Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 403: How Dare You Stab Me in the Back? (6)
Cale was lying on a sickbed.
“Haah.”
“Why are you sighing?”
At Cale’s question, King Tamahi looked at him.
Cale was lying neatly on the sickbed, the blanket pulled up to his chest, bandages wrapped all around him.
His bright, alert eyes were fixed on her.
He looked to be in a good mood.
“...I don’t know if we should really be doing this.”
But she felt uneasy.
“It is practically sleeping beside the enemy, isn’t it?”
The Wanderers, Cho and Ryeon.
She was uncomfortable about sending Cale and Eruhaben together with those two.
“Yes! That’s why it’s great.”
But Cale answered with astonishing cheerfulness.
He looked genuinely excited.
“...You’re not nervous?”
“Not really?”
There was nothing for Cale to be nervous about.
If it really comes down to it, I’ll just run.
He was confident he could at least do that easily enough.
Especially with an ancient dragon with a thousand years of experience beside him, there was even less to fear.
“Don’t worry.”
Cale said it with a bright smile.
Of course, with the fake wounds and all the bandages wrapped around him, he looked more like a zombie.
“I’ll deceive them properly and come back. I’m going to make the two factions fight and leave the whole holy land in ruins. Hahaha!”
King Tamahi’s heart loosened for a moment at how absurdly bright he looked, then her face hardened again as she spoke.
“Cho is one thing, but I do not know whether Ryeon can truly be deceived all the way through. We need to make even her fight Chaos.”
She believed what the king had said, but even so, the Wanderer Ryeon was cautious by nature. Would she really throw herself into a full-scale clash with the Order of the God of Chaos?
“Heh.”
At that moment, Cale let out a strange little laugh.
“Your Majesty.”
He spoke in a low voice.
“Don’t we still have one more move left?”
Cale’s gaze shifted to his side.
The king looked there as well.
“......”
There stood a man with his arms folded, posture crooked, and yet carrying the aura of a famous masterpiece.
The ancient dragon ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Eruhaben.
He tilted his head to one side.
“The last move is mine. Do you think I will fail?”
Cho and Ryeon.
The final move to deceive them.
That part belonged to Eruhaben.
King Tamahi shook her head.
“No.”
The dragon before her did not seem like someone who would fail.
In truth, she did think both Cale and Eruhaben would do well.
“Even so, Ryeon looked like a very cold-headed person. I am worried she may remain cold-headed even in front of that final move.”
“Well.”
Cale shrugged.
“We have to go according to plan, and we can’t know how the result will turn out. Still, by my sense, that last move is going to land properly.”
“Mm. I’ll trust you.”
She decided to simply trust them.
Knock knock.
The head steward’s voice came from outside the door.
“It is time.”
“Your Majesty.”
Cale made a request of the king.
“We’ll come out in about ten minutes.”
“Understood.”
The king was going to go out first and deal with the Wanderers.
Cale was currently in this treatment room under the pretext of treating his injuries one last time and wrapping the bandages before leaving for the Demon Realm.
“Shall we send the message?”
At Eruhaben’s question, Cale nodded.
The reason they needed ten minutes was to contact their companions.
*****
“They’ve arrived.”
At Rosalyn’s words, spoken in the heart of the Seventh Evil, Cotton Candy Castle, two people rose from their seats.
Alberu and the Heavenly Demon.
“Have a good trip! I’ll follow later with Choi Han!”
Raon, On, and Hong saw them off.
“......”
Of course, baby dragon Eruhaben Miru was there too.
Eruhaben Miru let out a deep sigh.
Raon kept stroking Eruhaben Miru’s head.
“I’ll take very good care of Eruhaben Miru! Hehe!”
At Raon’s words, Eruhaben Miru could not even sigh again.
Eruhaben Miru turned away from Rosalyn, Alberu, and the Heavenly Demon, who were smiling while looking at them.
“By the way.”
As he stepped onto the teleportation circle, the Heavenly Demon asked Alberu,
“Did you not say teleportation cannot be used inside the Demon Realm?”
“That’s right. We have to move to the boundary of the Demon Realm and enter from there.”
“What kind of place is it?”
Instead of answering, Alberu looked at Rosalyn.
Rosalyn answered the Heavenly Demon in his place.
“It is the grave of those cast aside.”
An odd light settled in the Heavenly Demon’s face just then.
Flaaash!
With a brilliant light, the four of them headed for the boundary of the Demon Realm.
There were four routes into the Demon Realm.
They moved to one of them.
*****
“You’re saying those two are close friends?”
“Yes.”
At Wanderer Ryeon’s question, the king answered politely.
Ryeon’s gaze shifted toward the guard crossing the threshold of the open treatment room door.
Eruhaben, approaching while carrying Cale on his back.
—I never thought that at my age I’d end up carrying some young punk like you.
Unable to hear what Eruhaben had said to Cale, Wanderer Ryeon asked again,
“...So he is just an ordinary guard?”
“Yes. Around the time that servant entered the royal castle, he applied as a guard and entered together with him. He worked with him in the palace where Duke Hinpa stayed, and at times he even rotated through as one of my own guards.”
