What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 52

#052 In the Empire, Demons Are…

“This is just a hypothesis, Your Highness… Divine objects are not like magical tools. Just because they are used once doesn’t mean their power disappears forever. Their very existence is the will of the Main God.”

The Marquis continued, his voice slightly trembling.

In the meantime, I took out a painkiller made from ground herbs from my leather bag.

If the story didn’t end quickly, I had to alleviate the patient’s pain.

Christel, noticing what I was about to do, quickly conjured clear water.

Lady Elisabeth bowed to us and readily took the offered medicine.

I hoped it would help.

“Are you referring to Princess Sarnese?”

“Yes. The ‘Blessing of the Azure Sea’ absorbed into the Princess’s body has not disappeared and continues to exert its power. Therefore, its presence should still be there.”

The Prince and the Marquis turned their gaze towards us, specifically towards Christel.

The protagonist faced them with an indifferent expression, but I started sweating bullets inside.

If a divine object enters the body, is it also counted as a divine object?

Then… I’m included too.

“With just the ‘Comet Sword of Mars’ alone, the ‘Dungeon’ has seen hordes of demons pouring out and displaying aggression every year. Once every hundred or two hundred years, a ‘Tyrant War Dragon’ like that one appears. Now, even the Blessing of the Azure Sea is here.”

And I’m here too.

I swallowed hard and tried to fix my gaze on Lady Elisabeth.

The reason I gained such an enormous amount of Ether [magical energy], and the reason Christel’s mother had to expend the Blessing of the Azure Sea, was probably because the divine object in the ‘Temple of the Boundary’ was used for me.

So, there are three divine objects in this area right now.

“I feel a little better now that the medicine is working. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Lady Elisabeth smiled at me.

She seemed to think she should offer some comfort to my serious face.

I gave a bitter smile.

Of course, I was worried about Lady Elisabeth, but I also realized that the ‘Great Demon Subjugation’ had become a big deal.

I was too naive to think that things would be easily resolved with two powerful protagonists.

Of course, the protagonists wouldn’t die and would somehow achieve glory, but the main characters were bound to face trials befitting their roles.

Damn it, why didn’t I think of that?

“Has the second advance begun?”

“Yes. Most of the demons are stronger than in normal years. Last year’s winning offering appeared beyond the valley. Fortunately, we succeeded in ending its life.”

“Casualties?”

“Including Elisabeth, about seventy people were injured. No deaths. The Empire’s warriors are strong, Your Highness. Please don’t worry too much.”

My mind cleared in an instant.

Because of the Comet Sword of Mars, Christel, and me, this year’s Great Demon Subjugation had become more challenging than ever.

The legendary demon appeared in the first advance, and in the second advance that started while we were dealing with it, last year’s winning offering appeared.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if another winning offering appeared during the final third advance.

The Prince’s orange eyes calmly sank.

“Let’s go.”

He withdrew the sword he had been aiming at the Marquis. How fierce.

“…Long live His Highness the Prince. Please win.”

Marquis François D’Heim gave him a respectful bow.

I realized for the first time that he was capable of such a serious face.

The Marquis placed his hand on Lady Elisabeth’s forehead again.

It was really time to descend the mountain. The young Count looked up at the Prince one last time.

“Cedric, you want to trust the Prince, don’t you? Then do so.”

“…”

Me?

As I was about to open my mouth in confusion, the figures of the Marquis and Lady Elisabeth emitted a bright light and shattered into particles.

The pink pollen-like particles soon scattered in all directions and disappeared.

All that remained in the quiet valley were me, Demi, Christel, and the Prince.

Was that about me just now?

“I feel a bit uneasy that things have become complicated because of me.”

“Nothing changes.”

The Prince replied to Christel’s words.

The protagonist didn’t seem too uneasy, and the Prince didn’t seem to have any regrets about what had already happened.

Well, he couldn’t cancel the competition anyway.

If we didn’t stop the demons here, the strong ones would break through the barrier and descend the mountain to attack the Lord’s castle and surrounding cities.

“Then shall we take a break?”

