“Didn’t we only just spend about a day in the Forbidden Ground? Now this Organization is making us move again… That’s strange.”
Selene muttered softly… The “Imitation” on the two of them was continuously re-transforming, its Shadow-form Magic Power condensing at her fingertips.
Even after changing out of their uniforms embroidered with the Nelf Family crest, the pale complexions of the servants who worked in the Forbidden Ground still stood out conspicuously in the city.
So the two were currently hiding in an alley, swapping out their “Imitation” forms.
“Here, take this and change quickly. I grabbed two random people on the Street a couple days ago and modeled these after them… As long as we aren’t unlucky enough to run into the originals, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
Luc reached out and caught the clump of magic that Selene tossed her.
The Soul Color of this magic was the same as the one Selene had just gathered into her fingertips—the deep, pitch-black hue unique to Shadow Demons.
“Got it.”
This clump was exactly what a Shadow Demon’s “Imitation” looked like before being unfolded.
Its texture was incredibly soft, feeling almost like human skin… but Luc could sense an immense amount of Magic Power contained within this tiny clump.
She placed it in her palm as she had done before, then clenched her fist tightly, pouring her own Magic Power into it.
The clump burst open silently, and overflowing shadow-like Magic Power wrapped around Luc’s entire body like tentacles… The sensation was cool and chilly, even somewhat pleasant.
A moment later, the shadows blocking Luc’s vision vanished.
Selene, who had finished her replacement first, now stood before her, her appearance transformed into that of an unfamiliar Elf woman.
“All right, that’s about done. Check how you look.”
She handed over an Ice Mirror, and Luc examined her own reflection—she too had become an Elf she had never seen before.
“Hmm, flawless as always.”
Even after experiencing this many times, Luc still found the experience of becoming a completely different person from head to toe utterly fascinating.
…
…
The two, now wearing their new “Imitation” forms, headed toward the Lower City.
Their destination was one of the many safehouses that “Moon” had arranged in the Lower District.
When Luc had been gathering intel for the Nine Night Moon, she had visited it before.
“I’m a bit tired… How much farther is it?”
Selene walked behind Luc, her complaining voice sounding somewhat weary.
“Almost there. Hold on a little longer.”
The two weren’t using Mental Sense to communicate right now… and there was a reason for that.
As the Nine Night Moon had said, the city’s inspections on the Demon Race were growing stricter by the day.
Checkpoints had been set up all along the slopes leading from the Upper District down to the Lower District.
The Rangers were holding Demon Detection Devices purchased from Northern Elancia, inspecting every passerby.
To avoid them, Selene had no choice but to use “Shadow Shift” to take Luc on a detour through the shadows of nearby buildings and trees.
This consumed a tremendous amount of her Magic Power… To conserve strength in case of an emergency, the two had temporarily stopped using Mental Sense.
After leaving the crowded main street, the two turned into a quiet path shaded by trees.
This path cut straight through a Garden and led to the Lower City residential area where their destination was located.
“Hey… do you think she’s really dead?”
Out of nowhere, Selene suddenly spoke up.
“Discussing this topic while we can’t use Mental Sense probably isn’t the wisest idea.”
“Look at you, all scared… Didn’t you already turn off that Brooch? And I haven’t sensed anyone else around us.”
“…I don’t think she’s dead. That woman who called herself the Family Head in front of us that Day—she wasn’t lying in that coffin we were carrying.”
After personally confirming that there was no one around, Luc finally spoke slowly.
“But she hasn’t sent you any orders through the Brooch all day, has she? And the one who got us into the Coffin Bearer Team to move us to the Lower City was also some butler we’d never met before… What was that woman’s name again?”
“Lucia. She said she was relaying the Nine Night Moon’s personal orders.”
“So she faked her death, then? To dodge suspicion of attacking the Queen?”
“That’s not out of the question.”
Luc and Selene had a rough idea of the Nine Night Moon’s Plan—she intended to use this Audience Ceremony to completely seize control of the Sea of Trees.
And her first step was to cast a Curse into Mirror Lake to utterly shatter the mind of the Queen who stepped into it.
“Looking at it that way, she never even considered that those people would get swept into the Mist Barrier’s Trial. The whole Plan fell apart at step one… And then she got caught with evidence against her, so she had no choice but to get rid of suspicion this way.”
Although Selene and Luc, stuck in the Forbidden Ground, couldn’t access outside information, after the two came out onto the Street, they heard people everywhere discussing the anomaly at Mirror Lake and the women who had been swept into the Mist Barrier along with the Queen.
“I thought she was supposed to be impressive at first… Forget her grand scheme to control the Sea of Trees—she couldn’t even remove that ring around your neck. How can someone like her be compared to the Demon Lord’s Wife?”
Selene said with a hint of mockery.
“The ones swept in were the Hero’s two daughters, the Queen’s Guard Knight, that crazy successor of the Nelf Family… and that Iyue Nairfu. With those people gathered together, it’s not impossible they could remove her Curse. Besides, the Shadow Demon Lord couldn’t take it off either, right?”
“—This thing is different from ordinary Anti-Magic Silver… It would probably require those specialized blacksmiths from the Holy Nation to remove it. We’re powerless to do anything.”
Luc couldn’t help but recall the words the blacksmiths sent by the Nine Night Moon had left behind after failing to remove the neck ring.
“Ugh, you’re still the same as ever—always boosting others’ morale and deflating our own.”
A laugh came from behind Luc from Selene.
“Speaking of which, since we’ve brought up the Hero’s daughters… have you considered that we could just go grab one of them and bring her back as a result?”
“…Don’t joke around.”
Luc knew she was needling her. Even if she were at full strength, even if Vlad and Aoke had come back from the dead… there was absolutely no way they could win against those troublesome people currently gathered around the Hero’s two daughters.
Not to mention they were still on that Lake Heart Island, surrounded by the heavy protection of the Ranger Corps and the Royal Guard Knights.
Entertaining delusions about going after them in a situation like that was no different from walking straight into death.
“Heh heh… If it weren’t for me, you’d have died who knows how many times by now. Let’s just quietly wait for the Grand Teleportation Array to finish charging, then come up with a good excuse to report back to the Regent and the other Demon Lord Highnesses.”
Hearing Luc’s voice grow faint, Selene said with some smugness.
“You’re right. I’m grateful to you. I will repay your kindness one day.”
Luc said sincerely. It was true that Selene had been tirelessly taking care of her throughout this journey, with her Magic Power sealed away.
“Wow, what’s gotten into our Princess? Why aren’t you talking back to me like you used to? I’m feeling all out of sorts here.”
“…Get lost!”
Luc snapped at the impertinent Shadow Demon girl.
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