King Tamahi continued.
“The only time that servant is even somewhat calm is when he is with that guard, so I had no choice but to assign him to him full-time.”
“...I see.”
“Yes.”
Wanderer Ryeon looked at Eruhaben with strange eyes.
A black-haired man in the plain uniform of a royal palace guard.
Something is strange.
Earlier, she had been too busy checking the flood of information coming at her to notice.
That guard—
He was strange.
Leaving aside his remarkably beautiful face, there was something odd in the atmosphere he gave off, in the way he walked, in several things at once.
Right.
Ryeon realized what that feeling was.
He feels exactly like a noble.
And not just any noble.
He felt like the head of a noble house with centuries of lineage.
The elegant bearing one acquired naturally just by living that kind of life, without trying to learn it. And even the dignity flowing from him.
All of it made him seem nothing like a mere guard.
Mm. It doesn’t seem like she’s lying.
It did not seem as if King Tamahi was lying about that guard.
There would be no reason for her to.
To spin such an obvious lie here?
The king would never be able to bear the consequences of that, and Tamahi knew that better than anyone.
If that’s the case—
A strange light swirled in Ryeon’s eyes.
Then there’s only one possibility.
If that man was not a guard, but rather a spy secretly hiding in the royal palace—
Then there was only one possible identity for him.
The Order of the God of Chaos.
There was a high chance he belonged there.
Well, after doing something on that scale, just disappearing? That makes no sense.
Ryeon’s eyes sank heavily.
The Order of the God of Chaos had deceived the Five Colored Blood families perfectly and prepared betrayal on that scale.
After carrying out something of that magnitude, to simply vanish and end things there would not make sense.
Rather, it would make more sense for them to leave one operative behind and watch both the Lan Kingdom and our Five Colored Blood families.
And if the Order of the God of Chaos wanted to plant an operative somewhere, where would be best?
...The only person the witness can lean on.
Yes. That sole witness who now had a fit whenever the God of Chaos came to mind. If someone close to him was a plant from the Order of the God of Chaos, then that person would naturally be able to meet the king of Lan and the Wanderers and easily grasp the current situation.
“...Ryeon!”
“Ah.”
Ryeon, who had been following that train of thought, paused.
“What are you doing?”
Irritation was visible on Cho’s face.
“Mm.”
Before she realized it, the servant and the guard had already arrived in front of the two of them.
The king was speaking to the guard.
“Serve the two of them well. And your task is to take good care of this one.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At the king’s words, the guard bowed with a grim expression.
That expression is too grim, isn’t it?
The content of the order was nothing special, and yet for that, the guard looked far too solemn and resolute.
As if he has some other mission.
The suspicion in Ryeon’s eyes deepened further.
“Ryeon! What are you thinking about?”
At Cho’s words, she hurriedly cut her thoughts off.
Right. For now, it’s only suspicion.
You could not ruin everything because of suspicion.
That guard might really just be an ordinary person.
Ryeon left the suspicion in place, but decided to move according to plan for now.
“Let’s go.”
Hummmmm—
Cho stepped onto the teleportation magic circle made by a mage of the Lan Kingdom and beckoned.
The servant and the guard were already standing beside him.
“Right. Let’s go.”
Ryeon followed and stepped onto the magic circle as well.
She recalled the message she had received after reporting to the Five Colored Blood.
The Order of the God of Chaos.
As it was their greatest ally and at the same time a potential enemy force, dealing with them required permission from above.
I’ve had a lot of doubts about the God of Chaos’s recent behavior anyway. Good.
There were only three people in the family who could grant her that permission.
The three who possessed Five-Colored-grade individuality.
You and Cho may possess Transparent-grade power, but when the two of you are together, that is fully Five-Colored-grade. If it is the two of you, you should be able to handle most things even in the holy land of the God of Chaos.
Cho and Ryeon.
The two were fraternal twins who possessed opposing individualities, and precisely because of that, when they fought together, their power was said to reach the level of Five-Colored-grade.
Ryeon. You are a careful child, so stop Cho when he makes rash judgments. And because I trust your judgment, act freely as you see fit.
The higher-ups had granted her permission to go to the holy land.
They had also entrusted every decision to her.
Right. Stay cautious.
By the time Ryeon had settled her resolve, she felt the magic circle activate with a brilliant light.
At the same time, she heard her younger brother Cho leave one last remark for the king.
“Hey, King.”
Wanderer Cho. Even he had not treated the king with this little respect before, but because of this incident, he showed not a trace of courtesy now.
He gave a warning.
“I’ll be watching from here on out.”
The king’s face darkened.
It was visible even through the bright magical light.
“Don’t forget that your life, and the lives of this land, can end at any time.”
There was no anger in Wanderer Cho’s voice.
No irritation.
Only a plain fact.
“You only get one mistake.”
With those words—
Flaaash!
Together with the brilliant light, the Wanderer twins, the guard, and the servant disappeared.
“......”
King Tamahi recalled the eyes of the two standing behind the Wanderers.
Those eyes that looked like they were itching to smack the back of Cho’s head.
Heh.
