“Yes, I’ll help you.”
“Like I said yesterday, you can do it.”
Lisianthus and Lupinus answered with satisfied smiles.
Yesterday, she felt burdened by their unconditional trust, but she has now decided to change her mind. If the two of them trusted her without reservations, she can really achieve anything.
“So, did you think about it while lying down?”
“While you were struggling from a hangover?”
“Heum, heum. I didn’t just struggle and do nothing, I was also using my brain.”
“It’s not like I was wasting time meaninglessly.” Adelaide protested.
As was his habit, Lisianthus praised his master, saying that she really was amazing.
“You said that in order to open the entrance to Helheim, I must first obtain the status of a ruler, and that qualification is to become the strongest demon in Kronatan.”
She took a piece of paper from the table and scribbled down words ‘Helheim’, ‘Entrance’, and ‘Ruler’. Although written roughly, her handwriting was quite fluid. This was also a skill she learned while getting the back of her hand slapped by Maximilian.
“I’m not certain but that’s what’s known. Caladium, the last ruler, seems to think so.”
“Yes, that’s right. So, if that’s really the condition, wouldn’t the qualifications have gone to Abaddon when he defeated Caladium about a hundred years ago? Or did it automatically move to the next strongest demon because Caladium lost?”
If the former was the case, she would have to fight Abaddon and win, and if it was the latter, there was a high possibility that it would be Uriel. Neither was good for Adelaide.
“I have never heard of Abaddon having the power of Helheim. Therefore I don’t believe he has its power.”
“I think so too. The last time we faced Abaddon, he also just noticed that Caladi had lost his qualifications.”
“Then Uriel, whom he looks after, would not have qualified either. And if she had, Caladium would have already attacked Los Halde.”
“Right? And if that woman had Helheim’s power, I think she’s the type to go around and show off. So, is there really no demon who is qualified right now?”
Lisianthus stood still and rubbed his chin. Even he, who knew all this information, didn’t know much about Helheim. Because it was so secretly hidden. Even Caladium, who once owned Helheim, did not seem to know the exact facts based on what he was doing now.
“That’s the most likely thing. It is a demon’s nature to brag, so if they got the power of Helheim, they would immediately announce it.”
“That’s right.” Adelaide responded with a grunt. Even if it were her, if she had gained that kind of power, she wouldn’t be able to hold back even for a second, and would be bragging about it here and there. Especially if she could hear the cool title ‘Kronatan’s Ruler’.
“Then why the heck is Caladi not qualified now? To be honest, Caladi is the strongest in Kronatan.”
“I am stronger, though.”
“So am I.”
Lisianthus and Lupinus countered at the same time. They both seemed unable to agree that Caladium was stronger than them.
“…….So did any of you two gain Helheim’s power?”
A brief silence passed. If that’s not the case, then why would you argue? Adelaide smiled dejectedly.
However, carefully thinking about it again, it didn’t seem to make any sense at all. Even if they excluded Lupinus who was human, Lisianthus is actually stronger than Caladium.
She didn’t exactly know how much, but it was certainly clear that there was no demon capable of defeating him in Kronatan. If qualifications were in the order of strength, naturally, Lisianthus will come first over anyone else.
Adelaide blinked her eyes and stared at Lisianthus’ face. As she looked at his pretty face, she seemed to remember something.
“We don’t know how they qualify, but Caladium seems to believe that qualification comes from proving strength through combat.”
“Hmm……..”
“But so far, it doesn’t seem to be working very well. Although he has already dealt with all the strong demons that were famous in Esperanza, he still hasn’t gotten Helheim.”
“Oh! Or maybe, even if you become qualified, you don’t gain power right away? Or finding Helheim will give you power.”
Adelaide clapped her hands and suggested new possibilities.
“I mean……. Once you get your qualifications, does it sound right to know where Helheim is right away? Unless the entrance suddenly appears in front of your eyes or the location comes to mind like a revelation, it will not be easy for even the most qualified person to find a hidden entrance in the expansive Esperanza.”
“Not much is known about it. However, according to the rumors floating around, the location of the entrance moves whenever the ruler changes. However, this is also just hearsay and we are not certain.”
“Changing the entrance’s location seems right. Caladium has battled with all kinds of strong opponents, but he stayed only in Esperanza. To find the new entrance.”
Lupinus interjected. Adelaide continued to ponder.
“But it was only very recently that Caladi started looking for Helheim. It’s strange that no entrance has ever been found in the last hundred years.… What if the current qualified person does not even know that they are qualified?”
“That is not without possibility.”
Lisianthus nodded his head and said. Adelaide gained confidence, and her eyes sparkled.
“It will be harder for the qualified person to get Helheim if they didn’t know they were qualified. How are we going to find and destroy such a demon?”
