Chapter 371
Idrinne continued, her tone scolding.
“Does that mean you can reach the 9-Star realm within a week?”
“No, that’s impossible even for me.”
It hadn’t even been that long since he’d reached the wall of high 8-Star in the first place.
“Then why do you keep spouting such nonsense? I can’t allow this. As your friend, I cannot leave you be. I will go and strike Drenne at once.”
Idrinne’s eyes glinted menacingly.
She looked ready to strike Drenne by any means necessary.
“Wait, calm down. I told you I have a way.”
“A way? What way? Just you wait. I may not look it, but I’m skilled in ambushes and despicable schemes. At the very least, I’ll cut off one of her arms so she can’t come to the duel in one piece.”
“…No, I said wait.”
But Idrinne paid him no mind, and Berling also rose from her seat as if to join her.
But then, an unexpected voice was heard.
[Yes, everyone, just wait.]
“!!”
A youthful voice.
Everyone wore looks of surprise.
Sometime, somehow, a little girl had appeared.
She was as lovely as a princess from a fairy tale, but everyone in the room froze.
No one had sensed the little girl’s appearance.
“…Who are you?”
Clang!
Idrinne coldly aimed her rapier.
“You’re an uninvited guest, so you must be prepared to die.”
Then, before Chris could say anything, she struck with her sword.
‘Hey, what’s the rush?’
Chris looked flustered.
The more time he spent with Idrinne, the more he realized that, contrary to her foolish personality, she was incredibly belligerent!
Perhaps because of the long struggles she had endured in the Four Kings' Castle, she had a strong mindset of resolving everything by seeing blood.
‘Even if her appearance has changed into a little girl so she can’t be recognized, to use a killing move right off the bat. It should be fine if I don’t step in, right?’
Chris thought, bewildered.
Considering the little girl’s true ‘identity,’ an attack like that would be laughable.
And yet.
Stab!
[Aaaah! Doesn’t this hurt? It stings!!]
“……”
[I’m currently in a body that can’t even kill a bug, yet you try to kill me out of the blue!! No, that’s not to say that I’m weak!!]
“……”
[Anyway, if I weren’t in a half-spiritual form, I would have died! I almost died without ever having been in a relationship! If I die, it would be a continental loss; how will you take responsibility!]
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the little girl making a fuss after being stabbed by the sword.
They all had expressions that said, ‘What is that?’
She didn’t seem like an ordinary being, but she was incredibly pathetic!
“…Excuse me, could it be.”
Head Rubinson had a look of ‘could it be’ on his face.
She was somehow similar to a person he knew. Her appearance, her way of speaking, and her fussiness.
“…Don’t tell me, Your Highness?”
As someone finally recognized her, the little girl stopped her fuss.
She lifted her chin stiffly and tried to puff out her chest to make a dignified expression.
…Of course, not an ounce of dignity could be felt.
[Yes, little Rubinson. You recognize me. I am the great Demon King of Silver Snow. Everyone, pay your respects.]
“!!”
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
This pathetic little girl was a Demon King?
As they all just stared blankly, such suspicions preventing them from paying their respects, the Demon King of Silver Snow pounded her chest.
[What’s with those looks! It’s not a lie. Pay your respects at once!]
“……”
[It’s true, I tell you?! It’s not a lie!]
As the Demon King of Silver Snow looked like she was about to cry with her large eyes, Chris stepped forward with a bitter smile.
“She is indeed Her Highness the Demon King. Everyone, pay your respects… well, I don’t know about all that, but at least show your courtesy.”
Only then did everyone kneel and pay their respects.
For reference, Rubinson was in a corner with an expression that said, ‘Why didn’t you believe me when I said it,’ but everyone ignored him.
“…We greet the great Her Highness the Demon King.”
[Yes, ahem. It is good that you know now.]
Perhaps because they had seen so much of her pathetic side, not a trace of reverence for a Demon King could be found in their voices, but the Demon King of Silver Snow still seemed satisfied.
“…But for what reason have you graced us with your presence? In such a young form, at that.”
Rubinson asked with a tone of wonder.
None of them knew what kind of situation the Demon King of Silver Snow was currently in.
[I have come here because of Christian.]
“??”
[Didn’t you make a fuss about an important duel in a week?]
The Demon King of Silver Snow placed both hands on her hips with a snap.
It was an expression meant to show off, but unfortunately, due to her small frame, it was only cute.
In any case, the words that came from her mouth were no ordinary matter.
[I will guide Christian.]
“!!”
Right.
This was what Christian had been counting on.
To gain the power to defeat Drenne through the aid of the Demon King of Silver Snow.
[Ahem. Everyone, just trust me.]
…Though she wasn’t very trustworthy.
***
As there was no time, they entered training at once.
However, a curious thing happened.
“I will join you as well.”
Idrinne followed him into the training ground!
It wasn’t just that she wanted to learn alongside him; her expression as she looked at the Demon King of Silver Snow was as cold as could be.
“How do you intend to guide Christian?”
[…Do you not trust me!]
“I do not. It is just that Christian is my most precious friend. I am merely curious as to what kind of teachings you intend to impart. Especially since he has an important duel ahead of him.”
In other words, she was saying she couldn’t trust her.
Idrinne did not trust the Demon King of Silver Snow at all.
Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t know the Demon King of Silver Snow was a great being. If it weren’t for the Demon King of Silver Snow, the Four Kings' Castle would have gone rampant long ago.
