Chapter 69: Wick

Perda examined the bag he had brought from the demons’ research facility.

Inside were research journals and several ampoules.

Everything remained exactly as it had when he handed it to Zed.

‘At least he does his job properly.’

Perda admired himself for making the right decision when recruiting Zed Swallow.

The only thing he could give him in return was a bonus.

‘And Emilia’s whereabouts.’

He had to resolve that before Zed started complaining.

That was the necessary condition to keep an impossible-to-catch thief tied down.

He had to do something before dissatisfaction appeared.

‘For now, I’ll keep thinking about it….’

Perda took the bag and carried it to the study.

There, as always, a single girl waited for orders.

“Mori.”

Mori turned her head and looked up.

With her hair full of curls, today as well she looked like a genuine noble lady.

“Could you decipher this?”

Perda handed her the journal.

Linne’s journal was written in code.

Using Morida’s Universal Library ability, she could normally decipher that kind of code easily.

— It is impossible to decipher.

However, the answer he received was negative.

“What do you mean impossible?”

— They are characters for which I possess no interpretive clues.

Characters with no clues even within the Universal Library.

That only meant one thing.

“Then it’s an orally transmitted language.”

A language not recorded in writing and whose meaning varied depending on the individual.

There was only one race that used something like that.

‘High Elves.’

The nobility among nobility, beings capable of reaching the deepest parts of the World Tree.

Each individual created a unique language impossible for anyone except themselves to interpret.

If the laboratory director, Linne, was a High Elf, then it made sense.

‘That Dark Elf was originally a High Elf?’

It was strange.

High Elves were extremely conservative and closed-off beings who thought only about the World Tree.

For one of them to have served Godwin and fallen into corruption was as absurd as a headless chicken walking around or a catfish breathing outside water.

“Then, are there records about the High Elves?”

— There are some observation records.

“Anything related to their writing?”

— No.

It would be a waste to leave it at that.

“Can’t you try interpreting it somehow?”

Morida nodded.

Then she stared silently into empty space.

Creak, creak.

Her body bent unnaturally, like a puppet.

Her face turned completely red and began trembling as if it might explode at any moment.

“Forget it.”

Fwoooosh.

She returned to normal as if she had lost all the air inside her.

Even if he wanted to understand those characters, he had no intention of destroying Morida over it.

Morida looked up at Perda with an exhausted expression, letting her head rest on her shoulder.

“How is the work going?”

Morida nodded.

— Currently there are no serious problems related to the castle or the Grand Duchy. However, there are external problems.

“What kind of problems?”

— The first is Helus Povidas.

The man they had grabbed by the throat using the Extermination Squad.

In exchange for swearing loyalty to Perda and receiving Morida’s wisdom, he continued maintaining his life as a scholar.

“What about him?”

— Helus Povidas asks too many inefficient questions. Sometimes they lack meaning or coherence, and he tends to request explanations using fantastical stories.

Conversations without concrete answers were always exhausting.

Remembering how Morida had just forced herself to decipher the text, Perda could imagine how tiring Helus must be.

“So it’s affecting the work. What else?”

— He has shown signs eight times of attempting to seize Lady Valdrova’s authority.

That did not surprise him nearly as much as the previous matter.

From the beginning, he had decided to use him precisely because he never imagined Morida would report something like that.

“Then let’s limit his questions to five. And if you think they lead nowhere, you may refuse to answer. Will that improve efficiency?”

— An improvement in efficiency is projected. However, another factor still remains.

“What is it?”

— Echidna Philiaz.

Claiming he did not expect it would be absurd.

He had already seen Morida completely lose composure because of her too many times.

“If Echidna’s actions are the problem, I could restrict her a little, but I can’t control her completely.”

— Echidna Philiaz’s influence is three times greater than Helus Povidas’s. Sometimes she demands that I address her with incomprehensible titles.

“What kind of titles?”

— From “noona” to “mom,” “mother,” and even “little mother.” Titles incompatible with our relationship.

To Perda, it sounded like a simple request.

“Then just indulge her.”

— When I comply, she later demands roleplay. And if I agree, she becomes immersed in it and begins believing it is real. Her delusional disorder worsens.

That was why she was three times more exhausting.

‘Because she’s a witch.’

Although he understood Morida’s situation, Perda also had his own problems.

The only person capable of taking care of Morida was Echidna and, lately, she had been out of control because of the matter with Zed.

“For now, endure it. That witch is still necessary for us. Isn’t there another way to improve your efficiency?”

Morida thought for a moment.

She lightly tapped the paper with her pen before responding briefly.

— Praise me.

“What?”

