Chapter 81 - Hunting

'Is something worrying her?'

Lucienne studied Adrianna as she gazed up at the sky. Her face was expressionless as always, but there was a strange uneasiness about her.

"Is something troubling you?"

Adrianna turned her gaze toward Lucienne. Her blue eyes slowly regained their focus.

"Is it the Demon city? The investigation is underway, so we should have the results soon."

Lucienne pointed at the entrance behind them. The city's interior had collapsed. If Adrianna hadn't discovered a gap, Commander Galahad's report might have been dismissed as a lie. The Second Battalion's commander had led troops through that gap to investigate below. They would have results soon.

Adrianna shook her head.

"There will be nothing there."

"Pardon?"

"He said they would have moved it already. Called this a waste of time."

"... Who made such an outrageous remark?"

Lucienne's eyes narrowed. A sizable force of nearly a hundred had mobilized on the Grand Duke's orders. The Second Battalion's commander and Adrianna had come in person, and someone called it a waste of time?

Very few people were mad enough to speak that way about the Grand Duke's orders.

"Commander Galahad said they would have moved the city. He told me not to waste my time and to join him for a nice, friendly hike instead."

Adrianna's answer confirmed Lucienne's suspicions. She frowned.

"He forgets his place. How dare he—"

"It's fine."

"... Pardon?"

"It was a waste of time."

Adrianna turned back to look up at the sky, her long blond hair fluttering.

Lucienne stared at her blankly. Even as a woman herself, she could never get used to that face.

"You mean there's nothing there?"

Adrianna nodded.

Lucienne's thoughts tangled. He had even predicted that the Demons would disappear?

Then Adrianna looked straight at her.

"Lucienne, you're a good cook, aren't you?"

It was a compliment out of nowhere. Lucienne nodded.

"You carry paper and a pen too, don't you?"

"Yes. I have reports to submit."

"Do you keep a ledger?"

"Why would I keep a ledger?"

"So you don't. Still, you're fairly good in a fight. That makes it a tie."

"... Pardon?"

"What about making coats out of demon-beast hides?"

Adrianna had always been hard to read, but lately she had become even more inscrutable.

Why demon-beast coats all of a sudden? Lucienne had no idea what she meant, but for some reason, she didn't want to admit she couldn't do it.

"I could if I tried."

"I see."

Suddenly, Lucienne remembered that Adrianna had sent off her hawk earlier.

"Have you sent your report?"

"Ah. He'll pass it along."

* * *

A high-ranking demon-beast—no, the Grand Duke—was glaring at Galahad. Blood dripped from the enormous axe in his hand.

Galahad gave a low groan.

Oblivious to his predicament, the hawk on his right shoulder kept tapping him with its foot, urging him to hurry up and unfold the letter.

'So she sent it to me.'

Another drop of blood fell from the axe. The Grand Duke simply stared at him in silence.

"Daughters are all like that, aren't they? You raise them, and... Hmm."

Murmuring to himself, Galahad opened the letter.

[Hello. This is Adrianna, commander of the First Battalion. We have arrived at Hellob. They collapsed the ground, leaving no traces. As you said, Commander Galahad, this has been a 'waste of time.' I should have gone to the Demon-Beast Graveyard with you, as you asked. Ah. Please report this to His Highness the Grand Duke. Adrianna, commander of the First Battalion.]

'I can't show him this.'

The long line under "waste of time" stood out far too clearly.

He had chosen those words to persuade Adrianna to come along, but she seemed to have found them rather amusing.

When he looked up from the letter, the Grand Duke was staring at him. Galahad tucked it deep into his inner pocket.

"Commander Adrianna says she's sorry she couldn't join Your Highness on this hike. She says she'd love to come along next time."

Despite the mention of Adrianna, the Grand Duke's brows lowered rather than rose.

'He doesn't want Adrianna coming up the mountain.'

Naturally, a father wouldn't want to bring his daughter to a mountain crawling with demon-beasts. Yet Adrianna was stationed on the front line. There had to be something else behind it.

'He said the Empire's eyes don't reach this place.'

And then there were the people who had disappeared. There was definitely more to this.

"But we can't let Commander Adrianna come somewhere so dangerous. I told her firmly that it was out of the question."

One corner of the Grand Duke's mouth lifted, revealing a chilling fang.

It was hard to tell whether he was smiling or preparing to tear out Galahad's throat.

"Ah, the Demon city has collapsed. They're investigating the interior, but the chances of finding anything are extremely slim."

"You sound certain."

"Yes. Once they've been discovered, isn't fleeing the natural response?"

"Do you know much about Demons?"

"Quite a bit. You have to know your enemy to win."

The Grand Duke spun his axe, scattering red blood.

"Your turn."

Apparently, they were taking turns hunting.

Galahad nodded and snapped his fingers. A Mana Arrow spun in the air. He gauged the mana concentration from its size.

It was higher than outside, but not as high as the Demon Realm—somewhere between Demon territory and the Demon Realm.

Galahad moved his mana and lightly prodded the Grand Duke, intending to see how well it would work on him. But it couldn't penetrate at all.

