I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 66

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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 66

 

Albeng opened his eyes on the dark, cold dirt floor.

 

Feeling the weak wind blowing against him, he remained motionless for a moment before frantically feeling his chest.

 

Through his torn clothes, he could feel a shallow groove carved into his skin.

 

‘Am I… dead?’

 

He recalled the last scene he had witnessed before closing his eyes.

 

The instinctive sense of crisis he had felt after healing someone suspicious. The cold touch of metal. Albeng reflexively curled up his body and trembled for a moment.

 

According to the records in the Scripture, those who believe in the Goddess ascend to the Heavenly Realm after death to be embraced in the Goddess’s arms and live eternal life.

 

This place was too dark to be considered the Heavenly Realm, and too cold to be the Goddess’s embrace.

 

Albeng soon realized that he had not died.

 

And he recalled the conversation he had heard while his consciousness was hazy. The memory was murky like a dream, mixed up here and there. However, one thing he could be certain of was that Jude, the man who had requested to accompany him just to have someone to talk to, had saved him.

 

“….”

 

Looking around, Jude was nowhere to be seen. But in the distance, he could see a flickering light.

 

The light was gradually getting closer.

 

“…!”

“….”

“…?”

 

Confirming the rapidly approaching light and noise, and the shape of armor reflecting the light, Albeng immediately raised both hands.

 

“It seems the Goddess still has work left for me to do.”

 

The priest muttered this and smiled.

 

In the distance, he watched for a moment as the Imperial Soldiers who had discovered Albeng approached, then turned away.

 

Albeng was quite a decent person to travel with, even if he was bothersome.

 

But that was now over. If he had heard even a little of the conversation with the Dawn Brigade Man while thinking he was unconscious, it would become troublesome.

 

-Was there really a need to carry him all the way to the Border Region? It would have been dangerous if he had woken up midway.

“He didn’t actually wake up, did he?”

 

Since he was quite eloquent, he probably wouldn’t end up imprisoned as a suspicious person.

 

“Forget it. That’s not what’s important right now.”

 

As he bent down, a swaying tree branch caught his eye.

 

A tree branch so thin it looked like it would break with a touch, yet tough enough to tie up a person so they couldn’t move. Its identity was naturally the World Tree.

 

The problem was why a World Tree Branch was right in front of him. Hadn’t he definitely planted it in the Great Forest and left it in the care of the Elves?

 

-It’s not strange.

 

The Demon Lord said, smacking his lips.

 

“It’s not strange?”

-That’s right. Think about it.

 

He couldn’t understand how a guy who was nothing but a soul could smack his lips. Considering his personality, he was probably just pretending.

 

-What did the Elves create by imitating the World Tree?

“That’s obviously….”

 

Spirits.

 

The tree spirits that the Elves called Dryads were byproducts of experiments to artificially create the World Tree.

 

The Elves’ combat method of summoning parts of those beings whose main bodies were in the Great Forest was a power as strong as their magic.

 

-There’s no reason why the original World Tree couldn’t do what even such imitations can do.

“That’s true, but.”

 

It made perfect sense, but that didn’t explain why this had suddenly appeared.

 

I understand it’s to help me. But the Demon Lord gives me advice because of our contract, and the Ice Spirit follows orders for the same reason. I happened to revive the World Tree, but I never made any kind of contract with it. I never even thought it would be possible.

 

If anyone saw me seriously discussing a contract with a tree branch, wouldn’t they think I was someone who had gone mad from studying Dark Magic?

 

-They say even beasts know gratitude. It knows that you revived it. Or perhaps, yes. It might regard you as a parent.

 

The Demon Lord spoke with a mocking tone.

 

“This guy who’s worse than a beast.”

-…?

“I saved a guy who was being destroyed by the Hero, and he doesn’t even know gratitude.”

 

The Demon Lord seemed momentarily speechless.

 

-…I think I’ve said this before, but I would have revived on my own even if left alone. Rather, being bound to your body now is an unpleasant situation.

“After hundreds of years?”

-If we’re going to argue like that, wasn’t it you who was dying at the time? Without me, you would have melted away from the Divine Power.

 

Not feeling it was worth answering, I squeezed the Demon Lord’s soul. The noisy Demon Lord’s screams spread ominously.

 

At that moment, the Ice Spirit leaped out of my arms and tried desperately to grab the branch. The branch swayed flexibly, avoiding the Ice Spirit’s movements.

 

“That thing… is a god?”

-…It would be best not to have high expectations. In human terms, it’s like a newborn baby.

 

The Demon Lord said that, but honestly, I couldn’t help but feel excited.

 

If that was a newborn baby, then what were all the things Master and I had accomplished with tree branches that couldn’t even reach that level?

 

That was just by divine standards anyway – in human terms, even that alone held considerable value.

 

Right. It was fair to think of it as a following potion.

 

“Ice Spirit, stop bothering it and come here.”

 

The Ice Spirit, who had been playing enthusiastically, returned to my side looking dejected. But it couldn’t be helped.

 

Considering the price of a single potion bottle, it was only natural. Moreover, the effect of life force infusion through the World Tree’s branch was incomparably tremendous compared to ordinary potions.

 

Of course, even excluding the potion function, the World Tree’s value was enormous.

 

As the Great Forest withered and dried up, all the artificial spirits the Elves had created disappeared. Thanks to that, I became the only being capable of using the Spirit Magic they had employed.

 

Previously, to use the World Tree’s power, I had to use Master’s secret technique, Six Arms. Regardless of the magic’s completeness, it wasn’t a very pleasant sight, so I had no choice but to avoid crowded places.

 

The perception that Dark Mages liked dark places might have been for similar reasons.

