Episode 50.
Seeing the demon appear, Ephinia was terrified.
– Why are you afraid of me? From now on, you and I have become friends who have to play games.
A devil with a ghastly smile.
“I don’t want to play games! I didn’t know you were a demon.”
-It’s already late.
When the demon reached out to Ephinia, a black thing came out and headed for Ephinia’s back.
The black thing disappeared as if being sucked into Ephinia’s back.
-I left a proof on your back that you are playing a game with me.
“no! I’m not playing games!”
-I can’t do that. If you’re willing to give up, I’ll take your soul.
Ephinia was terrified at the sound of taking her soul.
And he shouted as if he had given up.
“Then, start the game quickly!”
-You’re an impatient child. Anyway, 20 years is not enough time to find me.
Epinia suddenly realized that something was wrong.
20 years is not enough
“Twenty years is enough to find it!”
-hahahaha, you are quite bold. Then you don’t need a hint, right?
For a moment, Epinia was taken aback.
He said it was a hint.
“No… I need a hint.”
– To be honest, it’s cute. That’s why I like kids.
And the devil handed Ephinia a piece of paper.
-I wrote down the hint on the piece of paper. Now, when you step out the door, the game begins.
Epinia came up with a good idea.
‘I’ll have to go back in as soon as I leave the door!’
With a triumphant smile, Ephinia went out the door.
And immediately turned around.
But there were no demons there.
“what? Where are you going?”
The door was gone.
Ephinia realized one thing through it.
“This is what the lack of 20 years meant…”
There was no way to find Ephinia if she hid in that strange space.
“What do we do···.”
First of all, Ephinia thought she should talk to her father, the emperor.
***
“It turned out like this.”
I couldn’t believe what the first princess said.
However, the curse on her back proved that the princess’ words were true.
“Certainly, in Curse, it gives off an aura similar to that of the demons I dealt with.”
“…”
“But it’s more like a stigma than a curse.”
Princess 1 shook her head and denied it.
“As a result of several investigations, it was an application of an ancient curse.”
“is that so···.”
However, there was something he did not understand even after hearing the words of the first princess.
“What the hell can I do to help you?”
There was no way I could help.
According to the story, it was just a matter of finding them without having to fight the demons.
But considering that I haven’t been able to find it so far, it must be a place that I can’t easily find.
“So rather than winning the game, I thought in the direction of cursing.”
“Do you…?”
Even so, there is nothing I can do.
“I’ll make it through somehow.”
There was a firm determination in the expression of the first princess who said that.
“So, please deal with the demons that will come later.”
“…”
So it’s too much. It is not an easy task to catch the devil.
“No matter how you think about it, it’s impossible to do it alone.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. We have also requested help from the Holy Empire of Epia.”
then···.
“If it’s the Holy Empire, it’s in conflict with the devil, so do I really need it?”
“The more the better. And even in the Holy Empire, they probably don’t have experience fighting demons.”
That said, I needed the experience of fighting demons that I had.
“All you have to do is lead from behind safely.”
“That’s… that’s good. By the way, what was the hint the devil gave you?”
According to the 1st princess, the devil wrote the hint to the 1st princess on a piece of paper.
1The princess took out a faded piece of paper from her bosom.
“This is it.”
The paper was folded. I received the paper from Princess 1 and unfolded it.
“this is···.”
What is written on the paper is probably a hint.
But I couldn’t figure it out.
“It is an ancient letter. It is incomprehensible to me.”
“Me too. I think it is difficult to interpret because it is mixed with proper nouns.”
“okay.”
Princess 1 took the paper with the hint written on it again.
“If only the interpretable parts were to be interpreted…”
It is said that there are demons where something is guarding.
“Hmm… that’s too general.”
“So I’m assuming there are no hints.”
However, looking at the ancient characters, memories that I had forgotten for a while came to mind.
‘Come to think of it, there might be a way to interpret it.’
There was a necklace from the ruins. I left it at the Caldert family.
If there is, it might be possible to interpret it.
“Do you have a copy of that paper?”
“Why is that?”
“I have a magic tool that can interpret it, but it is in the home.”
Then, Princess 1’s expression hardened.
Gradually, I noticed that he was trying to distance himself from me.
why are you doing this all of a sudden
“Bonga?…? The Rike family must have gone extinct. Where do you mean your home is?”
I made a mistake.
The Rike family is just a borrowed name, not really my family.
“Calm down. It can be explained.”
“You lied about your identity.”
1 The princess gradually fell away from me.
If I approached it for nothing, it could lead to misunderstandings, so I stopped right there.
“Um… can you tell me your real identity?”
Seeing me not taking any action, the first princess’s alertness softened a little.
“that···.”
I thought for a moment.
What would happen if I told the first princess my real identity?
‘Is everything okay?’
I don’t mind if you tell me my real identity.
“Greetings again. 1 Princess.”
“…”
He followed the manners of an aristocrat and continued.
“My name is Suhar Caldert, the third son of the Caldert family belonging to the Roto Kingdom.”
Even through the cloth, the first princess’s expression was perplexed.
