Chapter 30
By giving me the mermaid’s tear, Shaila lost a portion of her power.
That meant she was no longer the Demon King.
Yet she would continue acting as if nothing had happened—for the sake of the humans living on Cordelia Island.
If the hero decided to kill Shaila in this situation?
She would be defenseless and unable to resist.
“…Can I ask why you’re asking something like that?”
Elder looked troubled by my question.
Should I take that reaction as him not planning to kill her?
Shaila had given her power to me. There was no way I could just ignore things.
And if Elder used to be acquainted with Lehel in the past, even more so.
If I’ve gained power, then I should do something worthy of it.
“I was just curious. Recently, the Demon King visited the imperial capital, right? Because of that, there are rumors that war is going to break out.”
“You’re not wrong. The current atmosphere isn’t great.”
He seemed to think for a moment before answering without hesitation.
“Since you’re Lian’s younger sibling, I’ll be honest. I have no plans to kill the Demon King right now.”
“……”
“To begin with, I’m not even sure I’d be strong enough to defeat her.”
That was an unexpected answer.
When I stared at him in surprise, he shrugged and looked out toward the sea.
“The one protecting this island isn’t me—it’s the Demon King.
As long as peace isn’t broken, I have no reason to try killing her.”
There wasn’t a trace of falsehood in his voice.
Hearing his sincerity, I relaxed and let out a short breath.
“…I get why you’re so popular.”
“Hm?”
Elder tilted his head, looking confused.
Kind smile toward strangers.
Thinks carefully before acting.
It would be stranger not to be popular.
“It’s nothing.”
I shook my head, and Elder stretched with a lazy yawn.
He let out a small sigh while looking out at the water.
“Guess I won’t see her today either…”
“There’s something to see here other than scenery?”
“Oh, uh…”
At my question, Elder avoided eye contact, shifting his gaze everywhere.
After hesitating for quite a while, his cheeks turned pink.
“…I saw my ideal type here recently.”
“…Sorry, what?”
“It was love at first sight. But I haven’t seen her since.”
Red-faced, he covered his cheeks with both hands.
All I could do was blink at him.
Right. Heroes are still human. Of course they can fall for someone.
“So… who is she?”
“I don’t know her name. I only saw her from afar, never talked to her.”
Despite being embarrassed, he answered everything earnestly.
He looked exactly like someone deeply in love.
But my expression cooled instantly.
Why did that stupid letter from before pop into my head?
…No way. It couldn’t be.
Trying to deny it, I asked carefully:
“By any chance… did you write a letter to the person you fell for?”
“…How did you know?”
His eyes widened.
His ears burned even redder as he stomped his feet in embarrassment.
“…Oh.”
So Elder’s crush… was Shaila?
The world sure had a twisted sense of humor.
Night draped itself thickly over Tesarus Empire’s Grand Temple.
A group of footsteps echoed as neatly robed clergy stepped forward, kneeling on one knee.
“You called for us, Your Holiness. And Lady Saint.”
At the altar, Esia knelt in prayer while Melenis stood behind her, watching.
The six called were combat priests.
The Empire had many healing priests, but very few who could fight demons.
Combat priests were extremely valuable assets.
“There is a task for you.”
“Is it a demon extermination?”
The strongest among them spoke.
“Yes.”
“We haven’t heard of demons appearing in the capital.”
Combat priests only mobilized when demons appeared in the capital.
And usually only in pairs—never all six at once.
“The demons aren’t in the capital. They’re on Cordelia Island.”
The combat priests exchanged confused looks.
Isn’t Hero Elder stationed on Cordelia Island?
Any demons weaker than the Demon King would be handled by him.
There should be no reason for them to intervene.
“We understand Hero Elder Peres is there. We doubt we would be of much help.”
“You aren’t going there to fight demons.”
Esia ended her prayer and opened her eyes.
Holy radiance flowed around her.
Is this what a true saint looks like?
The priests were captivated.
Esia rose, and Melenis stepped aside.
“We have received information that Hero Lian Serius is on Cordelia Island.”
“Lian? But wasn’t he captured by the Demon King—”
He stopped mid-sentence as realization hit.
If Lian was there…
that meant the Demon King he was monitoring was also there.
“Then our mission is to rescue Hero Lian?”
“…Why would you think that?”
Esia chuckled softly.
Her eyes grew cold.
“You are to assist the heroes… and kill Demon King Lehel.”
‘…!’
Humans had killed demons throughout history,
but never once succeeded in killing a Demon King.
And with the current stability, many did not want war.
Assassinating the Demon King was equivalent to declaring war.
“I don’t know why she went to Cordelia Island,
but when she leaves the castle—that will be your opportunity.”
“But the Demon King of Sloth is there as well.”
“He won’t interfere. Not if he cares for the people of the island.”
Esia already knew how dearly Shaila treasured Cordelia Island’s residents.
“Find the Demon King of Greed quietly and kill her.
If other Demon Kings interfere… then you may destroy the island.”
“…Excuse me?”
Destroying the island meant abandoning every resident living there.
Did those words truly come from a saint?
Even with holy light around her, her words were anything but holy.
The priests hesitated, shaken.
She smiled faintly.
“Is there a problem?”
“…No.”
They bowed deeply.
There was no hesitation in her command.
Calling only combat priests… she truly means this.
Their holy power was lethal to demons.
Combat priests were the greatest threat to them.
They steeled themselves.
“We will obey.”
The quiet night passed without a sound—
like the calm that flees before a storm.
Moonlight filtered in through the window.
Before I fell asleep, Lian was applying ointment to my back.
“Lian oppa, you’re not mad, right?”
“…Stop calling me oppa.”
“Why? I don’t mind it.”
I grinned playfully. His hand suddenly pressed a bit harder.
“Ow.”
“That was on purpose.”
His cold tone made me puff out my cheeks.
Any teasing—he gets irritated right away.
The wound would heal completely in a day or two.
Ridiculously fast—far from human.
After finishing the bandage, Lian tied it neatly.
“How was it today? My acting as your little sister.”
“……”
“Why are you staring? Was it that bad?”
He let out a deep sigh and leaned toward me, closing the distance.
“You have never looked like a little sister to me.”
“……”
“Anyone who confesses constantly could never be seen as a younger sibling.
So let’s stop with that topic.”
“…Okay.”
Surprised, I nodded.
He seemed satisfied and pulled back a bit.
…Wait.
Did he just say I don’t look like a little sister?
Does that mean there’s hope—?
Just as I was getting lost in a happy imagination—
“I know exactly what you’re thinking. No.”
“…Tch.”
He only becomes sharp at times like this.
I slipped under the covers and grabbed his sleeve lightly.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“…Yes. Me too.”
He thought I meant the festival tomorrow.
But that wasn’t what I was waiting for.
My heavy eyelids closed as I looked at him.
Soon, sleep claimed me.
I drifted off, excited for what tomorrow would bring.
