Chapter 39

It had been a day since Skalgo returned to his original handsome appearance from his hideous form, and he began to take meals at Kena's house. Of course, it was Kena who invited him, rather forcefully. Luka still couldn't face him directly, but gradually started to call him "big brother." Feeling rather pleased, Skalgo was about to activate his skill "Roses Fall Beautifully" out of habit, but Kena's glare made him laugh nervously. After all, it was Kena's "Curse" magic. If he didn't get the keyword out of her while he was here, he might turn into Zhu Bajie during a casual conversation, and that would be disastrous. Not only would his job as a messenger be ruined, but his face as a high priest would be completely destroyed.

"Mother, please!"

"Sure?"

Skalgo, starting his morning with a bow, was met with Kena, who was cutting bread, prioritizing her meal. The breakfast on the table was something that seemed out of place in a fantasy world. Thanks to her skills, sugar, pepper, and even butter, which were precious items, could be easily made from common materials in this world. Roxane didn't make the hard bread served at the inn in Maleer. Instead, she made a mountain of butter from salt and goat's milk and distributed it to each household. Roxane's delicious bread-making class followed, and it could be said that there was no more hard bread in this village. It was like an industrial revolution starting with the diet. She even made a special oven for baking bread.

"Your confidence and arrogance are the result of relying too much on it. You've forgotten how to express yourself in other ways. It's just a show, pitiful really."

"Choke!"

Just as Skalgo was about to drink the juice made from wild fruits similar to kebi, Roxane interrupted him. As he was about to spill it all over the table, Roxilus created a barrier with a tray.

"…Not coming."

"Sorry."

Caught by Luka's stern gaze, Skalgo wiped his mouth with the towel Roxane offered and bowed his head. Kena, watching this, chuckled.

"It's okay, Skalgo. It only happened once, and there's no keyword set. Go ahead, don't worry."

"Really? That's unusual for you, Kena."

"To make my son suffer so much, what kind of demon mother do you think I am…?"

"Phew~"

Roxane, whose expression never changed, replied with a surprised voice, and Skalgo responded with a bitter face. Just hearing that, Skalgo let out a long sigh as if his insides were being turned inside out and slumped into his chair.

"I thought I was going to fail the mission entrusted to me by His Majesty…"

"Then you should be serious from start to finish. From the moment you leave the castle until you return, don't look around at me."

"I will keep that in mind…"

Skalgo, scolded by his mother who looked so happy, slumped his shoulders. Luka, sitting on the chair and reaching over Kena's shoulder, patted his head, and he smiled wryly.

"Thank you, Luka."

"…Yeah."

"Also, thank you for the meal."

"Sure, you're welcome."

After thanking Roxane, Skalgo stood up to leave the room. Just as he was about to exit, he turned back as if he had remembered something. He said he would leave the village early the next morning and have dinner at the inn to discuss things.

"By the way, Mai Mai wanted to meet Luka. If not for a direct order from His Majesty, she would have come first."

"Ah, right. Thanks for the message, Skalgo."

"No problem. Mother, see you again. Luka, stay healthy."

Waving his hand over his shoulder, Skalgo left. Kena, who watched him go with a gentle gaze, crossed her arms and thought.

"Maybe I left him out a bit?"

As long as she had to be at the academy all the time, there would be few opportunities for Luka and Mai Mai, who were confined to the village, to meet. If they couldn't move, she would have to. With a determined "Alright," she stood up and asked Roxilus to prepare for the trip, then left the house with Luka. Their destination was the inn in Maleer, where Skalgo had just gone. They met the villagers who were heading to the inn for breakfast before their usual farm work and exchanged greetings before entering.

"Good morning, Maleer, Ritt."

"Oh, it's Kena. Good morning."

"Good morning, Luka. Kena."

"…Good morning, Ritt."

After exchanging greetings, Kena approached the counter and stopped Maleer's hand, saying, "I have a favor to ask."

"Really? What is it?"

Kena asked if she could borrow Ritt. Maleer, looking at her daughter and Kena with a puzzled expression, sighed and said, "You're a good negotiator, Kena. Alright, you can have my daughter under those conditions."

"Then I'll have Rox bring a barrel later. Ritt, let's get ready to go out?"

"Eh? Eh? Ehhh!?"

"Together, …the capital is fun, okay?"

"Leaving already? You're in a hurry…"

"We'll use a carriage. With a companion, I can't just teleport."

Watching Luka pull Ritt into the back, Maleer bowed to Kena.

"Sorry, Kena. Take care of her."

"Don't worry, Maleer. I owe her a lot, and she's a friend. This is the least I can do."

"Since you came, the village feels like it's returned to the old days…"

"I've been stirring things up, but not to the point where the mayor collapses."

Kena shrugged, and Maleer laughed. Gatt, who had come out from the back to see what was going on, also burst out laughing when he heard the reason. Luka and Ritt, who had returned with a small backpack filled with a few changes of clothes, tilted their heads at the adults' laughter.

