I Only Tried to Seduce the Villainess Sister Who Was Supposed to Kill Me - Chapter 67
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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67.
“You want me to… ride this?”
I stared intently at the Demorga that Theor had captured and asked Perioze’s Sister.
Demorga.
It was a translucent specter-type monster made of bones and mist.
Though it had no flesh and was made of mist, that mist could be touched and had a fluffy, cloud-like texture.
Its body was also enormous, easily large enough for three people to ride with room to spare.
The problem was…
“The bones… I can see the bones, Sister.”
Since the flesh was mist, the bones were completely visible.
“So what? You’re just going to ride it.”
That’s exactly the problem – because I’m just going to ride it!
Even though I had the bold disposition to summon caterpillar-like children for healing, I wasn’t quite ready to soar through the Empire’s skies on a skeleton bird.
Besides, since I planned to make these mounts available for other nobles to use later, appearance seemed somewhat important.
“Could I perhaps see some monsters that inhabit the Empire and are large enough to ride?”
So I decided to choose for myself.
At my question, Perioze’s Sister nodded with a matter-of-course expression and said.
“There’s a monster encyclopedia. It has drawings of their appearances too, so it’ll be easy to check.”
My eyes widened at Perioze’s Sister’s words, and I grabbed her hand eagerly and asked.
“Could I take a look at that, Sister?”
* * *
Certainly, what looked hideous to my eyes would look hideous to others as well.
So I concluded that even among monsters, it would be better to choose one that looked somewhat appealing.
Looking through the monster encyclopedia that Perioze’s Sister had prepared, I began searching for flying-type monsters that weren’t too hideous and that people might say, “Oh, this looks rideable enough.”
The problem was that all flying-type monsters large enough to carry people were more or less the same.
A bird-type monster called Necrogreen, which appeared to be a hybrid of a giant bat and bird, was covered in bat-wing-like leather all over its body and had an eerie cry that induced fear, according to the description.
Kardind, a dragon-shaped creature with black scales and red eyes, looked decent enough in appearance, but it was a poison-type monster that smelled like corpses, making it unsuitable for riding.
Then there was the Demorga that Perioze’s Sister mentioned and Theor had captured, followed by a winged wolf-type monster called Sharbel.
“Oh, this one doesn’t look too bad, does it? It drools a bit, but since it looks like a wolf, riding it should be somewhat safe.”
When I poked at Sharbel with my index finger and asked, both Perioze’s Sister and Theor frowned slightly at the same time.
“You during monster encyclopedia class… no, wait. You wouldn’t have learned this.”
Stopping mid-sentence and shaking her head, Perioze’s Sister soon spoke with a serious expression.
“Sharbel won’t work. This creature’s head will definitely get in the way.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Sharbel is a monster whose head rotates 360 degrees. And it can stretch out long too.”
Moreover, Sharbel was an aggressive creature, so the moment you climbed on its body, instinctive hostility would emerge, she said.
Even if the attack impulse was suppressed through mind control, once flight began, it would invariably stretch its neck freely and move it around all over its back in its flight pattern, making it difficult even to stay mounted, which made me shudder.
Just imagining it was horrifying…
“Hmm.”
So in the end, is the skeleton bird the only answer…?
As if reading my thoughts, Perioze’s Sister said.
“Demorga’s disadvantage is that only bones are visible, but it’s the gentlest among winged monsters. Of course, since you’re planning to mind-control them, being naturally gentle might not be necessary, but still, gentle is better than fierce, right?”
In case something went wrong and some of them occasionally broke free from mind control, considering everything, Demorga was still the best choice.
Agreeing with that logic, I said that since Caroline couldn’t handle hideous things well, if she said Demorga was acceptable, we’d go with that.
If Demorga didn’t work out, it wouldn’t be bad to physically tie down Sharbel’s uncontrollable, rubber-band-like stretching neck and ride it around.
I was certain of that, but…
“I know this monster. When you touch it, it’s fluffy like clouds.”
Caroline didn’t seem to find the skeleton bird hideous at all.
In the original story, she was definitely afraid of snakes and bugs, so I thought she’d be scared of skeletons too…
“Aren’t you scared of bones?”
When I asked carefully, Caroline looked puzzled and said “Huh?” then soon smiled brightly and nodded.
“Bones are cute.”
…Ah, they’re cute.
