Chapter 47 TDK Vol. 2 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 – The Former Demon King Sprints Through the Capital at Night

That night, I was gazing down at the royal palace from the sky.

“Looks like Niil made it into the western villa safely.”

After confirming her arrival, I slowly descended, landing on the roof of a nearby building. This was a residential area a short distance from the palace. Having snuck out of my lodgings, I was taking a stroll through the royal capital at night.

As expected of the capital, it was bustling with people even after dark. The city lights showed no sign of going out anytime soon. The royal palace was particularly bright. The entire perimeter was illuminated by magical lights, with guards patrolling both inside and out.

“Whoa, the central and eastern palaces even have magical alarm systems. Impressive.”

Straining my eyes, I could see lines of magical energy woven above the palace, forming a net that enveloped the buildings. I imagined that touching it would instantly alert the mages in charge of security. The capital was crawling with mages, after all, so it was only natural for them to be wary of intruders, whether they be familiars or other mages. That much I understood.

What I didn’t understand was why the western palace, where Iris lived, had almost no alarms at all. I’d heard the western villa was where the children of the king’s concubines lived, but… was that level of security really enough?

“Is there a reason the security is so lax only in the west? If so, maybe I should prepare another familiar for Iris. And an escape route, just in case—”

“Are you planning to flee, Master~?” a voice squeaked beside me. It was Dick, my bat familiar. “If you’re leaving the capital, I will accompany you~!”

“That’s a last resort, Dick, I told you.”

“Then are we gathering lots of ‘Ancient Artifacts’~?”

“Just two will do. I plan to elevate the Grossalia Barony to a Marquisate.”

That was the most direct path. If the House of Grossalia became a marquis house, I could marry Iris. After that, it would probably be best if we both conveniently went missing under some pretext. Both Iris and I would eventually stop aging. On top of that, we both carried complicated pasts. I had a feeling it would be dangerous for either of us to remain in the human world for too long.

“Odette would probably be angry with me, though.”

“Is Lady Odette a nice person~?”

“Yeah. So nice that I wish she could become immortal along with Iris.”

“Immortal, you say~?”

“Do you want to become immortal, Dick?”

“I don’t really know~.”

“It’d be great if there was some ‘Ancient Magic’ or an ‘Ancient Artifact’ that could grant someone immortality.”

I was sure such things existed. The ‘Holy Sword’ had reincarnated Alice and me, so there was no doubt that ‘Ancient Artifacts’ could meddle with life itself. If so, it wouldn’t be strange for an ‘Ancient Magic’ or an ‘Ancient Artifact’ capable of making someone immortal to exist.

“I actually researched that kind of magic myself, a long time ago. But the best I could come up with was a spell to make people healthier. See, if there were other immortals besides me, I wouldn’t stand out so much. And I wouldn’t have to watch my family die before me.”

“You think about some incredible things, Master~.”

“It’s little more than a fantasy, though.”

Using my ‘Boosted Enhancement,’ I took a running start and leaped. With my ‘Levitate’ skill, I moved from rooftop to rooftop. Dick flew alongside me, with several other bats in tow—friends they had made here in the capital. They flew in a flock, doing a nice job of concealing my figure. They also handled reconnaissance, so I had no trouble avoiding the city guards.

“That’s enough for tonight’s patrol. Good work, everyone.”

“““Yes, Master~!”””

The bat squadron dispersed. I continued on, heading for my own lodging.

“Hup.”

I dropped to the ground from the roof of a building near my quarters.

A light was still on in my room. I’d told them they could go to sleep first, but were Martha and Remy still awake? The front door should be locked, so I figured I’d just fly up and go in through the second floor again.

Just as I thought that, the door to the adjacent lodging opened. I reflexively hid in the shadows of the building. The person who emerged was Odette. I could tell by the way her golden hair reflected the moonlight. She was wearing her usual mage’s robe with the hood pulled up to hide her face, but it couldn’t quite conceal her hair. She waved off a butler who tried to follow her and started walking. Her destination was the lodging next door—which was to say, mine.

