漫画大王

Chapter 71

Loyar and Eleris provided me with specific information on this aspect.

Although I wasn’t sure exactly what Airi intended to do, she seemed to have understood the significance of what I’d said. With Eleris around, we could also periodically meet via teleportation.

“First and foremost, you must dye your hair.”

“Huh? Ah... okay.”

Her pink hair stood out too much.

Even though she had been held captive during the black-market auction, it was certain that some people had taken notice of her. It was fortunate that her true identity as the Succubus Queen hadn’t been exposed. If it had been, she would not have been part of the prisoners being sold on the black market in the first place.

Of course, only a very few people had actually seen succubi with their own eyes. If she went to a remote city in the empire, I was sure her identity wouldn’t be revealed. The signs of her severed tail and horns were unlikely to be noticed unless someone deliberately looked for them, and even if they were seen, they looked more like serious scars than the remnants of horns.

“First, we need to decide where you should go.”

Airi had told me that she would start gathering money in order to begin the plan to control the financial system of the empire. Honestly, I thought it was impossible, but Airi seemed to need a goal right now.

She had to do something to overcome her despair. Therefore, even while I thought it was impossible, I encouraged her to give it a try.

I pondered where to send Airi so that she could conduct her business—or essentially do anything else—without revealing her identity.

I gave it some thought.

“We should target a place with many strangers passing through. Somewhere with a lot of traffic. Then it won’t be suspicious if someone new appears all of a sudden.”

Loyar nodded in agreement with my suggestion.

“Yes, in a small village where everyone knows each other, a new arrival would indeed draw suspicion. A city with many newcomers means it’s likely going to be a trading hub.”

Everyone agreed with Loyar. A city that acted as a trading hub would have a large transient population, making it easier for Airi to conduct business.

A trade city would be a transportation hub. All cities with mega warp gates essentially served this function, and attracted travelers who traveled through both standard and large-sized gates.

To use Seoul’s metro system as an analogy, the mega warp gates acted like transfer stations—naturally, they were where the crowds converged.

Transportation hubs were invariably cities with mega warp gates.

“Mega warp gate locations are too convenient in terms of transportation. Someone from the empire could easily get there directly after just a few transfers through the gates.”

We had to consider all the possibilities.

“Are there any maritime trading hubs that don’t have gates? Even a terrestrial trading hub without a gate would suffice.”

There were a tremendous number of warp gates in the empire, but that was only feasible because it was an empire. Further away from the capital, there were still many towns without warp gates, and there definitely were towns that still conducted their trade over long distances using carriages. Of course, a place without a gate would have relatively less money circulating through it and would not be so good for business, but safety was our biggest priority.

I didn’t have an imperial map at hand, so I couldn’t consult it to make a decision.

“How about the Edina Archipelago?”

Was there such a place? I didn’t remember writing about it. There were so many things here that were new to me, and I had just come to accept what I did not know. Indeed, there was more that I didn’t know about this place.

However, if it was an archipelago, it definitely had to be an island.

“Where is that?”

“It’s an island nation located beyond the southern seas of Kernstadt. It’s so far away that no gates from the continent connect to it. I heard that it relies solely on maritime trade with Kernstadt. Although there are gates connecting the islands to one another, from what I recall, there are no gates connecting it to the mainland.”

“An island, you say...”

If that was the case, even if Airi’s identity were to be revealed, it would take a while for the empire to track her down, given the great distance. It was likely that no one there would have a big interest in the internal affairs of the empire due to its remoteness.

Although the economy there might not be robust, my intention wasn’t for her to become a major economic power—just for her to feel that she was engaged in something meaningful.

“What do you think?”

Airi nodded in response.

“If the islands themselves are connected by gates and foreign trade is conducted exclusively through maritime routes, then the most bustling port city among those islands will be where the goods are concentrated. That place would certainly have a substantial population.”

I wasn’t sure about the exact size of the population there, but they probably wouldn’t be calling themselves a nation if only a handful of people were living there.

Airi nodded, indicating that she felt reassured by the idea of heading to that location.

However, there was still something that worried me.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes.”

She confidently asserted that she was willing to try her hand at something. Given that she appeared to be about my age, she was essentially still considered young—a thought that filled me with a sense of pity.

But my concern wasn’t about whether she thought it was okay.

“The people in port cities can be rough; that’s what I meant.”

Sailors had to be sharp to avoid an early demise, which was why many of them tended to be rough and hot-tempered. Gangs often wandered the docks, not just because that was where the goods were concentrated, but also because the way coastal life itself was structured mandated a harsh way of living.

