The following morning, D met with Qurbur and hashed out the details. Qurbur’s state was unkempt, and D thought that rare for someone who seemed so experienced. D didn’t know that Genje had reported this morning that she was leaving Qurbur. Qurbur’s main source of information and top spy who he raised had a sudden change of heart. Genje wouldn’t even say why. He shed one tear, thinking of his time with her. Qurbur could only imagine that Genje’s inscrutable thoughts were useless to ponder as he played with a fireball bouncing it up and down during the negotiation. The new lord had changed his name to something stylish and mysterious, Qurbur made sure to comment on it with praise even though he already knew through Genje. D stared out the window gathering his thoughts.

“So, you’ll be handling everything. From what I understand, you just want money. That works for me.”

D turned to Qurbur.

“No matter which way this goes, I’m sure you can handle it. I’m counting on you.”

“You’re serious? What kind of lord doesn’t care about power or money…” Qurbur was laughing inside. Outside, concern was shown.

“I’ve got enough power, more than I can handle. You’ve got the experience. Use Locos for whatever, just keep me out of it.”

“D, you know about my history?”

“Pirate and Pirate Hunter for fun and profit? Terror of the Long Coast? Just chill on the slavery and murder stuff. From the tales Saten told me, you’ve calmed down. If you continue what you did under Ros, we’ll have problems. In exchange, I’ll overlook your past like Ros did and shelter you. Same deal, just a few more restrictions,” D said.

Qurbur made a pondering pose. He had already foreseen this and changed his operation of course, no way someone backed by a Saint of all people would accept his various activities. Some of those were always secret anyways, so he didn’t feel the need to inform D about them. The chance was slim that he would catch on, and if he did Qurbur would play dumb.

“Yes. It’s regrettable, but I don’t want to close operation here. I’ll agree to your terms. Deal closed.”

D’s next task was searching for Laplas. He had a horrible feeling after Juno said ‘there’s a hole in the mansion where the bunny girl is staying!’ D told Juno to not mind it, he’d find her. If Laplas wanted to destroy Brutus’s mansion a little, it was none of his business. However, he was concerned about her acting out at the castle. Saten already destroyed a tower, he had an omen in his head that that place might not last long. D wasn’t concerned because of his heat sense dragon ability that he turned on. He thumbed through the book and activated it earlier, but usage was more difficult than he expected.

“Ah, she’s still there.”

He spotted a red mark through the walls of the mansion a few door down and asked Juno if anyone was staying there to which Juno told him they were the only guests. D would be shocked if that wasn’t Laplas. He went to go find out why she busted her room.

He knocked on her door. No response, as usual.

“Laplas? It’s me. I’m called D now. Sorry about the name change. It happens.” He said and asked if he could come in. Like usual a note shot out from under the door denying him entry, so he scrawled on the note with a pen he brought for this very purpose his question for her.

We’re going to the royal capital. Do you want to come? I might kill a lot of people and blow up the city so it’s up to you. It read.

D slipped it under the door. It was mysterious how he didn’t hear any rustling, bumps, or shadow on the floor. Probably magic. She’s a wizard or something, right? He was curious about her magic before and asked her through note and the answer just came back with a not telling written there.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Another note slipped out.

I’ll come! I’ll come the same way I came to here. Also, I made a friend. She’s a shadow demon lord. She’s scary. How do I talk to people? It read.

He scrawled back a message of face to face interaction helps.

Another note came back with ha ha written all over it. D decided to let that go. At this rate, he wasn’t sure how things could possibly work out with her but he wasn’t in a rush. He had enough of change in his life lately, what’s wrong with a shut-in bunny girl? D resolved himself, and wrote a farewell.

In the room, Laplas was giggling looking at the note.

“Take care of myself? No, at this rate! He’s not going to be upset when I blow up the royal capital, is he? He stole my idea! Genje!”

A shadow formed itself in front of her, crouching and waiting for her order. The Shadow Demon Lord. If Laplas didn’t spend time amongst the Shadow Demons, she couldn’t have known that. The implications of such a thing weren’t much to Laplas. She seemed like a nice person. That was enough. A Shadow Demon Lord was someone bad enough to hang out with her, she figured. Together, villains alike seeking a home! She narrated to herself and pointed an empty book at Genje.

“Genje, could you do me a favor?”

Genje agreed to her lengthy request. Laplas found after checking with Genje that she had a perfect memory. She could go on for hours about the specific details of her life, and they spent that morning talking about Qurbur’s pirate days. If it was just listening, Laplas felt she could do it. She did.

D made the final preparations with Juno and then reported to Saten telling her how things went that day. He told her he’d come by later and went for a walk to steady himself. D held the dragon book in his hand, wiggling it as he walked.

“This stuff’s too complex. I thought using dragon abilities would be so much easier. At least thanks to that adaptability power and Saten, I should be able to handle most physical damage…”

Saten beat him up with physical force and a few light attacks. Unlike most Saints, she could only manage to clad herself in light and not summon light swords or the light ball, both of those Cruci mastered along with the usual Paladin training in addition to a powerful aegis.

“Cruci’s skills are more varied than Saten's. I wonder why she’s a Saint and he isn't? Probably his attitude. I don’t want to end up like him.”

D kicked some stones on the ground.

“Then again, I’d rather face Cruci than Saten. That’s not because she’s a girl either. Saten’s offensive power is still there, even if it doesn’t affect me like it used to.”

He felt phantom pains remembering it. D had been through a lot. He stared over the fields, the farms, the odd tree here and there-

And noticed there was a ruined forest in the distance.

“Must have been a storm. No wonder, could have been months ago. They don’t have enough wizards around here to clean something that big up…”

D explored the sea of broken trees. Some flattened, some snapped in half and others just uprooted and lying around.

“This doesn’t look like a storm. Probably magic. It near the mansion too… Did Laplas do something last night?” D remembered her room got destroyed. He saw it earlier himself when he left the mansion.

“Is Brutus going to blame me for that? I don’t think he even knows about Laplas. I hope Juno didn’t say anything to the staff. Not like I have the money to pay for that anyways.”

He depended on Juno to handle the finances, for good reason. Once he heard the word ‘taxes’ he recoiled in shock and Juno with a lovely smile on her face saved him. Juno rose a few steps in his heart then. Saten fled the room in a panic when the accountant they summoned mentioned it.

“There’s thing even Saten is scared of. Guess I can try it.”

He pulled out the dragon manual again.

“Wings... think about terrorizing… visualization… feel the pangs of hunger… and… balance…”

D went through the process. It was much harder for him since he wasn’t an actual dragon in the first place. The wings were inside him only in the vaguest sense. When he read the term ‘mana vacuum’ he skipped the passage right away, only to come back later.

D’s wings popped out and flexed. He couldn’t get them to move with his mind well, so he imitated with his arms and they followed along.

“And, flex, and, extend…”

D had been doing it when he could. Saten would laugh at him if she caught him, D tried to avoid that as best he could. Juno would say nothing and he thanked her silently for that. D crouched, wings extended. He wanted to check out the area, and the best way-

He ran. D waved his arms slowly like the manual said, generating lift. D piledrived straight into a tree.

D’s body crunched the tree trunk in and it’s natural hardness saving him from a long deadly gash across his chest. D bumped a broken tree shard as he flew in and it scratched him. D got up and spent the rest of the evening trying to fly and failing.