As long as the Demon King didn’t disapprove, demons could become whatever they wanted. However, contract demons, strictly speaking, were somewhat akin to betraying their own kind. Hence, many demons viewed them as traitors. If the application unit were set up near the Great Demon Abyss, it would definitely be subject to demonic destruction. Normally, these units were established within the national royal palace.
“Oh, I forgot,” Ziyuan suddenly remembered. During the forgery, he didn’t pay attention to this detail because Thrett and Queen Lily were arguing incessantly, and he casually filled in the location of the Demon King’s castle.
“So, you lied to me. You’re not actually a contract demon?” Ellyad shifted his gaze to Thrett, staring directly at him.
“Well, it seems that’s the case, but I’ve always been following the rules of contract demons.” Thrett replied hesitantly.
“Hmm.” With a brief response, Ell resumed eating more silently than before, clearly upset. It seemed he cared a lot about being deceived.
Thrett couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. What if Ellyad found out that Thrett was, in fact, the Demon King? Would he be furious enough to cut him in half with that real Hero’s Sword? Just thinking about it was painful. While the Demon King might not die, it didn’t mean he couldn’t feel pain. Moreover, Ell’s sword was the genuine Hero’s Sword—if it struck, death would be inevitable.
In the face of this awkward situation, Thrett and Ell remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
Prince Polon spent the entire afternoon narrating the country’s origin, the exploits of past heroes, and boasting about his royal lineage. Throughout this monologue, Ziyuan mentally tallied the number of times he wanted to kill the prince—within a short afternoon, it had already surpassed five hundred.
On the other hand, the Demon King in front of him seemed to pay no attention to the obnoxious prince. Currently, his focus was solely on his companion, who was clearly in a bad mood due to the deception.
“This is the detached palace. Currently, everyone is busy preparing for the National Celebration, so there are fewer people around. If you plan to stay here to witness the entire celebration as my honored guests, I can arrange that for you. However, as for the demon with the forged documents…” Polon glanced at Thrett.
It seemed he was eager to have Ellyad and Ziyuan stay but wasn’t very welcoming towards Thrett. Ziyuan disdainfully snorted in his mind, ready to flatly refuse. However, the Demon King hadn’t uttered a word of objection, keeping him in suspense and preventing him from leaving immediately.
“I’ll let you know in advance; if he can’t stay, I won’t stay either,” Ziyuan preemptively declared.
“Me too,” Ell added. Though he was a bit annoyed with Thrett, it wasn’t to the extent of wanting to break their partnership.
“Alright, alright, I got it. I’ll generously spare you this time,” spoke Polon as if bestowing a great favor. Ziyuan, for the five hundredth and something time, felt the urge to charge and deliver a fatal blow to this arrogant little prince who showed great disrespect to the Demon King. After all, Polon was also a Hero; eliminating him would be getting rid of a future threat to the demon race.
—
After the meal, the three were accommodated in the palace, each with their own room.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Despite wanting to consider this as a forced vacation, Ziyuan’s day had been thoroughly ruined by the irritating Hero. Thrett, on the other hand, had been gloomy since Ellyad got upset, creating an atmosphere devoid of any relaxation. Moreover, for the demon race, the national celebration in the Hero’s country was far from a joyous occasion, as each nation’s celebration also marked the anniversary of each Demon King’s demise.
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“When Ell saw me in the bath just now, he turned and left… It’s just a forged document, why would he be so concerned?” Thrett, leaning back against the edge of the bath, absentmindedly brushed his damp black hair away from his face, revealing his heterochromatic eyes in shades of red and purple. The glistening water droplets traced the contours of his athletic physique, captivating anyone who laid eyes on the Demon King’s perfect appearance.
However, direct eye contact with the esteemed king was considered disrespectful, so Ziyuan forcibly averted his gaze and replied, “Human emotions are complicated, so I, too, am not sure.”