I had no idea what kind of business she was planning, but likely she’d be dealing in goods, and having succubi for employees...

It seemed like a recipe for an endless series of headaches, even without me witnessing it firsthand.

“Ah... My powers have weakened substantially, and although I might not develop the means to control my mana anymore, I’ll soon recover my physical abilities.”

She was implying that, despite her current weakened state, her physical strength would return soon. It seemed that other succubi didn’t need to worry about this either.

“Do you think you can handle those people?”

“Your Highness,” Loyar said, as if she knew what preoccupied me.

“Yeah?”

“Hmm... If I must say, you can consider Her Highness the Princess to be akin to your older training sister.”

“Older training sister?”

When she said ‘older training sister’, did she mean it in terms of kinship, like an elder brother or younger sister? Why did she suddenly mention our relationship out of nowhere?

And did that mean that Airi was older than me? An older sister?

“Yes. Both you and Her Highness the Princess were instructed in swordsmanship by Sir Larken Simmernstait, the first of the Four Demon Lords.”

‘Who was she talking about now?’

“... Oh really? But then why can’t I remember how to use a sword at all? Is it because I’ve lost my memories?”

I didn’t have the slightest inkling or muscle memory of swordsmanship, and my skills were still classified as pseudo-swordsmanship.’

Of course, it would still be strange if I remembered how to fight despite having no other memories, but if I had been taught, shouldn’t there at least be some evidence of that, some kind of physical capability?

Loyar wore a stern expression as shook her head. “Even if you had your memories, there wouldn’t be much to remember.”

“... So, are you saying I just skipped training all the time?”

“Yes.”

Hearing that I wouldn’t have been good at swordsmanship even if I had retained my memory was a bit hurtful. Airi\'s expression was ambiguous. It must have been tough reconciling her memories of my irresponsible mangnani past with my present self.

“So, what was it that you wanted to say?”

“If I may say so, Her Highness the Princess was an exceptional student.”

Loyar was basically saying that I didn’t need to worry about Airi, as she was on a completely different level than I was. Loyar was politely putting me in my place.

“So, you mean she can take down any tough guy with her strength alone, without needing her mana?”

“Ah, well... yes, basically...” Airi responded.

Although weaker than before, she was still the Succubus Queen, and it seemed she had also trained her physical abilities consistently.

Right. She must have been proficient in combat if she’d been able to scold and abuse the mangnani Baalier.

We might have studied under the same person, but while I had skipped class, Airi had trained diligently.

So, in this situation where everything had been lost, there was at least one dependable aspect she could rely on.

“Alright. Let’s settle on that place, then. It’s a pity there’s no way for you guys to contact us from there if anything happens, but it’s still much better than being somewhere within the reach of the empire.”

I wasn’t sure what they could do, but my hope was simply that they would live quietly and not get discovered.

Considering the things I did at the Temple, I really wasn’t one to talk, though.

For now, Eleris agreed to take care of the ten succubi and one Succubus Queen, taking them under her wing like children abandoned by the river. They would need some starting capital as well, so Loyar decided to support them and passed that sum of money on through Eleris.

Eleris began casting Mass Teleport to send me, Sarkargar, and Loyar away.

“The atmosphere in the imperial city will be tense, Your Highness. It would be best to return directly to the Temple.”

I nodded. Eleris, who was capable of doing so many things with magic, would also be away from her shop for a while, helping Airi.

It would be better to return to the Temple and stay out of trouble. Airi looked at me with a complex mix of emotions.

“People reveal their true selves when faced with a crisis,” she said slowly.

The term ‘people’ referred to all intelligent life forms with human-like consciousness, so using the word to describe me wasn’t necessarily incorrect.

“And why do you bring that up?”

“You said you lost your memory... but if this is your true self...”

Airi placed her hand on my shoulder, looking at me with a smile.

“You have all the qualifications to become our king.”

It seemed as if Airi had completed her reevaluation of me and had come to trust me.

A stranger, who once harbored feelings of animosity and dislike toward me, had ended up placing her trust in me.

Perhaps because the outcome was all that mattered, I felt indifferent as to whether she trusted me or not. Airi was the Succubus Queen, and depending on her growth, she could become a powerful ally of mine.

However, she had lost her potential for growth for now.

Gaining another ally was a good thing, and there was no reason for me not to be pleased by it.

“They said you’re my older training sister.”

“Well... yeah. Although we did not learn much together.”

She and I had shared the same master, and we were both royalty of the Demon Realm.

