Chapter 49 - A Mother’s Inquisition

Apprehended out of the blue by the guards of the Demon Queen’s Castle, Jae was dumbfounded. It was clear from their austerity that no amount of explanation would convince them, and because he didn’t want to cause an unnecessary fuss, he ended up following along without resistance.

Well, they said it was only for some questioning, right? It’s not like I’m in any real trouble, so it should be fine. I’ll just tell them what’s going on.

Thus, Jae was taken to a holding cell with the same magic-absorbent property as the rest of the castle. The guards, who presumed Jae to be a magician due to his lack of weapons and immense magical presence, also put a pair of magic-absorbing cuffs on his arms. Feeling the smooth texture of the black material once more, the image of a Demon’s horn being moulded into shape overlapped in his mind.

They felt cold and hard, like iron, and yet the texture was nothing like what he would expect a pair of handcuffs to feel like.

Clang~!

Hm. I guess they really are cuffs for magic users. It feels like I could break out of them with only a little force... Well, there’s no need for that right now.

Taking a seat inside the dimly lit cell as the guards stood silently by the door, Jae glanced at them and wondered what would be done with the kids.

They’ll be fine, of course... I’m sure of it. Although, they might be in quite the panic. I guess I’ll be free once Rena lets them know that I’m safe. Hopefully they treat Bailey well in the meantime. I’m still not entirely sure how they view humans, but there was that extremist group here somewhere...

As he passively thought to himself while waiting, at some point, the door on the other side of the room opened, and a neat-looking woman entered with brisk steps and a notepad in her hand. Needless to say, from her glistening black hair to the horns on her head, she was a Demon.

...Oh? Isn’t this...?

Immediately activating Envy, it fortunately worked. Not only that, but Jae recognised the name of the person before him.

“You certainly appear calm.”

Standing in front of the cell and glaring right at him, the person spoke. Her voice contained a clear trace of hostility, but considering the situation, Jae didn’t mind it. The state of the clothes he wore could not at all be considered what a trusted person should wear, and combined with the fact he suddenly turned up to the castle alongside the missing princess after such a long time, it definitely wouldn’t be a good look.

In this way, for someone who should ideally show as good an impression as possible, perhaps it was a bit of an oversight.

Ah... Maybe I should’ve bought some new clothes for myself as well as for those two...

In any case, it was far too late now. All he could do was tell the truth during the current questioning.

“Of course I’m calm. I didn’t do anything.”

“What confidence. I’ll be the one to see if you can back it up.”

“Back what up? It’s not confidence. I’m just telling the truth. You think I’m the one who kidnapped Rena or something, right? But, that’s not how it is, so I’m going to tell you what happened from my perspective. If you ask her, she’ll also back me up.”

Jae’s steady composure as he spoke was enough to render the woman speechless for a few moments. He himself didn’t expect to be this calm, but everything was as he said, and he knew that. So, despite the creeping anxiety in his heart that something might happen, he knew that everything would be fine.

“...Alright. Well, if you are that sure of yourself, we should have no problems here. However, I will warn you, and I will warn you only once. Do not refer to her by name. Until your identity is established and it is confirmed that you are safe, I will not permit it.”

Hm.

“Well, that’s fair. So, what do you want to know?”

Instead of explaining himself first, Jae asked what this questioner wanted to know. Part of it was because he was too lazy to explain everything in detail from the very beginning, but it was also because he knew he wasn’t in the wrong. However...

“First of all, present your Status.”

Immediately, they hit a roadblock. Jae replied without hesitation.

“I can’t do that.”

The questioner frowned and raised her notepad, scribbling something down. Then, she spat. “N.R.A?”

“Excuse me?”

“Name, Race, Age. Tell me.”

“Oh. My name is...”

Just as he began to answer, he paused and trailed off, instead falling into a pond of thought.

Would it be okay to tell her all that? My name should be fine since that’s something Rena and Bailey both know and will probably tell them anyway, but I still have that bounty on my head. I haven’t seen the wanted poster anywhere since we came to Asphal, but there’s no guarantee they won’t sell me out to Seronia. Of course, it’s unlikely since Seronia seems to hate Demons, but still...

And it wasn’t just the name, but the Race and Age, too.

Personal information like that is all sensitive. If I tell them, I won’t be able to take it back, and it locks me out of certain options in the future...

Fortunately, anybody without some kind of special ability to look into the Soul State or Status would have difficulty figuring out exactly what Race Jae belonged to as nothing about him seemed to match, and as this was naturally a world where appearances were deceitful, his Age was also something that couldn’t be haphazardly assumed.

