Chapter 148

Chapter 148 – Chapter 28: Demon King

The contents of the invitation didn’t change even though he read it again . The sender was the demon king, and the time was tomorrow morning . The place was the residence of the demon king, called the Black Castle .

Carack received the invitation from In-gong, and his eyes widened with surprise .

“P-prince?”

In-gong had just handed Carack something very serious . This was a natural reaction when it came to anything related to the demon king .

The demon king—the apex of the Demon World, and the strongest person in the Demon World .

He had called out to In-gong . This time, it wouldn’t be a public place like the court gathering . According to the invitation, it was an informal meeting . The other person was the demon king, and this fact preceded their relationship of father and son .

‘This is the first time . ’

An informal meeting with the demon king was something he had never experienced in Knight Saga . In other words, Zephyr was never invited in this way .

In-gong wondered why the demon king had called him . Why had he done such a disruptive thing at each court gathering?

In-gong took a deep breath, and many possibilities passed through his mind . The first thing he thought about was the Four Knights of the Apocalypse .

In-gong had reported that Gerard had been the Famine Knight . The reason In-gong had been able to find out the specific word, ‘Famine’, was because Gerard had said it himself .

In the cases of Death and War, it was a little more ambiguous .

Gerard had been the Famine Knight and had the power of Famine . There seemed to be a commonality between the power of those with the purple aura and the red power which the barbarian king had used . Additionally, the barbarian king had said the word ‘War’ .

The keyword ‘Death’ hadn’t been said, but this was enough . If the Demon King’s Palace had information on the Four Knights of the Apocalypse, it would be easy for them to make the connection .

Did the demon king want a more specific report? Or had he realized In-gong was the Conquest Knight? Maybe it could be both . There might also be a reason which In-gong couldn’t guess . It could truly just be a father and son dialogue .

‘That is hard to imagine . ’

Anyhow, the invitation had arrived, and there was no such thing as a veto . He could only accept the invitation .

“Brace yourself . ”

Carack said with a serious expression . In-gong laughed bitterly and asked Flora,

“Flora, who brought the invitation?”

“It was a knight of the royal guards who was wearing a black cloak . ”

The classification in the Demon King’s Palace could be determined based on the colour of their cloaks . Among the knights, only the guards of the demon king could wear black cloaks .

“As expected from the demon king’s invitation . ”

Carack said with admiration . In-gong nodded .

“Yes . ”

The leader of the guards was Reinhardt, one of the five captains . He was a yaksha and didn’t belong to any of the factions .

‘The Silent Reinhardt . He is a good escort of the demon king . ’

In Knight Saga, he had always been a difficult opponent to face . After thinking about Reinhardt for a bit, In-gong looked at Flora and said,

“Flora, keep this invitation a secret . ”

“I will do so . ”

Flora agreed without asking why . It was natural behaviour as a butler .

Carack blinked and asked,

“Prince, are you not going to even tell the princess?”

He was referring to Felicia more than Caitlin . In-gong slightly shrugged and said,

“She will only worry about it . ”

It would be nice to talk to Felicia who was his political adviser, but she couldn’t give any advice regarding the encounter with the demon king . From the outset, he didn’t even know why the demon king was calling . It was better to keep it a secret because it would just worry Felicia . Moreover, the meeting with the demon king wasn’t in the distant future but tomorrow morning .

In-gong summarized the situation roughly and said to Carack and Flora,

“Let’s take a break until tomorrow . And Flora, make dinner a little later than usual . Additionally, Amita, Daphne, Nayatra and Karma will be joining us . ”

“I will follow your words . ”

He had been so busy since returning to the Demon King’s Palace that he hadn’t been able to rest . It was necessary for him to think about some things .

“Carack, I’ll be resting in my room until dinner . You don’t have to come along since I’ll be hanging out alone . ”

“Understood . Then I won’t be in the same room . ”

Carack responded with an exhausted face, and In-gong smiled back at him . Carack truly was very helpful .

‘Then I will take a break . ’

After the 3rd Queen’s tea ceremony, there were many things for him to think about . So, he would rest and delay his training until after dinner .

However, that plan had to be modified the moment In-gong opened his bedroom door . The long day wasn’t over just yet .

“You came later than I thought . ”

The 4th Queen Elaine Moonlight was sitting gracefully on a small sofa in his bedroom . As always, Ludwig was behind her .

