Ch.115115. Wanted

To be frank, I didn’t have confidence in capturing Iclit on my own.

At least not in the short term.

Unless that evil thing suddenly made a reckless move, it was obvious that this pointless game of tag would drag on endlessly. Meanwhile, the number of commoners abandoning their homes would rapidly increase.

‘In a few months, I’ll be considered worse trash than Gwon Heejin.’

Perhaps even worse than that.

Most of those directly harmed by Gwon Heejin were nobles or quasi-nobles. Although the aftermath affected the entire Empire, the majority of commoners didn’t direct their blame at Gwon Heejin. They didn’t even understand what he had done wrong.

But this situation was different. Right now, only commoners were bleeding.

After realizing they’d been scammed, they wouldn’t simply say, “I made a foolish mistake due to momentary confusion. Investment is a personal responsibility, so I’ll accept my losses” and walk away cleanly. They would likely blame me instead.

Whether I become trash without committing any crime, or catch and kill Iclit before that happens—this was a race against time.

The tool I thought of for quick capture was…

None other than succubi.

Those weak creatures at the bottom of the Demon Lord’s army, where the law of the strong prevails. Despite belonging to the Demon Lord’s forces, they depended on humans for survival. Perhaps because they lived by attaching themselves to humans, their personalities had similarities to humans as well.

‘Yes. Using them is the best option.’

Having made up my mind, I turned to look at my party members.

They were all high-quality resources. Even Katie, the weakest in the party, was on track to reach Expert-high level soon.

And there was something I appreciated even more than their simple abilities. They accepted whatever crazy orders I gave without much question. This despite the fact that all party members except Gang Hannah had grown up following typical elite paths.

Thanks to that, I could give instructions without hesitation.

“I’ll go to the Imperial Capital alone. I have something else for all of you to do.”

“That’s not a problem, but specifically what should we do?”

“Split into three teams and thoroughly search the nearby territories—brothels, dancing halls, and any decently-sized inns.”

“Are you asking us to find and capture succubi?”

“Capture them alive if possible, but if they resist, you can kill them on the spot. Just handle it quietly. I’ll take care of the aftermath.”

I was essentially ordering the honorable Hero’s party members to raid entertainment establishments.

However, not only did they not object to my instructions, they divided themselves into teams on their own. One mage with one knight, or one cleric with two knights.

Not everyone could detect a succubus’s disguise, but these people were different.

Even the Saintess paired up with two knights.

“Saintess. Can you identify demons?”

“I think I can. And…”

“Yes. Please give me your blessing.”

Saintess Gang Hannah pointed her mace at me with a determined expression and cast a holy spell.

A dazzling radiance, and my massive warhorse snorted as if ready.

“See you soon.”

The next moment, I shot forward.

Glancing back, I saw my party members moving in three separate teams. The Saintess was also on horseback, tightly holding Katie’s waist.

‘Judging by their momentum, they won’t come back empty-handed.’

From here, everything moved quickly.

After riding hard for another half day, I arrived at the Imperial Capital, restrained the guards who were about to kneel, and immediately entered the palace. Then I headed to the government office building where the council chamber was located. It was essentially another workplace for me.

“Ah, Hero.”

The ministers awkwardly rose when they saw me.

Their faces were all marked with despair. They seemed to be hesitating whether to congratulate or console me.

Even Prince Simon, who was presiding over the meeting, stood up in an awkward posture to look at me.

“Your Highness need not stand.”

“Ah… right. I apologize, Hero.”

I truly apologize.

The Prince’s face, as he repeated himself, was noticeably gaunt. Gray hairs were scattered among his disheveled locks.

I didn’t need to ask why such a young man looked so worn out.

The endless aftermath of the Cordana incident, and new problems erupting just when things seemed to be calming down. He must have lost his energy in that chaos.

I had no intention of mocking him by asking why he was complaining when I was doing all the work. The royal family had their own hardships.

But now was not the time to be dazed.

“Your Highness. ‘This’ won’t end anyway. It’s time to face reality.”

“…Ah.”

“But we can prevent it from getting worse. Fortunately, it seems the Demon Lord’s army doesn’t have anyone more cunning than that succubus… Iclit, so if we catch that thing, the situation should improve. Fortunately, I have a method.”

“Did you say you have a method?”

“Yes. I’m going to keep it simple.”

I calmly answered as I took my seat.

