Chapter 7 Part 1 - Second Coming

TL: Xean || ED: Chaos || PR: Riciel

TN: For everyone who wants to read up to the end of volume 1. It is now uploaded in EPUB format on and proofread from the start. Thank you for supporting us (^_^)

The next day, I visited the Imperial Central Library early in the morning because I was curious about the mass migration of demons I had seen yesterday.

I thought that if I had a look at the literature on demons, I might be able to find out something. With that in mind, I have been browsing the shelves of the Imperial Central Library since the early hours of the morning.

“Well, if it isn’t Theo-cchi? It’s a rare occurrence to find you here.”

It was then I heard a familiar voice beside me. I looked over to find the source of the voice.

“Ah, it’s Rumina-san, after all.”

“Yes, Theo-boy, good morning. Whatcha doing here?”

Rumina-san was wiping the lenses of her round-rimmed glasses with the hem of her lab coat while her beige blond hair was still dishevelled. This woman with a messy impression, was the daughter of the Earl of Popplewell, one of the five great noble families of the Empire.

Probably because she was the daughter of the Earl of Popplewell, she wasn’t very knowledgeable about the common sense of the world.

“I have some research to do. What about you, Rumina-san?”

“I’m here to borrow some books for my research. I can’t believe I met Theo-cchi here. Josh, I have good luck today. I’m feeling good today, so can I dissect you?”

“… ‘I’m feeling good, so I want to dissect you’…? Your thought process is very messed up as usual.”

“You always say noー! You can’t just give me a compliment like that and make me expect nothing more from it!”

“I’m not really complimenting you.”

“Seriously? You better have something more to say to that!”

“Don’t bring your western Empire jokes to us.”

“What can I do? Popplewell’s territory jokes are like that.”

Rumina-san scratched her head and pulled herself together.

“So, why is Theo-cchi here after all? If you’re looking through these shelves, your research must be something demon-related, right? Maybe I can help?”

As if saying ‘Go ahead, tell it to your sister’, Rumina offered help.

“Well, I’ll take your offer for it… ”

Rumina-san is a good person. I was grateful to have her wisdom, as she was a leading expert in demon research. So, I told Rumina-san about the huge migration of demons I had seen yesterday. Then she turned her head as if thinking for a moment, and then spoke.

“Demons sometimes call in guards from the surrounding areas when they perform a 《 Ritual 》.”

“…Rituals? By《 Ritual 》, you mean…”

“That’s right. A 《 Ritual 》causes a phenomenon advantageous for them. Sometimes the demons call in their guards to prevent others from interfering, which might be what Theo-cchi saw.”

“So there’s some kind of ritual, somewhere in the southern part of the Empire where the demon swarm flew?”

“We can’t be sure. But it’s highly possible. I’ve heard that there has been an increasing number of sightings of odd-numbered species in the southern part of the Empire. Maybe they’ll plan to use those species as a sacrifice.”

If that’s the case, this is something the Musketeer’s Association should be concerned about…

…Now that I know what I wanted… I think I’ll go back to the instructor’s house for now. I’ll figure out what I can do then.

“Rumina-san, thank you very much. I’ll be going now.”

“Are you actually going to the southern part of the Empire?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“I see. In that case, I’ll give you one last piece of information. The demonic rituals use odd-numbered species as sacrifices to summon 《Suicide》. Be careful.”

“《Suicide》 is a single-feathered demon, right? If it’s just a single-feathered demon, why would I need to be careful?”

When I asked, Rumina-san responded as a matter of fact.

“Because if it’s revived, a horrible being will come to life.”

*****

“Ah, Theo-kun, welcome home.”

When I returned to the instructor’s house, I found her in the middle of preparing her equipment, planning to go somewhere. She was arming herself against demons. But I thought she was supposed to start work in the afternoon.

“I cancelled my work today. I’m heading to Minada now.”

“Eh? Isn’t Minada in the southern part of the Empire? What for…?”

“It was a request from Sadie. It seems that demons have been gathering in the area around Minada, especially around the Great Plains of Loginia, and she asked me to go there to support the southern branch. This is an official commission from the Central Office, and I’ve been told that I can take a few people with me, so Sharon and Erza will be going with me.”

“If so, I’ll go with you too.”

“No.”, she said, more forcefully than ever.

“This time, it’s really dangerous and it could turn into a big skirmish. I can’t take Theo-kun to such a dangerous place with me.”

“But please wait! I was able to talk to Rumina-san in the library, and I found out something! In the south side, where the instructors are going, there are demons trying to do something bad!”

I’m sure that something bad was about to happen, because if a 《 Ritual 》 was successfully conducted, the demons would benefit from it.

And that was something I couldn’t overlook.

“I became a musketeer to cut down demons… I will cut down demons and make the world a better place for abominations to live. In order to do that, I can’t stay silent and watch. If demons are trying to harm humans, I have to stop them!”

“But… it’s dangerous.”

“Aren’t musketeers supposed to go where the danger is!? And it’s only through a bit of recklessness that my body will be ready for this!”

“There’s no basis to believe that. It might just be dangerous and you might do something recklessly pointless.”

“However, if I don’t do anything, nothing will change!”

I approached the instructor and told her so. The instructor’s eyes were downcast showing her being troubled. She must be very unsure about whether or not to take me with her. That’s why I have to give her one more push.

“Aren’t Sharon and Erza going to be with you this time? If so, they can support me if needed. I’m not going to slow you down either. As a sniper, I think it’s not too dangerous to provide any rear support.”

“… Probably?”

The instructor eventually said so. I think I was right to say that the instructor has given up.

“Okay. You can go with me. But you cannot go to the front line. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

So I made my preparations, and after meeting up with Sharon and Erza, we boarded the steam train from the Central Station. The destination was the Minada region in the southern part of the Empire.

“I see, the crowd of demons yesterday may have been ritual guards… as expected of Rumina. She has a good understanding of demon ecology.”

Me and the instructor shared what we knew so far. Sharon and Erza, who were sitting in the same box, didn’t argue with nor did they make fun of each other this time, but listened earnestly.

“So, to summarize the information, there is a possibility that demons are gathering around the Great Plains of Loginia in the Minada region with their guards to perform the ritual?”

I nodded my head in agreement as Sharon posed the question in summary.

“Why the Great Plains of Loginia?”, Erza asked.

“Probably because that area is close to the demon realm. It’s easy for demons to set up a camp there.”

The previous battle to defeat Agaliarept also took place in the Great Plains of Loginia. Why that area? That’s because it was close to the demon’s domain after all. The Great Plains of Loginia has always been a place of conflict with demons and where people couldn’t live.

“In any case, we should keep our guards up.”

Everyone nodded at my words.