I Became a Dark Knight the Empress Is Obsessed With

204 – Side Story: Afternoon in Freesia – (12)

“I want to go home.”

As soon as Sepia finished speaking, an odd silence fell.

“… … What did you just say, you devil?”

“I said I wanted to go back home.”

Fried also had a mysterious expression on his face, just like Milia.

“I want to go home.”

As silence fell, Sepia spoke again.

Of course, there was no follow-up answer.

“… … .”

The infamous devil of foreign news, Sepia. The wish she contained was simple and natural, contrary to what Milia had expected.

That’s why no one dared to speak. Fried also stared at the sepia and a dot in the air with his round eyes.

Let’s do that for a moment.

“No, whatever your purpose is, there’s something I need to ask you first.”

“huh.”

“How did you get a body?”

Fried asked the obvious question.

“I made a promise.”

“Who did you make a promise with?”

“Ask an old elf to help you with the flowers. He’ll open a portal to another dimension.”

“The full moon, to the elves… … .”

Fried, having chewed on it for a while, continued to ask.

“What is that elf doing? No, what does he want from you?”

“… …I told you to bring the animals.”

“animal?”

“Beasts that live in the forest.”

Fried frowned and turned his head to Milia.

“Sir Fried, this is.”

“Yes. It must be the Eisenward lottery faction. It seems that they are mass producing demons through the Manwolhwa. The group of demons we encountered earlier must have been done by them.”

“What do we do now?”

Millia asked, dropping her chin and looking at Sepia.

She still had a blank and eerie expression on her face, but she seemed to be tightly bound by the magical rope Merta had summoned, and she seemed unable to exert any strength.

Of course, he couldn’t let his guard down, so Fried kept one hand on the hilt of his sword ready to draw it at any time.

“First of all, we need to do something about this person… … .”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Well, I’m thinking about that too, just like you said.”

Fried shrugged his shoulders and answered Sepia’s calm question in a nonchalant manner.

Sepia didn’t react at all to the words that threatened to kill her. She just pursed her lips.

Fried’s eyebrows twitched at the sight.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“I don’t know what fear is.”

“Well, that might be true. Perhaps the concept of a promise is so vague that he probably confessed everything to us.”

“I know what the promise is.”

“But why did you tell the truth?”

“We didn’t have a formal contract. We weren’t in a master-servant relationship like Arwen. So you can talk. If you don’t talk, you die. Then it’s right to talk.”

“… … Tsk. I can’t understand the devil’s way of thinking.”

Fried sighed and tapped the hilt of his sword.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t do what you want.”

“why.”

“It’s not only impossible to open a door to an extra-dimensional space, but even if it were possible, it would be very risky. If anything, a demon like you could enter. Or a demon similar to the one possessed by Cleta could enter. That would be the worst case scenario.”

“… … .”

“That must be stopped. At least not when Lincia’s life is threatened again.”

Sepia kept her mouth shut.

There was no denial.

A kind of heartache, perhaps?

The moment Millia thought that, Sepia raised her head and met Millia’s eyes.

Her pitch-black eyes, like those of a teddy bear, stared at Millia without blinking.

“… … .”

In some ways, they are no different from enemies.

And that goes for Sepia as well as Milia.

That’s why I tried to keep silent.

Sepia seemed to have the same idea.

“Then it’s decided.”

but.

Just as Fried was about to draw his sword, Millia opened her mouth.

“No, Sir Fried.”

“huh?”

“There is no need to open or create a gateway to an extra-dimensional space.”

I don’t know why I’m saying this to myself.

As Fried looked at her with eyes that required explanation, Milia timidly opened her mouth.

“Do you remember that there was a door leading to the spirit world in Hirings last time?”

“Yes. Through that door, Pedras corrupted the spirit world… … .”

While saying that, Fried chuckled.

Merta looked at Milia with a tired expression, as if she understood.

“What you mean is that the spirit world is still encroached upon by the outer dimension, so you can send it through there?”

“Yes.”

At Millia’s words, Fried slightly tilted his head.

“… … If I knew you, I would have thought you would tell me to kill you.”

