Ch.144143. Luna Crystal (3)

# 143. Luna Crystal (3)

Diabolica was indeed a much more humble king than I had originally expected.

Since I had never met her in person before, I didn’t know what kind of person she was.

Of course, I could have guessed that Diabolica would be similar to Luna since she was Luna’s mother, but naturally, I couldn’t be certain.

“I’m somewhat surprised that two such young—almost childlike—individuals managed to travel such a long distance without any difficulty.”

Diabolica continued speaking in a kind tone, looking back and forth between me and her as she spoke.

“If it’s not too impertinent, may I ask your ages?”

“Of course, I’m 19. Albert is 17.”

“You’re much younger than I expected… I thought you’d be at least Luna’s age…”

Luna’s age…

In terms of actual age, Luna was approaching 100 years old, so I didn’t feel particularly good about that comparison.

Of course, in human years, Luna was only about 25 years old, so I understood why she said that, but it still left me with mixed feelings.

‘But more importantly… I want to rest…’

I was quite tired after struggling for about a week on our journey.

And just like me, she must be tired too.

In fact, she might be even more exhausted than me since she had been constantly maintaining “Bitter Cold” to support me, but she didn’t show any signs of fatigue and steadfastly continued the conversation.

“By the way, how did you know we came for an alliance?”

“That was a simple prediction. I roughly knew what had happened with the Babylon Kingdom, so I thought that might be the case.”

“Roughly?”

Hearing that question, Diabolica explained what she roughly knew.

“Things like how the Babylon Kingdom has joined hands with the beastmen, and that a major battle is taking place in Eden.”

“You know quite a lot?”

They certainly knew many things for supposedly having no exchange with the outside world.

The current state of the war, the battle taking place in Eden, and so on.

Even recent developments.

Their excellent information-gathering ability wasn’t limited to this forest.

“There are ways to know things.”

“I see your technological prowess is as impressive as I’ve heard.”

“We still have a long way to go, since that person can detect us.”

That person.

The person Diabolica was referring to was probably Bael.

It seemed that even Persia Kingdom’s unmanned reconnaissance devices could be detected by people with extraordinary sensing abilities like Bael or Merlin.

“Your Grand Magician seems to have noticed it long ago as well.”

“As expected…”

It was just like Merlin to know about it but not take any particular measures.

“But… is it okay for so many key forces to be away? The Emperor at the center of the empire, Merlin, and two talented individuals despite their young age…”

“It’s fine.”

The battle currently taking place in Eden would be fine.

Because not only Rey and Light, but also Karina and Marco were there.

I wasn’t worried at all, especially since we had also recruited many high-level mercenaries.

“They’re people we can fully trust.”

Just like last time, Bael wouldn’t be personally attending this time either, so we should be able to fend off their attacks without major casualties.

Hearing those words, Diabolica showed a relieved expression and said:

“That’s good to hear. More importantly, what are your impressions of our country?”

Quite a simple question.

Diabolica looked at me and her as she continued speaking.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen humans, so I’m curious about your thoughts.”

“It was fascinating in a good way, since it’s very different from the environment I’m used to.”

“The air quality here is absolutely amazing…”

She was genuinely impressed by the surrounding air with its high magical concentration.

Of course, I agreed with her opinion.

Just breathing in gave the sensation and effect of having drunk a mana recovery potion.

Both of us were quite satisfied with the current situation, and Diabolica was pleased by that fact.

“I’m glad you like it. Please make yourselves at home during your stay here.”

Diabolica called for a maid waiting outside the room.

A maid then entered the room.

A female elf who looked too powerful to be simply called a maid.

Diabolica pointed to the maid and continued:

“This maid will guide you to the rooms where you’ll be staying for a while. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

After saying that, Diabolica left the room and disappeared somewhere.

Then, the maid led us to the rooms where we would be staying.

Fatigue washed over me on the way to the rooms.

Unable to hold back, I covered my mouth and yawned.

“Tired, aren’t you? Me too…”

“Definitely tired…”

It felt like I would fall asleep immediately upon lying on a bed, and the same was true for her.

So both of us arrived at our rooms with sleepy eyes.

“These are your rooms. Please rest comfortably, and I’ll be here if you need anything or have any questions.”

“Thank you.”

After briefly saying goodbye to each other, we entered our assigned rooms.

A large bed and tasteful interior.

Those things certainly caught my eye, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.

‘Ah… so sleepy…’

I immediately surrendered myself to the bed before me.

And again, fatigue washed over me.

Unable to withstand it, I fell asleep.

***

Unlike those two living comfortably, the warriors of Eden were enduring all kinds of hardships.

Among those warriors, some had suffered deep wounds, and others were exhausted from the continuous battles day and night.

And in the process, quite a few warriors had lost their lives.

-Slash! Clang!!-

The sound of warriors’ swords filled the battlefield at all hours.

At the center of that scene were numerous powerful individuals.

Rey and Light, the captains of the Kainis Empire’s Knights, and Marco, one of the heroes.

And Karina Ignite, the princess of the Orion Kingdom and the protagonist of this war.

A massive pillar of fire summoned by Karina’s sword strike was burning countless demons.

“Aaaah…! It’s hot…!”

“Hey! Get away!”

The demons suffering from those flames.

But they weren’t just taking the hits passively.

After all, they had their own powerful individuals.

The executioners of the Babylon Kingdom.

About four executioners, including Agareus, were barely maintaining the balance of the battle.

Agareus, the current leader of the demons, looked at familiar faces and scenery with a wicked smile.

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

“Shut up, loser.”

Light’s words were filled with killing intent.

It seemed he had accumulated considerable anger from what had happened last time.

“We’ll win again this time, you vermin.”

“You talk big for someone who won with the Emperor’s help. This time will be different.”

Saying that, Agareus raised his weapon high into the air.

Rey and Light pointed their swords at Agareus.

Then they shouted:

“Come at me, you monster!”

With those words began a battle between the greatest warriors of each nation.

Rachel couldn’t help but admire the sight.

Then she looked at her sister, who was struggling in a different area.

Karina spoke harshly upon seeing Lilith.

“Disgusting and vile demon, I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“Would you call me a succubus instead?”

The two were clearly polar opposites.

They too began a bloody battle.

Karina’s sword strikes and Lilith’s magic—a sight that inspired awe just by watching.

Children who seemed somewhat out of place on this battlefield admired the scene.

“Wow… this is really intense.”

“One hit would kill me…”

It was a battle of much higher level than the one between Albert and Elizabeth, which had been the highest level battle they had commonly witnessed.

It was truly a battle of monsters.

Chris had these thoughts while watching the battle:

‘Should we even be here?’

Battles of a level absolutely unreachable with his current skills were taking place right before his eyes, and he could never intervene.

This would be the same even if Albert or the Princess were here.

However, if it had been them, they wouldn’t have had the same thoughts as Chris just now.

And instead of blankly watching the battle like the current Chris, they would have been diligently performing their duties.

Just like Reina was doing now.

-Slash! Thud!!-

Instead of blankly watching the fight, Reina chose to kill as many enemies as possible.

‘If it were Albert… or the Princess, they would have done the same, right?’

Reina was thinking about the two people who unfortunately couldn’t participate in this battle, while firmly walking the path she needed to take.

Just like those two people.

***

Those two people.

As always, they were conducting their morning training today as well.

-Clang! Clang!!-

Clear metallic sounds echoed through the massive training ground.

They were enjoying the refreshing morning hours listening to those metallic sounds.

After continuing like that for quite some time, Luna appeared at the training ground in what looked like pajamas, as if she had just woken up.

“From early morning… you’re already at it…”