Translatorâs Note: The goal has been reached, and the bonus chapter will be uploaded tomorrow. I will also post a chapter of PDM since I wasnât able to do it yesterday.
Raw Provider: Jessica
TL: Ms MTLer
Erez: âYou understood Ragibachâs intentions. This means you understand the situation to some extent. Then now, we can join forces. Back then, if I had told you I was on your side and you found out I was a demon, you wouldnât have believed me.â
ââŚâ
âJoining forces with demons.â
Since she was born, she was taught that demons were evil, so as expected, her reluctance soared.
âCan I really trust this man?â
Erez clicked his tongue as if he had read her thoughts.
Erez: âYes, this is the problem of you guys. You will lose every time a battle occurs if you only see the demon race as a united community. You donât know the enemyâs most fatal weakness. Donât you know that the enemy of the enemy is your friend?â
Keira: âYou meanâŚâ
Erez: âJust as your maternal grandfather and Count Weinberg are of the same race and fight like enemies, so are we. I am not sitting here with you because I am particularly kind. Itâs just that.â
He said so and chuckled.
Keira thought that, for some reason, that smile was different from the one before. It was as if he no longer felt the need to play the role of a noble young Lord because Keira already knew his real identity.
It was like seeing the devilâs face for the first time.
Erez: âYou still donât understand? You donât need to have faith in demons. What matters is that I need to help you because I hate that old woman.â
ââŚâ
Erez: âWhat do you think? Do you have the courage to work with me now?â
If he had planned to take advantage of her, he wouldnât have taken this complicated approach.
She wouldnât completely let her guard down, but it seemed they needed to talk more.
Keira nodded.
Keira: âSomewhat.â
Erez: âGreat. So, itâs a bit of a testament to trust, but if you have any questions, please ask. Iâll answer to the best of my abilities. You must have a lot of questions, donât you?â
Keira: âHmmâŚâ
The problem was she had too many things she wanted to ask.
Keira vomited up the questions she had been worried about since he had just confessed that he had summoned the Demon Beast.
Keira: âYou mentioned earlier that you summoned the beast during the hunting competition. Is it possible for that demon Ragibach to open the barrier at will?â
If that was the case, itâs unimaginable what the cornered Cosette would do.
When Keira imagined demonic beasts pouring out in the middle of the capital, her body went cold.
Erez: âYou donât have to worry about that. The one I opened up isnât a normal barrier. You probably didnât feel any signs until just before it opened.â
Keira: âRight.â
She nodded her head slightly. She wondered why she didnât notice the barrier opening right above her head, but it seemed to be because it wasnât a natural phenomenon.
Erez: âIn a nutshell, we demons have thirteen bloodlines. Each bloodline specialized in an ability. One of them is me, and my ability involves time and space. Iâm the only one in the human world who can summon demonic beasts at will, so donât worry. Ragibach canât do it.â
Keira: âTime and space? So that must be why you were able to turn back time.â
Erez: âRight. Iâm here right now because I transferred my soul into the body with that power.â
ââŚâ
At that, Keiraâs shoulders shook.
Erez: âWhatâs the matter?â
Keira ââŚYou say you transferred your soul into that body?â
Erez: âI did.â
Keira: âThen where did its original owner go?â
Erez replied in a very calm tone as if he couldnât understand why Keira had asked such a question.
Erez: âDead, of course.â
Keira: ââŚDid you kill him?â
Then he laughed out loud.
Erez: âI was wondering why your complexion suddenly changed⌠The owner of this body fell into the water and died when he was five years old. Thereâs a brief interval before the soul exits and the body dies. I took that opportunity to settle down in this body. I donât have the knack of killing a man whoâs been living in good health.â
It was an uncomfortable conversation, but there was no choice but to trust him in that regard.
Keira tried to hide her reluctance and continued with the next question.
Keira: âThen Cosette⌠No, what about Ragibach? Did she also occupy an empty body?â
Erez: âI donât know whether she used an empty body or used a familiar[1]. But one thingâs for sureâ that old lady doesnât have the same abilities as me. You canât warp space-time and surpass the barrier.â
Keira: âThatâs what Iâve been curious about for a while.â
The barrier existed to protect the human world from a demon invasion.
But werenât two Great Demons roaming the human world right now?
This was absurd.
It wasnât even a low-level demon. Two Great Demons were living in the Empireâs capital!
Beatriceâs barrier filtered out beings with large souls.
In general, the lower the level, the smaller the soul, which was why most things that appeared through barrier were beasts that lacked intelligence.
If itâs a Great Demon, thereâs no way Beatriceâs barrier could have left him alone.
Keira: âLetâs say you skipped the barrier with that ability or something. But how did Cosette get through? You said you donât have the same abilities.â
His answer was clear as day.
Erez: âA contractor must have summoned Ragibach. You can summon one through black magic.â
Keira: âAhâŚâ
Erez: âIsnât that why all knowledge of black magic has been lost since the countryâs founding?â
Keira: âI didnât know that. The black magic records are all goneâŚâ
Erez: âThe main body is in the Demon Realm.â
At that moment, something flashed in Keiraâs mind. Finally, there was a clue to drive Cosette and Weinberg out.
Excited, Keira said.
Keira: âThen, if there is evidence that a contract was signed, it would be possible to execute Cosette. Is the contractor Count Weinberg? That sounds right. We need to search for the CountâŚâ
Then Erez cut off Keira.
Erez: âActually, thereâs one thing Iâve been curious about for a long time.â
Keira: âHmm? What is it?â
Erez: âCosetteâno, Ragibachâs manifestation will happen about a year from now. Regardless of the means she used.â
Keira: âYes. What about it?â
Erez: âBut youâre the Grand Dukeâs real daughter. Isnât there a way to awaken your skills a little faster? Iâm asking because I really donât know. If you manifest your skills first, you wonât have to do anything except look for evidence of black magic.â
Keira: âThere isnât.â
She shook her head, a bitter smile on her lips.
Why didnât she find a way to do that?
In the past, she had done everything she could to make her skills manifest.
She read countless books and tried all superstitious methods.
The conclusion she came to after endless futile efforts was that awakening oneâs abilities was a kind of ârevelation.â
It was impossible to twist the will of God through human effort.
As she explained it, Erez scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes.
Erez: âI mean, itâs really weird. If this is a ârevelationâ given by the goddess, how did that old lady, Ragibach, imitate it? Are there hidden abilities that I donât know?â
Keira: âI thought you would know.â
Erez: âWell, thatâs a problem we donât know the answer to right now, but anyway, we need to get proof that they used black magic to drive out Cosette and Count Weinberg, and thatâs the best way to do it at this point.â
Keira: âYes.â
First of all, the option to manifest abilities was virtually impossible.
Erez looked out of the window in contemplation
Erez: âBy the way, the Count is the contractor, right?â
Keira: âAt the moment, nothing points to him. Did you have a hunch?â
Erez: âNo, he didnât look like a person who used black magicâŚâ
What did it mean to look like someone who used black magic?
Keira was a little skeptical, but it made sense. It seemed that demons could see something.
Erez: âIt would be a good idea to come up with a different plan in case you canât find evidence of black magic.â
[1] Iâm not sure what he meant by this, but í¨ë°ëŚŹě´ could be translated as âfamiliar.â According to Merriam-Webster, a familiar is a spirit or demon that serves or prompts an individual.