“I mean, there is a way. I’m not saying I’ll do it. If this devil weren’t here, we wouldn’t know where Manwolhwa is. And besides… … .”

Milia pouted.

“Do I seem like such an ungrateful person?”

“… …Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Oh, well, I think so too… … .”

“Hey, over there.”

Then Merta fidgeted and joined the conversation.

“Are you two trying to send this kid, no, this demon, to another dimension through the spirit world?”

“For now.”

“Well, then I’d need permission from the Spirit King… … ?”

Surely, any king who rules over the spirit world would not allow even a single Sepia hair on his territory.

But Millia didn’t consider that at all.

“What is that… … .”

Milia glanced at Fried.

He also seemed to have realized what Milia meant and let out a hollow laugh.

“Okay. I’ll try to persuade Lincia, somehow.”

There was only one spirit master on the continent who could communicate with the Spirit King.

The most powerful spirit mage and the most powerful person in modern times, Empress of the Millennium Empire, Lincia Airn.

And her husband, Fred Iscobal.

“… … I just realized this again.”

Merta looked back and forth between Milia and Fried, then hiccupped.

“As expected, there are only big shots here… … .”

*

Thud thud.

Behind the clanking sound of Fried’s gaiters, the footsteps of Merta in crampons and the sound of Milia’s boots rang out.

The last thing that follows is the sound of soft, thumping footsteps slowly echoing through the snow.

Barefoot Sepia followed behind Millia, seemingly oblivious to the cold.

“I have a question.”

Then suddenly Sepia spoke first.

As Milia turned around, Sepia was looking up at her with her head slightly tilted.

The appearance was cute, like a doll.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t feel any strength in your body.”

“… … .”

“I hurt my danjeon. Is it because of me?”

At Sepia’s question, Milia smiled bitterly and shook her head.

It’s true that I was hurt by her attacks, but I never thought it was anyone else’s fault.

So, Milia fixed her backpack and started walking again.

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

“Would you understand if I told you that?”

“You definitely don’t know.”

“Then I don’t have to say anything?”

That was the end of the conversation.

To be exact, I thought it was the end.

“Will you sign a contract with me?”

“Am I crazy?”

“Strength, don’t you need it? I can give it to you.”

“No need.”

“really?”

“… … .”

“really?”

“I’m sorry, but just because I didn’t say anything doesn’t mean I didn’t hear you.”

“I thought you didn’t hear me.”

Milia took a deep breath.

It felt strangely like I was dealing with a child.

“I need strength, but I don’t want to make a contract with you to get it. It’s not my strength, and I don’t want to be surrounded by such evil power.”

“Evil?”

“okay.”

“I?”

“okay.”

“… … .”

Sepia was silent for a while.

I glanced at Sepia, thinking that my words might have been a bit harsh, and there she was, pulling at my cheek with a mysterious expression.

“What the heck are you… doing?”

“I understood the concept of evil.”

“Pulling the ball?”

“When you don’t know, the easiest way to understand is to touch.”

“who?”

“That elf. He even touched the full moon and understood.”

Sepia raised her finger. There was a blackened index finger. It was only natural that it would turn out like that after touching the full moon flower filled with highly concentrated mana.

Milia grabbed Sepia’s hand and held her head.

I sigh as if the ground is sinking as I look at Sepia’s plump cheeks that are swollen red. How on earth did it end up like this?

“No matter how curious you are, cherish your own body.”

“It’s not my body. I received it.”

“… … Other humans are like that too.”

“……okay?”

“okay.”

Sepia nodded absentmindedly.

In the first place, it would be a proposition that Sepia, who could compose the body, would not understand.

“They look like mother and daughter. Hehe.”

“Merta? If you say one more word, I’ll cut you off right away?”

“bout!”

Milia, who had been staring at Merta, who was hastily leading her body, grabbed Sepia’s hand and pulled her.

Sepia muttered as if she understood, following along obediently.

“Yeah. I understand. This human hates me.”

“Just don’t say anything and follow me. It’s a headache to deal with each and every one of them.”

“I get it.”