The departure was scheduled for the afternoon. Kena had invited Latem, but due to Lux's ongoing anger over the previous incident, permission was not granted. Latem, being from Helshper, was used to big cities. Roxilus was the one accompanying them, while Roxane stayed behind. Kena wanted to take Roxane out for a change, but she declared, "I'll start a fight with anyone, is that okay?" and Kena gave up.

"Also, please, Shii. Probably before we return…"

"I understand. Receiving the cargo from Helshper and delivering the alcohol and magic tools, right? I'll take care of it, so don't worry."

"Thanks."

The plan was to use an automated carriage almost non-stop (except for meals) to reduce the ten-day journey to four to five days. The carriage was spacious enough for four people to sleep comfortably. Kena, getting tired of the journey, even used the "March" skill, and they arrived in four days. The problem arose even before they entered the capital. For some reason, they were attracting a lot of attention from people entering and leaving the city. Even Kena, who was unaware that travelers they had passed on the way to the village had seen the golem carriage and spread rumors like urban legends, only found out when they went to the carriage storage place they had become familiar with through the Ehrine caravan and heard it from the old man there.

"Really…?"

"Yeah, it was quite a commotion for a while. Nobles' messengers kept coming to us, demanding to know who owned that carriage, and they were pretty aggressive about it."

"I'm sorry for the trouble."

Kena bowed deeply, and the old man, with his sunburned face, smiled.

"So, if I'm asked, can I give your name?"

"Yes, if it causes trouble for your business, feel free to use my name."

"The nobles are persistent, you know. You should be careful, Kena."

"Thank you for your concern."

On the way to the inn, they encountered three butlers who offered to buy the carriage for gold coins. Kena explained that only a high-level mage like the head of the academy could move it and sent them away. For the persistent ones, Roxilus used "Intimidate" and "Gaze."

"Phew, with all these people coming and going, we can't even take a proper break."

"Should I take care of them?"

"What are you talking about!?"

While the adults were taking the situation seriously, the children had moved their chairs to the window and were watching the bustling crowd in front of the inn with interest. It seemed that colorful dragon people were a rare sight.

"In a pinch, we rely on connections! Rox, go catch one of them."

"Got it."

Roxilus, who immediately responded to his master's incomprehensible suggestion, left the room. Luka and Ritt, who had no idea what was going on, looked puzzled. Kena, seeing their expressions, smiled wryly and encouraged them to discuss where they wanted to go. She spread out a simplified map of the capital, which was distributed to tourists, and the children chatted happily.

After a while, Roxilus returned with an air bag and dropped something invisible on the floor. He made eye contact with Kena and called the children.

"Then, young ladies, shall we go to the market?"

"…Kena, what about your mother?"

"I'll stay here today in case someone comes to ask about the carriage. Listen to Rox and don't get lost, okay?"

"…Okay."

"Sure."

When the children's voices faded away, Kena locked the door and cast "Unlock" on the spot where Roxilus had placed the invisible object. A young man, bound and gagged, appeared. He looked like an ordinary townsman, but Kena's "Search" recognized him as a leveled individual.

"Ugh! Hey, girl, you can't extort money from someone like me!"

"Whether Aguide pays a hermit is questionable."

Kena's face was smiling, but her eyes were not. The man, seeing this, felt the loudest alarm in his life ringing in his head and resigned himself to sitting on the floor.

"Alright, alright, I give up. What do you want?"

"Would it be okay to use the crest I got from Aguide to drive away the nobles?"

"Ah, I see. You're worried about the marquis's position, aren't you?"

Kena was worried that Aguide's position would be compromised if he was seen associating with a mere adventurer. However, the man was more concerned that she wouldn't snap and cast a terrible spell if the nobles kept pestering her. The prime minister had already reported to the king, and the nobles had been warned not to rush. While some had already backed off upon learning she was the mother of a high priest, the dangerous ones were those who still thought of her as just an adventurer. It was obvious which was more dangerous.

Her reaction to this information was a simple "Hmm." She returned a black smile to the hermit's exasperated face and said cheerfully,

"So, you can go all out on them. For retaliation, a dragon, a crimson pig, or a meteor shower, which one do you prefer?"

"Don't destroy the capital too much…"

The hermit, making a bitter face, didn't understand the last word. It was the worst attack magic that could crush a castle in one hit. The current mages would have to use up their MP and even their HP to cast it, risking their lives. According to the knight captain Shining Saber and his son Skalgo, who knew what she was, she was harmless as long as she wasn't provoked. The country thought it was best to leave her alone.

"By the way, how did you get caught?"

"Well, it was Rox. If it had been Shii, you might have had your nails pulled out…"

"What kind of servants do you have!?"

