"So. Everyone's gone?"
"Yes. That's correct."
Guy Nerester, the head of the Nerester family, lowered his glasses as he listened to the report brought by Chamberlain Amliv, offering a faint smile.
If Sean has Karl and Tasha has Hanabi, then for the past thirty years, Amliv has been Guy's shadow. Within the family, he was even known as the 'hidden second-in-command.'
Lately, however, Amliv had noticed Guy smiling more often.
Even though he was someone who usually didn't show his inner thoughts, even when good things happened.
What exactly did he find so pleasing about Elric Melvinger?
‘Perhaps because the Head of the Senate suddenly disappeared, so the attention shifted to him, probably?’
Recently, all the family's attention seemed to be focused on Elric.
"It would be nice if something interesting kept happening."
Of course, Amliv kept such curiosity to himself, never expressing it outwardly.
He was just a shadow. Shadows only did what they were told; they had no need for independent thought.
"Young Miss has just taken all of her subordinates to the nest."
"It must have been the moment she was eagerly waiting for. If there's anything she needs, you should support her actively."
"Yes. Understood."
Amliv bowed his head quietly, fading into the background.
The offer of support was subtly expressed, not overtly stated.
It was a father's consideration for his unnecessarily proud daughter.
Guy glanced out the window.
Just a while ago, the branches were bare, but now the warm sunlight was touching them, and new shoots were starting to emerge.
"Is it already spring?"
Perhaps that spot where the sunlight touched was Melvinger's place after all, Guy thought.
***
‘This is hell. Hell, I tell you…’
Throughout the journey northward,
Elric's face was becoming more and more haggard with each passing day.
“Are you eating beans these days?”
"Who told you to say that! Speak politely!"
"While Sean is working so hard, what are you doing? Stop lazing around and help. Hurry up!"
It was because Heize's nagging bombardment continued day and night without a break.
To her, Elric's lifestyle was nothing short of debaucherous(?).
From his tone to his actions, there were more than a couple of things that needed fixing.
‘This is why I didn't want to come with my sister...!’
Despite knowing how much Heize cared for him, there were times when being with her felt suffocating.
Even as an adult, he was constantly treated like a child.
The problem was.
‘My sister doesn't have an ounce of restraint…’
If it was disgraceful, it was disgraceful. If it was behavior, it was behavior. If it was dignity, it was dignity.
Heize was someone who had everything.
She was perfection itself.
He remembered receiving plenty of love from adults and being offered marriage proposals several times a day.
She had rejected them all, saying she had to take care of Elric.
'If I don't listen, she'll always try to smash my head with a hammer, but that's a problem... I'll really get hit if I mention it, right?’
In the end, as the days went by, Elric sighed more and more, and his face became more and more haggard.
"What's wrong?"
“You say that even when you see my sister.”
“You know, I think you're just jealous. Where in the world can you find someone like that these days?"
"If you like her so much, why don't you take her... Ahh!"
Crack!
Instead of muttering in frustration, Elric had to scream as flames erupted from his back.
Before he knew it, Heize was glaring at him with eyes wide open.
"Didn't I tell you to speak politely?"
"But still, elder sister, stop it! It feels like my back is on fire... Argh!”
Crack, crack!
"What did I do to deserve this!"
Under his sister's relentless assault, Elric could only scream.
"Aaaargh!"
Sean shook his head as if to say he couldn't stop it, while Mephisto looked like he was dying for some relief in one corner.
***
Fortunately or unfortunately, Elric would soon have the opportunity to vent the frustration building up inside him.
"Give it all up!"
A small unexpected event occurred in the tranquility of their surroundings.
Bandits, who looked hopelessly amateurish, had occupied the mountain path.
The kitchen knife that he was holding as a weapon had all its teeth missing, so it was doubtful whether he could even cut meat, and his voice, which he used a lot of force to pretend to be strong, was trembling.
Their clothes were tattered, and it seemed like they were just villagers from a nearby village driven out by hunger.
Of course, even if real bandits appeared, they wouldn't bat an eye; they simply looked at the bandits with expressions that said, "What's that?"
"What should we do?"
