I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake. Chapter 89

I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.

Chapter 89

Caesar found a goat bone under the collapsed wooden building.

On the goat bone’s forehead was an inverted pentagram.

This was the ‘Adoratorum’, a symbol of Niflheim and the ‘Devil Cult’, an item that the ‘Prophets’ always carried around.

Adoratorum means ‘worshipper’ and only those who receive it can learn ‘how to tame devils’.

Which means…

“As expected, the prophets were already in the empire.”

Caesar examined the Adoratorum in the moonlight.

He could see purple lines rising from the Adoratorum connected to the flesh of the director who had died earlier from his body exploding.

It seemed the director’s death was due to magic cast on this Adoratorum.

Caesar showed the Adoratorum to the mutants.

“So you’re saying people with this mark came to see the director?”

One of the mutants nodded.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Do you happen to know what they looked like?”

Caesar used psychometry.

“Uh… They were wearing black robes so I couldn’t see their faces clearly. They also told us not to look at them.”

There wasn’t much he could gather even using psychometry.

One of the prophets’ essential abilities is ‘concealment’ or ‘shape-shifting’ since they need to know how to change their appearance and escape anywhere at any time.

Knowing their outward appearance is almost meaningless.

“Did they teach how to tame devils?”

“To be precise, they taught how to make obedient devils. Well, I don’t know the exact method, but… If anything, there were more failures.”

Other mutants started chiming in one by one.

“Ah, was it the demonization potion? They said they couldn’t make devils recently because it was hard to get.”

“They would also burn some strange sweet incense…”

The demonization potion must refer to the ‘Night Maker’, and the sweet scent must be hypnotic incense that disturbs the mind.

Since these are things prophets use when creating devils.

Okay.

He roughly understood.

The prophets were spreading the devil cult centered around the freak show, and Caesar had essentially interfered with that.

In other words, the more he destroys freak shows, the more the influence of devil outbreaks decreases, and if done well, he might even be able to kill the prophets – reaching this very simple and clear truth.

The problem is that each of those bastards are powerful devils like ‘Andromalius’…

Caesar looked at Thunder embedded in the devil’s heart.

‘Finding them is a problem, and killing them is also a problem…’

With Caesar’s current power, if asked to kill Andromalius again, he couldn’t give a definitive answer.

Even though he ate the white tiger’s heart and the deep sea rainbow, he’s definitely not as strong as one Barre.

Maybe about 0.3 Barre now?

He would need to be at least 0.5 Barre to stand a chance against Andromalius…

While lost in thought, one of the mutants approached.

“Um… Sir Knight.”

“Hmm? What?”

“What’s going to happen to us now?”

“What do you mean what’s going to happen?”

Caesar threw a money pouch he had picked up from under the wooden building in front of them.

“Go home.”

***

Caesar held a meeting with Hudson, holy knights, and heresy inquisitors at ‘Benjamin & Sons‘ in Homigraph.

The entire café was emptied, and so many people gathered that the large café was filled with people.

Caesar placed the Adoratorum on the table and said.

“To get straight to the point, it seems these prophets taught how to tame devils.”

“Prophets…” Tina thought for a moment before speaking. “I’ve heard of them. They’re a heretical group that follows the devil cult. If they know how to tame devils… The situation must be quite serious.”

The Dre Order’s holy knights also seemed to know about the prophets already, as their expressions weren’t good.

And as always, those who boldly speak up are the ones who know nothing.

Hudson took out a golden letter and placed it on the table.

“This is His Majesty the Emperor’s decree. His Majesty has ordered all nobles to mobilize their knight orders to find and eliminate the freak show circus groups directly. In the case of the Wizard Province, Arch Duke’s personal mage corps will handle it.”

Tina frowned.

“What are your thoughts on handling the prophets?”

“The knight orders should be more than capable of handling the prophets once mobilized.”

Not only the holy knights but also the heresy inquisitors looked at Hudson as if in disbelief.

“Just in case, do you know what kind of beings these prophets are?”

Hudson doesn’t know exactly about the prophets.

Probably few people within the imperial court know about the prophets.

Devil hunting is the domain of holy knights and heresy inquisitors, not imperial business.

But Hudson is a very quick-witted person.

Hudson spoke as if he knew a lot.

“I know at least that they’re not just devils who teach methods of taming devils.”

The heresy inquisitors and holy knights snickered at Hudson’s deception.

At this point, neither the Dre Order nor the Royder Order knows much about the prophets.

So how could the imperial court know about the prophets?

