Chapter 14

The consecutive mystery of the squid ring push... It's delicious, isn't it?

This time it ended up being a bit shorter.

As the sun set and visibility began to worsen, Blood Alegra, one of the Five Great Demon Generals of Demon King Destrul, slipped out of the demon castle and into a forest near the sea.

(With this, I won't be able to use teleportation for a while... It's about a two-day journey from here to Evilbrough, but if I hurry, I should make it in time...)

Behind him, a faintly glowing magic circle was drawn on the ground. As he moved away, the light gradually faded.

This was called a teleportation magic circle, which, as the name suggests, could move people or objects. Drawing two magic circles on the ground was almost all that was needed for teleportation, but the amount of magic power required was extraordinary. Even he, one of the Five Great Demon Generals, had to spend several days continuously channeling magic power into the circle to activate it.

(If I can borrow the power of the Sea God Leviathan... I might be able to rescue the Demon King...)

The reason he came to the seaside was to seek help from the Sea God.

(She has a special relationship with Demon King Destrul...)

It was a faint hope, but Blood took the situation so seriously that he had to rely on it.

The mysterious ease of that suspicious man, Teran... The ease with which he maintained his composure even before the Demon King, who was known as the strongest on the demon continent—where did it come from?

(If he's acting so confident, there must be something backing him up... Our plan to disrupt the ceremony could be hindered by that something.)

The Five Great Demon Generals had planned to cause a commotion on the wedding day and rescue Destrul. They thought that if they could embarrass Teran in front of everyone, he would never dare to approach her again.

However, if there was something like a bodyguard behind him, it would likely prevent their plan from succeeding. The fact that he could speak so confidently in their castle suggested that there was someone strong enough to back him up.

Therefore, he decided to seek assistance from the Sea God, who had a connection to the Demon King. Although her power would diminish on land, it was still strong enough to provide significant support. Asking for her help, despite her high pride, would depend on future negotiations.

"..."

As the scent of the sea grew stronger, Blood noticed an unusual noise coming from somewhere.

There was only one village in this area, and he had visited it several times before, but he had never felt such a lively atmosphere.

Curious, he started walking towards the source of the noise.

It was a bit early to meet the Sea God, so this was actually convenient. He had come at night to avoid being overheard, but since it was still early evening, he had planned to kill some time.

As he approached the village, he saw a soldier guarding the gate, putting something brown and ring-shaped into his mouth.

"Hey, soldier."

"――――! T-this is Blood Alegra, one of the Five Great Demon Generals! Why are you here!?"

"Forget about me, why is this village so lively? It's as if there's a feast going on..."

"That's right! The Sea God has slain the Kraken, our mortal enemy, and tonight we are holding a feast in her honor."

Blood understood as he listened to the soldier. The Sea God being in the village was unexpected, but it saved him the trouble of calling her. However, there was something else that caught his attention.

"I understand the commotion... but soldier, what is that brown ring?"

He had been curious about the ring on the soldier's plate since he first saw it. The smell reminded him of the "fry" his friend once served him.

"This is called an 'ikaringu.' It's made by coating the Kraken's flesh in breadcrumbs and frying it. It's crunchy and delicious."

The soldier handed him one, and Blood put it in his mouth.

The crispy texture was followed by the taste of the squid spreading in his mouth. Although he didn't usually eat squid, it was surprisingly tender and easy to chew. He swallowed it naturally before he could fully enjoy the taste.

"This is... delicious."

He was as shocked as he had been when he first tasted "fry." The more he looked and smelled it, the more it reminded him of the food he had eaten before.

"I'm glad you like it. It's being made by someone who came to the village with the Sea God."

"With the Sea God...?"

A man's face came to mind. Someone who could make something similar to what he had eaten before and who was with the Sea God...

When Blood entered the village, he saw several long tables lined up, each filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of the squid rings he had just eaten.

The villagers were drinking and enjoying themselves, eating the squid rings.

As he made his way through the crowd, he finally reached his target.

"Sea God Leviathan..."

