Chapter 740 – Devil’s Bloodline

000

Paralyzing medicine to spray on the tentacles, exactly 6 bottles.

Dacapo, who was checking whether the contents inside were deteriorated, opened the lid of the last bottle – the medicine bottle he made first, checked the contents, and clicked his tongue.

“Sorry. It seems like the contents of the medicine in the last bottle have deteriorated a bit… I’ll adjust it soon, so could you wait a little longer?”

When Da Capo talks to Amelia and Lilim like that, Amelia asks her a question.

“All right. How long does it take?”

“It doesn’t take that long. The medicinal ingredients that were combined inside were separated a little, so after putting them in the mixer for about 10 minutes…”

If it takes that much time, the error isn’t that big.

When Amelia nodded her understanding, Da Capo took the vial to adjust its contents and poured it into the alchemical tools in her basement.

He said it was a medicine that paralyzes living things, but it seems a bit dangerous when you see him handling it without gloves on his hands.

She probably knew much more about her alchemy than she did, so she didn’t bother talking about it.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but please don’t come close to the mixer. If even a small amount sticks to bare skin, that area and the surrounding area will be paralyzed for several hours.”

… And yet she doesn’t wear her gloves?

Amelia looked as if she was caught up in some incomprehensible strangeness, but in the meantime, there was a person coming up behind her.

It was Shitaka who was waiting in the room for the story to end.

She speaks while nudging Amelia in the back.

“You know, is the story over? What are you going to do? Have you stopped attacking Vine?”

＂Shitaka. She said it several times, but it’s not Vine, it’s a monster called Demon Sword Starfish. Even if you pray to that guy, he won’t listen because he’s not a god.”

“Right. I know. But isn’t it true that you were able to survive against low-quality demons thanks to Vines?”

As a member of the generation that had not experienced war, Shitaka seemed to have no appreciation for the fact that the magic sword Bulgari had eaten many of the empire’s magic swordsmen who were her compatriots.

And, does even Dacapo, who can now be said to be their leader, know that thanks to the manifestation of the Demon Sword, he has become a target of prey for the Demon Sword Starfish?

Dacapo sighs as she looks at Shitaka, and then speaks to her.

＂More than that. I told them to pack their bags because they were going to move. Have you packed all the kids’ luggage?”

“Yes, but can I really just bring a change of clothes? What about food and purified drinking water?”

“Are you okay. The place I’m going to this time is a place where I don’t need to bring tentacle jerky.”

Shitaka’s eyes lit up at Da Capo’s words.

“Really? So, is this a newly discovered hideout? Amelia told you this!?

＂Oh, that… That is… ＂

When Amelia hesitates, as if she doesn’t know what to say in response to her words, Dacapo turns to her and looks at her intently.

“Don’t give her too much trouble.”

＂Why~? I was just asking. Right? “

The initial wariness seemed to have been completely erased by various favors.

＂Ah, I’m fine with trigrams!＂

When Amelia spoke to Dacapo as if she didn’t think it was a bad thing to be friendly to her, Shitaka looked back at Dacapo with a look on her face.

＂Then, let me introduce you to the kids inside! It seems like the kids want to talk to Amelia too! Sister! Is that okay?”

＂Haa… Okay… Whatever you want.＂

Anyway, after this, she has to take her children and go outside this barrier, so it would be better for her to get used to her face quickly.

Da Capo may have thought so, but he allows Shitaka’s actions, and Shitaka’s eyes return to Lilim, who was quietly standing next to Da Capo without saying a word.

＂Lilim too!＂

＂I will decline.＂

Lilim rejected her offer without even thinking for a second and then turned her gaze away.

In response to such a cold attitude, Shitaka puffed out her cheeks and said, “What’s wrong?”, But Amelia seemed to know that Lilim was worried about Dacapo from earlier, and soothed Shitaka so that her children could help her. He went into the waiting door and disappeared.

And, Lilim and Da Capo, who were left in the large space that doubled as Da Capo’s workshop, were in awkward silence at first, with only the sound of the mixing machine taking up the space.

