Until he reached the end of the long corridor, the flattery of Duke Aziz never ceased.
Duke Luke occasionally gave him a subtle reprimand, but Duke Aziz, was not one to be swayed by such.
Given Duke Luke’s nature, it was hard for him to deliver an insult, even if he wanted to. I
n the end, Duke Luke, unaccustomed to flattery, was the first to give in.
“Do you not have any pride? Well, cheer up. If that’s how you survive, I suppose it must be respected. However.”
Duke Luke firmly grasped Duke Aziz’s shoulder and said,
“Always remember, there are eyes watching you, Duke Aziz.”
After finishing his words, Duke Luke vanished in an instant.
Duke Aziz, left alone at the end of the corridor, could only click his tongue.
Duke Luke’s words were true.
After pushing out the Lester family and taking their place as a new pillar, not only did he face checks from other nobles, but there were also too many eyes planted on his side.
This made it difficult for him to move freely.
“Well, it’s fine. Being in the pillar’s position is what matters.”
There were many small and large disturbances, but securing the pillar’s position was the most important. His plans to ascend to the emperor’s throne had advanced by at least 50 years.
“The Lucid family… a remarkable family. But that’s only for now.”
Duke Aziz had no intention of bringing down the Lucid family. When his family ascended to the emperor’s throne, the Lucid family would be the most loyal to him. Impossible for such a noble family? No, they would have no choice but to follow him.
“Duke Luke, I know you’ve made a deal with a demon.”
It was information obtained at a high price, so it was certain. The problem was that he didn’t know what the deal was. Moreover, if one made a deal with a demon, it should be apparent, both inside and out. However, no such signs were visible.
“If only I could find out what Duke Luke’s deal with the demon was…”
They would not dare challenge him. All they could do was pledge their loyalty.
Clutching his fist tightly, Duke Aziz thought of Duke Luke. Despite wishing to be close, the power dynamics forced them apart—an agonizing relationship with the Lucid family.
“You and your family’s descendants will kneel before our family.”
The feeling of ascending to the emperor’s throne would be good, but subjugating the noble Lucid family would be equally satisfying. Since it would be 2-3 generations before they could challenge for the throne, the only pleasure available to him was making the Lucid family kneel.
How great the thrill and sense of conquest would be when he saw them kneeling before him in a row.
“…I got too excited.”
After straightening his clothes, he calmly reviewed the recent events. The demon attack, the awards, the dispatch of priests, the nobles’ meeting, and…
“Dwener.”
That incompetent man receiving an award, even a 7th-grade one, was beyond his imagination.
“Could he have deceived me?”
Until last year, Dwener was actively involved in everything, causing destruction wherever he went. This led to Elester being dispatched under the pretext of a break.
He was in the process of planting his people in the magic department, which had become vulnerable.
But to leave behind a famous document and turn a sacrificed child into a hero, and to save students from a demon attack?
Judging by these actions alone, he seemed like a highly capable individual.
“Did he bide his time for a year before showing his true colors?”
After a moment of thought, Duke Aziz shook his head. No, that couldn’t be. He had recognized Dwener’s incompetence at their first meeting. Conversation, knowledge, behavior—he was a perfect example of incompetence.
Yet, he had performed such feats. It was hard to grasp what was happening.
“I don’t like this.”
As mentioned before, since taking the pillar’s position, there were many eyes on him, making it impossible to approach Dwener.
“I don’t need uncontrollable words…”
Duke Aziz toyed with the idea of dismissal in his mind but soon shook it off.
“Well, it’s like a cow walking backward and catching a mouse. Just the luck of an incompetent fly. That’s how I’ll think of it. Since there’s no harm done and the grand plan is progressing well… there’s no need to dismiss him right now.”
However, Duke Aziz would later realize the very act of keeping the name Dwener in his mind was the beginning. The start of problems, the start of his plans going awry.
“Gasp!”
Surrounded by darkness, he frantically surveyed his surroundings. He had to run away from the demon.
“Pant… Pant…”
But no matter how much he looked around, the demon was nowhere to be seen.
It was strange. The green glow of Bineus’s eyes was definitely in front of him.
“…”
After calmly observing his surroundings, he managed to understand what was happening. It was dawn, and he was in the infirmary.
He had a nightmare and had woken up from his sleep. That was all.
Except for his body being drenched in sweat, there was nothing unusual to note.
“Keke, this is troublesome.”
He quickly regained his composure, thanks to the [Mental Defense] skill. One amazing fact about the [Mental Defense] skill is that while it protects against illusions and safeguards the mind, it does not work in dreams.
Wow, how surprising. To be able to feel the emotion of fear, thank you so much.
‘If you’re going to do it, make it work in dreams too! Damn system!’
He carefully looked around. Rodelin, Alex, Raymon, Yuridia, and lastly, Luna, who was scratching her stomach and sleeping.
Three days had passed since Bineus’s attack, and we were living in the infirmary.
‘Because we’ve encountered a demon, and not just any demon but one from the fourth grade.’
