Chapter 53

Chapter 53 – Chapter 8: Excavation #2

“Felicia noona?”

"It has been a few days . It is nice to see you again . ”

It had only been five days since In-gong had left the Demon King’s Palace .

Felicia and Delia, who entered the central room of the small temple where In-gong was staying, were as gorgeous as ever .

In-gong slightly shrugged and said,

"Noona, did the Demon King’s Palace dispatch you?”

“Yes, I volunteered . ”

Felicia answered before sitting down on the bed . Delia stood quietly behind Felicia like a shadow .

‘She planned this . ’

He didn’t know about Felicia’s arrival until she came to the temple . This meant that Felicia had deliberately hidden her visit from him .

'She doesn’t seem to have any bad intentions . ’

Judging by her expression, it seemed she had wanted to surprise him as a joke . In-gong was familiar with Felicia, so he welcomed her appearance .

However, a separate question still remained .

“What about the Thunder Light Anvil?”

Felicia had gone to the Jishuka Mountains to investigate the Thunder Light Anvil . She wouldn’t have gone back to the Demon King’s Palace if it hadn’t been for the court gathering .

Felicia laughed at In-gong and crossed her legs .

"I wanted to go, but you ended up finishing it too early . ”

They weren’t just words . Felicia’s eyes narrowed and she leaned her body forward .

"It was barely two days . Two days . . . Do you know that Chris and Caitlin haven’t even left the Demon King’s Palace yet?”

The casios subjugation mission was one that normally took at least 15 days . Sometimes, it took more than a month . They had to keep track of the randomly moving casios .

Yet the work this time had finished early . It was no wonder that Felicia and Caitlin hadn’t left yet when word reached the Demon King’s Palace .

‘Indeed, in Knight Saga, I normally stayed for at least a week after returning to the palace . ’

It was unusual for In-gong to leave for a mission so early .

In-gong nodded slowly as he was convinced by Felicia’s words . Felicia uncrossed her legs, got up and approached In-gong .

"Shutra, right now, you are attracting a lot of attention . ”

Her voice wasn’t playful anymore . Rather, there was anxiety in her eyes .

"Honestly, the casios subjugation mission is a difficult task . It is an annual event, so there isn’t a high awareness of it in the Demon King’s Palace . However, two days . . . that period is too short . ”

The first mission was always eye-catching . Moreover, the casios mission was a tradition that had lasted for a long time . There were many who knew about the casios mission, so they had no choice but to be surprised about the two day period .

"Moreover, the contents of the mission are too different from the usual . It has grabbed people’s attention . ”

Drake ogres had appeared among the casios .

The casios had showed different movements from the usual .

Strong protection magic had been activated on the Enger Plains .

Just one of these was enough to attract attention and all of these were combined in a period of two days .

The three things combined in a two day period wasn’t meaningless, but the important thing was the reaction of the people .

"It is a shock after the court gathering, which was only a few days ago . Everyone was curious about you and now you’ve thrown them something else . You are a very fresh and interesting person . ”

The details of which royal child was responsible for the mission and how they solved it wasn’t a secret .

However, not everyone had access to these contents . The only person who knew In-gong’s merit level was Isabella who was in charge of the Merits Department .

However, the situation had changed . The moment the demon king called In-gong’s name, the world had changed . Many people knew of In-gong’s first mission after the court gathering and they were exposed to this surprising news .

"So, why is Noona here?”

Felicia was embarrassed at In-gong’s words and she turned her gaze to another place . Covering her face with a hand fan that she pulled out of nowhere, she said,

"Well, the other people would try to spy on you or take a bite out of you . ”

So, she had volunteered . It was to protect In-gong from any malice .

In-gong was sincerely touched and sent Felicia a warm gaze . That made it harder for Felicia to look at him . She looked around with embarrassment and continued speaking,

"That's not all . I am also interested in the magic of this temple that you have activated . There is also the purple light that wrapped around the casios . . . That's right, those are the reasons . That is why I volunteered . ”

“Thank you . ”

In-gong replied honestly and Felicia’s ears started turning red . She sat back down on the bed and started talking about something else .

