Episode 26
“The giant moths arenāt particularly strong, but they continuously emit toxic powder, making it hard to approach them. Their breeding rate is extremely fast, so weāre barely managing to contain the situation.
The poison powder of the rice moths seems to cause skin necrosis. Currently, weāre using aura to protect our skin while fighting.
The powder on the skin can be washed off after battle, but if it enters through the respiratory system, thereās nothing we can do. We request assistance from magicians.
Additionally, civilians who canāt use aura are suffering the most. We also ask for support from healers.”
This was a request for aid sent three days ago by Remain. Arin realized once again how grave the situation had become.
“Deneb, with the buffed insecticide, we can wipe out the moths. Let me go.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“If we release that insecticide into the world, what do you think people will say? They may overlook it for now due to the crisis, but after itās resolved, theyāll start to question and suspect you. If itās discovered that youāre an alchemist, then what?”
The neatly crafted round canisters made of aluminum and the evenly-spraying liquid technology were far too conspicuous in this world.
She knew he wasnāt wrong. Still, it frustrated her immensely that she couldnāt use a solution that was right within her reach.
āā¦ā¦ā
“Their capabilities are more outstanding than you think. It’s only been three days. Wait a little longer.”
Arin bit her lip in frustration, feeling useless.
Worried that she might hurt herself, Deneb reached out. His long, slender finger gently rubbed against her lips.
“Don’t bite.”
If she didnāt relax immediately, she felt like his finger might slip into her mouth.
When she finally let go, Deneb showed a strangely disappointed expression. His finger tapped her lips a few times and then withdrew.
Arin was sick of his touch after three years of it. He didnāt mean anything by it, but others interpreted it far too seriously.
What annoyed Arin the most was that because of Denebās inappropriate physical contact, people inside the fortress avoided her. They didnāt want to get close to the lordās supposed loverābut she wasnāt his lover.
“I told you to stop doing that.”
Arin crossed her arms defensively, eyes narrowing. It wasnāt that she disliked Deneb at this point, but being romantically involved with him was out of the question.
Deneb gave her a crooked smile at her reaction.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why shouldnāt I?”
“Wowā¦”
Arin was at a loss for words. When Deneb questioned things that were just common sense, she truly felt how twisted he was.
“It just looks weird when friends act like that, donāt you think?”
She wasnāt sure if “friends” was even the right word for their relationship, but she went with it for now. She was about to demand a promise from him to stop this nonsenseā
āand both of them sensed someone hiding nearby. No, two people.
The assassins were hiding in the bushes, waiting for the right moment.
Deneb sighed in annoyance, realizing that Asila was up to her tricks again. He reached for his sword.
But before he could draw it, Yellow suddenly came crashing in without even glancing at them, diving straight into the bushes.
The bushes shook violently, and moments later, a giant-sized Yellow emerged proudly, a fainted assassin hanging from his mouth. He dropped the assassin gently at Denebās feet.
[Out of the two, this oneās face is less smashed. Boss, you eat!]
Yellow, who frequently received food from Deneb, wanted to impress his boss. The preyās face was squashed like a bun, but it was still aliveāso it should taste fine.
Even though it was an assassin, Arin clutched her head in dismay at the sight of Yellow offering up a human like prey.
“I’m not eating that.”
Deneb refused firmly. But Yellow, who believed āOur boss is the coolest and sweetest in the worldā, filtered that response completely.
[Kuang! Taking care of lower ranks firstāso cool, boss! Then Iāll eat it!]
Unable to bear watching Yellow eat a human, Arin pulled out a bunch of jerky and nuts from the system.
“Yellow! Donāt eat that. Eat this instead!”
[Ugly thingās trying to steal my food again. Thereās a dead one deeper in the bushesāeat that!]
“Oh my god. Letās just leave both of those and eat this, okay?”
[Iāll eat that too! Everything!]
“If you eat everything, youāll gain weight. Actually, now that I look at youā¦ you have gained a little weightā¦”
At her blunt words, Yellow looked down at his body with teary eyes.
[Iāmā¦ Iām not a pig-cat!]
He let out a heartbroken cry.
He had already been feeling bad about losing his sleek form, and now this? The emotional damage was severe.
[Youāre a hairless ugly thing. So unfair. Kuangā¦]
Meanwhile, the giant rice moths had started spreading beyond Kogain Village to other regions. To stop the outbreak, Deneb dispatched half of the 3rd Knight Order and 10 mages to Kogain.
With fewer soldiers guarding the Dukeās fortress, assassins started appearing more frequently. But Deneb was no easy target. Most of the assassins were killed by the 1st Knight Order, the rest by Deneb and Yellow.
