Sword of Salvation-Chapter 68: - To Hunt Dr. Lergen (2)

Time never stopped, darkness that inevitably came would eventually leave, and soon the sun rose from the horizon’s curtain to greet the day.

Mariel woke up to sunlight rays through the window slats. Normally, he would have woken up much earlier, but this morning was different. His sleep had been too deep, causing him to miss his natural wake-up time. What Celinee had said was true—sleeping while embracing someone made for a much more restful sleep.

However, Mariel’s arm felt sore, almost numb. He wanted to lift his arm and shake off the discomfort, but seeing Celinee’s peaceful face made him change his mind. Mariel let his arm serve as a pillow for the ninja, choosing to enjoy the unusual sight before him.

"It’s hard to open my eyes when you’re staring at me like that."

Mariel’s lips curved into a smile at that comment. It seemed the woman had been awake for a while; she had just pretended to be asleep. Mariel didn’t know why, but it wasn’t hard to guess.

"If you’ve been awake all this time, why didn’t you greet me with a smile?"

Waking up to a dazzling smile would have made the morning perfect. Mariel wanted to experience that. However, he had no complaints. Seeing Celinee’s beautiful, cute face was a blessing in itself. It was far better than waking up alone. He didn’t mind watching her—despite the growing discomfort in his arm.

"Do you want me dead?" Celinee scoffed. "Just remembering how we ended up sleeping while hugging is enough to embarrass me to death. Smiling when your eyes opened might make my heart stop."

"You didn’t like it?"

"...The fact that I pretended to still be asleep is more than enough to answer your silly question, isn’t it?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Try it if you want to die!" Celinee’s eyes snapped open, glaring sharply at Mariel. "Don’t think weird things, okay? This is the limit for now. I’m not ready for anything more. Besides, you’re still young. Maybe I’ll consider it in a year or two."

"So, I can hug you anytime?"

"If no one’s watching, I don’t mind. But if you dare hug me in front of others, I’ll kill you."

"If you kill me, who will you hug at night?"

"Your corpse."

"That’s dark, Celinee. You shouldn’t casually threaten to kill me. What if I get scared and decide to seek comfort from another woman?"

"I’ll cut off your legs before you can go."

"You’re a scary woman."

"And oddly, you slept soundly in the arms of a scary woman."

"What could I do? Your charm is too strong for me to resist—I got swept away."

Celinee scoffed, but her lips curved into a wide smile.

"So, want to bathe together?"

"Sure."

"Wait, seriously?"

"If you don’t mind me stabbing both your eyes with a kunai, I don’t mind."

"Saying that with a smile makes you even scarier, Celinee. But somehow, I like it."

"Hahaha. You’re crazy, Mariel."

"If it’s because of you, I don’t mind."

Celinee chuckled and sat up immediately. "I’m going to bathe first," she said as she got out of bed. "I won’t lock the door, but don’t even think about coming in."

"That’s a contradictory statement, Celinee."

The ninja shrugged. "Oh, Mariel," Celinee stopped in front of the bathroom door, turning her face toward him. "After this, where do you think we should go? There are no clues at all; Doctor Lergen is incredibly hard to find."

"King Maggio invited us for lunch at his palace, so I guess we can’t leave until tomorrow."

Celinee narrowed her eyes.

"As I said, Celinee, I’ll tell you my goal if you can activate spirit unification mode. But in this case, you need to know. Hm, I told King Maggio that you’re a half-demon. So, he might ask you to talk to his daughter. She’s more likely to listen to you than to me or the king."

"I want to be mad at you for revealing my status, but I can understand. I’ll talk to her if the king really asks."

"I knew you’d understand, which is why I told him without your permission."

Celinee nodded and went into the bathroom.

Three hours later, Mariel and Celinee arrived at the palace gates.

Unlike the day before, the soldiers didn’t try to stop Mariel. Instead, they were already waiting for his arrival. They escorted him and Celinee into the palace. Inside, they were greeted by the head butler, who led them to meet the king in the palace’s back garden.

When they arrived, Mariel found that the king wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by a beautiful woman in her thirties. Her brown hair matched the princess’s, leaving no doubt about her identity.

"Thank you for coming, Mariel and...Lady C," the king greeted them with a friendly smile—he looked much more refreshed than the previous day. "Once again, we thank you for your kindness."

The queen also gave a warm smile and expressed her gratitude.

"No need to thank us, Your Majesty. We simply took on a job that Ultores accepted," Celinee said. "More importantly, where is the princess? There’s still an hour before lunch, so I thought it would be better to meet her now."

Maggio and his wife exchanged glances, then nodded in unison. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Milly hasn’t left her room yet," the queen said. "We’ve tried persuading her, but the most we’ve managed is to get her to eat."

"If you want to talk to her, it’s fine," the king added. "Come on, we’ll take you there."

"Ah, Your Majesty," Mariel called, stopping the king from moving. "I think it’s better if your wife and C go instead. Your daughter may still harbor resentment toward you. If she remembers what happened when she lost control, she certainly remembers what led up to it."

