Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 426: One Man, Two Roles, and Chaos in the Demon World (1)
But Cale had a lot to say to Clopeh Sekka.
“Ahem. I’ve got a lot I need to discuss with you—”
“Yes. So do I.”
“!”
Cale somehow lost the desire to continue the moment Clopeh answered without leaving even the slightest opening.
“Mm.”
Cale hesitated.
But—
“He’s the right man.”
The ancient Dragon Eruhaben patted Cale on the shoulder as he spoke.
“I agree.”
Even the Heavenly Demon tapped Cale’s other shoulder in agreement.
Choi Han nodded too, though he did not look particularly pleased about it.
“Mm?”
“Huh?”
While On and Hong tilted their heads, Raon flapped his wings and told them,
“We have to do something like our youngest Eruhaben Miru’s Birth Ceremony twice more in the Demon World!”
“!!”
The pupils of the dragon half-blood Eruhaben Miru shook. Then On’s did too.
Hong, on the other hand, started to sparkle with curiosity.
“I want to know if that means we’re doing something awesome two more times!”
Raon answered excitedly,
“It won’t be exactly the same as the Birth Ceremony, but it has to be so huge it can fool the Demon King and the entire Demon World!”
“I want to know what those two things are!”
Heh.
Raon grinned.
Before returning to the Seven Evils, Cale’s group had discussed how to handle one other issue besides rescuing Choi Jung Gun—how to divert the Wanderers’ attention.
And they had reached a conclusion.
Raon summed up that long discussion in one short sentence.
“One is the Order of the God of Chaos’s conquest of the Demon World!”
Huh?
The dragon half-blood Eruhaben Miru flapped his tiny wings with a stunned look on his face.
He could hardly believe what he had just heard.
But what came next was even more absurd.
“And the other is Cale Henituse’s conquest of the Demon World!”
Eruhaben Miru’s mouth fell open.
“No way.”
It slipped out before he could stop himself.
Unable to hide his disbelief, he turned to look at the ancient Dragon Eruhaben.
“......”
But the ancient Dragon was merely smiling and nodding.
Unable to accept it, Eruhaben Miru looked at Cale instead.
Whip.
Cale avoided his gaze and muttered,
“...It’s not real. It’s a performance, a performance!”
He emphasized that it was all an act.
Then he added hurriedly,
“We’re not really going to fight. We’re just going to make a huge show of it, and then right at the end we’ll slip right back here!”
He spoke firmly.
“It’s really a very simple plan!”
Cale had been speaking while avoiding Eruhaben Miru’s gaze when he suddenly felt a chilly presence. He reflexively looked up in that direction and flinched.
“!”
Clopeh Sekka.
He had come right up to Cale’s face.
“Cale.”
He was serious.
“Did you just say that you were planning to ‘make a huge show of it’?”
“I, I did?”
He really was planning to do nothing but put on a massive show.
“I can use the power of the saint of the God of Chaos now. So I’m going to stage things to look like the Order of the God of Chaos is moving in earnest to seize the Demon World.”
Not long ago, Cale had already planted one piece of bait in the Demon World by disguising himself as “Dark,” the Order of the God of Chaos’s secret force.
And the hunters would not find that situation strange either.
Because the Order of the God of Chaos had tried to deceive them in New World and bring their god down.
And they would not have time to think too deeply about it.
“Meanwhile, on the other side, I’ll show up in person and tear things up all over the place so it looks like I’m about to go to war with the Demon World.”
By the time the Five Colored Blood family, having received the report from the Wanderer twins, came looking for Cale’s group, Cale would be showing himself in the Demon World.
“And once that happens, those Five Colored Blood hunter bastards won’t have any choice but to come to the Demon World to find us.”
Because they would not be able to find them inside the game.
After evacuating the Dark Elves, Alberu and Rosalyn would disappear from New World along with the rest of their companions.
The two of them would go to the Third District and corner the Transparent Blood family there.
And while that’s happening, New World—
Cale’s gaze shifted to Eruhaben Miru.
Flap.
Looking at Eruhaben Miru’s ancient eyes, filled with utter disbelief despite those adorably flapping wings, Cale opened his mouth.
“I’ll leave New World to you for a while.”
Of course, there were others who could help Eruhaben Miru—the vicious Dark Bear, Count Lupe, the Dark Ghost, and Pope Kesillia.
Even so, the only one Cale could truly trust with that responsibility was Eruhaben Miru, the most experienced of them all and the one who knew Cale’s group best.
“......”
Eruhaben Miru had not heard every detail yet, but hearing Cale °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° say he was leaving New World in his hands while he went away for a while made him feel strange.
