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Chapter 314: Growing Disturbance

“Oi, Zilbagias! Come out!”

Don’t try to sneak away! Aren’t you embarrassed by such cowardice?

‘How long are you going to keep that up?’

Yeah, I’m getting a bit tired of it.

–So, it seems we’ve stumbled into a strange situation in the Tritus Principality, with Hero Alexander and Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias here.

Currently, Leila and I, along with the overworked priest who has just been replaced at the gate, are going around the city doing holy inspections.

Since Leila has been flying hard this whole time, I wanted to let her rest at the inn. However, just in case I get inspected while I’m not around, it’s best for her to stick with me for now.

“Are you sure you don’t need a break? You look pretty tired.”

As we navigate through the bustling streets, I address the priest.

“It’s fine. As I said earlier, this is an emergency. There’s no time to relax.”

…How dedicated.

“I at least want to ensure the safety of this town.”

When he said that with a serious expression, I had no choice but to nod.

“I see… But if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be more efficient to split up? I appreciate you guiding us, but…”

I gently suggest that we should go our separate ways. Honestly, I’d prefer not to be around holy church personnel right now… Especially with Leila’s case, and if we were to start discussing my background or origins, it could get complicated.

“That’s a fair point. However, the area I’m responsible for is understaffed, making it more vulnerable than others. Besides, if we act separately and end up inspecting the same person multiple times, it would be inefficient.”

“…I see.”

“Moreover, if we inadvertently expose the Demon Lord’s Prince, I might not be able to restrain him alone.”

“Uh… That could be the case.”

Indeed, a single priest wouldn’t be able to stop me…

“Oh, I should introduce myself. I’m Edgar. Nice to meet you.”

Suddenly recalling, he introduces himself, this priest—Edgar.

“…I’m Alexander. This is Leila, nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s mine.”

We both ended up introducing ourselves. This kind of self-introduction is alright, but the trickiest part is when it leads to confirming abilities for operations. If they find out my magical power is dark attribute, that would be a huge hassle…

“Hey there. Sorry, but could you touch this?”

Edgar calls over a suspicious-looking guy and asks him to touch a holy attribute light.

“Y-yes, of course!”

“…Good. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Not at all. Thank you for your hard work…”

The man, shimmering silver as his innocence is proven, lets out a sigh of relief.

“–So, we’re going to focus on the suspicious characters?”

“Yeah. Normally, in a spy search, we’d target those trying too hard to act innocent.”

Edgar answers smoothly to my muttering.

Oh? He really knows how to handle the Night Elves.

Night Elves have been trained in deception and acting since childhood. So they won’t easily show their emotions… They might even wear human skin masks sometimes!

Seeing a hero or a priest in this bustling street wouldn’t make anyone act suspiciously. In fact, it’s the ones with a ‘none-the-wiser’ appearance or who seem completely unthinking that are truly suspicious.

…But that’s a story for the Night Elves.

“The Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias, even among the demon race, is royalty. No matter how cleverly he disguises himself, if thrown into the unfamiliar human society, he’s bound to slip up. So, in this case, ‘the more suspicious they seem, the more suspicious they really are.’”

Hmm, that hypothesis is quite accurate…

If Zilbagias weren’t even human…

“According to the flier, it seems Zilbagias is accompanied by a female White Dragon who can transform.”

Edgar, who had been scanning for suspicious individuals, suddenly turns around and says.

Leila, whose gaze just happened to meet his, flinches slightly.

“…Though it’s a mystery why a being of darkness is with a White Dragon.”

He simply throws that into the conversation, then resumes facing forward.

“…I wonder why. Could it be misinformation?”

“No, that’s unlikely.”

Disagreeing while rubbing his chin, Edgar replied.

“The flier was likely distributed by an opponent who defeated Zilbagias in the power struggle. They’re likely providing precise information to thoroughly corner him. In other words, there’s little benefit in misleading their allies about this matter.”

“……..”

“Huh? What’s wrong? Stomach hurt or something?”

“…No, it’s just the feeling of ‘I can’t stand this’ is rising.”

That flier… It makes it seem like I lost without a fight, and it pisses me off!

Zilbagias isn’t a loser!!

He just chose to be exiled after killing Emelgias!! Rather, they’re the real losers over there!

‘So you finally revealed your true self, huh?’

It can’t be helped that I’m irritated!

Still, seriously, this plan is completely in shambles.

If rumors spread about ‘Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias being exiled, and on top of that with a Dragon’s mobility,’ the hunting of dark beings in the alliance region will escalate.

In theory, that should be welcomed, but—one can consider that all previous intelligence networks have become worthless.

I feel like a hunter who was about to catch a sleeping prey, only for it to be startled awake with a loud noise—my frustration is definitely strong.

And all this is because of that idiot who spread the flier.

I can think of only one suspect.

—Nephradia.

At first, I thought it might have been the Izanis Tribe, but they’re not that foolish… If they did something like this on a clan basis, the Demon Lord would seriously blow up.

Well, even if it’s just an individual’s blunder, he’d probably still be furious.

If I return to the Demon Lord Castle, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nephradia’s existence was erased.

