The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 80

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 80
「 I write this letter from the Northern Border Region of Eldorado.
I left without properly saying goodbye.
I have come on a brief journey to fulfill the duties of the Demon Subjugation Corps under orders from the Imperial Court. 」
‘Ah, so he wasn’t in Bayonere after all.’
Contrary to my expectations, Larva had returned to Eldorado’s stalwart shield—the Demon Subjugation Corps—and departed from here.
―And to think he was in that distant Northern Region.
I had heard tales of the Northern Border Region before.
They spoke of treacherous terrain and demons that swarmed in numbers, threatening one’s very life.
Even if I were to spare myself the effort of using teleportation to reach that place, venturing into the Northern Region’s demon-infested lands would be a burden in itself.
‘…I’m worried.’
The written words revealed no emotion, so I couldn’t discern what Kyle’s heart truly felt in that distant place.
Kyle had written his request in his usual affectionate and neat cursive.
He politely asked that I keep everything about ‘Larva’ and the ‘Demon Subjugation Corps’ confidential.
‘It’s a secret passed down through generations, after all. Of course.’
Just trust me, Kyle.
「 Thank you for the party invitation.
Thanks to it, though demon subjugation is grueling work, all the members are smiling.
It’s our first time being invited to such a party, and everyone looks as excited as puppies playing in the snow.
We will definitely attend after swiftly subjugating the demons.
Since all activities of Larva are meant to be secret by principle, we will attend the party as the Winston ‘Demon Subjugation Corps’.
I hope the townspeople understand it that way as well. 」
I pressed my forehead and sighed.
‘…I have to hold the party, don’t I.’
A first-time party invitation like this. Canceling such a thing would be something only a demon would do.
Besides, with everyone as excited as puppies in a snowfield, I didn’t want to disappoint them by canceling.
‘Damn it, looks like I’ll have to throw a party where everyone but me is having fun.’
Let me make a new cake, Anette.
This letter was a full two pages, so I unconsciously turned to the next one.
There was something slightly different written there.
「 Anette.
It snows here in the Northern Region.
Though it is a cruel land where demon hordes appear and the cold prevents crops from growing.
Yet the night scenery alone is beautiful.
Countless stars shine in the sky,
and snowstorms dance like flowers across the vast snowy plain.
I think of you here.
Because the night sky is beautiful, because the wind that brushes past is cold, because this pristine snowy plain stretches endlessly, because I hear the distant howl of snow wolves―
I think of you.
These days, everything reminds me of you.
I miss you.
From the Northern Region,
Kyle Winston
The final page was read in his voice.
I thought letters couldn’t convey emotion through mere text.
I was wrong.
In that final phrase—how carefully he had chosen the words “I miss you”—I felt it all.
I imagined him pitching a camp tent on the white snowy plain, writing by the warmth of a campfire.
The letter carried the scent of a blizzard.
A smile bloomed naturally across my face.
‘A sentimental handsome man’s carefully written letter, then.’
“Not bad at all.”
Even as I said it, I found myself laughing.
I set the letter down and picked up eggs and cooking utensils.
Somehow, I felt the strength to bake a cake again.
“All right, I’ll make something incredibly delicious.”
He must be suffering terribly by now.
* * *
The demon beast territory of the Northern Region.
Sheer cliff faces with snow falling in torrents.
Only the most powerful demon beasts emerged in this place.
Kyle and the Demon Subjugation Corps had searched this territory all night.
Their target was the demon beast: Griffin.
In some nations, griffins were regarded as mythical or sacred creatures, but not in Eldorado.
Here, griffins devoured humans when driven by hunger.
Squelch, squelch.
The accumulated snow sank up to their knees.
Meanwhile, the sunlight blazed fiercely, reflecting off the snow and causing considerable eye strain.
A grueling march in every sense. Since yesterday.
“X, by now shouldn’t we at least see that griffin’s tail?”
“…True enough. By this point, that bird-brained creature should be bobbing its head and staring down at us.”
“Its jaw must be frozen solid.”
Number 19 and the other members of the Demon Subjugation Corps were bewildered.
Not a single one had appeared all night.
Kyle spoke.
“—We stop here for a moment.”
He removed his helmet, and wheat-colored hair cascaded down softly.
The other members of the Demon Subjugation Corps followed their commander’s lead.
Larva and Kine were not here.
Unlike Larva and the others who always wore masks and veils, spreading terror to all,
The Demon Subjugation Corps at the Border displayed their faces freely, dressed in the formal combat uniforms bestowed by the Imperial Court.