However, after a while, Lilim turns her gaze and glances beyond the iron door where her children’s room is, and she speaks to Da Capo.

＂Anyway, that iron door seems to be well soundproofed. “If you look at what was said here, it was not heard back there.”

“Yes. It was originally created as a shelter. This is probably the result of reducing the inward openings as much as possible for defense purposes.”

Dacapo responded to her Lilim’s words and then glanced back at her.

Although she was of the same dark race as herself and looked younger than herself, her natural aura did not make her feel inferior to herself at all.

Therefore, Da Capo had no choice but to continue to treat her with respect.

“Then. I don’t have to worry about talking to you here either.”

＂Are you planning on telling the kids something you don’t want them to hear? ＂

Da Capo could tell from Lilim’s strange reaction to him that she was an unusual person.

Her magic sword, which is still insensible but still retains its form and weak will, was sending a warning to Da Capo.

“Don’t worry so much. I just want to check something. When I introduced myself earlier, I only introduced my name. But that can’t be true. Because you will have the castle of a great noble family.”

＂…＂

Dacapo twitched his eyebrows at her Lilim’s words and looked back at her, trembling.

Her expression seemed to be asking why she knew that, but Lilim spoke to her without changing her expression.

“You can see his face. The Duke of the Empire, who was the Chancellor of the Demon Sword Emperor. Myeonyeong of Volta Musik.”

＂…! Why did you say that name..? After all, you were a member of the dark demon family from the empire.”

Reacting very surprised to Lilim’s words, Dacapo squeezed his hand while breaking into a cold sweat.

Volta Musik was truly an ally in the ‘political’ aspect that the Demon Sword Emperor lacked, and was the person who supported him most strongly and protected him from below.

For him who dreamed of a strong empire, the Demon Sword Emperor was the most ideal monarch.

“… Of course, Volta is my grandfather. But I’ve never seen anything like my grandfather’s face. His father, the third son of Volta, did not inherit the family line. … Because there was already no family ancestry left.”

This is because after losing the war against the kingdom, Volta Musik was declared famous as the devil’s prime minister who led the empire during the war in a post-war trial, and was sentenced to death.

The Musik family, which supported the Demon Sword Emperor’s war by mobilizing all its might, lost everything and fell as a result of losing the war.

At the same time, they were chased by the people of the kingdom and empire who wanted to take responsibility for their defeat in the war, and they had no choice but to live in hiding underground for several years after the war ended.

30 years have passed since the war, and the kingdom’s army has left and there are only a few imperial people left alive, but even 10 years ago, there were still many adults left.

Da Capo considered it a trauma from his childhood that the people of the empire who discovered their lineage suddenly changed and spewed out anger towards them.

＂Could it is that you are also trying to hold me responsible for my grandfather?＂

Seeing her eyes wary of herself, Lilim let out a small sigh and answered her question.

“I won’t do such foolish things. The responsibility for that war… Rather lies with us.”

＂…?＂

He wished he had not met Cain.

“… One thing, let me defend Volta for his sake. Volta did not commit any crime among the nobles of his time, and he did not tolerate any crime. Rather, they thought that if something like that happened, the empire would rot from within, so they tried to eradicate it.”

Lilim remembers that he frequently sent his subordinates to various parts of the empire to manage the discipline of soldiers, and gave orders that no more than necessary acts of aggression or crime, such as embezzlement, massacre, robbery, and rape, would be tolerated in the invaded areas. 〈 Br〉

However, the effectiveness of that order was limited to the early stages of the war.

No matter how devilishly perfect the Prime Minister was, it was nearly impossible to control all the madness spread by war.

Moreover, to Cain, who did not think about any method that could lead the war to his advantage, Volta, who blocked the weapons developed by the scientists under him while talking about ethics, would have been seen as an obstacle.

Cain secretly began to gradually weaken the influence of political benefactors who supported him both before and after he sat on the imperial throne.

In other words, it was a waste of time.

As a result, war crimes became uncontrollable and spread everywhere the imperial army advanced, and before you knew it, the empire was operating an army of the devil.

In the end, he realized that something was wrong, but he did not deny the various crimes charged against him in the court, thinking that he was responsible for making Cain emperor.