“What? You’re not confident?”
At Cale’s flat question, Eruhaben Miru let out a small laugh.
“I’m confident.”
The baby dragon with the round little belly spoke in a cynical tone, which made Cale feel vaguely odd.
But he let it go.
He also pretended not to notice that those cheeks looked even squishier than Raon’s.
How much have they been feeding him?
Eruhaben Miru.
What on earth had they been feeding that guy to make him that plump?
Cale had no idea that the former Lord Sheritt, On, and Hong had been feeding Eruhaben Miru the same way they fed Raon.
Nor did he know that the residents of the Seven Evils adored their new master, the Mad Dragon Eruhaben Miru, almost like an idol.
The food they offered was enough to cover the provisions for the Seven Evils’ Cotton Candy Castle.
Our boss is way too cute!
Did you see our adorable boss? He was born with light! That holy figure! He’s cute and holy, so we can’t let him lose that!
A baby needs to eat well, sleep well, and play well first! Don’t make the boss do hard things!
Of course, Eruhaben Miru knew nothing about any of that.
The vicious Dark Bear had blocked it all thoroughly.
Eruhaben Miru was merely spending his days accepting whatever people offered him because he could not bring himself to reject their care, then falling asleep on the spot once he was full.
“Then I’m trusting you with it.”
At Cale’s calm words, Eruhaben Miru gave no particular answer.
He merely put on a stiff expression.
Flapflapflap!
Of course, his wings began flapping even more furiously, and Cale stared at that with a baffled expression—but Eruhaben Miru did not know that. He was simply maintaining his place with dignity as the ruler of the Seven Evils.
“Mm. Anyway.”
Cale turned away from Eruhaben Miru.
He figured the guy would manage somehow.
Then he looked at Clopeh Sekka and spoke.
“You said you saw what happened in the holy land of the God of Chaos too, so I’ll tell you what I need you to do.”
“Yes.”
Clopeh listened obediently.
“I’m planning to make everything—the Order of the God of Chaos, and me showing myself—very flashy. And I want it unfolding all across the Demon World at the same time. Besides me, these companions here will be part of it too.”
Choi Han, the Heavenly Demon, and Eruhaben as well.
All of them would rampage through different parts of the Demon World together.
“When that happens, you need to support us, help us shine more, help draw the enemy’s eyes as much as possible, and come up with the strategy.”
Cale stopped there.
“Heh heh.”
Clopeh Sekka laughed.
Then he looked at Cale and said,
“So all I have to do is leave you alone.”
“Huh?”
Cale could not hide how dumbfounded he was.
“No, I’m saying we have to go even flashier than usual. And as a performance!”
“Yes. All I have to do is leave you alone.”
“Hah—”
Cale was at a loss for words.
“If I leave all of you alone, everything will take care of itself.”
Mm?
Huh?
What?
Clopeh looked in turn at the Heavenly Demon, Eruhaben, and Choi Han as he said that.
The three of them stared back at him like they could not believe what they were hearing, but—
“That’s true.”
Eruhaben Miru agreed.
“It is.”
Even On gave a calm nod of confirmation.
Clopeh went on with a gentle smile.
“However.”
Something strange flickered across his face.
“When it comes to staging the Order of the God of Chaos’s conquest of the Demon World, there will be quite a lot to be careful about.”
Clopeh had not missed a single word Cale had said.
We’re not really going to fight. We’re just going to make a huge show of it, and then right at the end we’ll slip right back here!
They did not seem to feel it themselves, but from Clopeh’s point of view, Cale and his companions had a gift for taking something that would ordinarily end as a buttonhole and turning it into a sinkhole.
If I leave them alone, the Demon World will overturn itself on its own.
Cale himself had said he was going to go all out pretending.
To the enemies of the Demon World, that probably meant—
A calamity may unfold.
The calamity called Cale Henituse would descend upon the Demon World.
But there is one thing that concerns me.
Clopeh Sekka instantly grasped which part of this operation mattered most—what part required his involvement.
Cale is good at everything.
Not that he was universally talented in the ordinary sense, but once he started something, he was usually good at it.
If he steps forward as Cale Henituse, there’s no real need to worry about the aftermath.
But there was one thing that did need worrying about when it came to pretending to be the Order of the God of Chaos.
It would be a problem if he did too good a job pretending to be the Order of the God of Chaos.
At this rate, the Order of the God of Chaos might end up taking root in the Demon World.
He had heard that the demons followed the Demon King because they believed he might one day become the future demon god.
