An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 8 (Premium)

by Fuminori Teshima

  Both Zagan and Gremory had yet to realize. Their actions here were about to set the gears in motion to drive the entire city into chaos.

  A sorcerer with a large build emerged from the alley right behind them with a black cat in his arms, and was walking toward the church that Zagan was originally walking to.

  ◇

  “Okay, we’re here, Blacky. This’ll be your room from now on.”

  They were currently in a small lodging house on the church grounds a little distance from the main building itself. This was the building where Shax and a few other sorcerers who served under Archdemon Zagan lived. They could respond immediately from here if they were called, and nobody would threaten them even if they did research that the Angelic Knights would find troublesome. It was an exquisitely convenient position to be in. This was surely an effect of the cordial relations between the Archdemon and the Archangel who served as the leader of the Unification Faction.

  Shax cleared the mess of bottles from the table and placed down a basket with a flimsy looking blanket covering it. It was slightly dirty, but this was the only proper bedding in the room. He then placed the blind cat within it.

  “Hahaha, ain’t it comfy? Yup yup, don’t you look happy?”

  The black cat looked to be grimacing from the smell, but Shax was still laughing in high spirits.

  “Okay, then.”

  Shax hunched down and took a look at the cat once more. He gathered some mana at the tip of his finger and tried touching the its face here and there. There was no damage to its actual eyeballs. However, its pupils were not functioning at all, and the retinas deep within its corneas looked to be severely damaged.

  Shax’s expression grew grim.

  Hey now, is this damage from sorcery?

  It was likely a sort of magical trap which used seeing it as a trigger to render one blind. It was possible for such sorcery to not only burn one’s retinas, but even one’s optic nerves. Shax possessed enough skill to more or less restore damage to the eyeball. However, damage to the optic nerves entered the territory of the brain.

  The brain was considered unknown territory among many sorcerers even now. If one were to handle it poorly, even if the optic nerves were restored, there was a danger that other cerebral functions would be destroyed. An unstoppable sense of powerlessness welled up within him because of this.

  Can I... do nothing at all again...?

  It was about two months ago now. Several of the Angelic Knights of the church were battling with a certain chimera and were struck down. The chimera itself was finished off by the Archangel, but her subordinates who had been rendered completely bloodied were brought here for treatment.

  Their injuries were beyond Shax’s abilities. It took all his effort just to keep them alive for a moment longer, just long enough for them to meet their families one last time. And yet, the tattered dark elf who was carried along healed them with extreme ease. All that despite being quite broken down herself.

  Having his patients saved was something to be happy about, yet a sense of powerlessness dominated Shax’s heart. He was becoming more and more self-conscious of the fact that he was a wretched sorcerer.

  Shax then gently brushed the black cat’s head.

  “Sorry Blacky. My crappy sorcery... can’t...”

  Heal you. The words crawled up his throat, but he swallowed them away. He was talking to a cat. He understood this, but as one who used sorcery to treat others, he couldn’t speak such words in front of a patient. That was a boundary he could not cross, no matter how pitiful a sorcerer he was. And perhaps having sensed Shax’s condition, the black cat licked his hand.

  “Haha... what? You cheering me up? You sure are all cuddly when you wanna be, huh?”

  The cat emphatically bit down on his hand instead of answering. Its fur was even standing on end, such was its menacing attitude. If he were to lose in obstinacy to such a small cat, it was better for him just to shut down his business as a sorcerer all together. Shax pulled himself together and stood back up.

  “Right, there should be some other way.”

  If he couldn’t heal the cat with the sorcery he knew, then he just had to think of a new means of doing so. If he were to stop just because he encountered a wall, he would never progress any further. Those known as sorcerers would not pardon such an unreasonable reality. They were all fools who tried to topple such irrationality.

  For now, is this, huh...?

  Shax looked down at the grimoire next to the cat’s basket. He had a somewhat bad premonition and had yet to check it, but this was certainly an extravagant reward for a sorcerer. It was only appropriate for him to start searching through it.

  “...Oops, gotta feed Blacky first, huh? What do cats eat again? Hey, will milk do for now?”

  “Meow.”

  There was no way he should have gotten a response from a cat who couldn’t understand human language, but it meowed as if to tell him that was fine.

  Milk was apparently quite sacred at the church, and they were delivered fresh batches every morning from the local farms. Shax poured some out into a bowl and put it in front of the cat. It looked like it could tell the milk was there from the smell, but was still weary of it and wouldn’t drink any. Looking over that in a charmed manner, Shax picked up the grimoire and plunked down in a cheap looking sofa. Something he picked up in that alley then suddenly caught his attention.

  “...Huh? Isn’t it bad if I don’t do something about this?”

  It was the woman’s clothing that he found scattered about around the cat. He brought them back with him in case they held some clue as to who the cat’s owner was, but... some young woman’s clothing was now scattered about in a sorcerer’s room. Anyone who saw it would assume he was a criminal. Even if Shax found a sorcerer who tried to use the excuse “I found it lying around so I picked it up,” he would start by slugging them. Having said that, he felt like it would be bad to just get rid of them without permission. After puzzling over it for a while, Shax nodded to himself.

