TTND 97

Chapter 97

The Demon King’s Heir? A Look at That Astonishing Potential

“My mother became the Empress of the Demon Clan?”

“The one you call a ‘Saint’… Do you even understand what that means?”

“What does it mean?”

“She’s the ‘Chosen’ picked by the messenger of the Trinity. In our view, she is the counterpart to our Divine King—our God-King. She is the channel through which divine energy enters this world.”

To both humans and demons, the Demon King and the Saint were considered beings chosen by the gods—mirrored, opposite counterparts.

“Then that means…?”

“Yes. In our land of Garumhau, there is a prophecy. A child born between the Saint and the God-King will become the true Endbringer, the one who ends the war between our two races. The prophecy is not officially recognized, but it keeps spreading, passed down by word of mouth. No matter how much it is suppressed, it refuses to die out.”

To the past Demon Kings, this prophecy was ridiculous—something they wanted to erase.

You will never be the one to end the war. The real king will be born from the Saint.

No wonder the Demon Kings feared and avoided this prophecy.

Still, despite all efforts to crush it, the prophecy survived through whispers among the people, and now, because of Saint Flora, it had stepped into reality.

Idnia was amazed at what she heard.

Then does that mean… I also have a right to the Demon King’s throne?

As she stared in disbelief, Kais nodded. He looked pleased to see the normally calm Idnia finally shocked.

“From the humans’ side, Idnia Kache Betelgeuse—you might be seen as the prophesied Endbringer. And the same goes for our fanatics. To them, it’s between you and Caesar. One of you is the rightful heir.

Although, they lean more toward Caesar. He is the actual child of the Demon King and Saint Flora. We value spirituality over blood ties, but that doesn’t mean we ignore blood altogether.”

“Are you saying… I could become the God-King of Garumhau?”

When Idnia asked this, Veras objected angrily.

“That’s nonsense, Your Highness. We serve Prince Kais precisely because we don’t believe in that foolish prophecy. It’s because of that ridiculous myth that our nation is suffering from this filthy civil war and being manipulated by that viper of a Dowager Empress!”

He trembled just thinking about Flora.

And it seemed Veras wasn’t the only one—other demons nearby also looked grim at her mention.

“I may not become the God-King, but just by being on your side, I can weaken Prince Caesar’s supporters. After all, I’m also someone born of the Saint and a Demon King.”

“Exactly. That would help us greatly.”

“But from my point of view… shouldn’t I at least hear the other side’s offer before making a decision?”

“Haha. Fair enough.”

Kais laughed, but his close aides were silent at Idnia’s words.

If they were in her shoes, they’d definitely meet both sides too. And Idnia had no reason to rush a decision.

The demons needed her to gain legitimacy in the throne war—but why should she care?

“My questions are answered now. Thank you for being honest, Kais. But I’d like to delay my decision for a while, if that’s alright.”

“…Wait.”

Lynser stepped forward and blocked her path.

“Your Highness, please grant me permission to remove my limiter. I’ll subdue her and make her obey. Even after hearing all of this, we can’t just let her walk away freely.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Lynser. You should know you can’t win her heart through force.”

“Even if I don’t win her heart, just taking control of her would still benefit us.”

“No. Absolutely not. I won’t allow it. Be grateful Gimmel even gave you time to act on your whims.

Also, you owe her an apology. She got dragged into this mess because you wanted to test her strength.”

“We only wanted to confirm if she truly inherited the divine energy of the God-King. But she hasn’t shown any of it yet.”

“Yes, and instead of drawing out any divine energy, you were completely crushed by her tyrant aura. Be ashamed.”

Kais finished speaking and gave Idnia a respectful nod.

“Sorry for taking your time. But as a ruler myself, I couldn’t just ignore my subordinates’ requests. I promise to repay you someday.”

“Oh no, it’s fine. I actually learned some useful things. Also, I hope Lord Carmine recovers without lasting damage.”

“…Hah.”

Kais chuckled and snapped his fingers.

The barrier disappeared, and a carriage now stood in front of Idnia.

Next to it were a shocked Rudolf, Karl Lorenzo, and Marie.

Judging from the soldiers nearby with tracking dogs, it seemed Idnia had been reported as missing.

Time had apparently passed even inside the barrier.

“Miss Idnia!”

“What happened? You vanished, and now you’re suddenly back!”

Rudolf and Karl were worried.

I guess if time passed differently inside the barrier, then this was some insane high-level magic.

Idnia clicked her tongue. The situation was tricky now.

They had cast a barrier inside the palace, cut her off, and had a private talk.

How could she explain that?

