Ch.117Now It’s Time to Be Subdued. (1)

Olivia did not immediately return to the north. She pretended to leave but remained hidden, then returned to the Fire Demon Realm as soon as the Returners’ presence disappeared. She wanted to finish dealing with the demons she hadn’t yet cleared.

[Current Purification Rate: 100%]

[You have cleared the Fire Demon Realm.]

[As a reward, you receive the ‘Fire Demon Realm Key’.]

A key covered in burning red light appeared before Olivia’s eyes.

‘One more to go.’

She planned to go to the Moon Demon Realm as soon as she collected all three keys.

‘Prophet or whatever, I need to meet and talk to them.’

The Demon Lord and Demon God—Olivia, who prided herself on knowing everything in this world, had only one existence she couldn’t fully identify.

[You have 5 years left. If you don’t come to the Moon Demon Realm within 5 years, your curse will become irreversible.]

She could also find out information about that damn ‘curse.’

Honestly, she was a bit anxious. What if there really was an unknown curse planted within her?

Normally she would have dismissed it as nonsense, but she had heard it from none other than Agares.

‘…The Demon God is watching me?’

Agares, whose faith in the Demon God was absolute, never carelessly mentioned the Demon God’s name.

For Agares to mention the Demon God?

That meant the Demon God really was watching Olivia.

Plus, there was that unsettling gaze she felt before sending her disciples.

Something unusual was clearly happening.

It was then that the notification window appeared again.

[You have acquired 6 clues and will receive a reward!]

This was the reward for successfully subduing the Rebel, even though she hadn’t altered his memories.

[Would you like to check the reward list?]

Olivia nodded.

+

<Reward List>

1. The timer only flows when a Returner is nearby.

2. You can switch to ‘Spectator’ mode up to 5 times.

3. For each clue, you can use all remaining time limit once.

4. You can obtain clues even when subdued by others. [Reverse Subjugation.]

+

She had obtained a total of six clues so far.

Considering that the reward from Kiel was “Memory Alteration,” there should clearly be five items on the list.

But for some reason, she could only see four.

As if waiting for her to notice, a notification window appeared.

[As a reward for obtaining 6 clues, ‘Prerequisite Quest for the Main Quest’ is now available.]

…Main Quest?

Olivia narrowed her eyes.

+

<Main Quest(1) – Time to Be Subdued.>

Clear Condition: Be subdued by a hostile Returner and survive.

Failure: Death

* This quest is a mandatory prerequisite quest.

+

Olivia blinked for a long time.

Below was a helpful additional explanation.

[Only possible with Returners from whom you haven’t obtained clues yet.]

“…This is insane.”

It meant she shouldn’t even dream of using Kiel or Melina.

It was truly a cursed quest.

Not only was the difficulty absurd, but there wasn’t even a reward.

Yet she couldn’t give up. If she didn’t complete the prerequisite quest, the main quest wouldn’t open either.

‘Which Returners are still alone?’

Two Dragon Lords, the Master of Dark, the Rebel, the Devilhunter, and the Imperial Princess.

That was already six.

If she excluded Kiel, Melina, Livga, Esthie, and the King of Martial Arts…

‘Four remain.’

Among them, only one seemed like someone she could reason with.

Though extreme in nature, this person avoided unnecessary killing.

Olivia unconsciously turned her head.

Beyond the dusty horizon, faint blue vegetation was visible.

If she followed that vegetation all the way up…

*****

Originally, Demon Realms were shrouded in secrecy. But there was one exception, a Demon Realm whose location was known even to ordinary people.

That was the Wood Demon Realm, the Great Forest of Euran.

The reason the Wood Demon Realm was widely known was simple.

It was too massive to conceal.

The Great Forest stretched from the southern desert regions to the northern part of the continent.

Given its size, equivalent to dozens of kingdoms connected together, even the Empire’s first Emperor, despite knowing its dangers, didn’t dare attempt to hide its existence.

And the same applied to the current Emperor.

“…Your Majesty. Please execute those who enter Euran…”

The Emperor couldn’t hear his ministers’ words.

The kind Emperor who always lived up to his title of “Wise Ruler” was gone. His face had turned pale, his skin clinging to his bones.

“…”

– Father!

Yes.

It was the evil dragon.