In truth, Asila didnāt expect the assassins to succeed. Her aim was to distract Deneb and keep him from focusing on the insect crisisāand it worked.
Endless assassins charging like moths to a flame, the unresolved Kogain incident, and the bizarrely frequent sightings of giant cockroaches around the fortress aloneāall these factors fueled Denebās worsening temper.
And today, something happened that truly enraged him.
The pest infestation had become known even in the capital beyond the Altair territory. Then came a ridiculous decree from the Imperial Palace.
Deneb crumpled the edict from the royal messenger.
āā¦To prevent further spread to other territories, the Duchy shall be closed off as of today. The Imperial family, taking responsibility, will send the Crown Prince to assess the situation and provide appropriate supportā¦ā
“A lockdown, huhā¦”
Dark mana surged around him, practically swallowing the royal messenger.
To be fair, the messenger was also a victimānow that the territory was locked down, he couldnāt leave either.
At that moment, Deneb sensed Haishan waiting outside his office. He dismissed the messenger and called Haishan in.
“I greet the Duke.”
“Skip the formalities. How did it go?”
“The appearance is nearly identical. But its lethality is less than half.”
“ā¦”
“Still, I guarantee itās convincing enough to fool others.”
“Good work.”
Arin was busy inside the brown antique mansion, pulling out her buffed items around the clock.
She sensed Deneb entering the house. Throwing down the items she was sorting, she dashed out of the storage room.
“Wait, waitāno matter how rushed I am, I should lock the door.”
Inside the storage, hundreds of small palm-sized boxes were stacked haphazardly. Arin infused them with mana and activated a spell.
“Lock. Auto Explosion.”
“Lock” was a security spell, and “Auto Explosion” would detonate the storage if anyone besides the caster tried to force it open.
A magic for erasing evidence, basically.
With nimble steps, Arin ran toward Deneb. She saw him crossing the garden in the distance, his coat fluttering in the breeze.
“Deneb! Is it ready?”
“Yeah.”
He pulled out a small round canister from inside his coat.
“Itās less lethal, but I managed to replicate it closely.”
Arin took the cute little insecticide in his hand and sprayed it into the air. The distinctive scent stung her nose.
“You even replicated the smell? Thatās amazing.”
Deneb took off his robe and draped it over her shoulders, seeing how exposed her neck was.
Arin sniffed the robe. It smelled like leavesā¦ no, like a cool forest. The scent reminded her of a deserted island.
“What fabric softener do you use? It smells so good.”
“Whatās that?”
His puzzled expression made her realize: this world hadnāt developed fabric softeners yet. So the smell wasā¦ just his natural scent.
Her face flushed with the realization.
Seeing the pink in her cheeks, Deneb slowly buttoned the robe for her.
“This robe has magic for defense and temperature control. Cold?”
His fingers brushed lightly against her sensitive neckāit only made her blush deeper.
“Iāll do it myself.”
“Already done.”
He withdrew his hands coolly and looked straight at her.
“When will you leave?”
Arin handed the replicated insecticide back to him.
“Now.”
“Alright. Donāt forget our agreement. Just one day.”
“I wonāt forget.”
“Go wild, then.”
Though he said it casually, he didnāt bother hiding his displeasure.
He recalled the conversation theyād had a week ago.
“Iām going to tell Haishan Iām an alchemist.”
“Youāre insane.”
“Itās been nearly two weeks, and things arenāt improving. I canāt just sit still. Iāll show Haishan the insecticide and ask if she can replicate it. If she can, weāll just say she made it if anyone asks.”
“ā¦ā¦”
“And if someone demands the recipe, weāll say itās our trade secret.”
What she said was, in truth, what he had already thought of.
But he hadnāt acted on it because he didnāt want anyone to know their secret. Other than his father and Arin, he trusted no one. His distrust ran deepāborderline pathological.
She was completely right, but he still didnāt want to let her go easily. So Deneb decided to be petty.
“Every night, youāll have to do something for me. So finish this in one day.”
“Donāt say it like thatāit sounds weird.”
She glared at him. He always twisted thingsālike when he handed her stamina tonics with a suggestive tone.
“Just one day. If you donāt fix it in time or get hurtā¦ Iāll punish you severely.”
Arin shivered. His hot breath growled like a predator.
“Take care!” Arin cheerfully waved to Deneb and activated a teleportation spell with Yellow.
With a flash of light, her form vanished.
Deneb still felt uneasy about letting her go. If not for the suspicious activity near the fortress, he wouldāve gone with her himself.
