Chapter 277
“Thank you for coming such a long way. My name is Elencia.”
As they gathered around the large table, Elencia offered the first greeting.
After Luna and Rafina introduced themselves in succession, the Princess’s gaze shifted.
“I didn’t expect Lady Ibella to come along, either. It’s been a long time.”
“How many years has it been already? Time flies.”
Ibella and Elencia, who already shared a connection, exchanged greetings with smiles.
This, too, was a sight never seen in this other world.
“Anyway, to think the Princess is a descendant of a demon. Shouldn’t you have told me something that interesting?”
Ibella added a playful remark, expressing her disappointment.
However, her gaze was heavy with seriousness, as if she were observing Elencia.
“I have a promise I made with His Majesty, and it’s not exactly something I can reveal openly. Ah, but I was planning to tell you when the time was right. It was moved up thanks to the Black Dragon, though.”
“Well, there are certainly many variables when you get involved with the Black Dragon.”
Ibella nodded and grinned at Hanbit.
It was a story that couldn't really be denied.
Hanbit, who had been waiting for the conversation to end, immediately got to the point.
“How did the investigation go? It couldn't have been easy.”
“After all, it is a story about demons. Still, there were meaningful results.”
Elencia pulled a book from one side of the table to the center.
It was a book torn and loose in many places.
She opened the cover and continued speaking as she turned the pages.
“This book was discovered in the royal family’s hidden secret archives. Most of the contents are lost, but it contains stories about past interactions with demons.”
“Interactions?”
“It seems the connection with demons began in the early days of the kingdom's founding. It appears to have had a significant impact on the first royal family.”
Elencia opened to the page that was relatively intact and spoke while pointing to the sentences.
Hanbit leaned forward to examine the contents.
'Nothing has changed.'
The book, which he had read and deciphered countless times, was all too familiar.
The Kingdom of Livray, with a connection to demons.
To be precise, it was the only nation that had reached the attention of extraordinary demons.
Art, the country's defining characteristic, was also a prime example of demonic influence.
"The records here make the relationship seem too friendly, don't they? There's even a story about them catching monsters,"
Luna said, examining the book beside Hanbit with a puzzled tone.
Certainly, the demons' actions depicted in the records mostly involved helping humans.
"I found that part strange too. However, the truth is unknown, and if they were such kind beings, they wouldn't have abandoned my mother."
Elencia displayed a resolute demeanor despite her doubts.
Watching this, Ibella tilted her head and began to speak.
"If your father is a demon, doesn't that mean he appeared here at most twenty-something years ago? That's too recent. No, more importantly, who is the current king then?"
It was a question that came to mind all too naturally.
Considering Elencia was now twenty-two, the time when the demon appeared was far too close.
Furthermore, it was odd that she, the Princess of Livray, held that position.
After all, the King of this country was human.
Elencia spoke calmly to the expected question.
“Your Majesty is my adoptive father. My mother, who was my younger sister, took me in after she passed away. They were very close.”
Twenty-three years ago,
her mother confessed to her older brother that she was pregnant with a demon’s child.
The King of Livray, who ascended the throne at a young age, struggled to find the demon but ultimately failed.
Later, when Elencia turned three, her mother died of illness, and he ended up taking in the child left alone.
“So that’s how it happened. What did your mother say? Was there nothing?”
“I once asked Your Majesty, and he said he just wished for my health. He only said he knew nothing about demons.”
Elencia let out a faint sigh.
The Kingdom of Livray had maintained a long-standing connection with demons in one form or another.
If there were any secrets, information should have been passed down, at the very least, from the position of King.
“It is strange.”
Ivela, with her arms crossed, fell into thought for a moment.
She was not the type to fail to notice that something was amiss.
“Well, I’ll ask His Majesty about that later. Anyway, the important thing is the story about the purple moon written here.”
Elencia pointed her finger at the text on the first page.
<One day, a purple moon rose in the black sky, and the world radiated an aura of destruction. That strange phenomenon was terrifying, yet beautiful. When I straightened my hunched body, a demon appeared before my eyes. Later on, he described this phenomenon as a distortion of balance.>
“A distortion of balance?”
Ivela focused on that single phrase.
A phenomenon akin to a harbinger of the demon's arrival.
In other words, there was a clear connection between the rising of the purple moon and the opening of the entrance leading to their realm.
“The content of the note follows from there.”
Elencia unfolded the note obtained on Feria Island next to the book.
<A night of chaos where the purple moon rises. A path opens in the sea of reverse currents. Solidify your qualifications anew and face the world's true darkness.>
“I heard about it beforehand, too. It seems there are no clues in this book.”
Ibella said, looking back and forth between the note and the book.
Certainly, there was no mention of the sea in the book’s contents.
“It’s not that there are no clues. No, rather, should I say that the lack of content is the clue?”
However, Elencia offered a completely different opinion. It
sounded like a play on words, but her expression was serious.
“What do you mean? That the lack of content is the clue?”
“Please look here.”
Elencia turned the pages and pointed to a few phrases.
Most of them referred to the weather or the environment.
“Librey is close to the coast, and there are even large waterways. However, strangely enough, there is no mention of the sea here. It’s similar not only in this book but also in Librey’s ancient texts. Could it be that the topography was different in the past?”
