novelraw Chapter 92
Chapter 92
Episode 92
"When did I say that?"
Basilian raised his voice, having been hit right in his weak spot. His obviously suspicious demeanor made Flora's eyes narrow.
Then he blurted out loudly,
"It's true that you're not just pretty-faced but also smart, kind, and have a good heart, so why would I be embarrassed?"
"Hmm, really? Okay. I'll let it slide."
Flora covered her mouth and giggled, looking at Basilian's reddened face.
'Damn it.'
Basilian put aside his stray thoughts and started gulping down the soup in front of him.
'Anyway, she is cute.'
Since his emotions were so clearly written on his face, Basilian was a really easy friend to tease.
"You shouldn't tease your friend."
"I wasn't teasing."
Flora feigned innocence and then diligently attacked her soup, following Basilian's lead.
"But Oppa, how did you find me so quickly?"
"I prepared a magic stone communication device at the castle for situations like this. I also have a portable communication device linked to it."
Benio pulled out the magic stone communication device that was popular these days and showed it to her.
"What? This expensive thing?"
"And the person who knows best that I'm making enough money to buy this expensive thing as much as I want is my little sister, right?"
At this accurate statement, Flora tightly closed her mouth.
She was about to say it was a waste of money, but since they were making enough that wasting money to this extent was permissible, it wasn't a problem.
"You didn't buy it just because of me, did you?"
"It could be one of the reasons."
A rather easygoing answer came back to her tentative question.
"Ooh, that's unfair."
"Given that you run away from home on a whim as expected, what could you possibly have to feel unfair about?"
He used to be an innocent, bear-like pushover who couldn't win a single argument, but whether time is a cure or because humans are adaptable creatures, Benio had become quite good at handling Flora's teasing.
The warm small talk ended simultaneously as the meal finished.
"First, I should let them know you've joined this journey too……?"
Benio sighed with a face that really didn't want to inform them. Since she was already caught, Flora nodded eagerly, wanting to go into the Demon Forest anyway.
It was almost time for the meeting, so he could inform them then.
Benio, who had been thinking for a moment while looking at his watch, soon shook his head.
"No. It's better not to tell them after all."
"What? Why?"
"Because I can't send a child who's just started swinging a sword into the Demon Forest."
At Benio's words, Flora puffed out her cheeks with air, looking hurt.
"Do you think the Demon Forest is a place to joke around? Listen to your older brother."
Even Basilian took Benio's side. They matched so well that one might think the two of them were siblings, not Flora and Benio.
"They're more cunning and wicked than you think."
"I know that too."
"No, you don't."
No matter how much Flora pouted, Benio was decisively firm.
"I have no intention of throwing my little sister as prey to those snake-like, cunning, and evil creatures. I don't think I could just stand by and watch that happen."
At the voice carrying a chilling coolness, Flora's sulking stopped on its own.
"It's better for them to hate me than for a disaster to happen."
The implication that it would be too late for regrets after a disaster was an added point.
Had the innocent, bear-like appearance vanished, revealing the form of a grizzly bear ready to tear its enemies apart?
Flora found herself nodding without realizing it.
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"You're late."
Only after confirming that Flora was asleep and Basilian had returned to his own tent did Benio head to the tent where the meeting was being held, so he inevitably became the last person to arrive among the gathered individuals.
"I was delayed by a brief matter. My apologies."
"It's fine. You're the one who came from the farthest away, so you naturally have more to attend to. So, you didn't come with your father?"
At the question from Duke Bellasia, who was seated at the head, Benio nodded without any change in expression.
"Yes."
"……Is that all?"
"Is there anything else you are curious about?"
His gaze, insolent for a Young Duke to show, seemed to say, "Don't bother me." The middle-aged woman in a white hat sitting next to the Duke shouted.
"Young Duke Lucifer! What kind of attitude is that!"
"What is the problem?"
"That tone just now, that look! It is an unbecoming demeanor to show before the Duke!"
The woman in the flat white hat and a matching white uniform was one of the officials from the Executor Bureau.
Even with the naturally condescending tone that carried disregard for Lucifer, Benio answered with the same serene face as before.
"Is that so? If the Duke felt that way, then I apologize."
Under the piercing gaze, Duke Bellasia pulled up the corner of his mouth.
