harleyscars Page 83
Page 83
"Your Highness, shall we let Princess Kalia give it a try?" Minister Tus, standing nearby, had a sudden inspiration:
"After all, we publicly declare her as the incarnation of a goddess, and she also has the title of Holy Princess Kalia among the demons. Perhaps she can really be recognized by the dragons?"
"Tus, don't joke like that!" Ota's tone suddenly turned stern:
"You and I know better than anyone else that the fact that Kalia embodies the will of a goddess is a lie used to deceive the entire continent!!!"
"Could it be that the Dragon King Calest, who survived from ancient times, wouldn't be able to recognize something as simple as whether or not Kalia possesses the will of a goddess?!"
"You're risking the life of my sister, a defenseless young girl!!!"
Tus turned pale and quickly lowered his head to apologize, saying, "I was too presumptuous, Your Highness."
As the two spoke so openly, Astrid's eyes widened slightly.
The rumor that Princess Kalia was an incarnation of a goddess was actually false... This is quite important information.
For a moment, Astrid was tempted.
Should we send this information back to the Demon King's castle?
As he was getting restless, Swell's instructions instantly came to mind.
"—No matter what important intelligence you come across, do not reveal it to us... This could very well be a trap set by Prince Ota!!!"
A sudden realization struck Astrid, and she shuddered, staring at the perfectly in sync master and servant before her with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
I almost forgot... These two princes and powerful ministers, who hold high positions in the court, are naturally quite adept at acting!
Astrid, don't be fooled, absolutely don't be fooled!
If you take it seriously, you've already lost!
"In that case, we may have no choice but to...pretend that we received a revelation from the goddess from the Holy Church and ask the dragons for help."
After thinking for a long time, Tus sighed and said.
"Although it's a bit far-fetched, we still have to give it a try." Tus said with some regret, "If Saintess Lena hadn't been affected by the backlash, and she had negotiated on her own, the chances might have been much better."
“The backlash from the relic is not so easy to resolve. Moreover, according to Archbishop Hope, the damage to the Heart of Ice is more severe than ever before.” Ota shook his head: “Unless the Pope of the Holy Church returns, no one has a good solution.”
"Tus, you're right, we have no other choice but to take this risky step."
"To fabricate a revelation that a goddess is asking the dragons to help humanity—sigh, why would I have such a dream?"
Ota sighed, "But for the sake of the kingdom's stability, this is the only way."
"You should know that the traitor hiding deep within the capital is still nowhere to be found, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to us!"
As soon as the words reached her ears, Astrid's heart pounded!
It's clicking on me! This thing is definitely clicking on me!!!
“Scholar Astrid…” Ota’s gentle gaze fell upon him: “Fortunately, we have such a knowledgeable scholar as you. If this intelligence gathering proves to be of great value, the entire human kingdom will remember your contribution!”
"It's what I should do." Astrid lowered her head, hiding the little bit of pride in her heart.
Hmph~ If the noble dragons were to stand beside you based solely on a baseless revelation, they'd be utterly out of their minds!
According to ancient historical records, the relationship between dragons and goddesses is far closer than you might imagine.
Unless the goddess herself intervenes... no one can command them!
Prince Ota's plan was destined to fail this time, which inadvertently relieved some of the pressure on Swell and the others.
Astrid looked up, her eyes filled with relief.
Seeing their expressions, Ota and Tus exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, feeling somewhat ashamed.
Before this, they had actually suspected this great scholar who couldn't hide his feelings and regarded the task of providing intelligence as a glorious mission to participate in the war between humans and demons, and was proud of it.
They deserve to die!
……
sunset.
The orange glow of dusk bathed the fields.
The damp waterwheel turned incessantly, urged on by the river, and the splashing water amused the laughter of the children downstream, until the rich aroma of food brought a urging sound.
Neat rice paddies, rippling ponds, and winding paths—the rustic charm and the bustling capital create two worlds, making the countryside appear exceptionally simple and pure…
Apart from—outside the fence at the edge of the village, there exists a spatial rift that is gradually widening.
On this day, the once peaceful and tranquil village was invaded by a wicked yet charming maid.
"After a day and a night of travel, we finally managed to sneak into the heart of the kingdom..."
Apophis's voice came from behind. It sensed its surroundings and let out a soothing laugh.
"Little Fim, we have now arrived at Akarin Village on the outskirts of the capital."
"Next, we need to pass through this village, follow the main road into the capital, and exit through the west gate of the capital... This will allow us to avoid the sentry knights tracking the mercenary group in the dark wilderness on the outskirts and reach the Dragon Hidden Mountain Range where the contract is located."
"Be careful of the paladin patrols. In order to deter the wolf mercenary group on the outskirts of the capital, they are active at night. Therefore, Swell has chosen the early morning as the time for their operation!"