While investigations into the incident were ongoing, it was crucial to check if anyone had fallen for the demon’s temptations. In life-threatening situations, there are surprisingly many who make deals with demons to save themselves. Naturally, these unfair contracts led by demons never end well.
That’s why we had to stay in the infirmary.
We were excused during class and exercise times, but even then, instructors followed and watched over us.
‘Well, that ends today anyway,’
From priests to teachers and administrative officials sent from the surrounding territories, after extensive checks, it was confirmed that none of us had fallen for the demon’s seductions.
With the break of day, we were to return to our normal routines.
But wasn’t it nice to spend these three days with the main members?
Well, seeing their faces a lot was nice, but…
‘Nothing happened.’
Luna occasionally came over to my bed, hugged me, and fell asleep.
And because of what Yuridia saw, rumors about us have flared up even more?
Apart from that, there was nothing noteworthy.
‘Because we were being watched.’
The first party members, including Rodelin.
They must have a lot they want to say to me, and many questions they’d like to ask.
I’ve prepared enough excuses, so there’s no need to worry.
But that’s not the real issue.
The window bathed in moonlight. I stood there, lost in thought, facing the cool breeze.
‘It was a massacre ending.’
A bad ending where everyone except the player gets massacred.
If this were a game, that’s the ending we would have faced.
‘The attack by Bineus. The trigger must have been… targeting the demon’s shard in Chapter 1.’
Lisbeth, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, sends Bineus to the academy, destroying the resources accumulated by the player up to that point.
The “party members,” a valuable resource.
It must have been one of the measures for balance adjustment.
[Divine Imitation] is too overpowered.
‘Even if obtained in Chapter 3, it would be too powerful, let alone in Chapter 1, as I had anticipated.’
A trap set by the developers. We survived despite it.
Why did we survive on this route for the first time?
Because I’m a seasoned player?
No.
‘I was just lucky.’
I muttered quietly, hands cupped in front of my face.
After thinking it over for three days, this was the conclusion I came to.
I survived purely by luck.
The artifact received from Caron.
The artifact stolen from Daike.
The ninth Sacred Sword awakened in a moment of crisis.
Rezé’s arrow attack.
My decision to use [Demon Slave].
Recycling artifacts.
Using Rodelin’s family to restore Luterus’s honor during the demon’s shard incident.
This led Lucia to come all this way.
Had even one of these not occurred?
‘Everyone but me would have died…’
The horrifying image of the children meeting gruesome deaths haunted me.
Had it not been for [Mental Defense], I might have vomited.
Soaked in dawn’s sentimentality, I pondered various thoughts, but the conclusion was always the same.
‘Becoming stronger.’
I must become stronger no matter what.
Having killed one more of Lisbeth’s demons.
Although the academy’s defenses have been strengthened, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be another attack.
So, I have to become stronger, by any means necessary.
‘Information Window.’
As I slowly scrolled through, I found what I was looking for.
[Demon’s Blood: A]
Can sense magic power.
Penalty from opposing magic power –50%.
Effectiveness of magic-related skills +25%.
Effectiveness of holy-related skills –25%.
I muttered to myself as I looked at the skill.
‘I’ll use the Skill Grade Up Point on Demon’s Blood.’
A reward for clearing the quest of killing a hundred monsters in the ant dungeon.
Skill Grade Up Point.
Declaring its use, a burst of light emanated from the information window.
I closed my eyes to block out the light.
Well, to others, it might just look like I’m squinting.
After a moment, the information window reappeared before my eyes.
[‘Demon’s Blood’ skill has been upgraded to S rank.]
[Demon’s Blood: S]
Can sense magic power.
Penalty from opposing magic power –100%.
Effectiveness of magic-related skills +50%.
Effectiveness of holy-related skills –25%.
This wasn’t a rash decision made in the emotion of dawn.
It was a conclusion I reached after three days of thought.
‘I’ll encounter demons more frequently in the future.’
Not just lower demons, but the penalties from facing higher demons are unimaginable.
From stat reduction to skill grade decrease, status ailments, and even level drops.
‘There was a damage reduction penalty in Bineus’s case.’
One of the reasons Bineus could withstand our attacks despite being hit all over was not just because we faced him at a low level, but also because of the significant penalty from his magic power.
The damage to Bineus was lessened.
‘But reducing that penalty by 100% means…’
Complete immunity to penalties inflicted by demons.
The effectiveness of potions and buffs received from priests would be halved, but that’s a small price to pay. (TL Note: I think the Author messed up and the Effectiveness of Holy-Related Skills is -50%. While I could fix it, I didn’t want to change something I’m not sure of)
Next on my agenda…
‘I need to revise my plans a bit.’
It seemed I needed to change my priorities.
The future strength is important, but strengthening the immediate forces in front of me was necessary.
And just now, I thought of a way.
A method that could easily strengthen my party and also plan for the late game.
Namely.
Recruiting new allies.
–TL Notes–
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