“You don’t understand either? I thought you should have some understanding of what humans are thinking.”
“Why would you think that?” Ziyuan was puzzled. He was a demon, with little contact with humans. Naturally, he wouldn’t understand humans as well as the Demon King, who had roamed outside for a long time.
“Ah, never mind if you don’t remember. By the way, don’t keep talking like a servant, or else you’ll keep slipping up.”
“I’ll do my best, Your Majesty. Also, there’s an important matter I’d like to confirm. What’s the deal with that brat and your companion? It shouldn’t be possible to have two heroes at the same time, right?” Ziyuan shifted the topic back to the issue that had been bothering him, avoiding the question about the simultaneous appearance of two heroes.
Ziyuan speculated that Thrett’s companion might not be a hero. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t believe a Demon King would treat their natural enemy as a travel companion. But then, how could he explain the red sword in the hands of the youth who also had wings but carried a fake sword?
“What I can confirm is that the brat’s sword is definitely fake, but he’s probably a hero.”
“What about your companion?”
“Ell said he’s not a hero and won’t kill the Demon King, probably.”
“Please refrain from using ‘probably’ as a conclusion. It makes it difficult for people to believe.”
“I wasn’t trying to convince you in the first place. If you want to know, go find the answers yourself.” Thrett waved his hand dismissively, answering casually.
“Isn’t Ellyad’ the last six letters of your name?”
“Ziyuan, you really have a lot of questions today.” Thrett suddenly remembered the hero’s totem on his left arm. If Ziyuan saw it, he would surely go on and on about the dignity of the Demon King and the demon race. There would be a lot of nonsense about how the Demon King and heroes should all die, and it would be a mess.
What’s worse is that if, during this rant, Ziyuan inadvertently let it slip to Ell, and he found out the truth about being the Demon King, would Ell be angry enough to give him a few cuts? Or would they just part ways? Thrett couldn’t predict how Ell would react, but at least for now, he didn’t want to part ways with him.
Fortunately, Ziyuan was soaking on his right side, quite far away, so he hadn’t noticed the totem yet. Thrett discreetly submerged his arm into the water.
“And his scarf looks very familiar too, don’t you think?”
“Ziyuan, take your time in the bath. I’ll go up first, see you later!”
Focusing on not being discovered by Ziyuan, Thrett quickly wanted to leave the bath, and in the end, he didn’t hear clearly what Ziyuan said was familiar.
After bathing alone, Ziyuan casually wandered around the palace. The servants here seemed very indifferent, particularly towards Ellyad. Rather than showing respect for the royal family, it seemed more like they intentionally ignored Ellyad. However, there were not many servants in the entire palace.
From the windows in the corridor, one could see the lively and bright lights outside the city on this rare full moon night. Rather than planning to attend the midnight celebration, Ziyuan was drawn to the moonlight. He searched for a staircase and reached the top of a tower, only to find someone already standing there, as if waiting for Ziyuan.
Polon stood at the top, supporting a long sword with both hands, and his piercing gaze stared directly at Ziyuan, who appeared suddenly.
The young man’s current expression was entirely different from the arrogant demeanor during the day; it was composed, with a touch of confidence. He loudly declared to Ziyuan, “I knew you would come, Demon King.”
“What?” Ziyuan looked back to check if Thrett was behind him, but there was no sign of the demon’s presence.
“Stop pretending. I targeted you because I sensed that your magical aura is different from other demons,” Polon asserted.
“I am not the Demon King.” Even though Ziyuan knew he was slightly stronger than other demons, it was nowhere near Thrett’s level.
“Don’t play games. I knew if I waited here, you would come. For no other reason, I have something to discuss with you, so please listen,” Polon said with certainty.
“I really am not the Demon King.”
“No need to hide it. Come, let’s talk about what I wanted to discuss earlier. I hope we won’t fight, at least not here, not within this country.”
“I already told you I’m not the Demon King. Besides, I just happened to come up here, okay?”
