WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Northern Grand Duke’s Mad Son-in-Law ◈
Chapter 99: Delicious
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The Grand Duke sat where he always did.
Theodore bowed deeply and slowly delivered his report.
“We need more soldiers for the Magic Tower construction you ordered. If we need to speed things up-.”
“Magic Tower?”
At the Grand Duke’s low question, Theodore lowered his head further.
“I ordered a Magic Tower?”
At the rough voice, like a beast’s growl, the advisers trembled slightly. Theodore desperately forced his heavy lips to move.
“Commander Galahad gave permission-.”
“Hmm.”
The Grand Duke’s hum was harsher and more threatening than a beast’s roar. The advisers shook violently.
Just as a few of the more timid advisers began breathing heavily, the Grand Duke nodded.
Had he taken a moment longer, several of them would have fainted. Theodore let out a quiet sigh of relief.
A massive white hawk flew in through the window. The Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed fiercely. His face twisted into a vicious expression, but Theodore knew it was the Grand Duke’s smile.
The hawk handed the Grand Duke a letter. The Grand Duke carefully opened the envelope.
The Grand Duke’s eyes tightened. A rough breath escaped him. That was not a smile. It was anger.
‘...Anger?’
His Grace was angered by a letter from Adrianna? The atmosphere instantly grew tense. The advisers began trembling again.
Then the Grand Duke spoke.
“I order every unit to assemble at the Sixth Battalion.”
Every unit? It had been a long time since the Grand Duke had issued such a major order. What could have happened? Though questions arose, the advisers immediately moved.
The Grand Duke crumpled the letter in his hand. Theodore, who stood closest to him, caught a glimpse of its contents.
[A high-ranking Demonkin who moved into the Sixth Battalion is holding a housewarming party. A housewarming ten days late...]
Theodore’s mouth fell open.
It was clearly Galahad’s doing. If not him, who would dare send such a mad letter to the Grand Duke?
‘A high-ranking Demonkin in the Sixth Battalion...’
The Sixth Battalion’s commander position was currently vacant.
As Theodore hurried away, he felt something strange.
One of the advisers was acting oddly.
Something about them... was off.
Theodore’s eyes darkened.
* * *
“Are you really planning to go alone?”
Gisel, once again wearing the Fox Mask, asked Galahad. He nodded.
“Why? Ah, I have no intention of helping you.”
“That’s the most likely outcome. Besides, I never asked for help.”
The Fox Mask let out a sharp laugh. It was a peculiar sound.
Galahad took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. He tucked the canteen at his waist, ready to draw it at any time.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“I told you, I have no intention of helping.”
“I know. That makes it more fun, doesn’t it?”
“Oh my, you caught me.”
Galahad clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers. The cigarette lit up, and the scent of lemon spread through the air.
The Sixth Battalion’s walls were thick and massive. Soldiers stood all across the battlements, staring blankly ahead. Not one wore an expression, nor did any make the slightest movement.
They looked like part of the walls themselves.
The indifferent eyes atop the wall all turned toward Galahad at once.
Something leaped down from the battlements.
Thud.
Blood splattered everywhere.
It was a soldier. Their neck hung broken as they looked up at Galahad. Something lurked behind those cloudy eyes.
“It had a good feel to it.”
Galahad waved the Golden Scepter at them. The soldier’s mouth fell open. Galahad snapped his fingers.
Thud.
An Ice Spike buried itself deep in the soldier’s neck. Only then did the soldier’s eyes close.
Creak.
The gate opened with a dreadful sound. Piled snow was pushed aside and scattered. Beyond the fully opened gate lay darkness.
Countless eyes filled that darkness. Soldiers, Demonkin, even Monsters.
All kinds of eyes stared at Galahad.
‘If I had come head-on, this would’ve been troublesome.’
There were more than he had expected. It appeared they had taken over the Sixth Battalion rather cleanly.
“So what’s the favor?”
The Fox Mask stepped forward. Even from up close, there was no scent coming from her. Not even the faintest fragrance.
“It’s nothing much. Don’t step in under any circumstances.”
Perhaps she had not expected that. The Fox Mask abruptly stopped moving her head.
It was impossible to gauge the Fox Mask’s strength. Her personality was difficult, making her an unknown variable. The principle was to eliminate variables that could not be controlled.
