“Perfect. Let us use this border baron to sound the horn of our return.”
Thinking of the unfinished plan he had with Lin Ling, Ichikawa stepped in front of the others and extended his fist toward Kainster.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let's burn that damn Camillaya to ashes!”
Looking at the fist in front of her, Lin Ling was the first to bump it.
Seeing the two of them bump fists and stare at him, the solemn expression on Kainster's face slowly faded.
Rubbing his face with his hands for a moment, Kainster extended his fist toward the two of them.
“You two... Great! Then we shall declare our return to Camillaya, and make sure that bastard Keith never has a single peaceful day on that throne!”
After saying this, they all nodded to the sister, who was praying with her hands clasped, and walked past her.
But before they could step out of the tavern's doors, a purple figure stood at the entrance, though none of them knew when she had arrived.
“Before that, you all need to rest.”
Ivelia stood at the tavern door with a cold expression, looking at them.
The next moment, Lin Ling caught a whiff of a sweet fragrance just as she was pulled into a warm embrace once again.
“Eh, eh, eh! Why? This is clearly the time for us to strive!”
Feeling herself being carried back to the bar, Lin Ling struggled in Ivelia's arms.
Especially since she and Ichikawa had a plan that they hadn't even started executing yet.
“I said, you need to rest.”
A powerful pressure belonging to the Demon King washed over them, not even sparing the innocent sister.
The moment they were suppressed by the pressure, cold sweat instantly broke out on their backs.
They all turned their gazes in unison toward Lin Ling, who was throwing a small tantrum at the bar.
“Um, how about we rest today? Tomorrow, once we're fully prepared, we'll set off.”
“Right, right! It just so happens I still have some things to explain.”
Seeing that the sister was finally willing to share her information, Ivelia lifted the pressure weighing down on them.
“If you have something to say, speak.”
Her purple eyes stared intently at the sister they had brought back.
Under that gaze, the sister felt that if she hid anything else, she might not make it out of the tavern doors alive.
“Actually, I hid one thing. It's about Lord Kainster's mother's family...”
The sister stole a glance at Ivelia. As she was about to speak, that terrifying gaze shifted toward the girl who was staring at the alcohol.
“Haa... whew...”
When Kainster turned his gaze back to her, the sister felt that the pressure on her now was no less than the aura from before.
“This matter concerns the Duke of Enridel's family...”
Hearing the name Enridel, the eyes of both Ichikawa and Kainster visibly sharpened.
“As a faction within the neutral faction that leaned relatively close to Your Highness, during Prince Keith's coronation ceremony that day, someone was discovered attempting to poison the newly crowned Emperor. And the Duchess of Enridel happens to be...”
The sister did not continue. Since Enridel was Kainster's maternal family, he was quite familiar with their internal situation.
Beside him, Ichikawa had a look of uncertainty on his face.
Enridel? He felt like he had heard this name somewhere before.
The rainy day scene flashed in his mind once more—the warhorse charging toward them in the rain, and that blushing figure.
“This Enridel family you mentioned... is there someone named Lillian Enridel?”
Recalling the pink-haired young lady he had met back then, she seemed to have mentioned that her full name was Lillian... Enridel.
Hearing Ichikawa speak the name of the Duke of Enridel's daughter, the sister showed a hint of confusion.
When did the Hero get involved with her?
Although somewhat puzzled, she still chose to answer Ichikawa's question.
“Yes, she is the eldest daughter of the Duke of the Enridel family.”
Ichikawa thought of Lillian. If the Enridel family favored Kainster...
For Keith, as the Emperor, getting rid of a thorn in his side that had always opposed him was indeed highly beneficial.
Lillian had been willing to stop her carriage for that little girl, which proved that the people in this family weren't necessarily all scum.
Especially since Kainster had just mentioned that his mother was the one who pushed for the relationship between the Holy See and the people. When Ichikawa looked at Kainster, the prince was silent.
But if he wanted to become the Emperor, relying solely on a few members of the Demon Race was unrealistic.
This family was someone they could try to win over, especially at a time like this.
“What else do you know?”
In response to Ichikawa's question, the sister shook her head. She was just a sister; there were many things she had no way of knowing.
Only after the sister finished sharing the information did Ivelia release Lin Ling's hand on the bar.
“Next time, remember to tell us all the information at once.”
After warning the sister once more with her pressure, Ivelia opened a teleportation spell behind her.
Seeing the purple teleportation spell appear, the sister bowed to them and stepped into it alone.
“Aaaah~ Huh? Where did everyone go?”
Just as the sister left, a certain blue figure happened to come downstairs, yawning repeatedly with a trace of drool at the corner of her mouth.
Looking at the empty tavern, Furni expressed her confusion about the lack of people.
Hearing Furni's question, Lin Ling tore her eyes away from the alcohol. Indeed, the tavern did feel empty.
“Oh right, where did everyone go?”
Lin Ling looked around. Why were only the tavern keeper and Kainster left here? Everyone from the Demon Race was gone, and even little Niya was nowhere to be seen.
“They have been assigned their tasks, so naturally, they went to execute them.”
Ivelia glanced at Kainster. Although they were indeed operating under the guise of the Hero's party, they still needed a grander title to overshadow their actions.
That way, a prince who had abandoned his throne rising up again would be far more convincing to neighboring countries than a Hero's party attacking their own nation.
“Ah~ I see. You guys should rest first. Thanks for your hard work today.”
Furni waved her hand and sat down next to Ivelia.
“...”
Something felt strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it?
Ichikawa stared for a moment at Furni as she poured herself a glass of wine.
“Lord Hero, it's very impolite to keep staring at a girl, you know.”
“Sorry.”
As if to hide his embarrassment at being called out, at Ivelia's prompting, he pulled Lin Ling and quickly walked toward the second floor.
“Why are you dragging me along?!”
Seeing herself being dragged away from Ivelia, Lin Ling reached out her hand toward her.
She hadn't even had a single sip of wine! Everyone else was drinking, but she was the only one who hadn't had any!
But Ivelia had already withdrawn her gaze from Lin Ling. She even pulled the glass of wine that originally belonged to Lin Ling in front of herself, letting Ichikawa take her back to the second floor.
“Go rest first.”
Watching the three of them leave, Ivelia looked at Charis at the bar. He understood immediately and walked toward the room behind the bar.
“Lina, did you have fun today?”
“Yes...”
Listening to the voice coming from the room, Ivelia turned her gaze back to Furni beside her—
Rate on N.U.
