WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 92: Visit
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Ilea sank to the floor where she stood.
Johan quickly rushed over and checked her condition.
“Are you all right? Are you badly hurt?”
The light had faded from Ilea’s eyes. Her entire body was covered in blood.
She spoke with difficulty.
“My legs just gave out. I’m not seriously hurt.”
Johan still could not relax.
“Then whose blood is this?”
Her silver hair and pure white clothes were drenched red.
Johan immediately inspected Ilea from head to toe.
Other than a few shallow scrapes, he could not find any serious injuries.
Ilea’s cheeks reddened.
“Y-you can’t suddenly do this. It isn’t my blood, so... don’t worry, Johan.”
Johan looked at Gawain.
“Did you get covered in his blood?”
Gawain had collapsed on the ground, drenched in blood.
He looked like a corpse.
Ilea nodded.
“That’s right. His Highness resisted rather fiercely.”
Johan spoke with some tension in his voice.
“You didn’t kill him, did you? Gawain, I mean.”
“No. He’s still alive. Just as you asked, I only subdued him.”
Johan let out a relieved breath.
Gawain was someone he needed. Without him, it would be difficult for Johan to prepare for what awaited in the latter half.
“Well done. You had a hard time.”
Ilea pretended to pout.
“I nearly died, you know. If the situation had not favored me, and if His Highness had his Holy Spear as well, I probably would have lost.”
It was quite a humble assessment.
In truth, Ilea had fought under restrictions as well.
Because Johan had asked her to, she could not kill Gawain.
She had been unable to use any lethal magic.
What would have happened if Gawain and Ilea had both fought at full strength?
Johan found it difficult to guess the outcome.
“You faced danger because of me. I’m always grateful.”
Ilea gave him a playful smile.
“You want to repay me, right?”
Johan looked puzzled.
“Well, yes. Is there something you want?”
Ilea suddenly spread both arms.
“Carry me first. I have no strength left, so my legs won’t move.”
Johan shrugged.
“Sure. That’s the least I can do.”
Ilea’s eyes widened. She clearly had not expected that.
“Really?”
Johan turned his back to her.
“Get on. We have a mountain of work to do.”
Ilea beamed and wrapped her arms around Johan’s neck.
Then she whispered softly.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t blow into my ear.”
“I-I didn’t!”
Johan snickered and pointed at Gawain and Yuri.
“I know, so take care of them. We need to deal with them before they wake up.”
The moment he finished speaking, Yuri and Gawain’s bodies rose into the air.
Ilea’s magic was at work.
Johan headed straight for the lord’s castle.
There was quite a lot to do.
* * *
Beneath the underground library of the lord’s castle lay the Forbidden Archive. Countless sacred relics stood in neat rows.
Light flowing from the Holy Relics brightly illuminated the interior.
The Forbidden Archive was as orderly as ever.
The castle had been half destroyed, but the archive remained intact regardless of what had happened outside.
Johan considered that fortunate.
If the Forbidden Archive had been damaged as well, it would have caused him quite a headache.
He slowly looked around the archive.
“The damage did not reach this far. That’s fortunate, at least.”
Ilea looked dejected.
“What are we going to do about the castle? It’s all destroyed.”
The interior of the lord’s castle had lost its original form. It looked as though a war had taken place there.
No one would be able to live there any longer.
Johan answered calmly.
“It can be repaired, so do not worry about it.”
“It looks like you’ll have to spend even more money because of me.”
“We’ll bill him for it.”
Johan looked at Gawain.
Gawain was confined in the very center of the Forbidden Archive.
The chair he sat in was the highest-grade restraint device for humans, while the chains binding his entire body were relics capable of suppressing even ancient magic beasts.
No matter how powerful Gawain was, he could never rise from that seat.
He had been completely captured.
Gawain slowly opened his mouth.
“...Where am I?”
His gaze turned toward Johan and Ilea.
His eyes burned with fury.
Johan spoke.
“The famous Forbidden Archive. The kingdom’s treasury.”
He no longer spoke politely to Gawain.
Johan had already exposed his true nature, so there was no reason to keep wearing a mask.
Gawain’s eyes moved in every direction.
His neck was fixed by the chains, so he could not turn his head to look around.
Only his eyes kept moving.
“Why have you imprisoned me here?”
“As I told you yesterday, it is to cure your illness.”
Gawain found that absurd.
“Quit talking bullshit and remove these chains at once.”
Johan shook his head.
“Impossible. Until your illness is cured, you cannot leave this place.”
Gawain ground his teeth.
Then he suddenly roared like a wild beast.
“Illness? What have you been babbling about since yesterday? Stop spouting nonsense and reveal who you are! What do you want from me that you'd go this far?! Did the Count order you to do this?!”
Johan picked at his ear.
“My ears hurt. I can hear you perfectly well if you speak quietly, so calm down and ask one question at a time.”
Gawain began trembling. Unbearable fury consumed him.
Ilea stepped in front of Johan.
“It’s dangerous. Please move a little farther away from His Highness.”
At the same time, Holy Power erupted from Gawain’s body.
The surroundings turned white.
The entire Forbidden Archive was swallowed by radiance.
Johan immediately covered his eyes.
