Chapter 85: 1 (Part One)

**

In the middle of a dark and gloomy night .

A ‘person’ wearing a red robe was deftly jumping between rooftops to move from one spot to another . It had a rotund physique, abundant beard, and even a matching large red pouch too .

This being’s eyes busily darted around here and there . Eventually, those eyes discovered a child still out and about despite the late hours .

A smile spread on the lips of this red-robed being before it quietly leaped off from the roof . It pounced on the child before shoving its victim inside the pouch .

-Woo-wuk?!

The pouch tumbled around . Inside it was filled with other children and they began screaming together .

1

The red-robed being continued grinning as it leapt back up to the roof, then it dashed away from there .

The commotion prompted the neighbours to open their windows and look up at the sky .

And right there on the rooftop with the pale blue moonlight shining down, was a red creature sinisterly cackling away . But in the blink of an eye, it… vanished .

The stunned neighbours cried out .

“It’s here! The devil has shown up here!”

“Call the garrison!”

“Hide the children! Hurry and hide them!”

The people called that creature the ‘Red Devil’ .

They told their children that ‘if they do bad things, the Red Devil will come and devour them’ . However, that story wasn’t a fantasy but something based on reality .

An actual red-coloured devil was roaming throughout this city .

**

I spent one more month in Hilda fiefdom after the festival came to an end . Eventually, I had to return to the capital city, Laurensis .

While staring at the distant imperial palace, veins began bulging on my forehead .

“You stinking son of a b*tch of a brother . You just wait for me, cuz I’ll be gifting you with a holy bullet to your head pretty soon . ”

As soon as I stepped inside the palace, a rather grand welcoming party greeted me . However, I cleanly ignored all the servants and maids lining up on the corridor and continued to stride away towards my destination .

I also immediately summoned a musket rifle . The Crimson Cross knights were following quietly behind me .

I flung open the door to my dear oldest brother, Luan Olfolse’s private quarters .

“Kkyaaahk?!”

Three very naked maids screamed and hurriedly shielded themselves with the bed sheets .

Huh, someone was busy hoofing it around in a forest hunting down some beasts, but here’s some other fool who’s busy living a dream life with a beastly body .

Since he was a bit of a pretty boy, I guess that he managed to sweet-talk a few gullible ladies .

My stomach began aching in jealousy .

Unlike the tense maids, though, Luan seemed rather relaxed . He laughed magnanimously after spotting me before putting on his clothes in a leisurely manner . “Allen, it’s been a while! I did hear that you’ve returned . I was about to finish up here and head out to welc…”

However, Luan froze up when he saw the musket in my hand .

“…Allen, what are you doing with such a dangerous object?”

“Get those girls outta here . ”

I issued a command and the Crimson Cross knights took off their robes and wrapped them around the women, then led them outside the room .

Even if they were religious fanatics, at least they were also behaving like gentlemen, so that was nice .

I closed the door shut behind me and began injecting divinity into the musket .

“Huh? A-Allen, hold on . That’s not a toy, brother . ”

Luan’s complexion darkened rapidly . He even stumbled back .

“Don’t worry, big brother . ” I walked over to him and then pointed the muzzle at his head . “This bullet contains healing magic, so you probably won’t die . However, since you’re getting hit from a close range, it might hurt just a tiny bit . ”

Luan’s eyes visibly shook .

“I’m sure you still find the after-effects of the Resurrection spell unbearable, so as your dear younger brother, allow me to ‘massage’ your head off, okay?”

I snickered and pulled the trigger containing my rage .

**

While exiting from the room, I glanced behind me .

Luan was on the floor, still grunting in pain while holding his forehead . “Allen, isn’t this too much?! How could you do this to your beloved brother?!”

I glared at him, the corners of my lips quivering . “I’m exhausted from the long itinerary . Which is why I’m thinking of taking a lengthy break, and I’d like you to handle all the duties originally meant for me, big brother . If you have any semblance of morals left, then you mustn’t refuse . ”

“Mm… Very well . I did commit the sin of deceiving my little brother, so it can’t be helped, I guess . ” Luan groaned and nodded slowly . He shook his head and then changed his expression to a grin before continuing on . “In any case, welcome back home, my beloved little brother!”

What the f*ck? You’re having a laugh, aren’t you?

I almost threw up in my mouth just now . Beloved, my ass! Where would you find someone under the heavens heartless enough to send their youngest brother to a lycanthrope hunt?!

I angrily slammed the door shut behind me .

Right, I better stop wasting my mind space on that guy .