"Tonight, we'll simply infiltrate the capital and spend the night there, waiting for dawn to break before destroying the contract in the Dragon Hidden Mountains!"
Apophis patiently explained.
Swell had prepared flawless camouflage credentials for them, but Apophis was still somewhat uneasy.
“Little Fim, we have now reached the heart of the human realm. My cycle of holy energy and magic must be halted for a while... to avoid attracting the attention of powerful human beings, especially that holy mage.”
"So, all I can do now is seal myself in and go into a deep sleep, which I will not be able to wake up until the moment I leave the capital."
"I'm entrusting this section of the road between Akalin Village and the Royal Capital to you. Is that alright?"
Fim's empty eyes remained expressionless as he nodded slightly.
"no problem."
"No, he won't get caught."
Apophis breathed a sigh of relief. After sensing that the village in this final, inevitable passage lacked any powerful divine energy, its last concerns dissipated. After informing Fim, it fell into a deep sleep.
The blade, which had been shimmering with black runes, dimmed completely. A layer of disguise was applied to his body, and from the outside, the demonic sword Apophis appeared to be an ordinary piece of scrap metal without any power fluctuations.
Fim clenched his small fist, stepped into the village, and confidently took a step forward...
“Oh yeah~”
Just then, a soft and mature female voice sounded from behind, filled with curiosity and delight.
"Where did this come from? What an adorable little maid!"
His steps faltered in mid-air, his body paused, and Fim stared blankly for a moment. The bow on his back trembled nervously as he stiffly turned around.
Behind me, a mature woman dressed in simple coarse cloth and wearing a beige apron appeared out of nowhere. Her long, smooth, bright red hair was tied into a side ponytail and draped over her right shoulder.
A mature woman with wine-red eyes that curved slightly into crescents and a very approachable hairstyle smiled gently at him.
"Are you lost, lovely maid?"
Looking at the married woman in front of him, Fim's face showed a stiff, zombie-like expression.
He got caught...
Chapter 108 The Key Item Under Mino's Bed
Looking at the strangely familiar-looking married woman before him, Fim's bow tie swayed slightly.
Since Apophis did not sense any divine power, the woman before him should just be an ordinary human being, and perhaps... he should ignore her.
After thinking for a moment, she gave a slight bow to the married woman in front of her, then decided to ignore her and head towards the capital.
"Oh, oh, maid, don't be in such a hurry to leave—" However, the woman in front of her was more persistent than she had imagined, following behind her relentlessly, and said with a smile, "Why don't you come to my house for a meal? I just made it~ You probably haven't eaten yet, right? By the way, what's your name?"
"By the way, my name is Eunice, Eunice Lake—"
The red-haired woman walked side by side with Fim, then suddenly sighed with some worry: "Ah, the house is getting messier and messier lately, it's so annoying... If only I had a smart and capable maid to help me with the housework."
Rex...
Fim, who was originally planning to make a runaway, suddenly stopped and turned around, staring blankly at Eunice in front of him.
"Oh my gosh~ You'd love to? That's wonderful!" Eunice clapped her hands with delight.
Without a word, Eunice took Phim's little hand. This time, Phim forgot to struggle and obediently followed Eunice to an unexpected destination.
After walking along the winding path, the two came to a somewhat old thatched hut. It turned out that Eunice's house was not far away, which explained why they ran into him when he first arrived in Akarin Village.
Eunice pushed open the door in a cheerful mood:
"Honey~ come quick! I just caught a wild maid!"
Fim blinked, placed his hands somewhat awkwardly in front of him, and looked into the room... a bearded man with a somewhat stern face sitting in a recliner.
“Miss Maid, this is my darling, Ronald Lake.”
Eunice introduced with a happy expression:
The moment Ronald saw Phim, he stood up from the recliner and looked at Phim with a serious expression.
Fim nervously clenched his small hand. Could it be that Mr. Ronald was a very strict person...?
Ronald approached steadily, his eyes fixed intently on Fim. The next moment, he spoke in a deep voice: "It's decided!"
"From today onwards, you will be my maid!"
Eh?
Fim stood there, stunned, as if startled, the bow on his back swaying slightly.
"Honey, you're going to scare the maid!"
Eunice walked over with a broom, shoved the other person back with some displeasure, turned around and handed the broom to Fim, saying gently:
"I'll go prepare dinner now, Miss Maid. You can just help with the cleaning, because my lovely son and daughter haven't been home for a long time, and I'm so sad. I haven't even had time to tidy up the room, I've been too busy taking care of them... Oh dear, did I say something wrong? Anyway, thank you for your help."
Eunice touched her face and said with a smile, "Mino and Shana's room is over there. Even if we find some weird things under the bed... please, please don't worry about them!"
Mino… Rek… Fim’s empty eyes flickered slightly.
Although he knew that carrying out the mission was more important at the moment, his feet seemed to have a mind of their own, and he moved lightly to the door of the room.