The king let out a light laugh.
“How amusing.”
With that, her gaze turned to the southwest, where the Demon Realm lay.
*****
The Demon Realm.
It was the name used for several different fields gathered under one label, all full of harsh terrain such as jungles and deserts.
Desert, jungle, underground, labyrinth. It has everything.
Alberu had explained the Demon Realm to Cale.
Each region has its own boss, and countless factions exist there.
What made the Demon Realm unusual was that, under the game rules, teleportation was impossible inside it.
Because of that, and because it was harsh terrain on top of that, moving through it was extremely inconvenient.
If the Eighth Evils were hard to approach because your level was too low and they were terrifying, users avoid the Demon Realm for a different reason.
First, because travel is difficult.
Second, because it’s not very useful.
Most of all, it was an area where quests hardly appeared.
It’s where the ones rejected by New World gather.
Races that had been cast aside.
Those with all kinds of stories who had left their homelands and gone into hiding somewhere.
Or criminals.
All sorts gathered there, and because of that there were many incidents, many accidents, and quite a few places that were little different from criminal zones.
Unless you were a fairly seasoned user, the Demon Realm was not the sort of place you would approach.
And the Demon Realm is extremely hostile to outsiders. Sometimes it attacks them outright.
Alberu had said it was a very sharp-edged region.
Flaaash!
With a brilliant light, Cale arrived at the boundary of the Demon Realm.
Of the four entrances, the one the Wanderers had chosen was—
“Ha, I hate this place. Too many bugs and too much grass.”
The jungle.
A low, crude barbed-wire fence.
That was the boundary.
Beyond that boundary, which anyone could cross with ease, the jungle spread out.
“It can’t be helped. This route is the fastest.”
As Wanderer Ryeon said, the jungle was the fastest route to Primordial Night.
Cale buried his face against Eruhaben’s back and hid his smile.
His Highness must have arrived too.
Alberu’s side had probably already entered the Demon Realm as well.
“We know the rough location, so let’s head there.”
Ryeon took the lead, then turned to look back.
“Stand in the middle.”
“Yes.”
At her order, Eruhaben stood between Cho and Ryeon.
“It would be best if you did nothing foolish and simply followed quietly.”
“Yes.”
Eruhaben answered obediently.
“Ryeon! Why are you even bothering with this?”
Cho voiced his confusion, but Ryeon merely looked at Eruhaben with suspicious eyes before turning her head and starting forward again.
“Ryeon! We need to hurry!”
“I know.”
She asked Eruhaben,
“If you’re at the level of a palace guard, you should be able to use some movement techniques. We’ll be speeding up—can you keep up?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Good.”
Ryeon lightly kicked off the ground and moved forward.
Her speed kept increasing.
Sssssh—
It was a jungle, but because they were still near the entrance, there was at least a path, so moving was not difficult.
Of course, branches, leaves, vines, grass, bugs, and all manner of things obstructed her way.
Craaack.
Everything froze.
Crunch.
And then shattered while frozen.
Even amid that, Ryeon stole a glance backward.
“......”
The guard was breathing hard as he followed after them with visible effort.
For now, he seemed to be following with nothing but bodily strength, without using internal energy.
“Ryeon! This guy is doing fine, so stop worrying about him and hurry up! If he can’t keep up, I’ll drag those two along myself!”
At Cho’s impatient urging, Ryeon nodded and turned her eyes forward again.
Of course, not before giving the guard one last glance.
It was a cold look carrying a warning.
“......”
Eruhaben simply lowered his head and ran hard.
Ryeon’s gaze disappeared.
He could still feel Cho’s gaze from behind.
—Cale. It’s getting darker.
Eruhaben surveyed the surroundings.
The Demon Realm.
The reason the jungle was harsh terrain was not only because the path disappeared the farther in you went, or because every kind of natural feature blocked the way, or because bugs, poisonous plants, beasts, and monsters tormented you.
It was also a jungle full of enormous trees, each many times taller than a human being.
The farther in you went, the darker it became.
It was not as dark as night, but still, there were many places sunlight could not reach at all despite it being broad daylight.
—Cale. Give me the signal when the time comes.
If the Cale riding on his back gave him the signal—
—Then I just attack that bastard Cho, right?
Eruhaben would launch a sudden strike at Cho.
And then Cale would immediately use dominating aura.
—Turning one arm to powder should be enough.
Everything would happen in an instant.
At the moment when the Wanderers let their guard down, before they could even properly recognize what was happening.
So we need to create an opening.
More precisely, it was not carelessness so much as making them direct their attention elsewhere.
Cale caught sight of a mark on one of the trees.
The agreed signal.
Tap.
The moment Cale gave Eruhaben the first signal—
Grrrrrrr—!
A beast’s roar spread out from deep within the jungle, from inside the darkness.
Craaack. Craaack!
A being came walking out of the darkness, smashing trees aside.
“Khhh.”
The giant figure licking its lips was not a beast.
Wanderer Ryeon muttered quietly,
“...A beastman.”
It was a beastman.
One of the forces that had settled in the Demon Realm jungle.
Originally, beastmen we