I also might as well refuse to do anything for the next month or so, even if I have to resort to throwing a tantrum or something . Only then will I be able to vent some steam .

Since my previously-stuck divinity control was getting better, what I should do now was to focus on learning new magic spells .

I headed to the library afterwards . Found a book, flipped it open, and read it all . One book, two books, then three…

All thanks to the in-game attribute of being a Necromancer, I was able to immediately absorb all the knowledge on display .

It kind of felt similar to ‘reading’ skill books in games . Except that it also felt like a ‘skill’ was being created based on the magic theories as soon as I finished reading all the different books .

Also, if a grimoire proved to be complicated or a part of it was difficult for me to understand, then it would take a lot more effort for me to master what’s contained within . On top of that, I faced quite a lot of problems trying to read and understand grimoires that didn’t fall within the categories of Priests and Necromancers .

And finally, it seemed that even the magic I did master would vary in effectiveness depending on my proficiency with it .

While I immersed myself in studying, something began getting on my nerves quite a bit .

I glanced to my front . And there he was, a certain old man quietly, intensely staring at me from beyond the open gap of the library’s door .

“…”

That old man, he started doing that ever since the festival in Hilda fiefdom .

To avoid being stared at like this, I picked a few grimoires that looked interesting and left the library . While walking down the corridor, I still felt his naked glare stabbing me in the back .

Next morning .

A maidservant opened the door to my room to bring in my breakfast .

However, Raphael was standing beyond the door like a lamp post despite it being an early morning .

Later in the day, as I was walking in the corridors, Raphael silently chased after me while maintaining some distance .

Morning, lunch, in the evening, library, inside my room, within the corridors…

…I kept sensing that stabbing glare all over me .

While shedding thick, cold sweat drops, I stared right back at Raphael .

That intense and quiet stare didn’t even try to hide the ‘greed’ contained within .

At first, I thought he was planning to take his revenge on me for harming his granddaughter or something . Then, since she was his precious granddaughter and all, I figured he was keeping his eyes on me to make sure that I didn’t go around doing all that mangnani stuff again .

But those guesses were all wrong .

Man, I can’t even breathe properly here…

Holy cow . This geezer, is he suffering from dementia or something?!

I tried my best in distancing myself from him after sensing this ominous foreboding .

Later on, I entered the imperial palace’s private baths .

I refused the maidservants who offered to wash my body, but rather, I ordered them to not allow anyone to enter the baths instead .

Once everything was locked and secure, I dipped my weary body in the warm water . But then, my eye muscles began twitching uncontrollably when a certain figure oh-so naturally and silently slipped into the opposite side of the bath .

Who else could it be other than Raphael Astoria?

He settled down on my opposite side, and then continued on with his quiet but intense stare .

I swallowed my dry saliva . “…What is it, your eminence?”

“Your highness…” Raphael finally broke his silence . “…Do you have any thoughts of learning magic from me?”

**

“What the hell is this…? Gimme a freaking… Urgh, seriously…?!”

Inside Luan’s quarters .

We were sitting by his balcony and I was busy expressing my rage .

I originally planned to enjoy plenty of rest for at least a month, but I was now suffering from an unexpected stalker problem .

The First Imperial Prince Luan tried calming me down by pouring some red tea into my cup . “How about you take a step back and calm down first? Raphael merely wishes to teach you, that’s all . Isn’t it a considerable honour? It’s an opportunity to learn from the continent’s number one magic resear…”

“I don’t want to . ”

I frowned deeply while taking a sip of the aromatic red tea .

As long as I had access to grimoires, I could learn magic at any time . If I failed to understand a magic theory, I could either ask Alice or check out other related tomes . That’s all .

But then, what were you telling me to do? One-on-one private tutoring lessons from that perverted geezer? Just thinking about that gave me nasty goosebumps .

It was then, a knocking sound came from the door .

Once Luan permitted entry, a maidservant stepped inside . She cautiously studied my mood before whispering something to Luan’s ear .

He replied, “I see . I shall speak to his majesty right away . ”

After slightly nodding his head, he dismissed the maidservant .

I commented at that sight, “You seem to be rather busy lately . ”

But then again, he had been taking on my duties too . Finding enough time to drink tea like this would be a hard luxury to come by for him .

However, Luan waved his hand dismissively as if there was nothing to be concerned about . “The Black Order is causing trouble again, that’s all . ”

The Black Order?

That’s an organisation I also know something about . Wasn’t that the one where Morgana the Witch swore allegiance to… Eh?

A thought suddenly popped into my head .