Master’s Smile

C124 – The Princess’ Resolution

“I-Impossible….”

Wissen muttered to himself as he watched Lintz, who had become a demon…, his own test subject, completely destroyed.

“Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, IMPOSSIBLE!! My masterpiece! My greatest demon! How could it be defeated by an ordinary man WHO IS NOT EVEN POSSESSING A SINGLE OOOOOOOOONNNEEE!?

He scratched his head hard, and his eyeballs, which were always jotting out of their sockets as he had lost quite some weight, jotted forward even more.

It bared so much that it looked as if they might fall out at any moment.

A scene that is hard to believe, or something he didn’t want to believe, had been shown right before his eyes.

Lintz, who had merged with several low-ranked demons and even managed to defeat the demon-possessing Ritter, was now a broken husk.

“Master, amazing.”

Ritter strode up to him and hugged her master’s arm, giving him a look of respect.

Master was also elated inside his heart, as evidently seen by the radiance of his smile.

It was so bright that Ritter’s eyes narrowed.

Master then patted her on the head and looked at her, saying that there was still work to be done.

“H-Hiiiee!!!”

Wissen was caught in Master’s gaze and backed away frantically, screaming and falling on his bottom.

He could not possibly beat Master, who had instantly killed the demon Lintz, with his own flesh and blood.

And, in light of what he had said and done up to this point, there was no way he could escape the capital punishment.

Master then slowly walked up to Wissen, still keeping his gentle and kind smile on his face.

But to Wissen, it only looked more like a cruel smile, as if the demon was now looking forward to toy with his life.

As for Ritter, it looked as if God was smiling, hence the smile was perceived in various ways.

“W-Wait!! Please wait!!! If you kill me, you’ll be in deep trouble!!”

“A lie often told by cornered people, don’t mind, Master.”

“No, it’s true!!”

Ritter, who was now clinging to her master, told him without any remorse, but what Wissen had said was indeed true.

He, too, had taken precautions before coming to this place.

To begin with, his experiment to merge Lintz with the demons was not a definite success.

So, it was obvious that he had prepared a plan for his own escape in case of failure.

“If you kill me, all the chimeras trapped in my laboratory will be released at once into the royal capital! Even right now, Theldorff-san and the kingdom knights have their hands full, so what will happen if they have to deal with more of them~…?”

Hearing his words, Master stopped moving with a troubled smile on his face.

Although she’s also a kingdom knight, Ritter doesn’t really care what will happen to the people and only tilted her head from Wissen’s question.

But her master was a very kind man.

She was convinced that her master was also concerned about the people in the kingdom.

“If you let me go, I won’t do such a thing. Rather, I will remove all the monsters that are now rampaging throughout the royal capital! How about that…?”

Wissen triumphantly went out to make a deal.

Though, even if he emptied all the monsters in his laboratory, Evans Kingdom will not be destroyed as long as Master is there.

However, while he’s hunting them, some of the people will still be attacked and killed elsewhere.

If Ritter had been in perfect condition, the two of them might have been able to do something about it, but she was currently severely fatigued from using her demonic power a number of times.

It would be cruel to make her fight any longer.

“ーーーNo, I will have you die here.”

“…Huh?”

Master was pondering what to do inside his mind when Neena’s voice suddenly came through with an unnatural clarity.

With a dignified look on her face, she drew her sword and approached them.

Seeing this, Master stepped back with a gentle smile, and Ritter, who was clinging at him, followed suit.

Wissen, who did not understand what she had just said, uttered in disbelief.

“…Didn’t you hear what I just said~? I told you that if I die, the monsters will be unleashed onto the royal capital, you know?”

Wissen asked once again, yet Neena did not answer.

“Aah~, perhaps you think there won’t be a lot coming? That’s a big mistake. As a result of my research getting support from Prince Lintz, there are quite a lot of artificial monsters like the chimeras. In addition, there are also some that merged with low-ranked demons as tests for making the drink that Prince Lintz had drunk~….Yet, you still say you want to kill me!?”

“Indeed, I do.”

Wissen was astonished by Neena’s reply.

Impossible…. Such a decision should have been impossible.

“You are an utter fool!! Are you going to execute me based on your emotions because I used Prince Lintz as a test subject!? Are you willing to kill so many of your people because of a decision based on your personal feelings!? Is that the decision of someone who will become the Queen!?!”

“You have no right to speak about inheriting the throne.”

Wissen cursed Neena furiously, yet she never wavered.

Certainly, some might call it a personal grudge.

But Neena still had the kingdom’s best interests at heart.

“Right now, the strongest knight, Theldorff, as well as other kingdom knights are inside the royal capital. In addition, there is also Master who has defeated a demon once. Even if the capital is overrun with monsters, the kingdom will not be destroyed.

Indeed, many citizens might be sacrificed in the process.

However….

“On the contrary, Wissen, if you weren’t judged here and now, such acts of terrorism will be repeated in the future. Your life and the release of those monsters, after weighing the two, I have decided that it would be better for the kingdom’s future if you are gone.”

“G-Gghghghh…!!!”

Wissen seems to be an alchemist with research as the goal of his actions, but with research comes experimentation.

A dangerous man who threatened the entire kingdom and even demonized a royal family member who had the right to the throne. There is no telling what he will do if they let him off the hook here.

Neena’s judgment was probably the correct one.

“AAAAAAAHHH!!! NO! I DON’T WANT TO! I STILL HAVE SO MUCH RESEARCH TO DO…!!!”

Wissen turned his back on Neena and tried to run away while still crawling.

To him, there were still a lot of subjects to explore.

One of them, the mystery of demons, was finally about to be solved thanks to Lintz, who had merged with demons.

Quickly…he had to quickly go back to his lab to assemble his theory….

“Wissen, the great sinner who murdered Lintz, the first prince, as well as spreading monsters throughout the royal capital to plunge it into chaos. I, Neena, the first princess, will judge you here and now.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Without any shame nor honor, Wissen screamed with scattered tears and a runny nose.

Seeing him in such an ugly state, Neena still showed no sympathy whatsoever.

She raised her sword and mowed it down at Wissen’s head.