On the table was intelligence related to the rights certificate fraud. There was a report about bodies found with rights certificates while traveling on foot. They appeared to have been wiped out after unfortunately encountering monsters.

It was intelligence that left even me speechless, but I refrained from commenting.

First, I needed to catch Iclit. Solving the problem of people abandoning their homes and flocking to my territory would come after that.

***

A few days later. Two succubi were captured and brought to the Imperial Palace.

One was caught by Garland after being knocked out while working at an inn, and the other had been running a tavern with a sturdy widower who was a former knight, developing tender feelings for him.

They were just bottom-tier demons, neither harming the Empire nor burning with loyalty to the Demon Lord.

Even now, complex emotions showed on their faces. Why did they capture someone like me, I just wanted to live quietly, could they have mistaken me for another demon, how should I behave to survive? They were probably thinking such thoughts.

I stared down at them and announced unilaterally.

“From now on, I’m going to hunt down and kill all succubi parasitizing the Empire.”

Though I said this, honestly, the Empire didn’t have the ability to exterminate all succubi. The reality was that even with humanity’s elite Hero party deployed, we only managed to capture two succubi.

But to those already captured, this wouldn’t sound like an empty threat.

“You’re a cunning species, so you’ll find ways to survive somehow. But I will kill all of you, no matter how many years it takes. Until now, I’ve overlooked you because the harm you caused was negligible, but the situation has changed.”

“…But, we…”

“I know. Honestly, you probably don’t care whether the Demon Lord wins or I win. Your goal is just to survive day by day, absorbing energy. Though you can’t show it, you might even prefer the Demon Lord to lose.”

“……”

They couldn’t refute, just twisted their expressions as if wronged.

It was hard to find any loyalty to the Demon Lord in them.

One might wonder why they were like this despite being demons, but it wasn’t strange. The current Demon Lord had been holed up in the Demonic Land for ages and only recently moved his heavy bottom. Unless one was a succubus who had rapidly risen like Iclit, it would be difficult to be loyal.

“I’m going to kill all of you. And I won’t kill you cleanly. I need to somehow manage the deteriorating public sentiment while Iclit is running around. I’ll either torture you thoroughly before execution, or display you in cages in the public square.”

“…Ha.”

“Do you feel wronged? I’m not killing you because you’re guilty. I’m killing you simply because you’re the same species as Iclit. I understand your feelings, but your sentiments aren’t a consideration.”

The one who had worked as a waitress already seemed disheartened and lowered her head, while the one who had been intimate with the widower stared at the ceiling with empty eyes.

They seemed to realize their path to survival was already blocked.

I deliberately took my time and placed my warhammer on my knee, as if willing to caress their scalps with it at any moment.

No succubus would be foolish enough to think this was just a threat. If I could massacre the royalty of other nations who were human, there was no reason I couldn’t kill succubi.

Finally, even the last glimmer of hope disappeared from the succubi’s expressions.

Only then did I speak as if suddenly remembering something.

“But there is a way for you to survive.”

“…What?”

“My target is ultimately Iclit. If you contribute to finding her whereabouts, I have no reason not to spare you.”

Even after saying this, life didn’t suddenly return to the succubi’s eyes. It didn’t seem to be simply because they didn’t believe me.

“H-Hero… sir. There’s no way Iclit unnie—I mean, Lady Iclit—would tell her whereabouts to ones like us.”

Their expressions didn’t show any will to protect the Tetrad. Succubi were typically not known for strong loyalty. It was highly likely that Iclit only shared her movements with her close associates.

However, I wasn’t planning to instruct them to contact Iclit directly in the first place.

“I’m not talking about Iclit. I want you to spread the word to all other succubi. After a few steps, it will reach all succubi.”

“…?”

I announced the content to be spread to the confused succubi.

I would use any means necessary to hunt down all succubi, but if someone discovered Iclit’s whereabouts and reported it to me, I would not only stop the crackdown on succubi but also pay a reward to the informant.

It was an ultimatum to choose between loyalty to the Tetrad and their own safety.

The two succubi hesitantly cast communication magic. Like proper demons, but without even a crystal ball.

‘This won’t take long.’

While beastkin would never betray Leoneo, succubi were different. They wouldn’t risk their lives to protect a suddenly successful member of their kind. If I just added enough fuel, they might even actively try to hand over Iclit.

If betrayers actually emerged, trust in succubi within the Demon Lord’s army would decline, making it a win-win situation.