Karl, sitting on a carriage, asked with an annoyed tone, looking inside the carriage.
Then, as if on cue, all eyes turned in one direction as if there was an agreement.
『Hahaha! Looks like you're the most popular one here.』
"...What? Why is everyone looking at me?"
Elric grimaced deeply.
"Ouch. Have I gotten old lately? I don't know why my back feels so stiff."
Augustine pounded his back with his fist, saying it seemed hunched.
"Your older sister needs to polish the hammer.”
Heize was fondling the hammer.
"Too lazy."
Sean, while yawning excessively, clapped his hands.
Elric turned towards Karl, but...
"I have to guard the carriage."
Karl just shrugged lightly.
Elric grimaced even more deeply.
Then...
"What, what's this!"
"Eek! A t-tiger...?"
Thud!
At that moment, the tiger, which had been quietly following behind for a while out of fear of scaring the horses, quickly stood next to the carriage.
"Hahaha! Looks like it's my turn to step up! I can show my disciple the greatness of his master!"
Gility seemed very excited at the thought of impressing Elric.
But letting Gility run wild like this would undoubtedly lead to disaster.
"Darn it! I'll go instead! Me!"
In the end, Elric had to nervously open the carriage door and step outside.
Since all his companions were above him in the food chain, what else could he do? It was difficult for Sean to take the lead, as he had made mistakes in the past.
"Huh? Disciple, why did you bother to come out? Just stay inside. Your master will handle the cleaning."
Gility blinked with a face that seemed to question why he had come out, but Elric shook his head.
"No, please don't step forward. I'll take care of it. The horses are already too startled."
"Ugh!"
With a dejected look, Gility had to retreat with the tiger.
This only made Elric sigh even more deeply.
'It's even more troublesome when a nobleman, who was ranked among the top five in terms of bounty among the revolutionary army, goes on a rampage... .'
Meanwhile, despite their menacing appearance, the bandits seemed uneasy, not even daring to make eye contact. They felt anxious, witnessing the old man handling the beast so casually.
However, feeling they couldn't show weakness, one of them forced himself to step forward while trembling legs.
"If, if you surrender peacefully, I will forgive you...!"
But before he could finish his sentence...
Boom!
He saw an ice bomb explode right in front of him.
The ground caved in, and the whole area was covered in ice.
"What was that?"
"Eeeek!"
"P-please spare us!"
"Ahhh! We have made a mistake...! P-please forgive us!"
The bandits dropped all their weapons and quickly prostrated themselves on the ground.
"Do you want to live?"
"Y-yes? Yes!"
"Y-yes, please spare us!"
At that moment, one corner of Elric's mouth lifted.
"Then hand over everything you've got."
"…!"
"…!"
"…!"
Suddenly, the complexions of the bandits who had been robbed turned pale.
***
"What? Is this all?"
"W-well, yes. Please...!"
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"I-it's true! I-it's our first time doing this...! O-our lives are at stake, w-would we really lie?"
The bandit leader prostrated himself on the ground again, pleading with folded hands.
It wasn't a good thing to see a man in his fifties crying and snot, so Elric had to click his tongue in the end.
"You guys are really pathetic."
The bandits had led the group to Village, not far from their hideout.
It was a place full of dilapidated huts and wary people who, upon seeing the group, had hidden in their homes.
Moreover, according to the story told by the bandit leader, who also served as the village chief, the area had been suffering from severe drought and famine for the past few years.
With the village on the brink of starvation, they had resorted to being bandits as a last resort.
But even that hadn't been fruitful due to the remote location of their hideout.
"It's unfortunate. No matter how far-reaching the empire's administrative power is, places like these keep cropping up."
Augustine smiled bitterly, suggesting they simply forgive them.
"Of course, we should make sure they can never engage in banditry again, maybe by severing a wrist ligament or something."
"Oh my! Please, sir magician! Spare us! If we can't use our hands, we'll just use our fingers in the fields!"
But Augustine seemed unsympathetic to their plight.
The empire, unlike the southern coalition of nations, was a society based on social hierarchy, and someone of Augustine's status showing this much leniency to peasants like them was already a significant gesture.
