The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 84

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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 84
Back then, the Empire and various kingdoms had used that place as a stronghold, but after the Demon King’s Castle fell, security had been completely relaxed and the area had fallen into neglect.
“Oteloid.”
“Yes?”
“Reinvestigate Oteloid. Check every single passage through Oteloid that could lead into the Empire.”
At Kiriel’s words, Lebon’s movements came to an abrupt halt.
In truth, there was no one who didn’t know of Oteloid.
The boundary between good and evil.
The demarcation line between the sacred and the profane.
Long ago, there had even been rumors that it was a city where demons and humans once coexisted in harmony.
“…Surely not.”
“Don’t ask questions. Just investigate what I’ve asked you to investigate and bring me what you find. She would have been an infant. There’s a high probability she couldn’t walk properly, and it’s also highly likely she was with a woman.”
The woman Bunny often spoke of—Luri—had likely stayed with Bunny the entire time.
“…Understood for now.”
“Proceed as discreetly as possible.”
“Yes.”
At Kiriel’s words, Lebon bowed his head silently.
His role was to follow Kiriel’s orders, not to harbor doubts.
Click.
As Lebon closed the door and left, Kiriel exhaled a short sigh.
He gazed at the glass marble for a moment, then picked it up, glanced at the clock beside him, and rose from his seat. He had a meeting with the Marquis coming up soon.
‘If it weren’t for that mine Bunny mentioned, I wouldn’t particularly want to go out.’
But the term “purification stone” did nag at him somewhat.
It was a name he had never heard before in all his life.
Lost in thought, Kiriel gathered his clothes and was about to leave the office naturally when he paused.
‘…I’ve become quite diligent, haven’t I.’
Since when had I started keeping promises, and since when had I been coming to the office every single day like this?
He thought it was rather amusing and lightly brushed his hair back.
But ever since the child came, I had naturally become industrious, and countless tasks had accumulated.
“Bunny… are you still being useful and helpful? If Daddy is apart from Bunny, Bunny’s tears will fall.”
Bunny was remarkably mature for a child from the very first meeting.
A child who seemed to have grown only in love without experiencing any hardship or adversity—soft, innocent, and pure, yet strangely mature.
Come to think of it, every time the child came to see Kiriel, she would bring information like “something will happen here in a few days” or “something from this merchant house will become a huge hit.”
On days when she had no information, she would bring an old cloth pouch full of fairy tales instead.
‘There was never a day she came empty-handed.’
Bunny must have certainly thought of it as her “usefulness.”
That one would only avoid abandonment by being useful, not bothersome, and worthy of praise.
“Bunny is smart! And also a wonderful egg! And also can handle even the biggest Demon… even the law! So with Bunny around, you get a huge profit! Since I do everything alone, it’s not bothersome at all and you even give me pocket money!”
At their first meeting, she had said such things, and I thought she was a peculiar and strange child, but perhaps… she believed that was the only way someone would need her.
‘Is that also why she wants to become an adult?’
A sharp sting.
The sudden prickling sensation made him press his hand against his chest.
Strangely, whenever he thought of the child, a tingling feeling would pierce through his heart.
Kiriel finally arrived at the Conference Room and gently pushed open the door, stepping inside.
“…I told you to leave that child alone!”
Crash, bang!
Of course, it wasn’t particularly a secret that the Conference Room door had been shattered and embedded into the Marble Wall just minutes after Kiriel entered.
* * *
“….”
“….”
“….”
Roll, roll.
In the silence, only the sound of eyes darting back and forth could be heard.
Bunny glanced at Allen.
Allen shook his head and glanced at Kalbad.
Kalbad shook his head in the same manner.
‘Daddy’s all prickly and sharp. Stingy and mean.’
Bunny, sensing the prickly and sharp aura radiating from Kiriel, cautiously opened her mouth.
“Daddy, are you angry?”
“Hmm?”
