Chapter 99 – Chapter 99 ― Divergence (1)
Episode 99 ― Duplicity (1)
I heard the gentle demon king’s answer.
“Helen. Prior to Jim, Lauca first.”
Steam was rising from the emperor’s body, with his upper body exposed.
And Lauca lying on the ground covered in the demon king’s cloak and fur.
Bodily fluids scattered here and there that knights as strong as Helen would have to look up to notice.
Helen, who quickly grasped the situation, was rather relieved and healed Lauca.
In the meantime, a knight carrying a blanket broke through the stone wall and knelt down in front of Roan.
He was the knight commander of Seohyeolryeong, whom he met several times while heading to Zeno.
“Your majesty. Preserve the jade body.”
“Hmm.”
The emperor’s coat falls to the floor, but no one is big enough to encourage the emperor to put the messy clothes back on.
The soldiers carefully collected the emperor’s clothes, and the knight still bowed his head as he spoke.
“I assumed you were trapped inside the cave, but I couldn’t find you quickly. I apologize.”
“Explain.”
I didn’t feel much anger in the emperor’s words asking for details.
But the knight shuddered.
For whatever reason, they were late,
That’s how much the emperor was confined in a cold place.
No matter how strong he is.
It is not easy to confess one’s faults to someone who is so high up.
Recently, I have heard a lot about the benevolent works of the emperor,
Ample winter supply he also received,
While returning to Zeno to serve the emperor with his lord, he had a chance to glimpse his true nature.
Nevertheless, the knight commander of Seohyeolryeong needed time to make up his mind to come up with an excuse.
That’s because Roan’s notoriety was high.
“Immediately after your Majesty spoke with the Grand Duke, you followed the forest fairy into the forest, and about an hour later, there was a large physical and magical vibration.”
Hearing the report, Roan’s eyebrows deepened.
It’s true that the monster called Cave Worm is a bit heinous, but… Isn’t this enough?
The place where he parted with the West Blood Lord was quite far from the waypoint.
Even if it was the lord himself, he judged that there was no need to show the waypoint ruins to the knights and soldiers escorting him.
How much is it in terms of distance?
I ran at full speed for about 10 minutes chasing after Lauca. Even if I couldn’t do it, I would have run several kilometers.
Running speed in real life is incomparable.
Because both the demon king’s body and the forest fairy’s body have already transcended the human level.
And this cave is a leisurely 30-minute walk from the ruins. It is about 2 km.
In total, it is about 10 km away.
But a cave worm that eats a bear vibrates up to 10 km away?
Subway vibrations are not transmitted to the extent that ordinary people can feel them even outside 10 km.
It’s an unbelievable story.
That vibration,
It seems more reasonable to think that it diverged from this decision.
‘However, there was no sign of power being released by splitting the crystal with your hands…’
When Roan seemed to be lost in thought, the knight cautiously said a word.
“Your Majesty, put on a blanket.”
“Ah.”
Roan realized that he was still wearing nothing on his upper body.
Seeing the knight’s worried expression, Roan unfolded the blanket and threw it over his shoulder.
With a body of 99 health, there would be no chance of catching a cold, but Roan asked for the knight’s explanation again with a faint smile.
“Hmm. Called vibration. Would you like to talk?”
“Yes. Your majesty. At first, I thought it was an earthquake, but I also felt a powerful magic wave. However, as His Majesty told the Grand Duke in advance, the search began 10 hours after His Majesty headed for the forest.”
“It must have been difficult because it was night.”
It was an unexpected consolation from the emperor.
The knight lowered his head and opened his eyes wide.
“… It’s nothing compared to the hardships His Majesty went through.”
“I specifically told the lord the location of the place to be searched, but the fact that I couldn’t come quickly was an obstacle.”
“That’s right.”
The knight swallowed quietly.
“I encountered a forest fairy.”
Roan’s face hardened.
“The forest fairy… , I heard you don’t come this far.”
“That’s right. The actual range of activities of the forest fairies is much further inside the forest. But they also felt the vibrations and came out to assess the situation.”
“… Hmm.”
Was it vibration and wavelength enough to be transmitted to the forest fairy’s residence?
Could it be that the forest fairies were sensitive enough to feel it, or was the vibration just that strong?
It’s hard to figure out when you’re locked up.
“The first team searching the area was ambushed. The source of trouble was holding a torch in the middle of the night in a zone where magic was not allowed. The search team withdrew for the time being to minimize damage.”
Roan cut off the knight.
“… You can’t use magic?”
“Yes. That’s right. So I couldn’t use detection magic, and the forest fairies also attacked with bows…”
“Why can’t I use magic?”
“If you use magic here, the consumption of magic becomes even more severe. In severe cases, mana runaway may occur. Your majesty. So using magic in this area is taboo for both the forest fairies and us.”
Roan’s face twisted at the new fact.
“Magic Oxidation… Wasn’t runaway only for forest fairies?”
“Yes. This forest… Excessive use of magic in this area where magic is absorbed causes demons and humans to suffer from oxidation of magic. They usually have less mana than forest fairies, so if you consume a lot of mana at once, you will go into a runaway rather quickly.”
“… Hmm.”
A chill went down Roan’s spine.
Local information that is not known in detail unless someone is in the vicinity of the area.
Roan realized anew that he couldn’t tell everything just because it was a dialogue in a game.