As he thought about the current situation, In-gong suppressed the desire to close the door and pretend not to see anything . Why was Elaine here? And why didn’t Flora tell him about Elaine’s visit?

“I came in secret . You should pay more attention to security . ”

In-gong smiled and closed his bedroom door .

“It is nice to see you again . ”

“This is an informal place, like the tea party, so there is no need to talk like that . ”

Elaine was the one to relax the formalities . She invited In-gong to sit in the opposite chair, and he didn’t refuse . He pushed back his fatigue as he faced Elaine .

“Did something happen?”

He suppressed it as much as possible but a little bit of displeasure showed . Elaine seemed to catch a glimpse of it and made an apologetic expression .

“I couldn’t talk to you properly at Sylvia’s tea party . Shutra, you know why I came to the Demon King’s Palace, right?”

It was just like how Sylvia couldn’t talk about the fairy .

In-gong nodded instead of answering, and Elaine let out a long breath .

“Gerard Moonlight . My dear brother, whom the lycanthropes were so proud of . ”

In-gong was a little bit disconcerted by the affection which dripped from her voice . Did she have a grudge against In-gong like Felicia was worried about?

However, fortunately, it was groundless . Elaine waved her hands and said,

“There is no need to stress . I want to thank you . It is a really funny story, but… I’m glad . Once again, I don’t have to risk my life fighting against Gerard . ”

Her brother had gone crazy . She had known there was no way other to stop him, other than to kill him . However, even so, he was her brother, and even now, pleasant memories rose when she closed her eyes .

Elaine was good at hiding her feelings, but not this time . She gave a low sigh as her eyes became damp .

In-gong didn’t dare say anything and just waited . Elaine hid all her emotions with a smile, and In-gong felt in awe as he looked at her .

“You are becoming stronger really quickly . Like Caitlin said, you are completely amazing . ”

At the end, Elaine smiled brightly in a way which was different than normal . However, it really suited her . She looked just like Caitlin, so In-gong flinched involuntarily as she spoke in a manner similar to Caitlin .

‘Master, do you like the word ‘amazing’ that much?’

Green Wind whispered into his ears . As a result, In-gong regained his spirit and fixed his expression quickly .

Elaine just laughed . She let out a long breath once again and stared straight at In-gong .

“I just wanted to thank you, Shutra . Thank you very much . ”

It was just like Sylvia at the tea party . Elaine had an innocent, pure heart .

However, that didn’t last long . Elaine restored her confident expression and leaned back against her chair .

“This isn’t enough . You have helped resolve a longstanding problem of the lycanthropes . If you have something you want, tell me . If I can do it, I will try hard to give you the appropriate compensation . ”

It was a very pleasant speech but confusing as well . In-gong faced Elaine as he started thinking, and the first thing that came to mind was being hit by Divine Beast Authority .

‘Be reasonable, reasonable . ’

It was a very attractive reward, but there was no way to convince Elaine . Being hit as a reward… nobody would be crazy enough to make the suggestion .

It was at that moment—

“Do you want to be hit with aura?”

Elaine asked playfully, and In-gong flinched reflexively . Then Elaine’s expression became one of embarrassment .

“Uh, did you really think of that?”

In-gong was equally embarrassed and couldn’t answer right away . Elaine became more embarrassed as he stayed silent .

“Uh, um . Yes . I respect your taste… Yes, I respect you . ”

“Ah, no! That’s not it!”

In-gong stood up and waved his hands .

“I would like to learn Divine Beast Authority a little deeper . I would like a spar with Queen Elaine and the leader of your guard . I was thinking about the spar and became surprised when I heard you mention aura . ”

Ludwig narrowed his eyes at In-gong’s clarification, and Elaine laughed . As In-gong sat down again, she said,

“Hmm, it isn’t hard, but it isn’t really a reward . You will learn it anyway . A spar with Ludwig is too heavy as a reward . ”

Elaine was troubled for a moment, then finally, she sighed .

“It can’t be helped . I will think about a separate compensation . I thought it would be easy, but it has become more difficult than I thought . ”

However, there was a subtle pleasure on her face . It seemed like the process of thinking about a present was fun for her .

As the story about the reward came to a close, Elaine pulled out a new topic .