'What a monster.'

Where Adrianna burned mana away, the Grand Duke seemed to have skin that was simply impenetrable. Galahad almost wondered how many layers of demon-beast coats he was wearing.

Curious, he compressed his mana further and jabbed him with it.

The Grand Duke's brow twitched.

'Did he notice?'

It was a minuscule amount of mana. No one but a Mage should have noticed it. Galahad slipped in a little more.

"What are you doing?"

'Caught.'

Apparently, there was more to him than thick skin.

"Ah, I thought you were a demon-beast."

Galahad discreetly redirected his mana.

The snowy mountain was vast. The biting wind tickled his head. Maintaining his focus, Galahad cast his detection spell far afield.

The spell, a modified Mana Arrow, quickly scattered and swept the area. This method worked because his targets were demon-beasts.

'There are plenty.'

Just as Gilberton had explained, demon-beasts were scattered everywhere. Some had even formed packs.

This was a demon-beast forest, not a graveyard. Galahad examined them carefully, then found the largest among them.

'This one.'

Having chosen his target, Galahad recalled his mana, then sent it out again, concentrating it in that direction until he could make out the creature's shape.

With that confirmed, he chose his spell. This was a snowy mountain thick with scrawny trees. The spell best suited to such an environment was, of course...

'Frozen Spear.'

A transparent spear rose above him, so pure that there wasn't even a bubble inside it. Not stopping there, he honed the mana to a sharp edge, then focused on his target.

The demon-beast moved into position.

'Now.'

Galahad snapped his fingers.

The spear vanished in an instant without a sound. All it left was a faint breeze.

A demon-beast's cry rang out in the distance. It wasn't a scream, but a roar of anger.

"Weak. Just what I'd expect from a spell-slinger."

"Was it?"

Galahad's reply came with a faint smile. The Grand Duke frowned.

The demon-beast's roars rapidly drew closer. Enraged, it charged toward them like a thing possessed, shaking the ground violently.

Galahad gauged the distance from those tremors, then snapped his fingers. An ice spear appeared, waited a moment, then shot away.

...!!

The demon-beast's roar was closer than before.

'Quite a catch.'

Galahad put a cigarette between his lips and snapped his fingers.

Another ice spear appeared. This one was at least twice the size of the last, packed full of mana.

A skeletal tree ahead shattered violently, spraying splinters and snow. A demon-beast burst through the debris.

It was shaped like a wolf, and larger than the one the Grand Duke had killed. Ice spears were embedded in its neck and left shoulder. Every movement widened the wounds, scattering frost from within.

Soon its foreleg hung limp, and the creature staggered.

A wild beast would have turned back by now, but this was a demon-beast. Instead, it opened its jaws wide.

As its maw drew right up to them, the Grand Duke spun his axe.

"It's mine."

Galahad stepped forward and snapped his fingers.

"Ha!" The Grand Duke gave a low laugh.

The spear flew into the gaping maw, meeting no resistance as it buried itself deep inside.

Demon blood carried highly concentrated mana. Mana flowed from areas of lower concentration to higher concentration. That was why Demons were the natural enemies of Mages.

But the reverse also applied. If, for instance, one cast a spell with a higher mana concentration than the demon-beast...

'Its blood becomes fuel.'

The spear lodged in the demon-beast's maw stirred. Its blood stained the ice red, freezing instantly into sharp points.

Falling blood crystallized, swelling the ice. As though oil had been poured on a fire, sharp crystals sprouted one after another.

The expanding crystals burst through the demon-beast's hide in a spectacular display, as though a bomb had gone off inside it.

The demon-beast became a magnificent blossom of ice.

'Excellent.'

Admiring his handiwork, Galahad turned to the Grand Duke. It had been a perfectly clean hunt.

The Grand Duke's response was:

"Too fussy."

Galahad frowned. To look at a work of art like this and call it fussy! He was worse than Gilberton.

'An ignorant northerner, after all.'

Clicking his tongue softly, Galahad briefly considered how to explain this marvelous magical hunt.

"Mana flows from areas of lower concentration to higher concentration. Ah, by concentration, I mean—"

CRUNCH.

He turned at the gruesome sound to find the Grand Duke pulling off the demon-beast's head with his bare hands.

'He wasn't listening at all.'

Trying to explain magic to a northerner had been a mistake to begin with.

The Grand Duke took an enormous bite out of the huge demon-beast's head. The gruesome sound tickled Galahad's ears.

"Refreshing. A real delicacy."

From that review, one might have thought he was eating ice cream.

This time, the Grand Duke asked a question.

"What do you think of Adrianna?"

His axe moved slowly.

'So we're taking turns.'

They each killed a beast and asked a question. Those seemed to be the rules, more or less.

'What do I think of Adrianna?'

He considered his answer briefly. Calling her a sword to pierce the Demon King would clearly be unwise.

In that case...

"She's a woman with a beautiful smile."

Galahad nodded.

The Grand Duke's face creased. Looking closely, he might have been smiling.