 

‘Come to think of it, Master didn’t enjoy going outside either…’

 

But now it seemed I could use it similarly to handling the Ice Spirit. Since I was using the World Tree’s inherent power, there was no mana consumption either.

 

Moreover, it was said to greatly block the Goddess’s intervention in the Middle Realm, so it was nothing short of a blessing.

 

The only problem was that its form gave me quite an uncomfortable feeling the more I looked at it. Having suffered so much from trees from Andril to the Great Forest, it was hard to be purely happy even seeing the World Tree.

 

Still, good things were good things. I forced a smile and crossed the Empire’s border.

 

The Ice Spirit entered my arms, and the World Tree’s branch kept some distance, disappearing underground before emerging again to follow.

 

I definitely felt a different atmosphere upon arriving in the Empire.

 

There were no Monsters or bandits in sight. As Albeng had said, they seemed to put much more effort into maintaining public order compared to neighboring countries. Most of all, the air felt different.

 

-…It’s just your imagination. We haven’t even gotten far from the border yet. Even if it really is different, it’s too early to feel it… Gah!

 

Ignoring the Demon Lord’s pointless chatter, I walked forward with a somewhat excited heart.

 

I had found two of the six treasures the Demon Lord had collected.

 

Though I had used them differently from their original purpose, things had flowed in a direction beneficial to me anyway.

 

Of the remaining four treasures, as many as two were in the Empire.

 

…Until a few months ago.

 

The last time I confirmed the items’ locations was in the capital of Balaih Kingdom. It was information based on what Simone had investigated.

 

Quite a lot of time had passed since then, and it wouldn’t be strange at all if their locations had changed.

 

Perhaps someone had recognized their true value and even found a way to break the seals. Going there blindly would make finding them a distant prospect.

 

But I should at least be able to find some clues.

 

That’s why I decided to go to the Empire. It absolutely wasn’t because I was sick of trees and fleeing to the city.

 

-That would have been even more problematic.

 

The Demon Lord chuckled.

 

-The humans’ Empire has quite a lot of trees, you see.

“…?”

-Something about the environment, they say. If you go to any reasonably large city, you’ll see trees planted along every street.

“…”

 

I quickly retraced Master’s memories. Indeed, as the Demon Lord said, the image of a city with green trees growing along every street came to mind.

 

How could I have forgotten?

 

The reason was simple. The Green Magic Tower, where Master had spent most of his time, was located somewhat away from the city center.

 

There was no reason for mages who only devoted their time to magical research to invest in landscaping the tower’s surroundings.

 

The occasional trees that could be seen were mostly staff bodies someone had newly acquired, or something strangely transformed as a result of magical experiments.

 

“…What was it that’s in the Empire?”

-Dragon bones and heart. And the essence of Hellfire.

 

The Empire was vast.

 

But places worth researching precious items, especially places that would pour enormous amounts of money into researching uncertain objects, weren’t that many… well, there would be many.

 

Still, wouldn’t the Magic Tower area be one of the most likely places?

 

Among them, rather than the Red Magic Tower that invested everything in Attack Magic, or the Blue Tower that researched defensive and healing magic, the Green Magic Tower that researched various schools without discrimination seemed most suitable.

 

“Good. Let’s go to the Green Magic Tower.”

-…Sigh.

 

* * *

 

Imperial Capital.

 

Though it was the city with the highest population density on the continent, the number of people gathered here today seemed several times greater than usual.

 

It was only natural.

 

Today was the day when Ruin, the second Hero in history who had defeated the Demon Lord, would be officially recognized for his achievements and inducted into the Epeldor Imperial Family.

 

The ceremony for granting the castle and title was held grandly, and the Imperial Family decided to hold a week-long festival to commemorate this day.

 

Some wondered why the ceremony was only being held now when the Demon Lord had been defeated so long ago. However, the event proceeded smoothly, and the citizens enjoyed the festival with joyful hearts.

 

But not everyone felt that way.

 

Deep within the Empire’s Imperial Palace.

 

Fairies, known to have gone extinct hundreds of years ago, sang like birds, and expensive spirit medicine spouted like water from fountains.

 

A landscape where rare flowers and trees that would make scholars rush over with burning eyes were beautifully harmonized. It was a place that devout believers would have cried out to be the Goddess’s Garden if they had seen it.

 

However, the man’s expression showed no emotion whatsoever.

 

“It won’t do for the star of the festival to be like that.”

 

The star of the festival. Without question, it was the Hero. Someone said this while placing an arm on the Hero’s shoulder, but there was not the slightest displeasure on his face.

 

It was as if human emotions had completely disappeared.

 

“Originally, I was going to ask how it felt to receive the most noble name in the Empire.”

 

The man who had been watching such a Hero for a while clicked his tongue as if finding it boring and said.

 

“Who would have thought being a Hero would be this boring. I can’t understand those Magic Tower elders who were obsessed with such things.”

 

The man didn’t hesitate to sit down on the floor, not caring that his expensive clothes would get dirty. Even so, the Hero didn’t spare him a single glance.

 

“Ah, right.”

 

The man who had been throwing jokes at the unresponsive Hero for a while stopped as if giving up and was about to leave when he suddenly paused.

 

“I’m telling you this because you probably didn’t hear, but there are rumors that another Hero has appeared recently. It doesn’t seem to be entirely false. I heard he’s stopping by the Magic Tower to find someone who could become his companion.”

 

At those words, the Hero’s body, which had shown no reaction until now, moved slightly.

 

“Well, it looks like I’m going to have two unrelated brothers.”

 

Unfortunately, however, the man—the Empire’s Crown Prince—did not see that reaction.

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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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