Maseki Gurume – Vol 3 Chapter 1 Part 1

It’s Ko-Fi’s Supporters’ chapter (25/63), enjoy~

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Chapter 1 – Returning To Normal Life And A Bit of A Shadow

Part 1

 

One day, about a month after the subjugation of the sea dragon.

After another month, Ain would be going to Euro as a representative.

The damage he sustained in the battle against the sea dragons is healing well, and for the past few days, he has been able to hold a sword and train with it. It would not be long before his arm, which had been immobilized not long ago, would be back in perfect condition.

Today, too, Ain did some light physical exercise early in the morning. Then he went to Katima’s laboratory in the basement.

Before opening the door to the lab, he looked at the underground space surrounded by rock walls and floors and muttered.

“The atmosphere is always different from up here…”

After opening the door, he stepped into the laboratory, which was now crammed with many magic tools.

The size of the laboratory is not small. The reason why Katima possesses such a laboratory despite her position as the first princess is because she is a renowned researcher apart from her status as a princess.

“…You’ve come-nya. Runaway crown prince.”

Katima, the Caith Sith, lightly shook her beard on either side.

“You know, is there some kind of rule that says you have to mess with me first?”

“There is no such thing-nya. Just come over here and sit down-nya.”

Ain sat down on the sofa, following her welcome as usual.

“Hey. It’s the book about the elves that Chris took time out of her sleep to translate into modern language-nya.”

She placed a stack of papers on the table. The quality of the paper was new. Ain picked it up and flipped through the papers in order.

“Huh? The black dagger in this picture…”

“Chris explained it before, didn’t she-nya? The Elder Lich uses her core to create daggers for her guardian-nya. It looks familiar, doesn’t it-nya?”

“Yes. I know, because it was my partner.”

The black dagger that Ain lost while defeating the Sea Dragon. The dagger described in the document was that very dagger.

“The name of the dagger is the Iron Dust of the Dead Ancestors. The dagger is made from the Elder Lich’s own magic, by grinding away her own core little by little.”

“Well, it’s a horrible process to listen to.”

“Nonetheless… Maybe it’s because of that dagger that you were able to finish off the sea dragon-nya. The dagger was originally a kind of talisman to be used at the very end. According to the information in the book, it has enough power to rival the Demon King’s attack-nya.”

“…I see. That is why I was able to defeat the sea dragon.”

“But it was still thanks to Ain’s efforts-nya. You have to thank Chris for helping us translate this book-nya.”

Ain laughed and thanked Chris in his heart, “Thanks for your hard work, Chris-san.”

“I think that dagger must have been brought in from nearby when the Dullahan Stone was brought to the castle, and was lying in the treasury-nya.”

As she concluded, Katima flipped through the stack of papers Ain was holding.

“Let’s take a look at this last one-nya.”

The pages were newly titled, and Ain could tell that they contained important information. He drank some water from the table and then turned his attention to it.

“Let’s see, ‘A hypothesis about the Demon King’s actions and one alleged betrayal’?”

“Umu! To put it bluntly, this is where the key information comes in-nya.”

With interest in the information she had just stated, Ain stared at the bundle of papers at hand as if he were devouring it. The author, an elf, had lived a long time and had studied many legends.

Among them, he paid particular attention to the inconsistencies in the Demon King’s actions. From this page forward, the author’s thoughts are described.

 

◇ ◇ ◇

 

[The Demon King attacked Ishtalika ─ but it’s no wonder that a being so powerful appeared so suddenly.

The Demon King’s power was genuinely mighty, and with just a single spell, he took away numerous lives.

The battle finally came to an end with the defeat of the Demon King, Dullahan, and Elder Lich after countless sacrifices.

Incidentally, I have a question about the two people who were close to him.

Why didn’t Dullahan just wait for the enemy instead of making his own move? And why did Elder Lich not use any offensive magic but instead focused on sabotaging people?

Let me assure you. If Dullahan had acted first, or if Elder Lich had used her offensive magic to exterminate the people ─ Ishtalika would have been defeated and destroyed.

Did they underestimate humans? I don’t think so.

From the beginning of the war until their deaths, these two people have never had a clear intention to kill people.

And there is one more thing worth mentioning.

The other aide to the Demon King, a humanoid monster known as the Red Fox Woman. She never moved from the Demon King’s headquarters. Despite the fact that the Demon King and the rest of his aides were fighting, she did not do a single thing.

And her corpse was never found, and the tribe she had led disappeared.

The monsters known as Red Foxes are still a mystery to this day.

The nature of this fun-loving creature, which can transform into humans, has not yet been clarified in detail, and since it never shows itself, its purpose and ecology remain a mystery… But that’s as far as I can investigate with my vessel.

Therefore, I will conclude with the hypothesis that I have obtained through this research.]

 

“The red fox was a close aide. There is a high possibility that she is the reason why the Demon King went out of control.”

 

◇ ◇ ◇

 

“…I’ve read it. But what’s this all about?”

All Ain knew for sure was that the atrocities of the Demon King had damaged Ishtalika. Many people lost their lives, and the first king defeated the Demon King.

“This means that the Demon King started to run amok for some reason-nya. And it’s assumed that it was a single monster that triggered it-nya.”

“If this is true, it’s a historic discovery… In other words, the Demon King was not originally belligerent?”

“I guess so-nya. Let’s take a look at this picture-nya.”

Katima handed him a picture.

It was a picture of a pretty girl of about fifteen, with silver hair and a fragile expression on her face.

“──Who is it?”

“It’s the Demon King-nya.”

“What? Unbelievable!”

“It’s true-nya. There are other sources on the Demon King’s appearance, so there is no mistake-nya.”

The Demon King is, metaphorically speaking, a girl who would look good in a flower garden.

Ain, who had never seen a portrait of the Demon King, was shocked at the revelation.

“She is a girl who owned the magic stone in the audience room-nya.”

“But… she doesn’t look like the kind of person who would do anything bad.”

“I do agree with you-nya. But in the end, you can’t always judge a person by their appearance alone-nya. …And if we are to believe what we’ve just read, it’s also possible that she was done something to by her aides-nya.”

“How can a being like the Demon King be framed by her aides?”

“Well, I don’t know-nya. It would be foolish to rule out anything as a possibility-nya.”

Ain shook his head without saying anything.

The book is still in the process of being translated, but at least the information was interesting to him. Tormented by emotions that are hard to describe, Ain left the lab shortly after that.

 

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