Chapter 59. < 26. The Woman I Really Wanted to Meet >
"That's a lie, it's a lie!"
Baron Karayan shouted at the top of his lungs.
It was a reaction surprising enough to startle even the vassals standing around him. Even Jack Stewart and Rumian Callad, who were in the middle of their duel, looked at him.
"It's impossible for someone not even twenty years old to manifest an Aura Sword! Sir Jack! Don't be frightened, face him! Don't bring shame to the name of Karayan!"
"......."
Jack Stewart did not answer Baron Karayan's words.
Of course, judging by common sense, the lord was right.
But he could never think that the Aura Sword before his eyes was false.
'The pressure felt... is different from a fake magic sword!'
He had felt a similar pressure once before.
It was when he faced a high-ranking knight from Rhodesia, one of the continent's leading powers.
Jack Stewart, who had such experience, could never ignore the young lord. Doing so would endanger his own life.
"Hmm."
While Jack Stewart was feeling the threat to his life, Rumian stared at Baron Karayan with a hardened face.
It was definitely strange.
He wasn't simply talking about the intense reaction the man had shown.
An unpleasant sensation faintly felt whenever the Baron got angry.
Realizing this, Rumian glanced at Morgan. Morgan also nodded, giving weight to his thoughts.
'There was something more important than the duel.'
It was annoying. Things had become troublesome.
But soon after, a feeling of relief washed over him.
He didn't like that something had come up, but he thought it was fortunate that it happened while he was there.
'Let's finish the duel first.'
Rumian shook off his distracting thoughts.
He couldn't take the current situation lightly either.
It wasn't simply to win the duel. He stood in this place to recover trust as the young lord.
Of course, to do that, an overwhelming victory was necessary.
Wuuuuung-!
He drew up his aura even more strongly.
Then, an aura image manifested for the first time in a while.
Previously, he couldn't use it together with an Aura Sword, but after realizing the Mountain's Aura, it became possible.
A presence like a huge mountain began to emanate from Rumian's body.
"U, ugh!"
When people face an overwhelming existence, they feel fear. Their body freezes, they can't think of anything, and they just stare blankly.
That was Jack Stewart.
He couldn't take any action even while watching Rumian approach him.
Of course, it wouldn't have mattered even if he resisted.
There are few humans who can alone withstand a cascading landslide.
Chwaak!
Chwak!
Clang-!
Rumian's sword was swung twice, up and down.
Then Jack Stewart's plate armor split neatly and fell to the floor.
Not even a scratch as small as a speck of dust appeared on his skin.
But no one didn't know that this was the result of Rumian's consideration.
The priest, who had been wearing a surprised expression, belatedly declared the result of the duel.
"In the name of the Lord God Aria, I declare. Baron Callad's side has won!"
"W, waaaah!"
"Waaaaah! We won! The young lord won!"
"It's a real Aura Sword! Uwooooo!"
The territory's people watching the duel let out a huge shout.
It was like the roar of a beast. The pronunciation was mangled, making it hard to understand properly.
But their feelings were clearly conveyed to Rumian, and to his father, Baron Callad.
A single tear formed in Runo Callad's eyes.
'You've grown... so much...!'
Even in his eyes, his son felt like a mountain.
But unlike with Jack Stewart, that hugeness came to him as reassurance.
Not only did he single-handedly block the pressure from outside forces, but he also captivated the dissatisfied vassals and fearful territory people in an instant. This was not an achievement a mere 15-year-old boy could accomplish.
Yet he did it.
Not a person from legends, not a protagonist from a novel.
It was his own son.
"Rumian..."
In the end, he had no choice but to let the tear fall.
Thus, the midday duel that everyone had worried about came to an end.
The winner was Baron Runo Callad. The loser was Baron Nak Karayan.
The greatest contributor was naturally Rumian Callad.
It was the moment when he, who had been an academy dropout and the territory's disgrace, finally stood tall as a splendid young lord.
***
"Drink! Let's drink!"
"Hehahahaha! The meat tastes amazing!"
"Bring more beer! There's more, right?"
"Ah, of course there is! The Lord said not to worry today and just eat and drink! Hahahaha!"
"Serves you right, Baron Karayan! I heard he picked an unreasonable fight?"
"That's what they say. Anyway, thank goodness. They say the duel compensation is enormous, and when the young lord came out, I thought we were definitely going to have to bear the burden..."
