Chapter 149

“The Demon King.”

[Kalysto Get out of that place right now!]

“What?” Her eyes widened in surprise, unable to believe what her eyes were seeing.

No! She rebelled: How do you expect me to give up now when I’m so close to finding Alice... Impossible! Yet she was all too aware that she was only alive because of the deal the fairy queen had made with her. And although the queen was powerful, she had not done anything openly against her so far.

Besides, it was one thing to go against Artemis, and quite another to go against her employer.

What can I do to convince her... What do I have to offer her? She tried her best to quickly find an answer, anything she could use to her advantage. But she found nothing.

The queen had already everything she wanted from her.

“Please give me three days! With three days, maybe I could find Alice and her grandparents and then...!” A new window appeared before her, one of a much darker shade than the one the queen or her assistant used.

[It seems that sweet Kalysto is not as obedient as she seems.]

A tendril of darkness erupted from the earth beneath her feet and caressed her calf, causing her heart to skip a beat.

“Demon king," she muttered, but it sounded much more like a question than a clarification.

[That’s right.]

[I’m glad you remember, though it seems you’ve already forgotten to come to my castle to pick up your books on magic.]

Kalysto opened her mouth and then closed it, not quite sure what to say. She lowered her gaze for a second, trying to buy time while she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched through the window.

“My apologies, I’ve been a little busy," she commented, trying to appear calm and in full control of her emotions as she looked up again. How the hell does he expect me to go to his house when the demon king is always supposed to be the bad guy in every story? “Besides. since I don’t know where you live, I couldn’t go,” even if he is the queen’s nephew or ally, that doesn’t mean I should let my guard down, or that I can trust him.

She felt him smile, as if her words amused him.

Or as if he could know what she was thinking.

Come on Kalysto, concentrate! And although she was sure she had activated her ability a few hours ago, she wasn’t willing to take unnecessary risks.

[The skill Mental Defense has been activated.]

[You only need to say that you want to come to see me. The doors of my palace are always open to you.]

A shiver ran down her spine at the sweet words.

What the hell does he gain by being nice to me? She questioned herself, yet she found no clear reason for it.

[Still, allow me to extend an invitation.]

Then a new window appeared before her.

[The user wishes to accept the summoning scroll destined for Desmond’s kingdom, offered by the demon king?]

[From now on you just need to break the scroll that will appear in your inventory and the spell will activate, taking you and your pet to my kingdom.]

“Why go to all this trouble?”

[You really don’t know?]

Kalysto frowned, trying to think of something he could win.

“Do you also have a problem with miasma and black plague?”

[...]

[Do you really think that’s why I do it?]

Curiously he seemed annoyed at the idea, the queen on the other hand seemed to be laughing. Kalysto however did not understand what was so funny about this.

[No Kalysto, I have no problem with the black plague or miasma as far as I know. But since you want to talk about it, my younger brothers may require your services. I hear Artemis is teaching you to make barriers and you’ve been advancing quite fast. How about making a deal with me?]

It was then that she remembered that she still had something she could trade.

“The book! I can give you a copy of the book!” she enthused, not realizing she had said it out loud.

[What good would such a thing do me? I already have tens of thousands of books in my castle.]

He pretended to scoff.

Curiously, the mention of such an extensive library immediately captured Kalysto’s attention and curiosity.

Focus! She chuckled to herself and took the book ‘The Fall of the Hero’ out of her inventory.

“For here is told the story of Thomas, the hero who was summoned from my world to the kingdom of Bhallys and who was manipulated to participate in the assassination of the demon king, but after the kingdom of Bhallys accomplished its task, they got rid of him. But then Thomas was revived by the demon king and was turned into a lich.”

[Puff! Nonsense! My brother can’t do such a thing!]

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“And yet, Thomas was brought to this world and is now officially the hero of the kingdom of Bhallys," she commented, wanting to break his arrogance. “And helping them to destroy your brother or whoever is impersonating him," she assured him. And several seconds passed in which silence reigned.

Before Caranthir or Tsuki interrupted her, she raised a hand, indicating them to stop. The elf bowed his head and gave her some space, moving a couple of meters away, but by the way Kalysto saw one of his ears move she was sure that even with the apparent distance, he would be listening to her side of the conversation.

[...]

[How could someone from your world know what is going on in this one?]

“Is your brother’s mate close to giving birth to his offspring, or at least halfway through her pregnancy?” She replied, absolutely certain that she would have his undivided attention with this.

If this works, I’ll be able to negotiate for him to find Alice for me. She got excited, but did her best not to show it.

[How do you know that? Who told you?]

Suddenly, the shadows began to surround her, ceasing to be friendly and beginning to look like a threat as they curled around her legs. At the same time Tsuki began to growl.

“Because it’s in the book," she replied confidently. Or at least it was until a whirlwind of darkness appeared before her, the strong breeze ruffled her hair, and a second later the imposing figure of a man with long black hair and red eyes materialized. His very presence exerted an enormous pressure on her, making it difficult for her to breathe, even though he didn’t seem to want to be a threat to her.

“Give me that book and we’ll have a deal” his voice sounded like a caress made of velvet to her ears and Kalysto’s heart raced, both for the great display of magical power that made Caranthir fall to his knees immediately and then faint, and for the attractive beauty of the being that appeared before her.

“What will you give me in return?” She hurried to answer while trying to control her features.

