Volume 10, Chapter 6 – The Pursuit at Sea and the Departure from the Duchy of Chloe

The southern part of the Sea of Thunderstorms.

Located in the southwestern corner of the Alexia Continent, the waters between the Sea of Thunderstorms and the Norta Empire’s coastal stronghold, ‘Wilfred’ City, are an area known as the ‘Forbidden Zone’ by the Empire’s fishermen. Although this vast expanse of sea has neither undercurrents nor frequent storms, and even possesses picturesque beauty in clear weather, it is a dangerous place that even the Imperial Navy dares not approach lightly.

All fishermen know that beneath this calm sea surface live various unknown, powerful monsters. No one knows why so many large monsters gather in this sea. People only know that any fishing boat that stays in this area for more than an hour will definitely be pierced by a giant squid.

In the past, an Imperial official was determined to bring this monster-filled sea under control. To defend against the giant squid’s battering-ram-like hard head, the official specially ordered magic circles that resist physical attacks to be inscribed on the ship’s hull. But what awaited them was something even more terrifying than the giant squid: the Sea Evil Eye. Under the Sea Evil Eye’s mental magic, the crew members jumped overboard one by one. In the end, only the Imperial official remained on the ship. Due to a lack of fresh water, the Imperial official died of thirst on the powerless military ship. When the Empire recovered the vessel, all that was left on board was the official’s nautical log and a pile of bones, picked clean by seabirds.

However, the so-called ‘Forbidden Zone’ was merely a respectful title given by the people of the Norta Empire to unconquered territory. For the monsters—or rather, demons—stationed in this sea, this was the most reassuring sea area, aside from the deep-sea palace.

Today, this sea was extraordinarily bustling.

If a dragon were to fly high overhead at this moment, it would surely discover a large number of black dots moving on the otherwise calm sea surface. These black dots seemed to be chasing something, moving north in a cone formation. And above these black dots was a large swarm of demons, like a cloud of bees.

These demons all belonged to the Ocean Demon Lord Styx. What they were doing now was pursuing an emissary sent by the gods, on the Demon Lord’s orders.

The archdemon in charge of this operation—a humanoid demon with antelope horns and pitch-black skin—was waving his hands to command his subordinates while cautiously approaching the Blazing Eyeworm

“Don’t get too close to it! Our mission is to capture it and bring it back to the Demon Lord!”

The low-rank demons following the archdemon let out cow-like bellows. The archdemon nodded in satisfaction. Only demons could understand this language; they were replying ‘Got it’.

“Cons, is this thing really an apostle of the gods?”

Another archdemon beside the leader said. Less than two hundred meters away from them, a red, jellyfish-like object, only the size of a human head, was floating slowly. The Ocean Demon Lord Styx had specially emphasized that this was an apostle used by the gods to monitor the demons’ actions, and no one was to touch it without authorization.

Before this mission, this archdemon had come here in the spirit of a life-or-death battle with the gods. But he quickly discovered a problem. This red, jellyfish-like sphere was not as strong as he had imagined. In his eyes, an apostle of the gods should at least be an Angel with white wings and a halo. But this current jellyfish… he could probably crush it with a light squeeze. If his companion hadn’t repeatedly stressed not to act rashly, he would have flown up long ago and grabbed it. To be honest, he felt it was incredibly stupid to mobilize tens of thousands of demons to slowly approach the jellyfish, centimeter by centimeter.

“The Demon Lord himself said this is the eye of the gods, so of course it’s the eye of the gods.”

“But it’s so slow, even a sea turtle is faster. This is an apostle of the gods? Could the Demon Lord have made a mistake? It’s been two weeks since we found it, and we haven’t slept, but it hasn’t done a thing. My subordinates are complaining that half their mount-seals have died of exhaustion.”

His companion’s words made the demon named Cons knit his brows. He looked at the white crystal in his palm. This was an item a Fallen Angel had given him before he left. Although capturing the divine emissary was the Demon Lord’s order, it wasn’t given directly to Cons. The Demon Lord had summoned the Fallen Angel, and the Fallen Angel had passed it on to Cons. In the Fallen Angel’s explanation, this divine emissary had the ability to monitor the demons’ actions. With their plan already in motion to break out of the prison set by the gods, it was an object that had to be eliminated.

However, according to the Fallen Angel, the divine emissary had a mental link with the gods. Once the emissary disappeared, the gods would sense it and descend upon the Alexia Continent, ruining the demons’ plan to break out. Cons, who heard this explanation, was shocked, believing they were in a dead-end. If they didn’t eliminate the emissary, its monitoring ability would sooner or later uncover their plan. But if they did eliminate it, the gods would notice their emissary was killed and descend to find out why. No matter what they chose, the emissary’s existence was extremely troublesome.