"Hey kid! Quiet! How dare you speak of our young lord in such a way..."
"Yikes, I'm sorry. In that sense, a toast for the young lord!"
"A toast!"
The night after the duel with Baron Karayan ended, the people of the Callad territory were all thoroughly soaked in alcohol.
It was because Baron Callad had opened the storehouses and provided bread and alcohol without limit.
The Baron had been worrying about his son for ten years.
Now that it was resolved, he didn't mind even greater expenses at all.
There were also no vassals raising voices of concern.
Since they won the duel, Baron Karayan's side would send compensation within two months.
Ignoring this would be an act that insults both the Tarazan Kingdom and the Lord God Aria. They absolutely couldn't do that. Naturally, they couldn't start a territory war as retaliation either.
It meant there would be no problem holding a festival safely for not just one day, but two or three days.
Of course, Rumian Callad thought differently.
He spoke to his adopted brother Morgan, who had participated in the party.
"You felt it too, right?"
"Yes. Definitely. Actually, I had some guess since you said you felt strange the day before."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it might not be the case. Anyway, seeing and judging directly today is much more certain..."
Morgan, who had said this much, checked the surroundings.
Since it was Rumian, the hero of victory, and himself, the Mercenary King, people's gazes were always focused on them.
Fortunately, the interest was slightly loosened at the moment. He spoke in a low voice.
"Anyway, it's certain now. It's a demon."
"Probably. 99 percent it's a demon."
Rumian nodded and answered.
Thinking that way, all of Baron Karayan's strange actions were understood.
Showing reactions more aggressive than necessary, and sometimes appearing as if possessed by something.
'Lily Karayan's hallucination magic is also explained. If it's a demon...'
Compared to human mages, demons are far more skilled in hallucination-type magic that deceives and tricks others.
Probably Lily Karayan's disguise and Nak Karayan's mental manipulation were the work of the same perpetrator.
Rumian wanted to catch that guy as soon as possible.
"Without waiting long, let's start tonight. If we investigate Baron Nak Karayan, we'll be able to step on the demon's tail."
"I knew you'd say that, so I've already prepared everything. I've applied a special scent to Baron Karayan, and I have a magic tool that detects demonic energy."
"What, you carry something like that around too?"
"Of course. Requests to subdue demons are still numerous. Of course, it's decreased a lot compared to before..."
Ten years had passed since Knight King Philip III and Ryan Promhart vanquished the Demon King.
But still, not a few demons remained on the continent. Having missed the timing to return to the Demon Realm, they hid in various places to extend their lives.
And among them, some were secretly sowing seeds of chaos in the world, waiting only for the day a new Demon King would invade the continent again. This was because the larger the negative emotions in people's hearts, the wider the passage between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm became.
'But this incident... doesn't seem to be just to cause chaos.'
Rumian wore a serious expression.
If that were the case, they would have targeted a territory of similar scale to Karayan's side, not a small territory like Callad.
The actions shown by Karayan now, no, by the demon... looked to anyone as if they wanted something from 'Callad Territory.'
Of course, he still didn't know what that was.
So he intended to find out from now on.
"Good. I'm really glad you're here. It would have taken a long time if I were alone."
"Haha. Well, this much... And don't worry too much. Judging by the felt energy, it doesn't seem to be that strong a demon."
"Well, that's true. Still, don't let your guard down..."
"Rumian, where are you, Rumian!"
"...Seems like you'll have to go."
Rumian smiled awkwardly at his father's call.
It was already the third time. Whenever he had a chance, he called him over and kept saying embarrassing things - thank you for growing up well, I believed in you, the vassals think you're amazing too.
And he always asked him to show his Aura Sword. Like a child throwing a tantrum.
It was a completely different appearance from his usual dignified attitude in front of him.
Of course, Rumian didn't dislike it.
It was just a bit burdensome.
"...We'll have to start after everyone passes out."
"Don't drink alcohol today."
"I know, you brat."
Rumian snapped back and walked toward Baron Callad.
That day, Rumian had to draw out his Aura Sword seven times until the party ended.
***
"He's probably sleeping by now, right?"
"Who knows. He might be so angry he can't sleep. Does it matter? We can just knock him out right away."
"I'd rather not hurt him if possible..."
Rumian wore a sympathetic expression upon arriving at Karayan's lord's mansion.
