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Chapter : 41
The sight of the Holy See—sworn enemy of all Demon Kings—clinging pitifully to the Great Demon King.
There could hardly be a better-kept secret than that.
I’d never heard anything like this from Arwen in my previous life.
Back then, I—and my party—must not have been trusted enough to be told secrets of this scale.
Moments like this make me compare the present to before the regression, seeing just how much has changed.
A satisfied smile crept across my lips.
Atricia spoke up as if utterly dumbfounded.
“You’re smiling? Even after hearing something this shocking?”
“Had a stray thought.”
“You can think about anything else right now?”
“Well, yes, it is shocking. Arwen, is the Holy See fawning like that toward all Great Demon Kings?”
Arwen shook her head.
“Some, yes—but not all. Great Demon Kings aren’t really interested in the ‘little’ empire humans cobbled together.”
“…”
“But some Demon Kings are interested in expanding territory. The reason they don’t act isn’t fear of the Empire. It’s because they don’t want to start fights with other Demon Kings by expanding carelessly.”
“Hah.”
“The Demon King of Pain is probably staying inside his territory for that exact reason. That’s only my guess, of course, but the Holy See can’t afford to not prepare.”
I turned to Chris.
“Is there a Demon King the Imperial Palace keeps special tabs on, too?”
“I wouldn’t know. And why would you assume I would?”
“Of course there is. Wouldn’t surprise me if the Emperor and Pope have been divvying them up for generations—‘I’ll handle this Demon King, you take that one.’”
A pitiful thought, really.
The Emperor and Pope—who claim to rule all beneath them—bowing and begging for mercy from certain Demon Kings.
I let out a sigh.
“Humans are like shrimp, barely swimming between whales.”
“Blunt, but accurate. The Empire and our daily lives persist because the Demon Kings’ power balances itself—not because we’re doing anything right.”
“Anyway, what exactly did the Paladins report about the inside? You heard the briefings too.”
“Mostly troop movements… but sometimes stories about daily life within the territory. The residents…”
“…”
“Sorry. My stomach turned for a moment.”
Arwen covered her mouth like she was fighting the urge to retch.
I leaned back in my chair.
“I can guess. Don’t force yourself.”
“…Yes.”
“I get how dangerous the Demon King of Pain is. No wonder the Empire has to abandon the Demon King of Inquiry.”
Everyone nodded.
No one—least of all the Empire—would have guessed the 10th-ranked Great Demon King had his sights on the Demon King of Inquiry.
Chris murmured to himself.
“But how did the Demon King of Inquiry stay independent until now? Even while being targeted by someone so overwhelmingly powerful?”
“His dungeon must be that much of a masterpiece.”
“Even so…”
“Dael is right, Sir Chris.”
Lenel suddenly cut in, speaking calmly.
“The Demon King of Inquiry’s dungeon is practically another world. Almost like the ‘Demon Realm’ only Great Demon Kings can use.”
“…What?”
“Of course the 55th-ranked Lesser Demon King can’t actually invoke a Demon Realm. But he poured a century into crafting that dungeon using his authority—Alchemy. It’s well known the Demon King of Coercion visited and was turned away, unable to force his way through.”
Eyes widened around the room.
A beat later, Lenel’s face shifted.
“Wait… not well known?”
“Never heard it. First time.”
“Me too.”
“The Demon King of Coercion—as in the 15th-ranked Great Demon King? Higher than Inquiry by far, but he couldn’t break through?”
“And how do you know that?”
Lenel flinched, then sighed.
I already knew the answer.
“Ancient records.”
“…Yes.”
“No need to look that guilty. Just asking.”
“No… I’ll say it. I planned to tell you after we part ways with the Demon King of Inquiry anyway.”
She took a breath—expression steeled.
“You all know about the Minus Era, right?”
Around five thousand years ago, the first Demon King—the rank-one Demon King of Erosion—appeared.
There was no Empire then—just tiny kingdoms scattered across the continent.
They were wiped out completely.
From the ashes, nourished by human corpses, the Empire was born.
The Empire declared the Demon King’s advent to be Year 0 and began recording history.
But no matter how historians researched, they found nothing predating Year 0—nothing from the time before the Demon King of Erosion arrived.
