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Chapter 65
"Are you alright, Knight? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Who's worried about ‌‌whom?"
Lahedis let out a hollow laugh.
Given that he'd nearly died just moments ago, the fact that she was concerned about him suggested he'd escaped without injury.
"Mew-aang!"
The Dark Spirit came rushing in belatedly between the two of them.
It seemed to have come to rescue its contractor.
"You came to save me, Kamang? I'm fine... but what about that person from earlier?!"
Vivian glanced around and spotted a Villager half-discarded beneath a nearby tree.
"Oh no! How could you just leave someone like that! Sir, are you alright?"
Lahedis watched Vivian's retreating figure for a moment before turning his ‌‌‌‌attention to examining the demon beast's corpse.
Behind him, Hildegard's voice reached his ears.
"You were a mage?"
At her words, Lahedis's hands stilled over the corpse.
"I cannot compare to ‌Your Imperial Highness."
"Judging by your casting speed, that's ‌‌‌‌not true. ‌‌You're being overly modest."
"..."
I had never encountered Hildegard during my childhood.
Therefore, the chances of her recognizing my face were virtually zero.
However, a mage—especially a high-ranking one capable of rapidly manifesting magical circles—drew excessive attention.
There was nothing to ‌‌gain from drawing attention while concealing my identity.
'...This is precisely why I wanted ‌to avoid using magic in front of the ‌‌‌‌Imperial Princess.'
But just moments ago, there had been no other way to quickly close the distance between myself and Vivian.
I worried whether Hildegard might suspect or find my identity suspicious.
"Anyway, it's fortunate. When the Knight Order arrives later, you'll ‌‌‌explain this magic to them."
Fortunately, Hildegard seemed interested only in concealing her own abilities.
'I don't know why she's hiding them...'
In any case, when I testified to the Knight Order, I could vaguely obscure my true capabilities.
"Your Imperial Highness."
Vivian approached ‌‌at that moment and began consulting Hildegard ‌‌about the current situation.
In the meantime, I examined the demon beast's corpse once more.
'Still, demon beasts appearing near ‌‌‌the Village is troubling.'
Demons and demon beasts were lifeforms created by mana mutations, classified as demons if they resembled ordinary animals in size, and demon beasts if they were massive.
In the Demon ‌‌‌‌Realm, where atmospheric mana concentration was ‌‌‌high, mutation phenomena were more severe, resulting in greater populations of demons and demon beasts than in the Human Realm.
Consequently, locations closer to the Demon Realm's entrance showed higher frequencies of demon and demon beast appearances, with a tendency ‌‌‌toward increased numbers of demon beasts relative to demons.
'However, such ‌‌‌patterns have nearly ‌‌disappeared since the Demon Realm was sealed.'
With the Demon Realm's closure, the frequency of demon ‌‌and demon beast appearances had diminished.
The prices of various magical artifacts crafted from demon and demon beast corpses had skyrocketed.
Yet, according to the documents Vivian had received, there had been reports of demon beasts appearing in other nearby Villages in recent times.
And now, today, this Village as well.
'Demons and beasts appearing again in nearby Villages close to the passage connecting the Demon Realm... this means...'
After considering various possibilities, Lahedis narrowed his brow as he reached the worst conclusion.
That the barrier of the Demon Realm had weakened.
* * *
By the time we returned to the Village, the Imperial Knights had just arrived.
"Don't you dare tell the Knights who I am. Understood?"
Spotting the Imperial Knights from a distance, the Imperial Princess pulled her robe's hood over her head to hide her face and ducked behind me.
'She told me not to reveal she was the Imperial Princess in front of the Villagers either.'
I decided to ask her the reason on the way back, left the situation report to Lahedis, and headed toward the Villagers.
A girl who appeared to be around seven years old came running out from among them. ‌‌‌
"Dad!"
"Aena!"
The girl clung to her father with tears streaming down her face, and the man embraced his daughter with glistening eyes.
At that sight, I felt both relief and a warm sense of ‌‌accomplishment welling up in my chest.
And at the same time.
'...Dad.'
A longing I had forgotten came ‌‌flooding ‌‌back.
The fear that had rippled beneath my feet ever since Curtis Rohan left home.
'...No. Curtis Rohan will ‌‌‌be fine. I'll find him soon.'
Just as I was shaking off the sudden surge of fear.
"Um..."
