“Better than Arthur at least.”
“Better?”
“They just got caught normally, tortured, and executed. Better than becoming undead, right? Apparently Carmilla personally tormented and killed each of them.”
“The Mad Princess……”
Violetta muttered Carmilla’s epithet. Even before marrying into Faloon, she had an infamous reputation.
“Well, she’s milder than the Thunder Emperor at least. But that princess has a bunch of twisted subordinates. Ex-thieves, ex-assassins, ex-mercenaries, ex-adventurers and the like – people well-versed in the underworld. And with the power struggle, things were chaotic, but Dorsen isn’t without its shadows either. In a way, Dorsen is even harder to operate in than Faloon. Any kidnapping or assassination plans and you’re unlikely to succeed.”
“I get it, I get it, Leon’s out too.”
Violetta lightly raised both hands in a gesturing of conceding.
“Well then, what about the third wife’s newborn child?”
Al and the others exchanged glances.
“How much do you know about the Third Queen?”
The one who asked probingly was Denze. A large, solidly-built physique, with a blunt, taciturn face. He looked like a typical urban laborer.
“I’ve heard she’s an outrageous woman who bare-handedly fought her way through that ridiculous Queen Candidate Selection event. The story goes that she crushed magic with her bare hands. But she’s probably better than dealing with the Thunder Emperor or the Mad Princess, right?”
Hearing that, Denze sighed deeply.
“The truth is, we haven’t been able to directly confirm the Third Queen or her daughter.”
“Haven’t confirmed? What do you mean?”
“There’s not a single shadow operative who has directly seen them. They have terrifyingly good instincts, and no matter how far away we try to observe from, they notice. And anyone who gets noticed never makes it back alive. My partner and I once tried to catch a glimpse of Queen Cassandra from outside the castle. After much difficulty, the moment my partner finally confirmed her figure from a distance, his head went flying off. With my strength leaving me, I hurriedly fled back. She’s seriously dangerous.”
“What is that!? Is she even human? Or some legendary monster that turns onlookers to stone?”
“Who knows. But there’s also talk that since she shares the same name as the Sword Saint who went missing over 10 years ago, they might be the same person. But with so little information, it’s unclear.”
“The Sword Saint? You mean the Red Demon Cassandra!?”
The battle-crazed warrior said to have single-handedly destroyed an entire country. Until Faloon’s rise, she was undoubtedly considered the most dangerous person on the Ares continent.
“She might be an even worse threat than the Thunder Emperor or the Mad Princess. There’s even a chance she could be stronger than King Mars. We can’t lay a hand on her.”
Denze shook his head.
“If the Third Queen is out, then there’s the Fourth Princess Sheila. Supposedly she doesn’t have any children, but she’d be better than the Thunder Emperor, Mad Princess, or Sword Saint, right? How about her?”
Violetta persisted. She really didn’t want to target King Mars. She had seen him fight in the arena before. His strength was inhuman. He was not an opponent they could handle.
“You do know who Sheila is, don’t you? The former S-rank adventurer, the Dual Swords Sheila? After Dragon Slayer Siegmund left, she was called the strongest adventurer. Unlike the Thunder Emperor and the others, she may not be a demon, but her strength is proven. And she hardly ever leaves the castle grounds these days. It would be difficult to target her.”
Al said with exasperation.
“The Thunder Emperor, the Mad Princess, the Sword Saint, and the Twin Blades!”
Violetta looked up to the heavens. Even though she already knew, actually discussing it made the situation seem hopelessly bleak. The reward was good, but she wondered if she should back out now.
“Did King Mars really gather the top four most dangerous women in the world as his wives? As expected of the Mad King, even his taste in women is crazy! I wish he’d just settle down with a normal woman!”
Violetta flopped down hard onto the bed.
In reality, Mars’s taste in women was quite ordinary. All of Mars’s marriages had been decided by those around him without his input, but of course no one knew that.
“I get that the queens are a no-go! But then why is the target King Mars? He’s the most dangerous man around by far, isn’t he?”