“Topography?”
At that remark, Ivela turned her gaze out the window.
Lost in thought for a moment, she grasped her staff and said,
“Wait.”
Whoosh—
Ivela vanished in an instant right before our eyes.
It was only after some time had passed that she reappeared.
“That’s right. The coast and waterways here were created by artificial destruction. As if the land had been annihilated by something.”
The wide coastline bordering the kingdom and the massive waterways extending from the interior into the ocean.
To create that artificially would have required incredibly sophisticated and powerful force.
Furthermore, if it looked like the land had vanished, it would have been difficult for human magic to realize.
“As expected… there was no sea at the time this was written.”
Elencia nodded, confirming the prediction.
Ivela, whose expression had darkened slightly, let out a sigh and spoke.
“I understand what you’re trying to say. You’re saying the Sea of Reverse Currents isn’t a real sea?”
“Yes. I suspect it’s a phenomenon rather than a place.”
Considering the contents of the note, the purple moon and the Sea of Reverse Currents were essential conditions for the demon’s appearance.
However, if it had manifested in the Kingdom of Livray, where there was no sea, the interpretation was bound to change.
“What do you think, Lord Black Dragon?”
Elencia asked, turning her head sharply.
Her gaze was one of anticipation for a response to her hypothesis.
Of course, the other three, knowing Hanbit’s true identity, were hoping for the correct answer.
“I share a similar opinion, but there might not be just one entrance leading to the demon’s realm. We should also consider the possibility that it is a rift in the realm that appeared only in the Kingdom of Livray.”
“A rift in the realm… that certainly is a possibility.”
Elencia nodded in agreement.
Of course, the story she had brought up as a possibility was the truth.
'It is complicated.'
To put it simply, the Sea of Reverse Currents was both a designated location and a phenomenon.
The contents of the note described the location that opens the massive gate leading to the demon’s realm.
The past case recorded in this book was a story about a rift that had opened in the Demon Realm.
Should one call it a higher-dimensional space than the Error Zone the players had discovered?
A tiny number of demons, including Elencia's father, had set foot on human land through this place.
“So, what do you think we need to do to satisfy these conditions?”
Ivela, watching the scene, tapped the note with her finger and spoke.
However, there was no way to satisfy the conditions immediately.
There was still much work to be done, such as determining the time for the purple moon to rise, how to activate the key, and the path to reach the Sea of Reverse Currents.
“We need to gather a few more clues. For now, I think we should see His Majesty.”
“Hmm, it is certainly necessary. He is clearly hiding something.”
Ivela immediately nodded at that suggestion.
There was only one person in the Kingdom of Livray who might know something:
the King.
“It might be possible to see him, but wouldn’t he avoid answering?”
“We must make sure that doesn’t happen. Let’s go.”
Rising to her feet, Ivela headed toward the King’s office as if accustomed to it.
It seemed as though she had no need for a formal space for an audience.
“Is it really okay to go like this? I am a king, after all?”
Luna, walking beside her, asked in a low voice.
However, Ibella was someone who did not need to walk the path of common sense.
“It seems like she helped the Kingdom, and after all, she is part of the investigation team. Especially since it’s safe to say Ibella ranks just below the commander.”
“She was quite an impressive person.”
Luna gazed at Ibella’s retreating figure with a look of wonder.
Although she was like a wizard chasing her curiosity, her abilities were on a completely different level.
To the extent that anyone who had witnessed an actual battle would never be able to disagree.
“I-Lady Ibella?”
Upon arriving at the office, the soldiers guarding the front widened their eyes.
Judging by how naturally they blocked the door, this was likely not the first time this had happened.
“Is His Majesty inside?”
“No, he’s not!”
“Uh, he has business, so he is out…”
Whoosh!
Ibella lightly flicked her staff, and the two soldiers were pushed aside.
Leisurely reaching for the door, she pushed it open with force.
“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”
“…Ibella.”
At the greeting, which sounded as if she were addressing a local neighbor, a voice mixed with a sigh came from inside.
Over Ibella's shoulder, the figure of a man sitting at a desk came into view.
[King Leopard Bel Livray of Livray]
The man, who looked no older than fifty, showed no signs of surprise.
It seemed to reveal his personality of not showing much emotion.
“Come in for now.”
He murmured quietly, rose from his seat, and walked to the reception room prepared to one side.
Hanbit’s party followed Ibella, who was already seated, toward the room.
Elencia, having taken her seat, spoke first.
“I apologize. While I was talking with the investigation team members, there was something I absolutely had to ask you.”
“…It must be about demons.”
“What?”
The King calmly uttered the word “demon. ”
This was because he had received reports on what Elencia had been investigating.
He could have foreseen this situation when he was told that the four members of the investigation team, including Ibella, had come today.
“It’s good that you aren’t beating around the bush. What do you know about that demon?”
Ibella got straight to the point.
After a moment of silence, the King slowly surveyed his surroundings.
“If it is an investigation team… is it possible?”
His sincerity was mixed in with the very soft murmur.
He glanced at Elencia for a moment, then lowered his gaze and spoke.
“Our royal family, the Livrays, have been devil contractors for generations.”