“...Sorry. I can’t do that either.”

That’s why, although he initially thought there would be no problem in answering everything with the truth, he decided in the end to hold his tongue. At the end of the day, he didn’t gain anything from letting others know of his personal information, and naturally, the fewer who know a lot about him, the better.

Still... It must be difficult.

Looking at the woman in front of him, Jae could only sympathise with her. A member of the Demon royalty whose sister was abducted roughly a year and a half ago. He couldn’t imagine how hard and stressful it must have been, and how close she must have gotten to giving up as she reached her wits’ end.

If it’s like this... Maybe playing that card is the best way to resolve this.

Watching the slowly crumbling expression of the one who came to question him, Jae called a name.

“Jiera.”

A name he shouldn’t have known, or at the very least, one he shouldn’t know was connected to her.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Snapping her gaze from the notepad in her hands towards him, her widened eyes, pinned to his face, could do nothing but stare.

“You... How...?”

A small voice leaked from her mouth, to which Jae showed a wry smile.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve mentioned it earlier, but didn’t Jiyeru say anything about my arrival? I thought he would have done so by now.”

It was quite a while ago now that he met the brother of the family, but he was certain that Jiyeru’s message informing them of Jae’s upcoming arrival at the castle with Rena must have been transferred via his magical communication device.

Still, they must have been cautious. Even if Jiyeru was certain that I was safe, the people here wouldn’t be. If what he said back then was the truth, then Jiera also should never have met Rena’s father. Without the queen herself, there would be no way to verify.

Of course, even something like that wasn’t necessary.

Knock, knock-!

At that moment, an officer knocked on the door to the suite just outside the cell before entering. Glancing once at Jae, he faced Jiera.

“Pardon me, ma’am. We have received a direct order from Her Highness that she wishes to summon this man for a meeting imminently.”

The two could only look at the Demon that entered with rounded eyes.

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With the mage-specific handcuffs removed, Jae was taken through the castle to a room on the highest floor. After a shockingly long time of walking through corridors and climbing stairs, they finally paused in front of the set of double doors and the escorting officer announced.

“The one your eminence has requested has arrived.”

Despite the fact nobody could see him but Jae, he bowed deeply towards the closed room. Then, a clear voice rang out from beyond.

“Bring him in.”

The doors without handles opened by themselves, revealing the interior of the room that appeared to be something like a high-class study. At that moment, the officer gestured for Jae to enter, so he did. Following his entry, with the officer remaining outside and still bowing his head, the doors closed.

In front of Jae, there were two lavish sofas in the centre of the room between which an immaculate crystal coffee table was placed; on the side that faced him, a woman he could only describe as elegant sat with closed eyes. Her lustrous black hair reached down to her lap, and even the two, utterly unscathed horns adorning her head seemed well looked after.

Just the two of them were alone in the room despite her position as Demon Queen, and she even wore an outfit that might make one doubt that title, with clothes that were beautifully woven and undoubtedly expensive, yet with minimal extravagance and no sign of excess anything.

Silence took over the room as Jae slowly approached to take a seat on the opposite side, and only then did the queen open her eyes, revealing a pair of clear, black eyes that seemed to match the name of this city, Onyxia, more than the city itself, as they observed him keenly.

“It is a pleasure. I am Leila Illujhin, Demon Queen of Asphal and Ruler of Demons. I sincerely hope you can find it within yourself to forgive the terribly discourteous way in which you were treated by my people until this moment, especially considering the significant gift you have brought me, for which you have my eternal gratitude.”

Lowering her head slightly at the end, Jae was impressed by the queen’s graceful introduction. Having peeked at her Soul State the instant he entered the room, he already knew her name, but the title ‘Ruler of Demons’ was something that caught his eye. Pushing it to the side for now, he opened his mouth.

“I’m Jae. I don’t really have any grand title to give, so apologies for that. Anyway, don’t worry about what happened earlier. I understand that I look suspicious, and everything is resolved now, so it’s fine.”

He knew it wouldn’t be necessarily wrong to call his attitude out for being rude or disrespectful, but Jae didn’t think it mattered when he was the one who should be thanked. If the queen wouldn’t say anything about the way he spoke, there was no one here who would, so there was nothing to worry about.

“I’m glad you seem to be a reasonable person. Now then. I am sure you are not the type to beat around the bush as they say, so shall we address the wyvern in the room?”

Haha, what? Is that how that saying goes in this world?

A smile leaking onto his face, Jae straightened himself up.

“Shall we? It’s about Rena, right?”

“Indeed. I have been informed from both my daughter and the human boy that you saved the two from a burning village. From what I understand, there is more to the story than what they know, is that right?”