─But that choice, too, would have been wrong in the end.

He was given the insulting title of the devil’s prime minister, and his family fell. Of his three sons, the eldest son, who was to inherit the family, was executed, and the second son was murdered by angry citizens.

And after hiding her identity, she managed to go underground and live in hiding, and the only surviving daughter she gave birth to was her third son.

It is Da Capo Musik.

After hearing everything Lilim said, Dacapo looks at Lilim with a blank expression.

His curiosity about Lilim’s identity only grew as he talked about things that were quite different from what he knew, as if he had personally seen them.

“Didn’t your father tell you this? … No, that’s right. Since he said he was away from the right of succession, is it better to say he didn’t know?”

“Now, wait a minute. Even if what you say is true… Why do you know it? Aside from the fact that you know my identity… There is no guarantee that what you say is true…”

“I would like to ask you the opposite, but what is the point in me lying to you about this?”

＂…＂

Since those words were something he had no choice but to agree with, Da Capo had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

“…─What are you?”

“… I see. If I reveal your identity, I also must not reveal mine.”

Lilim nods her head in response to Dacapo’s question, drawing black magic from her body and applying it to her body.

Then, the white dress she was wearing turned black, creating a translucent veil on her face.

And when the black dress was draped over her body, she showed an elegance that was not strange even if she looked like a noble or royal woman.

＂… I am Lillim. She was the concubine of the Demon Sword Emperor and his companion. And now, I am alive alone, and am in the process of atonement for my remaining sins—I am nothing but a sinner, a member of the dark demon family.”

001

The first thing I saw when I entered the room was that it was a mess, probably because I was getting ready to leave.

All kinds of miscellaneous things were rolling around here and there, and the children were talking noisily, arguing about what was mine and what was yours, and stuffing things into small bags as hard as they could.

There were six people, including Shitaka. As seen briefly earlier, there were three boys and three girls, and their race was not limited to the black devil clan.

Rather, there was only one member of the dark horse’s clan, Shitaka.

What stands out among them is a girl with red hair and brown skin who is a bit taller than the other children.

When she saw that image, what naturally came to Amelia’s mind was the image of Ishtal, although it was not a very good memory.

Apparently, she was said to be the ‘Daughters of Vulkan’, one of the ethnic groups that the Empire accepted to oppose its allies in the war.

And among the other children, there were some who had characteristics different from ordinary humans.

For example, the youngest-looking boy has a red engraving on his forehead.

Another girl had lizard-like scales growing on her eyelids and cheeks.

＂Everyone, everyone!＂

When the noisy children suddenly fell silent at the sound of Shitaka’s voice, they simultaneously looked at Shitaka and then at Amelia next to her.

＂This is Amelia, who gave us the biscuits and food we ate earlier! Everyone says thank you!”

“Thank you! Amelia!”

Watching everyone bow their heads and express their gratitude to Shitaka’s words, Amelia smiled a little sheepishly, but didn’t feel too bad.

“Oh, it’s Amelia. Nice to meet you…”

“Shitaka said, is it true that Amelia came from outside the barrier?”

When the shortest boy asked that question, Amelia nodded her head.

“That’s right. I came in through the border with the eastern country to the north from here.”

“Then Amelia is from the Eastern Country?”

“No, I’m from the kingdom. Due to some circumstances, I am staying in the Eastern country.”

Right after Amelia said that, oops. She did and covered her own mouth.

If you think about it, the kingdom was the one who directly waged war against the empire and pushed soldiers into their territory.

Amelia thinks that perhaps some of these children also have such hatred for the kingdom.

＂It’s a kingdom~! But where is the kingdom?”

“You idiot! Da Capo said that the other day! If you go to the west, there are kingdom people guarding you, so you can’t go out even without the barrier!”

＂Oh, that’s right~＂

Fortunately, they seemed to have almost no thoughts about the kingdom and even reacted to Amelia’s words with ‘I see~’.

“Yeah, but those clothes look freezing. Does all kingdom people dress like that?”

When the red-haired girl asked that question, Amelia checked her own outfit once again.