And so, there was this crystal. This crystal could trap the divine emissary without alerting the gods. Then, Cons just had to bring the emissary back to the deep sea and hand it over to the Fallen Angel scholars for research. According to the scholars’ deductions, this emissary held countless possibilities. If it were given enough magic power, it might not be impossible to say it could evaporate the oceans. It had immense research value—which also meant it was extremely dangerous. It could possibly vaporize tens of thousands of demons with a single gesture. This was why Cons was being so cautious.

Cons said in a low voice.

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“No, we must be careful. We cannot use any magic during the capture. If anything strange happens, retreat into the sea immediately.”

“Fine, fine, whatever you say.”

With the archdemon’s exasperated wave, the tens of thousands of demons continued their pursuit of the Blazing Eyeworm

◇

The Outskirts of the Duchy of Chloe.

A long-awaited clear day.

According to Yisi’s itinerary, it was time to leave. Although Yisi was the Pope of the Divine Religion and there should have been a grand farewell ceremony, she hated the feeling of being surrounded by a crowd. So, she declined Atwood’s suggestion, using ‘wastefulness’ as an excuse. She only invited those she was familiar with: the four from the Divine Religion, including Lin, and the elder from the Ymir Church.

“Master, the carriage is ready. Thanks to the sun being out these past few days, there’s not much snow on the road.”

“Ah, I know. Mary, go back to the carriage and wait for me. I’ll be right there.”

“Ah, that’s right. Miss Camilla asked me to remind you, Master, not to casually tell girls you’ll take them with you.”

“I know what I’m doing.” Yisi couldn’t help but smile wryly. Camilla probably meant not to take Lin along. Even if Camilla didn’t emphasize it, she wouldn’t take Lin with her. Lin had her own mission, and she couldn’t let Lin revolve around her. Besides, her feelings for Lin were just those of a dear friend. Before those feelings warmed into love, agreeing to let Lin follow her would be too selfish. Yisi waved at Mary, who was looking back and forth between her and Lin. “Hurry back to the carriage.”

“Ehh…”

Yisi felt there was a hidden meaning in Mary’s gaze. Feeling it was too much trouble, she lifted Mary onto the driver’s seat. Because it was too cold, everyone except Laxy and Tina was already in the carriage. As for Tina, she was wearing a white Western-style dress and a bonnet that covered her horns, so Lin and the others didn’t notice her demon identity.

Tiffany poked her head out of the carriage. Her light green pigtails looked particularly dazzling against the snow on either side of the road… except the words coming out of her mouth weren’t cute at all.

“Lovey-dovey.”

She was probably referring to the reluctant gaze Lin had on her right now. Yisi chose to ignore it, turning instead to face Lin and the others for a final farewell.

“Well then, everything that needs to be said has been said. Lin, you all should head back too. You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here too long.”

“I have the blood of deep-sea monsters and dragons. This little cold is no problem.” Lin refused decisively. Her gaze turned to Tina, who was standing next to Yisi, looking curiously at the surrounding streets. Due to the white dress, combined with her petite body, Tina looked like Yisi’s younger sister. “After you take Tina home, will you come back, Yisi?”

“Mhm, of course. I promised to be the Pope, so I have to keep my word. If Tina were a little older, I could entrust her to the people in the Divine Religion to take her home for me. But Tina is still too small, and with her shy personality, I’m a little worried.”

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Reusing the setup from the Hels Kingdom, Yisi told everyone Tina was her distant cousin. As for why Tina suddenly appeared, Yisi fudged it with the excuse: ‘Tina had just drifted to the Duchy of Chloe, and I found her by chance.’ In any case, Tina was still a Demon Lord. Although Yisi felt it would be fine to tell Lin, and that Lin wouldn’t be repulsed if she explained it seriously, this was the outskirts, with passersby. If an outside merchant overheard, it could turn into a crisis for the Duchy of Chloe.

“Hmph, I am not a chi—Mph.”

Before Tina could finish, Yisi bonked her on the head.

Now that her vision was restored and she could undo the ‘Eternal Freeze Seal’, Tina had reverted to the Tina that Yisi knew. She not only used ‘I’ (formal) to refer to herself, but her tone had also taken on the arrogance of a Demon Lord. However, since Yisi found this cute, she wasn’t bothered. If Pepe’s arrogance was overbearing and had the majesty of a superior, then Tina’s arrogance was the type that easily aroused one’s protective instincts.

“…How long will you be gone?”

Lin nervously clasped her hands in front of her, released them, and then clasped them again. Her indecisive appearance made Red and Purple shake their heads.

She’s completely turned into a girl in love. Although it wasn’t appropriate for her to be the one thinking it, Yisi couldn’t help but feel emotional. Ever since making that confession to her on the float, Lin had started to change her style of dress. Today, Lin wasn’t wearing her usual black gauze skirt, but a light purple long dress with a fleece hood. Against the backdrop of snow, she looked as beautiful as a fairy.

Yisi couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“I don’t know exactly how long it will take either. The destination is the coastal city of Wilfred in the Norta Empire. I just looked at the map, and it’s at least a month’s journey from the Duchy of Chloe.”