Jae shrugged lightly. “Well, it’s a bit of an oversimplification. It was a human village that was attacked by a drake and, by the time I arrived, those two were the only survivors. I found out just after that the monster was actually accompanied by a Demon, who ‘passed away’.”

At Jae’s words, Leila’s face darkened. She immediately recognised the deeper meaning behind what he said, and it all led back to her. With a solemn voice, she began at a moderate pace.

“...Jae, is it? How much do you know of the Demon Monarchy’s history?”

“Nothing at all.”

“I see. Allow me to briefly explain.”

Although the highest authority among the Demons was undoubtedly the Demon King or Queen, followed by the rest of his or her highness’ “royal family”, it was not quite the same system as other countries with a monarchical regime.

Aside from a particular group of extremists who have only started cropping up in recent generations, the majority of common folk Demons did not view the Demon King and his family as any superior than the common folk merely for their blood. That is because it has always been the case that history’s Demon Kings and Queens were decided through a test of suitability, and this system stands to be true even now.

Including the ancestral Demon Kings of generations ago until now, the Illujhin family, including Leila herself, has claimed the seat of ruler for so long that the populace has begun to simply assume it to be a hereditary role, completely forgetting the true, official process. Rather than corruption, it was legitimately because they happened to be the ones most suitable for the role.

And this long streak of Leila and her ancestors ruling is the reason behind the existence of the extremists.

“Of course, it may be true that I have inherited some sort of proficiency for ruling, but the truth of the matter is that I have simply studied well from an early age for the role, as did my parents, my parents’ parents, and their parents too. Well, if you were to ask that faction, they would claim that it is all thanks to the purity of my blood rather than the fruits of my own efforts.”

“Right... It sounds tough.”

It was hard for Jae to imagine what being in the centre of such a situation would be like. After all, it wasn’t like he was particularly talented in anything himself, at least not that he had discovered, and he didn’t belong to a family that was so renowned, either.

I think most people in the modern age would have a hard time relating... Oh, but I’ve heard a lot about peoples’ hard work going underappreciated and just being called a ‘genius’, or classmates whose parents had high expectations of them. Amelia was like that...

“Actually, yeah. I think I’d be pissed if I worked really hard for something and it ended up being passed off as just ‘a result of the blood running through my veins’.”

Once again, he consciously reminded himself that he was speaking coarsely towards the Demon Queen, but seeing her calm expression, he disregarded the concern.

“By the way, would I be correct in assuming you want to get rid of the extremists? They’ve caused a lot of trouble for your family.”

“...Indeed, what you say is correct.”

“Do you know who the main leader behind it is? I got some info from the guy with the drake; he called the one who sent him ‘Minister’? I’m not sure if that rings any bells for you, but I hope it helps...”

Realising his question was unnecessary, the end of Jae’s words trailed off as he observed a grim look begin to cast on Leila’s face.

“It certainly does help. It is a man whom I should have disposed of a long time ago. Fortunately, you have finally brought me just the evidence I required to justify that action.”

She spoke with composure, but its sharpness was such that even Jae felt like he could be cut if he made a mistake.

“You have my gratitude, Jae. You need not take any further action yourself. I will confront the Minister and the leaders of the unsightly purist group and ensure they will no longer be able to rear their heads in my castle or disturb the peace of my family again.”

Waiting a moment for the tension to ease, the Demon Queen smoothly segued into a separate topic.

“Now. Speaking of my family, I have also heard something rather interesting from my daughter. Do you perhaps know what that is?”

Faced with a chilling smile so quickly after witnessing a quiet show of her wrath, Jae instinctively gulped as something cold ran down his spine.

Then, he realised.

“...Uhh... Which daughter... Might you be talking about...?”

If it were Rena, then there likely wasn’t much to worry about as her previous memory of him should have been completely wiped from the Great Sage’s relic. If it was Jiera, however...

She didn’t tell her about...? No, wait, she was questioning me the entire time. It’s impossible for her to have mentioned anything... That means it was Rena, right? But then, what would she have said...?

Overcome with a sudden sense of foreboding, Jae couldn’t help but feel that he might have made a mistake. Gritting his teeth, he waited for Leila’s response.

“Apparently, you are the father to my daughter, hm?”

“......”

It was exactly as he feared.

“So. Care to explain?”

Faced with a Demon Queen who wore a peculiar smile as if she found the whole situation amusing, Jae found it impossible to tell what emotions lay beneath and before he knew it, found himself stuck in an entirely different kind of interrogation.

...Shit.

It was a mother’s inquisition.