GDTEA Ch 74

It’s Fake

The Tower Master immediately unrolled the scroll.

It depicted a man with an overall dark and solid-looking appearance.

“Good.”

The Tower Master collected the portrait after briefly confirming the facial outline.

A detailed examination could be done later.

“Our master must be alive.”

The gray-haired knight spoke with a voice full of conviction.

Leodelt Gwendhill absolutely could not have died. It was an absolute trust that he was not the kind of master who would fall to such an assassination.

“Well, I don’t know about that-.”

If he were alive, why wouldn’t he inform anyone of his survival in some way? Why was the search still struggling despite even the Emperor’s involvement?

The Tower Master sharply pointed out the reality.

“Well, I suppose as long as he’s breathing, he’s technically alive.”

“……!”

The three knights of the Gwendhill Grand Duchy all simultaneously flashed their eyes toward the Tower Master.

It was a fierce loyalty befitting subordinates who served the War Demon.

The Tower Master remained unfazed regardless.

“If he’s alive, there’s no way I wouldn’t be able to find him, so keep praying desperately like that.”

The Tower Master snapped his fingers with a smirk toward the three knights. In an instant, he deployed a teleportation spell and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Whiiiing-. A moisture-laden wind blew fiercely.

“Winter will make the search even harder, Jed.”

“If it snows, the traces will be even more hidden. What should we do?”

“……For now, we have no choice but to trust the Tower Master.”

The gray-haired knight, Jed, turned his back to the cliff with a bitter heart.

“Let’s return to the Grand Duke’s residence immediately.”

Though charged with treason, the Grand Duchy was steadfastly enduring.

However, the atmosphere of the Grand Duke’s residence was becoming increasingly depressed with the master not returning.

“Soon the noble faction will swarm in like a pack of dogs, right?”

The green-haired knight, Hiro, shuddered thinking of those who wished for the downfall of the Gwendhill Grand Duchy.

Even when Leodelt Gwendhill was alive, they attached all sorts of scandals to him, so now they would undoubtedly try to ensnare him with charges of treason.

“His Majesty the Emperor has endured as much as he could.”

The blue-haired knight, Ben, said with an expressionless face.

In truth, the Imperial House was in an even more serious situation than the Grand Duchy.

In the worst-case scenario, the Grand Duchy would face execution of everyone to leave no seeds of trouble, but the Imperial House would be manipulated according to the noble faction’s desires and eventually reduced to a puppet.

In other words, the Great Empire of Neweiton, which Grand Duke Gwendhill had risked his life to protect until now, would fall into the hands of the noble faction.

“So until our master returns, we must endure somehow.”

Jed resolutely faced his comrades.

No matter how futile a thread of hope might be, giving up was not an option.

Now it was time for them to choose defense over offense.

“Then Ben, you follow Jed. I’ll expand the search area to look for our master.”

When Hiro extended his fist, the other two briefly bumped their fists against it.

After Jed and Ben returned to the Grand Duke’s residence using teleportation scrolls, Hiro spread out a map.

“I should look for hidden villages.”

Hiro’s intuition was speaking to him.

Merely expanding the search area wasn’t enough. As the Tower Master said, if he was just barely alive and hiding somewhere, the most likely possibility was a hidden village.

“Please, please be safe, Master.”

Hiro immediately set out on his journey.

He was in a hurry as he needed to thoroughly search even the hidden villages not marked on maps.

****

Well past noon, the Magic Tower and the Krofl Mercenary Group reached an amicable agreement.

The Krofl Mercenary Group’s mages, including Shukadi, gained priority in selecting workshop locations, while the Magic Tower secured priority monopoly rights for selling products manufactured in the village workshops.

“Now, please line up here.”

“If you have family members or cohabitants with mobility difficulties at home, please line up over here.”

Following the instructions of the village chief and officials, the examination of mana within the villagers’ bodies began.

The mages from the Magic Tower and the Krofl Mercenary Group took turns working efficiently to extract and circulate the villagers’ mana. However, due to the large number of residents and the long stagnation of mana in their bodies, the examination continued throughout the day.

Meanwhile, Sharti was mingling with the village children.

“Wa-ha-ha! The bear is chasing you!”

“Kyaa! Run away!”

More precisely, she was watching over Ren as he was caught by the village children and played along with them.

“……Grr, ah, rawr-.”

Ren, blindfolded, awkwardly imitated a bear as he followed the children’s presence.

The children giggled loudly and clapped their hands to lure Ren.

“Doctor, you should run away too!”

The children grabbed Sharti’s hand as she stood staring blankly, and together they evaded Ren.

When Ren eerily honed in on Sharti’s presence and chased after her, the children became even more excited and ran around.

‘F-Fast!’

Sharti’s stamina was never an issue, having always climbed mountains, but trying to match the children’s pace made her fall slightly behind.

“Caught you.”

At that moment, Ren’s arms extended from behind Sharti and caught her in an embrace.

Sharti inhaled sharply as Ren’s breath touched the nape of her neck.

His hot breath warmed her cold skin, causing Sharti to freeze stiffly.

“The bear is trying to eat the doctor!”

“Let’s save her!”

The combative children clenched their potato-like fists and charged toward Ren.

This time, Ren began avoiding the children.

All while still embracing Sharti from behind.

‘R-Ren!’

Sharti wanted to cry out to Ren to let her go, but she couldn’t open her mouth carelessly for fear that the children might become frightened and cry.

Instead, she conveyed her message by slapping his thick arms that were restraining her.

The children’s eyes blazed at the sight.

“It’s not a bear! It’s the Demon King!”

