Act Like a Boss, Mr. Swallow - Chapter 49

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[Translator – Clara]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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“Isn’t this a bit much… That splendid sight of you rescuing me in Riaze is still so vivid in my heart.”

Even the process of rescuing Melje, who was caught by the guards, was a trial. I tried to buy her using money, following Patrick’s method, but since Patrick took all the gold, that option was not available.

It probably took about five minutes to persuade the guard and bring her here. Around the time I felt the urge to just knock him out to make it quiet, they finally let her in.

“No matter how many times I think about it, it’s too much.”

“No… from my perspective, it’s you who’s too much.”

Thanks to that, I also got my face stamped by the guards. But really, as a Demon King, she didn’t really need to come in through the main gate so boldly.

“You could have used flight magic to cross the castle walls, or incapacitated the guards with mind control or sleep magic before entering. Wait. Come to think of it, there’s also teleportation magic… Are you a fool?”

The more I think about it, the more profound it gets. When we first met, Melje seemed genuinely determined to break through head-on while adopting a mature demeanor.

As Devourer chuckled, Melje, whose face had turned red, waved her arms in frustration and shouted.

“I’m not a fool! Do you think I don’t know Hastin’s geography? Moreover, if it’s Mr Devourer, I was convinced you’d come in through this door. Uh-huh! I was planning to ask the guards if they’d seen you before erasing their memories!”

Well, why not just use mind control from the start then? I wanted to say that, but…

“…Come to think of it, you’re right. Sorry.”

The Demon King seemed to have roughly anticipated what kind of objection might come, as her expression turned gloomy. Devourer, who glanced at her with a quick look, promptly apologized.

Well, you can’t always make the best choices. Rather, perhaps because she had lived a life revered as great, after hearing the word “fool,” the Demon King seemed as if her spirit had left her. Devourer apologized again, thinking he might have been a bit harsh.

But she did seem a bit foolish.

‘I shouldn’t say that, though.’

After accepting the second apology, Melje grinned again and replied, “It’s okay.”

Upon hearing the response, Devourer thought to himself, ‘None of the women around here, whether human or magical beings, seem to have normal emotional changes. Why is that?’

“…So, what brings you here?”

Devourer asked, minimizing his stray thoughts.

In response to that question, Melje put her hands on her hips and confidently said, as always, but Melje was always so active.

“Well, obviously, I came because I wanted to see Mr Devourer!”

“No, that’s not it.”

-If that were the reason, Renee wouldn’t just have let her go.

Devourer glanced at Melje’s eyes slyly. They were sparkling. Unless he scared her, she seemed to be determined to push through with that reason to the end.

“After returning, I’ll ask Renee, so I hope you give an answer without any shame.”

As soon as he applied a bit of pressure, a whimper escaped from the Demon King’s mouth.

Renee is Melje’s arch-nemesis. Melje remembers receiving quite harsh treatment from Renee every time she got caught causing a ruckus inside the dungeon.

There was even a time when Renee tried to trap her with 116 black tentacles once, causing quite a commotion.

If Melje had just admitted her mistake, things would have been fine, but she insisted on maintaining her pride as a Demon King, almost letting the situation escalate.

“I won’t help you even if you end up in a situation like last time.”

At the mention of ‘a situation like last time,’ Melje’s expression became increasingly complicated. It seemed like it wasn’t the first or second time she had experienced such a thing, making it hard to gauge her reaction.

“Ugh… I was going to tell you everything without acting so tough. I came as a messenger because there’s news about the Primordial Core.”

“News? Did the humans infiltrate?”

“Not really. But someone else did come.”

“…What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know where to start. Anyway, Elizabeth Batory visited the Primordial Core.”

“Oh.”

Elizabeth Batory.

Upon hearing that name, a look of disgust blatantly appeared on Devourer’s face.

‘It’s really fortunate that I happened to leave at such a miraculous timing,’ he thought, followed by a relieved sigh.

“So, here’s the thing. Batory… Miss Batory?”

