Chapter 718 – Day 81 – The Princess Finds Out What Minos Is Planning.
“Ugh…!! Ugh…!!!”
Hedone, who was forced out of the dimensional gateway, barely managed to avoid rolling around on the ground full of weeds.
“Ugh…”
Arisa, who was on the ground with a dazed expression, couldn’t even get up properly. Her eyes were still glowing red, so Hedone could tell right away that she was still being controlled.
“Minos…! Stop doing this now! I know how much you love the princess, but there are some things that are okay to do and some that are not!”
Hedone, who could not help but feel vaguely distant at all times, shouted as she straightened her pure white hair.
“It’s okay, Mom. Dad will soon love us and only us, his true family.”
“So! If you really love the princess, you’re telling me to stop doing this!”
Hedone shouted as she approached Minos, but she stopped midway. She had no choice but to stop.
“What is this…?”
Hedone looked blankly at Minos, who was easily accomplishing something that was beyond her common sense.
“Why are you so surprised, Mom?”
“M-Minos…? How can you do this…?”
Hedo was surprised to see that a wonderful castle was being built one by one at the place where you pointed with her hand. A castle and a huge village were being built with countless trees and white bricks sparkling, and Minos was holding a huge pair of scissors high and waving them as if commanding.
“Huh?”
Minos tilts his head as if Hedone’s question was wrong.
“It’s something Dad can do too, right?”
“What… What…”
Hedone broke into a cold sweat. Minos was just swinging the scissors, and before he knew it, a white and wonderful castle was completed. Crash! Minos lightly shrugged his shoulders as if stepping lightly on his wonderful marble legs sticking out of the ground.
“Mom, let’s go into the castle. I’ll show you even more cool things inside. Hehe, hehe…! I can’t believe that cute Minos can tell you something that dad didn’t tell you~”
Minos snorted with a completely happy expression and gently waved his finger. Arisa, who was standing next to him, trembled, but placed both hands on the ground as Minos ordered.
By all accounts, Arisa was like a puppy, but she had to crawl on all fours as Minos told her.
‘The princess said something like this… Wait a minute… That means…’
Hedone, who had goosebumps all over his body, swallowed his saliva with an anxious expression.
‘Empress Agrippa… I and the princess… Seem to have taken Minos’ feelings too lightly…’
Hedone clenched his fists and vowed.
She couldn’t let her daughter from the future go astray any longer.
* * * * * * *
“How absurd is that…”
Ceres, whose face became pale, looked at the attendants standing in front of him. It’s not their fault in the current situation. Even though it was revealed that she was a demon in the first place, she was a person who worked hard without saying anything.
“… Thank you all for your hard work. Everyone, please have free time for the rest of the day. It would have been difficult to contact Gregory and Galagon within a short period of time, so thank you for your hard work.”
“Are you really okay, Ceres?”
When everyone nodded, an attendant carefully asked a question.
“If you are the princess, you will definitely make it a good job. Now, you all have worked hard in your own way. Please rest.”
The servants gathered in front of Ceres simultaneously bowed their heads in greeting. They left the room chatting casually and Ceres sighed deeply.
‘I never thought Minos would have this kind of power. Then… From his perspective, the reason he swung the scissors at Arisa and Minerva was…’
Ceres felt goosebumps all over her body as she realized that it was really a ‘prank’. Still, she couldn’t help but convey this news to the princess, so she went on her way while checking the letter she was holding in her hand.
─Knock
“Come in.”
After walking down the hallway for a while, Ceres knocked on the princess’s room and entered her, hearing a gloomy voice.
“… Your position must be difficult, but I’m making you do too many things.”
“No. Everyone doesn’t seem to care too much about the fact that I’m a demon, so it’s a little embarrassing.”
Ceres told a small joke and approached the princess who was sitting on a chair and deep in worry.
“Princess, as you said, I sent the children to check on you, but…”
“Was it as I thought?”
Would you say it’s the princess’s insight? Ceres was a little surprised to see that he had anticipated this situation and nodded.
“Yes, I’m sorry, but I haven’t heard any good news anywhere.”
Ceres swallows his saliva and checks the letter, whose ink has not yet dried properly.
“First of all, the Church of Saints says that Saint Grace has disappeared.”
“Hmm… I thought that would be the case since Grace’s word is law, but…”
Still, isn’t there Lucia? The princess thought so, but she immediately shook her head.
‘Isn’t it a situation where the saint was dragged into a strange dimensional gateway and disappeared in broad daylight?’
The princess clenched her fists.
“The church is currently in a situation where High Priest Lucia is busy resolving the situation.”
“Ah, yes. High Priest Lucia has corrected this, but even with the help of High Priest Messalina, the confusion is not easily calmed down…”
The princess nodded her head.