The empire’s people only focus on watching for rebellions in each region and monitoring whether nobles are increasing their knight orders more than necessary or not.

“Ah, I see. That’s a relief.”

But the holy knights and heresy inquisitors didn’t point out Hudson’s deception.

The less information the imperial court has about the prophets, the more advantageous it is for the two orders.

An elderly holy knight sitting in front of Joseph took out a letter from the Pope.

“I am Zelen, Commander of the 51st Holy Knights Division in charge of the Wizard Province. I have a message from His Holiness the Pope that I need to deliver to both of you.”

Zelen spoke while sliding the letter to the center of the table.

“Our Dre Order has designated Freak show as heretical and plans to support the Holy Knights. However, since the number of Holy Knights is quite small, we believe it would be more efficient to focus on finding and eliminating the prophets rather than concentrating on punishing Freak show. I ask that you explain this well to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Tina also took out a letter.

“The results of the Royder Order’s Cardinal Council meeting are the same. We’ve designated Freak show as heretical and will provide potions immediately when needed. The heresy inquisitors across the country will also participate in tracking the prophets. If we discover any information about Freak show during this process, we will share it with the Empire and the Dre Order.”

Hudson frowned.

“Are you saying we should handle all the Freak show remnants by ourselves? We can also pursue the prophets.”

The Holy Knight spoke.

“Then do so. We won’t stop you.”

Hudson held back to avoid showing his displeasure.

From their brazen attitude, he could tell that the prophets were not to be taken lightly.

However, it would damage the Empire’s dignity to directly ask just how powerful these prophets were and how difficult they were to find.

Hudson had to be careful with his words as he was essentially representing the Empire.

‘So…’

Hudson looked at Caesar.

“His Majesty the Emperor wishes to receive a direct briefing about this Freak show incident. Sir Caesar, you should head to Goldmile Province immediately.”

At least they would keep Caesar.

Caesar was the only person who had proven the relationship between Freak show and the prophets.

It was clear that showing the scene of Caesar reporting about the Freak show incident to His Majesty the Emperor would establish the dignity of the Imperial Family before all people.

At that moment, Zelen quietly folded his hands and spoke in a serious voice.

“It seems His Majesty thinks the same way. However, His Holiness the Pope also wishes to hear the accurate story about this Freak show incident. If possible, could you come to Dre Province?”

An elderly man in black priestly robes walked out from behind Tina.

“I am Sixto, the Bishop of the Homigraph diocese. The twelve Cardinals also wish to hear detailed information about this incident from Sir Caesar.”

Of course, the other orders wanted Caesar just as much.

If they could show the scene of Caesar reporting the Freak show incident to each order’s leader, it would establish the order’s dignity while deeply embedding the image that the order values the lives of its believers.

Hudson stepped forward and said.

“It was His Majesty the Emperor who ordered Sir Caesar to thoroughly investigate this Freak show incident. Naturally, Sir Caesar should see His Majesty first.”

“You speak of what’s natural? Matters related to devils have always been the duty of the Dre Order. Surely meeting His Holiness should take priority?”

“The Royder Order has been investigating the prophets for a very long time. Since we have more information about the prophets, receiving detailed information from Sir Caesar would enable faster pursuit of the prophets.”

Caesar felt a throbbing headache.

He knew exactly what these greedy people wanted.

What Caesar found unpleasant was how they seemed to treat him like a puppet they could play with.

‘This is annoying. Should I just flip the table?’

Caesar looked at the Apsin Order priests watching from the corner.

The Apsin Order just stared blankly, saying it wasn’t their business.

The Minuel Order wasn’t even in Wizard Province to begin with… Those guys are lucky.

Then, Hudson spoke.

“Wait, instead of fighting among ourselves, shouldn’t Sir Caesar make the decision?”

Dozens of eyes turned toward Caesar.

“Sir Caesar, who do you think should receive the briefing first?”

…I really don’t want to do this.

Couldn’t I just submit a written report?

Of course, saying that would likely result in them dividing him into three pieces – Cae/sa/r – given the atmosphere, so he had no choice but to choose one.

After thinking for a moment, Caesar opened his mouth.

“I…”

***

Caesar got off the carriage.

An magnificent golden palace greeted him.

While the Great Ark Library inspired awe purely through its peculiarity and mysteriousness, this place commanded reverence simply because one couldn’t even imagine how much money had been poured into it.

“His Majesty the Emperor is waiting. We’ll do the palace tour later.”

At Hudson’s urging, Caesar had no choice but to move forward.