Only upon hearing Bunny’s voice did Kiriel slowly lift his head, which had been frozen while gripping his fork and knife, to look at the child.
Seeing the three children’s gazes fixed on him, Kiriel clicked his tongue inwardly, set down his utensils, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“No, I just had something on my mind.”
“Liar.”
At Kiriel’s vague excuse, Bunny immediately stamped him with her lie-detector seal—bang, bang.
Kiriel faltered at that.
“Daddy, you’re all prickly and sharp and stingy.”
“…What do you mean by prickly and sharp and stingy?”
“Um… Daddy keeps being all prickly and sharp and stingy, and it makes me feel all tingly and weird!”
Unable to understand a single word of what Bunny was saying, Kiriel nodded along, letting it go in one ear and out the other. Still, it was clear she was saying his mood didn’t seem good.
He suppressed his rising fever and dizzying thoughts, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Bunny.”
“Yes?”
“Would it be alright if Daddy asked you for one favor?”
A favor?
Bunny’s eyes sparkled at Kiriel’s words.
“A trial?!”
“A trial…?”
What was she suddenly talking about?
Kiriel stared at Bunny, who was fidgeting, unable to hide his bewildered expression.
Because Bunny had once heard a fairy tale from a storybook that Luriel had shared with her—a tale about how trials always began with a “request” for the protagonist.
Usually, these trials would unfold when the protagonist’s great father the king, or the parents of the protagonist’s friends, or perhaps someone who had despised the protagonist, would make some “request” of them.
“Save my son!! Only you possess the power of super mega ultimate magic that can save my son!! I’m sorry for ignoring you all this time!!”
“Oh great Demon King!! I apologize for treating you as a bastard and ignoring you. You are a true Demon King. Please, I beg you, save our Demon King Empire!!”
“You are the only one who can save the world. I acknowledge that I am a far lesser Emperor than you. So, won’t you join forces with me to overcome this great crisis of world annihilation? Oh mighty great Demon King.”
Had Bunny finally reached the trial where she would save the world?!
Once the protagonist overcame such a trial, everyone would acknowledge them and see them differently.
Moreover, they would all swear their loyalty to the protagonist.
“I’m sorry for ignoring you all this time. You are one of our family!!”
“I shall serve you as my true master. Oh great and mighty Demon King.”
“Won’t you live with me and make this world peaceful? My great Demon King.”
As Bunny’s imagination soared with endless possibilities, her body trembled with anticipation.
Bunny nodded enthusiastically with a bright smile.
‘Number one of the Duke’s House, Bunny—now it’s time to go boom-crash and show the world how amazing I am and rule it all.’
Having overcome the trial, Bunny would become even more mature.
“Okay?”
As Bunny asked eagerly, Kiriel gazed at her with a somewhat stiffened expression and opened his mouth.
“Do you remember when I told you what the voice coming from the Stone was saying? Bunny.”
“The Stone?”
Bunny tilted her head, then let out an “Oh!” and nodded vigorously up and down.
Kiriel sighed softly as he watched her head shake so enthusiastically, then gently grabbed it to stop her.
“Yes! Save me!”
“Right, that one. Would you mind translating it one more time? I went to the place you mentioned and discovered some Elves. But your father couldn’t understand what they were saying.”
“You’re not going boom-crash?”
“Boom-crash?”
“Aren’t you going to save the Empire, Bunny?”
Bunny, who had expected to face an enormous trial, asked with a slightly disappointed expression.
‘Does she want to save the Empire?’
Well, considering she claimed her dream was to become the Demon King, perhaps she harbored ambitions of world conquest.
Still, should I give her credit for wanting to save the Empire rather than conquer the world?
“…In a broader sense, saving the Empire is part of it. If the Elves become monsters, the world will be in danger.”
Of course, before that could happen, all the personnel of the Udiah Duchy would be deployed to purify and obliterate the entire area, but there was no need to mention such details.

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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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