The Fox Mask soon nodded.
“Interesting. All right. I’ll swear an Oath to Mana. I won’t interfere under any circumstances.”
The Fox Mask wiggled her fingers as she spoke. Something rippled around her.
‘An Oath to Mana.’
It was something preserved in history. Long ago, mages had sworn directly to mana.
It was a tradition that had vanished after people began relying more on Magic Stones and magical devices than mana itself.
“You’re rather old.”
The Fox Mask’s movements stopped.
Galahad chuckled and began walking.
Once he entered the fortress, every gaze around him followed his movements. Galahad straightened his posture.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Galahad, commander of the Special Operations Unit.”
When he smiled and waved the Golden Scepter, all their eyes narrowed at once.
‘An impressive level of control.’
It was not mental interference. Even that creature could not mentally interfere with and control so many people at once. Their movements were also stiff, like dolls.
The figures surrounding him parted. An eerie path formed from Demonkin, Monsters, and humans. It was so narrow that, as he walked, he could feel the breath from both sides.
Galahad clicked his tongue and continued forward.
“Did you know?”
The Fox Mask’s voice came from behind him. Galahad looked ahead and asked back.
“Know what?”
“Demonkin have no emotions.”
The Fox Mask said something out of nowhere. It was already a fact he knew.
Even when an Ice Spike pierced a Demonkin’s throat, it felt no fear. Demonkin bared their teeth even a moment before their necks were snapped.
“But when their blood grows denser... Ah, when they become high-ranking Demonkin, in your terms, they gain one emotion.”
“They gain an emotion?”
It was an interesting topic, but Galahad only nodded as if he did not care. He was actually too busy watching his surroundings.
“Yes. The Ruler’s emotion is possessiveness. If the Ruler likes something, it wants to possess it. Humans, Demonkin, treasures, everything.”
“I see.”
Galahad nodded. So that was why the Ruler had been so obsessive. Possessiveness.
‘The Fox Mask’s emotion is interest, then.’
The Fox Mask came closer and tilted her head.
“What emotion do you think would remain if you became a Demonkin?”
Her voice brimmed with excitement. What was she so thrilled about? Galahad clicked his tongue.
“I’ll never become a Demonkin. It’s a completely useless concern.”
“But you never know.”
The Fox Mask whispered. She did not seem likely to back off without an answer.
‘Annoying.’
“If one emotion remained in me-.”
Galahad did not have to think long.
There was only one answer.
“It would be a thirst for knowledge.”
At Galahad’s confident answer, the Fox Mask’s head stopped abruptly.
Without paying her any mind, Galahad continued on. The faint breaths all around him kept brushing against his skin.
The path of expressionless humans and Demonkin led him somewhere unexpected.
‘Not the inner fortress.’
Galahad had assumed the creature would be in the inner fortress. It would be easier to defend.
Instead, he had been led toward the outer fortress.
‘A warehouse?’
It was close to the rear gate, surrounded by collapsed warehouses. An ideal location, easy to access while drawing no one’s attention.
Just like...
‘An Intelligence Bureau safehouse.’
Galahad’s eyes darkened. This had not been arranged in a hurry.
‘Something was being attempted in the Sixth Battalion.’
Creak.
The warehouse door opened roughly. Beyond it was as dark as a bottomless pit. Demonkin stood even in the narrow doorway. It looked like the last place anyone would want to enter.
‘Hmm.’
Galahad looked up at the sky for a moment, then headed for the door.
Dense darkness filled the interior. Faint breathing echoed from every direction at once. It felt as though the whole room was breathing.
‘Unpleasant.’
Galahad clicked his tongue and circulated his mana.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Egg of Pain beat eagerly. Perhaps sensing the gravity of the situation, it kept pouring mana into him.
Soon, dense mana circulated tightly.
The warehouse was denser than the outside. Demonkin stood packed together. Every step he took drew more stares. Countless heads turned to follow him.
“This is a little uncomfortable.”
Muttering a joke, Galahad headed deeper inside.
At the end of the warehouse, people had been piled together. Looking closer, they had been crushed and packed into a grotesque chair, as if assembled into one.
A child wearing a crooked crown with its center hollowed out...
“Wretch.”
