Chapter 392: Time for Business (P-1)

For Lise, that was an unquestionable order from her master. She walked away without a single protest, with the radiant obedience of someone receiving an order that suited her perfectly. She almost seemed grateful. Eva followed her in silence, walking discreetly, like someone who knows the best way not to be a nuisance is to disappear for a while.

Ophelia, on the other hand, frowned. Almost imperceptibly. Almost.

It was true she was a guest. But she was also a demon queen. An empress. The highest authority in the entire demonic hierarchy. Normally she was the one who asked to be left alone, and never the other way around. Being told to "leave us alone," even in passing and as part of a general order to the whole group, was a new experience. And not a pleasant one.

Although, to be honest, she herself had been the one to invite herself to the castle this time. A rather uncomfortable detail, which her pride immediately filed under the label of "irrelevant."

She did not respond. She turned to leave with a displeasure so obvious it could have served as decoration for the room.

"As you command, Your Majesty."

It was Alicia who spoke, with a bow of perfect composure. She obeyed the order and answered for everyone with the speed of someone putting out a fire before anyone finds the match. Any other response from them would have been imprudent. And that was exactly what Alicia wanted to avoid.

Just a moment ago she had been on the verge of losing her composure. She knew it. She remembered it with painful clarity. But she also knew how important that meeting was for Ryan, and it was one thing to be jealous and quite another to ruin her king’s plan.

Jealousy could wait. It always waited. At least for her, they were the only things in that castle with almost infinite patience.

One by one, the women left. Their footsteps faded down the hallway, some light, others heavy, one clearly furious. The door closed.

Silence. The kind you only appreciate after having been through a terrible one.

Ryan took a seat across from Edwin. Edwin, who had already sat down, was so straight he seemed unsure if he was allowed to lean his back.

Ryan had wanted to speak alone with him for a simple reason: he thought Edwin would feel more comfortable without dragons or other demon kings looming nearby. They could talk like old friends, like in the times when Ryan still hid his identity as Krai, a simple low-rank adventurer.

Simple. That had been the word. And until the night before, Edwin had believed every letter of it.

A chat like that would calm his nerves. At least that was the theory, and Ryan kept it very much in mind. Because Edwin had just found out that that young man named Krai had never existed, and that he was actually a demon king. News of that magnitude isn’t easy to digest in a single night, not even with a party in between. Especially with a party in between.

Ryan noticed that Edwin’s hands, intertwined on his knees, were trembling slightly.He clasped them so tightly that his knuckles had turned white, as if that were the only thing keeping him in one piece.

"Don’t be nervous, Edwin. I suppose the presence of Ophelia and the dragons is overwhelming for you, but you’ll get used to it."

You’ll get used to it. He said it with the tranquility of someone talking about moving houses, and not about living with creatures capable of wiping out a city between breakfast and lunch.

Edwin smiled weakly and looked up.

"It must be a very pitiful sight for you, Your Majesty. The leader of the merchant guild, intimidated." He sighed. "But it is strange. I don’t just feel an enormous presence from the dragonesses and the demon queen, but also from your assistants and the castle maids. And yet, from you, Your Majesty, I currently perceive the same thing I would perceive from a human. Is it possible to hide such great power like that?"

Ryan smiled, barely.

His efforts were paying off. He was tired of being called a monster and labeled as someone who didn’t seem human. A man has his pride, even when that man is a demon king with an ear that’s still wet.

"At first it wasn’t so easy, but somehow I managed to gain much more control. Even Ophelia and the others are suppressing their energy while they are here."

’To tell the truth, since I made the pact with Lise, I feel like I have much more control.’

A detail that, for now, he preferred to keep to himself. Not all confessions have to be made on the same day, and Edwin had already received a generous share.

’Naturally my magical power also increased. I wonder if I’ll soon be able to have some wind skill that destroys everything in its path.’

"I see..." Edwin replied. "To me it’s surprising. If it weren’t for the ease with which such powerful women obey your orders, it would seem you are a human hostage."

Ryan decided to take it as a compliment.

After that chat, Edwin relaxed. His hands stopped trembling and his back, finally, touched the backrest. He seemed more confident, even in his own words, like someone who has just discovered they are not going to be devoured in the next five minutes.

Although at the end of the day, he had decided to accept the party that Ophelia proposed the night before for that purpose.

Ryan understood it was time.

"One of the things I have in mind for the future of Kowarre is distributing weapons to the nations."

The phrase immediately caught Edwin’s attention. And rightly so. William had been in charge of bringing him to Kowarre, but he had never mentioned the exact motives Ryan had for him. Edwin had made the trip not knowing what for, with the blind faith of someone signing a contract no one has read to them.

Now, finally, he was beginning to read it; after all, the fame as a hero that preceded William inspired great confidence.

"Weapons, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. Weapons without the Church’s interference or control, I mean. I imagine you already know, don’t you? The fact that current human weapons are useless against the Church. If an adventurer ever has to defend themselves against a holy knight, their weapons will inevitably become useless, leaving them defenseless."