Kapitel 100: 100. Information
When Izumi woke up, he was surrounded by Eveam, Aquinas, and Marione. Even though Izumi didn't recognize their faces, he could guess who they were. Izumi pretended not to know them and started looking left and right.
"Where am I? All I remember, I should have fallen into the river. Hmmm, did you guys save me?" Izumi pointed at them one by one. But, the mustache man yelled at him.
"Insolent! You dare to point your finger to Your Majesty! You must bow before Her before it's too late!"
"This girl? Your Majesty? You're not joking, are you? Forget her unfit demeanor as a queen, more importantly, why is your so-called "Your Majesty" here? And it's only the two of you who are looking after her." But then, he looked at Aquinas. "Hmmm? Ah, I see. I'm sorry if I offended your wife, Your Majesty." Izumi bowed his head. This made Aquinas twitch his cheek.
Although it was an act, all of them felt that Izumi said it sincerely.
"You, impudent brat!!!" Marione, who was easily angered, was provoked and wanted to beat Izumi. But he was stopped by Eveam.
"Stop it, Marione!"
"I'm sorry for what he said. He has quite a temper." Eveam slightly bowed her head in apology. But Izumi didn't take her seriously. He asked instead.
"You're not a queen, are you?"
"No, I'm a demon lord. And I'm also not his wife." Eveam shook her head.
"I see. But what you said was ridiculous. If you're a demon lord, why do you have to apologize for his mistake? A king must not bow or apologize. Unless the circumstances are pretty special."
With Izumi's lecture, Eveam fell silent. Even Marione and Aquinas were listening. Izumi carried on. "If the king makes a mistake that causes the kingdom to almost collapse, the king usually apologizes before death picks him up. Well, that's the case if a king understands his people's pain."
Aquinas nodded at what Izumi had said. The head of a king is so expensive. Hence, an apology by a king caused by someone else was something to be avoided.
"Can I ask you?" Aquinas asked Izumi.
"Sure."
"You're the one that Teckil mentioned, right?"
"Tsk. You're asking that? I thought you'd be asking what happened to the person that caused the demon lord to apologize." Izumi glanced at Marione while saying those words.
"What did you say?" Marione snapped. However, Aquinas stared at him to shut himself. Aquinas himself couldn't find a word to deny Izumi's statements. He even felt that Izumi's statements sounded reasonable. This also made him have to teach Eveam how to act like a proper demon lord.
"Then, can you answer my question earlier? My name is Aquinas. As you can see, she is really a demon lord. So, please mind your own words!"
"Fine! Forgive my rude words earlier! I did meet a guy named Teckil who disguised himself as a Humas race. I just didn't expect information about me to reach you this quickly." Izumi apologized in response to Aquinas' words. Later, Izumi was invited to the demon territory's capital, Xaos, with them.
— — — —
A few hours later.
Izumi looked at the bustling city filled with people. There's a huge and majestic castle at the center of the city. Upon arriving at Xaos, Marione said goodbye to Eveam while looking at Izumi with annoyance. Meanwhile, Eveam ordered Aquinas to prepare a place to talk about what Teckil had written in the previous letter and invited Izumi with them.
Aquinas led Izumi to a certain room inside the castle. Eveam summoned her attendant to prepare drinks for Izumi. They were talking about how Izumi got to the Humas continent. Of course, he was still hiding some details because Eveam was accompanied by her attendant so Izumi couldn't speak freely. And luckily, Aquinas didn't mention Izumi's eye being able to negate any magic at that time.
After chatting for a while, Eveam left accompanied by her attendant, leaving Aquinas who was ordered to show Izumi around. Izumi was still sitting in the room, waiting for Eveam's and her attendant's footsteps to disappear. Then he said,
"That maid isn't a living person."
"Huh?"
Surely, Aquinas was confused by what Izumi said. Izumi continued,
"I have the ability to detect a person's aura. However, what I sense from that maid is not an aura, but like condensed magic crystals. Oh right, here is the letter I got from Teckil. I didn't dare give it up because I had a strange feeling about the maid earlier."