The Ruler smiled deeply at Galahad.
At the same time, the air in the room grew heavy. It pressed down on Galahad’s shoulders as if the air itself had gained weight. The creature’s presence was immense.
“You stand too tall.”
The pressure grew heavier. Galahad staggered for a moment. His knees bent on their own.
It felt as though not his mind but his instincts themselves were submitting to the creature. It was a shocking authority, but...
‘It’s weaker than before.’
That was only natural. Though the warehouse was filled with Demonkin, this was not the Demon Realm.
Naturally, the Ruler’s power had weakened.
At that moment, something rose from deep within his mind. It was the scent of a verdant forest. Its freshness awakened Galahad’s mind.
‘So this was it.’
It had to be the mysterious power the Four-legged Demonkin had given him by touching his forehead.
The Ruler’s weakened authority outside the Demon Realm, along with the unknown power bestowed by the Four-legged Demonkin...
His knees stopped bending.
‘Hmm.’
The Ruler’s authority was the power to force submission. As the Fox Mask had said, it displayed overwhelming power when those beneath it could not resist.
The Sixth Battalion as it stood now was proof enough.
This time was different.
His knees ached slightly, but Galahad did not submit. He could withstand the Ruler’s authority.
He also had a canteen filled with the Ruler’s blood.
‘That changes things.’
Then...
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Egg of Pain began beating wildly. It radiated heat, sending a savage urge through him.
The Egg of Pain was a tyrant before the weak and a coward before the strong.
For it to react like this...
‘It thinks I can take the Ruler.’
Galahad’s eyes darkened.
Then the Ruler rose from its seat.
Galahad slowly bowed.
* * *
“Insolent creature.”
The Ruler twisted its lips as it looked down at Galahad, who lay flat on the ground.
It had focused quite a bit of power, yet he had held out fairly well. Honestly, that had been a little surprising.
Only for a moment, though.
Once the Ruler concentrated its authority, Galahad crumpled immediately.
In the end, he lay prostrate before the Ruler as if offering worship.
He was not a knight. He was even a mage. How could a servant of Demonkin defy the Ruler, his master?
The one the Ruler had been wary of was not Galahad.
It was the Forgotten One that had emerged from behind him. If the Forgotten One, who should have been in the Abyss, appeared again like before, it would be troublesome. That was why the Ruler had not spread the Demon Realm.
There was no need to bring out the Demon Realm just to deal with a single mage.
“You’re late.”
The Ruler muttered as it looked at the Fox Mask behind Galahad.
“Late? That hurts. It has been exactly ten days, hasn’t it?”
“Tch. If I say you are late, you are late. I almost carried out the plan.”
The atmosphere instantly grew tense. The Fox Mask stared at the Ruler.
“You did not open it, did you?”
The Fox Mask asked in a low voice. The Ruler twisted its lips.
“If you had been a little later, it would have opened.”
The Ruler stared intently at the Fox Mask. It had disliked her for some time. How dare she stand up to it?
“Ah, that’s still a relief. You didn’t open it.”
The Fox Mask raised both hands and stepped back. The corners of the Ruler’s mouth rose.
Its gaze returned to Galahad. Expressionless people lay flat before it. The Ruler stepped on them, using them as stairs.
“How dare you take my Golden Scepter? You act just like that damned traitor’s disciple.”
Galahad smelled of that damned traitor, but the Ruler had not entirely believed he was the traitor’s disciple. Humans were clever creatures who always had lies on their tongues.
Yet the moment the Forgotten One appeared to help Galahad, the Ruler became certain.
He was the damned traitor’s disciple.
“You learned well from that damned traitor. You learned very well.”
The Ruler looked down at Galahad in silence. He lay flat on the ground without moving.
“Do you know why I ordered you brought back alive?”
The Ruler’s lips twisted.
“You are bait. Bait to call out the traitor who dared take my jewel.”
The Ruler touched the hollow part of its crown. The place where the jewel should have been felt empty. How long had it searched for it?
The Ruler’s lips twisted viciously. Through Galahad, it would lure out the damned traitor and fill its crown once more.
It was time to reclaim the power and glory it had lost.
“A disciple truly takes after his master. You covet my possessions just like your master.”
The Ruler grabbed the Golden Scepter Galahad held out. At its cool touch, the corners of the Ruler’s mouth rose.
