novelnext Chapter 248: The Old Man [1]
Chapter 248: The Old Man [1]
I continue staring down at the map spread across the table for several long moments.Every location has some sort of note scribbled beside it in the demon language.
That definitely makes this an interesting challenge for me to figure out. Alice should be able to read all of this though.... At least I’m pretty confident she can.
She is a demon and this is her language, not mine.
"I’m not very familiar with the demon language Alice," I say quietly.
"I figured," Her response comes a little quicker than I expected.
"You aren’t going to give me any shit for not knowing how to read the language?" I question.
"No," She answers without hesitation.
She reaches over before tapping the northernmost location with one finger.
"I’d rather explain why this place matters," She continues on.
My attention immediately returns to the map.
The mark sits farther north than Leone, almost against the edge of the parchment.
"So what’s there?" I question.
"A city called Ardent Hollow," Alice answers.
I definitely don’t know a damn thing about the city she’s talking about... Eliza was the main reason we even knew where to go before I died.
"Never heard of it," I say quietly.
"I’m not surprised," Alice replies.
She traces a line leading away from Leone and it kind of catches my eye for a moment.
"Where are you tracing that through?" I question.
"A small ruin blocks the path that we have to go through," Alice answers while staring at the map.
"Can’t we just go around it?" I question.
She shakes her head.
So we’d have to go through the ruins which might add on a bit of time, not that it really matters. I don’t really know how much has happened since waking up.
I don’t know what moves the monarchs made or how far the girls went. I remember hearing people talking about some girls in some other kingdom.
If it is them, I think they’ll be fine without me for a good while.
...
"It won’t be that bad to go through the ruins. It will probably even deter any people that try to follow us," Alice says while putting the map away.
"Why would it deter people from following?" I question with some curiosity in my voice.
"The ruins aren’t exactly known for being a good path to go through. That is why people usually go the long way or go over it," Alice explains.
"Over it?" I question.
"Most demons are capable of flying but it isn’t an easy thing to do," Alice answers with a soft tone.
Demons can fly, got it. I’ll definitely have to keep my guard up around the rest of the realm with that information now in my head. I probably could’ve asked Lilly more about what to expect from the demon realms.
She would’ve given me a lot to work with if I was ever by myself... Like in this instance.
For now I think I’m able to trust Alice long enough to bring me to where I have to go.
"With all of that information sorted, should we get ready to go?" I ask with a serious tone.
"Yeah. I don’t think we should waste time here anyway," Alice answers.
It’ll be nice to have a new companion with me for the first time in awhile. I was originally expecting to travel by myself since there would be no restrictions... But this could be helpful.
The crimson ledger demons go around one more time before finally making their way out of the tavern. They didn’t seem all that interested in me or Alice.
"Looks like we can leave without a problem," I say while staring at the entrance.
"Seems so. I’m surprised they didn’t come over to talk to you at the very least," Alice replies with a bit of a shocked tone.
"Why’s that?" I question.
"You are a stranger here and it is obvious you aren’t from the realm period," Alice answers without any hesitation.
That definitely would make a lot more sense if they did come up to me but they didn’t so there isn’t a reason to worry about anything. I don’t think they care enough about me since I didn’t stick out very much.
Well, I didn’t say anything loud enough for them to look my way.
Alice’s expression becomes slightly more serious.
"Let’s make haste," Alice says as she stands up from her seat.
"Right," I reply as I stand up as well.
I begin to follow Alice out of the tavern, listening to everyone that starts to speak again. It was like nothing ever happened in there.
It is quite strange how much of an effect those demons have on the others.
But the streets aren’t as busy now, at least compared to when I first arrived. Everything seems to be dying down a good bit.
"How far are the ruins from our current location?" I ask.
"Probably about an hour walk from here," Alice answers.
An hour isn’t that bad. I’ve walked a lot longer in the past when trying to get to different cities in my own realm. That took a considerable amount of time.
"We’ll definitely find someone useful to us when we get to the city," Alice speaks up with confidence.
"I hope you’re right," I respond.
"We’ll just have to find them of course," Alice says with a bit of excitement.
I guess she likes looking for people. It is all starting to make sense why she also has a coat with the same symbol as those men.
"You used to be with the crimson ledger, huh?" I question while following behind her.
"A long time ago. It just wasn’t something I enjoyed," Alice answers with a serious tone.
I drop the conversation for the time being and just follow her until we finally reach the gates. The guards there don’t seem to be too concerned with us leaving, it makes sense.
Why would they give a damn about some random "demons" leaving the kingdom of Leone.
Alice gives a small wave to the guards before strolling past them.
"I guess this would be goodbye to Leone," I say quietly.
"For the time being, yes. I don’t know if you’ll ever go back to it," Alice replies as she puts her hand into her pockets.
The thought of leaving a place behind isn’t much of a problem for me since I did it a lot in the past. Just I feel off for some reason.
Maybe it is because Rika still isn’t back after being around for most of my journey. I don’t know if she died along with me or if she’ll ever even return.
It was all a real tough experience for us. I didn’t hear her voice once while I was dead or even when I first came back.
That alone tells me that I am completely on my own if Alice decides to leave. I don’t know her enough to care but it still matters in a sense.
"What are you in thought about?" Alice asks with some curiosity in her voice.
"Just trying to come to terms with some things that happened," I answer.
"Like the king you killed?" Alice questions.
"Something like that. He deserved to die but I’m not sure who the events that came after," I respond while looking up towards the sky.
Alice doesn’t say anything for a moment.
"What events do you mean?" Alice asks curiously.
"I met a monarch, one that definitely showed me the real difference in our strength," I answer with a serious tone.
Greed is probably the first monarch I’m going to actually fight since he seems to be the one watching over the demon realms. I’ll need to find a way to get strong enough to beat him.
I haven’t quite figured out what that way is just yet.... But I’ll find it one way or another.
That bastard is going to die. I owe him for putting a whole through my chest... Plus sending me to whatever that place was.
I don’t really know how the afterlife would work with the heavenly realm being gone.
"Who did you meet?" Alice asks with more of a serious tone.
"The monarch Greed," I answer without any hesitation.
She stops walking and doesn’t even say anything.
I’m guessing greed is one that everyone fears in the demon realm. It wouldn’t really come as a shock if I’m being completely honest here.
He is strong and no one can really oppose him here.
"How are you even alive Rokuro?" Alice asks with confusion in her voice.
"I wish I had those answers myself. That’s something I still need to figure out somehow," I answer while looking down at the ground.
The peace I had in the afterlife wasn’t bad in the slightest but I never got any answers about how I came back. I shouldn’t even be standing here like I am now.