Among the Empire, Dre Church, and Royder Church, Caesar naturally chose the Empire first.

There were several reasons.

First, it was the Empire that initially commissioned Caesar to eliminate Freak show.

Second, the Empire was closest both geographically and politically.

Third, Caesar would have to be at odds with the Royder Order anyway over the malaria medicine issue.

The third reason was especially significant because, given that the conflict over the malaria medicine could escalate to the point where they’d be desperate to kill each other, Caesar needed someone who could provide solid political backing.

Choosing the Dre Order would have been a good choice too, but they seemed too much like business partners with the Royder Order to effectively protect him, and they were also geographically very far away.

Thus, naturally, he had no choice but to gain the Empire’s support.

‘It’s a bit regrettable to lose the Dre Order’s support just because of the malaria medicine…’

Caesar looked at the note in his hand.

[Must-buy items from the Imperial Capital!

One box of Vexilla chocolates.

Trimion snack set.

Vexilla Mountain soap.

Please buy them, Master!]

Caesar handed the note to Hudson.

“Will there be no time to buy these?”

Hudson looked at the note and smiled.

“I’ll have them sent as gifts after the audience.”

“Thank you.”

Caesar put Gloria’s note in his inner pocket and sighed.

‘You really give me such headaches.’

Caesar entered the palace.

But entering wasn’t the end.

From the palace entrance to the inner palace where His Majesty resided, there was still quite a distance to go.

“Can’t we take a carriage inside the palace?”

“Using carriages inside the palace is only permitted for those with prior authorization due to security concerns. Even horses can’t be ridden unless it’s an emergency.”

So we have to walk all the way there?

This really isn’t easy.

After walking for quite a while, they entered a small room in the palace.

“Please wait here until I call for you.”

“Understood.”

Caesar sat quietly and looked around the room.

The interior seemed quite old.

Was it deliberately made to look antique?

Come to think of it, the palace itself seemed to be of a very old style.

Caesar looked at the chocolate box placed on the table.

‘Is this Vexilla chocolate?’

They say it’s really delicious.

Caesar took one and ate it.

‘…It is delicious.’

There was a reason Gloria asked for it.

While he was demolishing the chocolate box, the door suddenly burst open and a man entered.

“So you are Sir Caesar.”

Caesar looked at the face of the man who opened the door.

Blonde hair and red eyes.

And although he looked somewhat like a thug, with his handsome face combined with a thin gold chain necklace, there was only one person who came to Caesar’s mind.

“I am Mitchell Redfield. Pleased to meet you.”

Mitchell extended his hand for a handshake while wearing his characteristic roguish smile.

‘Why are you here.’

First Raven, and now this – meeting former comrades who shared life and death without mental preparation was a bit overwhelming.

Caesar accepted Mitchell’s handshake for now.

“I am Caesar Sylvatil.”

And he used psychometry.

-Caesar’s position has grown bigger than expected.

-To think he would have a direct audience with the Emperor.

-Caesar is someone who can exert enormous influence over Homigraph and Sapientia.

-I should have made him my man for sure…

-I waited too long.

-Or maybe Miles is being manipulated…

Based on the experience of living with this guy for the past 2 years in Barre, sharing a tent and sleeping together covered in dirt…

Today didn’t seem like it would be easy.

This bastard was truly a terminal paranoid.

He wouldn’t show his true feelings to anyone he couldn’t completely trust, and would rather avoid meeting them.

In other words, no matter how strong or attractive someone might be, he would only meet them after building some level of trust with Mitchell.

The annoying thing about this personality was that he always thought about the possibility of betrayal and kept tabs on people.

He believed that only strong power and attention to detail could prevent betrayal and make everything possible.

Even during their time in Barre, Caesar was suspected by him a few times and was monitored even when going to the bathroom.

He suspected Caesar might be a doppelganger when he suddenly appeared after going missing during the demon realm war.

Of course, after taking a satisfying dump in front of everyone, he stopped assigning watchers, but Mitchell was the one who maintained his suspicion until the very last moment when everyone else had dropped theirs.

Anyway, what was the reason this terminally paranoid person appeared before Caesar in person?

Well, it’s simple.

Despite being terminally paranoid, he had an overwhelming desire for talent and would try to recruit anyone he deemed useful.

From his perspective, Caesar probably looked like a walking gold nugget.

…But why didn’t you show interest in Barre?

Feeling a bit hurt…

Is it because I kept farting every night when we slept together?

Anyway, it feels a bit off?

“Shall we sit down? I’d like to have a chat with you.”

“Yes, certainly.”

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