Thank you.
As expected, Nicole ca up to to express her thanks when I gave the command to protect the other villages. A shred of liveliness seed to seep into her eyes as well. Her change in attitude was especially a relief for given her opinion of had worsened thanks to that little incident of Devil summoning. Truly a close call there
Seeing as we had ti to spare for once, I found a random empty patch of grass to sit down on, took out so of the dry rations I had stored in my dinsional ring, and invited everyone for a quick snack. A brief mont later, the creases on everyones eyebrows lessened noticeably.
However, the way Neneth vacuud down the food I gave her was a little worrying. At this point, I wasnt even sure if I should be worrying about our dry rations running out, or her bursting at the seams first
Sister Mo Na, why are you looking at Neneth like that for?
I was just thinking to myself, how can such an adorable girl have such a big appetite, thats all.
Faced with that potentially sensitive question, Neneth rely laughed and proudly smacked her chest. Thats because Neneth is strong, thats why she needs more food!
You eat more because you are strong I cant even refute that
Now that our al was over, it was ti for serious business.
We still had no way of confirming whether or not the mastermind behind this whole incident was watching us from the shadows. The steps we took next would likely be crucial.
As of right now, there were two choices facing us. First, all of us could head to the nearby towns to notify their local leaders for aid. However, the fact that there was an Undead horde running amok unchecked, there was a high likelihood that the local nobility had been compromised. Perhaps the lord of the land had been bribed, or perhaps he was one of the evildoers to begin with. There was a chance that the lord wanted us dead as well. Even so, given Nicoles unique status, all we had to do was report the situation to a nearby Demon Hunter branch. The lord would surely be indicted then, though there was still the possibility of the nobility acting to silence us.
The second choice would be to send a small detachnt to the neighbouring towns to report the situation while most of us stayed behind to contain the situation. This way, the nobility would find it harder to kill us all, since they would have two groups to deal with. This thod would allow us to gain the aid we wanted as well. However, there was a glaring risk in that if another Dracolich were to pop up well we would be done for then
Both choices had their own strong points, and were valid in this situation.
Its fine if we just wait here. Just as I was mulling over which decision to take, Nicole coolly interjected, Ive already sent out a ssage with my magical tool. My teacher should be here soon with reinforcents.
Huh? She did that? Everyone was equally surprised as they turned to look at her. The I didnt even see you doing that look was clearly plastered on everyones face.
I used it last night. When I returned to our room.
So thats why. Still, that teacher shes talking about should be the branch leader of the Demon Hunters Guild. A bigwig of the Demon Hunters. If soone like that were to co over, then theres no need to worry. All we gotta do now is hold the line for the reinforcents.
However, I couldnt help but notice the awkwardness of my situation right now. After all, the Demon Hunters were an association dedicated to slaying Devils. And, this wasnt bragging or anything, but I was the proverbial wild p0kemon to their eager trainers.
Even so, the fact that I assisted Nicole so much should work highly in my favor. If I was lucky, I might even get in her teachers good graces. That would allow to accompany Nicole long term. I still had my transformation magic to cover up my Devil scent, at the end of the day. I just needed legal status for my Occultist practise.
What followed next was a lull period where we really did not have much to do. Nicole ntioned her teacher would arrive soon, but she did not tell us how quickly. Minutes? Hours? Perhaps tonight?
Truthfully, there were still a bunch of questions left unanswered regarding the village saga. Who released that Dracolich? What was Umbra even after? And that barrier too
I had next to nothing on the identity of the mastermind. Actually, I had nothing at all. I had no way of investigating either. As for Umbras goal, the signs were pointing to him trying to get Nicole to kill those villagers. Was that perhaps how they would seduce her to join the dark side? Probably. Next was that Anti-light Barrier. Umbra ntioned that this was the first ti they had used it in such a public manner. Were there many Anti-light Barriers deployed in secret then? That would be a pretty logical deduction.