If I wasn’t in a state where I only knew little magic like warming magic or light,
Or if I didn’t have divine power.
Let alone sex, I might have been knocked out.
If Lauca didn’t spare her magic until the last minute and used it profusely, Lauca might have lost her life as well.
‘… You were brave because you were ignorant.’
Roan let out a sigh of relief.
The article’s explanation continued.
“We reorganized the search party with those who could search at night and started the second search.
However, it took more time than expected because even the sappers were protected by shields. I apologize for not being in a bit more haste. Your majesty.”
In the words of the article, there was a sense of apology for the late rescue.
He didn’t seem to understand the idea of protecting even non-combatants from forest fairies’ attacks by attaching shields, but the West Blood Lord seemed to have similar thoughts to Roan.
I will protect even weak soldiers.
If the forest fairies saw it, I hope they noticed that their appearance is different from the usual demons.
“Okay. Didn’t you bump into the forest fairy more?”
“They seemed to care about what we were looking for here.”
“We said we haven’t touched each other here for a while.”
“That’s right. Your majesty.”
Ron’s expression darkened slightly.
“I tried to explore quietly, but things got a little annoying.”
In the darkened dragon’s eyes, the knight just didn’t know what to do and couldn’t raise his head.
“I built a barracks around here just in case, so you can’t see the inside…”
“It’s not difficult to find out what happened if the forest fairy directly examines the trail anyway.”
With a weak voice, Lauca interrupted the conversation.
“… Did you wake up?”
“Huh…”
With a flushed face, Lauca lifts her body from the lying position with Helen’s help.
With her naked body, the demon king’s cloak was wrapped around her, and on top of that, the blanket that Helen covered her once again wrapped around her, making Lauca look like a worm with a thick cloak.
Roan smiled involuntarily.
“… ?”
Lauca, who noticed her laughter, glared at Roan with her resentful eyes.
“… So I recommend blocking them from looking at this place, or giving them a good reason quickly.”
“Any good reason?”
“Your Majesty should think about that.”
“Lauka-sama.”
“Joy.”
Helen called out her name quietly, as if blaming Lauca, but Lauca stuck her snort at Roan, her lips sticking out.
Looks like a tight squeeze.
It felt like ‘detection’ as the semen that Roan had left inside flowed down Lauca’s legs as she slumped up.
“Okay. I will take care of it.”
In the end, Roan laughed and left the cave with Lauca following the guide of the knight.
Wherever Lauca moved, tiny drops of her bodily fluids left behind, but only Helen seemed to notice.
It was only after leaving the passage of the cave that the soldiers had secured that Roan could finally see that the ceiling at the entrance had collapsed completely.
The soldiers stepped on the collapsed ceiling and entered the depths, supported the pillars inside the passage and seemed to have entered the place where Roan was.
“Come to think of it, I kept the ‘light’ on from the inside. Didn’t you see the light?”
“Did you? Yes. We didn’t see it.”
Denying Roan’s question, the knight commander added an additional explanation.
“I confirmed inside that there was a hole in the ceiling where I was staying earlier, but the ground connected to it has not yet been found.
It is expected to be a place covered with one more layer of rocks or trees.”
“… Hmm.”
Roan looked back at the distance he thought he was. You can see wide rocks and dense trees filling the top.
If I hadn’t been lucky, it could have been covered entirely there. Creepy again.
Roan realized how lucky he and Lauca had been to survive the collapse.
Waiting at the end of the screen that covered the ground was an unexpectedly horse-drawn carriage.
“… Aren’t you a witch?”
“That’s right. Demonic beasts do not enter this area. Even if you drag the tamed guys in, you can’t get enough of it.”
“As expected, what I said earlier… Is it related to the phenomenon of mana speeding up?”
“I am guessing so. Your majesty.”
A thick quilted coat was put on for horses, which are weaker in the cold than beasts. Finish color is olive.
Roan laughed once more at the sight of the horses wearing rugs.
However, the demon king’s appearance filtered out a small smile. As a result, Roan got on the carriage with a solemn appearance.
When Lauca and Helen got on the carriage, the carriage started to move.
Roan peered out his window.
The tent that covered the entrance to the cave was quite vast. There were traces of the Grand Duke’s efforts to hide Roan’s identity.
The knights surrounding the carriage protected the horse and carriage with their shields, and even Helen activated protection magic.
Perhaps the reason Helen, a human, was able to join this rescue team was because she was the only caster of divine magic.
“Helen. Do you have any problems with casting magic or holy power?”
“Yes. Master. I am fine.”
“Hmm…”
Certainly this forest, precisely this ore,
In terms of holy power, it seems to be treated specially.
It didn’t reveal any traces of magic, but it showed up in ‘Starlight’,
While absorbing all of Lauca’s mana, I did not touch my divine power.
Maybe this ore will respond to magic like Helen’s ‘Sunlight’.
Roan quietly fiddled with one of the ores in his hand.
“By the way, Master, why did you bring that stone?”
“… Hmm?”
Roan’s eyes narrowed.
“Why do you think it is a stone? Helen.”
Helen’s eyes trembled slightly.
Roan gently soothed her as she looked at her slightly frightened expression.
“I am not blaming you. Tell me why.”
“With my limited knowledge…”
Helen’s armies frowned slightly.
“Because it’s just a black lump…”
“… Black?”
Instead of Roan, Lauca answered.
“… Yes?”
The two embarrassed women looked at each other.