They were officially known as 【Winston’s Shield】.
A warrior band composed of both nobility and commoners, yet after rolling together on the battlefield and working within the Dark Guild, they had all acquired the same grain of character.
For instance, dressed in such mature and magnificent ‘warrior combat uniforms’,
“Ugh, hurry up and finish off that griffin already—we’ve got the party to prepare for! We have to attend Anais’s party! If you’ve got any sense, get out here, you beast!”
―they threw tantrums.
One of the grotesque-looking warriors was behaving like a Cinderella desperate to attend the party (though his face was closer to a pumpkin carriage).
Alongside Kyle, One-Eye at the front asked,
“Master, doesn’t something feel off?”
“….”
Kyle gazed toward where the wind blew. His hair rippled like waves, and his gaze swept broadly across all directions.
He stared for a moment at the edge of the silent snowy plain.
Then, breaking the silence, he opened his mouth.
“Something is definitely wrong. We stop the search here and return.”
“…!”
It was a bombshell declaration.
Everyone’s eyes went wide.
“But isn’t this an order from the Imperial Court? Shouldn’t we at least capture something to bring back?”
That was when it happened.
Kyle drew the sword of the warrior standing beside him with a sharp ring and drove it forcefully into the center of the snowy plain.
Gwoooooooooah!
Simultaneously, what they had thought was the ‘snowy plain’ shrieked and rose up.
A crimson maw gaped wide open toward them.
“…!!!”
The deafening roar shook the earth and sky as if an avalanche were about to strike.
Kyle didn’t blink once as he drew his mage pistol like lightning and fired with perfect precision.
A shot that had never missed.
Boom!
The demon beast, its mouth pierced through and the back of its skull shattered, collapsed to the ground without even a whimper.
The snowy plain was dyed crimson with blood.
Kyle wiped the remnants of death from his cheek and issued an order.
“Report this to the Imperial Court. And tell them there’s no trace of griffins in this area whatsoever.”
“Yes, Master.”
One-Eye answered swiftly, then explained cleanly to the still-bewildered combat unit.
“See that ‘Balax’ the Master just caught? As you know, it’s prey for griffins. The fact that these creatures are thriving here means this was never griffin territory in the first place.”
The demon tracking unit of 【Winston’s Shield】 and Kyle, who led them, were veterans seasoned in tracking demons.
It was more likely that demons truly weren’t here than that they would fail to find traces.
The burly warrior watching gravely asked,
“Then was there some error on the Imperial Court’s part, Master?”
“An error….”
Kyle’s eyes darkened.
An ‘error’ that deviated from the pattern—it warranted careful attention.
It had never happened before.
As Kyle withdrew from the Northern Region, he issued an order to One-Eye.
“Find out who at the Imperial Court ordered this deployment.”
“Understood.”
His deep forest-green eyes sank like a swamp.
“What bastard is playing games?”
* * *
Late into the night.
I was generously spreading cream over the cake and arranging strawberries as decoration.
‘Is it a bit small?’
The second cake I’d made was slightly smaller than the first one.
I simply hadn’t possessed the same energy as when I’d made it the first time.
‘…If I keep this up and make a third one, won’t it end up the size of a booger?’
Well, that wouldn’t happen.
Besides, the cake wasn’t the main attraction, so a slightly smaller size was fine.
On the day itself, all the bread and desserts from the Bakery would make their grand appearance, Anais from the butcher shop had agreed to handle the meat, and Jake from the Produce Market had promised to prepare the fruit.
Of course, there would be plenty of alcohol as well.
‘Hehe, it’s going to be quite the abundant party.’
Even though it had become a party celebrating my demise, I found myself genuinely excited about the preparations.
“Lulu, store the potatoes so they don’t sprout.”
They were potatoes for the soup on the day. I planned to keep them as fresh as possible in case they sprouted.
Newspaper was perfect for storing potatoes!
I retrieved the World Daily News.
‘…I was quite shocked when I saw this last time.’
I eyed the headline.
And without hesitation, I tore out the ‘Sisrain’ article that had startled me, wrapping the potatoes in it with a crisp rustle (with perhaps a touch of personal feeling mixed in).
‘Not enough.’
And just as I was about to tear out the next page.
That absurd headline brazenly occupied the very next page.
「 Next Mage Tower Master, Grand Duke Heinrich, Places 5.8 Trillion Gold Bounty on Lost Sister from Childhood. 」
What? He’s burning 5.8 trillion gold just to find me? Who in their right mind would do something so insane?!
―It was Heinrich.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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