At my words, two pairs of eyes looked at me simultaneously. They’re doing that again, scarily.

“We need to fill our stomachs and come up with the next strategy. Resting when we can is also a skill.”

-Grumble

Demi whimpered softly in agreement. See, even this guy is hungry.

*

“It’s hot.”

Frederica quickly put down her coffee cup.

The strongly brewed coffee felt like it was boiling and burning today.

Seeing her face contorted in agony, Aurelie Boutier tilted her head.

“Why did you drink it so quickly?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking if I’m okay at times like this?”

“Hahaha.”

Aurelie smiled, her beige eyes curving.

The two were sitting in the Emperor’s office, doing their respective jobs as usual.

The Emperor was reading a report about a disturbance in a small southern village, and the Cardinal was belatedly flipping through the May 1st issue of . [Magazine name, likely fictional]

“They solved it well. The innkeeper’s daughter from back then was dragged to the Lord’s castle prison.”

“Yes, it went as you said.”

The Cardinal nodded and slowly sipped her coffee.

After diligently brainwashing herself that the children were doing well, she was able to receive new news without any particular worry.

It was an attitude she had learned from her contractor, the Emperor.

Her hand, flipping through the magazine carelessly, was light.

“They embezzled more than 40% of the bestowed goods for ten years, but only spent 2 million francs on the inn or themselves.”

“That’s a bit suspicious.”

“Yes, we need to investigate the Lord. And have the inn searched again, down to the ground.”

The Emperor said, narrowing his cherry-colored eyes.

Even ten years ago, when he and the Cardinal turned the village of Lyca upside down, the situation was very simple.

He doubted that someone who dared to run a gambling den in a place where the imperial family stayed would have any grand plan, and in fact, the guy didn’t have any particular tail.

But this time, it seemed a little different.

According to the report, a large amount of cash had disappeared somewhere.

“Did the Lord receive bribes from a woman? But if so, we might have to scour the entire Empire. There must be more than one or two similar cases.”

“That’s my job.”

Frederica retorted bluntly.

Since that was true, Aurelie simply smiled like a painting and didn’t add anything.

It seemed better to change the subject.

“Look at this. Lady Sarah Beliard wrote the article quite kindly.”

“Even if that old hag is kind, she’s still an old hag.”

“No, the Prince’s interview… It doesn’t seem like there’s anything problematic. Has there ever been a time like this?”

“She must have become fickle with age.”

The Emperor replied irritably.

He had already received a report on the day of publication that Prince Yesser’s exclusive interview was particularly favorable.

He hadn’t read it himself, but he was told that there were no parts that insulted the imperial family or mentioned relations with the Holy Nation.

That was enough. She brought the coffee to her lips.

“Damn it, it’s still hot.”

“Drink it slowly. You can’t handle hot things well.”

The Emperor put the coffee cup back on the desk.

The Cardinal’s eyes were a little worried this time.

Frederica suddenly spoke up.

“I have a bad feeling.”

“Huh?”

“Those guys. Are they catching the demons well?”

“You’re worrying about everything, Eve. Are you angry because your workload has increased?”

Somehow, the situation seemed to be reversed from a week ago.

Back then, she was restless thinking about the children, but now the Emperor was worrying about her son’s group.

The Cardinal laughed out loud and called the chamberlain.

“Let’s get a cold coffee. That will make you feel better.”

*

“Here, please have some.”

“…”

Prince Cedric glared at the jerky in my hand. Anyone would think I poisoned it.

“It’s made in the Juliette Palace kitchen. You need to be full to be in good condition.”

“If you’re not going to eat it, can I have it? It’s really delicious.”

Christel, who was standing alone, sparkled her eyes.

She had already eaten a third of the veal jerky Ganael had packed, but she still seemed to have an appetite.

It was true that it wasn’t too salty or tough, and it tasted great.

Even Demi was showing interest.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll give it to the Princess,”

-Snap!

He snatched the jerky from my hand at an invisible speed. My fingertips tingled.

“It’s hard to feed him.”

I muttered.

The Prince either didn’t hear me or pretended not to, and chewed the jerky in one bite.