But for the villagers, it felt like a thunderbolt.
As Elric was about to say something about it...
『Hmm?』
[What's wrong?]
『I sense demonic energy.』
[Huh? Why does that suddenly appear here?]
Elric widened his eyes and glanced at Mephisto.
Mephisto shrugged as if he found the situation absurd.
『I thought it might be too weak for even this king to sense, but what can I do if I feel it?』
Noticing Elric's perplexed attitude, Augustine chuckled.
"Why so surprised?"
Elric briefly debated whether to mention this fact, but since eradicating non-human and demons was a family policy, he decided to address it.
'It's unsettling to be involved in something like this on the way to the North.'
Elric spoke up.
"I haven't heard about severe drought in this area recently. In fact, haven't there been rumors of the best harvest in five years?"
"Hmm?"
"Oh, dear! I swear I'm not lying!"
The village chief's face turned pale.
"I'm not lying. While I didn't check closely, the fields did seem severely affected by drought."
Augustine, now sensing something amiss, fixed his expression.
"Is there any kind of plague?"
"We'll have to check now."
Elric stood up.
[Let's go, Madar.]
『...What?』
[Madar. It's a shortened form of Mephi-radar. If you don't like it, should I just call you a Demonic energy-detector?]
『This guy...!』
Mephisto, now reluctantly accepting his role as a detector, grimaced, but Elric urged him to guide them impatiently.
[Aren't you going to follow?]
『Damn it!』
Mephi exploded with frustration at Elric's blatant attempt to exploit him.
But what could he do?
In this situation, subtlety was key.
Elric pretended as if he had personally discovered something significant and followed Mephisto.
『...Here.』
"There it is. I sense a suspicious energy."
They quickly arrived at a small reservoir located on the outskirts of the village.
At first glance, it seemed like a small reservoir with its bottom visible due to severe drought.
"That's just a lake where we irrigate our fields in the village..."
"Even this old man doesn't feel anything?"
Augustine glanced around after subtly checking for mana, but shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
Upon hearing Elric's suspicion, Gility, Heize, and Sean had all gotten off the carriage and followed suit.
But like the others, they were equally clueless.
"What could possibly be there?"
"There seems to be something similar to magic. If that's true, it could be serious trouble... but it's hard to say what it is."
"Ugh! You're all so frustrating. What would you do without me? Just wait and see for a moment."
Of course, Elric was no different from them in not feeling anything.
[What are you doing? Aren't you going?]
『Here! Over here!』
Mephisto went to the center of the reservoir and pointed to a spot.
Elric quickly dug there and soon found a small chest.
"What's that...?"
Instantly, Augustine's expression hardened.
He recognized the seal attached to the lid of the chest as an amulet used to seal something.
Elric quickly removed the amulet and opened the lid of the chest.
And then...
Sss...
"Demonic energy!"
"A totem... of this kind."
A faint demonic energy spread out, causing the entire group to tense up.
In the box was placed a statue of a demon with bat wings and goat head.
The demonic energy emanated from it.
"Is this what caused the drought in this village? But why hide it here?"
Augustine cautiously reached out and touched the totem.
A totem, a type of magic tool, contains the caster's prayer and brings good or bad luck to humans over a long period of time.
But why was a totem containing demonic energy found here? And why was it sealed away, undetectable to anyone?
This could only mean that someone had intentionally hidden it.
"There seems to be something... We should report this separately. Sean, it might be a hassle, but you need to take charge."
"Yes. Understood, Great-Grandfather."
Since the Great Demon War 30 years ago, it was believed that all demons had been eradicated.
Although the relationship between humans and demons had always been complicated, the common understanding was that there was no longer any need to fear demons.
However, if this totem was evidence of demons preparing to rise again, it was something that could not be ignored.
Following Augustine's instructions, Sean prepared to leave immediately.
As Karl was about to follow, suddenly...
Gulp!
A tremendously loud noise rang out, and everyone's gaze turned towards the totem.
"…?"
"...?"
"...?"
The sound of something being gulped down.
Elric, who had unintentionally received attention, also looked quite flustered.
The shadow at his fingertips... was devouring the wooden statue.