Although Ziyuan had vehemently clarified his identity, Polon stubbornly insisted that he was the Demon King. His foolish, stubborn, and self-righteous misunderstanding made Ziyuan want to mock him mercilessly.
Ignoring Ziyuan’s protests once again, Polon stood at the edge of the observation deck, overlooking the entire city. He continued speaking as if lost in his own thoughts: “I have been immersed in the records of the heroes for over a decade. I can imagine what will happen once we go to war with the Demon King. This country is prosperous, and everyone is happy, whether they are demons or humans… This is my country, and no matter what, I will protect it with my life. Moreover, I am the prince of this country! So, I hope that at least while we are here, we can avoid going to war.” Polon’s gaze was determined, and his tone was so firm that Ziyuan couldn’t refuse.
Ziyuan sneered, “Just because you say it’s not allowed, does that mean it’s final? What if I were the Demon King and insisted on starting a fight right now?”
“I’m certain I would lose then,” Polon replied.
“What?”
“Can’t you see it?” Polon suddenly removed his shirt, revealing slender shoulders and arms. Pure white wings unfolded, and his flawless skin glowed under the moonlight – not a single trace of a totem could be found!
Ziyuan immediately remembered that Polon was mentioned as a hero by Thrett. However, he then recalled Thrett’s uncertain statement, “probably.” What was the truth? Thrett had mentioned wanting to find out the answers to the questions that concerned him.
“As you can see, I’m an incomplete hero and I’ve contracted a strange illness. It’s a rare condition that makes my father, mother, and siblings unable to see me. I believe it’s related to inheriting the incomplete power of a hero. Once I retrieve all the proofs of being a hero, I’m sure this illness will be cured without the need for any medication.”
“Invisible? So, what I see now is your ghost?” Ziyuan asked disdainfully. This was the most absurd disease he had ever heard of in all his long years of existence.
Polon continued, “Although the servants and residents below the castle can still see me, the royals and nobles in the palace can’t. I just hope that one day, everyone will be able to see my presence! Moreover, someone as beautiful and elegant as Ziyuan, I’m seeing for the first time. So, even if I become a true hero, I probably wouldn’t be able to harm him.”
Despite having read many ancient texts describing the extraordinary appearance of the Demon Lord, it was only today that Polon witnessed the truth of the records when he saw Ziyuan. He ended his explanation with a shy and whispered remark.
“Enough with the flattery. Being praised for beauty doesn’t make me happy at all.” As Ziyuan spoke, he suddenly had a revelation. He thought that if the power of the Hero was divided between two individuals, then the strength to vanquish demons would be correspondingly halved. As long as he clarified the details of the other Hero and simultaneously eliminated them, it would become much easier to get rid of the Hero now.
‘However, now I can’t kill this kid temporarily.’ If one of them were killed first, the power of the Hero might very well return to the other person. This would bring the risk back to its original level. Therefore, Ziyuan had to add the task of monitoring Polon to ensure he didn’t obtain the complete power of the Hero ahead of time.
Although he brought trouble upon himself, Ziyuan was delighted to be able to contribute his own strength to the Demon King. His mood couldn’t help but brighten.
“Demon King, please agree to my request!” Polon bowed his head in supplication. Despite Ziyuan having planned not to kill the young warrior for the time being, he couldn’t stand Polon’s presumptuous attitude of assuming his request would be granted. Ziyuan deliberately challenged him, saying, “Even if I agree now, who’s to say I won’t slay you in the next second?”
Ziyuan revealed a sinister smirk, but suddenly saw Polon reach for his waist with both hands, “Bang!” A gunshot exploded next to Ziyuan’s ear, leaving him stunned and motionless.
Polon held a blood-red short gun with a single hand, wisps of smoke swirling around the barrel. The bullet shot just now grazed Ziyuan’s cheek, leaving a bloodstain.
Thank you for the chapter ~