William saw Lorelei looking over some documents and frowning. She scrunched her face even more, “Hmm.”

“What is it?”

“The results from the new divinations about the Demon King. Within the next dozen years, there is a decent probability of the Demon King appearing in either Liaoyang, Ostana, or both. The numbers could be biased by some assumptions, but it’s definitely not something that should be ignored.”

“What about Eclea and Ustil?”

“In those countries… there were no results. That means it’s very unlikely he will appear, except… divinations regarding those two countries aren’t easy.”

“It’s probably the massive anti-demon barriers.”

“Oh, certainly. Unfortunately, I have no idea if they would help keep out the soul or part a soul of a former demon. Regardless, we could not enter either of those countries, so we wouldn’t be able to do anything in the near future in any case. That leaves Liaoyang and Ostana. Something could happen within a dozen years… or next year, or a few dozen years away, or never,” Lorelei shrugged, “There isn’t much that can be done about when or if something happens. The most we can do is go and observe what is happening, to feel out the Demon King. He isn’t known for being subtle, but of course there are plenty of stupid and powerful humans as well. As for what to do when we find him, well… that depends on the situation. Optimally, of course, he’d offer himself up to be destroyed by you somewhere nobody was watching. Practically, killing him might be accomplishable, but avoiding any repercussions afterwards is the bigger issue. That comes with a high probability of at least one of us getting our identity as a gevai- a demon- revealed. That can cause all sorts of trouble- a war, us dying, quite a number of things really. If other fragments of the Demon King find out, they might know that someone is after them, if they can realize the other was one of them, of course.”

“Sounds like a real issue. It would be easy to get in over our heads.”

“Exactly. That’s why Lila isn’t coming. She’d do something crazy. And you…” Lorelei sighed, “At least you’d have pondered over most of the consequences first. Besides, if you act I’m sure you’ll actually destroy the fragment. Lila could kill one, but that might not have the results we want. On the other hand, if you die, things will get… complicated.”

“In what way?”

“Well, currently you’re the main plan for destroying the rest of the fragments. Without you, we have to get them to Marek, and to be honest he doesn’t have that many more in him. If you die, you won’t be back for a long time… or even worse, you might not keep your memories. Three times says something, but… well, it’s not a guarantee. Besides, I’d rather not get anyone I like killed, whether or not they can come back later. So, unless you have a very good opportunity, don’t act, and we can just report back here… occasionally.”

“I see. From the way you said that, you plan to split up?”

“Yes. We’ll get the best news having one person travelling around each country… and I can’t go to Liaoyang anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” Lorelei raised an eyebrow, “I’d stick out like a sore thumb. Even going to Ostana is a risk, since they might have stepped up their game enough to notice my disguise magic. In Liaoyang, I feel like a demon. I don’t have the skill to hide my cultivation and its obvious origins. You, on the other hand… you have the ability to hide it if you need to, and so far you’re pretty much completely full of nice, human cultivation methods.”

“Hmm, that’s true. There are only a few issues… As long as the knights haven’t degraded significantly, they should have passed on some cultivation techniques. They could detect you.”

“Oh, you’re right. Still, it is easier to just avoid knights than basically the entire country. I will be careful though.”

“Well, there was that, but also… wouldn’t the Demon King reek of demonic cultivation methods? When I saw him, he absolutely radiated such feelings. I imagine people would still be able to notice even just a portion of that from the time he was small.”

Lorelei frowned, “That is indeed a problem. However, it is not impossible for him to learn to conceal it. I don’t think he had, and he certainly never tried to, but it could happen. Well, people could have also forgotten what it feels like. After all, no one is alive from the previous war, it’s possible nobody alive has even seen one of us in Liaoyang.”

“Oh, right. I forget how much things might change, since I skip the intervening time… Though, many things change less than I would like them to.”

“People will always cling onto the worst, and resist the best. It happens to humans and gevai alike. Probably dwarves and elves too, if they’re still alive.”

“... Did we consider the Demon King being reborn among them?”

Profanity filled the air for a time, before Lorelei finally calmed down. “Right. He could be… if they’re around, they probably have a decent population. Unfortunately, we know nothing about if they’re even alive, and if they are, all we know is they’re across the sea. With that, divination magic would be like throwing rocks into a pond and hoping it would predict the luxuries market. Pointless and a waste of energy, with any predictions being worse than pure speculation.” She sighed, “So, if any fragments have ended up… elsewhere… there is nothing that can be done about it right now. At the very least, we must first deal with the likely candidates here.”

“Right. So, when should we leave?”

“Hmm, you could go at any time, but it’s probably best to write to your family and prepare them for you being gone for some time. I should sort out my business here so that I can go without too many worries. Things should be pretty much settled in a year. Of course, you will also need to plan a route… It might be easiest to travel through Ostana with me. After that, we’ll split up.”