Abandoned Bastard of the Royal Family Volume 6 Chapter 25 (Patreon)

Chapter 25 – Contradiction of the Demon Cradle

After “Demon Cradle Castle” was successfully sieged, the soldiers were left to thoroughly investigate the inside of the castle, but nothing good was found.

There were no clues about the new commander-in-chief of the Demon Army, the “Evil Virgin” Zaria.

After a lapse of 20 years, a new conflict between the Human and the Demon Race rose again. She is the main culprit and is supposed to be the commander-in-chief of the side of the Demons, but even after her army’s stronghold has been destroyed, she has not appeared.

Her movements were beyond eerie and puzzling, and because of this, Schild could not let his guard down even though he had the overwhelming advantage.

In fact, he was even irritated.

And so, while holding back this agitation, Schild continued interrogating the three of the four Devas who have surrendered to him.

◆

“Schild, carry me~.”

“Yes, yes.”

While picking up Berzeld, who has grown very fond of him, he greeted the other Devas.

“Argome, Ante, how are you guys doing? Are you comfortable here?”

“Yes. The food is good, the beds are soft and fluffy, and it’s much easier to live here than in the ground.”

Ante, the “Queen Ant”, was the first to respond. Unlike the hybrid physique when they first met, her body is now that of a beautiful woman.

And because of that, she is now wearing clothes provided by the royal castle and looks no different from an ordinary human, well, aside from her beauty.

“Master Schild. Here is a list of the nobles planning to manipulate the court after the war. Please use it to help you strengthen your rule♡♡”

“Argome, when did you become so witty!?”

Argome said lovingly as she handed a piece of parchment to Schild. The list detailed the plan concocted by another set of nobles wanting to puppet Schild. The list even included useful clues to uncover them, highlighting the horror of “Hundred Eyes”.

“How could the Demon Race side have lost with all these people in tow-“ Schild made a monologue, but he cut this short and went right into the point.

“About the “Evil Virgin” Zaria’s whereabouts, are there any new findings?”

“ “ “ ……” ” ”

But all the three went silent.

“We’re very sorry, Master Schild.”

Argome was the first to speak up.

“I have flown my “terminals” far and wide and investigated any spots that came into mind, but… Zaria has completely covered her tracks. I can’t believe she has this much ability to block tracking. I underestimated her.”

“Don’t worry much about it. It’s not like we are rushing things. But I’d like a word in advance when you find something in your “terminal”.”

This was Schild’s response, who kept on believing in them

“Zaria is a very secretive person.”

Ante spoke next.

“She is usually away from us, working alone, and the only time we get to interact with her is when she shows up once in a while to give us instructions. I heard that before this, she was conducting infiltration of a human city and doing something in there, but as for the details, I don’t know.”

“Human city?”

Then that must be the royal capital.

But for the general of the Demon Race to operate in the royal capital…?

“That’s mostly what I heard from Argome, by the way. What do you think? You should know a little more about it, don’t you?”

“Indeed, due to the nature of my abilities, I have assisted Zaria in her secret maneuverings in the royal capital, but…”

Argome’s face was downcast.

“Even with that, she wouldn’t reveal the core of her story to me, either. Zaria is very cautious. I don’t think she has trusted anyone.”

Not even you guys, who are the same “Deva” as her?”

“That’s right. As the commander-in-chief of the demon army, Zaria is authorized to interfere with my “Hundred Eyes” activities. Without her permission, no “terminal” of mine can come close to her designated area. Thinking about that time, I shouldn’t have become so obedient.”

This was probably one of the reasons why even with Argome’s “Hundred Eyes,” she was unable to provide any information about Zaria.

Schild could not understand what was going on in Zaria’s mind.

When accomplishing something big, human beings need the help of others, whether they like it or not.

At that time, those who are to accomplish great things must trust others, even if they don’t want to.

Those who cannot do so will end up as small people who can only accomplish small things.

Schild asked himself if that was the reason why the New Demon Lord’s Army eventually saw defeat.

“Do you think…other people only exist for you to use them? What a petty reason…” Schild muttered as he made a profound realization of the latter’s personality.

“By the way, Zaria is not only the commander of the Demon Race but also a magic researcher. She has several laboratories in the castle and is devoted to her research.”

“Magic researcher? Her own research?”

“Have you forgotten? “Hex of the Gladiator” is one of the byproducts of Zaria’s research. It was also a project she was sneaking behind our backs, though, so we could only express our shock when she announced it to us.”

“The only time we were able to enter her laboratory was when it was raided. However, it was empty, and we found no clues wherever we searched.”

With this, it was concluded that Zaria had indeed covered her tracks.

“Maybe Zaria and her ilk will never plan to surface again?”

To Berzeld’s naïve suggestion, Schild deepened his thoughts.

(Maybe Berzeld is right. Maybe she doesn’t plan to resurface anymore.)

Zaria had been deserted by three of her comrades and practically lost all her fighting strength in that castle siege.

The fact that she was so spectacularly hiding can also be taken as a sign that she had given up everything and fled when the war was going so badly against her.

“Putting that aside, Schild, more cake, please!”

“Yes, yes.”

That thinking was interrupted by the selfish desire of Berzeld, who is now eating like an innocent child on the confectionaries presented before her.

“Did Zaria truly abandon her desire to defeat the Human race?”

If so, then so be it.

Schild doesn’t plan on hunting down those who flee to the ends of the earth all to eradicate them.

“I don’t know. It is up to the will of the Demon Lord to decide.”

“?”

Schild felt a great deal of discomfort at that statement.

Or, more specifically, a certain set of words contained in it.

The term “Demon Lord”.

“By the way, who is this Demon Lord? Isn’t Zaria the commander-in-chief of the demon army? That also makes her the Demon Lord, right?”

“It is the Demon Lord who gave Zaria the overall command of the Demon Army. The Demon Lord is the creator and ruler of all the Demon Race. He is our great father.”

“So they exist!? I thought it was some kind of deity you worship or something!”

Schild has once again made an uncomfortable realization about their enemy.

“So you’re saying that the Demon Lord is the real mastermind behind the war between Humans and Demons, and not Zaria? And even if we defeat Zaria, there will be no fundamental solution unless we can do something about him?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s no good! Then we have to do something about the Demon Lord too! Where is he?”

If the Demon Lord, or whoever he is, is the true king of the Demon Race, the battle will never end if we do not strike him.

Even if we don’t know where Zaria is, if we can find out the whereabouts of this Demon Lord or whatever they are, our next move will naturally be decided.

As Schild was thinking of this,

“ “ “I don’t know.” ” ”

All the three Devas responded in unison.

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