— When I do my work well, praise me. Depending on the difficulty of the task, I require proportional praise.

It was a completely unexpected request.

He never would have imagined that a wise slave with the Universal Library in her head would ask for something like that.

“Do you really need that?”

— Various studies demonstrate that praise improves work efficiency and significantly reduces stress.

“That applies to humans.”

— In the gladiator city of Colosenia, praised gladiators showed a 20% increase in victories.

She immediately refuted Perda’s words with data.

“But you shouldn’t need it.”

— In the mining city of Ophiles, it was reported that praised miners increased their productivity by 12%.

She kept throwing out fact after fact, completely denying his words.

It was strange.

Morida was a wise slave without an ego.

A definitive rational entity incapable of feeling emotions.

Then why did she need something like this?

Perda decided not to argue further.

It was faster to say three syllables than waste time in pointless debates.

“Good work.”

That should be enough.

Then Morida’s pen quickly wrote.

— According to research, when an adult man praises a child, patting their head is especially effective.

What a hassle.

Even so, Perda did as she said and placed his hand on her head.

He felt a soft texture beneath his fingers.

“Thank you.”

Praise given without much emotion.

However, the eyes with which Morida looked at Perda shone strangely.

The head that she could barely hold up before returned to normal.

“Was that enough?”

After hearing that, Morida nodded and turned her head.

Though who knew whether it truly was enough.

Perda closed the journal and took out a box.

‘This is where they took the drug from.’

Inside the box were eleven ampoules.

Three vials of the Doppler reagent and another eight ampoules labeled with the names of Knight-class demons alongside the word “(prototype).”

They all shared one thing in common a black, viscous liquid. Without the labels, it would have been impossible to tell them apart.

‘If I include the Bouncer reagent, that makes twelve.’

Perda recalled the subject who had transformed into a Bouncer.

Bouncers were the type that sacrificed intelligence in exchange for strength.

His intellect had truly diminished, but his strength had increased noticeably.

‘If the same situation happens again, they’ll be even stronger than that subject.’

The only reason they managed to win was because the drug was still a prototype.

In the final version, they would reduce the side effects and increase the power even further.

‘That woman surely survived.’

Before Director Linne did something, Perda needed to act quickly.

Perda had the samples.

Linne had the knowledge.

The starting line favored him, but no one knew who would win in the end.

‘Who should I entrust with investigating this substance?’

That was where the problem began.

Perda started thinking of possible candidates.

Vernell?

He was intelligent, yes, but specialized solely in magical engineering.

He needed to focus on that.

Then Echidna?

She was an expert in runes, but he did not want to involve her with a substance like this.

Rector Bernard?

He still did not trust him. He did not even really know what he was doing.

‘Then should I do it myself?’

Perda also had experience conducting research.

Although it was limited to mana training methods and form manipulation to strengthen himself, he possessed enough obsession and perseverance.

Perhaps, if he directed that obsession toward research, he could achieve something.

Just as Perda was thinking about it—

Ding! Ding! Ding!

An alarm he had never heard before echoed throughout the entire castle.

It was strange.

For an emergency alarm to sound in the main fortress of the Red Dragon, Valdrova.

Shortly afterward, someone violently threw open the door and entered.

It was Ruri.

Urgency was visible on her face.

“Lord Perda.”

“What is it?”

“They’re coming.”

Ruri spoke again.

“The children of Silverwind are coming here.”

So they had finally arrived.

Perda headed to the balcony.

Visible points in the sky.

Soon even his eyesight could clearly distinguish certain features.

At the front were enormously large wings.

“That must be the leader.”

“Yes. It is Lord Goz.”

For the leader himself to come meant the matter was serious.

No matter what happened, they had to prepare.

“What should we do?”

Fear could be felt in Ruri’s voice.

She normally hid her emotions very well, but at this moment her anxiety was obvious.

“Let’s wait first.”

“Even though the enemy is coming toward us?”

“We’ll soon know whether they are enemies or not.”

Perda stared fixedly at the approaching figures.

The fist he had unconsciously clenched was soaked in sweat.

‘Sitri.’

Had that damned demon betrayed him?

She could have manipulated the information very subtly to make everything seem like Perda’s fault.

But he did not jump to conclusions.

Demons also valued their own lives.

The demons who crossed into this world acted as if they had no fear, but in reality they were even more cowardly than humans.

Shortly afterward, he obtained the answer.

All the children of Silverwind descended in front of the outer gate and lined up.

“That’s good news.”

“Is it good news that they’re standing in front of the outer gate?”

“If they had come to fight, they would have charged directly toward the balcony. And if they had come to cause trouble, they would be standing in front of the inner gate.”

