Volume 8, Chapter 35 – The King Disappears

The long-absent sun revealed its lovely face from behind the heavy dark clouds. Perhaps ashamed of its long rest, as soon as it appeared, it tirelessly released its most fervent rays. People, in turn, hurried out of their houses to dry their semi-damp quilts and clothes.

A month of gloomy, rainy days had left everything, both things that should and shouldn’t have, tinged with a damp smell. Recently, there was even a rumor circulating that in an alley in the southern district, a beggar had grown mold on his head from not having moved for too long. Although it was an exaggeration, it did reflect from the side that the residents of the Royal Capital, Dahl City, had a consensus on the rainy season.

At this moment, Yisi and Tiffany were walking down the street, on their way to the Blacksmiths’ Association to learn the knowledge of trigger-activated magic weapons.

“There are people drying clothes and quilts everywhere. In this weather, even if you hang them out, it’ll just increase the humidity.”

Yisi couldn’t help but murmur under her breath. The clothes hanging on both sides of the street outnumbered the pedestrians. The windows of the multi-story buildings were also filled with all sorts of garments, including even women’s undergarments like breastcloths that were not suitable for public display. In addition, perhaps because they had been cooped up at home for too long, there were far more people on the street than Yisi had imagined. Many people were hugging in the middle of the street, celebrating the end of the heavy rain.

Of course, as Yisi had said, she didn’t think it was a suitable day to be out at all. The sun had only shown its face this morning, and there was still a lot of water on the ground. The evaporated water vapor increased the air’s humidity. Coupled with the scorching summer sun that caused sweat to stream down her back, the hot and humid feeling made one think they were in a sauna. If there were also a few mosquitoes, it would be enough to be called a terrible day.

“Pleasant.”

In contrast to Yisi, Tiffany wore a comfortable expression like a cat having its neck scratched. Yisi couldn’t help but sigh.

“Hah, humid weather really suits you, Tiffany.”

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“Over there.”

Tiffany pointed to a small stall across the street. Although the street was bustling with people and Yisi couldn’t see clearly, she could still catch a glimpse or two through the gaps in the crowd. It was a shop selling accessories.

If Mary was the shy type, who, even upon seeing a small trinket she liked, would at most only secretly take a few more glances before walking away, then Tiffany would definitely grab what she liked in her hand first. There had been an incident before where Tiffany had eaten someone’s sweet potato and then brought the vendor to Yisi for payment. If she were a person of modest means, she would surely detest Tiffany’s willfulness. But she was not short of money, and Tiffany’s behavior actually made her find it cute. After all, Tiffany didn’t just take things and run, but knew that she had to pay for them. For Tiffany, who had been a yokai before reincarnating, this was already quite remarkable.

Yisi gave a helpless, wry smile.

“Alright, but don’t take too long. I still have to go to Master Avis’s workshop to study. If we’re late, we might not make it.”

“Mm.”

Last night, she had met Avis in her persona as Viel. Through the convenience of the foundry platform, she had made Avis mistake her for a divine messenger. And in that capacity, she had set a rule that Avis could only resume his work during the day and pretend to have never seen the divine messenger, in order for him to have a chance to see her again in the future. Now, holding the Crimson Gold-grade weapon that Cynthia had stolen from her family, as long as Avis did not violate the conditions she had set, she could easily knock on the door of his workshop.

As for why only Tiffany was with her, it was because Mary had gone to the refugee camp outside the city with Alice. And to prevent Mary from being used, Laxy had chosen to watch over her. Edith had left early in the morning with Refina on the pretext of finding out who wanted to harm them—referring to the person who had intended to blow up the temple. The remaining Camilla, in her capacity as the younger sister of Cardinal Yisi Enya, was leading the church’s priests and nuns to provide relief in Yisi’s stead.

At first, Yisi had thought that Tiffany would go with Mary, but surprisingly, Tiffany had been clinging to her like a kitten since early in the morning.

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Just as Yisi was holding Tiffany’s hand, preparing to cross the street, the rapid sound of horse hooves suddenly came from not far away.

“Out of the way, out of the way!”

“M-my things!”

“Get lost, you plebeian! This is Duke Herbis’s carriage. Are you looking to die?!”

Because the carriage was moving too fast, a small stall selling cloth on the side of the street didn’t have time to pack up and was knocked over. But the noble’s attendant leading the way, riding on a sturdy horse, not only cursed viciously but even jumped off his horse and lashed the vendor twice with his whip.

Although she knew that the nobles in this world had absolute power over the commoners, Yisi couldn’t help but frown. In the Hels Kingdom, if a commoner approached a noble’s carriage without permission, the attendant could directly kill the commoner as an assassin. But this vendor was clearly not an assassin. Not only did the attendant not apologize, but he even whipped him. It was really going too far.

Fortunately, the hot-tempered attendant stopped there, turned to report something to the person in the carriage, then got back on his horse and continued to lead the carriage on its rampage.

The passersby who had witnessed all this immediately began to discuss it.

“That’s Duke Herbis’s carriage, isn’t it?”

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“Hasn’t Duke Herbis always been kind? Why is he suddenly acting like this today? It’s like he’s a different person. He usually throws down a gold coin if he bumps into someone.”

“The Duke seems to be in a hurry.”

“So, the rumor I heard this morning was true then.”

“What rumor?”

“Ah, earlier I heard from my distant cousin that His Majesty the King suddenly fell gravely ill last night. Just as they were summoning the royal physician, His Majesty suddenly disappeared. No one saw a trace of him. The maids and guards on duty that night all said that no one had entered or left His Majesty’s bedchamber. It was as if His Majesty had been taken away by a demon. Duke Wozwahl was even furious about it. If not for the Flower of the Kingdom, Miss Cynthia, holding him back, all the maids and guards from last night would have been hanged by him.”

“What are we going to do! The rain has just stopped, and His Majesty has disappeared.”

“Someone must be trying to harm His Majesty. Duke Herbis has always been dissatisfied with his position. His Majesty disappeared last night, but he’s only rushing over now. Maybe it’s…”

The king has disappeared?

To verify the truth of the news, Yisi checked the [Omniscient Map]. The current king’s name was indeed not in the royal palace. But in its place, the king had appeared in Duke Wozwahl’s residence.

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What is going on?

Unable to understand the cause and process of the matter for a moment, Yisi was stunned.

The [Omniscient Map] could only show the result, not the process. Whether it was Duke Wozwahl who had tied up the king in his own home, or someone who had secretly moved the king into the Wozwahl household to frame him, she had no way of knowing. But one thing was certain: either of these two possibilities meant that what was to come would not be simple. Just like the dark clouds that had shrouded the capital yesterday, there was an oppressive feeling of an impending storm.

“The sun.”

Tiffany tugged at the corner of Yisi’s clothes.

“Eh, where did the sun go?”

“Damn it, the dark clouds are back.”

“Hurry up and bring in the clothes!”

Huh?