Akatsuki Translations

“Julia, do you have your weapon?” -Farsa

“I have a short dagger for self-defense, just in case. But don’t worry, I’ll definitely take down those demons with my own hands.” -Julia

“…I think you shouldn’t underestimate the demons too much.” -Farsa

“Far-nii… I’ve been training as a hero all this time for this day. It might have come a little earlier than expected, but I will absolutely finish them off.” -Julia

As Farsa ran alongside Julia, he couldn’t help but wear a troubled expression. The appearance of demons in the vicinity of the capital was unheard of until now, and naturally, neither of them was prepared for battle.

However, Julia seemed clearly excited and eager to take on the demons, even with just her dagger.

Farsa pondered over how the demons managed to infiltrate the capital and what their purpose might be, but he couldn’t figure it out. Demons, with their distinct features such as red eyes, horns, tails, and wings, couldn’t easily sneak into human territory unnoticed.

While it might be reasonable if this were the northern border of the Valois Kingdom adjacent to the Demon Territory, this is the Royal Capital itself, positioned nearly at the heart of the kingdom.

If one were to traverse the main roads or such, the likelihood of exposure at the various checkpoints along the way is quite high. Yet, attempting to bypass these checkpoints through sparsely populated areas—such as forests or mountains where creatures thrive—is an exceedingly arduous undertaking.

No matter how resilient one’s physical form is, even for a demon possessing robust capabilities, there are limits to magical power and physical endurance. The necessity to constantly teeter on the brink of danger, navigating to the Royal Capital without being noticed by anyone, raises the question: Is it truly worth enduring this mental and physical strain?

Even if there was some purpose behind it, being seen at the South Gate, which has the most users, would render any covert infiltration meaningless.

While Farsa was pondering such thoughts, the two of them had eventually arrived at the South Gate, where a crowd had formed seemingly out of nowhere.

If there were an imminent danger, it wouldn’t be strange to see more people fleeing in panic, but there were quite a few onlookers lingering around.

“Farsa Speciēs, the Chief Court Magician, and Julia, the Hero. Report the situation.” -Farsa

Farsa caught one of the guards present and started inquiring about the situation. Displaying their identification documents issued by the kingdom, they asserted their official positions. The guard immediately saluted and began explaining the situation.

“Yessir! J-Just a moment ago, a person wearing a mask outside the gate loudly declared themselves as a demon. They subsequently left behind a robed demon and escaped. Soon after, the remaining demon transformed into a wolf and started growling, so the security team immediately surrounded it. There are currently ten guards engaged in combat, and we have already requested reinforcements from the palace. As for the masked person, it was a sudden incident, and we couldn’t catch them in time. However, we plan to capture the other demon and extract information from it.” -Guard

A wolf and a masked individual, the ringleader behind this incident’s intentions remained unclear, yet Farsa couldn’t shake off a sense of unease

“Thank you. For now, leave it to us to handle things here. Your priority should be to ensure the safety of civilians. This is an order from the Chief Court Magician. Inform the head of the southern gate’s security about this as well.” -Farsa

Farsa unilaterally issued commands to the guards and, along with Julia, gracefully leaped over the human barrier with extraordinary agility, springing out of the South Gate.

Knights and mages aside, he thought that relying on the gate’s security squad to deal with demons was a sign of being significantly understaffed.

Despite the lower number of demons, their potential to overturn a situation even with a tenfold difference in force against regular humans was considerable.

Especially demons who could use beastification magic to alter their bodies had exceptional physical capabilities, often exhibiting unparalleled strength in hand-to-hand combat.

However, what met Farsa’s eyes was the sight of the security squad valiantly battling against the demon.

Despite being in a beastified state, the demon in question appeared to be a small-statured wolf demon, being no taller than Julia or even shorter, growling and swinging its arms and legs at the security team.

While their speed was certainly characteristic of a demon, their attacks were evidently monotonous. The members of the security team easily maneuvered at a certain distance, consistently evading these attacks.

Three teams, three members each, surrounded the wolf demon to prevent it from escaping. They maintained their formation with skillful coordination, adjusting their positions according to the opponent’s movements.

Presumably, they were buying time until more formidable opponents such as Farsa and Julia could arrive.

“That… is a child of the Wolf Demon Tribe?” -Farsa

Observing the physique and movements of the Wolf Demon Clan, surrounded by the security forces, Farsa realized that the opponent was still a child.

The Wolf Demon Tribe was a combat-oriented species whose livelihood depended on hunting. As adults, they possessed considerable combat experience.

However, the creature before them was merely flailing about, attacking recklessly without any understanding of proper combat techniques.

Combined with its small stature, Farsa speculated that it was indeed a child of the Wolf Demon Clan.

“Demons… the bane of our village… aaargh!” -Julia

Unexpectedly witnessing this scene, Farsa was taken aback as Julia, with a fierce cry, leapt towards the Wolf Demon Clan member.

The usually cheerful and energetic Julia now appeared entirely different, with wide-open eyes and a deeply furrowed brow, radiating unmistakable hatred.

Though initially surprised by the sudden intruder, the guards recognized Julia as the Hero, her white hair exposed as her cap fell off, and they maintained their encirclement, keeping their distance from the wolf demon.

“It’s the Hero, Julia-sama!”

