Chapter 88

For two weeks, I remained in the capital, acclimating myself to the mansion. I heard that the servants and Sid, who had been struggling to recover from their treatment at the Viscount’s residence, were gradually regaining their senses.

Still, I felt bad for harming innocent people.

In the end, my conscience got the better of me, and I sent the servants to the Viscount’s residence to collect some useful items, along with some of the purification stones I had meticulously collected in the vault.

Meanwhile, I received an invitation to Duke Dairus’ residence, and, conversely, Lily came here for tea. It was a complete departure from the original story.

The number of disappearances in the capital was increasing steadily. It seemed to be increasing not only in the capital but also in the provinces. As I looked at the list of missing persons that the Crown Prince had given me, saying that this was the situation, I couldn’t help but sigh.

It could be a crime or a simple incident, but judging from the rapidly increasing number of missing persons, the probability of it being related to the demons was high. Even the names of nobles, who normally had a significantly lower probability of disappearing, were on the list, so it was not something to be overlooked.

“Carrion Molli? Where have I seen that name… It sounds familiar.”

It must be my imagination. It’s been quite some time since she disappeared, so it’s probably not related. Anyway, I hoped that everyone on this list would return home safely.

After reviewing the list of missing persons, I turned my head to look at other documents. Dylan occasionally asked me about the atmosphere in the guild, so I had no choice but to start looking through the guild’s records one by one.

“Come to think of it, he hasn’t taken any commissions lately. Has he gone to another region?”

Gobi Eless.

He was the mercenary who took on the most S-rank commissions, so I was quite concerned about him.

Looking through his records, I saw that his name had not appeared for almost three months.

I guessed the staff wouldn’t have been so friendly if they had known. I had originally planned to treat him to a meal separately, but I changed my mind after hearing what Noah, or rather, Kairos, said.

He said that if I talked to him too friendly, he would visit the guildless often, so I decided to just increase his commission slightly. It seemed that he had disappeared right around that time. I didn’t want to tell Kairos that I would go to the guild to check on him myself, as it seemed like I would be the one losing out.

“The overall sales have increased…”

Certainly, the number of commissions to deal with demons had increased in Ferrarium as well. Even Ferrarium, which used to be a clean area, had to be on high alert, let alone Mabel, where I used to be.

It seemed that demons were really appearing simultaneously. The number of missing persons was increasing, and on top of that, demons were appearing. The problem was that in the past, many cases were closed with either the missing person being found or the body being found, but now they were simply vanishing.

In the original story, it was said that they were offered as sacrifices… Was it not just ending there?

“Come to think of it, they called me ‘that’ when they caught me.”

They also said that they deliberately showed me to the followers.

At that time, I simply thought that they were trying to resolve the matter and that I might be misunderstood, so I forgot about it.

It didn’t seem like they would just throw a hard-to-find offering to the demons. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been handled so cleanly. With this many disappearances, there must have been a problem with the disposal of the bodies after the offering, so I didn’t know how they were handling things so cleanly.

Lily’s divine power was growing stronger, and Jed was diligently doing his best to fulfill his role. The troublesome problem in the north was also resolved when the villain changed his mind…

I wasn’t much, but I helped capture the cultists, and I subtly gave Lily helpful information when I met her this time.

So why.

Why did it seem like they were becoming more active?

Combining the newspaper articles and the information Lily gave me, it seemed that the followers were desperate to find something. This part seemed to be very different from the original story.

The demons, including the followers, were said to be focusing all their efforts on expanding their territory in order to hasten the demon lord’s perfect resurrection, rather than looking for something.

The stronger the power of darkness in this land, the more the demon lord would be able to awaken with its original power. So, it was said that they focused on gathering followers and forming groups of demons to expand their influence.

What on earth were they looking for? Judging by the frequency, it seemed that demons were appearing more often in the capital, Mabel, and Ferrarium than in the north, where there were many demons.

In terms of numbers alone, the north was far superior, but that’s compared to the number that appeared before.

‘What was I missing? What have I missed…?’

Frowning, I decided to take a closer look at the newspaper articles I had collected. There might be something I’ve missed.

The morning newspaper lay unread, as I had been briefly out.

“…What is it?”