However, there was an even scarier implication if that was true. That Anti-light Barrier basically allowed a Vampire to walk around in the sunlight like a normal person would. That ant they could be that handso villager next door and no one would realise. That barrier most likely blocked out the ultraviolet rays in the sunlight. In that case, normal people wouldnt notice the difference even if the barrier was deployed in, lets say, a town.
Since ancient tis, the fastest way to differentiate a normal Human from a Vampire was to roast him in the sun. But if the barrier rendered this thod useless, then that begged the question: how many Vampires are hiding out in, or even controlling, the various Human settlents?
Of course, Umbra could be telling the whole truth as well. And it could just be that this was really the first ti they took it out to use. However, I was more likely to favor my earlier theory.
Vampires were creatures that relied on Humans for sustenance. They would want to have so Humans living near their nests. What better way to ensure a constant supply of blood then to control the Humans like sheep?
If that was the case, this Undead horde made sense. The nobility was under their control, or maybe they were the Vampires
Crap. It just gets more scary the more I think about it
It was at that mont that one of the Dark Elven Assassin ca up to and handed a tiny bottle of white powder. I gave the bottle a quick look then gestured for everyone to have a break first. Having done that, I threw a look at Nicole, signalling for her to follow to the forest.
Having understood my intentions, she stood up to follow . Neneth initially wanted to co along as well, but was stopped by Regine.
Regine shook her head at Neneth who pouted in response but sat down in the end.
As we walked towards the forest, I turned around and asked Nicole, what are your opinions on the Lords inaction this ti around?
Suspicious. A straight to the point answer.
Yes. I suspect that the nobles of this territory have so sort of underground dealings with the creatures of darkness. Perhaps the lord himself might be one of them. We continued onwards.
That Anti-light barrier intrigues as well. Thats why I had my subordinates take a sample of it. They found unusual traces within a five kiloter radius of the village. According to them, there were a lot of traces left behind, so you can just get your Demon Hunters to retrieve them as well. But for even the lord of the land to be a suspect
I understand. Nicole coldly cut off.
Heres a sample I just received. I took out the bottle I just received for her to see. You can use this as a future reference.
Thanks.
Theres no need to thank , because
I stopped talking at that point. Rather, I couldnt. Because I was no longer the person I was before. None of us were. Nicole was now a Demon Hunter, while I was a Devil. Two entities dood to be at odds with each other. Even though I had faith that she would still accept even after knowing of my identity, now wasnt the ti to tell her. I could tell she held a deeply seated hatred for Devils. Until I gained enough trust, I mustnt reveal my identity.
How about we talk about you instead? Im quite interested in what you have to say. She suddenly threw a curveball after a deathly long period of silence between us.
I guess Im an Occultist who wants to be a productive mber of society? Awkward silence once more I couldnt figure out what else to say to her question, thanks to how different Nicole was from before. In the past, I could fairly accurately predict how she would react to my words; I was just that familiar with her. Now, however I did not understand her at all. The only thing I knew about her was that she was searching for Mo Ke.
Productive mber of society?
Thats right. I nodded my head. We might not be able to choose how we were born, but I firmly believe that we can choose how we live our lives. I wish to be soone useful, and I think Ive accomplished that today.
Having said that, I turned to find Nicole looking at , a little misty eyed as she muttered, So similar
Similar?
Similar to what my younger brother said in the past.
I began to sweat a little. Did she find out already? Which part?
The part about choosing how we lived our lives. She then mimicked the voice I had when I was young. As she did that, a smile crept onto her lips. Just like that.
(TL: Quite sure he never said that. I checked the previous chapters from 2 to 7. I doubt he actually said the following phrase as well, so Im not going to bother searching)
I dryly laughed. A coincidence, Im sure. Just like being struck by lightning, a pure coincidence
He used to say that too.
Why am I even bothering at this point? Talking to her is tiring
Thankfully, this atmosphere did not continue for long.
They address you as Her Holiness. Those Dark Elves all seem to be experts in their own right. If I were to go up against them, I dont think I can win in a one on one. She suddenly stopped walking and looked right in the eyes with an empty expression. Finally, in no uncertain words, she said, Youre so kind of big shot, arent you?
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