* * *
Caroline and Greim, who had successfully created fake gemstones similar to the holy relics and switched them out, cut them into hundreds of pieces.
Following Lloyd’s advice that fragments too small might not have enough light attribute to purify the plague, they cut them into palm-sized pieces, making hundreds of them.
Lloyd and Caroline infused all those fragments with their light attributes.
Then Theor and Perioze’s Sister mobilized the knight orders to secretly distribute those fragments, starting with villages far from the Imperial Palace.
Along with the gemstones, they distributed pledge documents and communication tools, requiring village chiefs to get confirmation before using the stones to prevent misuse.
And I tamed twenty Demorga with dark magic, called each noble’s knight commanders, and taught them how to use them.
The knight commanders initially saw the Demorga and were startled, drawing their swords or casting attribute magic, which flustered me.
Though I told them the creatures would never attack since they were mind-controlled through dark magic, they remained wary for quite some time.
Since people weren’t yet accustomed to riding anything other than carriages, it took considerable time to make them understand traveling by Demorga.
But eventually, when the knight commanders of each order realized how convenient and fast traveling by Demorga was, they readily agreed to my request to use these birds in wartime situations.
Thus we worked tirelessly to prepare for the major events that would unfold.
However, shortly after the plague began, strange rumors about the cause of the plague started spreading.
“My goodness, look at these newspaper articles!”
Beki came in carrying an armful of newspapers and shouted at me with a furious expression.
I was feeding my Demorga mount and observing how the food went down and was digested when I was startled by her voice and looked at Beki.
Beki placed the pile of newspapers she’d brought onto the table, then pointed at the Demorga and said.
“This isn’t the time to be observing that bone monster! Look at the newspapers, the newspapers!”
“Why?”
It was rare for Beki to be this angry, so I got up, puzzled.
I picked up the newspaper on top of the pile on the table and unfolded it.
“The Young Lady Chosen by God. The Shadow Hidden Behind Her…?”
The headline alone gave me an ominous feeling, so I quickly read through the main text.
[Suspicions have been raised that Elinea Brencia, who recently received a divine oracle, is actually a practitioner of the sinister magic known as dark sorcery. It has been revealed that the ‘dark magic’ she uses is capable of attack, defense, and even healing, leading to claims that it is not divine power but forbidden human magic created in imitation of the gods.]
“This is ridiculous.”
The Imperial Court had shown signs of trying to frame me as a dark sorcerer, and it seemed they continued to make such claims.
I picked up another newspaper and let out a short sigh.
[Elinea Brencia, who received a divine oracle, actually a dark sorcerer?]
[God’s servant or guide of darkness. The truth about Elinea Brencia]
[Hero of purification, or a new type of sorcerer threatening the Empire]
[A witch who saves people? The heretical controversy spreading across the Empire]
“Why are all these articles like this?”
Every single article Beki brought treated me as a dark sorcerer.
“I mean, really. Is it okay to just churn out articles like this without any evidence?”
“Seriously…”
Even until then, I had thought lightly of it.
Though ridiculous articles were overflowing, since I had nothing to hide, it would be fine.
The truth would soon be revealed.
I thought that way even when the Empress summoned me to the Empress’s Palace, demanding I clarify the dark sorcerer controversy that had become the talk of newspaper articles and the Empire’s citizens.
But as soon as I arrived at the Empress’s Palace, I was locked in the underground prison of the Empress’s Palace, and I’m still living in prison on the third day under the excuse that the investigation isn’t finished.
‘His Majesty is making every effort, so please wait just a little longer.’
‘It’s fine. Even though it’s called a prison, the bed is clean and the food is better than I expected.’
‘Please don’t say such things. I thought we could get you out right away, but my heart is heavy because it’s taking time.’
‘Come on, you were determined to lock me up from the start. Of course it won’t be easy to get out.’
The Empress had made full preparations to imprison me from the moment she summoned me to the Empress’s Palace.
Though there was no evidence, she claimed there was risk of flight, that no one knew how sinister dark sorcery was, and that imprisoning me might stop the plague, using this to incite the citizens and prevent me from being released from prison.
Moreover, since she had no idea that Theor and I could communicate telepathically, she never thought I would know about the outside situation, so she was trying to persuade me with completely unconvincing words.
‘Anyway, the Empress wants to make me her ally.’
I relayed to Theor exactly what the Empress had said when she came to find me shortly after I was confined in This Place.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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