  “I guess I’ll just stuff them away in the back for now.”

  Shax snapped his fingers, and the clothing folded itself and compressed into an unnaturally small bundle. It wasn’t something as advanced as Barbatos’ ability to open a door to subspace, but this was sorcery capable of folding space itself.

  Before long, they shrank down to the size of a pack of cards and Shax tucked them away in his breast pocket. This was something that most sensible sorcerers were capable of, and “stuffing away something in the back” signified using such sorcery to them.

  After taking care of the evidence... or rather, the troublesome goods in his hands, Shax finally opened the grimoire before him. The letter he received at the same time was still jammed between some pages, but he just carried on while pretending not to see it. After skimming through the pages quickly, Shax let out a sigh of admiration.

  “Hmmm, a theory to visualize memories, huh?”

  It was quite the sophisticated and complex theory, just as one would expect from a former Archdemon candidate. Though Shax had no way of knowing that the foundation of the theory in this grimoire was the Memorandum developed by Zagan, Gremory and Barbatos.

  He felt like the black cat had already begun to bring him good luck. Shax was completely engrossed in flipping through all the pages of the grimoire.

  Hey, can’t I use this?

  It was impossible to heal the black cat’s eyes using his sorcery, but it may have been possible to substitute it. He was fully aware that the possibility excited a somewhat disgraceful feeling in him. He broke down the theory in his head, as he then turned his attention from the grimoire to the black cat.

  “Hey, Blacky. If you could see again... what would be the first thing you want to see?”

  His words should have really only been directed as himself, but the black cat’s eyes opened wide in shock. The cat naturally didn’t answer him, but turned its face in fright. Shax put on a strained smile and picked up th
e cat and put it in his lap.

  “Haha, well, I guess that’s scary, huh? I’m scared of the simple idea that I can’t cure it, so my patient must be way more scared than that. That’s not something I should even say to a patient, though.”

  He laughed as if poking fun at himself, but he wasn’t joking at all.

  I’m just a total sham trying to act like a doctor after all this time.

  Nothing would change the fact that he had destroyed an entire village five years ago because he believed in something so worthless. So what if he managed to save just one little girl back then? Shax brought an end to all of it as a minimal means of atoning for his sins. And after that, he chose to become a doctor while still remaining a sorcerer. But in the end, that may have been nothing more than running away. After thinking it through once more, Shax shook off his thoughts.

  “Haaah... That’s no good. I’m remembering all this worthless crap ‘cause he brought up that name.”

  The incident that Barbatos brought up, the rare species hunt, was a ridiculous story to Shax. The culprit was struck down before his very own eyes. Even if they survived, he knew as a specialist in healing that the wound that was inflicted couldn’t be healed. Even if they were an Archdemon.

  And just as he went looking for a cigarette to change his mood, he suddenly looked to the window and froze up completely. For looking back at him was a bizarre figure with red eyes.

  ◇

  “Who the hell?!”

  Something with red eyes was vomiting a sludge-like substance. Cracks ran along the window upon coming into contact with it, and it shattered into pieces. However, Shax only froze up from the sudden occurrence for but an instant.

  He grabbed the black cat and leaped off his couch. He would be fine as a sorcerer, but the cat was helpless before the fragments of glass pouring down. Shax rolled across his flimsy bed with the cat in his arms and got as far away from the window as he could.

  After getting back up to his feet, he finally got a good look at the intruder’s face. The one practically collapsing through the broken window was a young man. He was wearing a robe with a multitude of talismans hanging from his neck, so it was clear that he was a sorcerer.

  However, he had a ruby-like crystal planted in his forehead. This was the first time Shax had seen this for himself, but he recalled seeing the description of such a race in ancient documents.

  “A carbuncle...?”

  If he remembered correctly, they were a race who possessed a significant amount of mana within the gem planted in their forehead. Such a characteristic made them a target of sorcerers, and their entire race was supposed to have perished long ago. Shax was at a complete loss as to why a race that was barely recounted in legends appeared before him. There was also no guessing as to why it was targeting him.

  Well, I guess I do have one clue as to why...

  Rare species hunt... the abominable incident that occurred five years ago. If this was a survivor from that time, it wasn’t all that strange for them to bear a grudge against him. This did just happen moments after Barbatos thrust that incident before him, after all.

  Shax shifted his attention to the cat in his arms. Even without its eyesight, it surely noticed the abnormality around them. All its fur was standing on end, and it was trembling violently. It was entirely possible that the cat was threatening Shax, though.

  “Sorry Blacky. I got you caught up in something troublesome here.”

  There were only two exits from this room, the window and the path into the church. The intruder came in from the window, so the only escape route was the door.

  Which is perfectly clear to them too, huh?

  Shax began shuffled toward the door, and the carbuncle inched toward it as if to block him. And even as he was being cornered, Shax wove together some simple sorcery in his hand. Just as his preparations were complete, he let out a shout and broke into a dash.

  “Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

  The carbuncle followed suit and rushed in. To get away, Shax would have to twist the door knob and pull the door open. Conversely, the carbuncle only needed to slam in at full speed. This naturally created a difference in speed, and the carbuncle was the first to reach the door.