"So. Everyone's gone?"
"Yes. That's correct."
Guy Nerester, the head of the Nerester family, lowered his glasses as he listened to the report brought by Chamberlain Amliv, offering a faint smile.
If Sean has Karl and Tasha has Hanabi, then for the past thirty years, Amliv has been Guy's shadow. Within the family, he was even known as the 'hidden second-in-command.'
Lately, however, Amliv had noticed Guy smiling more often.
Even though he was someone who usually didn't show his inner thoughts, even when good things happened.
What exactly did he find so pleasing about Elric Melvinger?
‘Perhaps because the Head of the Senate suddenly disappeared, so the attention shifted to him, probably?’
Recently, all the family's attention seemed to be focused on Elric.
"It would be nice if something interesting kept happening."
Of course, Amliv kept such curiosity to himself, never expressing it outwardly.
He was just a shadow. Shadows only did what they were told; they had no need for independent thought.
"Young Miss has just taken all of her subordinates to the nest."
"It must have been the moment she was eagerly waiting for. If there's anything she needs, you should support her actively."
"Yes. Understood."
Amliv bowed his head quietly, fading into the background.
The offer of support was subtly expressed, not overtly stated.
It was a father's consideration for his unnecessarily proud daughter.
Guy glanced out the window.
Just a while ago, the branches were bare, but now the warm sunlight was touching them, and new shoots were starting to emerge.
"Is it already spring?"
Perhaps that spot where the sunlight touched was Melvinger's place after all, Guy thought.
***
‘This is hell. Hell, I tell you…’
Throughout the journey northward,
Elric's face was becoming more and more haggard with each passing day.
“Are you eating beans these days?”
"Who told you to say that! Speak politely!"
"While Sean is working so hard, what are you doing? Stop lazing around and help. Hurry up!"
It was because Heize's nagging bombardment continued day and night without a break.
To her, Elric's lifestyle was nothing short of debaucherous(?).
From his tone to his actions, there were more than a couple of things that needed fixing.
‘This is why I didn't want to come with my sister...!’
Despite knowing how much Heize cared for him, there were times when being with her felt suffocating.
Even as an adult, he was constantly treated like a child.
The problem was.
‘My sister doesn't have an ounce of restraint…’
If it was disgraceful, it was disgraceful. If it was behavior, it was behavior. If it was dignity, it was dignity.
Heize was someone who had everything.
She was perfection itself.
He remembered receiving plenty of love from adults and being offered marriage proposals several times a day.
She had rejected them all, saying she had to take care of Elric.
'If I don't listen, she'll always try to smash my head with a hammer, but that's a problem... I'll really get hit if I mention it, right?’
In the end, as the days went by, Elric sighed more and more, and his face became more and more haggard.
"What's wrong?"
“You say that even when you see my sister.”
“You know, I think you're just jealous. Where in the world can you find someone like that these days?"
"If you like her so much, why don't you take her... Ahh!"
Crack!
Instead of muttering in frustration, Elric had to scream as flames erupted from his back.
Before he knew it, Heize was glaring at him with eyes wide open.
"Didn't I tell you to speak politely?"
"But still, elder sister, stop it! It feels like my back is on fire... Argh!”
Crack, crack!
"What did I do to deserve this!"
Under his sister's relentless assault, Elric could only scream.
"Aaaargh!"
Sean shook his head as if to say he couldn't stop it, while Mephisto looked like he was dying for some relief in one corner.
***
Fortunately or unfortunately, Elric would soon have the opportunity to vent the frustration building up inside him.
"Give it all up!"
A small unexpected event occurred in the tranquility of their surroundings.
Bandits, who looked hopelessly amateurish, had occupied the mountain path.
The kitchen knife that he was holding as a weapon had all its teeth missing, so it was doubtful whether he could even cut meat, and his voice, which he used a lot of force to pretend to be strong, was trembling.
Their clothes were tattered, and it seemed like they were just villagers from a nearby village driven out by hunger.
Of course, even if real bandits appeared, they wouldn't bat an eye; they simply looked at the bandits with expressions that said, "What's that?"
"What should we do?"
