I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 31

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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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Chapter 31

 

Inside Count Andril’s Castle, communication magic was in full swing.

 

Communication magic was one of the important strategic assets managed at the kingdom level, so those who could handle it were limited to a very small number.

 

The man looking at the crystal orb with an expression as if he had a headache was one of them.

 

As the lord of Andril Territory, he was a count of the kingdom who had been entrusted with the duty of guarding the borders for generations.

 

What gave this high-ranking noble, one of the most prominent in the kingdom, a headache was a request—no, an order—that he simply could not understand.

 

The situation where the entire kingdom was in chaos due to discord with the Religious Order. There were even rumors that the Holy Nation was preparing for war.

 

For the Balaih Kingdom, which belonged to the weaker nations, this was something they could not handle. It was a situation where they had to prepare for it somehow.

 

“If it were an order to subjugate monsters, I would gladly carry it out. If it were an order to block enemies, I would sacrifice my life without complaint. But…”

 

Finally giving up on his contemplation, the count asked with eyes that seemed to pierce through the crystal orb.

 

“Suddenly asking me to find a Dark Mage. I’d like to know what you’re thinking.”

-As a result of my own background investigation, it seems that your territory is where that person’s activities began. I know this is a difficult request for you to understand right now, Count. But…

“That’s not what I want to hear. First Prince.”

 

The count firmly cut off the troubled voice.

 

“When I heard that you had given up your succession rights and left the palace, I was dismayed. Not long after, when I heard praise for your deeds from here and there, I realized how narrow my vision had been. The Prince must have harbored great intentions that I was unaware of.”

-….

 

Only the First Prince’s awkward laughter came through the crystal orb.

 

“Our House Andril has been soldiers fighting against foreign powers for generations. Following the Royal Family’s orders is a natural duty. But before that, I am a lord responsible for my territory and territory residents.”

 

A moment of silence flowed. Through the crystal orb, he could see the smile disappearing from the First Prince’s expression.

 

“I would like you to explain a reason I can understand. Is that Dark Mage an enemy threatening the kingdom?”

 

The prince’s eyes grew heavy.

 

Since the communication began, this was the first time the count had seen such a serious expression.

 

Just as relief was about to set in that the prince had not given a meaningless order at a moment when the kingdom was in crisis.

 

-This is not something to discuss through communication.

“That…!”

-I’ll send someone soon. You’ll hear it through him.

 

With those final words, the light disappeared from the crystal orb. It meant the communication magic had been unilaterally cut off.

 

“What in the world…”

 

No matter that the other party was the First Prince, this was unacceptable behavior. Count Andril let out a hollow laugh and immediately struck the desk with his fist.

 

Even without containing mana, the deep mark left on the desk allowed one to guess how consistently he had been training.

 

A moment later.

 

Along with the sound of knocking on the door, someone called out from outside.

 

“Count. May I come in for a moment?”

“…Yes.”

 

What entered the room was the head butler of the count’s house.

 

The count asked sternly toward the retainer who had served the family loyally for several generations.

 

“What is it?”

“I came because I have something to tell you.”

“There’s a mountain of work to handle. Just keep it brief.”

 

The head butler bowed his head in courtesy and then asked.

 

“Have you heard of the Dawn Order?”

“Is that the name of a mercenary group that came to the territory?”

“No. It’s a group of people who gathered from across the entire continent to resist the Religious Order’s tyranny.”

“…I’ve never heard of it.”

 

Interest disappeared from the count’s face.

 

The name was grandiose, but it was obviously going to be an organization of no particular importance.

 

“It’s also where the First Prince has involved himself.”

“…What?”

 

Despite the count’s questioning voice, the head butler continued speaking without concern.

 

“Then I’ll explain. About the Dark Mage we’re looking for… the high-ranking Dark Mage Sevian, who is currently active under the alias Jude.”

 

* * *

 

Eyes that had not seen light for a long time made no difference whether they were open or closed, and the air mixed with all kinds of filth and mold had numbed the nose.

 

Only the piercingly cold sensation of the floor and the screams and sobs coming from somewhere made me realize that I was not yet dead.

 

But even that wouldn’t last much longer.

 

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. Only my weakening body with each moment foretold that the end of my miserable life was not far off.

 

Why am I in this place?

 

No matter how many times I pondered, no answer came. The fragmented memories like shards caused headaches just from attempting to recall them.

 

In the end, I gave up thinking. I gave up on life. Listening to the screams that echoed periodically, I waited for the death that would soon come.

 

-Krgh, kraak!

 

However, this time something seemed different.

 

If the screams I had been hearing were pathetic death rattles with no strength left to even express pain, what I was hearing now was at least vigorous enough to fully reveal the desire to still live.

 

-Block it, block it… Kugh!

 

The sound of something bursting out. The sound of liquid splattering on the floor. The sound of firewood burning.

 

The smell of cooking meat activated my long-dormant sense of smell, and the light entering through small gaps was blinding.

 

How much time passed as I curled up from the maddening hunger? When no one’s screams could be heard anymore.

 

Clank, clank.

 

The locked door opened.

 

“…Ah.”

“What is this?”

 

Someone spoke.

 

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. It was just as difficult for me to understand the situation.

 

But my mouth hung open and wouldn’t close, and sand entered through the gap.

 

“Mmph…!”

 

Unbearable discomfort. When I opened my eyes, sand-mixed wind was tickling my face.

 

“…Did I doze off?”

 

Due to the unbearable stiffness, I couldn’t move for a while even after opening my eyes.

 

Traveling alone from the Royal Capital to the Border City of Andril was no easy task.

 

Civilians fleeing the war had somehow transformed into proper bandits, and monsters running wild in the chaos could be encountered quite frequently.