“Lisian just said it. Lisian is stronger than Caladi.”
“Yes, I did, but……..”
“And Caladi hasn’t fought Lisian yet and won has he?”
Lisianthus furrowed his eyebrows instead of answering. He could roughly guess why she had such an excited face.
“Maybe, Lisian really is the right one!”
Wouldn’t it be great if the situation could be resolved so simply? Nonetheless, this was an overly optimistic view.
Lisianthus, who has lived for a long time, often witnessed a special power that remained as a legend in the Demon Realm. If there was a mysterious fortress called Helheim in Kronatan, another kind of ability existed in Belial in the past.
In his experience, most of these special powers were not created out of the blue, but in most cases it was given only when certain conditions were satisfied. Caladium seemed to think that the condition was ‘winning the fight’, and Lisianthus also considered it the most plausible.
In other words, it was unlikely that Lisianthus, who had been living in the Greenville Dungeon for hundreds of years, was suddenly given the title of ruler.
However, neither Lisianthus nor Lupinus was able to straightforwardly point this out. How could they directly pour cold water on her who had this look of great anticipation.
“Let’s find the entrance to Helheim right away! Then we’ll know if Lisian is really the ruler or not!”
“……Yes, let’s do that. I will gather as much information as possible.”
“Uhuh! So, today’s meeting ends here! Ooh, I’m hungry after using my head. Do you have anything else I can eat?”
The meeting lasted less than ten minutes, but for her, who didn’t usually use her head a lot, it was hard work. Adelaide flopped on the sofa and made a fuss.
“Adele, what would you like to eat?”
Lisianthus, like the kind manager he was, was ready to prepare food right away. Adelaide said as she thought that she wanted to live with him for the rest of her life.
“Ummm……I want to eat something light and I also want to eat something fresh. Can’t I eat something like that at the same time?”
It was obviously not a big deal, but both Lisianthus and Lupin’s faces hardened at the same time. Lisianthus was smiling, but his eyes were somehow strange, and Lupin avoided her eyes with a bitter look on his face.
[T/N: Chapter 143 for those who didn’t get it lol.]
Adelaide tilted her head in response to the unknown reaction. She was simple-minded so the fact that she had made a mistake last night had long since been erased from her head.
* * *
The next afternoon.
Adelaide sat down at the cozy cafe she had been to last time, slowly stirring a cold drink. The crackling sound of the ice hitting against the glass rang in her ears, and the woman sitting in front of her opened her mouth with a smile.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon……. I’m so glad you called me, Adelaide. I was so excited yesterday that I couldn’t sleep well.”
Ellie, a female dressed in a cute patterned dress, fluttered her long eyelashes and looked at Adelaide with twinkling eyes.
“Can I interpret this as a positive sign? Are we going on a date today?”
Ellie pushed her face toward Adelaide and acted cute.
But unlike the last time when Adelaide became embarrassed and did not know what to do, her face at this moment was as cold as ever. Her eyes, looking at Ellie, were cold, and her thin lips looked somewhat angry.
“Stop the nauseating noise.”
A harsh tone of voice unlike her came out.
“……Pardon?”
Ellie’s eyes widened as if she was hurt. But Adelaide didn’t care and spoke in a menacing voice.
“I already know everything, so stop the b*llsh*t.”
“You know everything……. What?”
As if she had no idea what she was talking about, Ellie blinked her eyes mournfully. Adelaide simply snorted at her top-notch acting skills.
“I guess you’re going to keep doing that until I say it myself.”
“Miss Adelaide, you seem to have misunderstood something—”
Ellie cautiously reached out towards Adelaide, but Adelaide slapped her hand like it was dirty.
“You say you live in pain every day because of nightmarish memories? Does such a demon enjoy seeing other demons being tortured, and as soon as they find their perpetrator, they approach and pretend to know him?”
“……What?”
“You used to be a regular at Casa del Sol. How about that, you still don’t remember anything?”
Adelaide smiled and crossed her legs. If she didn’t bring out proper evidence, she’d surely continue to keep doing that disgusting performance. To avoid it, she tossed her papers on the table.
Ellie slowly lowered her head and stared at them. The first page had some pictures attached. It was a scene where Ellie made a welcoming face and pulled Caladium’s collar. In the background, a colorful circus tent and a large crowd were visible.
This photo was obtained thanks to their victory in the recent war and the acquisition of Casa del Sol. She didn’t know that a scene like this was in the surveillance hung around the tent to prevent theft. If Lisianthus hadn’t confirmed and told her, she would have never known.
The photo was taken on the same day that Adelaide first visited Casa del Sol to meet Raham. When Adelaide, who witnessed the brutal sight and unable to resist her disgust, ran outside for a while, the remaining Caladium faced Ellie in the tent.
