Chapter 169: Evan D. Sherden's Realization and Leap Forward (3)

Evan D. Sherden's Realization and Leap Forward (3)

A few more days passed after Evan decided what he would do going forward, and there were no changes right away. This was because the Great Flood had not ended, and he had not yet been able to leave the Duchy.

"What am I doing here? I need to strengthen the forces of the dungeon city right away."

"Isn't the Great Flood getting suppressed quickly? I heard it was a new record."

Originally, the Great Flood was a defensive battle to protect the territory of humanity, not a guerilla battle in which they actively sought out and eradicated monsters, as Evan and the others were doing. It was already burdensome to stop the monsters that were pouring out endlessly, so how could one empty the estate? The formation of the special forces a day before was an extraordinary, unavoidable measure because of the tremendous number of orcs. However, because Evan and the company tore through the Great Flood initially, humans were able to keep their overwhelmingly advantageous position and quickly quell the monster army without much damage.

"I heard that in the next few days, the aftermath of the Great Flood could be completely resolved, Master. Everyone is praising you. Under all the heavens, your name and the reputation of the dungeon Knights will spread."

The main purpose of Evan's arrival at the Duchy was to ease the rumors, but rather than easing them, several new and epic rumors were created that were incomparable to the previous ones. The old saying "to go for wool and come home shorn" never fit more perfectly than this. Evan let out a sigh and muttered.

"Yeah, I was already giving up on that since the start of the Great Flood. however, I wish I could do away with the rumors that I am the Great Demon Hunter."

"Nothing you can do, master."

"Damn, I can't even pull off simple magic; what kind of the Great Demon Hunter am I......"

It was too late to say "forget about it" since there were so many witnesses of the meteor the previous day. However, in the middle of disapproving of Shine's words, Evan had something that suddenly came to mind.

"I should have picked up what the thing dropped that day."

He was mentioning the Orc variant. Originally, he wanted to observe it while keeping it alive, and if that failed, he wanted to take at least a part of the body. But later on, when he scoured the place where the battle bead fell, all he could find was the blood of thousands of orcs. He had totally messed up.

'It's just as important to keep track of enemies that may appear in the future as it is to strengthen humanity's power...

In addition to that, he actually wanted to analyze the Demon Rune itself. Although it was a monster's ability, he wondered if it could be applied to humans or objects with the proper research. No, it wasn't just an idea. His alchemist's intuition was whispering that.

"I just remembered, master, that being said."

"Huh?"

"Here."

Shine suddenly pulled out the scimitar sheathed on his back and put it in front of Evan. In the Great Flood, the blood of so many monsters had been soaked into it, and it was getting stronger. Evan vaguely thought that it would surpass the scimitar, the blood moon, that appeared in the game sooner or later. But while he was looking at the scimitar with that thought in mind, he saw a black shock running over the scimitar just for a second.

"Uh...?"

Evan's eyes widened. That expression was clear enough to be caught by Shine.

"It was so faint that I didn't notice it, but I found it by accident while cleaning my sword this morning. It seemed like the blood-splattered when I slashed the Demon Rune Orc. Quite a lot of it, in fact."

"This..."

Evan urgently took the scimitar from Shine and examined it closely. A thin black tattoo appeared and disappeared on the sword like a slow pulse, nothing changed except for that. The ability was the same.

"If it had absorbed all of that thing's blood, something might have changed. Anyway, that Duke doesn't help at all."

"So does it mean nothing, then?"

"No, it isn't completely meaningless. It's worth doing research on it just for the fact that the traces of the Demon Rune's power remains. Good job, Shine."

Evan was the next-generation elite alchemist who succeeded the legendary alchemist Bernard Garcia! Moreover, if he returned to the dungeon city, he would be able to get help from Bernard. Evan pledged to himself to make at least a Demon Rune Tracker with this.

"Then, this is the only thing that was worthwhile to be found here..."

"We have been dealing with monsters all over the place, tracking down all the leads for two weeks, but we couldn't find any other Demon Runes."

"The same goes for the witch..."

"It's weirder if we had found it by just looking for what you want. We did enough, Evan."

Of course, it wasn't absolute foolishness to play an active part in the Great Flood. Because he fearlessly ravaged the battlefield and killed the monsters, he had succeeded in imprinting the existence of Evan D. Sherden in the Duchy. Thanks to that, it would be easier to carry out his will in this territory in the future. More specifically, even if he openly supported Anastasia and ran a business, people would not doubt or bother Evan needlessly.

That is the power of reputation and image. If I had only been trembling in fear of monsters, the people of the Duchy would never act favorably toward me.'

The Duke had been nice to him, so Matthew wouldn't dare to intervene. Although from the moment he came to the Duchy, he suffered a lot of troubles; it was a very satisfactory result.

'If I increase Anastasia's influence in this way and let her enter the battle for succession, Matthew will be overwhelmed, trying to defend himself and not be able to dare the throne. There will be no civil war in the Silk Line. Surely.

Even if Anastasia didn't become the duke, it would be okay. It was important that Matthew would not be able to look outside. If Evan, who managed to secure an alliance in the Duchy through Anastasia, put pressure on him, he would eventually have to give up the throne. That said, he could have resentment towards Evan, but he decided to trust Shine because he told him to leave it to him.