I muttered, feeling a cool scent approach before a man leaned in next to me, resting his chin on my shoulder.

“Just seeing what my wife is looking at.”

He had just showered, his hair still damp, falling over his forehead. Surely, he didn’t leave his hair partially dried on purpose because I had once said he looked sexy when wet. His actions were suspicious, making me feel like I was going to get caught in a trap.

“Dry your hair. And close your robe.”

“Yeah. Hmm…”

“You didn’t catch a cold, did you?”

I asked, glancing at him.

“Hm? Why?”

“Just because you’re coughing.”

Kairos, who had been roughly drying his hair with a towel, stopped.

“Ahem, cough.”

“It’s because you didn’t dry your hair. Why are you getting closer?”

“See if I have a cold.”

“…You know your own body better than anyone.”

“See if I have a fever.”

I pushed his face away with my shoulder and picked up the newspaper.

“No, I’m not a doctor…”

A large headline caught my eye, and the article read:

[ The sponsorship project that Count Gadiel and the Countess have been doing for years has been revealed to be a means of embezzlement, causing a major controversy. …The Countess of Gadiel, who also received the Laurel Award bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor, was accused of forcing children at the orphanage to… The reporter visited the Imperial Palace regarding the issue of whether to take back the award… ]

“Hazel?”

“…Just a moment.”

“….”

I looked at the newspaper more closely. Was it two weeks ago that I saw the Countess of Gadiel at the palace? She seemed fine then.

Judging by the article alone, it seemed like it blew up quite seriously. Looking at the fact that even the family home was confiscated and searched, it appeared that she was still forcing children to believe in God.

The article also mentioned that evidence of child abuse was found. There were mixed opinions on whether to take back the Laurel Award bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor.

As I read further, it seemed that even the side-related businesses were being investigated.

It was as if they were being dusted off and completely exposed. It was strange that this article came out not long after I briefly encountered her.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

Kairos tried to lean his chin on my shoulder again.

“… It’s nothing.”

I folded the newspaper in half and put it aside, thinking there was nothing more to see. But my eyes went back to it.

It was strange, but I felt a sense of satisfaction even though I didn’t experience it myself. Maybe it was because I’ve been having nightmares for over a year. Still, there was something strange. I didn’t know that the Count and Countess of Gadiel were known to have perverse sexual tendencies.

They always wore clothes that covered their skin, even when they went out on summer days. The Countess of Gadiel, in particular, always wore gloves when she went out and never wore a dress that showed her ankles.

Except for their strange efforts to get rid of dark magic, they always seemed to be model citizens, even at home, so I thought they were far from having perverse tendencies.

But a pervert, huh.

Well, it was too much to inject a strange injection that would suppress dark magic and keep them in a white room to make them copy the scriptures over a hundred times. And it was wrong to force a child who couldn’t control their dark magic to drink holy water.

Even though I didn’t experience it, it wasn’t right to do that to a child. It was a good thing they were paying the price. In the meantime, I put my hand on Kairos’ forehead, who was slowly bringing his face to my lips.

And this man.

Honestly, my fear of this man has decreased to a surprising degree lately. Sometimes he seems trivial, as he plays uninteresting pranks while watching my mood.

Just like… right now.

At this point, I wondered if he was Noah wearing the shell of Kairos, or Kairos wearing the shell of Noah.

A cold.

A person with dark magic resistance and immunity to poison, catching a cold?

“You don’t have a fever. I don’t think it’s a cold. Even if you do, you’ll be fine if you sleep.”

I made a rough diagnosis and got up from my seat. But as soon as I took a step, my hand was pulled back.

“Hazel.”

“What again?”

“Give me some time tomorrow.”

“Are you going to the palace?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I want to go on a date with you.”

“I’m busy…”

“I know you don’t have any appointments tomorrow. We’ve never been on a date in Elcard.”

“….”

“Huh? And go somewhere nice.”

I pondered for a moment before nodding briefly.

Come to think of it, I haven’t had a proper break in a while. Anyway, if I went out alone, the escorts would follow me around, so it didn’t seem like a big deal to go out with this man.

“…Alright, so dry your hair. I’m going to sleep.”

“Yes, my wife.”

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