"Oh? You're Blood from the Demon King's castle, aren't you?"

Leviathan had a small plate with squid rings and something else that looked similar but was a different shape.

Blood recognized the other item.

"That's...?"

"Yes, a white fish fry? I'm not giving you any, though."

It was a shame, he thought, but that wasn't the main issue.

"Who made this!?"

"Huh? They're in the village chief's house over there..."

Without waiting to hear more, Blood ran towards the house.

When he reached the village chief's house, he burst in without knocking and headed straight for the kitchen.

Ignoring the surprised villagers, he opened the kitchen door.

"Who's making the food here!!"

"Shut up!! Just eat your squid rings!!"

As soon as he entered and shouted, a brown ring flew into his mouth.

"Choke... Ah, it's hot!!"

I threw a freshly fried squid ring at the intruder. I had just made a white fish fry for someone who was being too noisy, but I didn't have the patience to deal with more demands.

"Ah, it's hot!!"

"..."

But the man's voice made me curious. I thought it was Leviathan asking for more, but it was someone else.

That voice... I've heard it before...

"You... how dare you..."

I heard the voice from behind while cooking. It sounded exactly like Blood, one of the Demon King's subordinates. I wanted to turn around, but I couldn't take my eyes off the oil. I'd deal with it later.

"Damn... I thought it was Setsu... What a waste of time."

The man, who sounded angry, mentioned my name. I stopped channeling magic power into the firestone and turned around.

"Ah, it's really you, Blood."

Seeing his face confirmed it. His impressive red horns were still there. I had once tried to remove them, but they were really tough.

"You... why do you know my name?"

Ah... his appearance has changed, so he doesn't recognize me. I can't easily prove it to him since I never had a physical encounter with him.

"Ah, right."

I reached into my magic bag, pushing aside the squid tentacles, and pulled out the target. It was the giant sword, Kuromaru, given to me by their master.

Since I received it in front of him, it would be a good way to prove my identity.

"That sword!!"

"Here, it's the sword your master gave you."

I threw it to him to confirm. Blood hesitantly caught it, examined it from top to bottom, and then threw it back.

"It's the real 'Schwarz'..."

"This isn't called 'Schwarz'!! It's Kuromaru!!"

Don't call it by such a lame name!!

"That name... are you really Setsu...?"

"It's been a while, Blood. Your horns are still as interesting as ever."

"Setsu... you've returned...!"

As soon as he recognized me, Blood started crying. Why does he look so relieved?

"――――I see, Destrul..."

"Yeah... Can I have more of these squid rings?"

"Go get them yourself, it's a hassle."

As the feast calmed down, I called Leviathan and Ruri to the village chief's house and heard the details from Blood. Ruri was fast asleep...

"I gave her some alcohol, and she started swaying, and then she fell asleep."

"It's your fault..."

Ruri, who looked so comfortable sleeping, was still a minor. It was probably her first time drinking. I gave Leviathan a punch for doing that and started thinking about what I had heard.

"The Teran Guild...?"

I had heard of it five years ago. It wasn't particularly notable at the time... but the guild's president proposing to the Demon King...

"To think he would try to use me to get to the Demon King... What a nerve..."

I had marked him with my saliva; I can't let him take her.

"Hey, Blood! When is this wedding ceremony!!"

"Mmm... Four days from now!!"

Blood, with his mouth full of squid rings, answered.

Four days... If I can't leave today, it's three days from tomorrow.

"According to you, there might be a bodyguard for this Teran at the ceremony, right?"

"Yeah... I haven't confirmed it, but it's almost certain."

If he's confident enough to face us, he must have someone strong backing him up. But that shouldn't be a problem.

"――――Then, I'll ruin the entire wedding!"

I'll make him regret laying a hand on what's important to me.

As I organized my thoughts, I grabbed a squid ring from the table and put it in my mouth.

I'm not the type, but saving the princess is always the hero's job, isn't it?

Next time, we'll finally set off for the Demon King's castle.

It's great that Blood enjoyed the squid rings.