“Because he leaves the castle grounds,”
answered the gloomy voice of the mage Zeta.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Fundamentally, Faloon is an undefended nation, and shadow operatives like you are free to run amok outside the castle. But within Faloon Castle itself, powerful barriers are maintained by Frau and her subordinate mages. Even my master Matou would have difficulty breaching them. It’s harder to break the barrier. So we can’t get any information on what’s happening inside. Illegally entering would be detected instantly. It wouldn’t be too difficult to gather information by infiltrating as staff through proper channels, but the slightest suspicious move would give us away. Either way, operating inside the castle is difficult. However, King Mars frequently ventures outside the castle alone, and doesn’t seem to notice us monitoring him. Perhaps he’s overconfident in his own martial prowess, but he’s the most unguarded. So we concluded that if we’re going to strike, it has to be at King Mars.”
“…The strongest is unguarded precisely because of his strength.”
It’s an oft-told myth and historical anecdote of the strongest warrior losing his life due to carelessness. Not an unbelievable story.
“That’s not all. It seems King Mars is also slow to react unless he senses killing intent from us. He won’t lift a hand against us just for monitoring him around town, but anyone who attempts assassination gets instantly counterattacked. Apparently King Mars has been targeted by assassins since childhood, so he’s abnormally sensitive only to malicious intent. But if we don’t have those intentions, it’s not too difficult to approach him. In fact, he frequently interacts casually with ordinary citizens.”
“I see. So what’s the plan with this King Mars? Abduction? Assassination?”
“Both,”
answered the lanky Al, who seemed to be the group’s leader with his unassuming appearance.
“Our role is to delay King Mars when he’s outside the castle. During that time, Zeta will cast a teleportation spell.”
“Teleportation spell? Where are you sending him?”
“To an ancient ruin. One that was recently discovered, and even we don’t know the location of. A joint team from our nations of Iris, Vulcan, and the Kiel Magic Nation is supposed to be entering there as well. They’ll construct a magic circle at the deepest part to summon King Mars.”
“I don’t know what kind of ruin it is, but a monster like him might find a way to return.”
“We’ll destroy the entrance. And collapse portions of the passageways too, so he can never get out again.”
“Wait! Then what about the team that goes in? They won’t be able to get out either!”
“They know what they’re signing up for, Violetta,”
the portly Beggy gently smiled.
“It’s not just the ruin team. We’re putting our lives on the line too. That’s how much value this mission holds.”
“If we leave things as they are, not only our country but the entire continent of Ares will be conquered by the Faloon. This evil empire. That must be avoided. This is not just for Vulcan and Iris, this is for the world.”
The narrow-eyed Garma said, seemed almost excited.
“We’re enemies originally. Normally we just do shady jobs we can’t show on the surface, even if it’s for our countries. But this time is different. We get to be heroes. Heroes who defeat the Demon Lord. Of course, not the glamorous fairy tale kind, but still, we can risk our lives believing in our own justice. That’s enough for us.”
The burly Denze gently placed a hand on Violetta’s shoulder. That weight carried the anguish of working as a shadow operative, and the hope placed in this mission.
Violetta could understand that feeling. Working undercover means only seeing the ugly sides of nations and people. There is no righteousness there. Even without justice, they have to work for their nation’s interests. Not just physically, but mentally and spiritually grinding down, crushing the hearts of many.
But this time, their enemy is the evil King of Faloon bent on world conquest. Just recently, he personally invaded the Marve Holy Nation and abducted Maria, the foremost Holy Maiden candidate. Currently, Maria is being forced into hard labor as a healer in the arena, even forcibly made to eat monster meat.
An unconscionable act. Defying even the gods themselves. Truly a Demon Lord.
“Yeah. I get it, you guys are a bunch of idiots.”
Violetta snorted derisively.
“But well, I don’t dislike idiots like that.”
On that day, the hearts of the six from different nations became one.
TLNOTE : While waiting for the next chapter , I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
Please check the Internet Archive if what you’re looking for is no longer on this website. *wink *wink
Volume 4 English translation is already starting btw…
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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