“Yes, I’ll help you.”
“Like I said yesterday, you can do it.”
Lisianthus and Lupinus answered with satisfied smiles.
Yesterday, she felt burdened by their unconditional trust, but she has now decided to change her mind. If the two of them trusted her without reservations, she can really achieve anything.
“So, did you think about it while lying down?”
“While you were struggling from a hangover?”
“Heum, heum. I didn’t just struggle and do nothing, I was also using my brain.”
“It’s not like I was wasting time meaninglessly.” Adelaide protested.
As was his habit, Lisianthus praised his master, saying that she really was amazing.
“You said that in order to open the entrance to Helheim, I must first obtain the status of a ruler, and that qualification is to become the strongest demon in Kronatan.”
She took a piece of paper from the table and scribbled down words ‘Helheim’, ‘Entrance’, and ‘Ruler’. Although written roughly, her handwriting was quite fluid. This was also a skill she learned while getting the back of her hand slapped by Maximilian.
“I’m not certain but that’s what’s known. Caladium, the last ruler, seems to think so.”
“Yes, that’s right. So, if that’s really the condition, wouldn’t the qualifications have gone to Abaddon when he defeated Caladium about a hundred years ago? Or did it automatically move to the next strongest demon because Caladium lost?”
If the former was the case, she would have to fight Abaddon and win, and if it was the latter, there was a high possibility that it would be Uriel. Neither was good for Adelaide.
“I have never heard of Abaddon having the power of Helheim. Therefore I don’t believe he has its power.”
“I think so too. The last time we faced Abaddon, he also just noticed that Caladi had lost his qualifications.”
“Then Uriel, whom he looks after, would not have qualified either. And if she had, Caladium would have already attacked Los Halde.”
“Right? And if that woman had Helheim’s power, I think she’s the type to go around and show off. So, is there really no demon who is qualified right now?”
Lisianthus stood still and rubbed his chin. Even he, who knew all this information, didn’t know much about Helheim. Because it was so secretly hidden. Even Caladium, who once owned Helheim, did not seem to know the exact facts based on what he was doing now.
“That’s the most likely thing. It is a demon’s nature to brag, so if they got the power of Helheim, they would immediately announce it.”
“That’s right.” Adelaide responded with a grunt. Even if it were her, if she had gained that kind of power, she wouldn’t be able to hold back even for a second, and would be bragging about it here and there. Especially if she could hear the cool title ‘Kronatan’s Ruler’.
“Then why the heck is Caladi not qualified now? To be honest, Caladi is the strongest in Kronatan.”
“I am stronger, though.”
“So am I.”
Lisianthus and Lupinus countered at the same time. They both seemed unable to agree that Caladium was stronger than them.
“…….So did any of you two gain Helheim’s power?”
A brief silence passed. If that’s not the case, then why would you argue? Adelaide smiled dejectedly.
However, carefully thinking about it again, it didn’t seem to make any sense at all. Even if they excluded Lupinus who was human, Lisianthus is actually stronger than Caladium.
She didn’t exactly know how much, but it was certainly clear that there was no demon capable of defeating him in Kronatan. If qualifications were in the order of strength, naturally, Lisianthus will come first over anyone else.
Adelaide blinked her eyes and stared at Lisianthus’ face. As she looked at his pretty face, she seemed to remember something.
“We don’t know how they qualify, but Caladium seems to believe that qualification comes from proving strength through combat.”
“Hmm……..”
“But so far, it doesn’t seem to be working very well. Although he has already dealt with all the strong demons that were famous in Esperanza, he still hasn’t gotten Helheim.”
“Oh! Or maybe, even if you become qualified, you don’t gain power right away? Or finding Helheim will give you power.”
Adelaide clapped her hands and suggested new possibilities.
“I mean……. Once you get your qualifications, does it sound right to know where Helheim is right away? Unless the entrance suddenly appears in front of your eyes or the location comes to mind like a revelation, it will not be easy for even the most qualified person to find a hidden entrance in the expansive Esperanza.”
“Not much is known about it. However, according to the rumors floating around, the location of the entrance moves whenever the ruler changes. However, this is also just hearsay and we are not certain.”
“Changing the entrance’s location seems right. Caladium has battled with all kinds of strong opponents, but he stayed only in Esperanza. To find the new entrance.”
Lupinus interjected. Adelaide continued to ponder.
“But it was only very recently that Caladi started looking for Helheim. It’s strange that no entrance has ever been found in the last hundred years.… What if the current qualified person does not even know that they are qualified?”
“That is not without possibility.”
Lisianthus nodded his head and said. Adelaide gained confidence, and her eyes sparkled.
“It will be harder for the qualified person to get Helheim if they didn’t know they were qualified. How are we going to find and destroy such a demon?”