And a sensual half-smile was drawn on the handsome newcomer’s face as he saw her reaction.

“You seemed to be looking for someone a moment ago," commented the demon king in a silky voice. Kalysto immediately nodded her head and took out of her inventory the crystal on which Caranthir had engraved the image of Alice and her grandparents. After activating it, she held it out to him so that he could see the image.

“Her name is Alice. Right now her hair looks brown and is a little shorter. She is using the name Hella. These are her grandparents. I am looking for all three of them. Could you find them and bring them to me?“

“Give me one week to find each of them and in return, within six months, you will build three barriers for me. During that time, those you are seeking will live in my palace. So I will make sure you keep your word," Kalysto nodded her head. “Now, give me the book.”

She was about to do so, but then frowned.

“I also need a competent wizard to teach me magic," she argued, instead of handing him the book.

“A simple book in exchange for a suitable instructor?” He muttered, and his gaze drifted to Caranthir who was already unconscious on the ground. Then his piercing gaze drifted back to her and descended to his chest. A violet glow appeared on them for a second before he continued speaking. “If he is the reason, you have such a weak circle of mana. I understand your need to change teachers," Kalysto was about to object, but restrained herself, and remained silent. “What kind of magic do you wish to learn?”

“Mental and spatial magic, mainly. If I can learn any others for me, that would be fine.”

“Aren’t you asking too much for a single book?” he questioned, arching an eyebrow.

“It is you who is asking me to create three barriers to three cities that I don’t know how big they are.”

“I meant three kingdoms, not three cities.”

“In that case, it is you who is asking too much just to find three individuals who, until yesterday at noon, were in this very town," she said, crossing her arms.

He smiled, amused. And they both looked at each other in silence for several seconds.

“Does that book say who killed my brother?”

“Yes. Along with everyone involved in his death and how he was eliminated.”

“Instead of creating a barrier in each of our kingdoms, you will create three barriers, one for my brother's palace and one for mine. You will purify our kingdoms of the miasma and you will give me the book you told me about. In return, you will give me three weeks to find your friends, and I will teach you magic myself. I will even give you access to my library," he leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. “You seemed quite interested when I mentioned it.”

Kalysto immediately stepped back, needing some distance between them. But he gave her no respite.

“However, you will have six months to fulfill your part of the bargain. You and the other three will live in my palace while you fulfill your part of the deal," he whispered again against her cheek this time, making her nervous.

But seeing that her boss’s screen went silent, Kalysto swallowed saliva, and he smiled, knowing that his closeness was affecting her.

“Of course, if you don’t accept in the next ten seconds, I’ll take care of destroying this whole place myself...” he commented, looking her in the eyes, “so do we have a deal?”

This time Kalysto hurried to organize the terms of the soul-binding contract, making sure that he could not go back on his word, and as soon as he signed, she handed him the book along with the sphere.

“A pleasure doing business with you, Kalysto," he murmured as he took her hand and kissed the back of it like a gentleman of old. “I hope you enjoy your long stay in my palace," he whispered before disappearing in a swirl of smoke and shadows.

Her cheeks flushed red, her knees trembled, her heart pounded like mad against her chest and dozens of butterflies flew in her stomach.

What the hell was that?

But at the very instant the thought crossed her mind, the memory of the look of a woman madly in love that her mother gave her stepfather flashed in her mind. The butterflies died on the spot. The bile rose to her throat and her face turned as pale as a fluffy cloud in midsummer.

I’m not like my mother! She swore to herself.

Immediately, a new window appeared before her.

[Kalysto, come back immediately! Mirhalla has once again polluted my forests!]

“Of course, boss," she paused to reply, suddenly feeling calmer and in control of her emotions.

Kalysto spent the rest of the day healing fairies and purifying parts of the forest. It was only after dinner that she remembered that the queen had given her an extension of one week and not four days, as Artemis had told her.

Then she touched the golden tattoo on her right wrist and a few seconds later, a violet window appeared before her.

[What’s going on?]

“During the first few days of my stay here, I remember encountering several slimes that were infected with the plague. I think it would be wise to purify the whole territory and not just the parts that were attacked and make sure that there are no other infected creatures running around. If the queen gives me enough revitalizing potions and more than three thousand mana crystals, I think we could do it in a few days.”

[Good idea!]

[Mission: purify all the territory of the kingdom of Bahram in the next three days.

Reward: 4,000 mana crystals, 10 revitalizing potions of 1 liter and an extension of one week in the human world (the last reward will only be credited if the user fulfills the mission of raising the enchantment profession to level ten.)]

After accepting Kalysto spent the next three days purifying the forests with Hanna’s help and the following three days raising her profession level.

I didn’t think you would make it," Artemis congratulated her after reviewing the result.

“Yes, well, miracles do happen," she murmured, exhausted from having spent the last few days without sleep and taking revitalizing potion to be able to meet the agreed deadlines. And after taking out the crystal that would take her directly to her room instead of bothering to walk, she murmured, “See you in a few days, after I’ve had enough sleep.”

And without waiting for an answer she activated the crystal and threw herself on the soft and comfortable bed.

It was only out of sheer curiosity that she opened her map just before she fell asleep and frowned at what she saw there.

Eric’s and the other shadow mage’s dots were in the same place as Koden’s and Rita’s, all gathered near the border with the kingdom of Balsahty.

While Katia’s was inside the palace of King Medhas.