“…Call her whatever you want if it’s confusing. Just be careful when addressing her in person.”

As the king of demons, Melje, who had always ruled over someone, had various issues with formal titles. Even if Devourer casually told her to call him comfortably, Melje continued to address him as ‘Mr Devourer,’ and perhaps, she used the title ‘Sir’ upon Patrick’s request.

Renee also requested to be addressed with the same title, saying, “If you call Mr. Patrick that way, you can’t address me differently.”

Melje, who had her hand on her ample chest as she pondered, came to a conclusion and spoke.

“Yeah, then let’s go with Miss Batory. The reason Miss Batory came to the Primordial Core was to convey a message. It seems that the undead might invade Hastin.”

Saying so, Melje raised her head and looked at Devourer with anticipation.

Although Melje’s expression seemed to hope for surprise, Devourer, from his perspective, didn’t need to be surprised as he was already aware of the situation.

Ignoring Melje’s slightly disappointed reaction, Devourer mumbled.

“…As expected.”

“Huh? As expected? Mr Devourer, did you already know about this?”

“Yeah, I was already investigating that area. But Melje, how did Batory know about it?”

“Miss Batory explained it. She saw the direction of the march with some phenomenon.”

Starting with the open statement, “I’ll explain everything!”, a few minutes of explanation followed. Disappearances near the Astrisha Forest, some doubts, and the fact that the direction of the march mentioned earlier was towards Hastin.

Although Batory’s opinion was more of a conjecture than a certainty, most of what she said seemed to align with the current situation.

Devourer remained expressionless throughout Melje’s narrative.

“…And Miss Batory said. Perhaps the mastermind behind this incident is…”

In Melje’s final words, the name Devourer had briefly considered was revealed.

“Erebos.”

“….”

Certainly, he is currently the most likely suspect.

In fact, most of the undead on the continent are under Erebos’s control.

“If it’s Erebos’s doing, I can’t understand why he’s causing trouble in other territories.”

“You don’t need to know the details of that guy’s situation.”

The crucial question is whether this is the work of Erebos or not.

If Erebos is the culprit, causing enough chaos to utterly destroy him would be the only solution.

“We need to find out where Erebos is.”

Therefore, to resolve the incident, it’s urgent to discover Erebos’s whereabouts. Considering Erebos is one of the bosses of The Seven Great Evil Dungeons and tends to be cautious, he is most likely observing the situation from a safe location.

“Um, Mr Devourer. I’ve thought about something related to that.”

As if she could read his thoughts, Melje, pressing Devourer’s finger against her temple, spoke.

“What is it?”

“When undead attack a village, it’s typical for them to push in with numerical superiority. Of course, in a sturdy stronghold, they might employ different methods, but at least the current situation in Hastin doesn’t qualify as a robust fortress.”

“That’s true.”

It had been a peaceful village for decades. Moss growing in the shadow of the walls would indicate it’s not exactly what you’d call a solid fortress.

“But why use a method of infiltrating from within? Well, that’s secondary. I’m curious about the specific method they’re using to infiltrate the village. …That’s what I think.”

Interrupting her thoughts, Melje suddenly looked around. After confirming the absence of humans, she pulled out the staff she had hidden.

Midway through her words, Melje abruptly scanned her surroundings. Once she confirmed the absence of humans, she retrieved the staff she had concealed.

Low-level magic: Mana Detection.

As she slammed the staff on the ground, faint waves emanated from the point of contact, quickly reading the mana in the surroundings.

“…Unless it’s a special area called the ‘Mana Source,’ mana circulates in most areas of the continent.”

Fine particles of blue magical dust hovered around Melje. With a serious tone, she spoke.

“And the mana flowing through the ground here is intertwined into several threads, all heading in one direction.”

“Are you saying someone deliberately altered it?”

“Yeah, that’s what I think. Moreover, it’s the work of someone highly skilled. If an inexperienced person had tampered with it, they might have disrupted more mana than necessary, causing unusual phenomena. But this was done with precision, subtly redirecting only the required amount of mana.”

