Chapter 48: The Hero’s Party
Lance narrowed his eyes slightly; he couldn’t shake the feeling that Misha and that elf were standing a little too close.
The shimmering glow of magic happened to obscure their faces as they whispered, but this only made the scene more conducive to wild flights of fancy. Misha didn’t notice, but Zebrun felt that he had no choice but to notice.
He had already seen a flicker of displeasure on the face of the human Heroâthe Demon Kingâs spoken-of nemesis. There was an indescribable danger in that gaze. Given that this human was powerful enough to capture him, offending him would definitely not be a wise choice.
Zebrun retreated slightly, trying to put some distance between himself and Misha. But then he remembered Misha’s excuse about “restricting his magic.” He had to abandon his struggle, pretending to be controlled by Misha. He lowered his head slightly and parted his lipsâ
Forget it. He simply didn’t know how to act.
He decided it was better to just shut up.
Both Misha and Lance were staring at Zebrun.
They both saw Zebrun suddenly retreat, and they both saw that Zebrun seemed to have something to say. Yet, unexpectedly, Zebrun clamped his mouth shut the very next second and stood frozen in place like a statue.
A strange silence descended upon the room. It seemed no one intended to speak further. After a moment of awkward dead air, Misha straightened up and gave a loud, forceful cough.
He knew Zebrun had always been a bit eccentric, but regardless, his explanation had at least landed. Zebrun wouldn’t reveal his identity to Lance, and that was enough.
So, Misha strove to continue his perfect performance, attempting to dispel the Hero’s last shred of suspicion regarding this matter.
He remembered Teacher Alisa saying that sweet words were the best bewildering drug, and that appropriate flattery could work wonders for their missions. Thus, Misha nodded, put on a sugary sweet smile, and said, “Lord Lance, you’ve worked hard.”
Zebrun: “…”
Lance glanced away slightly, still looking a bit displeased, but he nodded faintly nonetheless.
Misha added, “It must have been very difficult to catch him!”
This time, Lance didn’t nod.
He looked back at Zebrun and said, “It was okay.”
Misha: “Then you must be exhausâ”
Lance: “I caught him as soon as I walked out the door.”
Misha: “…”
Zebrun: “…”
Misha looked at Zebrun in disbelief.
What is going on? You’re a dignified Archdemon, yet you couldn’t even run fifty meters?!
Zebrun parted his lips slightly, seeming to want to explain.
To be precise, he had run to the courtyard gate. He had attempted to use magic to hinder this human, but the human’s strength was simply too terrifying. It was, of course, perfectly normal that he was caught by such a powerful human.
Yes, it was all only logical. He decided not to explain.
Misha: “…”
Misha watched Zebrun open his mouth and then say nothing again. Zebrun swallowed whatever he intended to say, completely ignoring Misha’s uncontrollable gaze of curiosity.
Misha could only rely on his knowledge of Zebrun to guess what he wanted to say.
He remembered reading reports regarding the Four Great Demons before he came to the Human Realm.
Among the Four Great Demons, the strongest in combat was the Black Dragon, Gil; followed closely by the Banshee, Nova, and the Incubus, Ashby, who were evenly matched. The weakest, naturally, was Zebrun, who stood before him now.
In myths and legends, the Dark Elf race had their compassion and restraint removed from their souls by the God King. Consequently, most Dark Elves were manic and bloodthirsty, producing many famous psychopathic killers and bloodthirsty assassins.
Zebrun was the complete opposite of his warlike kin. He was the millennial god worshiped by the Dark Elves, yet when faced with provocation and battle, he mostly chose to avoid it. Misha even suspected that Zebrun only became one of the Four Great Demons by riding on the coattails of his formidable clansmen.
Lance had already begun his interrogation.
“Name,” Lance asked briefly. “Identity.”
Zebrun: “…”
It turned out this human Hero didn’t know his identity as an Archdemon.
He was very clear about the Hero Selection System established by the Divine Realm, but to be honest, he wasn’t prepared to be killed by a human Hero. The current situation was actually an excellent opportunity for him to conceal his identity.
Zebrun was just about to speak.
Lance: “Never mind, it’s not important.”
Zebrun: “?”
Lance: “I won’t remember it anyway.”
Misha: “…”
So you ARE aware that your ability to remember names is terrible!
Lance switched directly to the next question.