“Next is Gregory. He also says that Queen Hestia disappeared in front of many of her subjects.”
“Isn’t there a situation where you can sort out the confusion right away?”
“Yes, but fortunately, Queen Hestia’s knights seem to be calming the situation somehow.”
But in the end, it will just be a decent sand castle. The princess nodded her head.
“Ah, it is said that Queen Hestia was talking to the elves’ diplomatic corps.”
“Diplomats…? Ah, it looks like they are planning to become friendly with humans somehow, as I requested.”
“Yes, but… Coincidentally… The representative of the diplomatic corps was Uriel…”
Uriel was a good choice because she had a lot of contact with humans and had something in common as a princess.
“Did Uriel and Hestia disappear at the same time? Ugh… We ended up setting off fireworks next to a bomb that could explode…”
If nonsense starts to gain wings, the humans could say that the elves kidnapped the queen, and the elves could say that the humans kidnapped and imprisoned Uriel.
Either way, it was nonsense, but there was always a moment when plausible bullshit was needed.
“Next comes the news that Diana of Colonia has disappeared… They say there are no problems here right now.”
“Hmph… Isn’t there a rumor that Diana’s position is empty right now? Isn’t Colonia the place that makes the most money out of the numerous fiefdoms in the empire?”
It became a land without an owner. What will happen if it becomes known that the land protected by Diana’s terrifying blood magic can be taken for free by force?
‘Diana, who was barely able to put gags on the mouths of the new nobles, has disappeared… Ugh, I can’t even imagine what would happen if a guy blinded by greed starts a fight…’
The princess rubbed her face with both hands.
“What happened to senior Haley?”
“Yes, the situation seems to be the same there as well. At least Olga Alexeyevna Romanova, with whom we have recently become close friends, seems to be somehow calming down the nobles of Galagon…”
That too will only last a day or two. The princess looked anxious and lifted the drink she had been drinking for some time to her mouth.
“There is at least Zinaida in the Magica Kingdom where Arisa disappeared, but it looks like the witches there won’t be quiet.”
“Yes, there may be another bloody competition for the position of Magic Tower Lord.”
“… If there is a next one, it would be Hedone.”
The princess felt dizzy as she looked at the letters piled up on her desk.
Now she is called Hedone, and there was no problem because she had a tremendous presence called ‘the fiancée brought by Emperor Jupiter himself’, but what would happen if she disappeared?
‘There must be more than one girl who approaches me and says she wants to marry me…’
Is that woman even the empress? I can’t admit it! There was a possibility that someone with the same thoughts would appear.
In the end, it is said to be her princess’s choice, but how much meaning would it have for her to accept that choice? The princess felt like everything she had eaten with all her heart would pour out from her throat.
“Uh, Minos… Even if an accident happens, an accident I can’t handle…”
Ceres gently stroked the princess’s trembling shoulders.
“Princess… What is the invitation that Minos left behind?”
“Do you mean… Um…”
It was obvious to the princess, but she had no idea where Minos was. So she was hopeful and looked around at the invitation, but all she could find was words she couldn’t understand.
“It looks like they quizzed me…”
“Do you receive this invitation?”
Ceres carefully lifted the pure white paper and read the golden text.
“Oh my.”
Ceres blinks and smiles.
“Princess, didn’t you say that you understand all the knowledge of the ancient demons?”
“I understand as much as I can, but what does this have to do with this invitation?”
“Hmm… It says so. Quest, great warrior, follow the bread crumbs with the wizard to defeat the evil devil.”
At Hedone’s words, the princess crossed her legs.
“So… Didn’t you say you didn’t know what that meant?”
“This is called a game… Have you ever played a video game?”
“Well, I showed you a few things…”
The princess was not interested in such things. Because it was difficult for her to hold the controller with her hands.
“Hmm… This is a phrase that often appears in such video games. In other words, the hero refers to the princess, and the evil demon lord seems to refer to Minos.”
“Are you saying that you are evil… Um, so who is the wizard? Didn’t Minos kidnap Arisa?”
Ceres cleared his throat and pointed at himself.
“It seems like he’s referring to me.”
“Um… Uhm, yes, that sounds reasonable. But… What on earth do the bread crumbs mean? Isn’t this a strange story, like something out of a fairy tale?”
Ceres blushed at the princess’s question and waved her paper up and down.
“I know how to use magic to track down the owner of these items. That means… If I, as a wizard, use magic, I can know where Minos is. That means if I am there, I can literally see the breadcrumbs. It exists.”
“That must be… No, it can’t be… Minos knew that you could use that kind of magic, so he didn’t bother to write down where he was going…?”
The princess felt like she was playing in the palm of Minos’s hand, and her entire body grew wet.