At one child’s exclamation, Ren and Sharti momentarily faltered.

“He knows the doctor is a princess and is trying to take her away!”

“Oh no!”

“We have to save her!”

“……?”

The situational play began as roles were instantly assigned.

While Sharti blinked in confusion, the children focused on the role-play, heightening the tension.

“Let’s rescue the princess from the Demon King!”

“Let’s rescue her!”

The children charged toward Ren with a resounding battle cry.

‘Princess?’

In what way did she resemble a princess?

With her face hidden beneath a drab robe, she looked every bit the witch.

‘Ah, I guess. It would be a bit problematic if a doctor became a witch.’

It could cause issues if children refused medicine when sick, claiming it was poison.

Sharti solemnly accepted the role of princess.

“You evil Demon King! Release the princess!”

“Release her!”

The children swung their cotton-soft fists diligently at Ren. Despite being blindfolded, Ren effortlessly evaded the children’s attacks.

Unable to rescue the princess from the blindfolded Demon King, the children panted and widened their eyes.

“We’re too weak!”

“No! Heroes can’t rescue princesses!”

“……?”

The girls planted their hands on their hips and enlightened the boys about reality.

“Princesses are rescued by princes!”

“That’s right!”

It was a difference in fairy tale preferences.

“Then who will be the prince?”

“We need to find one!”

The children mumbled among themselves and looked around.

Just then, a girl’s eyes sparkled as she raised her hand high.

“Brother Ashu!”

“……!”

As soon as Ashu’s name was called, Ren’s forearms tensed.

There was no pressure applied to her body, but Sharti felt his forearms harden.

“Brother Ashu is the prince!”

“Huh?”

Ashu, who came running at the children’s call, rolled his eyes trying to assess the situation.

Seeing Ren holding Sharti from behind and the children’s determined expressions, Ashu burst into laughter.

“Alright. I’ll be the prince.”

Ashu willingly accepted the role.

With a reliable ally, the children’s expressions brightened.

With the children behind him, Ashu looked at Ren with a grave face.

“Please defeat the evil Demon King, Prince!”

“Let’s help the prince!”

Their unity was undeniable when faced with a villain.

“Brother Ashu! You need to reassure the princess first!”

“Uh, what?”

Ashu stammered at the demands of the girls who were dreaming of fluffy fairy tale romance.

“Hurry!”

Flustered at first, Ashu seemed to gain courage from the children’s encouragement, swallowing hard and squeezing his eyes shut.

“I’ll, I’ll rescue you soon, Princess!”

“Kyaa!”

The girls stomped their feet and cheered at the brave prince’s declaration. The children’s immersion deepened with the perfect role-play.

Ashu stealthily approached Ren. The children wanted only one outcome.

For the prince to defeat the Demon King and rescue the princess.

“Um, D-Demon King…?”

“…….”

But Ren didn’t budge. He showed no sign of releasing Sharti.

As the standoff continued, Ashu glanced awkwardly at Sharti.

Then Ren, who had been silent all this time, slowly opened his mouth.

“I won’t give up the princess.”

“……!”

While Ashu flinched, imagining Ren’s eyes flashing behind the blindfold, Ren shifted his arms to change how he was holding Sharti.

He now cradled her from the front, supporting her bottom with one arm and lifting her up.

With her view suddenly elevated, Sharti was startled and placed her hands on Ren’s shoulders for support.

“She’s my princess.”

Ren growled a warning. Sharti and Ashu’s mouths fell open at the childish threat.

Suddenly, Ren was not just faithful to his role but excessively immersed in it.

The children froze at Ren’s imposing presence, like a real Demon King.

Perhaps because the Demon King seemed too strong, or because the development wasn’t what they expected, the girls began to whimper.

“Um, just a moment please!”

“I won’t surrender her.”

“Waaaaah-!”

“Hueeeng!”

When Ren definitively refused without even listening to Ashu’s words, the children finally burst into tears.

Hearing the children crying, people began to gather, wondering what was happening. The gazes directed at Ren, who had made the children cry with his realistic acting, were not favorable.

‘This seems to be getting out of hand.’

By this point, Sharti anxiously assessed the atmosphere around them.

Although Sharti and Ren were outsiders who would soon leave, they couldn’t afford to leave a bad impression.

Above all, she didn’t want to leave the children with unpleasant memories.

‘……I have no choice.’

It was better for her to be a little embarrassed than to let people dislike Ren as if he were a real Demon King.

Having made her decision, Sharti took a deep breath.

“Prince, I’m sorry.”

Sharti spoke in a stiff tone as if reading from a book.

Shocked by her monstrous voice, the children’s tears momentarily stopped. Listening to the children’s hiccups, Sharti gritted her teeth.

Her face burned red with embarrassment.

“I’m not actually a princess.”

“……!”

One way or another, she figured she should provide a fairy tale-like ending.

Sharti quickly racked her brain. Based on her experience of reading fairy tales with Tein, she needed to create a new fairy tale.

“I am a deer… abandoned and hated by people……”

Sharti squeezed her eyes shut.

“-This appearance is fake.”

“……Gasp!”

As the children’s eyes widened, Sharti firmly wrapped her arms around Ren’s neck.

Calling herself an animal to those innocent children with her own mouth was so embarrassing she couldn’t lift her face.

“But the Demon King took me in.”

Her voice grew increasingly quieter, sounding like mumbling.

She worried whether it would properly reach the children, but Sharti couldn’t raise her voice any more than this.

‘My face is going to burst!’

Floundering in self-deprecation with her face buried, Sharti failed to notice the silence that had fallen around them.

“I… want to stay by the Demon King’s side.”