'Now that I realize that the future of humanity is dim, it is more important than anything else to stop the Silk Line Civil War. It's an unplanned project that set out thanks to the meeting between Shine and Anastasia...... I will accomplish it since we are at it.'

Even if he had to make Shine marry Anastasia, he would succeed! Considering Shine usually had to protect Evan... the relationship resembled that of a weekend couple!

"Why do you look at me like that, Master?"

"I'm sorry in advance, Shine. I'll give you a generous amount of congratulations."

"Why are you suddenly apologizing to me!? Congratulations for what!?"

"Master."

While Shine was puzzled at Evan's words, Belois called out to Evan and cautiously pulled at his sleeves. That only bad habit of hers, who was always calm, could never be fixed.

"Actually, I also had one thing I wanted to tell you."

"Huh?"

Evan tilted his head. First Shine, and now Belois this time? Did she also put the blood of the Demon Rune Orcs on the fire jade marble or something?

"I seem to have found traces of the witch."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Belois said so calmly.

"As a result of using the magic taught by the Madam on Princess Anastasia, there was a positive response... The Princess herself seemed unaware, though."

"......Ah."

In fact, Evan was too wondering if that would be the case. Her hair was black, yet she wasn't a demigod, so he had to consider she might be another race created by God, a witch. However, since the Princess seriously didn't know anything about being a witch, and above all else, and she had aptitude as a druid, he excluded the possibility...

"I have one more reason to stay in contact with the princess then."

"Can you give me a moment alone with the princess before leaving the estate?"

"Of course. It's okay to think of the princess as an absolute ally, so be kind to her."

"Yes, I will."

Belois nodded calmly as her red eyes shone quietly.

*

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Three weeks after Evan arrived at the Duchy of Leonine and two weeks after the Great Flood, Sorde, the Duke of Leonine, declared the end of the Flood.

[After all the settlers struggled side by side and heart by heart, the monsters were completely driven out. Our will of Leonine has been freshly engraved on this ground. You are all great warriors, each one of you a master of this land, the face of the Leonine!]

[But, will we be satisfied with this and let our spirit perish? No! Prepare for the next war, and we will fight with swords until the day when the monsters are driven from this land!]

The Duke's vicious speech resonated throughout the Duchy with loudspeakertype magic tools installed. Anyone in the Duchy, and perhaps even the monsters who retreated, could hear the speech.

[Everyone fought equally in this war! So everyone will get a decent return for their contribution, I guarantee you that!]

Evan, listening to the continuous speeches of the Duke, admired that he could keep living with such hot blood in his veins at that age.

"Is it okay not to go to the venue, Sir Evan...? Probably there will be some compensation..." 1602

It was Anastasia L. Leonine, sitting across from Evan, who said that. They were gathered and chatting in the secret garden where Anastasia stayed.

"I hate to receive any more attention than this. I just fulfilled my noble duty; I don't want to be praised in front of others."

Moreover, the actual profits could be obtained through a deal with Anastasia, so he did not intend to act the clown in front of the nobles. For the time being... at least for the next five years.

"Master, I'm afraid you can't sit on the sideline. Because of what happened this time, the invitations to parties will not drain, but rather flood."

"Zip it, Shine. I came here to join the party, and this stuff just happened to me, don't you see? I'm never going to a party ever again. Even if the king orders me to, I will ignore it."

He was serious. Since he was with his daughter now, the king would have to come in person from now on! Shouldn't he pay the price for abruptly leaving Evan in charge of his precious daughter? When Evan was thinking about it and smiling wickedly, Anastasia, who quietly put down her teacup, opened her mouth again, looking straight at him.

"Will I... Will I ever be able to act so confidently and wonderfully like Sir Evan one day?"

"As long as you have adequate force and power, it is possible.

"Force and power, I might have a chance to get both if I follow your words. But I'm doubtful if I can follow through..."

Momentarily she seemed to overcome her weakness in temperament, but her soft heart was still there. She would probably never stop making such feeble remarks at times. And the fundamental reason why she didn't have confidence was that she felt that she was a very insufficient person!

'Was she born with it? It's not easy to do this as the Duke's Princess...... Nah, I can't dig into the secrets of her birthright now.'

Evan glanced at her and soon turned his gaze to Belois, who was standing behind him. Belois nodded in a reliable manner. Evan, noticing the sign, immediately spoke.

"Princess, there was actually something I wanted to talk about regarding your abilities."

"My ability? Are you talking about the druid part?"

"No."

At this point, it seems obvious that she truly didn't know. Evan asked without hesitation at the confused Princess.

"I'll ask you directly. Do you know about the existence of a sub-race called Witch, Princess?"

"Witch...?"

"Master, let me handle it from now on."

"Yes, please. Then, Shine, let's go."

"Uh, uh...?"

Only

Evan gave his seat to Belois, got up, and left the garden with Shine. Anastasia reached for Shine's back, but it was nothing more than a brief and futile display of resistance.

"C-Can't Shine be here with me?"

"No, my lady. The witch's magic will become dangerous when others hear about it."

"So that witch..."

Belois, who lightly grabbed the confused Anastasia's hand, said with a small nod indicating she thought Anastasia would sense it because of the energy she felt.

"You are a witch...the descendant of an ancient race, like me, who was granted special powers from God."

"Ancient race..."

Belois began a more detailed story of the witch's magic, which was handed down to her from Redine, the Marquis' wife. On that day, a new witch awakened to the world of magic