You wouldn’t have thought that the identity of the black mercenary was a nobleman.
“Suhar…? lie.”
Princess 1 lifted the cloth that covered her face and started checking my face.
At the same time, I was also able to confirm the face of the first princess.
“Ah senior?”
“Are you really Suhar?”
I was very perplexed. Princess 1 was also the same.
***
Ea, no Ephinia took off the cloth covering her face and sat down in front of me.
“Suhar, you are a black mercenary.”
“I was surprised too. It seemed like she was hiding something, but she was the first princess. Have I ever been rude? Princess Epinia.”
“Suhar, don’t make fun of me.”
I meant it, but Epinia took it as a joke.
“Anyway, the Caldert family has magic tools that can interpret it?”
I nodded.
“Actually, I couldn’t speak at the time, but I visited the ruins quite often.”
I remembered the time when I went to the ruins with Ephinia. Even though he had experience with ruins, he pretended not to have them.
“no wonder···.”
“That’s why I challenged the ruins again and got stuck.”
The fact that Milia sent an assassin was a fact that did not need to be reported, so he decided to hide it.
“so?”
“It was hard to come out of there. But among the rewards, there was a magical tool that could interpret text.”
“really···?”
Epinia’s expression was full of anticipation.
“I’m sure. Wearing it made it possible to interpret it.”
“okay? then···.”
What Ephinia is about to say is expected.
“But I can’t go to my parents’ house right now.”
“why?”
“I’m running away.”
Seeing Ephinia bewildered, he quickly added his words.
“Actually, I have no interest in the position of the heir, but I ran away because my vassals kept trying to make me the heir.”
“I see. But with that necklace…”
There was one more reason why I couldn’t go further.
“in fact···.”
He told me about Milia’s exclusive maid, Leah.
I’m not sure, but Leah is a suspicious figure.
He also told me about an organization called Noblesse, which is related to demons and has strange powers.
Fortunately, Epinia knew about Noblesse.
“So, you think Leah is a member of Noblesse, but you’re thinking of becoming stronger in order to knock out that organization once and for all?”
In one sentence, yes.
“But isn’t that too complacent?”
What’s wrong?
“No matter how strong you are, how do you think you can manage an organization that is related to demons alone?”
Come to think of it, that is correct.
However, if you move in a large scale, there is a risk that the opponent will notice.
“I will send the sword master of our empire. Bring me the necklace instead.”
“yes···?”
If it is the sword master of the empire.
While the Kingdom designates one Sword Master as a Sword Master, the Empire grants up to three Sword Master titles.
“Are you one of the three Sword Masters of the Mycenae Empire?”
Epinia shook her head.
Disappointment came at once.
“No, even a sword master who has not obtained the title of swordsman has outstanding skills!”
“Right···.”
Still, the problem was that they were inferior to the swordsmen in the Mycenae Empire.
“…”
I thought about it for a while though.
The necklace and later the sword master’s help.
“great!”
From nob le mt l. co m
No matter how much I thought about it, it was much better to be able to get help from the Sword Master.
“By the way, Suhar.”
Ephinia hesitates for a moment and cannot speak easily.
“Can’t we just sneak in and get it?”
I forced myself to resist the urge to laugh.
I replied with a smile minus the smile.
“Ha ha ha, that sounds interesting.”
“what···? It doesn’t sound that strange.”
It is easy to sneak into a kingdom’s county.
But how easy would it be to sneak into the count’s mansion?
Besides, something bad happened recently, so he must be putting more effort into security.
“Had I been able to do that, I would have stopped by the house at least once.”
I was curious about the contents of the book I got while catching the Ancient Snake.
“Are you going home anyway?”
“Yes I will. Actually, I’m not sure, but I think the successor’s position has been sorted out.”
“what···? Then you’re saying that you promised the sword master’s help for nothing.”
It was the number of Epinia that I brought out to convince me that I didn’t want to go to my parents’ house.
Of course, it would be useless if the reason for not wanting to go to his or her parents’ home disappears.
“no. You said you weren’t sure. Actually, I was planning to return around the time my older brother inherited the county.”
It was Epinia who couldn’t help but be astonished by my words.
“what? isn’t that too long? If you’re the Count of the Caldert family I know, you’ll keep that position for at least several decades.”
“just joke. I was thinking of going back once the successor announcement was over.”
Ephinia, who suddenly hardened her expression, slowly approached me.
Then he put his index finger to my mouth and whispered quietly.
“I hope you will keep the secret of this request.”
“yes.”
And I asked Ephinia to solve one question.
“By the way, the academy’s sabbatical is about to end, so why are you here?”
“Oh, that hit me.”
“yes···?”
I couldn’t help but be embarrassed because he spoke so boldly.
“Actually, I went to several academies. That’s why I entered the school to read books to find clues about the curse.”
“is that so···?”
“I read all the books worth reading at Lotto Academy, so I just quit.”
From my point of view, two of the best players in Lotto Academy have quit.
Me and Epinia.
Are geniuses quitting the academy, or is quitting the academy a genius?
A strange question came to mind, but I soon gave up on it.