  “Waaah! Just let me go...! Kidding.”

  It was completely natural for someone’s attention to reflexively concentrate on another wailing and screaming about. This applied even more so when the one doing so was a formidable enemy. The carbuncle twisted its head and focused on Shax as he then thrust out his palm.

  “O Light!”

  “Mgh?!”

  His sorcery only created light; it didn’t have even an ounce of offensive power behind it. Originally, all it did was create a light source that would only really be useful when reading at night in the dark. Shax used this with one hand when doing delicate medical procedures that required illumination.

  Shax modified the sorcery a little to create a light as bright as the sun for but an instant. It was pretty worthless sorcery overall, but the carbuncle turned its head right into it and let out a scream as its eyes were rendered useless.

  And without paying any mind to the writhing carbuncle, Shax headed toward the window. The intruder seemed to be a sorcerer. They would recover in but a few seconds. All he did was equivalent to creating a sudden bright light in the darkness, after all.

  Shax cradled the black cat to protect it from the fragments of glass as he jumped out the window. And after taking some distance, he put the cat down on the ground.

  “See ya, Blacky. Get picked up by someone more upstanding next time, okay?”

  This was the church. If an Angelic Knight or priest found the cat, they would surely take them in. He felt like the black cat looked up at him in surprise, but Shax already started running away.

  “Come on! This way you idiot! Don’t get all caught up by some kid’s trick you moron!”

  And even as he laughed at himself for going so far for some stray cat, Shax taunted the carbuncle.

  All I need to do now is run all the way to the boss, huh?

  Even if he wasn’t all that strong, Shax was still a wily sorcerer who had managed to survive until now. He would show that he could run away. And as he continued to rile up the carbuncle, his face spasmed in the next instant. For some reason, the carbuncle wasn’t running toward Shax, but toward the black cat.

  Why...? He’s targeting Blacky...?

  The carbuncle bulldozed through a wall and lunged toward the cat. Since he had distanced himself from the cat to let it get away, he was now too far away to intervene.

  “Blacky!”

  And just as he stretched out his arm and screamed...

  Shax saw it.

  A pitch black something was squirming about at the carbuncle’s feet.

  “Gah...!”

  The leaping carbuncle came to a complete stop in midair. And taking a look at it now, Shax could see bulky chains wrapped around its arm. And the chains were coming out of ‘something’ from the shadow at its feet.

  The sound of grinding metal filled the air as more chains shot out of the shadow. There wasn’t just one or two, but dozens upon dozens of chains wrapping around the carbuncle’s arms, feet, face and waist as they constricted it as if to pull it into the shadow.

  What the hell is that? Barbatos?

  It was similar to his sorcery in that it was an attack that came from the shadows with no warning, but it felt entirely different from sorcery, like it was something far more terrifying. Shax froze in bewilderment at the sight for a few seconds.

  “Meow.”

  And with the black cat’s meow, he came back to his senses.

  “We’re getting out of here Blacky!”

  He had no idea what those chains were or who was responsible for them, but his priority right now was the cat. Shax scooped it up and dashed away like a startled hare to get as far away as he could.

  Was that carbuncle just now really aiming for Blacky?

  It was impossible, but all he co
uld do for now was run. And as he ran without even taking a glance back, he had no way of noticing.

  Something had crawled out of the shadows along with the chains, and had buried its fangs into the carbuncle’s neck.

  ◇

  “Haha, sorry about that you guys. You’re Zagan’s companions, right? Actually, he already got himself a girl? What a sinful little boy he is.”

  Stella let out a hearty laugh as she knocked back some ale. Just like when they last saw her, she had crimson hair and a crimson eye. Her other eye was silver, and could be peeked at through her bangs hanging over it.

  Is that the artificial eye from back then... I wonder?

  It was a cursed artificial eye that even Archdemon Andrealphus was unable to suppress. If that was being used once more, then it was a situation that they should be wary of, but seeing this girl laugh so purely, they couldn’t sense any of the evil from her that they could before.

  Chastille and Nephteros were watching over her attentively, not sure how they should be treating her. The little girl Stella brought along was chewing at some bread next to her timidly. And after Nephy took a small breath, she calmed herself down and went on to question Stella.

  “Um, has your body recovered now?”

  “Body...? Oh, yeah. You were all there at that time too, huh? Well, my wounds are all gone thanks to my teacher, but...”

  Nephy tilted her head at the somewhat evasive answer, as Stella then hesitated to continue.

  “In truth... I don’t really remember much about what happened. Rather, I don’t remember anything that happened after my teacher picked me up.”

  “Is that so...”

  Stella then suddenly raised her voice.

  “Oh, I remember now!”

  “Wh-What about?”

  “Yeah. I remember meeting you.” She then shyly averted her gaze before continuing. “Zagan really spoke fondly of you. It was like he was talking about his most precious treasure.”

  The little girl dropped her bread, and Nephy covered her face.

  “Master Zagan... that’s embarrassing...”

  “...You know you’re smiling, right?” Nephteros quipped.