“The things on the floor, are they star charts?” Lance frowned slightly, a rare look of seriousness appearing on his face. “Did you draw them?”
Zebrun: “…Yes.”
Lance smiled. “I thought star-gazing was illegal.”
He casually pulled over a toppled chair by the table. He originally intended to sit down himself, but after a slight hesitation, he pushed the chair toward Misha. Then, he walked around the table, picked up a chair that was further away, and carried it over for himself.
Misha: “…”
So weird.
Doing something like this while interrogating a captured enemy is so weird.
A handsome Hero with blond hair and blue eyes doing this is also weird.
He turned his head and caught Zebrun’s expression.
Why does Zebrun’s look seem so weird too!
“Looking at your skin color, you must be a monster,” Lance continued nonchalantly. “You look very unhealthy.”
Dark Elf Zebrun: “…”
This description… it was the first time he had heard it.
“You were hiding in this abandoned house to avoid human inspection?” Almost without thinking, Lance negated his own idea. “Human church laws and secular laws don’t apply to monsters.”
Zebrun: “…”
Lance: “For star-gazing, is there something special about this place?”
Zebrun: “…”
Misha was shocked.
This was the first time he had seen such an “interrogation.”
The party being interrogated had said exactly one word from start to finish. The rest was entirely Lance’s own deduction. Yet, despite this, the interrogation was proceeding smoothly. Even when Misha looked at Zebrun’s expression, it seemed… Lance’s guesses were all correct.
Lance picked up the star charts filled with constellations from the floor. He couldn’t understand these things, and the complex formulas beside them were even harder to decipher. But based on his understanding of the human world, this elf’s obsession with star-gazing was clearly too strange.
All calendars and astronomical research in the human world were monopolized by the Church. The calendar was determined by the Gods and conveyed to the world through oracles. Star-gazing was explicitly banned and suppressed. Even for a monster, one shouldn’t be delving this deeply into it.
He felt that the elf must have seen something in this vast, starry sky.
Lance held up the chart and asked, “Did you see something?”
Zebrun: “…”
Zebrun’s gaze lingered on Misha for a moment before quickly looking away. Then, he shook his head.
He had obviously discovered some problems, but due to certain concerns, he seemed unwilling to speak.
Lance simply picked up the scattered star charts one by one. Sitting in front of Zebrun, he flipped through them briefly before speaking calmly, “I think you didn’t see anything.”
Zebrun paused slightly, looking at Lance seriously for the first time.
“Because the sunrise, moonset, and the shifting stars you seeâ” Lance paused, looking up from the paper to stare directly into Zebrun’s eyes, and softly uttered the second half of his sentence, “âhaven’t changed at all.”
Zebrun looked astonished, but Misha didn’t understand Lance’s words.
The stars, sun, and moon? Should they change?
Everything is sustained by the God King’s divine power to maintain the normal operation of the human world. If there were major changes, that would be the real trouble, right?
But Zebrun lowered his eyes, acknowledging Lance’s words.
“Yes,” he whispered. “For a thousand years… there have been no changes.”
Lance: “That is what you’re worried about, isn’t it?”
Zebrun closed his eyes slightly and nodded gently.
Misha clearly hadn’t understood a single word.
He looked at Lance and Zebrun with utter confusion and couldn’t help asking, “What… are you guys talking about?”
Lance habitually raised his hand and patted Misha’s head.
Misha: “…”
Misha silently scooted his chair a little further away.
“This place,” Zebrun suddenly whispered, “allows one to glimpse a sliver of difference in the stars.”
That was why he hid in this house, creating the illusion of a haunting to drive away the surrounding humans. He didn’t want his violation of the Church’s ban to bring trouble to the local residents. Since he wouldn’t be staying long, he just needed to keep humans away for a short period.
Lance asked again, “Are there many places like this?”
Zebrun shook his head, then answered, “Within the Dragon Clan’s territory, this difference is most obvious.”
Lance nodded, indicating he understood. He had the answers he wanted. The commission was over; there was no haunting here, just a ghost that appeared to be the elf’s subordinate. As long as he asked the elf to send it away, everything would be fine.
As for this elf… Lance hesitated about whether to let him go.
He thought for a moment and couldn’t help asking, “Do you want to go to the Dragon Clan’s territory?”
Coincidentally, Zebrun also spoke up hesitantly, “Do you also conduct research on the stars?”
