Duke Luke’s eyes gleamed with a vicious light.
You could practically see his intent to kill just by looking into them.
Even so, the Demon stayed relaxed. Not once in his long life had he ever felt anything like fear.
‘The clause “You cannot attack a Demon of the Second Legion” is what’s keeping me safe.’
“How much time has passed outside? Two years… no, it must be three by now.”
The 7th Grade Demon, Jolt, recalled his past.
He had been indulging in the souls and flesh of humans when he ran into the knights of House Lucid.
They were strong enough to make you swear.
He was defeated in an instant and blacked out after a single flick to the forehead.
When he opened his eyes again, he was already here. In this underground prison.
It was made from holy power, so even dreaming of escape was pointless.
‘The only thing that ever comes down here is this human. And even then, most of the time he just glares and leaves…’
Life in the underground prison was a bit boring, but there was nothing truly wrong with it.
Demons were beings that lived for thousands of years to begin with.
Two or three years were nothing more than a fleeting moment.
“For someone you’ve locked up just to blow off steam, you’re not doing very much, are you? You don’t even bother hitting me.”
“…”
“A Demon’s life is long. This much time is nothing at all. If I just wait a little longer, the Legion Commander will descend and then you’ll all…”
The Demon, chattering excitedly, had to stop talking.
It was because the strength in Duke Luke’s hand, gripping his collar, kept increasing.
With the body of a mere 7th Grade, there was no way he could endure that power.
“Y-you… how are you doing this?!”
Had the contract been broken?
His chest grew tight, tears and snot began to flow, and his eyes and organs felt like they were about to burst out of his body.
“Puhhaa…!”
Only then could the Demon breathe again.
He had survived at the very last second, just before he literally exploded.
“Not yet, huh…”
Duke Luke sounded almost disappointed.
Judging from his attitude, the contract clearly wasn’t broken.
“U-urgh… Then how…?”
“I’ll tell you, as a special service. I wasn’t trying to attack you just now. I only squeezed a bit harder.”
“…?”
The Demon couldn’t understand. That was different? But before that—
“You can erase your intent to attack…?”
“It’s hard, but not impossible.”
The state of No-Mind.
Duke Luke was currently challenging that very realm.
That’s right. The Demon hadn’t been locked up just to serve as a stress-relief toy.
He was a lab rat for reaching the state of No-Mind.
“M-monstrous…”
Jolt’s body trembled before he even realized it.
To freely control one’s own thoughts and emotions—if that wasn’t a monster, then what was?
“…”
But Jolt was already outside Duke Luke’s field of interest.
Luke was looking at his own hand. The same hand that had been gripping Jolt’s collar a moment ago.
‘Even crushing him like this isn’t something I can do at will. Can I really maintain the state of No-Mind when I’m going all out?’
A battle from more than ten years ago, against the Second Legion Commander, surfaced in his mind.
Every single moment had been a desperate struggle, on a razor’s edge between life and death.
If a fight like that broke out again, could he maintain the state of No-Mind the entire time?
“…”
No. Don’t even think of it as impossible. This is something—
Something he had to achieve.
-Lady Lowell has reportedly overcome her crisis.
The news of what had happened in Trash Village reached Duke Luke as well.
In truth, he had already seen through Lowell’s intentions.
‘She’ll hunt the Second Legion Commander. But if it’s impossible, she’ll die to a Demon of the Second Legion and break the contract that way.’
Duke Luke had assigned knights, including Pleche, to shadow Lowell.
Because he cherished the girl?
No.
‘Someone who throws away their own life cannot be called a lion.’
He had personally draped his cloak over her shoulders. He couldn’t just sit back and watch her sacrifice herself.
Even if she claimed it was for the sake of the family.
“…”
There was one more way to break the contract.
A method devised a few years ago by Lucas, the man people called a once-in-a-generation genius.
It was definitely reasonable…
“It just doesn’t sit right with me.”
So he’d refused it. The problem was that Lucas still hadn’t given up, and the plan was steadily moving forward even now.
There wasn’t much time left.
Which meant—
“From now on, I’ll be experimenting on your body every single day.”
“Hii, hiiiiik!”
Jolt, the Demon who had never known fear.
This was the moment he first learned what fear felt like.
