NOVEL NEXT Chapter 112: A mission made for the Demon King.
"Tell me, Elizabeth... why is there this gap in the reports?" I ask Elizabeth, who is bowing on the snowy ground. I'm on a mission given to me by the Demon King; I must kill some foolish nobles who thought of committing follies they shouldn't have.
But while I'm carrying out the mission, I'm also doing some things for myself, like reading the reports Elizabeth is supposed to deliver to me. However, the latest report has a hole in it, a gap in the information.
"I-I'm sorry, Esther-sama... Evelyn fell into a teleportation trap inside the dungeon... I couldn't follow them, so I completely lost track of the information for a few days, but she's already out of the dungeon, so I gathered as much information as I could..."
"But I couldn't find out exactly what happened or how she got out of there..." she says fearfully as I look around. The forest's atmosphere is calm and cold, a bone-chilling cold for most. I see frozen birds and animals that have turned into ice statues.
"Okay..." I'm not irrational; I won't blame Elizabeth for not having that information. After all, it was a teleportation trap she had no control over.
"I'm a bit busy right now. Take these reports to my vault in the castle and leave them there. I'll finish reading the rest when I'm done with what I'm doing..." I say, handing the papers to her.
"Thank you for your benevolence, Esther-sama. I will do my best to recover from this failure." She gets up from the ground, takes the papers, and disappears.
"..." I turn my attention back to the area.
'Now... where are those rats hiding?' This mission I'm doing for the Demon King would be equivalent to a Rank SS guild quest because the people I'm hunting are strong and are hiding in this dangerous forest.
Although the real problem is just the forest itself, since those I'm hunting are all Rank A.
The temperature here is so low that Rank B demons suffer death by freezing in less than 30 minutes.
"Found it..." I see a branch falling from a tree and rolling until it hits a hollow tree trunk. I'm using my blessing to find these filthy rats. I might want to kill everyone in this world, but I still respect my father, the Demon King.
And seeing rats who think they are above their station is truly irritating. To me, rats who try to bite the hands of their superiors must die.
I kick the trunk, sending it flying, and see a small hole. I think about jumping inside, but I realize my breasts would get stuck.
'What a nuisance.' I hold my breasts. They are large... large enough to be a bother. Clothes need to be perfectly adjusted, and bras are equally troublesome when trying to get them to fit properly.
"Trying to go down won't work if it's through this hole." I use magic to see how deep the hole is, and it goes down almost two kilometers, with a complex, gigantic tunnel system below that extends beyond my detection range.
'Too big... they really are filthy rats.' Trying to go down will let them escape before I find them, so it's better to take another approach.
"Darkness Magic [Seismic Void]!"
Darkness Magic that generates an earthquake, then covers all the fissures with darkness, generating a second tremor ten times stronger than the first through the expansion of the darkness. The magic covers my leg and activates when I stomp forcefully on the ground.
My right leg becomes completely covered in a violently writhing darkness. I raise my leg and with all my strength, stomp it on the ground.
Immediately, a massive earthquake occurs across the entire area, generating large fissures radiating out from my position. However, immediately after, all the fissures are covered in darkness, and a second, even more thunderous tremor occurs, shaking everything for several kilometers.
The ground completely collapses, burying all the surrounding tunnels, and as this happens, five masked people emerge from the ground, some injured and others completely fine.
'So they didn't die...' I'm not usually this extreme. I always try to hold back so no one sees my full power. However, the Demon King, although he doesn't know exactly how strong I am, knows that I am very strong.
So on missions like this, where no one but him will know what happened, I end up letting loose a little.
"Y-You aberration!" one of the masked ones says upon seeing me.
"So it's you... Could you clear something up for me? What makes you believe you can defy the Demon King?" I ask, genuinely curious. Not even I, from the seventh layer, would dare to challenge the Demon King.
I would only fight the Demon King if I had enough power to kill him, and currently, that is still far from my reality.
"What does it matter? For a dog of the Demon King, you're a real aberration, don't you think?" one of them says, drawing a sword while signaling for the others to flee.
