Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 11

Chapter 11

"I can sense a demon's presence. Hmm..."

Verity kept clicking his tongue in displeasure, making sounds like tsk as if something was deeply bothering him.

'It seems the Viscount of Deste made a contract with a demon in a bad way.'

It was surprising enough that the Viscount of Deste, who was supposedly murdered, was alive, but on top of that, he'd made a contract with a demon.

He didn't seem like a good husband.

"But is summoning a demon that easy?"

"Such an insulting thing to say!"

At my careless mutter, Verity was horrified and denied it.

"Demon summoning is easier said than done—it's a dangerous act that interferes with dimensions!"

"R-really..."

"If the summoning fails, the backlash falls on the summoner. Can an ordinary human handle the power that interferes with dimensions?"

Ian and I quickly shook our heads like children afraid of being scolded.

"Right. They can't."

Apparently, most die, and losing only part of your body is considered lucky.

"Even if you summon one by accident, it's a problem."

"Why?"

"Because you can't prepare for this properly."

Verity pressed his thumb and index finger together to form a circle.

'Ah.'

I recalled what Bleached Demon had said.

"Demons cross dimensions to reach the summoner's world, so of course that requires a price."

"When we receive payment, we convert it into resources needed for our world. With the power produced that way, we grant wishes and maintain the world."

I'd glossed over it at the time, but thinking back, it was important information.

'...So how amazing am I?'

Just by rubbing my nosebleed into the ground, I'd summoned not one but two tremendous demons called 'Lords.'

And after that, there was still leftover payment, so I even got a demon butler to grant my wishes on a regular basis.

Ian lowered his body and whispered in my ear.

"Hebenia, you really are amazing."

"I'm afraid I might become the strongest in this world..."

Just then.

"Ugh..."

The Viscount of Deste, lying on the bed, stirred.

"...U-ugh, aaargh!"

With a sudden cry, the Viscount of Deste convulsed violently, thrashing his body. His eyes rolled back white, and he began frothing at the mouth.

"Wh-what do we do!"

Should we help? Just as I hesitated.

"Someone's coming. Three people!"

"My Lady!"

Ian and Verity took me to a corner and crouched down.

After pulling our cloaks back over ourselves, I quickly turned my right hand to the left. With a click, a transparent barrier spread out before the three of us.

This was one of the applications I'd learned while fighting monsters in the primeval forest—a technique that created a defensive barrier by closing off a certain space. It was inspired by the barrier that separated the primeval forest from the exile camp.

No sooner had we erected the barrier than the door opened.

As Ian had said, three people entered.

First, a stout man, then a gaunt man with prominent cheekbones. It might have been prejudice, but they didn't give off a good impression.

And the last one to enter wasn't human.

Piercing yellow eyes reminiscent of a reptile, moss-colored skin, and stark white hair.

Finally, round horns on his head.

'Wow, anyone can tell he's a demon!'

I was once again amazed by the archetypal demon appearance. Ian seemed to feel the same, letting out a quiet gasp of admiration.

"......"

Verity, on the other hand, wore an expression mixed with irritation and dismay.

I recognized that look—it was exactly the same as the one my colleague used to give the junior who constantly caused trouble with inappropriate remarks at work.

'They ended up having a huge fight and even the team leader got summoned.'

Hope you're doing well, colleague.

I'm in exile.

The stout man took out medicine bottles and syringes from the bag he'd brought and administered them to the Viscount of Deste.

The viscount, who had been thrashing wildly, fell quiet as if by magic.

The gaunt man beside him pulled out a pocket watch.

"The intervals between seizures are getting shorter."

"How long was this one?"

"Three hours and twenty minutes."

"It seems he's developing a tolerance to the medication."

"Tch."

Clicking his tongue in displeasure, the gaunt man turned to the demon.

The man knelt on one knee.

"Great Archdemon, First General who protects the Lords, Veritikaramdeusamabit-nim."

What?

I wrinkled my nose.

'Why is his name like that...?'

It sounded like the kind of name a middle schooler going through a chuunibyou phase would painstakingly create by rummaging through a dictionary and picking out only cool-sounding words.

It was incredibly childish and tacky.

'But wasn't the first part of that name Verity?'

I thought I might have misheard, but Ian was also tilting his head and glancing at Verity.

Verity had an expression that screamed 'what an idiot.'

I completely understood how he felt. If I were him, I'd be dumbfounded too if someone with a similar name was so tacky and childish.

'Anyway, First General who protects the Lords...'

I thought of the long-haired Lord Demon and Bleached Demon.

I didn't know exactly what a 'Lord' was, but I knew how great the two demons I'd met before were.

I could tell instinctively. They were the strongest beings I'd ever encountered.