“I can see the Academy!”
“Uwaaaah! We’re finally free!”
“Prepare a feast immediately! It’s time for the heroes to shine!”
The kids were practically bouncing.
The long journey was finally coming to an end, so of course they were excited.
“You’re in a good mood.”
“Keke, of course. We’re finally back home. And I get my own room again.”
“Hmph~ The way you say that makes it sound like you hated sleeping next to me.”
Was it my imagination, or did the kids nearby prick up their ears just now?
I really hoped they wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Nothing had happened between us.
“Keke, Rezé was with us too, remember? It was just a bit cramped with three people together.”
“That’s true. But what can you do? You’ll just have to get used to it. We’ll be living together for a long time, won’t we?”
Well, she had a point.
‘She’s my party member, after all.’
I didn’t know what would happen with Rezé, but Luna was guaranteed to stay with me until the very end.
A little annoyance from communal living was a small price to pay.
I figured my excuse was more than enough.
“You were uncomfortable because the three of you were together?”
“So that’s a thing people are into now? Isn’t that kinda dangerous?”
“It seems Miss Luna was forced to accept it. Love really makes people do strange things…”
The girls suddenly burst into tears.
Mm, I see. So the more I try to explain, the dirtier the rumor gets, huh?
I decided to just shut my mouth. Before I became a pervert for the ages.
‘Summer break starts soon anyway.’
Their interest in us would die off quickly. And if I got the chance, I fully intended to go after the root of all this, that “Saeung-dong” or whatever.
I was in the middle of thinking about how to properly crush them.
The carriage gradually slowed and then came to a complete stop.
“Enter in an orderly fashion. You’ll be given two days of rest starting today, so keep that in mind.”
Identity and headcount checks were mandatory before entering.
Since all the 1st and 2nd years were here, the line was long.
“Oh my, Miss Luna! What an incredible coincidence.”
“Oh~ Hohoho! At this point it’s not coincidence but fate, you know.”
Yuridia and Victoria naturally slipped in right behind us.
Truly, they were goddamn stalkers.
“You all worked hard. If you’re free, how about we have a meal together tomorrow?”
Maybe it was thanks to their effort that bordered on stalking. Or maybe it was because we’d fought side by side in battle.
Either way, Luna had opened her heart a little.
Yuridia and Victoria’s eyes went round with surprise.
Seeing that, Luna gave a shy, awkward smile.
“If you’re busy… then it can’t be helped.”
“T-that could never happen! I, Yuridia, have no schedule whatsoever! I am unemployment itself!”
“Tea time, deleted! Training time, deleted! W-worship… ngh! You’re deleted too, okay!”
Chaotic, but by now it was a familiar kind of chaos.
I was listening to the two of them babble away with my eyes half closed when—
“…Move.”
“Mm? What’s going on? Why does it feel so noisy behind us?”
“Move to the sides! Right now!”
The plaza became hectic all at once.
I gently pushed Luna and Rezé aside to clear some space in the middle.
I already knew what was happening.
It was a scene from the game’s story, after all.
“Mm? What’s this all of a sudden?”
“Keke, this is surprising. To think we’d meet a Pillar here.”
“A Pillar…?”
A path opened up through the crowd as if a sword had split the sea.
Escorted by knights, a single man appeared in that empty space.
One of the Empire’s Eight Pillars, and the East’s financial lifeline.
“D-Duke Zeppelin de Vyuern?”
“Wow… it’s my first time seeing a Duke in person.”
The kids let out gasps of amazement.
He was a man you almost never got to see. Once known as the “Fist King,” an Eight-Star Knight.
To kids walking the path of the sword, he was practically an idol.
“Can you believe he can fight knights of his own class without a weapon? Isn’t that insane?”
“I don’t think he has a single ounce of fat on him. I’d believe you if you said he was still active duty.”
“But… why did he come here?”
“Obviously for Teron. He’s his father.”
“That’s unusual. Nobles usually avoid coming to places like this, don’t they?”
In this world, fifteen was legally an adult.
So before then, people prepared to live independently.
For nobles, that started at thirteen. Teron was from a prestigious house, so he’d probably been training to stand on his own even earlier.
And yet his father personally came all this way to see his fifteen-year-old son?