The Nak Karayan in his memories was a healthy person both physically and mentally. To the extent that ordinary demonic mental manipulation wouldn't work at all. The fact that such a person was possessed by a not particularly strong demon was a clear indication of how unstable his recent psychological state had been.
Probably that's why he became the demon's target.
'As much as Lily Karayan... no, he might have received an even greater wound than her.'
Even his own father cherished him more than himself.
It was obvious that Baron Karayan would be the same. That was what a father was.
"Anyway, let's start. Lead the way."
"Yes. And I've prepared sleep incense too, so you don't need to worry about that part."
"You're really useful. You've changed a lot in 10 years?"
"Haha. Follow along without being caught. Of course, you'll do well."
Morgan, having finished speaking, instantly erased his presence.
It was amazing skill. Ordinary people wouldn't notice Morgan's existence even if he passed back and forth several times right in front of their eyes.
While maintaining that state, he infiltrated the interior of the lord's mansion with extremely fast and smooth movements. It was like rainwater flowing toward a drain.
Morgan, moving like that, glanced back.
It was because he was worried whether his sworn brother was following well.
But.
"Heok!"
"What. Be careful."
"...No, uh. I'm sorry."
'What. I thought he was far behind, but he was right there!'
A drop of sweat formed on Morgan's forehead.
Of course, his sworn brother's skill was rising day by day. He was someone who originally possessed such great skill that even the expression Swordmaster was insufficient.
But he was still clearly in the realm of Sword Expert, so he wondered how he could have such stealth skill.
If it were up to him, he wanted to stop tracking the demon right now and ask about this first.
But he couldn't do that. Morgan forcibly composed his expression and moved forward again toward Baron Karayan.
'That guy, seems like he was surprised.'
Rumian roughly guessed his adopted brother's feelings.
It was natural. Because he had been focusing even more intentionally to see his surprised appearance.
His amazing stealth skill was none other than the application of aura image.
Since countering Karl Krone's attention-seeking behavior in the swordsmanship tournament finals, Rumian's aura image had grown tremendously.
Beyond expressing objects that actually exist like flowers, mountains, and rocks, he became able to conjure even abstract and vague feelings.
Being such a person, provided he had sufficient aura reserves, he could demonstrate stealth comparable to most Swordmaster level.
It was also familiar since he had done it often in the past.
'The demon guy who only had deceptively high stealth skill is helpful at times like this. I just need to mimic his feeling and energy as much as possible...'
Of course, it was a difficult task, but mimicking even half of half had an enormous effect.
Actually, Rumian's expression was wrong. That 'demon who only had high stealth skill' was one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's army. He was the weakest among the four, but.
Anyway, since he knew that feeling, it became a very difficult task to find Rumian, who decided to hide. Even a Swordmaster would have to be on high alert.
Of course, that wasn't what was important right now.
He had to quickly find the Baron's location, investigate him, and find the mastermind.
Fortunately, things flowed smoothly.
Morgan, who had spread sleep incense in the room where the Baron was, quietly nodded.
And carefully entered the room and began his work.
"First, take out the demonic energy tracking device... press the button... loud noise is... done."
A fairly loud noise occurred when activating the magic tool, but there was no problem since Morgan created an aura barrier to block it.
Rumian gave a thumbs up seeing his quite skilled appearance. Morgan grinned and began to explain in a low voice.
"Since mental manipulation requires quite a lot of demonic energy, the demonic energy tracking device will be able to find where the guy is hiding. We'll catch him, torture him to find out his purpose, and then kill him. Looking now, the brainwashing isn't applied strongly, so if we eliminate the demon, the Baron will likely come to his senses too."
"Well, it was a bit lacking to consider it complete mental manipulation."
"Yes. Probably there's a high chance it's not even intermediate level. Mid-low or low... hmm. According to the magic tool's prediction, it's a mid-low level demon. The type is..."
"What. You can even tell what type of demon it is?"
Rumian asked in surprise. Morgan nodded.
"Yes. This is a new model. Of course, not all types, only famous ones are registered, so don't have too high expectations... ah! Here it comes, now. Huh?"
This time Morgan wore a surprised expression.
Rumian's curiosity grew even more.
He stretched his neck and checked the letters floating on the demonic energy tracking device, and his eyes rounded as he muttered.
"S, succubus?"
Thump.
Rumian's excited heart began to pound wildly.