Chapter 368: The King Doesn't Want Me Anymore

Naviel and Ignivar knew this day was coming.

They just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

It first started with reports about how everything sweet was suddenly disappearing from the capital market.

Demons whose businesses revolved around selling sweet treats started losing money because apparently, the ingredients they were supposed to use to create those sweet treats—the very things they made their money from—had disappeared.

Immediately after Naviel and Ignivar received the first report, they were on alert.

A sense of dread crept up their spines.

There was only one specific type of demon known to have this much affinity for sweets.

The sort of affinity that would make them jump straight into an obvious trap if they believed there were sweets waiting on the other side.

Now, if sweets were the only issue, then perhaps it could be resolved.

But no.

That was not the only issue.

This particular demon made sure to destroy wherever he stole from, giving even more evidence as to exactly what type of demon had wandered into the capital.

Stalls were overturned.

Shelves were broken.

Boxes were ripped apart.

And whatever sweets hadn’t been stolen were usually scattered across the ground…the remnants actually.

The stall owners had tried to capture the demon as he destroyed their businesses, but every single one of their plans had failed.

This demon was smart.

Which was exactly why Naviel and Ignivar knew this was not a child.

It was a full-blown adult.

Perhaps even one of the King’s famous pets.

That was the frightening part.

The simplest solution would have been to go to the King and inform him of what was happening.

Unfortunately, that meant they would have to keep going back.

Again.

And again.

And again.

They would have to pester Zorathys until he finally decided to take action which could take a hundred years because Zorathys never did anything urgently.

Not unless he made it urgent.

And given that the Queen had been in a critical state and Zorathys had been completely focused on making sure she recovered, there was no hope that he would even listen to them…not even after a thousand years.

They couldn’t even go to the Queen because she had only just recovered.

And yes, Zorathys would kill them if they approached her.

Naviel imagined being roasted over fire while Ignivar was drowned.

Or perhaps it would be something worse.

He had already died once by Zorathys’s hands.

He had absolutely no desire to relive that experience.

So they stayed clear which brought them to another problem.

None of Zorathys’s pets listened to anyone except Zorathys.

An excellent example was Dracolthar, who was currently in the office with both Ignivar and Naviel being unhelpful as usual.

He was simply slumped on the floor.

His four eyes were staring at nothing in particular while his tails lay sprawled behind him.

Parchments covered almost every available surface.

Naviel had spent hours arranging them into batches, each one separated according to its purpose.

He knew exactly which report belonged where.

He knew which parchment needed to be sent to which department.

He knew which documents needed to be reviewed first.

Everything had been organised.

And Dracolthar was doing absolutely nothing to help.

“For the last time, can you please get out?” Ignivar asked the demon.

Dracolthar’s tails only swung back and forth in reply.

One of them struck the edge of the desk sending parchments flying into the air.

Naviel’s eye twitched as the papers fluttered down around them.

Some landed on the floor.

Some landed on Dracolthar.

One landed directly on Ignivar’s head.

“That’s it.” Naviel said as he stood up.

He had taken his time arranging those parchments into batches, knowing what each one was for and where it needed to go.

And now this demon had sent all of them flying.

No.

He was not going to stand for this.

He took one step toward Dracolthar when suddenly the demon cried out.

“The King doesn’t want me anymore,”

Naviel froze.

He slowly adjusted his glasses as though doing so would somehow make him hear better…it didn’t.

“The King doesn’t want me anymore,” Dracolthar repeated.

“Now, now,” Ignivar said. “Why would you think that?”

He glanced at the parchments scattered across the floor.

“And could you not cry? Those tears of yours will damage every parchment you’ve just sent flying.”

Dracolthar’s black tears continued falling anyway, hitting the floor with soft splashes.

And as usual, a dark pool began forming beneath him.

“And only the King would be able to get rid of it,” Ignivar added, looking at the spreading liquid. “Which would take over a hundred years like the last one did.”

“I’m heartbroken, and you are speaking of measly parchments,” Dracolthar said miserably.

“And we have a job to do, and you are speaking of a broken heart,” Naviel countered.

Ignivar gave him a sharp look but he ignored it.

“Did His Majesty say he doesn’t want you anymore?” Ignivar asked Dracolthar.

The truth was, Zorathys had never needed Dracolthar, nor any of the other demons who happened to be his pets. Rather, the pets were the ones who needed Zorathys.

Dracolthar’s tears suddenly stopped.

The shadow pool forming beneath him stopped spreading too.

He finally looked at Ignivar, then he tilted his head in thought.

“Well…” He paused. “No?”

Ignivar stared at him.

“So what makes you think he doesn’t want you anymore?” Ignivar asked.

“He sent me away through a portal. I thought he was sending me back to my nest, but then I showed up here.”

There was a beat of silence then Ignivar rubbed his forehead.

“Dracolthar…” He said with false calmness.

“What?”

“If the King no longer wanted you, do you think you would even still be here?”

The office fell quiet.

Then Dracolthar’s four eyes slowly widened.

For the first time since he had begun crying, he looked as though he had encountered a thought that had never occurred to him before.