Karl, sitting on a carriage, asked with an annoyed tone, looking inside the carriage.
Then, as if on cue, all eyes turned in one direction as if there was an agreement.
『Hahaha! Looks like you're the most popular one here.』
"...What? Why is everyone looking at me?"
Elric grimaced deeply.
"Ouch. Have I gotten old lately? I don't know why my back feels so stiff."
Augustine pounded his back with his fist, saying it seemed hunched.
"Your older sister needs to polish the hammer.”
Heize was fondling the hammer.
"Too lazy."
Sean, while yawning excessively, clapped his hands.
Elric turned towards Karl, but...
"I have to guard the carriage."
Karl just shrugged lightly.
Elric grimaced even more deeply.
Then...
"What, what's this!"
"Eek! A t-tiger...?"
Thud!
At that moment, the tiger, which had been quietly following behind for a while out of fear of scaring the horses, quickly stood next to the carriage.
"Hahaha! Looks like it's my turn to step up! I can show my disciple the greatness of his master!"
Gility seemed very excited at the thought of impressing Elric.
But letting Gility run wild like this would undoubtedly lead to disaster.
"Darn it! I'll go instead! Me!"
In the end, Elric had to nervously open the carriage door and step outside.
Since all his companions were above him in the food chain, what else could he do? It was difficult for Sean to take the lead, as he had made mistakes in the past.
"Huh? Disciple, why did you bother to come out? Just stay inside. Your master will handle the cleaning."
Gility blinked with a face that seemed to question why he had come out, but Elric shook his head.
"No, please don't step forward. I'll take care of it. The horses are already too startled."
"Ugh!"
With a dejected look, Gility had to retreat with the tiger.
This only made Elric sigh even more deeply.
'It's even more troublesome when a nobleman, who was ranked among the top five in terms of bounty among the revolutionary army, goes on a rampage... .'
Meanwhile, despite their menacing appearance, the bandits seemed uneasy, not even daring to make eye contact. They felt anxious, witnessing the old man handling the beast so casually.
However, feeling they couldn't show weakness, one of them forced himself to step forward while trembling legs.
"If, if you surrender peacefully, I will forgive you...!"
But before he could finish his sentence...
Boom!
He saw an ice bomb explode right in front of him.
The ground caved in, and the whole area was covered in ice.
"What was that?"
"Eeeek!"
"P-please spare us!"
"Ahhh! We have made a mistake...! P-please forgive us!"
The bandits dropped all their weapons and quickly prostrated themselves on the ground.
"Do you want to live?"
"Y-yes? Yes!"
"Y-yes, please spare us!"
At that moment, one corner of Elric's mouth lifted.
"Then hand over everything you've got."
"…!"
"…!"
"…!"
Suddenly, the complexions of the bandits who had been robbed turned pale.
***
"What? Is this all?"
"W-well, yes. Please...!"
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"I-it's true! I-it's our first time doing this...! O-our lives are at stake, w-would we really lie?"
The bandit leader prostrated himself on the ground again, pleading with folded hands.
It wasn't a good thing to see a man in his fifties crying and snot, so Elric had to click his tongue in the end.
"You guys are really pathetic."
The bandits had led the group to Village, not far from their hideout.
It was a place full of dilapidated huts and wary people who, upon seeing the group, had hidden in their homes.
Moreover, according to the story told by the bandit leader, who also served as the village chief, the area had been suffering from severe drought and famine for the past few years.
With the village on the brink of starvation, they had resorted to being bandits as a last resort.
But even that hadn't been fruitful due to the remote location of their hideout.
"It's unfortunate. No matter how far-reaching the empire's administrative power is, places like these keep cropping up."
Augustine smiled bitterly, suggesting they simply forgive them.
"Of course, we should make sure they can never engage in banditry again, maybe by severing a wrist ligament or something."
"Oh my! Please, sir magician! Spare us! If we can't use our hands, we'll just use our fingers in the fields!"
But Augustine seemed unsympathetic to their plight.
The empire, unlike the southern coalition of nations, was a society based on social hierarchy, and someone of Augustine's status showing this much leniency to peasants like them was already a significant gesture.