“Shutra, I saw your report to the Demon King’s Palace . Gerard was the Famine Knight?”

“Yes, he said so . ”

In-gong studied Elaine’s response . Based on her frown, she didn’t know anything about the Famine Knight .

“I am currently collecting information . Gerard was able to escape from the Grey Tower because he had become the Famine Knight . If I find anything, I will let you know . ”

It wasn’t just information sharing . In-gong realized that this was the support he hadn’t received in the past . Maybe the dark elves also had some information to tell In-gong .

“I think it is time to go back . Sorry for breaking into your bedroom . ”

“It is okay . Just don’t do it often . ”

Elaine laughed at In-gong’s careful answer .

“I really can’t say anything . ”

As though it was punishment for the joke, Elaine kissed him lightly on the forehead like he was her own child .

“Oh, and Shutra, can I ask one more question?”

“Tell me . ”

In-gong looked up at Elaine . Elaine came closer with a wicked expression and asked In-gong,

“Between Caitlin and Felicia, who do you think is cuter? Well, it makes no difference if they are cute or pretty . ”

“Huh?”

Who was prettier? What type of question was this?

However, Elaine was quite serious .

“It isn’t a joke . I’m serious . ”

“Uh…”

In-gong was unable to answer . Then Elaine clicked her tongue and increased the distance .

“I am satisfied with just that answer . It is obvious, but I am looking forward to getting to know you better . Then I’ll see you next time . ”

Elaine knocked on In-gong’s shoulder and walked out of the bedroom . It seemed like she was going out the front door, unlike when she came in .

Flora was shocked to see her, but saw her off . In-gong apologized to Flora briefly before lying down on his bed .

&

The long day was over, and a new morning shone .

In-gong had gone to bed early and started the day with his usual routine . An informal meeting with the demon king was an extraordinary event, but it was important to maintain his composure .

In-gong postponed meeting Felicia and Caitlin at the Merits Department to the afternoon and left his house with a calm mind . He travelled to the Black Castle, the demon king’s residence, in a carriage .

“I’m nervous . ”

Carack said what In-gong was thinking . He had visited the Black Castle every time for the court gathering, but it felt different today . The invitation had only stated that the location was the Black Castle, so In-gong thought someone would come out .

As expected, there was someone waiting for In-gong .

“It has been a while . In the meantime, you’ve become stronger . ”

“Sword Duke!”

In-gong had thought a guard would be waiting for him, so he was full of pleasure at the surprise . The sword duke sent him a relaxed smile .

“I heard about your activities . Everyone at the court gathering was astonished . ”

The sword duke was suddenly standing right in front of In-gong . In-gong couldn’t grasp the movement and stared with admiration . He still had a long way to go before he would reach the sword duke’s level .

“It is just a little trick, so don’t be surprised . Frankly, Prince is more amazing from my perspective . ”

The sword duke had grasped it almost immediately . In-gong’s current strength was no comparison to when he had been at Thunderdoom Fortress .

“I’d like to talk to Prince more, but unfortunately, I have to give priority to my mission . From now on, stay focused as I guide you . ”

The sword duke then spoke to Carack,

“Please stay here . You won’t be able to follow any further . ”

Carack looked at In-gong instead of replying to the sword duke . In-gong nodded once .

“Understood . I’ll wait here . ”

Carack replied to In-gong with a determined expression, but he couldn’t hide his worried gaze .

“I thought it before, but Prince really has a good aide . ”

The sword duke laughed before stepping forward . The surrounding landscape changed instantly .

In-gong focused his mind like the sword duke had said to do . In-gong was sensitive to magic and could feel the strong torrents of magic power rushing around like a storm . If he was just a little bit distracted, he would get lost in the torrent of magic power .

The sword duke continued walking, while In-gong triggered his quad-core . This process of moving along with the sword duke seemed like a test to see if he had the minimum qualifications .

Some time passed by .

The surrounding landscape then became fixed .

There was a white building, reminiscent of a temple under a dark blue sky . Other than that, the darkness was so thick that In-gong couldn’t see anything other than the building . In-gong and the sword duke were standing on the stone stairs leading to the building .

“I can only go with you up to here . The demon king is there . ”

The sword duke pointed to the white building .

Taking a deep breath, In-gong took a step forward .

Then finally, beyond the staircase, the demon king was there, standing in the middle of the building .