“I can’t forgive this… I understand that feeling all too well.”

Edgar grimaces, clenching his teeth.

“My mentor, my fellow heroes… even my acquaintance who was a priest, none returned alive from Evaroti…”

………..

“I’ve heard stories from those who escaped Evaroti, and every one of them was filled with terror. A monster that could cut through fortified ranks protected by priests and heroes like hot butter, turning the area into a sea of blood. A countless number of warriors lost their lives to that creature. The fact that such a being lurks in the alliance region? There’s no way I can allow that!”

“……..”

“I want to avenge them, him, and her. I may be lacking in power… But… Huh? What’s wrong? Does your head hurt?”

“…No.”

I released my hands that had been rubbing my forehead and shifted my expression.

“…I wonder what that Demon Lord’s Prince is doing, walking around nonchalantly right now.”

—That’s just how I feel.

†††

Meanwhile, in another town close to the front lines of the Tritus Principality…

(This is bad! This is bad! This is bad!)

Disguised as the human merchant ‘Howard,’ the Night Elf spy maintained a cheerful demeanor in the merchant association branch, but internally felt a wave of panic.

This town, thanks to some dumbass demon, had been flooded with flyers, so to speak, ground zero. Being close to the front lines, it was believed highly likely that the Demon Lord’s Prince was hiding here, and it had come to the spy’s attention that holy inspections were to be conducted for every resident in the area.

Who knows what dark arts the Demon Lord’s Prince may be using to disguise himself as a neighbor. They were prepared to seal off the town and conduct a thorough search…!!

(Damn it! The trust I built up and the intelligence network, all gone in an instant!!)

Of course, if Howard—who had blended in as a merchant—was hit by the holy light, he would be immediately exposed.

(What should I do… how can I get through this…!?)

Normally, he would write documents with elegant strokes, but at this moment, his hands froze and he could make no progress.

How to survive this disaster? Bribe the priest to skip the inspection? Ridiculous, that would be like confessing! Then, should someone else take my place? That won’t do either, too many acquaintances would reveal it’s not really him. First, if the person taking his place ends up reporting him, it would be the end.

—Ah, there’s nothing I can do about this.

As a competent spy, Howard understood he was utterly ‘cornered.’

“Hey, Howard, it’s about time to wrap up work. How about going to the tavern afterward?”

One of his colleagues chimed in.

Looking out the window, it was completely dark, and few people remained in the merchant association branch.

“…Ah, well, I still have some paperwork to tidy up…”

Howard scratched his head, nervously chuckling.

“That can wait until tomorrow, right?”

“No, tomorrow there’s that inspection, right? I want to finish it early for everyone’s sake.”

“Such a serious guy…”

“—Ah, if you’re okay with it, would you help me a bit?”

He wore a friendly smile.

“I have a record I need to find in the records room. If you could assist me, I’ll cover the drinks for tonight.”

“Oh, that’s generous! I’ll count on you!”

His colleague rolled up his sleeves and thumped his chest.

While watching other staff members head home, the two headed toward the records room.

Howard was ‘cornered.’

Maintaining his current identity and intelligence network was impossible, so he concluded.

Then…

As a spy, what he must do is…

“Uh, the transaction records with the brewery from two years ago, right?”

“Exactly, I couldn’t find it earlier when I looked…”

“How odd, it should be around here somewhere…”

In the dimly lit records room, his colleague rummaged through the document shelves.

“…Ah, found it! What’s this, it was right here, Howard–”

As his colleague turned to face him, Howard smoothly wrapped his arm around the man’s neck.

With a face devoid of emotion, like a mask.

“Guh!”

He swiftly inserted the poisoned needle hidden in his bracelet into the man’s neck.

“Ah… kgh…”

The colleague dropped the files and collapsed, convulsing while foaming at the mouth. As he unbuttoned his own clothes, Howard perked his ears to listen.

…Alright. No signs of other staff.

Carrying his lifeless colleague, Howard dashed out into the hallway. He quickly poured lamp oil from the storeroom onto the floor, stripped off his partner’s clothes to wear, and conversely donned his own clothes and accessories.

Fortunately, this human was very similar in stature to him. And if he borrowed the ‘pendant from my deceased lover’ that Howard always carried with him—

“…Alright.”

Howard carefully sprinkled oil in the hallway and records room before setting it ablaze.

What a spy must do.

—That is to erase their own traces.

In the end, both he and his colleague would be considered missing, so it’s merely a delay tactic, but it should create confusion in the investigation for a few days.

From here, while the fire attracts attention, he will dash home to dispose of classified documents. Then, later at night, he will escape over the wall and flee the city.

(After that… Damn it, I can’t use letters and— in this situation, the border is too heavily guarded…)

Although near the front lines, being too close makes movement difficult.

(For now, I’ll have to meet up with others…!)

After confirming that the fire had sufficiently spread, Howard leaped from the top floor window and landed on the adjacent building.

As the commotion of the fire drew spectators behind him, he sprinted across the rooftops.

Howard’s figure was swallowed up by the night’s darkness, disappearing without a trace.

 

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