'So he's the strongest among them... Well, I only need one for my questions.' In a single instant, I am already behind them. The one with the sword looks back and sees his companions' heads falling to the ground as blood sprays into the air and their bodies collapse.
"!!!"
"Calling me a dog is a real insult... After all, one day I'll even kill the Demon King," I say with a smile. It doesn't matter if the Demon King hears this; I know he wouldn't do anything.
I've threatened him with death a few other times, and I think he even likes it? I don't understand, but he seems to enjoy being challenged.
"Y-You..." Before he can finish, I punch his face, driving his nose into his skull while his teeth shatter.
"You know, I'm not so benevolent as to let someone insult me like that... Now, could you answer my question?" I say, picking up his sword from the ground.
I swing it, seeing it's a good sword. Without a doubt, it could kill me if he had the strength, but without strength, having this sword is the same as trash.
"This sword is quite unusual. Where did you get it?" This is an angelic weapon, not something easily found in the demon continent.
"I-I won't tell you anything, you..." I kick him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the trees.
"You don't need to speak. This sword gave me the answers I wanted... You were paid, right? Paid to poison Grace..." Grace is a guest of the Demon King and is the Heroine.
If she dies poisoned in our castle, we will have serious problems with all the other races, because special titles like Grace's are relevant to all races.
As a guest of the Demon King, Grace can only be killed if she attacks first, or does something against the image of the demons, something culturally unforgivable to us... Of course, we could also fabricate a reason.
But currently, the Demon King truly desires an agreement with humans, so killing Grace is out of the question.
"It was a brilliant idea to poison Grace with Lariasco..." It's a poison that doesn't affect demons, so most demons don't notice it in their drinks, and since it only exists here in the demon continent, other races don't know how to identify it well as a poison.
"However, you made a mistake in thinking the castle servants wouldn't notice such a simple trick... So, what would lead a demon noble to poison the Heroine, guest of the Demon King, and possess an angelic sword?" When I say this, he trembles in fear.
"You betrayed the demons and made a deal with the angels, didn't you? To poison Grace... Frankly, I wouldn't care if that human died... but I also can't let you hinder my father in the war." Angels are so hypocritical.
They act righteous, but they cowardly try to kill someone who has nothing to do with it. It's almost comical.
"Y-You have no proof..." he says, spitting blood.
"...You're right. It's all speculation. This sword could have been obtained on the black market, and poisoning Grace could have other reasons... but does that matter?"
"I am the Princess. I hold one of the highest authorities in this kingdom. What I say is what others will treat as the truth. And for that reason, I, as Princess, sentence you to death for high treason."
"Your assets, your lands, your treasures, and everything you own will be confiscated, with the Demon King receiving 70%, me receiving 20%, and the remaining 10% becoming public property of the kingdom."
"Your immediate family will be executed. Your descendants will be tortured before death. Your distant family who still has any connection to you will be accused and lose everything, becoming slaves." I pronounce one of the heaviest sentences my authority allows.
"W-What!! N-No!! They have nothing to do with this!" he says in a garbled tone because of the blood and broken teeth.
"Does it matter? You should have thought better before betraying your people. Now your family will pay the price." With this, I gain even more territory for myself. This is why I like these execution missions.
As long as I'm not too greedy, the Demon King lets me keep a good percentage of the money and territory from the traitors.
"P-Please, I-I'll do anything..." He kneels at my feet.
"Matriarch Raven." When I cite his name, his fear intensifies.
"You are the head of the Raven family. A matriarch is responsible for their entire family. If someone from your family betrayed us, you would be held responsible but wouldn't be executed or lose much."
"But when the matriarch themselves is the traitor, the weight falls on the entire family, except those no longer connected to you. Everyone knows this. You should have thought better before instead of begging now." I notice a hidden glint.
'Fool.' He tries to stab me, leaping up, but I kick his head, decapitating him. His body falls into the snow with a dull thud as blood flows out, staining the white red.
"Ah..."
"...I should have held back." I didn't want to kill him yet; I had other questions.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Mission accomplished, Father," I murmur, turning to leave.
'Is Evelyn planning to buy some territory with the money she's accumulating? Perhaps... I could sell the Raven family's territory to her... or that of some other family.' I think with some interest in the idea.