The rift to the Demon Lord’s castle was near Wilfred City. Tina needed to slowly recover her strength while their group traveled, so she could melt the ‘Eternal Freeze Seal’ in one go.

Lin pressed her knuckle to her chin and muttered.

“Two months round trip…”

“No…”

It would likely be more than two months. Setting aside that Tina’s strength might not fully recover in a month, she would likely stay in Wilfred City for a while. Secondly, even after resolving Tina’s issues, she had to set sail with her companions to travel beyond the Sea of Thunderstorms. Unlike Camilla, Mary wanted to know her origins.

But Yisi didn’t say these arrangements out loud. Instead, she put it another way.

“I should be back once a week.”

“Every week? How is that possible?”

“Have you forgotten my strength, Lin? I’m the one who can travel to the Imperial Emperor and back in a single day. Although I can’t live in the Duchy of Chloe all the time, I can come back often. If I don’t keep an eye on Atwood, what if he decides to hand out livestock for free again? That would be terrible. And there’s the gospel. If the gospel gives a difficult order and I’m not here, it’ll be a huge problem.”

“Just for politics…”

Lin’s voice trailed off. Yisi couldn’t help but feel that if the fox ears on Lin’s head weren’t just decorations, they would definitely be drooping right now.

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Yisi smiled.

“Well, although I’ll spend half the time on the gospel and politics, I can spend the rest of the time with you, Lin. Mhm… at that time, you can go wherever you want. Whether it’s the Blood Clan or the Ymir Church, as long as it’s a place I know, I can take you.” At this, Yisi’s gaze went past Lin to Red and Purple behind her. “Red and Purple too.”

“Just taking Lin is fine! I’m not going to be a third wheel. Well, Purple might be interested.”

“Huh? Red, am I that kind of boring person?”

“Aren’t you?”

Ignoring Red and Purple’s little skit, Lin’s gaze was fixed only on Yisi.

“As long as I can be with you, I don’t care where we go.”

“Ooh~ ooh~”

“Our princess is getting bolder and bolder.”

“Cardinal, congratulations.”

Not just Red and Purple, even the elder from the Ymir Church was clapping.

Yisi couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead. If Andrea heard what Lin just said, she would definitely look at her with an expression like she was about to cry. But when she had just said ‘spend the rest of the time with Lin’, she was speaking as a friend. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have invited Red and Purple along. Undeniably, Lin was very charming, but she didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. Agreeing to Lin’s feelings now would be too cunning. Yisi stole a glance at Lin. Is this to be expected of the savior, with her daring personality? Amidst the crowd’s teasing, although Lin’s cheeks were red, she had no intention of defending herself, gazing at her with exceptional seriousness.

…How could she refuse this?

Yisi sighed quietly.

If Lin still said things that made her feel embarrassed, just as she had today, after she’d had some time to cool down, then she would try to accept Lin’s feelings.

But before that, she had to get Lin and Andrea to get along well first.

While feeling chagrined at her own scummy, two-timing thoughts, Yisi nodded.

“Ah, I know. Well then, Lin, Red, Purple, Atwood, and everyone from the Ymir Church, I’m off.”

After saying her goodbyes to everyone one by one, Yisi turned with Laxy and Tina, preparing to board the carriage. Just then, Lin suddenly called out to Yisi.

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“Yisi, wait!”

“Lin? We’ve already said everything we need to. If we stand here too long, people will start looking at us strangely.”

In fact, a lot of onlookers were already standing around.

Completely ignoring the surrounding gazes, Lin took a step forward, stopping in front of Yisi. What puzzled Yisi was that Lin made no move after that; she just bit her lip, her gaze wandering.

This didn’t look good…

Yisi tensed up slightly, preparing to cover her own mouth at any moment. Lin looked exactly as if she was about to kiss her in the next second.

But to Yisi’s surprise, Lin didn’t try to kiss her. Instead, she opened her arms and, while Yisi was still stunned, hugged Yisi tightly. She buried her face in Yisi’s silver pigtails, took a deep breath, and then released her. She stepped back two paces and smiled in satisfaction.

“Mhm, I’m satisfied.”

“Lin, at times like this, you have to ask if the Pope is satisfied!”

“Eh?” Lin made a surprised sound. First, she looked at Purple with a ‘Whoops’ expression, then hurriedly asked Yisi. “Y-Yisi, were you satisfied?”

She wasn’t. The hug was too short.

Although she wanted to playfully say ‘No’, that would be too mean. Yisi showed a bright, pure smile and let out a long breath.

“Your charm is more than enough, Lin. Well then, I’m off.”

“Mhm, I’ll be waiting for you in the capital.”

“Don’t make our princess wait too long!”

“While Her Holiness the Pope is gone, I, Red, will be the one to fill Lin’s loneliness!”

“Your Holiness, remember to come back every week to handle political affairs.”

“Your Grace, Cardinal, have a safe trip!”

Amidst the crowd’s farewells, the carriage slowly began to move. It followed the endless mountain road, gradually driving away from the Duchy of Chloe under the warm winter sun.