If it weren’t for a capable Demon King like her, one probably wouldn’t have noticed. Finishing her explanation, Melje smirked. The “mature version” of her ample chest aggressively flaunted itself, but to Devourer, who already knew the truth, it seemed like nothing but a hollow show-off.

“Oh, you’re amazing.”

“Heh,, Mr Devourer’s praise seems insincere… Anyway, the problem is finding out why someone twisted the ley lines like this.”

After saying this, Melje coughed again. As if there was still something to show, she grabbed Devourer’s hand.

Confused, Devourer expressed a quiet question. Nonetheless, he followed Melje, who led her. After reaching the rooftop of a building far from the castle gate, Melje, standing on tiptoes, looked down at the scenery.

It wasn’t a very high vantage point, but still, most of Hastin came into view. Confirming her predictions, Melje spoke with a triumphant tone.

“Look at this. My guess was right.”

With these words, she immediately cast a magical barrier in front of Devourer.

Now able to see what Melje saw, Devourer silently gazed at the sight of Hastin.

His expression was slightly distorted.

Hastin, surrounded by a circular wall.

Starting from the edge of that wall, a dense ring of mana encircled it, forming countless paths of mana within.

Combine them all, and magical runes emerge.

─Hastin itself, the mana flowing through Hastin’s land, forms one giant magic circle.

It was the moment when all doubts turned into certainty.

Melje had said, ‘If I weren’t as competent as you, I wouldn’t have noticed.’ If so, the magician behind this magic must be someone who is much more skilled than a mere demon king.

While Melje didn’t say it directly, there was only one undead being among them who fit that description: Erebos.

“Then those emanating the undead’s aura from the lord’s castle, the ones toying with the experiments… all of them must be Erebos’s subordinates.”

Devourer, landing on the ground, fell silent. It took dozens of seconds before he spoke again. Melje just waited quietly for Devourer to break the silence.

“Melje, can you figure out where the person who casted this magic circle is right now?”

“There’s no surefire way. Typically, such massive magic circles maintain the flow of the ley lines continuously.”

It was a safeguard against interference. By keeping the direction constant, even if someone tries to disrupt part of the ley lines, the user can quickly regain the intended direction.

“If it’s being maintained… it means the user might be nearby.”

“They could be nearby, but it’s not a guarantee. Another possibility is using a medium to consistently maintain the direction of mana flow. Ah, yes. Think of it like a ‘teleportation hub.’ …In my opinion, it seems more like the latter. What do you think?”

“Well, I guess you’re right.”

Considering Erebos, who is known for his caution among the bosses of The Seven Great Evil Dungeons, if Erebos is behind this incident, he would undoubtedly ensure his safety even if he didn’t come in person.

Melje, observing Devourer pondering, added a remark.

“This is just my speculation, but if a magic of this scale, encircling Hastin, and a crystal assisting it exist, they must contain vast amounts of mana. If they weren’t thinking of manipulating the ley lines, they wouldn’t have embedded such a massive chunk of mana into the ground. So…”

Having said that, Melje turned her head. Following Melje’s gaze, Devourer turned his head to see a massive building.

─ The Lord’s Castle.

It was the only structure within the territory that could easily conceal such a medium and maintain a sufficient distance from the ground.

“Of course, there’s no certainty. It’s all just speculation.”

“This should be enough.”

He meant it.

Even if they didn’t know what kind of trick the undead were up to, if they could overturn everything they were attempting, someone would likely show up. Dealing with those scheming behind the scenes required dragging them out by their feet. Of course, even if they begged for mercy, there was no intention of showing any mercy.

“Since Patrick is probably over there anyway… Melje, is there anything urgent you need to take care of right away?”

“Of course! Didn’t I come because I wanted to see you?”

“Then let’s go visit the castle together.”

─ We can think about the details later.

Truly in the silent midnight, Devourer smiled silently. At the end of his laughter, madness followed.

Devourer muttered, “It’s time to wipe out one of The Seven Great Evil Dungeons.”

Phase 7

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[Translator – Clara]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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