“Lisian just said it. Lisian is stronger than Caladi.”
“Yes, I did, but……..”
“And Caladi hasn’t fought Lisian yet and won has he?”
Lisianthus furrowed his eyebrows instead of answering. He could roughly guess why she had such an excited face.
“Maybe, Lisian really is the right one!”
Wouldn’t it be great if the situation could be resolved so simply? Nonetheless, this was an overly optimistic view.
Lisianthus, who has lived for a long time, often witnessed a special power that remained as a legend in the Demon Realm. If there was a mysterious fortress called Helheim in Kronatan, another kind of ability existed in Belial in the past.
In his experience, most of these special powers were not created out of the blue, but in most cases it was given only when certain conditions were satisfied. Caladium seemed to think that the condition was ‘winning the fight’, and Lisianthus also considered it the most plausible.
In other words, it was unlikely that Lisianthus, who had been living in the Greenville Dungeon for hundreds of years, was suddenly given the title of ruler.
However, neither Lisianthus nor Lupinus was able to straightforwardly point this out. How could they directly pour cold water on her who had this look of great anticipation.
“Let’s find the entrance to Helheim right away! Then we’ll know if Lisian is really the ruler or not!”
“……Yes, let’s do that. I will gather as much information as possible.”
“Uhuh! So, today’s meeting ends here! Ooh, I’m hungry after using my head. Do you have anything else I can eat?”
The meeting lasted less than ten minutes, but for her, who didn’t usually use her head a lot, it was hard work. Adelaide flopped on the sofa and made a fuss.
“Adele, what would you like to eat?”
Lisianthus, like the kind manager he was, was ready to prepare food right away. Adelaide said as she thought that she wanted to live with him for the rest of her life.
“Ummm……I want to eat something light and I also want to eat something fresh. Can’t I eat something like that at the same time?”
It was obviously not a big deal, but both Lisianthus and Lupin’s faces hardened at the same time. Lisianthus was smiling, but his eyes were somehow strange, and Lupin avoided her eyes with a bitter look on his face.
[T/N: Chapter 143 for those who didn’t get it lol.]
Adelaide tilted her head in response to the unknown reaction. She was simple-minded so the fact that she had made a mistake last night had long since been erased from her head.
* * *
The next afternoon.
Adelaide sat down at the cozy cafe she had been to last time, slowly stirring a cold drink. The crackling sound of the ice hitting against the glass rang in her ears, and the woman sitting in front of her opened her mouth with a smile.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon……. I’m so glad you called me, Adelaide. I was so excited yesterday that I couldn’t sleep well.”
Ellie, a female dressed in a cute patterned dress, fluttered her long eyelashes and looked at Adelaide with twinkling eyes.
“Can I interpret this as a positive sign? Are we going on a date today?”
Ellie pushed her face toward Adelaide and acted cute.
But unlike the last time when Adelaide became embarrassed and did not know what to do, her face at this moment was as cold as ever. Her eyes, looking at Ellie, were cold, and her thin lips looked somewhat angry.
“Stop the nauseating noise.”
A harsh tone of voice unlike her came out.
“……Pardon?”
Ellie’s eyes widened as if she was hurt. But Adelaide didn’t care and spoke in a menacing voice.
“I already know everything, so stop the b*llsh*t.”
“You know everything……. What?”
As if she had no idea what she was talking about, Ellie blinked her eyes mournfully. Adelaide simply snorted at her top-notch acting skills.
“I guess you’re going to keep doing that until I say it myself.”
“Miss Adelaide, you seem to have misunderstood something—”
Ellie cautiously reached out towards Adelaide, but Adelaide slapped her hand like it was dirty.
“You say you live in pain every day because of nightmarish memories? Does such a demon enjoy seeing other demons being tortured, and as soon as they find their perpetrator, they approach and pretend to know him?”
“……What?”
“You used to be a regular at Casa del Sol. How about that, you still don’t remember anything?”
Adelaide smiled and crossed her legs. If she didn’t bring out proper evidence, she’d surely continue to keep doing that disgusting performance. To avoid it, she tossed her papers on the table.
Ellie slowly lowered her head and stared at them. The first page had some pictures attached. It was a scene where Ellie made a welcoming face and pulled Caladium’s collar. In the background, a colorful circus tent and a large crowd were visible.
This photo was obtained thanks to their victory in the recent war and the acquisition of Casa del Sol. She didn’t know that a scene like this was in the surveillance hung around the tent to prevent theft. If Lisianthus hadn’t confirmed and told her, she would have never known.
The photo was taken on the same day that Adelaide first visited Casa del Sol to meet Raham. When Adelaide, who witnessed the brutal sight and unable to resist her disgust, ran outside for a while, the remaining Caladium faced Ellie in the tent.