People like that might start believing in the God of Chaos.
No—more precisely—
They might start believing in Cale, who is pretending to be the saint of the God of Chaos.
At that moment, a voice transmitted directly into Clopeh’s ear.
—It seems you’ve realized the weak point.
Slide.
Clopeh’s gaze shifted past Cale’s shoulder.
Eruhaben and the Heavenly Demon were standing behind him.
Of the two, Eruhaben looked at him indifferently when their eyes met. Clopeh moved his gaze away.
Right. That ancient Dragon wouldn’t know.
That man did not understand the flaw in this operation.
Ancient Dragons were quietly innocent in strange ways.
Clopeh looked at the one who had spoken to him.
The Heavenly Demon.
Choi Han had been the first to obtain aura, but this man had acquired his individuality before Choi Han.
The ruler of the Demonic Cult, and—
A god.
He was the god of the Demonic Cult.
From the outside, the devotion the cultists gave him would look blind enough to be worship.
That was why he had recognized the weak point.
—The Order of the God of Chaos may end up taking root in the Demon World because of Cale Henituse’s actions.
The Heavenly Demon sent the message while meeting Clopeh’s eyes.
—Cale Henituse has the power to draw people in. And his actions always move in the right direction.
Cale Henituse would go to the Demon World, pretend to be the Order of the God of Chaos, and he would not torment the demons.
If anything, he might even end up saving them.
That was what his path had been like until now.
Whether he intended it or not, Cale Henituse might end up adding yet another heroic achievement to his name.
One hundred percent chance of that.
Clopeh was certain.
—Clopeh Sekka.
He was also certain what the Heavenly Demon was about to ask of him.
—The Order of the God of Chaos must not grow stronger as a result of Cale Henituse’s actions.
A grin spread across Clopeh’s lips.
As expected of the head of the Demonic Cult.
The Heavenly Demon continued the voice transmission.
—You have to stop that from happening. That is why I recommended you.
As far as the Heavenly Demon was concerned, there was no one among Cale’s group better suited to this sort of thing than Clopeh Sekka.
If it was Clopeh, he would stop the Order of the God of Chaos from taking root and growing in the Demon World as a result of Cale’s actions.
Grin.
Clopeh’s smile deepened.
“You can trust me with it.”
He spoke his sincere feelings aloud.
That’s right.
He could trust it to him.
The Order of the God of Chaos would never be allowed to grow.
Whatever Cale accomplished in the Demon World—whether it was the rewards, the worship, or anything else that followed from it—
All of it belongs to Cale!
All Clopeh had to do was make sure no one else got their hands on what belonged to Cale, and that everything ended up entirely in Cale’s possession.
And that would not be difficult.
“Heh heh.”
Everything belongs to Cale!
Clopeh let out a low laugh.
And Cale—
What the hell.
—was terrified.
Why is he standing there laughing at empty air?
Cale was becoming genuinely afraid of Clopeh Sekka.
At this point, even Ron was less frightening.
Mm.
Before going to the Demon World, they would pass through Apitoyu.
And there, he would meet Ron and Beacrox.
Cale had been planning to take them with him to the Demon World as well.
Thinking about meeting them again after so long, Cale felt strange.
No, to be precise, he felt uneasy.
But that feeling did not last long.
“I believe.”
Huh?
It was because of what Clopeh had said.
What the hell is this bastard saying now?
Cale’s pupils shook.
“I believe that everything that is about to happen will go well.”
What belongs to Cale, stays with Cale.
“What is believed must be made real.”
Clopeh believed with absolute certainty that it would be so.
“Heh heh.”
Clopeh kept laughing, and Cale quietly edged backward.
Then he spoke to Eruhaben Miru.
“We’re heading to Apitoyu first.”
“Y-yeah. Go.”
Eruhaben Miru shot Clopeh a glance, then hurriedly added to Cale,
“Take him with you too. Hurry.”
Cale felt deeply strange about the whole thing, but for now he took Clopeh with him and moved on.
*****
Beeeep—
The world once ruled by dragons, the former domain of the Purple Blood family.
The moment Cale returned to Apitoyu after so long, he received a message through a video communication orb as soon as he arrived.
<They say the Order of the God of Chaos has appeared in the Demon World?>
“What the hell is this now?”
Just as Cale’s face twisted—
“Heh heh.”
Clopeh spoke with a low laugh.
“What is believed unfolds exactly as believed.”
His eyes flashed.
“In that case, we can’t let anyone else take it—”
Raon, On, and Hong quietly edged farther away from Clopeh.
Even Choi Han did exactly the same.