“The White-haired Hero! Our savior who will vanquish the demons!”

Spectators who were watching around the southern gate without evacuating due to the fierce battle erupted into cheers. The appellation “White-haired Hero Julia” was known to every resident of the kingdom, and she was widely recognized as the tragic girl who stood up to counter the demons’ threat.

It was said that those whose minds were broken by demons would have their hair turn white like ash, even if they were not elderly, and spend the rest of their lives as invalids. This was a common belief among the people of the Valois Kingdom, explaining the terror of demons.

However, Julia was an exception. She had been found in a sane state after her village was destroyed by demons and her family and friends were killed. She spent her early days in the orphanage of the capital and later became a candidate to become a hero.

Nevertheless, even in the capital, her white hair often led to suspicions, and she tended to keep her hair short and wear hats to avoid drawing too much attention.

Her current hobby of collecting hats had originated from her desire to remain inconspicuous.

“Julia…” -Farsa

While Julia fiercely attacked the wolf demon with a dagger in one hand, the small creature nimbly evaded her strikes, Farsa watched the battle with mixed emotions.

Julia had become a hero to seek revenge against the demons who had destroyed her village and taken away her family and friends. The training to become a hero was far more rigorous than that of a knight, requiring mastery of both swordsmanship surpassing knights, attack magic surpassing magicians, and sacred magic surpassing the church’s priests. It was no ordinary challenge.

Though she now traveled more leisurely, during her time as a hero candidate, she endured grueling training that left her coughing up blood from morning till night, except for sleep.

Many who aspired to become heroes like Julia gave up midway, and some even spoke ill of her because of her white hair. However, Julia persevered in her path as a hero, driven by her desire for revenge against the demons who had taken everything from her.

The Julia now seemed completely different from her former self during the days when Farsa trained her in magic. The drastic change was astounding.

“Because of you! My parents, everyone in the village! I won’t forgive you! I will definitely defeat the demons… and the Demon Lord!” -Julia

The Julia before Farsa’s eyes was once again consumed by her desire for revenge.

One of the concerns that Farsa had was whether Julia could remain calm when faced with demons. Now, the answer was right in front of him.

While capturing the demons for interrogation was their priority, Julia focused solely on attacking the vital points such as the neck and chest. The clumsy combat techniques of the wolf demon and Julia’s lack of composure resulted in a battle that seemed to drag on, but it soon reached its abrupt conclusion.

“A-ah, my magic…” -Roux

Wolf Demons using beastification magic also employed enhancement magic to improve their physical abilities, resulting in a high consumption of magic power.

Thus, unless one underwent extensive training to master efficient magic power usage, they wouldn’t be able to endure prolonged battles.

Within the fifteen minutes before Farsa and others arrived and during the battle with Julia, the wolf demon had already exhausted its magic power, its body reverting to its original form.

Shrinking in size, the demon collapsed on the spot, and it was none other than the familiar face of a young girl that Farsa knew well.

“R—” -Farsa

…Roux[1]…

Farsa barely managed to restrain himself from blurting out her name, but his inner turmoil was immeasurable.

The young Wolf Demon Tribe girl before him had recently been suffering from the Black Skin Disease, but after Farsa’s treatment, she had returned to her lively self. Yes, she was Roux, the daughter of the Wolf Demon Tribe’s chief, Louveteau.

The Wolf Demon Tribe resided in the northern region of the Valois Kingdom, deep within the northeastern forest. It was nearly impossible to travel from there to the capital by conventional means, barring teleportation magic like Farsa’s.

And Farsa arrived at one conclusion—this was a scheme devised to frame him.

If rumors spread to the Wolf Demon Tribe territory that a masked demon appeared in the capital along with a young girl, suspicions would inevitably fall on Farsa, the only known user of teleportation magic from the demon realm to the capital.

Undoubtedly, Roux’s absence would become a concern in the Wolf Demon Tribe, and they would calculate the time between her disappearance and her appearance in the capital. At that point, Farsa, posing as the Mirage of Illusion in the capital, could not provide an alibi, nor could he reveal where he had been and what he had been doing.

Moreover, besides the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Lord’s army, like Mirage, there had never been any reports of anyone with the ability to teleport from the demon realm to the capital.

“I’LL FINISH YOUUUUUUUU!” -Julia

Before Farsa could devise a countermeasure, Julia, seeing a chance to strike, screamed and lunged at Roux with her dagger.

Roux, already drained of magic power, displayed fear in her crimson eyes, and yet Julia seemed oblivious to this, consumed only by her desire for revenge.

To Julia, what she saw in Roux’s eyes was not a vulnerable little girl, but a detested demon with crimson eyes.

On the other hand, Roux, either due to the backlash of her strengthening magic or due to sheer terror, couldn’t move an inch, helplessly frozen in place.

Julia’s dagger aimed for Roux’s vital points, and within a blink of an eye, a spray of fresh blood filled the air.

“W-Why…?” -Julia

However, the scene before Julia was so unbelievable that she released her grip from the hilt of the blood-dripping dagger and took a step, then another, backward.

There stood Farsa, who had taken Julia’s lethal blade in her back while shielding Roux, an image that defied belief.

TL Note(s)

[1] I decided on her name being “Roux,” since her father’s name is of French origin as well. In the raw, it’s 「ルウ」.