"Did the Tears of a Dark Elf help when you were fighting enemies?”

"Of course . It gave me a chance to win . ”

It wasn’t just flattery but true words . The Tears of a Dark Elf had completely blocked Mustafa’s mental attack, creating a gap for him to call Carack .

After In-gong finished talking, Felicia laughed with a very pleased expression .

"Of course . It is one of the strengths of a dark elf . Look forward to seeing more of its strengths in the future . ”

It really seemed like that, so Felicia felt good after hearing In-gong’s words of gratitude . Felicia laughed and said,

"Anyway, you obtained nice merits this time . As I said earlier, it is the usual casios subjugation mission but the contents are completely different . If the temple can be used the defend Enger Plains from now on, then the merit will become bigger . Isabella said that . ”

Due to the nature of her job, Isabella maintained a fairly friendly relationship with the children of the demon king . In-gong suddenly had a question after remembering Isabella .

"Are Chris hyung and Caitlin noona well?”

"Chris is the same and Caitlin wanted to come along, but she had no justification for it . They told me to say hello for them . ”

In-gong laughed at Felicia’s answer . This wasn’t because of the news of Chris and Caitlin .

"You have become pretty close to both of them . ”

As soon as he asked, the answer had popped out instantly .

It was an atmosphere he couldn’t imagine having when he had first met them during the Red Lightning campaign . It seemed like Chris was still somewhat distant, but she had completely befriended Caitlin .

Felicia blushed at In-gong’s words and stood up .

"Anyway, both of them are ready to return to the land of the lycanthropes . They will probably leave the Demon King’s Palace tomorrow or the next day . ”

In-gong nodded because he had already expected it .

'It is unfortunate . ’

It was likely that it would be several months before he could meet the two of them again .

This regret was revealed on In-gong’s face and Felicia spoke in a bright voice like she was comforting In-gong .

“Perhaps we should end the private meeting so the people stop waiting?”

Carack just blinked from where he was standing next to In-gong and Delia gave a faint smile . He knew that Felicia wasn’t referring to Carack .

With the exception of some exceptional circumstances, they were an existence that were the hands of the royal children and kept their secrets . They talked with their most trusted counselors next to them .

In-gong understood and looked at Carack .

“Carack . ”

“Understood . ”

Carack opened the firmly closed door and brought in the person who had been waiting outside . It was Ferocious Eyes .

"8th Princess Felicia Doomblade, it has been a while . ”

“Yes, it has been a while . ”

The two of them had already met during a previous casios subjugation mission . In-gong was able to feel the joy that both Ferocious Eyes and Felicia felt .

‘It seems like he is close to everyone except Zephyr . ’

As In-gong thought this, another person entered the room . In-gong’s eyes widened as he saw the new person .

‘Daphne?’

The dryad Daphne, a child of one of the demon king’s concubines .

She was a beautiful girl with green skin and blue hair that looked like an illustration in a book .

Felicia introduced Daphne to In-gong .

“Have you ever met? This is Daphne, daughter of the 5th concubine . ”

When looking at the status of the concubines, Felicia was ranked higher than the 5th consort . Daphne graciously introduced herself to In-gong .

“It is great to see 9th Prince . I am Daphne, the daughter of the 5th concubine Echo . ”

“Nice to meet you, I am Shutra . ”

In-gong received her greeting . Fortunately, her reaction showed that she had almost no interaction with the previous Shutra .

Felicia spoke again .

"This work is also related to the guardian of Enger Plains . She is a very talented druid . She will be very helpful . ”

'Yes, she is certainly a competent druid . ’

Among the children of the concubines, she was one of the best three talents that he wanted to get his hands on .

Daphne lifted her gaze gently and said,

"8th Prince, I heard that you have met Green Wind of the Enger Plains . ”

"Yes, I heard her voice . We fought together on the plains . ”

In fact, he had ended up conquering her after they met .

Daphne jumped at In-gong’s reply . She took one step closer to In-gong and said,

"She has preserved the Enger Plains for more than a thousand years, but no one has seen her . Among the centaurs, isn’t it extremely rare to hear her voice?”

Daphne was strangely excited while Ferocious Eyes nodded deeply .