What do I say—‘Oh, by the way, I’m a possible Demon King heir’? No way. I’ll have to make something up…

Then, to her surprise, someone came to her rescue.

“There was a malfunction in the palace’s defense barrier. We sincerely apologize.”

The imperial guards rushed in and bowed to Idnia.

“Barrier? The palace has protective barriers, but not at the guest entrance, right?”

“More importantly, why was she the only one affected?”

Rudolf and Karl raised good questions.

But Idnia just nodded.

“Well, let’s go with that explanation.”

The guards’ excuse conveniently answered her problem.

Emperor Franz, that slippery snake. So he did allow the demons to test me. Figures.

Since Franz had allowed the demons to try out her strength, news that she had mastered her tyrant aura would probably reach the emperor.

“Well then. Has the food melted?”

“Ah, no, it’s fine.”

“Good. Let’s get in the carriage quickly. I’m sure the Wizard Ball match is already over.”

“…”

✦ ✦ ✦

The banquet was supposed to go on, but the Dynaise Academy students—Idnia included—packed their food and decided to return early.

As soon as they boarded the carriage, the scenery changed, and they were suddenly back in Dynaise Academy’s plaza.

“…Is there any point in riding the carriage if this is how it works?” Marie muttered as she stepped down with the food.

“True. And it seems classes are done and it’s evening maintenance time. I wonder how the match went?”

“Oh, it was a disaster.”

A grumpy voice spoke up.

Buremhyde had appeared at the plaza.

“A disaster? How badly did we lose…?”

“A mercy loss. The pitcher couldn’t throw strikes, the catcher missed everything, and the throws were terrible. The runners just walked their way home like they were pulling number tickets at a bakery. It was a nightmare.”

“Oh no. But weren’t there experienced players too?”

“Some, yes. But even the test-prep team was quite strong. They could easily dominate a 4th division league.

The only silver lining is that they understood some of our players were pulled out last minute, so they agreed to not demand a rematch.

If not, they could’ve just rejected us outright.”

“You can refuse a rematch in a league match?”

“This is an amateur 4th division league. The whole schedule is thrown together casually. Renting the field is more important than fairness.

You have to at least be in 2nd division before things get serious and ticketed spectators show up.

Anyway, here’s a copy of the newspaper with the match report.”

“Wait, the Dynaise paper? Isn’t it published tomorrow?”

“This is a journalist’s draft.”

Idnia took the paper. The match with the demons wasn’t mentioned—just regular campus news.

The match between Dynaise Academy and the test-prep team, however, made the front page:

“Dynaise Academy Reforms After 30 Years, Only to Suffer Crushing 0–30 Loss to Test-Prep Team”

“Beginner Team Lacks Even Wizard Ball Basics”

“Yesterday at Noon, at Gate 3 Grounds, A Brutal One-Sided Slaughter Unfolded”

It went on to describe the painful match in detail.

In these slow times, newspapers love to break down every round.

“So the only one who did okay as pitcher was Isolde, and she got pulled out mid-match?”

“Yes.”

“By who?”

“Her mother’s relatives, apparently. But surely none of you think Wizard Ball is just an excuse to go out for snacks?

I was okay with letting you run errands while outside, but this… this is a problem.”

“Sorry. But wasn’t it risky to rush into the match in the first place?”

“Huh?”

“We had no practice, and suddenly we’re in a match, only to be humiliated. Don’t you think it might kill students’ motivation?”

“…”

Idnia’s words hit home.

Buremhyde, who was burning with anger after the loss, suddenly sobered up.

If the students were too embarrassed to continue and quit the team, everything they had built would fall apart.

“Ugh… We’ve got another match in three days. This won’t do.”

“Wait—who are we playing?”

“The Gymnasium 461 Swordsmanship School.”

“…That’s a team?”

“Fourth division, remember? Anyway, we have to raise the team’s level before then…”

“Alright. I’ll try to keep everyone motivated. But you’ll have to do your part.”

“What do you want? Lightning bolts of punishment for the losers?”

“No. Now’s when it matters most.

If you sulk and bring down the mood just because we lost, the students who went out there and gave it their all will feel even worse.

You know they could just quit Wizard Ball and focus on graduating, right?

Most of them only care about getting a diploma.”

Idnia subtly threatened Buremhyde with the possibility of the students quitting.

He trembled with frustration.

Damn you, Idnia Kache Betelgeuse! How dare you threaten me! But… what you said makes sense. Ugh.

The infamous tyrant of Lancaster—the legendary worst Dragonlord Buremhyde—was once again being dragged around by this girl, and it was driving him nuts.