She was definitely dressed in a more revealing outfit than usual, but she soon answered with a blush on her face.

“Hey, this is different! It’s a combat outfit after all…”

＂Huh? But she doesn’t look like armor at all! When fighting, you have to wear sturdy clothes!”

“Ugh… That’s true…”

Even if I tell them about the mystery that there is a lot of armor in the world that has stronger defense than plate armor, even if the exposure is high, will they be understood?

When Amelia tries to respond with her rolling eyes, she is talking as Shitaka raises her hand.

“Don’t worry, guys! Amelia knows how to use her magic! She is definitely protecting her body with magic!”

“And! Amelia, is she a wizard?”

“Somehow! I thought it was a wizard-like outfit!”

The children reacted quite positively to the word wizard and their eyes lit up.

“You know what kind of magic do you know how to use?”

“Uh, so… Magic that creates light… And some healing magic… Is this it?”

“Cure? “What is healing?”

Was it a difficult word for children?

“Chi, healing is magic that makes you better when you are hurt.”

＂Ah~ That’s what Da Capo uses when she runs out of potions~＂

＂That’s amazing~＂

＂Honestly, I don’t really want to eat potions since they are used~＂

As the children each share their impressions, Amelia reaffirms that they are ordinary children who can be found anywhere.

I feel half happy and half sad that they are living happily in a place like this, even in difficult situations every day.

It was to solidify the idea that they, too, should be allowed to leave the territory of this empire.

But – then da capo…

“Yes, Amelia. Are we moving? Can you tell me where you are going? No matter how much I ask, Da Capo won’t give me an answer…”

＂Ah, that is…＂

That’s why she called her, Amelia said, and then her face darkened as she realized Shitaka’s intention.

Did Da Capo tell the children that they could not go outside the barrier?

Should I tell the story here and now that we will go outside the barrier?

“To? Is Amelia a secret from us too?”

＂Well, that is…＂

When Amelia hesitated and tried to equivocate her answer, the red-haired girl spoke once again.

＂Well, Dacapo-san must have something in mind… Wow, if she’s keeping it a secret from even us, there must be a good reason…”

＂The reason… What is the reason?＂

“Well, I don’t know that. Da Capo has never done anything bad to us…?”

Seeing the other children nod their heads and say ‘that’s right’ to her words, I could see that the children really trusted and followed Da Capo.

So, what really bothers her is how I met her and ended up staying with her.

It’s been 30 years since the war ended, and the children all seemed to be under 10 years old.

Naturally, children born after the war mean that they had parents until just before that time.

But now, not a single such parent was seen.

─The most adult was Dacapo, who seemed to be around the same age as Kuon. That means-

＂You guys seem like a real family with Mr. Da Capo… ＂

“Of course~ It’s not like a real family, it’s a real family. Right, guys?”

“Huh! When my parents were sacrificed, I would have been taken away by other demons if it weren’t for Da Capo.”

＂Me too… When I ate something strange and passed out, Da Capo-nim saved me… ＂

Each child must feel a sense of gratitude toward Da Capo.

Amelia couldn’t bring herself to tell those children that they should stay away from Da Capo.

“… The place we are going is a safe place without demons or monsters. And, you can also see the blue sky.”

“Really?! “Is there a place like that?”

＂Wow…!＂

That’s why Amelia answered their previous question with a slightly ambiguous expression.

However, upon hearing those words, Shitaka looks at Amelia with a slightly surprised expression.

“Uh…? But that…”

“Why are you doing this? Shitaka.”

＂… Oh, no. Yeah, nothing, nothing…”

And unlike before, she answered with a slightly listless expression and shook her head at Amelia’s words.

She appeared to be somewhat anxious, but her children seemed to not care and began talking about where they were moving to.

＇… Perhaps.＇

Amelia wondered if Shitaka had heard her words and realized that the place she was moving to was outside the barrier.

And, at the same time, she may also know about the curse of the stigma engraved on Da Capo.

＂…＂

But she doesn’t tell the children, it seems like she’s the only one who wants to embrace it.

As Amelia looked at Shitaka for a moment, she became more and more worried about what she should do.