“How dare you take the key? I will punish you with every pain you can experience. Rejoice that you may receive my punishment.”
As the Ruler pulled the Golden Scepter, it frowned.
The Golden Scepter did not budge. Galahad’s hand gripped its end.
‘Was my authority too strong?’
The Ruler clicked its tongue.
It appeared to have used too much authority. The Ruler’s authority was too noble and wide-ranging to control with precision.
It reduced its authority and pulled the Golden Scepter again.
‘Why won’t it move?’
The Ruler’s brow furrowed.
“Let go.”
Then Galahad raised his head. Every blood vessel in his eyes had burst, turning them red. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. The sharp smell of blood filled the air.
It was the Ruler’s blood.
‘What is this...?’
Galahad snapped his fingers.
The Ruler frowned.
How could a mere spell carry such weight?
A cold Ice Spear appeared before Galahad. It was so intense and sharp that it was difficult to believe it was human magic.
Even so, it was still magic.
The Ruler had no reason to take it head-on.
Then...
‘Danger.’
The Ruler instinctively twisted its body.
Cold ice pierced through its neck. Half of the Ruler’s neck tore away. Blood sprayed everywhere. The Ruler hurriedly grabbed its head.
‘What...?’
The Ruler quickly moved back. A thick spear of ice lodged in its shoulder.
Only then did the Ruler understand.
Galahad’s magic...
‘Crosses space.’
Ice erupted from every direction. Its shoulder, foot, thigh, waist...
Ice pierced it all over.
Magic that crossed space. It was certainly troublesome, but the Ruler was a high-ranking Demonkin.
The Ruler detected a fleeting trace of mana and twisted its body.
A sharp piece of ice barely brushed past its neck.
A clear sense of danger rose within it. Without hesitation, the Ruler drew upon its authority.
It abandoned dozens of subordinates and concentrated its authority.
A thick spear of ice, formed at some unknown point, was aimed directly at its heart.
Only then did the Ruler realize Galahad had led it into this.
The calculation was unbelievably precise.
There was no avoiding this.
The Ice Spear buried itself deep in the Ruler’s chest.
The Ruler’s body shook violently.
Still, it did not fall.
“You forced me to use my authority. Impressive.”
How long had it been since it had drawn upon its authority?
Galahad had even predicted the route it would take while retreating and prepared a hidden trump card. It was certainly a sharp attack.
It had sacrificed eighty subordinates to withstand that strike.
The Ruler had no choice but to acknowledge it.
Still, Galahad’s plan had failed in the end.
“That was your decisive strike. You must be disappointed.”
The corners of the Ruler’s mouth rose as it examined Galahad.
It intended to savor his despair.
Yet his reaction differed from what the Ruler expected.
Galahad looked at the Ruler and...
“You taste delicious.”
He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth.
* * *
‘He intends to hold the Ruler back alone...’
Adrianna frowned as she looked at the fortress in the distance.
She knew Galahad was an extraordinary mage, but he was still a mage. His opponent was the Ruler, a high-ranking Demonkin. It made no sense for Galahad to hold the Ruler back.
Last time, he had escaped thanks to another Demonkin. Adrianna furrowed her brow. Her memory of that time was incomplete because her temper had run too wild.
She should have opposed this. It was far too reckless, but...
[Trust me.]
Adrianna bit her lip.
“It will be fine.”
A low voice sounded beside her. It was First. Adrianna frowned slightly.
“The opponent is a high-ranking Demonkin. How can this possibly be fine?”
“Hasn’t Galahad already faced the Ruler once?”
“...That is true.”
“Galahad is bold, but he is not a reckless man.”
First said, wiggling his fingers. Adrianna’s brows lowered.
“If he says he can do it, then he can.”
First’s voice was full of certainty. Pumpkin, standing beside him, nodded.
“We just need to handle what we were assigned.”
Adrianna frowned at their strangely firm confidence.
Everyone here and there said the same thing. Just trust him.
‘It’s frustrating.’
Adrianna was not someone who waited.
She was a knight who led from the front.
Still, Galahad had already gone inside.
All she could do now was trust him.
The problem was...
“...He’s late.”
No signal came, no matter how long she waited.
Footnotes:
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