The king’s eyes widened.

Had King Maggio forgotten that he was the reason his daughter became a demon? No, Mariel was certain he hadn’t forgotten his actions. Maggio had deliberately set it aside—he wanted to show the princess that everything was fine. Maggio was startled because Mariel had reminded him of his past mistake.

"You’re right, Mariel." The king found his voice again after nearly a minute. "Amillia, please accompany Lady C. It’s best if you don’t try to talk to Milly either. Let Lady C handle it. Lady C understands Milly’s feelings better than anyone right now."

The queen gave a sympathetic smile. She nodded, hugged her husband, and led Celinee away. Their departure left Mariel alone with the king, which was exactly what Mariel had wanted from the start—he needed to have a serious conversation with Maggio.

"Did I say something unnecessary, Your Majesty?"

Maggio shook his head. "You said exactly the right thing," he said, turning his gaze toward a cluster of flowers. "I wasn’t thinking about Milly’s feelings. I was just focused on making her feel innocent. I didn’t want to consider the possibility that she would be angry and upset with me. What you said was spot on, Mariel. Absolutely spot on."

Mariel could have said a few comforting words to make the king feel better, but he didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

"Your Majesty," Mariel called with a serious face, standing beside the king and looking at the same flowers he was gazing at. "There’s another reason I held you back from going. I’d say it’s even more important."

Hearing the seriousness in the young man’s voice, Maggio dropped his grim expression and adopted a serious demeanor as well.

"Have you ever heard of World Order or Great Human Council?" Mariel asked without beating around the bush.

The question successfully painted Maggio’s face with surprise.

"From your reaction, I can conclude that your knowledge of them goes beyond mere rumors you might have heard. Therefore, I won’t beat around the bush. Do you understand the current state of this continent? Have you ever considered where this continent is headed?"

It took more than a minute for Maggio to completely overcome his shock.

"I’ve heard about them," the king admitted. "’Heard’ is not quite right. A representative of Great Human Council met me about a year and a half ago, asking me to read a letter my father had left far in the back of the treasury. That letter told me a lot about them."

"When will Walpurgis take place?"

"You even know about that, huh? You seem more knowledgeable than one would imagine for someone your age." Maggio gave a thin smile, but his expression soon turned serious again. "Walpurgis will be held in two or three years," he revealed. "I’m not sure exactly when, but it won’t be more than three years from now."

’Two or three years, huh? That’s close. If my estimatation is correct, I should already be in the Northern Continent by then—or at least on my way there.’

"That’s useful information. So, Your Majesty, do you understand the current state of the continent? Have you ever thought about where the continent is headed?"

Mariel repeated the two initial questions that had gone unanswered.

To steer the conversation in the direction he wanted, he needed the king to think about the continent’s situation. If Mangolla weren’t a neutral kingdom, Mariel’s approach would have been different. However, Maggio ruled a kingdom that took a neutral stance, focusing primarily on harmonious relations with neighboring nations.

"I know Celtekhna and Camelot are already at war. I also know that Urakhna is preparing its military strength; they haven’t forgotten the defeat Neiracia dealt them three decades ago. But the conflict between those four nations has been ongoing. I don’t understand how that could affect the continent’s development."

The king’s lack of understanding was understandable.

The Western Continent’s state hadn’t changed much over the years. The conflicts between Celtekhna-Camelot and Urakhna-Neiracia had been around for a long time. If those conflicts hadn’t brought change so far, how could they do so in the future? Change occurred periodically, not spontaneously—that seemed to be what the king wanted to convey.

"If this were a normal situation with no secret organization controlling the world, Your Majesty, I wouldn’t be worried. But I don’t think this situation is as simple as prolonged conflict. Think about it—what if one or two of those nations were directly supported by Great Human Council?"

Maggio frowned. "Why support just one when supporting all of them would be more advantageous?" he asked.

"To answer that question, I’ll ask something very simple: why are there only three nations on the Eastern Continent? Why are there only four nations on the Southern Continent? And why are there only four on the Northern Continent? In comparison, the number of nations here is greater than the combined total of the other three continents."

"Now that I think about it, it is strange. The number of nations in the Western Continent is several times higher than in the other continents. Yet the Southern Continent has older civilizations, and the Northern Continent is far more advanced. What are you getting at?"

"I’m worried Great Human Council wants to reduce the number of nations on this continent."

That one sentence successfully changed the king’s expression.

"Great Human Council has the power to forcibly stop any conflict. Yet they’ve never taken any action from then until now. Maybe they have another motive. But rather than overseeing twelve rulers, wouldn’t it be easier to oversee three or four? I’m worried your kingdom will become part of another nation, Your Majesty, especially since this kingdom is neutral and its military strength isn’t as strong as Neiracia’s. What if the Moskvallha Empire suddenly declares war?"

"Of course, that’s just an assumption," Mariel continued. "However, what if it becomes reality? I think preparing for the worst is the best course of action in uncertain situations. As a first step, how about forming a covert alliance with Neiracia?"