The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads - Chapter 103
It was when I was very young.
Before I was discovered by the high-ranking demons and dragged to the Demon King’s castle.
That is when I was still in the slave management facility.
Even then, magical beasts would appear frequently, taking away several slaves from the facility.
“Kyaaak!! “
“S-save me!! “
In fact, it couldn’t be helped.
Magical beasts are basically affected by the demonic energy permeating the demon realm, causing them to lose their reason and become ferocious.
If they appear periodically even in Caro, which is connected to the demon realm, how many magical beasts must there be in the demon realm itself?
So, at the slave management facility, they would release the slaves to gather certain herbs.
“Move faster, faster! “
Crack!
The sound of the whip striking the ground rang clearly in my ears.
‘Hmm, some unpleasant memories came back as well….’
I furrowed my brow.
Anyway, when those herbs were burned or dried and hung up, they produced an acrid smoke.
‘The magical beasts really hated that smoke.’
To the extent that they wouldn’t even come near where the smoke was spreading.
Although it’s an old memory, I roughly remember what the herbs looked like because I picked them up until my fingertips were blistered.
But it’s been more than 10 years ago, so I’m not entirely certain…
‘Still, it’s probably better to mention it, right?’
I glanced at Cesar cautiously.
After all, this place borders the demon realm, so there’s a slight chance those herbs might grow naturally here.
After pondering for a while, I carefully opened my mouth.
“Um, Dad.”
Cesar glanced back at me.
His gaze, carefully observing my mood, was so warm it brought tears to my eyes.
Once again, my heart ached.
“Yes, what is it?”
“When I was young…”
Cesar, who initially listened to my story with a smiling face, gradually became more serious.
“There’s an herb like that?”
“Yes. But I’m not entirely sure since it was so long ago.”
I added, feeling intimidated.
“It’s just based on my memory, and we don’t have the actual herbs or magical beasts around to confirm. So we can’t immediately verify its effectiveness…”
“No. If there really is an herb with such effects, it’s certainly worth looking into.”
Cesar shook his head and stood up.
I looked up at Cesar with a bewildered expression.
“Um, Dad?”
Somehow, it was a familiar expression.
It reminded me of when I had casually mentioned sticky notes to Kirios before.
Kirios had made exactly the same expression.
As if he had just come up with the groundbreaking idea of the century…
“For this matter, I think it would be fastest to consult with Lakius.”
My mouth fell open.
Isn’t this moving a bit too quickly?
***
Before I knew it.
I found myself sitting with Cesar in Lakius’s office.
“Tati, are you alright?”
…Even though I had just ruined an important meeting earlier because I couldn’t control my emotions.
Lakius was simply looking at me with concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I nodded and hunched my shoulders.
“I’m sorry about earlier, I ended up ruining the meeting for nothing.”
“No, it’s understandable. The Master said something quite outrageous, after all.”
Saying this, Lakius glared at Cesar.
Cesar pretended to dust off his clothes, subtly avoiding Lakius’s gaze.
…I never thought I’d see the day when Cesar would avoid Lakius’s eyes.
After glaring fiercely at Cesar for a while, Lakius turned to me with a smile.
“But don’t worry too much. We’ve received news that priests from neighboring territories have already departed.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The defense forces we deployed in advance are also holding up well against the magical beasts’ attacks. We’ve dispatched new knight orders to areas where the defense line has been breached.”
Lakius comforted me.
“We should be able to restore all the sacred artifacts within 3-4 days at the latest, so the divine barrier won’t be needed for a whole week.”
Then he furrowed his brow and muttered to himself.
“As expected of someone who defeated the Demon King, talking about recklessly maintaining a divine barrier for a whole week. He’s not old enough to be senile yet.”
“Lakius, I can hear you.”
“I’m saying it so you can hear, you know?”
The two were bickering as usual.
I was finally able to smile a little.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Ah, well.”
I retold the story I had shared with Cesar earlier.
All the while, I was inwardly worried that I might be bothering the busy Lakius with something trivial.
“If such an herb exists, it could certainly be a great help.”
Unexpectedly, Lakius’s eyes lit up.
“R-really?”
“Of course. It’s not just relying on sacred artifacts, but having one more way to drive away magical beasts, right?”
Lakius asked me again.
“First, can you tell me what the herb looks like?”
“Just a moment. So…”
I started drawing the herb from my memory on paper.
After all, seeing it would be faster than explaining it verbally.
And then.
“…Um, do plants in the demon realm have red eyes?”
Lakius, who had been staring intently at the drawing for a while, muttered skeptically.
I flared up and raised my voice.
“No! Those are berries!”
That’s right. The truth is, I had no particular talent for drawing…
More precisely, I hadn’t made any progress since I drew a family picture for Kirios when I was ten.
‘Still, Cesar would at least say it’s well-drawn out of courtesy, right?’
I glanced sideways at Cesar, clinging to a sliver of hope.
When our eyes met, Cesar…
“Ahem, hem.”
He cleared his throat unnecessarily and subtly averted his gaze.
…It seems my drawing skills were truly hopeless.
“W-well, let’s talk about the herb’s appearance again in a bit.”
Lakius changed the subject, sweating slightly.
“Actually, when we received the report this time, there was something a bit unusual.”
“What was it?”
“Certain villages suffered less damage from magical beasts. The locations of these villages are here…”
Lakius pointed to various spots on the map spread out on the desk.
Cesar, who had been observing closely, narrowed his eyes.
“They’re all close to the demon realm. Logically, villages closer to the demon realm should suffer greater damage.”
“That’s right. Moreover, all these villages experienced fire damage.”
“Fire damage?”
“Yes. They say it was in their pastures and hay barns.”
Lakius looked at me with a somewhat excited expression.
“Didn’t you say earlier, Tati, that the herb is burned to produce smoke? If these herbs were growing naturally in the pastures…”
“That certainly makes sense.”
Cesar nodded gravely.
“Similarly, in hay barns, the herb could have been mixed in while cutting and drying the grass.”
…Is there really a possibility that the herb exists?
I blinked blankly.
Meanwhile, Cesar and Lakius quickly exchanged words while closely examining the locations of the villages marked on the map.
“Plus, since it’s an herb that grows naturally in the demon realm, the closer to the demon realm, the higher the probability it would grow.”
“Good. We were planning to investigate the damage status of the villages and proceed with recovery work, so we can also check if the herb actually grows…”
Lakius, who had been speaking, paused.
Then he turned to me with a troubled expression.
“…So, what did you say the herb looked like again?”
Right, it’s impossible to make out the shape of the herb from my drawing…
I shrugged with an awkward laugh.
“Why don’t I just go along?”
At this, both Cesar and Lakius became serious simultaneously.
“Miss Tati? No. It’s dangerous.”
“I agree with the Master on this one. Tati, you just stay here.”
But this time, I didn’t back down either.
“If we spread the divine barrier, the magical beasts won’t be able to invade anyway, so what’s the danger?”
“Still, it’s not allowed.”
“That’s right. There’s always the possibility of ‘what if’, you know?”
What’s this? Usually, they’re at each other’s throats, but now they’re in perfect sync.
I narrowed my eyes and asked back.
“But right now, I’m the only one who can recognize that herb, aren’t I?”
“……”
“……”
The two men who had been vehemently opposing fell silent for the first time.
Translator
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ChipsGrMione
love this story!!!!