Somehow, they had started talking and it felt like they had been friends for years. He was going to report their conversation to the prime minister. He told her that the surveillance on her had been relaxed to the point of just observing. The hermit disappeared through the window, and Kena unlocked the door. Roxilus, who had been leading Luka and Ritt, returned. The children looked happy, but Roxilus looked tired.

"Did you see anything interesting?"

"Everything!"

"Um… yeah…"

"That's great. Did you buy anything?"

"…I couldn't decide which one to choose…"

"Rox bought us candy."

Luka, looking serious, and Ritt, showing Kena a small paper package she had taken out of her pocket, contained round amber-colored candies similar to cuttlefish candy.

"Rox looks tired. What happened?"

"I was mistaken for a noble's messenger and was seen as an enemy by the market people. There were also a lot of pickpockets."

"Ah, maybe the clothes were the problem. How about dressing like an adventurer next time?"

"Next time, please come with us, Kena."

The playful conversation made Luka and Ritt tug at their skirts, trying to get them to come along. "Let's all go out tomorrow morning," Kena promised, patting them. Told they could only have one candy before dinner, Ritt and Luka opened the paper package, split the contents, and each chose a size they liked to put in their mouths. Kena and Roxilus, watching them with a smile, had a short conversation in a low voice that the children couldn't hear.

"There were some suspicious eyes watching us. One or two."

"Seems like some nobles are planning something. Let's start with their henchmen."

"Understood."

"When you're done with the candy, let's go down for dinner."

"Sure."

"…Okay."

That night, as the date was about to change, in the former slum area, now the second busiest place after the market, where abandoned houses had turned into a castle overnight, the area was mostly deserted at night except for a few bonfires and a guard post. The intermediate area between this and the residential area was a slum-like place where people lived in dilapidated houses. A house that was once a three-story palace built by a great merchant and flourished in its heyday was now half-collapsed and unrecognizable. In the basement, a few men were hatching a sinister plot by the dim light of a small lamp fueled by animal oil.

"So, you were supposed to kidnap the adventurer's daughter and use her as leverage… What happened to the hostage?"

Correction, the plan had already hit a snag.

"Well, we were going to snatch her from the side, but everyone failed."

"What are you doing, you idiots! We've already taken the job! The deadline is tomorrow!"

Felskairo, a tough-looking man with a deep scar on half his face, was one of the leaders of the "Thirsty Scorpion," a part of the city's underground. He scolded his incompetent subordinates, but as he looked around the few people gathered in the dim light, his face turned bitter. It was clear that there were fewer people than he had called for.

"What happened to the others?"

"Well, …"

The man in charge of the lower ranks had a tense face as he recounted the unbelievable events of the day. The three men who had tried the classic tactic of bumping into someone and then threatening them had been dislocated by a cat-boy who looked like a novice butler and were reduced to octopus-like creatures crawling on the ground. Two men who were supposed to grab the child when the opportunity arose were severely injured by lightning that came out of a clear sky and were now groaning in a separate room. A handsome man known for his fraud skills in the area had his jaw broken and all his teeth knocked out, leaving him with a grotesque appearance. A veteran pickpocket, the best in the group, had both his arms broken and was arrested by the guards after revealing all his earnings. Everyone who had attacked boldly out of fear of the boss's wrath had been incapacitated, with broken limbs, jaws, or noses.

The boss and the two lieutenants' faces turned pale as they listened.

"Who is that butler… Is he a demon?"

"Are you telling me a bunch of grown men couldn't handle one kid?"

There was no way they could. He was currently the second-highest level person in the capital. Thugs of single-digit levels were just common grunts to him.

‘K, K, K, K, You foolish boys have done a foolish thing.’

Suddenly, a third party's voice echoed in the darkness. It was a hoarse old man's voice, and the men's bodies froze as if their feet were sewn to the ground. The four tough guys started to shiver like stranded victims on an ice field. The instinctive fear triggered by the voice alone was overwhelming. They tried to move their eyes to see where the voice was coming from, and there, in the darkness of the basement, was an even darker presence. It was in the shape of a human, but without a head. The skin was not human but bark, making it unclear if it was a tree or a person. There was a void where the right chest should be, and a porcelain skull sat there. The eyes were white with black pupils. It had appeared naturally, right next to the men.

"……"

The men tried to speak but couldn't form any words. Their jaws just chattered in a four-part harmony. What was this? What would it bring? What would happen to them? They couldn't speak or move.

‘Your greedy stench has attracted me. There's no need to worry, the leader has told me not to take your lives. ? Are you curious about who I am?’

It answered the question they wanted to ask. The fear remained as if their brains had been stroked by a non-human hand. However, knowing the name of the monster would only lead to destruction. The questions were endless, but they had no freedom. Their last hope was crushed.

‘I am one of the Five Dukes, Exdus. Young people these days don't know much, so you can just ignore it.’

……They couldn't ignore it. The dark apostle from the fairy tales. The demon that ruled the dark, gloomy nights they heard from their mothers as children. The symbol of the inescapable darkness