The cruel and vicious Red Dragon Lord had appeared and taken away his only daughter.

Negotiations with the Eastern Alliance? The corruption of the Red Tower Master? The princes’ power struggle?

Everything seemed pointless now.

He couldn’t focus on anything.

They say a parent loves all their children equally, but Aria was his especially beloved child.

A daughter who was kind and pure, unlike what one would expect from royalty.

The Emperor raised his hand with difficulty.

“…That’s enough for today. You are all dismissed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The ministers who had filled the office quickly departed. Only the Emperor and his most trusted vassal remained in the spacious office.

“Duke Kiel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I received the report you submitted. Thanks to your direct attack on the Red Tower Master, the Second Prince’s faction has lost its center and fractured.”

“…I had personal reasons.”

The Emperor’s blue eyes scanned Kiel’s body.

“Have you decided to support the First Prince?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Even if he denied it, from the moment he publicly denounced the Red Tower Master, House Rothschild had essentially supported the First Prince.

Nevertheless, the Emperor nodded in understanding.

“It’s about time I decided on a successor anyway. Though I couldn’t earn your loyalty, luck is also a form of ability.”

The Emperor let out a small cough.

“…Her Highness will surely return.”

“Don’t give me empty words. I looked into it and found that dragon in ancient texts. Red Dragon Lord Eryas. If it weren’t a Lord, I would have asked you to subjugate it, but…”

The Emperor shook his head in despair.

There was a fundamental difference between ordinary dragons and Dragon Lords. Even if the Empire waged a total war, they couldn’t defeat a Dragon Lord.

The Emperor was certain Aria was dead.

With Melina missing, he couldn’t afford to lose Kiel too just to retrieve his daughter’s body.

“Anyway, I have a request.”

“I will follow your command.”

The Emperor smiled with satisfaction.

“I need you to go to Euran. I heard there’s a monster outbreak numbering in the tens of thousands. Of course, the Empire’s standing army could handle it, but there’s a specific reason why you must go.”

“Please tell me.”

“We can’t leave the position of the Empire’s Golden Tower Master vacant indefinitely.”

A year was a long time to wait.

The Golden Tower Master was a position reserved for those at the pinnacle of magic, symbolizing the Empire’s power.

It couldn’t remain empty.

Yet they couldn’t put just anyone in that position.

It required someone with skills recognized by all mages and wisdom enough to advise the Emperor.

“There’s a druid who has lived in Euran for hundreds of years. Deliver my imperial edict to him.”

Kiel hesitated.

It wasn’t because an elf, a different race, would become the Golden Tower Master.

– Try not to disturb the plants if possible. It would upset the druid.

It was because of the memories from when he first met Olivia.

The Emperor took out a small edict from a box. It bore the Emperor’s seal.

Kiel respectfully received the edict and placed it inside his robe.

“I’ve secured the elves’ cooperation, so use them as guides.”

“…Your Majesty. May I make one request?”

“Speak.”

“May I… select the guide myself?”

“You?”

“Yes. I know someone who understands Euran’s geography better than most elves.”

After thinking briefly, the Emperor recalled reports from his ravens.

Ridiculous rumors about Kiel having a girlfriend, even a fiancée.

The Emperor asked, half-jokingly:

“Is it a woman?”

“…Yes.”

“Hmm…?”

Seeing the Emperor’s widening eyes, Kiel concluded:

“I swear, she will be of great help to what Your Majesty intends to do.”

“Ho ho… I didn’t know spring would come for you too.”

“…Pardon?”

“Nothing. Perhaps I should send someone else instead…”

It took quite some time to clear up the misunderstanding.

*****

“…You came all this way to say what?”

“I thought it might help improve our relationship…”

“No. Go back.”

Olivia issued the expulsion order without hesitation.

Even if it was Kiel’s request, she couldn’t go to the Great Forest right now.

[The protagonist of Clue #7 is the ‘Devilhunter’.]

It wasn’t the druid’s turn yet.

Kiel looked dejected at Olivia’s cold response.

“Come back next year if you want. I’m busy now…”

Olivia’s words were cut short.

A burning pain spread across the back of her hand, and an ashen mark appeared.

[The ‘Devilhunter’ has used ‘Hunter’s Mark’ on you!]

– Your real-time location information is now public.

Well, damn it.