It was strange.
People must have lived then—but not a single record, not a trace remained.
So the Empire named the era before Year 0 the Minus Era.
There is no proof it existed.
But there is no way humanity sprang fully formed, with records and artifacts, from nothing after Year 0.
A time that must have existed—yet left no proof.
That was the Minus Era.
“My family’s ‘trade,’ if you can call it that, is searching for information on the Minus Era.”
“Hooh.”
So—historians?
Odd match for a mage like Lenel.
Everyone leaned closer, curiosity piqued.
Lenel reddened slightly.
“Our library stacks are filled with ‘ancient records.’ All sorts of information unknown to the continent—collected by my ancestors wandering and investigating.”
“…”
“The oldest was written by someone named Nottingham Brighton—our founding ancestor, I guess.”
According to Lenel, one line stood out:
—The Minus Era was real.
To my descendants: make uncovering it your destiny.
Silence.
Arwen stiffly asked:
“Even if he’s the founder, does he have the right to dictate his descendants’ lives?”
A projection of her own burdens—forced sainthood, no doubt.
Lenel looked away.
“Of course not. But maybe because of blood, many Brightons did become writers or historians. Not because of that command—but because they wanted to.”
“Then that’s good.”
“I personally liked magic better. So I didn’t study the records that seriously.”
Yet Lenel’s “halfhearted” study had already helped us multiple times.
If she ever read the whole collection properly, she might unravel half the world’s secrets.
She whispered:
“My sister was the opposite of me…”
“You had a sister?”
“Uh—well—that’s not important. Forget it.”
I glanced at the bracelet on her wrist.
I didn’t mention it.
She continued.
“Anyway—those ancient records are basically travel logs written by our ancestors. Field notes.”
“Mm.”
“And even after all that, no one found a single trace of the Minus Era.”
She grimaced.
“That’s all. I’m just from a weird family obsessed with it.”
“…”
“See? Sounds like nothing special. Sorry for making it sound grand.”
Maybe it wasn’t special—but instinct told me her family mattered.
And that now was not the time to pry.
So I stored every detail away in my mind.
“So the Demon King factions were in one of your ancestors’ notes?”
“Yep.”
“And you didn’t inherit the family mission? I’ve never seen you write anything down.”
“…I didn’t. My sister… was supposed to.”
Clink.
Her bracelet slid down her wrist.
Her sister’s keepsake—she’d called it in the Quadrangle’s Voice.
I knew she wouldn’t answer more.
I didn’t press.
The others sensed the weight in her past tense—“was.”
Chris mercifully changed the subject.
“So, Dael. What do we do now?”
“Wait. The Empire will abandon the Demon King of Inquiry. The Demon King will grumble about the failed deal—and come here for a drink.”
“True, you were supposed to meet here anyway. Try recruiting Geren again then?”
“Yeah.”
“He seemed dead-set on never leaving the Demon King though.”
“Ugh.”
I groaned.
“If it really won’t work, we shelve it—for now.”
We can’t fight a 10th-ranked Demon King yet.
Even I—aside from rank 11—never faced one alone before regression.
Until everyone regains their strength, safety comes first.
Lenel smirked.
“So ‘for now’ meaning you’re definitely not giving up.”
“Obviously.”
“What do you even see in that beast?”
Blank looks circled—except one.
Atricia nodded knowingly.
“I knew it.”
“Knew what.”
“You have a clear standard when you recruit people: the size and strength of their soul.”
“…”
“His soul is as big as ours. What I want to know is how a non–soul mage like you keeps finding people like that.”
Regression helps—but she wasn’t wrong.
Strange how all my past comrades had enormous souls.
I’d crossed paths with them by chance… so how?
I had been wandering the continent hunting the Demon King of Erosion, nothing more…
“…”
Chris summarized.
“So we wait a week. If Geren still refuses—”
“We part ways. And try again someday.”
“A step back for the sake of a leap forward.”
I squinted.
“…Do you not hear what’s wrong with that phrase?”
Chris blinked, thinking hard.
We drifted into casual chatter.
Five minutes later Chris flushed bright red.
“A—A simple mistake. Just a mistake!”