When Eunseo was six or seven years old, if she didn’t pay attention at the table, I would feed her rice one spoonful at a time while playing train or airplane with the spoon, but that was at least fun.

How could someone like him want to trust me?

“Oh, here comes another one! Demi, watch your sister well.”

Christel, who had been scoffing, shouted in a bright voice.

Demi, who was eating a heart-shaped flower in my arms, poked her head out and looked up at her.

From above, something was rushing towards us at a furious speed from the mountain.

-Thud thud thud!

-Kkweeee!

What emerged from the forest was a wild boar the size of a truck.

To be exact, it was a man-eating demon that looked like a wild boar, and it was said that if you were bitten by it, you would be cursed even if you survived.

That’s why it was called the ‘Curse Black Pig’.

Usually, you would get a pretty high score just by catching a demon of that level.

But this was already the fifth one we’d caught.

“It looks delicious, but it keeps acting up!”

Christine scolded and swung her whip. Come to think of it, it did resemble the Jeju Black Pig [a breed of pig from Jeju Island, Korea] a bit.

-Thwack!

-Splash!

White spray covered the Curse Black Pig in a huge fan shape.

The demon lost its sense of direction and pawed its feet in the wave that completely obscured its vision.

Then, the sound of a pig squealing really came.

-Kkweeeeeee!

-Cheeeee…

The demon’s huge body lost its strength and staggered as soon as it touched the water.

The sight of its outer skin melting red was gruesome.

As the body that had been moving with a thud fell to the ground with a thump, Christel created a round water droplet and pressed it onto the demon’s head like a helmet.

-Glug, glug, glug…!

“I’m getting the hang of this since I’m repeating it.”

She said casually.

The demon, which came into contact with the power of holy water, also drowned in an instant.

It was the same repertoire as before.

When small demons threw themselves at us, Christel and the Prince would take turns getting up and dealing with them.

I sat with the sanctuary deployed the whole time, feeding the two people and one animal water and snacks, and devising strategies for each attribute.

But there was hardly any need to use strategies.

Everything that had appeared before us since the Tyrant War Dragon was at this level.

One person could clean it up in an instant.

“Demi, what’s the score?”

Christel asked the Lesser Panda.

At the end of the valley where the Curse Black Pig had rushed in, two small apple trees could be seen.

The tree on the left was full of orange fruits, and the tree on the right was full of bluish-gray fruits.

Even if the colors were like that, would they taste good since Demi grew them?

-Squeak

Demi shook the purple petals in her front paws wildly.

Then, fruits began to form rapidly on the branch of the apple tree on the right.

“It was worth 3 points? Thank you, that’s the highest score.”

There were three newly hung apples.

Christel elegantly moved her arms and legs and greeted Demi.

“Finally, the two of you are tied.”

I said. With this, there were 11 orange apples and 11 bluish-gray apples.

It was a bit of a subjective evaluation since Demi was the only judge…

-Crunch!

At the same time, the Prince got up from his seat and drew his sword.

I was a little surprised and turned my head.

“Did you hear that just now?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Both of them seemed to have heard the sound I heard.

It was clearly like someone biting into an apple…

-Crunch!

One orange apple hanging on the tree disappeared into the air, leaving only the stem.

For a moment, I felt breathless. I wasn’t mistaken.

Although a faint mountain mist was spreading in all directions, the scene I witnessed and the result were too clear to be dismissed as a mistake.

Wait, mountain mist?

“Since when…? Your Highness, where are you going!”

I abruptly grabbed the Prince’s sleeve as he tried to walk out of the sanctuary.

Demi whimpered, perhaps uncomfortable because I suddenly stood up.

“Sorry, Demi. It’s not that I did it on purpose…”

“Father.”

What…?

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling. Your father is dead.

I quickly blocked the Prince’s path and looked into his face.

“Damn it.”

His eyes, which were always clear like burning flames, were strangely unfocused.

I quickly took out a handkerchief, covered Demi’s face, and blocked my mouth and nose with my sleeve.

This was no simple mist.