“Take care. And let me know if anything happens.”

“... Okay.”

The Demon Realm wasn’t my real homeland, nor were Airi and I truly siblings.

However, even though I had no personal relationship with her, the mere fact that this body shared a past with her made me genuinely hope that she would do well.

***

After having heard that demons were being traded in the black market, I had undertaken a rescue mission, and in the end, we managed to save a total of a hundred and seven demons.

Furthermore, among them was a Succubus Queen, who, like me, belonged to the demonic royal hierarchy. If I hadn’t been there, Airi would have suffered a horrific life. Therefore, Airi wasn’t content with receiving my help without giving anything in return; she too wanted to contribute somehow.

Thus, Airi would begin her business in a port city in the Edina Islands, south of Kernstadt, a place unknown even to me, the author.

The conclusion to this incident seemed somewhat abrupt and anticlimactic, but if I could secure an elixir to restore Airi’s condition, the story could take a different turn later on.

Of course, it was still uncertain when or if I would be able to acquire such a thing.

Even though I was not clear about the specifics of what it meant to be a Succubus Queen, she was one of the Demon Realm’s Four Lords.

Even Eleris, with her overwhelming magical powers, was not one of the Four Demon Lords. That could mean that Airi’s potential was even greater than Eleris’s.

Although Airi’s wish seemed to be to reconstruct the Demon Realm, all I hoped for was to have one more strong ally on our side when the gate was breached. When that time came, the situation would be so dire that the need to differentiate humans from demons—or anything else—would disappear.

After these various events, I had ultimately gained an ally, the Succubus Queen. Since she was heading to a place without gates, I could only visit her via Eleris, but it was reassuring that she would be in a safe place.

***

The next day...

The head dormitory supervisor was addressing us in the main hall of the Temple, where all the students who remained on campus had been assembled.

“Effective immediately and until further notice, all students are forbidden from leaving the Temple. Inform any students that are returning to the Temple as well.”

Amidst the unsettled atmosphere, the Temple had issued a lockdown order. Not long after the Glory Festival, a terrorist attack—presumed to be the work of demons—had occurred within the imperial capital.

There were no fatalities, but the Order of the Holy Knights had been attacked in the dead of night, and many witnessed the massive Firestorm that had painted the night sky bright red.

The students who had already returned to their homes would likely be unaware of this news, but they too would be prohibited from leaving the Temple until the situation was resolved, if they returned.

Consequently, there weren’t many of us left at the Temple.

I was aware that what I had done was far out of the ordinary, and I fully anticipated the repercussions that could follow.

“They say the whole festival’s been canceled.”

Connor Lint’s statement was met with a nod from Kaier.

“That makes sense. It’s not an ordinary incident, after all.”

In the original story, the Glory Festival would have lasted a whole month.

Yet now, it had ended within just a few days. The crowds that had gathered for the festivities were naturally engulfed in an atmosphere of terror, following the unexpected terror attack.

The festival was supposed to be a grand festival to celebrate the elimination of demons, yet this incident had occurred right in the middle of the imperial city. This act was worse than splattering filth on the emperor’s face. Since the demons had apparently escaped through a warp gate, the empire would do everything to track them down.

Along with that, all the incidents related to the black-market auction would also come to light.

The fact that groups had diverted the captives in transit and had been trying to set up an auction on the black market, and that other demons were the ones who had mounted the operation to rescue the captured ones, would eventually be revealed.

The fact that demons had been allowed to infiltrate the imperial city so easily, and the empire—which had proclaimed forcefully the need to eliminate demons—had been trying to sell them as sex slaves, would surface.

What I had done was essentially take the empire’s honor and trample it into the ground.

In an instant, the imperial city would be shrouded in mourning, an atmosphere that was likely to last for a long while.

[Achievement Complete – Crash the Party]

[The main story has changed because of your actions.]

[You have received 500 achievement points.]

Alongside the turmoil, I had earned some achievement points.

The main storyline had changed.

I didn’t know what that implied. The grand festival that happened in the imperial city was just a background event and was not part of the main storyline.

What I assumed the main storyline would be were the incidents that Ludwig went through amid the festivities within the imperial city.

“How can the demons instigate such an event in the imperial city...?”

I could hear Ludwig’s voice, heavy with tension.

“I’m scared...”

That was B-9, Delphine Izadra, who muttered in a terrified tone.

My actions had led to the curfew being imposed on the Temple students, and as a result, the planned incident of ‘The Kidnapping of Delphine Izadra’ had been erased.