But for the villagers, it felt like a thunderbolt.
As Elric was about to say something about it...
『Hmm?』
[What's wrong?]
『I sense demonic energy.』
[Huh? Why does that suddenly appear here?]
Elric widened his eyes and glanced at Mephisto.
Mephisto shrugged as if he found the situation absurd.
『I thought it might be too weak for even this king to sense, but what can I do if I feel it?』
Noticing Elric's perplexed attitude, Augustine chuckled.
"Why so surprised?"
Elric briefly debated whether to mention this fact, but since eradicating non-human and demons was a family policy, he decided to address it.
'It's unsettling to be involved in something like this on the way to the North.'
Elric spoke up.
"I haven't heard about severe drought in this area recently. In fact, haven't there been rumors of the best harvest in five years?"
"Hmm?"
"Oh, dear! I swear I'm not lying!"
The village chief's face turned pale.
"I'm not lying. While I didn't check closely, the fields did seem severely affected by drought."
Augustine, now sensing something amiss, fixed his expression.
"Is there any kind of plague?"
"We'll have to check now."
Elric stood up.
[Let's go, Madar.]
『...What?』
[Madar. It's a shortened form of Mephi-radar. If you don't like it, should I just call you a Demonic energy-detector?]
『This guy...!』
Mephisto, now reluctantly accepting his role as a detector, grimaced, but Elric urged him to guide them impatiently.
[Aren't you going to follow?]
『Damn it!』
Mephi exploded with frustration at Elric's blatant attempt to exploit him.
But what could he do?
In this situation, subtlety was key.
Elric pretended as if he had personally discovered something significant and followed Mephisto.
『...Here.』
"There it is. I sense a suspicious energy."
They quickly arrived at a small reservoir located on the outskirts of the village.
At first glance, it seemed like a small reservoir with its bottom visible due to severe drought.
"That's just a lake where we irrigate our fields in the village..."
"Even this old man doesn't feel anything?"
Augustine glanced around after subtly checking for mana, but shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
Upon hearing Elric's suspicion, Gility, Heize, and Sean had all gotten off the carriage and followed suit.
But like the others, they were equally clueless.
"What could possibly be there?"
"There seems to be something similar to magic. If that's true, it could be serious trouble... but it's hard to say what it is."
"Ugh! You're all so frustrating. What would you do without me? Just wait and see for a moment."
Of course, Elric was no different from them in not feeling anything.
[What are you doing? Aren't you going?]
『Here! Over here!』
Mephisto went to the center of the reservoir and pointed to a spot.
Elric quickly dug there and soon found a small chest.
"What's that...?"
Instantly, Augustine's expression hardened.
He recognized the seal attached to the lid of the chest as an amulet used to seal something.
Elric quickly removed the amulet and opened the lid of the chest.
And then...
Sss...
"Demonic energy!"
"A totem... of this kind."
A faint demonic energy spread out, causing the entire group to tense up.
In the box was placed a statue of a demon with bat wings and goat head.
The demonic energy emanated from it.
"Is this what caused the drought in this village? But why hide it here?"
Augustine cautiously reached out and touched the totem.
A totem, a type of magic tool, contains the caster's prayer and brings good or bad luck to humans over a long period of time.
But why was a totem containing demonic energy found here? And why was it sealed away, undetectable to anyone?
This could only mean that someone had intentionally hidden it.
"There seems to be something... We should report this separately. Sean, it might be a hassle, but you need to take charge."
"Yes. Understood, Great-Grandfather."
Since the Great Demon War 30 years ago, it was believed that all demons had been eradicated.
Although the relationship between humans and demons had always been complicated, the common understanding was that there was no longer any need to fear demons.
However, if this totem was evidence of demons preparing to rise again, it was something that could not be ignored.
Following Augustine's instructions, Sean prepared to leave immediately.
As Karl was about to follow, suddenly...
Gulp!
A tremendously loud noise rang out, and everyone's gaze turned towards the totem.
"…?"
"...?"
"...?"
The sound of something being gulped down.
Elric, who had unintentionally received attention, also looked quite flustered.
The shadow at his fingertips... was devouring the wooden statue.
