about this.
Arlo, however, proved why he was a seasoned Divine Messenger accustomed to sudden changes. He completely ignored the awkwardness, flashed a friendly and approachable smile at Lance, and said, “Lord Lance, the Goddess hopes you can pay more attention to commissions and tasks related to the common people.”
Lance: “Tasks related to commoners?”
Arlo nodded.
“Didn’t you want to return to Skyreach City?” Arlo asked. “There is a branch of the Adventurer’s Guild in Skyreach. They frequently post commissions, mostly regarding troubles encountered by the city’s residents.”
Lance rubbed his chin, looking quite interested.
Misha couldn’t help but cast a look of admiration toward Arlo.
He’s too strong, Arlo! This is the ultimate stalling tactic!
As long as the Hero was willing to complete tasks for the Adventurer’s Guild or ordinary citizens, they could buy plenty of time for Gineses.
These types of simple tasks were usually very easy for them to manipulate. They could insert large numbers of monsters into these small errands to construct the classic image of the “Evil Demon King” and increase the Hero’s hatred for him.
Furthermore, these low-level tasks would burn off some of the Hero’s excessive energy, preventing him from doing anything even weirder.
Misha had never realized this strategy had so many benefits.
He should have persuaded the Hero to join the Adventurer’s Guild ages ago!
From what Lance knew, this type of work usually came with appropriate compensation, and he might even meet some interesting people.
The succubi wanted to open a shop in Skyreach City, which meant they needed customers and a source of goods—two major difficulties. He could, of course, listen to the suggestions of the Skyreach City Manager and have the Manager or the Lord introduce contacts. However, looking at the current state of Skyreach City, Lance felt the capabilities of the administration were… dubious. Relying on their introductions might not yield the best options.
He really needed to find time to integrate into the city himself and conduct a comprehensive investigation and assessment.
Lance: “If we have time—”
Arlo: “You certainly have time!”
“The succubi are opening a shop, and the dwarves’ mining district hasn’t been built yet!” Misha added hurriedly. “How about… we stay in Skyreach City for a few more days!”
Lance: “…”
He was clearly still hesitating.
Since they had already found Deventer, perhaps they should take him back to the capital sooner rather than later. At the very least, they should collect the King’s reward first.
Lance: “Let’s go to the Royal Capital first.”
Misha got nervous. “Actually, there’s no need to rush.”
The Black Dragon hadn’t kidnapped the princess yet. Given this Hero’s terrifying combat power, if the Hero was present when the Black Dragon appeared… Misha was terrified that Jearry would be knocked out by one punch from the Hero, becoming the first Black Dragon in history to be captured by humans.
Lance: “No, collecting the reward is actually quite urgent.”
Misha: “Ahem, but the succubus shop is also very important, right?”
Lance frowned, not understanding why Misha was so fixated on this.
He tried his best to explain to Misha.
“Do you remember the Oracle regarding Skyreach City? We need a lot of Ice Crytals,” Lance said seriously. “But dragons are mostly arrogant and rude, and they treasure the wealth they collect. Without the assistance of the Human Kingdom, it might be very difficult for us to get that many Ice Crystals from them.”
Misha understood Lance’s intention, of course.
But no matter what, he had to stall for time for Gineses. He thought carefully about the Hero’s weaknesses. The Hero liked money. And after meeting the succubi, he seemed intent on changing their lifestyle, trying to make them go against their nature…
Misha suddenly had a new idea.
“Lord Lance, if you leave here…” Misha lowered his voice, putting on a secretive air as he leaned in close to Lance. “Have you thought about what will happen to these succubi?”
Lance: “…”
“Ashby only maintains this restrained appearance because he fears you, and because of the contract binding you,” Misha spouted nonsense with a straight face. “The other succubi are much the same. It is purely out of fear of you that they are willing to wear clothes, change their names, and sit here listening to you.”
He wanted to tell the Hero that for any creature, the word ‘nature’ was not so easily shaken off—especially for succubi, who were naturally indulgent. It was fine when Lance was with them; they were afraid, so they acted docile. But once Lance left the succubi to go to Skyreach City…
He didn’t dare imagine the outcome.
“For those prone to indulgence, a brief period of restraint might only lead to extreme debauchery afterward,” Misha nodded sagely. “Once you leave Skyreach City, they will surely double their efforts to find humans and drain life force to make up for the suffering of this period.”
Lance: “…”
“Do you really want to see that happen?” Misha tried his hardest to dissuade him. “Watching the succubi you worked so hard to guide onto the right path fall back into darkness and sink into the mire—”
Lance: “…”
Misha clearly saw a rare look of hesitation on Lance’s face.
Misha decided to strike while the iron was hot, pushing a little harder to change the Hero’s mind completely.
Misha: “They need you!”
Lance: “…”
Misha: “Only you can—”
Lance: “I can’t.”
Misha: “Huh?”
“The only ones who can guide them forward are themselves,” Lance said, uttering a sentence that sounded almost philosophical but came out of nowhere. “But you’re right. Perhaps I should stay in Skyreach City for a few more days.”
There wasn’t a trace of worry for the succubi in his eyes. Instead, he looked sideways at Misha, observing his expression carefully, trying to detect even the slightest change.
Misha just widened his eyes slightly, and then a sense of pride welled up from the bottom of his heart.
What is this? What is this feeling?!
He actually convinced the Hero!!!
He convinced the annoying Hero whose thoughts were always so bizarre!
No, this is absolutely a major achievement in his demon life. When he returns to the Divine Realm, he must write this glorious deed into his work report, transcribe it, frame it, and hang it above his bed!
He finally noticed Lance’s gaze and looked back with some confusion. “Lord Lance, is there something else?”
Lance smiled at him. “Nothing.”
Misha: “…”
Misha looked at Lance cautiously. “Then you…”
“We return to Skyreach City tomorrow,” Lance said. “After we deal with the matters at hand, we’ll go to the Royal Capital.”
The next day, Lance grabbed Ashby and Deventer and forcibly dragged them along to Skyreach City.
Ashby retracted his wings and tail, put on restrictive human clothes, combed his hair neatly, and barely managed to disguise himself as a wealthy merchant.
This strange transformation made him almost unrecognizable to Misha compared to the Ashby of yesterday. Perhaps because he had never roleplayed a human before, Ashby could barely control his nervousness. Terrified of blowing his cover, he simply stopped speaking, only offering a rather cramped smile whenever Misha or Lance called his name.
Misha: “…”
No, this version of Ashby is really weird!
He couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the anxious Deventer on the other side.
Deventer had finally taken off those strange accessories and put on normal clothes. They were likely the garments he wore when he was still the Crown Prince. They didn’t quite match his current appearance, creating a strange sense of dissonance in Misha’s eyes.
But Deventer didn’t seem to have any more normal clothes. This outfit was naturally very uncomfortable for him. He looked miserable, unable to ignore the heavy fabric on his body, complaining to Ashby in a very low voice, “I haven’t worn this many clothes in a long time.”
Ashby understood his pain perfectly and nodded without hesitation. “It is so. Me too.”
Misha: “…”
I really can’t understand the worries of an exhibitionist couple.
In the end, he could only poke Lance carefully and ask with concern, “Lord Lance, will they… really be okay?”
“We’re going to be in Skyreach City for many days,” Lance said. “They’ll get used to it.”
Misha: “…”
Dammit, I’m even more worried now.
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