“What’s up, Odette?”

“———Eek?!”

Odette jumped. She looked over at me with teary eyes.

“…Yuuki. You shouldn’t startle people like that.”

“Sorry. I forgot I was silencing my footsteps.”

“What kind of way is that to walk? And where have you been, anyway?”

“Just a night stroll.”

“The roads are dangerous at night, you know.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t use the roads.”

“I see. Well, that’s a relief.”

“Yep.”

“…Wait? Something about that conversation doesn’t add up…”

“More importantly, what about you, Odette? What are you doing out at this hour?”

“R-Right! A letter arrived from the Magic Guild. Two of them, in fact.”

“Two?”

“I believe one was delivered to you as well, Yuuki. The first is from Demeter-sama. It’s about the attack by the ‘specter’ in the ‘Cave of the Holy Sword,’ and the ‘Ancient Magic’ that Gael Wolfgang used.”

“…Oh, that.”

During the ‘Guardian Knight Selection Trial,’ Odette and I were attacked by a specter. It called itself Logruel, the Seventh Priest of the ‘Sanctuary Church Elysium Temple,’ and tried to steal the Holy Sword. I had vanquished it with the sword, but we never found out why Gael Wolfgang had summoned it in the first place. Demeter and Barnes-san had mentioned there were worshipers of the Sanctuary Church. I suppose this was the report on their investigation.

“The other is about the investiture ceremony for the guardian knights.”

Odette looked at me, a rolled-up piece of parchment in her hand. Even in the dim light, I could see she was a little pale.

“It seems another member of the royal family will be appointing a guardian knight at the same time as Princess Iris. A princess of the same age.”

“At this timing?”

“Her name is Princess Salvia, the fourth princess. She is the literal fourth in line to the throne and a legitimate child of the king. She is the same age as Princess Iris and also has the right to appoint a guardian knight.”

“I see. But that doesn’t have anything to do with me or the princess, does it?”

“It is rumored that upon hearing Princess Iris was appointing a guardian knight, Princess Salvia declared that she would do the same.”

…What’s that all about?

“Come to think of it, you told me before, didn’t you? That because of her… condition, Princess Iris has been looked down upon by her half-siblings. Could it be that this Princess Salvia is…?”

“You catch on quickly. That is precisely the case.”

As if afraid of being overheard, Odette leaned in close to me and spoke.

“I get it. So that’s what this is.”

So, the one who’s been looking down on Iris is this Princess Salvia. As a daughter of a ducal house, Odette probably couldn’t bring herself to say the name out loud.

“Furthermore, it seems Princess Salvia intends to have her guardian knight compete with hers in a contest of magic.”

“…This is getting complicated.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Can I talk to you for a bit? I’d like your advice.”

“Of course. I came here with that very intention.”

“Thanks. The girls are probably tired, so I can’t offer you any tea, though.”

“That is quite all right.”

Kyu-kyu?

A small cry echoed in the night. Standing next to the door of our lodging was a small, silver fox. It was Remy. I hadn’t heard the door open… ah, I must have left the second-floor window open. Remy must have come out from there after hearing our voices.

“Remy. Is Martha still awake?”

“She’s… getting tea ready~.”

“You know, you guys could have gone to sleep.”

“We want… to be with Master.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s not… a problem~.”

“…I can only hear ‘kyu-kyu,’ but I can somehow understand what she is saying,” Odette remarked.

“That’s amazing, Odette.”

“Your name is Remy, was it not?”

Kyu?

When Odette called her name, Remy padded over to her feet and gave a small bow.

“Are you… Master’s friend?”

“I apologize for the late hour, but I shall be intruding.”

The conversation didn’t quite connect, but it was close enough.

And so, Odette and I, with Remy in tow, entered the lodging. We needed to talk—about the information on the specter, and about this Princess Salvia.