"Haha, it's fine. I never thought you were insolent. It seems this matter is quite serious, so our friend here is just sensitive right now."
The woman had never once mentioned the word "insolent," but Bellasia said so and laughed.
His gaze was a contemptuous one, as if looking at something insignificant.
At this implicit disregard, implying there was nothing she could do even if he said this, laughter erupted from those around them.
He should have been angered, but Benio simply nodded without any change in expression.
"Yes, she does seem sensitive."
"What?"
"No matter if she's an Executor, to speak like that to the heir of one of the Empire's only four ducal houses. I thought perhaps she had sold her manners to the demons, but if it's because she's sensitive, then I must understand."
Given the nature of the matter.
At his words added in a low voice, a chilling silence fell over the venue.
'Did Lucifer just talk back just now?'
'That Lucifer?'
'How dare he answer back so casually to Duke Bellasia?'
Just as other nobles, filled with anger, were about to scold Benio for his uncharacteristic insolence with distorted faces...
"Your words are too harsh, Young Duke."
"I don't see what is too harsh."
"……You don't think the Lucifer Ducal House, the Betrayer of Humanity, is the same as the Executors who confront demons for humanity's sake, do you?"
"They are not the same."
Contrary to the expectation that he would deny it, when the correct answer came out, the Executor muttered "That's right," and smirked.
"Judging by the current prestige, wouldn't being a member of the Lucifer Ducal House be more something to be proud of than being an Executor?"
But at the following statement, not only her face but the faces of all those who had been watching the situation with laughter cracked.
"You gathered such a large-scale force just to defeat a single demon, and on top of that, you requested help from Lucifer, didn't you?"
"Request help? It is a rightful moment of judgment, and Lucifer is here to prove their innocence, is it not!"
"Is there any proof of innocence more certain than killing a demon that had resided in the north for one thousand years? Ah, but I suppose there is.
As if anticipating what she would retort with, Benio naturally preempted the expected criticism.
"Prove your innocence, Betrayer of Humanity, Hero of Disgrace. Call us whatever you like. It doesn't change the truth that the Lucifers of the north killed the demon, an achievement you all failed to accomplish."
In the eerie silence, as if cold water had been poured, a loud, booming laugh burst forth.
"That's right, Young Duke Lucifer is correct! The north, no, that fellow Athanas, accomplished what even the Executor Bureau couldn't properly do! So it's only natural for a son to be proud of that."
The man nodded with a generous face, as if understanding, then slowly lowered his voice and asked subtly,
"So we can expect the same from this subjugation, right?"
"That would depend on what everyone does. Lucifer is not an Executor, so we plan to act like Lucifers and only prove our innocence."
"Good, that answer is sufficient. Now, you should stop too."
Duke Bellasia made the Executor, whose face was stained red with shame, sit down.
"Where do we have time for this now? I know you're upset about the demon, but you shouldn't take your anger out on others."
At the affectionate scolding, the Executor bit her lip fiercely and then nodded.
"I apologize, Young Duke. I overreacted."
"I understand. With the number of missing children increasing so rapidly, it's only natural."
At Benio's words, the people gathered in the meeting room nodded.
"I heard the number of missing children has been steadily increasing over the past few years."
"Did all the missing children disappear in the Demon Forest?"
"I heard the first missing children disappeared while playing near the Demon Forest, but it hasn't been solely that since then."
Benio slowly read through the report placed before him.
As mentioned earlier, the phenomenon of children suddenly disappearing had been occurring steadily, little by little, over several years.
At first, the numbers were too small to notice anything suspicious, but from a certain point, the number of missing persons suddenly began to multiply like bamboo shoots after rain.
Parents, assuming accidents had happened in the Demon Forest, prevented their children from going near it, and soon the disappearance cases seemed to decrease.
But one day, children who had been quietly asleep in their homes began to go missing, one by one.
Finally sensing something was wrong, the parents of the missing children and the villagers filed complaints with their respective territories, and it was only a month ago that they learned such cases were spreading throughout the western territories.
"The only one capable of such an evil deed is a demon!"
Count Tassen, who had received the largest damage report, shouted with his voice filled with rage.
"They must have stolen the poor children's souls and torn their tender bodies to shreds and eaten them! Otherwise, there's no reason why the bodies of the missing children haven't been found!"
At this reasonable inference, everyone nodded in agreement.