No, Lance had done absolutely no research on stars.
He couldn’t even read what was drawn on the star charts.
It was just that he needed this elf’s help right now. He wanted to figure out what exactly was going on. Since lying was as common as a daily meal for him, he nodded slightly and said, “A little bit of understanding.”
Zebrun lowered his eyelashes and whispered, “I have some… issues with the Dragon Clan. They might not let me enter their territory.”
Aside from the Black Dragon lineage, which belonged to the special category of monsters, the rest of the Dragon Clan wasn’t much different from humans. They were faithful believers of the Gods and knew nothing of the Gods’ plan to select a Hero. For a monster like Zebrun, entering Dragon territory meant being driven out as soon as he was discovered.
And unfortunately, the observation point he had identified was in the Dragon Clan’s Sanctuary.
For him, that was an impossibly difficult location to infiltrate. He had absolutely no hope of entering the Dragon Sanctuary.
Lance, however, answered without hesitation, “I can take you in.”
Misha: “…”
No, wait.
Things are getting weirder and weirder.
Why does the Hero want to take an Archdemon into a Sanctuary?!
Zebrun: “But…”
“I’m also very curious about the fate of the stars.” Lance flashed a harmless smile at Zebrun. “If possible, I would be happy to go take a look with a scholar like yourself.”
Misha: “…”
Zebrun: “…”
Zebrun seemed persuaded.
Following Lance’s suggestion, he had the ghost attach itself to his personal belongings to remove it from the wooden house. Then, he packed up all the star charts and books, planning to follow Lance back to Sky City first.
He couldn’t change his appearance as freely as a succubus, so he had to use a cloak and veil to cover his face, and wear gloves to carefully hide any exposed skin.
Mages tended to have eccentric personalities anyway, so wearing a lot of clothes wasn’t rare. As long as Lance provided a reasonable explanation, no one should be suspicious.
Only Misha was very worried.
The Hero’s party seemed to have grown again.
But why is the Hero’s party entirely made up of the Demon King and Archdemons?!
Isn’t the ratio of monsters a bit too high?
No, I have to find a way to make Ashby and Zebrun leave!
By the time Lance finished handing over the commission to the farmer, the sky was nearly brightening.
They returned to Sky City and went back to the church where they were staying. Lance went to find the monk on night duty to ask for an extra room for Zebrun.
Once Lance left, Misha finally had a chance to talk to Zebrun.
He was anxious to explain the current situation to Zebrun, but just as he opened his mouth, Zebrun nodded seriously.
“It doesn’t matter, my Lord,” Zebrun said earnestly. “I have absolutely no interest in other people’s private affairs.”
Misha: “?”
No, what on earth is he thinking?!
“You can do whatever you want,” Zebrun said. “At your age, this is very normal.”
Misha: “??”
Zebrun thought about it again. His only worry was that this relationship might not have a result, and Lord Demon King might end up heartbroken. Butâ
But that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with me.
Forget it, better not to say anything.
Standing so conspicuously outside Misha’s room, they watched as another door at the end of the corridor opened.
If Misha remembered correctly, that seemed to be Prince Deventer’s room.
He frowned, having a premonition of awkwardness.
Great. The person walking out was indeed Ashby.
Misha took a deep breath.
Seeing the smile on Ashby’s face and his cheerful demeanor, Misha tried to look away and pretend he saw nothing. But Zebrun was very surprised. Even though Ashby had disguised his appearance, Zebrun could still faintly sense a familiar magical energy.
Zebrun asked hesitantly, “…Ashby?”
As soon as Ashby left Deventer’s room, he saw Misha and a weirdo wrapped up tight.
He had intended to greet the Demon King, but the weirdo spoke first. The voice was somewhat familiar. Judging by his experience, it sounded like a beautiful personâ
Wait, no. That sounds like Zebrun’s voice.
Ashby froze in place, his eyes widening in shock.
If he remembered correctly, that terrifying human Hero had gone on a mission alone with the Demon King. But… why did they bring Zebrun back?
Could it be that, not only me, but even Zebrun has been…
Ashby couldn’t hide his shock, nor could he control the look of sorrow that washed over his face.
“Zebrun!” he couldn’t help but cry out painfully. “You… you’ve fallen into the Hero’s clutches too?”
Misha: “…”
Zebrun: “…Huh?”
Recommended Reads
Haha, Ashby is so funny.