Silence lingered for a moment. Galahad loosened his hands while gauging the distance between them. An occupational habit.

"Your heart is racing."

Galahad frowned for an instant at the Grand Duke's remark. His heart was a sensitive subject.

But instead of pressing him, the Grand Duke held out a cup filled with demon-beast blood.

"Haha. I'm nervous, you see."

Galahad accepted it politely and downed the contents.

"Refreshing."

Demon-beast blood tasted horrendous, but chilled with ice, it seemed almost tolerable.

"Four left."

The Grand Duke rose.

* * *

The Grand Duke's axe vanished so fast it was barely a blur.

CRASH! CRASH!

The skeletal trees in its path shattered with ease. The axe never slowed.

...!

A dreadful scream erupted in the distance.

Galahad discreetly felt his neck. Still attached. Slightly relieved, he followed the Grand Duke.

The demon-beast thrashed violently on the ground. It had four legs, each fitted with a pointed blade so sharp it gouged the ground.

The Grand Duke approached without a care. The demon-beast swung a leg at him. He caught it barehanded—and tore it straight out.

...!

The demon-beast screamed again. Blood sprayed from where the leg had been torn off, its bone dangling.

The Grand Duke's demon-beast dismemberment show had begun.

CRUNCH.

Gruesome sounds rang out one after another.

'I've never felt sorry for a demon-beast before.'

Galahad sipped from his canteen.

Then the Grand Duke looked at him, holding the demon-beast's head.

"Demon-beasts die when you cut off their heads."

'So do humans.'

"I see. I had no idea."

CRUNCH.

The gruesome sounds of a meal began.

Galahad waited quietly. The Grand Duke filled a cup with blood and handed it over. Galahad accepted without protest and easily drained it.

Taking a huge bite out of the demon-beast's head, the Grand Duke looked at him.

'Is that my cue to ask?'

Galahad gathered his thoughts. Naturally, the next thing he wanted to know about was the accord.

He suspected the Emperor was using an accord to bind powerful individuals. He had intended to ask about that first, but...

'That would be a bit of a waste.'

Galahad focused on the word "accord."

An accord meant both sides had set terms. The Emperor must have promised something as well.

Which meant...

"What does the Emperor give Your Highness in exchange for binding you with the accord?"

Galahad asked as casually as could be.

The Grand Duke's savage eyes fixed on Galahad. Fragments of bone fell between fangs as sharp as a predator's.

No wonder the sounds of his meal were so gruesome. He was eating the bones too. He certainly wouldn't be short on calcium.

"One question at a time."

The Grand Duke picked between his teeth with a bone. A rather gruesome toothpick.

'He's not falling for it.'

Galahad clicked his tongue softly. Apparently, he wasn't quite another Gilberton.

Still, even refusing to answer was an answer.

'So there is an accord.'

Galahad instinctively knew his suspicions were right.

"Ah, that was a long question. What does the Emperor give in exchange for the accord?"

The Grand Duke stared at him. Galahad met his gaze without flinching.

"He does nothing."

Galahad's eyes narrowed at the answer.

'He does nothing.'

Simple words, yet an answer with profound implications.

The Emperor hadn't left the imperial palace since before Galahad was born.

He had never made a single public appearance since taking the throne. Even Galahad, who had served the Imperial Princess, had never seen him. That said it all.

'Does he mean he won't conquer the North?'

Certainly, the Empire was less aggressive than the old records described. Yet every task Galahad had handled at the Intelligence Bureau had been for the Empire's benefit.

Even with the Emperor sitting idle, the Empire continued to advance. Galahad's own designation as Adrianna's husband was proof of that.

And yet he did nothing?

'Does it apply only to the Emperor himself? Is his not acting really that significant?'

Just then, bone fragments scattered to the ground with a crisp crackle. The corner of the Grand Duke's mouth rose.

"Three left."

He stood up.

The rules were simple.

When the Grand Duke killed a demon-beast, Galahad asked a question. When Galahad killed one, the Grand Duke asked.

Only three opportunities remained. If they followed the rules, Galahad would get just one more question.

He needed at least two.

'No. All three will be mine.'

His eyes grew intent.

Then the Grand Duke pointed his axe toward Galahad. The blood dripping from it was quite menacing.

Watching it, Galahad thought of a plausible approach.

"Do you know something?"

The Grand Duke's eyes narrowed. His gaze pricked at Galahad.

For no good reason, his neck itched and his back tingled. He took a deep breath, keeping his heartbeat steady.

Then, looking at the Grand Duke, he said,

"The demon-beast I killed was bigger."

One corner of his mouth lifted.

It was an unmistakable provocation. The blood-drenched Grand Duke stared at him.

Galahad studied him briefly. His face had twisted into a scowl.

The provocation seemed to have worked.

Next came...

"Let's make a wager. We have exactly three left."

Galahad snapped his fingers, lighting his cigarette with a small flame.

"Winner takes all."

The scent of lemon filled the air.

"Very well."

The Grand Duke's voice was surprisingly calm.

As though he had been waiting for this.