It was so bright that his eyes felt as though they would burst.
That was the extent of its effect.
Holy Power could not harm an ordinary human anyway.
It was daytime, so Johan was in his human form.
Gawain’s struggle was futile.
His roar thundered through the archive.
Kraaaaaaah!
It truly sounded like the cry of a beast.
Johan clicked his tongue and covered his ears.
‘This is not a situation where we can talk.’
Gawain’s frenzy continued for quite some time.
He twisted his body madly in an attempt to break free of the restraints.
Several chains snapped apart with a Crack!
Ilea immediately brought other relics and bound Gawain again.
That process repeated several times.
Only after a long while did the interior finally fall silent.
Gawain, who had been rampaging, had fainted again.
His entire body was covered in chains and talismans.
Only his face remained exposed now.
It looked extremely uncomfortable, but there was no other way.
They needed to go this far to keep Gawain restrained.
Johan spoke.
“It seems difficult to talk right now. We will have to wait until Gawain accepts the situation.”
Ilea nodded.
“That would be best. Leave this place to me and hurry back to the castle.”
They still had to clean up after the battle.
Johan returned to the surface.
* * *
The Southwestern Holy Quarantine Zone was lifted after roughly two months.
No matter how thoroughly the Great Saint Church investigated, it could not find even the slightest clue regarding the ancient demon Kaiaje or the Thirteenth Apostle of the End.
Furthermore, the Apostle Mapheltan had suddenly attacked the royal capital.
There was no longer any reason for the Great Saint Church to maintain the Holy Quarantine Zone.
Once the Great Saint Church withdrew, the residents of the southwest returned to their own lives.
They repaired their ruined homes and fields, preparing for winter.
One group of itinerant slash-and-burn farmers was an exception.
They were leaving the southwest and heading south.
More precisely, they were headed for Myatro’s direct domain.
It was because of their promise with Johan.
Johan had promised them a place to live.
At the head of the group, an old man spoke.
“He was young, but truly bold and dependable. My own grandson was saved by him as well.”
Walking beside the old man, red-haired Shaperia spoke.
“Elder, you’ve already told that story more than ten times. I’m going to get calluses on my ears.”
The old man chuckled.
“Even a hundred praises would not be enough. He was truly the kind of noble described in the scriptures.”
Shaperia smiled gently.
“I cannot deny it. Everyone who has met Sir Johan says something similar. They say talking with him gives them a strange sense of trust.”
It was because of the Great Saint’s Eye.
The old man clapped loudly.
“I suppose everyone thinks alike. You agree too, Holy Knight?”
Shaperia nodded.
“He is a sincerely devout person, rare in this age. You can see it from how he volunteered to enter the quarantine zone alone despite being so young. We will see him soon.”
She pointed ahead.
A massive lord’s castle and the village surrounding it came into view.
The snow-covered scenery was quite beautiful.
Expectation filled the old man’s eyes, along with faint concern.
He spoke cautiously.
“He has not forgotten us, has he?”
Shaperia smiled and shook her head.
“Sir Johan will remember everything. He is not someone who breaks promises.”
Relief spread across the old man’s face.
“Saint Marziel, may light grace Johan’s path.”
Shaperia drew the sign of the cross as well.
They entered the direct domain without delay.
* * *
“You cannot see the Baron at this time.”
They had entered the village, but the gates to the inner castle were tightly closed.
Dozens of soldiers were stationed at every entrance leading into the castle.
Shaperia was troubled.
“I did not come to see the Baron. I came to see Sir Johan.”
One soldier replied stiffly.
“Lord Johan has inherited the barony. The current head of House Myatro is Lord Johan.”
Confusion filled Shaperia’s face.
“But Sir Johan has not even undergone his coming-of-age ceremony.”
He could not become head of the house at that age.
That was the kingdom’s law.
The soldier said nothing further. He merely stood firm before the castle gate.
As Shaperia stood there at a loss, the gate suddenly swung open.
A large man emerged.
The soldiers gave a brief salute. The gate immediately closed behind him.
Shaperia smiled brightly.
“Gaf!”
The man who had emerged from the castle was Gaf, captain of the guard.
Gaf looked somewhat surprised.
“...Shaperia?”
“Yes, that is correct. It has been a long time.”
Shaperia had returned to the territory after two months.
She had recently been investigating White Horn in the Holy Quarantine Zone.
Gaf’s expression hardened.
“It has indeed. But what brings you here?”
Shaperia had to go to Narak to regain her lost Holy Power.
Johan had clearly promised her something.
He had promised to open the gate to Narak during the full moon.
Shaperia spoke.
“I came to see Sir Johan.”
Gaf fell silent for a moment before replying in a stiff voice.
“It seems you have not heard. By royal decree, investigations into the Myatro territory are forbidden. Please leave.”
Shaperia was also a spy sent by the Great Saint Church.
She had been investigating a possible connection between the incidents in the south and the baronial house.
Shaperia froze in shock.
“...You knew who I was?”
“Of course.”
“Did Sir Johan perhaps also...”
“Of course. So do not come here again.”
Gaf left at once.
Shaperia stood still and looked up at the lord’s castle.
For some reason, an eerie feeling settled over her.
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