Perda looked down from the balcony and locked eyes with Goz.

A strange silent exchange passed between them.

“Ruri, prepare to receive the guest… hm?”

Perda interrupted himself as he turned around.

Ruri was staring toward the Silverwinds.

If she had only been looking at them, Perda would not have reacted like that.

“Ruri?”

“Did you call me?”

“Why are you holding onto my clothes?”

“What do you mea—?”

Ruri’s words cut off.

Just as Perda said, she was gripping his clothes.

Even she herself looked surprised.

She quickly withdrew her hand and tried to act normal.

“……There was dust on them.”

“Ah, really?”

It was impossible for Perda’s clothes to have dust on them.

And even if they did, Ruri would never have tried to clean them personally.

“I’ll go prepare the reception for the guests.”

With that, Ruri withdrew.

Perda also descended to receive the Silverwinds.

***

The alarm rang.

The non-combat personnel inside the castle hid in their rooms and the combatants took their positions.

And in Castle Valdrova there were exactly two combatants.

Zed and Malcolm.

Since both held the rank of knights, they were deployed in front of the outer gate.

‘Shit, what kind of shitty situation is this?’

Zed cursed inwardly as he looked them over once again.

They were exactly like the Silver Dragon spawn described in the books.

Silver hair and silver eyes.

Fierce faces and sharp horns.

Even while wearing armor, their muscles looked as if they were about to burst through it from the inside.

Facing even one of them would have been enough pressure, but now they had arrived as a group.

Not even the rings that reduced fear toward dragons could overcome the pressure of their numbers and intimidating faces.

‘Especially that guy.’

That man standing at the front, with the soldiers behind him.

The silver cloak he wore made it obvious at a glance that he was the leader.

It would not have been an exaggeration to say that he alone represented eighty percent of the pressure in the atmosphere.

The aura he emitted was that monstrous.

“Your lord…”

He opened his mouth.

And from it came a voice as cold as the souls of thousands of frost giants he had personally massacred.

Zed was almost crushed by that deep tone, but he forced a calm expression and answered.

“Could you wait a little longer? We were informed that he would come down shortly.”

“A little…?”

Displeasure showed on his face.

Even though he knew that hatred was not directed at them, enduring it was still difficult.

But Zed’s biggest problem was something else.

“Sniff… sniff…”

Beside him, Malcolm was whimpering.

“Almighty god of light Alte, please save me.”

Not satisfied with crying, he had even started praying.

Zed slightly tilted his head toward him and muttered.

“Just get lost.”

“Sniff… as a knight of this Grand Duchy… I cannot abandon my post…”

“No, I’m telling you to get lost because you’re in the way. I can handle this alone.”

But Malcolm did not move.

Who knew how important his ridiculous knightly code was, because even with his legs trembling he still forced himself to stand firm.

‘Ah, shit, my life.’

Just when things seemed to calm down, something like this always appeared to stab him in the back.

What if he just told this whole knight thing to go to hell?

Just as he thought that, he heard salvation-like footsteps behind them.

“I made you wait.”

Perda had arrived.

He stepped between Zed and Malcolm and looked directly at Goz.

“You make your guests wait?”

The criticism fell heavily.

“Normally, guests send a letter before coming. Those who do not are called intruders.”

A suffocating tension.

Malcolm and Zed, who thought everything had already ended, realized it was only beginning.

“You are right about that. I apologize for not informing you beforehand.”

Goz accepted it easily.

Perda thought.

‘This is not the kind of person who would act like this.’

Of course.

If someone steps back, it is usually to advance three steps afterward.

“But if I apologize, then you must also clarify something.”

Just as expected.

“Perda, regent of Valdrova. We have come due to suspicions that you used demonic magic to murder Abel Silverwind and conceal the evidence.”

The instant he heard “suspicions,” a name automatically appeared in his mind.

‘Sitri?’

His instincts screamed that name again.

The most likely candidate was still Sitri.

Demons never resolved things cleanly.

Perda continued thinking about what kind of trap she was trying to set for him.

However, he discovered something unexpected.

Sitri had not tried to betray him.

The answer appeared immediately.

“Hello, Regent Perda.”

Among those sweaty and brutal men, a lively voice rang out.

A small woman wearing a wide-brimmed pointed mage hat appeared as she walked forward.

At the tip of the hat, the emblem of the Human Magic Society of Serdes clearly shone.

Only one person could wear a hat like that.

Erdes Roton, president of the Human Magic Society of Serdes.

“We know each other, don’t we?”

The person responsible for this entire scene was that damned woman.