“It’s embarrassing, that’s why. Even commoners’ families don’t like visiting too much, right?”
“There’s no way the Duke doesn’t know that. If he still came, then…”
“It just means he’s worried. He’s family.”
“Well, the semester has been pretty intense since the very beginning. The Demon discovery, the Demon attack, the defense of Carpathia, and now even this deployment… Even a great noble would be worried.”
No one even thought of mocking it.
Partly because it was a father’s love, the affection between parent and child.
But mostly because the man in question was a great noble who held one of the Eight Pillars.
One careless word and you might lose your head for it.
So everyone was busy praising him instead.
“Father…?”
Maybe he’d received a message ahead of time.
Teron, who’d been near the front of the line, came running over. Daike, of course, followed behind.
The strange thing was that Teron was shaking like a leaf.
Teron, who was usually so strong and arrogant.
“Even a poplar doesn’t shake that much.”
“This isn’t a normal reaction. Something feels… off.”
That unease quickly became reality.
Smack!!
With a dull thud, everything froze.
Conversations, gazes, people. Even the air felt like it had hardened.
“Guhk…”
Teron lay face-down on the ground, groaning.
No one needed to ask why he’d fallen.
His swollen cheek answered that question for him.
“You’ve done something disgraceful. Several times, at that.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Stand up.”
Teron quickly got to his feet and stood before him.
Duke Zeppelin’s eyes shifted to Daike, standing behind him.
“And what were you doing? You couldn’t even provide proper support.”
“M-my apologies.”
“Stand up straight.”
Smack!!
Duke Zeppelin’s fist was too fast to see.
All we saw was Daike collapsing with a dull thud.
Daike, who’d been knocked flat, sprang back up and stood before him again.
“What did you say before going to the Academy?”
“That I would take… first place in every exam.”
“And the result?”
“…Only once.”
Just once, on the entrance exam.
I could see Teron clenching his teeth.
It was a familiar posture, like he was bracing himself for the next punishment.
“You’ve grown weak. Weaker than when you were still at home.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll devote myself to training.”
“No, the fault is mine for believing your words. It seems I’ll have to remind you again.”
Duke Zeppelin’s gaze fell on Daike.
As their eyes met, Daike’s body started shaking like crazy.
“What did I tell you?”
“The master’s mistakes are the hunting dog’s mistakes…”
“And who administers the punishment?”
“T-the master punishes the dog.”
“Then who is that hunting dog’s master?”
“…”
There was no answer.
Only action.
Thud!
Teron kicked Daike, then began stomping on him without mercy.
“…Ugh!”
Daike didn’t resist.
Curling up and trying to minimize the damage was all he could do.
“W-what is this…!”
“Don’t get involved! That’s a Duke!”
“So that makes it okay to beat someone like that?”
“You know this already. Daike isn’t considered a person. He’s just…”
A hunting dog.
When a master disciplined his own property, there was no way to intervene.
Even the instructors did nothing but watch.
“No matter how high-ranking he is, he won’t kill him here… right?”
“Damn it…! Why does the Empire still keep the hunting dog system?!”
Besides, the opponent was a Duke. There was no way anyone could just jump in.
‘Only those two, the ones with the qualities of heroes, could step into that mess.’
Or some crazy brat with zero sense of the situation.
Thud! Thud!
“W-what do we do…”
“This is too much…”
Some kids turned their eyes away from the gruesome scene.
Tap—
A girl stopped Teron’s kick with the top of her foot.
Teron’s eyes went wide when he saw her.
“Y-you… you crazy…!”
And I finally remembered something I’d forgotten.
“What are you doing? Move your foot.”
That our Luna was exactly that crazy brat.
–TL Notes–
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Ooh,The chapter came a day early!
And this chapter is so peak!!
Zero said that members of Lucod house would died,Go insane or make contract with Demon
The dead one is Lowel,But I wonder whether Lucas will be the insane or Demon contract one
And his plan must be something about sacrificing Rodelin isn’t it? Or maybe he would make a contract with Demon for the no mind state?
Duke Luke beyond human limit plan is simpler than I thought
And finally the much anticipate Teron arc begin in honest! And Zero already activate a hidden piece on the story event!
I wonder if Duke Zeppelin himself manage to acheived those standards when he was a student