I turned toward the hesitant voice and saw a woman looking at me and Blackie.
"You're a Guard member, aren't you? And a ‌‌Dark Spirit summoner?"
She appeared to be the wife of the man I had rescued.
'Ah, perhaps she dislikes that I'm a demon-human hybrid.'
Just as I was about to bid farewell before people could fear me.
The woman bowed her head respectfully.
"Thank you so much for saving my husband."
"Oh..."
Caught off guard by her unexpected response, the man and child who had finished their reunion also approached and greeted me.
"Thank you for saving our dad, big sister!"
Then the Villagers watching from afar quietly approached and each added their own words of gratitude.
My heart stirred inexplicably at the sight, and I couldn't help ‌but smile.
"You're too ‌‌‌‌kind."
In this moment, I thought of Curtis Rohan even more desperately.
A hybrid of demon and human.
The very root of my being that you worried so ‌‌much might wound me has now become a strength to help others. ‌‌
Along with the thought that I must tell you this story the moment you return.
* * *
After exchanging farewells with the villagers, the sunset was already painting the sky in shades of amber ‌‌‌and crimson.
We climbed aboard the cargo wagon that the villagers had lent us.
Lahedis, who had just finished his conversation with the Knight Order, followed us ‌‌‌‌onto the wagon.
Then, suddenly, the ‌Imperial Princess looked at Lahedis and issued a command. ‌‌‌‌‌
"You ride up front. It's cramped back here."
Lahedis appeared displeased by the ‌order, but when I gave him a subtle signal, he ‌‌sighed and ‌‌‌climbed down from the cargo bed.
Soon, the wagon began to move.
Clatter-clatter—nothing but the sound of ‌‌‌‌wagon wheels echoed through the silence.
Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn't asked the Imperial Princess why she was avoiding the Knight Order.
'In fact, there's so much more I want to ‌‌ask her.'
I was about to open my mouth, thinking I should ask her questions one by one.
But the Imperial Princess beat me to it, spitting out the leaf she'd been holding between her lips.
"Thanks to you, this work is going to become much more interesting for a while."
"...Pardon?"
"Those Guard members. I wanted to overturn them completely, but I couldn't because I made a promise with them."
"What kind of promise?"
"In exchange for not revealing to the outside that I handle ‌‌‌Guard complaints, I turn a blind eye ‌‌‌to their dereliction of duty."
"Is there a reason you need to keep the Guard's activities secret?"
"His Majesty dislikes me ‌‌building influence among the ‌‌‌people. He says it's audacious for a woman to take interest in state affairs."
Only then did I ‌‌understand why Hildegard hadn't appeared much in the early parts of the original story.
'She was busy with Guard activities.'
I could also understand why Allen had looked unfavorably upon Vivian for not attending to state matters.
Of course, Allen was the root cause, and it couldn't be said that blaming Vivian for his negligence was right, but...
'The Imperial Princess ‌‌‌was genuinely concerned for her ‌‌‌people.'
I could understand that sentiment.
Yet on the ‌‌other hand, a question arose.
"So no one knows that Your Highness is doing such ‌‌‌good work?"
"I'm not doing it to be recognized, so it doesn't matter." ‌‌
"Then why do you work so hard at it? It's dangerous, and frankly, it's tedious work."
I had expected the Imperial Princess to have some grand cause.
But defying my expectations, she simply blinked, as if thinking about the reason for the first time.
After pondering briefly, the answer she ‌‌‌gave was...
"Just because."
"Just because?"
"People need help, and I have the power to help them."
"..."
"That's all there is to it. There's no grand reason."
She said there was no grand reason, but that very reason seemed grand to me.
In that moment, she shone more brilliantly than anyone else I had ever known.
"So you'll be working at the Guard Post ‌‌‌for a while?"
"Yes, I believe ‌‌‌that's likely to be ‌‌the case."
Even without reinforcing personnel, it would take considerable time to overhaul the Guard Post's roster.
During that period, we'd be understaffed, and the Guard Post's atmosphere would remain unsettled.
"That works out well."
At my response, the Imperial Princess smiled brightly and extended her hand toward me. ‌‌‌‌
"Let's get along well during ‌this time, Vivian."
I stared blankly at that outstretched hand before carefully grasping it.
As I held her hand, I felt an inexplicable premonition—as though I ‌‌‌too might become someone magnificent.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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