Following a maid, Issac was taken into the guestroom inside the Mayor’s mansion. The room wasn’t as extravagant or expensive as his room in the palace, but that was fine. Issac was more comfortable with this (comparably) modest-looking room. The interior was made of dark oak, from the walls to the furniture. It had a classy and medieval feel to it. The mansion was on a slightly higher terrain than the rest of the town, so the window in his room provided a good view of the city.
As he entered the room, the maid bowed behind him and excused herself after promising to call for him once lunch was prepared. Before she could leave, Issac stopped her and requested, “When the old man that I came with awakens, bring him to me at once.”
“As you wish, sire,” the maid curtsied and left. Issac closed the door behind him and quickly searched the room: no disgusting miasma and no objects with an eye or ear symbol over them. Issac exhaled a huge sigh of relief. It was the first time he had found a truly safe space, void of dangers and unwanted surveillance. He took off his shoes and fell on the bed. This bed seemed even more comfortable than the one in the palace. But he couldn’t fall asleep yet; he shouldn’t.
This surprising encounter with the mimics had told him one thing: he was still too weak for this world. He barely scraped by that fight because of [Night Blade] and his newly acquired Ice magic.
“Speaking of which-” Issac sat up on the bed and leaned on the backrest, “-what do I even call this Icicle? [Icicle] sounds too lame; [Ice Spikes] is too generic. I never was any good at naming…. I’ll think of one later.” Issac shook his head at his dilemma. He got up from the bed and carefully took off the cravat so it didn’t come untied. He took off his overcoat and the waistcoat. Now, with only the dress shirt and pants on, he decided that he would like to take a bath. But before that, he really needed another set of clothes.
Opening the door to his rooms, he peered out into the hall. To his delight, a blonde-haired maid was walking by. Issac called out to her, “You there.”
The maid stopped in her tracks and bowed towards him, “Yes, sire?”
“Could you be a dear and get someone to fetch me some fresh clothes? I really need to take a bath.”
“A bath…?” the maid tilted her head. “Would you require assistance?”
Issac smiled and refused, “No, thank you. Just the clothes will do.”
“Understood, sire. I’ll ask someone to bring them right away.”
“Thank you.” Hearing Issac’s gratitude, the maid curtsied and left. Issac closed the door behind him and walked into the joint bathroom. Just like the palace, it had a bathtub, countertop sink, and a ceramic flush toilet, which was a magic item in this world. Seeing the flush toilet, it seemed like Issac’s bowels started to move by themselves immediately, so he spent the next ten minutes emptying them.
Coming out with a relieved smile, he saw that the maid had already brought in the clothes while he was inside. Clothes in hand, he walked back into the washroom to take a bath. Filling up the porcelain bathtub with hot water, he soaked in it for a good while. He came out half an hour later, having cleaned himself with the provided soap and shampoo. Feeling clean and with the fresh new clothes on his body, he laid down on the bed and immediately sunk in. His eyelids became heavier and heavier until he closed them, and his breathing became even.
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Rasmodeus Royal Palace
Queen Veronica studied some documents on her desk with her hands massaging her temples. There were numerous stacks of documents on her desk, each needing her careful review.
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A series of knocks rang on her office door. She stopped reading and looked as a voice came from the other side, “Your Highness, urgent report.”
“Come in,” she spoke and once again became engrossed with the documents in her hand. A knight captain opened the door and walked inside. Bowing to the Queen, he spoke again, “Your Highness, irregular activity has been spotted in the Forest of Illusions.”
Hearing that name greatly alarmed Queen Veronica. She quickly raised her head and asked, “What happened?”
“Our mages have detected large hordes of monsters suddenly migrating from one end of the forest to the other.”
“Which kinds?”
“Many, Your Highness.” The knight captain wiped the sweat off his forehead with an embroidered handkerchief, “From goblins to jay-hounds, all of them are behaving oddly. As though…running away from something.”
The Queen got up from her desk and walked up to the window. On the horizon, beyond the town, she could see the supposedly calm Forest of Illusions. Quietly, she spoke to herself, “Monsters running amok in the forest, huh? Have the gears started turning already?” She turned around and addressed the knight, “What of the delegation from the Sawheim Duchy?”
“Well, by this time, they were already in the midst of traversing through the forest. So, we cannot yet tell whether they are dead or alive.”
The Queen chewed on his words for a moment. She suddenly thought of something and asked in a low voice, “And what of…the new Demon Lord?”
The knight captain instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He had heard from the other knight captain that the Queen wasn’t too pleased about this new Demon Lord’s escape. He said carefully, “No reports yet, your highness. But we’ve already sent messengers to all of the cities, towns, and villages with wanted posters. By estimation, the nearest settlements should have the posters by tomorrow morning.”
“I see…” the Queen nodded, unable to shake off an uneasy feeling gnawing at her. “Use the communication devices available to tell them to hurry up. With what I’ve seen, the Forest of Illusions won’t be able to kill him, not even with the monsters going berserk. Tell the messengers to make haste. I want Issac’s face on every wall in my kingdom by the end of this month.” She turned around and looked at the knight captain sternly, “Is that clear?”
The knight captain held his breath, not even his metal armor clanked, “Yes, your Highness.”
“Good,” the Queen nodded and flicked her hand, “you’re dismissed.”
The knight captain bowed again and left. Queen Veronica followed the man with her eyes as he closed the door behind him. She exhaled deeply and returned her gaze back out the window. With a hawk-like glare, she seemed to want to pierce through the forest to find Issac.
She couldn’t shake off this feeling that Issac was still alive. After all, he escaped from the palace despite being surrounded by knights and soldiers higher level than him. And then subsequently escaped out of the city despite being chased. There’s no doubt he can survive in the forest. She shouldn’t have underestimated Issac.
That was her mistake, but never again. Capturing a Demon Lord is a great opportunity to tilt the balance of the war in their favor. But she let the chance slip out of our hands. Feeling an overwhelming sense of rage, she slammed the desk, reducing it to splinters. The documents went flying everywhere.
Outside her door, the butler heard the commotion coming from the inside. Without even checking first, he just grabbed a nearby maid and told her, “Get the royal carpenter to get one of his premade desks for Her Majesty and tell him to do it quick.”
“Yes, head butler,” the maid curtsied and rushed off. The butler watched her run off and took a deep breath as he opened the door to the Queen’s office. With an expressionless face, he started gathering the papers from the ground and stacking them. He set the stacks aside and bowed to Queen Veronica, “Your Highness, would you like a new cup of tea?”
The Queen stared at him, her breathing calming down, “Yes, I’d quite like that. Get me some Count Ash.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The head butler put the stacks of papers to the side and flicked his fingers. The door swung open, and at that very second, like clockwork, a group of servants rushed in with brooms and dustpans, swept up the splinters and pieces off the floor, and left. After which, a new desk was hauled into the office and placed where the previous one was.
One of the servants who brought the desk in took the stacks of paper on the floor and placed them on the desk. All the servants bowed and left. A new servant came in pushing a cart with a beautifully designed tea set. The servant bowed and left. The head butler came forward, poured a cup for the Queen, and placed it on the desk.
The Queen took a sip and licked her lips. She looked outside the window, and her gaze sharpened. Without looking away, she ordered, “Tell the Captain I want those wanted posters all over Rasmodeus in fifteen days.”
The head butler didn’t persuade her otherwise; he simply bowed and said, “Yes, your Highness.” The head butler left, leaving the Queen with her thoughts.