Receiving the letter from Izumi, Aquinas started to read it. Then, he frowned.
"Avoros is still alive? That's impossible."
"I heard that Avoros was a necromancer with extraordinary strength. Then, my tribe was suddenly massacred by the appearance of a zombie horde while I was away. I am the strongest in the tribe. But that doesn't mean the people from my tribe are weak." Izumi crossed his hands while saying.
"Why didn't you tell earlier when the demon lord is present?"
"That maid might be connected with this."
"You said Kiria wasn't a living person. And I can't believe she's a zombie as well since she grew up together with the demon lord." Aquinas put on a serious expression. However, Izumi shook his head.
"I'm not saying that she's a zombie. But, more likely, she's artificial."
"Artificial?"
"I was once told by the elders in my tribe. If I'm not mistaken, there was a project of artificial demons back in the era of the first demon lord."
"The Valkyria Project accident…" Aquinas did not forget historical things, precisely that tragic event because it still resonates to this day.
Long ago, the first demon lord undertook a grand project, which was to create artificial demons. The demon lord intended to make them protect the Evila race from other races.
However, an accident happened. One Valkyria suddenly went berserk, destroying the capital and killing a lot of people. It was an era where the first demon lord abdicated because the project didn't live up to expectations.
"Oh, The Valkyria Project, huh? When I think about it, the maid you called Kiria might be connected with that."
Aquinas murmured.
"Valkyria, Val…kyria...Kiria??" Suddenly his voice became louder while looking toward Izumi. "But, let's forget for a moment if Kiria is really a Valkyria. Why did Teckil say that Avaros is still alive? I already confirmed with my eyes that Avoros is dead."
"The body might be dead, but what about the soul? Are you sure that his soul had been destroyed? Someone like Avoros who possessed the ability of necromancy where he manipulated souls every day, how could he not be able to control his own soul?"
Izumi explained. Izumi also thought, Avoros managed to survive because he was proficient in the field of necromancy, which is the ability to control the soul. So, if Izumi wanted to kill him, he needed to temper his soul using his internal skill.
Aquinas this time responded to Izumi's words which sounded reasonable. He stood up and prepared to leave.
"She's in danger." In Aquinas' thought, if Avoros could even revive himself, then it might be possible the Valkyria project was successful. He wanted to warn Eveam about this, but Izumi stopped him.
"Wait, wait. Don't be impatient!"
"Don't stop me! Your Majesty is in danger."
"Stop it, you idiot! Your movements are so obvious! If you suddenly report something to the demon lord after this conversation and your attitude changes, they will most likely find out. Besides, this isn't the time for them to make a move either."
"They?"
"Do you believe Avoros' followers are only one? Avoros' loyal followers must have known that he was still alive. So some of them may still have to endure pressure from the new leadership before their old leader orders them to move."
When Izumi said, loyal followers. He remembered Iraora who was a loyal follower of Avoros. And that was when he agreed with Izumi's words that making a move definitely put the new demon lord's side at a disadvantage. At that moment, he heard Izumi say something.
"If possible, don't tell the demon lord! She couldn't hold a secret about Avoros. So it's better if you try to investigate the old followers of Avoros secretly by yourself! You may find out something surprising. You should also always be beside the demon lord. In case, something happened."
"Why can't I say to Her?"
"You said that Kiria was her childhood friend. If you said Kiria was most likely an enemy, are you sure she would believe it?" Izumi asked.
Aquinas shook his head.
Seeing Aquinas' response, Izumi continued.
"Then, it's better if you keep it to yourself! Most importantly, investigate first, who is a friend, and who is an enemy! Even though I want to get comrades for revenge. I don't want my revenge against Avoros to be hindered by your internal drama."
Aquinas seemed to understand Izumi's feelings because of his tribe being slaughtered by hordes of zombies. He was even willing to chase his enemies all the way to the Humas continent. Aquinas also couldn't imagine anyone else creating that many zombies besides Avoros.
Because Izumi seemed to hate Avoros to the bone, Aquinas started to trust Izumi a little bit.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein