Vol 1 Chapter 22 – Alvarado Is the Real Deal

“This is no good.”

Taris muttered to himself.

He had just learned that the village Ludrick was supposed to wipe out was still standing.

It was hard to imagine Ludrick had betrayed him.

For Ludrick, expanding demon activity inside human territory seemed to hold considerable importance.

They were not close enough to share every secret, but the order had probably come from someone above Ludrick.

Above the Four Heavenly Kings there was really only one figure, but that didn’t matter now.

In any case, it was unlikely Ludrick had turned tail and run.

Nor was the job itself all that difficult.

For a member of the Four Heavenly Kings, slaughtering powerless humans was child’s play.

He had no reason to betray Taris, and nothing should have stopped him.

Yet the village still existed…

“So the man Ludrick feared was the real thing after all.”

Those innumerable repulsive epithets were hard even to hear.

Rumors grow in the telling, so the man couldn’t match Ludrick’s exact description.

But if a Heavenly King had chosen to retreat, at least some of it had to be true.

“If that’s the case, it’s hopeless. If a Heavenly King couldn’t handle him, I certainly can’t.”

In raw combat power, Taris didn’t come close to Ludrick.

Which meant he would have to rely on the one power Ludrick lacked…

Should he wield the near-absolute authority he held in this domain?

Depending on how far he pushed, even that might prove difficult.

He could probably raze the village outright.

But he couldn’t erase the rumor that the village had been destroyed.

There were traveling merchants, and villagers who went abroad.

Taris maintained the appearance—however superficial—of benevolent rule.

No matter the reason, wiping out a whole village would shatter that trust in an instant.

“Well, I don’t have to go as far as destroying it. I don’t even know if the demons mentioned me. Even if they did, I can dismiss it as a spiteful lie.”

He disliked the idea, but it was possible.

He could forget that village and reopen talks with the demons.

However…

“If only it weren’t for that. But I want it—no, I need it. This is my only chance.”

There was something Taris simply had to obtain.

So even knowing something powerful enough to scare off a Heavenly King was involved, he couldn’t back down.

“You will be mine, ‘Pleasure Human Experiment Alchemist.’”

◆

Demon Lord Castle.

The Demon Lord’s residence and a place only the chosen among demons may enter.

Ludrick was there.

Not in his usual state, though—he was battered, on the verge of collapse.

“Huff, huff! I—I’m gonna die… seriously gonna die…!”

Face deathly pale, Ludrick gasped for breath.

His path had never been entirely smooth.

He’d taken his lumps, but each time he vowed to strike back, sharpening his defiance.

Now, though, he felt only terror—and the relief of having escaped alive.

A woman approached him.

“Hmm? Ludrick? What are you doing in the castle? Weren’t you under orders from His Majesty to operate in human territory?”

Click, click—her footsteps echoed as Rayphia came closer.

She, like Ludrick, was one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

A colleague who should have been running wild in human lands was back at the castle; even her normally flat expression tightened into a frown.

“…………”

“What happened to you? Don’t tell me you fought—and lost?”

Seeing Ludrick fall silent, Rayphia understood.

I see. Given the circumstances, he’d hesitate to say it aloud.

That a member of the Four Heavenly Kings had been defeated—hard to believe.

Yet his battered state proved it true.

“Ah, I get it. Knowing you, you probably got careless. Still, was it an ambush? Either way, losing is disgraceful.”

As a fellow Heavenly King, she knew Ludrick’s strength.

Head-on, he could beat almost anyone.

So he must have been careless, ambushed, or both.

Whatever the reason, a loss was a loss.

The Four Heavenly Kings were hardly friends.

She seized the chance to needle him…

“…………”

“…What’s wrong? Are you actually in shock? I—I didn’t mean to push you that far…”

When he gave no reaction at all, even Rayphia grew worried.

Flustered, expressionless though she was, she tried to comfort him.

“Come on, stop crying. I’ll at least drink with you.”

“…Rayphia.”

“Yes? If you need help apologizing to His Majesty, I’ll go with you.”

Ludrick stared at Rayphia, who was showing more concern than he had ever seen.

“…Alvarado is the real deal.”

“…Huh?”