"Almost never . Green Wind’s voice hasn’t been heard in the past few decades?”

Yet In-gong had met Green Wind . It occurred one day after he had arrived at the Enger Plains, beating the record of the local centaurs and satyrs .

"Great . "

"Yes, it is great . ”

Felicia said with admiration and Ferocious Eyes agreed . Karma, who was standing in the corner, didn’t open her mouth but her eyes showed she also agreed .

‘So, Master, treat me more carefully . ’

Green Wind whispered in his ears . The others couldn’t hear her voice .

In-gong pretended not to know and Felicia brought up a new topic .

"Then Shutra, what are you planning to do next? This mission ended too soon, so it isn’t a good idea to return to the Demon King’s Palace . In the case of this mission, there is room for an extension . ”

It was obvious what she was suggesting and In-gong nodded .

"There are still remnants of the casios . Green Wind also wants to take care of them . ”

'Master, I never said that . ’

Green Wind spoke again, but this time she could be heard by the others . Ferocious Eyes expressed his surprise .

"Is that Green Wind?”

"Yes, she is being considerate . ”

At first, he had intended to use scouting the north as an excuse but he changed his mind in a few days .

Obtaining White Eagle was still his top priority, but In-gong really felt the need to scout the north .

As Felicia had said, there were many strange things about this work . Maybe something unusual truly was happening beyond the Northern Limit Line .

In-gong thought of Enger Plains and the centaurs living there . For them, it was necessary to investigate the cause of this situation .

‘Of course, I also have to consider the merits . ’

Moreover, In-gong had some doubts . The rampage of the casios and the participation of the drake ogres weren’t things that had happened in Knight Saga .

"Then I’ll go with you . ”

“Ferocious Eyes?”

Ferocious Eyes looked around the room and then at In-gong .

"This occurred on Enger Plains . 9th Prince has prevented the immediate crisis, but many people are concerned about the future . If I go to the north with 9th Prince, the tribes will feel comforted . ”

It was quite reasonable . Felicia laughed and agreed,

"Okay, it has been decided . Then I will follow . ”

"6th Princess?”

Felicia winked at Ferocious Eyes’ question and spoke to In-gong,

“Didn’t I tell you? One of the reasons why I am here is to investigate the violent casios . Wouldn’t it be better to investigate the living casios instead of the dead ones?"

That was also reasonable . It was what he had expected since Felicia appeared . So, In-gong had used the excuse of Green Wind . It would strengthen the reasoning behind the scouting mission .

“Then I will also join you . ”

Daphne carefully looked at both Felicia and In-gong . Then In-gong made a decision,

“Please do so . ”

Daphne smiled happily .

“Thank you . I will do my best to help Prince and Princess . ”

'Yes, I will use this opportunity to become friendly . ’

In-gong became resolved again and looked at Felicia . She shrugged and said,

"We are both royal children but you are the representative . Look after me this time . ”

"Please take care of me as well . ”

Ferocious Eyes shook slightly and asked,

"9th Prince, when will we start?”

"There is no reason to lose our sleep . I recommend that we start tomorrow morning . ”

Due to the nature of the scouting, he didn’t intend to go with many troops . Ferocious Eyes nodded .

"I understand . I will start preparing and carefully select the most outstanding warriors . ”

"Then today, I will check the temple with Daphne . ”

The last one to speak was Felicia . Each person’s work was neatly decided .

The centaurs heard the news after the meeting ended . They were satisfied that In-gong was going with their chief and the satyrs appreciated the fact that the 6th Princess came here after the 9th Prince . It was proof that the Demon King’s Palace thought about the Enger Plains .

On the day of departure . . .

There was one person who didn’t look excited at the thought of the new journey .

"Carack, what is it?”

In-gong asked Carack in a small voice as he had Ferocious Eyes and 20 centaurs behind him .

Carack moaned and said, "I feel like something is going to happen . . . No, it is probably nothing . Let’s depart . ”

Carack closed his mouth and looked straight ahead . And exactly three days later, in the afternoon, Carack’s words became a reality .

&

“This-! Why did you have to say that?”

“You are the one who asked!”