The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

"How is this even possible?!"

Socduo blurted out instinctively but quickly realized his rudeness and corrected himself.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to pry into your trade secrets..."

"Trade secrets? Haha, hardly," Brook chuckled, speaking playfully, "If you can earn the friendship of the elves, you could harvest summer crops in winter too."

Ah, so it's the elves...

Socduo immediately felt enlightened and dismissed any thought of uncovering the underlying secrets.

Pointy ears may be allies of humans, but this group of allies seldom enjoy interacting with humans, most of them residing on an island in the center of the Vortex Sea.

No one knows the location of that island. Numerous attempts to chart a route to the Yigde Tree have ended in failure.

To gain the friendship of the elves...

Socduo found himself increasingly admiring the legendary Lord.

At least, he had never heard of an elf serving an Undead Mage.

Their aversion to the Undead was on par with the level of loathing Saint Sis's followers had for demons. Only a rare few of the Fallen among the elves would collaborate with an Undead Mage.

Though he'd heard the Dark Night Elves were notoriously savage, akin to the ogres on the eastern edge of the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range, living primitive lives of raw meat and blood. As such, he had automatically discounted them.

Arriving at the lodging, Socduo checked in with Brook's assistance.

The establishment seemed to have no other patrons, so the innkeeper treated him with extra attention, even asking about his dietary preferences for dinner.

Though he dealt in grain trades, Socduo was not picky about food, so he merely asked the innkeeper to prepare some local specialties.

Handing Socduo the room key, Brook spoke.

"By roughly this time tomorrow, our Lord will send someone to escort you to meet him. During your stay at the camp, if you encounter any trouble, either contact the innkeeper at the front desk or find me at the city gate."

Socduo nodded to show he understood.

But just then, he suddenly realized there was an important question he'd forgotten to ask. Before Brook left, he quickly posed the question.

"May I ask the name of your Lord?"

Stopping in his tracks, Brook gave Socduo a peculiar gaze before remarking.

"You've come all this way and still don't know the name of our Lord?"

Socduo let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"I've only heard certain rumors about him... none of which mentioned his name, or if they did, there were multiple versions and none of them definitive."

Brook asked curiously.

"What do the rumors say?"

Socduo truthfully shared what he had heard near Thunder City.

"Rumors say he's a powerful and benevolent mage... and some claim he's Saint Sis's Chosen One."

Hearing this, Brook burst into laughter.

Seeing the bewildered look on Socduo's face, he smirked and teasingly said.

"The first part is true, but the second part is ridiculously off-mark."

Socduo felt an ominous sense of unease and nervously asked in a hushed voice.

"May I ask, which part is incorrect?"

"All of it."

Brook smiled, but his tone turned serious as he continued.

"You're not worthy to speak our Lord's name directly. When you meet him, remember to address him as Lord Demon King."

Demon King!

The word "Demon King" didn't register with Socduo at first, but once it did, his legs almost gave way.

His admiration, which a moment ago had been overflowing, instantly transformed into boundless dread!

"Demon King... wait, wasn't Thunder County's Demon King already dead?! No, I didn't mean to offend, it's just, just... why?"

His mind raced with countless questions.

So many that even he couldn't articulate exactly what "why" he wanted to ask.

Brook, unsurprised by his reaction, simply placed his right hand over his chest with reverence, performing a prayer in the manner taught by the acolytes of the Great Graveyard.

"Indeed, the tyrant of the past is dead. But our Lord is different... he's unlike any Demon King who has ever appeared here."

"Once you meet him, you'll understand why I say this..."