The same went for Verity, who was with me now.

But I didn't feel that at all from this demon with the similar name.

'Actually, the Chief Chamberlain I saw during the day seemed stronger...'

Just then, the similar-named demon spoke.

"Where's the daughter?"

Daughter?

At the sudden mention of 'daughter,' I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth.

'Aunt Daliss's daughter!'

So her daughter was here!

'But why bring her up suddenly in this situation?'

It was clear from anyone's perspective that they weren't looking for her for any good reason.

I wasn't the only one who thought so. Ian and Verity's faces, when I glanced up, were also shadowed with concern.

Then the stout man spoke.

"Shall we prepare the succession ceremony?"

"The Viscount of Deste will die soon. We need to hurry and pass the payment to his daughter before that. This time, we must succeed."

"We'll prepare at once."

"As the great Archdemon, First General Veritikaramdeusamabit-nim, wills it."

The three left the room after that incomprehensible conversation.

But we remained stuck in the corner of the room for a long time, not moving a muscle.

"Ian oppa, you heard that, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Not even one syllable of that long, childish name was wrong. He didn't even pause. Chuunibyou is scary..."

Even as I muttered, Ian was calmly waiting for Verity's explanation.

Verity let out a whoosh of a sigh, suppressing his rising irritation, and explained what the situation just now meant.

"We've witnessed a taboo. Whether that's lucky or unlucky."

"Could it be both?"

Ian asked.

"What is a succession ceremony?"

"Simply put, it's an illegal act of transferring the payment owed for summoning a demon to another person."

"It sounds similar to joint liability."

When I muttered that, Verity nodded, saying that was exactly it.

"Demon summoning is a personal, exclusive contract. It's a unilateral contract that binds only the summoner and the summoned demon. Do you know why?"

At that question, I recalled what Bleached Demon had said.

The most important thing when summoning a demon is the payment.

Because summoning interferes with dimensions, it requires an enormous cost.

I also remembered him saying that if you don't pay the price properly, you could die.

"...To prevent someone other than the summoner from paying the price."

"If summoning fees could be deferred to others, demon summoning would be abused."

"Then if it's discovered that a succession ceremony was performed..."

"Regardless of the reason, it's a death sentence."

"So we just saw three aspiring death row inmates."

I walked over to the bed and looked down at the Viscount of Deste, who was asleep under the influence of the drugs.

"Is this guy also...?"

"He's also a death sentence. Moreover, he's already performed the succession once."

"Can you tell just by looking?"

"There are some things you can see, but the white hair and seizure symptoms are side effects of a failed succession."

Now it all clicked together, Verity clicked his tongue.

"The Viscount of Deste's wife was the victim of the first succession ceremony."

"Huh? What are you saying..."

"What do you mean!"

Ian, more startled than me, asked urgently.

"Aunt Daliss is a victim?"

Verity pointed with his chin at the viscount's white hair.

"His hair turned white too, didn't it? And his mind isn't right either."

"......"

"When I first saw her, I wasn't sure, but now that I've seen this scumbag, I'm certain. I thought it was strange. Why would a half-demon be in such a state in an exile camp..."

...Wait.

"Wait! Waaaaait!"

Startled, I hurriedly interrupted.

My head was throbbing from the enormous wave of information, but I had to make sure of this one thing.

"Half-demon? Aunt Daliss is?"

"Ah, you didn't know."

Verity said as if it were nothing.

"Daliss-nim is a half-demon—a hybrid born between a demon and a human. That's why she suffered fewer side effects from the failed succession than her husband."

---

It would be a lie to say I wasn't shocked by Aunt Daliss's true identity.

Does she herself know?

'...Still, finding Aunt Daliss's daughter comes first.'

I decided to process the overwhelming information slowly later. For now, I had to solve the urgent matter at hand.

'They said they were preparing the succession ceremony.'

We had to rescue Aunt Daliss's daughter before then.

We started walking through the hallway, looking for a room where the child might be.

Once again, Ian's keen senses proved invaluable.

"I think she's here."

Ian stopped in front of a door.

"I can sense a presence. One person, asleep."

"Wow, you've got a nose like a bloodhound."

Even Ian seemed surprised by his own ability.

"How do you know?"

"I don't really know either. I just feel it. I guess the training in the primeval forest really helped."

"It brings me such joy as a teacher to see my long-untrained human pupil improve so remarkably."

"Ian oppa, at this rate, you might awaken as 'Magic Lavender'! Your hair is purple, and your mature personality fits perfectly."

"What's that?"

"It's a magical girl my Lady likes."

"Is that something that exists in the empire?"

Unfortunately, our harmonious moment didn't last.

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