 

To make matters worse, even using mana freely was difficult.

 

If not for my body strengthened through trials and the Knight’s experience gained when I used Spirit Summoning, it would have been difficult to arrive safely.

 

The Knight’s experience didn’t come back clearly like an old dream, but still, compared to before, it felt like my entire way of using my body had changed.

 

I couldn’t be certain, but probably.

 

In the end, exhausted beyond measure, I had lost consciousness immediately upon arriving at Master’s Dungeon without even having a chance to look around.

 

“It’s fortunate the magic is well maintained.”

 

Like most other dungeons, Master’s Dungeon also had magic cast on it to hide its appearance from unauthorized individuals.

 

Though quite a long time had passed since I left the Dungeon, the magic was still intact.

 

Of course, it wasn’t absolute. The sandstorm that had been blowing until now was a prime example. Since it only blocked human perception, it was inevitable that things would get messy without maintenance.

 

“Isn’t there magic that doesn’t require attention to internal cleanliness?”

-….

 

Thanks to consistently using Soul Magic over the past few weeks, it had noticeably recovered, but the Demon Lord’s voice still couldn’t be heard.

 

The connection with that guy, which had been unstably wavering, now felt quite solid, so why was there still no sign of awakening?

 

Perhaps Spirit Summoning had dealt quite significant damage to that guy as well. This was a conclusion I reached because the Paladin’s soul I had used before making the Demon Lord the target of Spirit Summoning had disappeared without a trace.

 

“…Ice Spirit.”

-Kkie?

 

The complete opposite of my call – a palm-sized Ice Spirit revealed itself and responded. When I shared the souls of enemies encountered during travel, it quickly recovered like this.

 

‘In the end, time will solve the problem.’

 

No matter how much damage that guy’s soul sustained, if I continue recovery like now, it’s a foregone conclusion that he’ll wake up someday.

 

The Demon Lord is someone who desires his own Resurrection more than anyone. Such a guy wouldn’t sacrifice himself to protect me.

 

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked around the messy Dungeon again.

 

“Should I start with cleaning?”

 

No matter how empty the Dungeon was, I couldn’t tolerate the place where I lived with Master being this dirty.

 

Fortunately, the body strengthened through trials would greatly reduce the time needed for cleaning compared to before. Even the shelves I used to struggle to dust would be easily within reach thanks to my increased height.

 

The moment I entered deeper into the Dungeon to gather Cleaning Tools, anticipating the utility of the trials.

 

“….”

 

I felt something was strange.

 

The Dungeon was messier than I had thought. It wasn’t simply at the level of accumulated dirt and dust. Traces I hadn’t discovered near the entrance. Walls were collapsed in various places, and Various Items were spilled from fallen shelves.

 

Even if it hadn’t been maintained, this was a Dungeon disguised by magic. Unless the Traps for dealing with intruders had failed to operate, it couldn’t have gotten this bad.

 

As I had expected on the day I heard the news of the Demon Lord’s death, had the mercenaries finally found the dungeon after all.

 

To make matters worse, now I could even see bloodstains splattered on the walls.

 

“…!”

 

That’s right. They were bloodstains.

 

I couldn’t tell the exact timing, but judging by their condition, it didn’t seem like much time had passed.

 

My steps gradually quickened. The Ice Spirit ran ahead of me on its short legs.

 

The traces of intruders continued. Passing through the empty library and research room, I finally arrived in front of Master’s door.

 

Above pools of blood, people lay fallen with their bodies haphazardly torn apart. And I could see the open door.

 

At the sight of the room in disarray beyond comparison to anywhere else, I felt heat rushing to my head.

 

“Ugh….”

 

A small groaning sound.

 

I turned around to find the source of the sound. Among the fallen, it seemed there was still someone with breath left in them.

 

“…Pull yourself together.”

 

A man who appeared to be in his mid-forties. Judging by his well-positioned muscles, scars, and the condition of his equipment, he looked like a mercenary worthy of being called a veteran.

 

“What’s your name? Who are you people?”

 

However, perhaps because he had lost too much blood, the man couldn’t answer. Clicking my tongue and searching through his belongings, I found an old pouch and a silver mercenary badge.

 

“Wind Wolf Mercenary Group member, Gelly. Is that right?”

“….”

 

The eyes that had briefly tried to focus lost their light just like that.

 

I sighed and organized my thoughts.

 

Sacrificial pawns to break through the traps. Or perhaps infighting after achieving their objective.

 

The magic separately installed in Master’s room was at a level that no riffraff could ever break through.

 

Even I, his disciple, had never entered it before. Even considering the silver mercenary badge found in his belongings, I didn’t think these people could have broken through.

 

‘The details, the soul will tell me.’

 

I captured the soul of the dead man in a Soul Vial. The souls of the others had already all disappeared.

 

Just as I was about to draw a magic circle to absorb the soul.

 

-Kyee?

“Ice Spirit. If you carelessly enter there like that…?”

 

The moment I followed the Ice Spirit into Master’s room to pull it out as it had somehow entered and was making strange sounds.

 

“…What’s this?”

 

On the floor where the Ice Spirit was standing, I could see a small gap between the scattered documents.

 

It seemed the gap had opened because it couldn’t withstand the cold air the Ice Spirit was emitting.

 

“Master would have quite a few words to say if he knew about this.”

 

Of course, that wouldn’t happen. Master had already passed away.

 

The moment I sighed and brought my hand to the gap, I noticed the floor material was different from other places.

 

I had already experienced something like this once at the Golden Star Trading Company. The moment I swallowed and lifted up the floor.

 

“…!”

 

I could see a single book.

 

I could tell at a glance. That it was a grimoire.

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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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