But whether she could be trusted was another matter entirely.
It was a bit much to say, but… the Demon King of Silver Snow had always been famous for being clumsy in many ways, contrary to her mighty power.
Just like the appearance she had shown today.
Could she really impart proper teachings?
‘If she’s nothing special, I’ll have to devise another way. Perhaps it would be best for me to use a scheme to ambush Drenne and cut off at least one of her limbs.’
The Demon King of Silver Snow wore a look of injured pride.
[How dare you not trust me. How irreverent.]
“Please tell me how you will guide Christian.”
[…So that’s it. How should I guide you, Christian?]
The Demon King of Silver Snow asked with a blank face.
In truth, she hadn’t come with any grand method. She had simply come because Christian had asked her to.
[So, who is the opponent you have to fight in a week?]
“It is Drenne.”
[Are you insane?! With your current power, it is absolutely impossible! Why did you call me?!]
It was then that Idrinne’s gaze sharpened.
“It is alright. It is possible if Your Highness helps me.”
[…I do not possess such a talent, though? What is the method? I am curious.]
The Demon King of Silver Snow asked, bewildered.
Chris snapped his fingers.
Fwaaat!
The surrounding scenery changed.
A world of pure white.
[What is this place? Is it your mental world?]
“Yes, that is correct. Though it is only a part of the surface layer.”
[It is unbelievably vast. The caliber of your mind is in no way inferior to us Demon Kings.]
The Demon King of Silver Snow wore an expression of admiration.
“In this place, please show me everything you have mastered.”
[!!]
“Within my mental world, you should be able to manifest your power even in a sealed state.”
The Demon King of Silver Snow wore an expression of incomprehension.
[What is the meaning in that? Of course, just glimpsing my achievements will be of great help to you, but is the duel not just a week away?]
Everything the Demon King of Silver Snow had.
It was not something that could be learned by just scratching the surface.
The Demon King of Silver Snow was a high 9-Star.
Excluding the four Demon Kings of the Center, who were of a different class, she was considered the strongest Demon King along with the ‘Dragon King’ of the Northern Magic Kingdom.
Considering that the strongest of the Sacred Ones was a high 9-Star, one could tell how great she was.
“I do not intend to follow and learn Your Highness’s achievements. Our paths are different in the first place.”
[Then?]
“I intend to gauge the trajectory you have built up.”
[…What?]
“To be precise, I am thinking of learning Your Highness’s authority, the ‘King of Combat (鬪王)’.”
[!!]
The Demon King of Silver Snow’s eyes widened.
[Do you even know what kind of authority the King of Combat is?]
“Yes, of course I do.”
[You know, yet you spout such nonsense? It is absolutely impossible to follow and learn the King of Combat.]
The Demon King of Silver Snow hailed from a family of illusion mages.
A family that did not possess even a sliver of swordsmanship.
In other words, she had never properly learned swordsmanship.
It was the same even after she was kicked out of her family for learning the sword.
Her background as the Grand Duchess of the Illusion Mage House always held her back.
No one showed her any kindness, and receiving proper instruction in swordsmanship was something she couldn’t even dream of.
But despite that, she became the greatest sword on the continent.
It was thanks to the authority of the King of Combat.
[In the first place, the King of Combat is not an authority. It is just a name that stuck because the way I grew strong was so bizarre.]
She had many enemies.
After leaving the fold of her family, she had to fight endlessly to keep from dying, and was always thrown into struggles that decided life and death.
Her sword was completed in the midst of that bloody path.
[Seeing me grow stronger the more I fought, they grandly named it the authority of the King of Combat, but there’s really nothing to it. In the first place, isn’t it natural to get stronger when you fight? You, too, will become stronger if you fight to the death.]
“It is alright. I have something in mind.”
[…Something in mind, my foot. I’ve grown quite fond of you; what will you do if you die in the duel!]
“Trust me.”
The Demon King of Silver Snow frowned.
[I have no idea what you are thinking. To secretly give the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle an opportunity to gain an achievement. No matter how much it is to tie him down in seclusion, how do you plan to handle the aftermath?]
“……”
[In any case, I understand. I will trust you. But, keep this in mind. If you die, I’ll scold you. I’m truly scary when I’m angry, so if you don’t want to be scolded, you must survive!]
The Demon King of Silver Snow drew her sword.
[Then, what should I show you first? Should I show you my Advent of Creation, the ‘Advent of the Sword Mountain (劍山降臨)’?]
“No, for now, please show me the basic swordsmanship you first learned.”
The Demon King of Silver Snow tilted her head and followed his words.
[The first swordsmanship I learned was the Demonic Ghost Sword (魔鬼劍), which I learned by stealing it from a demonic guard hired by the Illusion Mage House.]
It was a third-rate swordsmanship practiced by wandering demonic beings.
But now, as the Demon King of Silver Snow unfolded it, a mighty power that could not be compared to any sublime sword art appeared.
And that was even without mobilizing any demonic energy at all.
As expected of the greatest sword on the continent. Even a lightly swung sword was imbued with the ultimate sword will.
[…But what is the meaning in showing you something like this?]
“There is plenty of meaning. Please show me your other sword arts as well.”
The Demon King of Silver Snow, with a puzzled face that showed she didn’t understand, continued to demonstrate the swordsmanship she had learned in the past.
It was all a similar pattern.
The swordsmanship she had learned were all shabby things, but they had been perfectly sublimated.