(EP-259.1) #1

259 – Fight Fire With Fire #1

Elga quietly listened to my story.

Then, after hearing everything, she started to get really angry.

“Don’t be ridiculous! What kind of plan is that!? What quarter-nymphs or whatever…!?”

“……”

She was yelling so loudly that it seemed like flames would burst from her mouth. Her hair even stood on end.

━Kukuku-!

━Jijipae-!

Thanks to her outburst, the carrier pigeons in many cages flapped their wings even more.

It was hot, the birds were flapping, feathers were flying, Elga was screaming… I felt like I was going to faint. But I managed to hold onto my wits.

Elga spoke.

“Have the daughters of the great families bear children? What kind of plan is that? Are you insane…!? What kind of revenge is that? Are you out of your mind…!?”

Elga shot down my carefully devised revenge plan, calling it insane. Calling me crazy seemed a bit much, didn’t it? I felt a surge of anger, I couldn’t just let her say that.

“It’s an excellent plan. And it’s well underway, with already a quarter of the way done. Elga-nim, you’re a part of it.”

“Grrrr—!”

Elga clenched her fists tightly, as if she didn’t know how to release her anger. But clenching her fists or growling couldn’t change what had already happened.

“I feel like an idiot for falling for such a stupid plan!”

“Depending on your perspective, you could see it that way.”

“Shut up!”

“……”

Sensing that any further excuses or retorts might earn me a smack from those hard gauntlets, I decided to keep my mouth shut. And the timing wasn’t that bad either.

Thud, thud, giiiik-.

Likely having heard our commotion, some maids, carrying lanterns, came up the tower and checked.

“There was a loud noise. Is there any problem? Elga-nim and Sir Gospel?”

Their sudden arrival frightened me. If Elga decided to turn me in, it would cause a massive uproar.

“… It’s nothing. Just go back.”

But Elga just waved them away, as if trying to calm herself. This meant she had no immediate intention of turning me in, which was good news for me.

Only after the maids had completely left did I speak with joy.

“I thought you were going to report me. You didn’t. So, can I take this as you’ll cooperate with me, Elga-nim?”

Crumple-.

Elga frowned at my question.

“Ha…? What cooperate? It’s more like a postponement. Depending on what you do next, I’ll still turn you over to the guards. Keep that in mind.”

“If you do that, you won’t avoid facing repercussions yourself, Elga-nim.”

“… I’ll figure that out later. It’s none of your concern, so don’t worry about it. But speaking of which, let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

Elga’s expression was calmer than before. The serious and solemn atmosphere made me decide to respond sincerely as well.

“What do you want to ask?”

“The recent incidents. Like what Opal did. Are you involved in any of that? Are you plotting something?”

“Are you asking if I’ve gone mad, building an evil empire, leading demons to massacre people, and becoming the reincarnation of the Demon King Solomon to kill everyone?”

“Yes.”

Scratch scratch-.

All of a sudden I felt an itch like ants crawling on my head. I scratched my head. I didn’t know how to explain this.

“Do I look like someone who would do such things?”

“No…”

“Then why do you ask?”

“… It’s different hearing it from your mouth, I guess.”

‘I guess.’

So, I decided to answer Elga’s question sincerely.

“I actually have little to do with Demon King Solomon. Whatever he did or intended to do, I’m on a different path.”

I made my stance clear to reassure Elga. The path of mutual destruction that Demon King Solomon pursued was different from mine.

If anything, wasn’t the path I was taking much closer to the harmony and cooperation demonstrated by the kings of Angmar before the Demon King?

In fact, the problem was that Solomon took things too far. Until then, the kings of Angmar had generally ruled the country peacefully.

“I’m probably the son of Isaiah Gospel, Solomon’s son. I don’t know the details, but I’d like to know what happened as well.”

Understanding this, Elga slowly nodded.

“… Well, alright then.”

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she added.

“But Solomon wasn’t out of control from the start. What guarantee is there that you won’t end up like that? High-ranking mages often lose their minds. You might, too.”

“That’s…”

That was true. It was said that mages who surpassed the 6th rank often suffered extreme stress and mental corruption.

I had also just broken through to the 6th rank.

In the future, there was a possibility that I could become as eccentric and obstinate as the Sage Society’s Black Mage Pelto or the Witch Queen Aira.

“If that time comes….”

Elga trailed off.

I spoke in her stead.

“If that time comes, Elga-nim, please stop me. My heart is right here.”

Seuk-.

I gently guided Elga’s gauntleted hand to my chest. Could she feel the beat of my heart through the thick iron glove? Soon, Elga snorted and pulled her hand away.

“What are you saying, being all cheesy?”

* * *

Fortunately, Elga calmed down somewhat. Although she still occasionally screams to herself like, “Ugh, ah-!”

Perhaps the realization that she had been deceived by me all this time, along with the fact that she carried the scion of the Demon King in her womb, made her feel a deep regret.

Still, compared to when she threatened to kill me and then herself, it was a significant improvement.

“So, am I the first to know about this? No one else has found out until now?”

“That’s right. The Promised Mana… I never thought something like that existed. I never imagined that I’d be exposed by just a single strand of hair.”

I really didn’t know. I mean, in this fantasy world, who would have thought there would be something like a DNA test? A test to identify the people of the Angmar family? It felt like a test designed specifically to torment me.

Perhaps this was the tragic karma I inherited when getting the Little Demon King?

While I was still confused, Elga, who was dangling her legs between the balcony railings, said.

“It was a common test during my grandfather’s time. They used it to identify and kill all members of the Angmar family or send them to work on building the barrier.”

“I see. So that’s how they wiped them out?”

“Yes. But I’m surprised you managed to hide it this long. Didn’t you tell the Draco family? They would surely side with you. That’s unexpected.”

Elga seemed to be probing me. She was probably curious about why I hadn’t revealed my identity to Mirna or Narmi.

If our positions were reversed, I would have been curious as well.

Edited by: faker