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[Schlacht,]
Yulian gently called out to Schlacht, who was about to leave, and asked.
[What are demons?]
[Your Majesty, I don't quite understand what you mean.]
Schlacht bowed slightly.
His manners were impeccable, but his eyes were calm, without a ripple.
[Didn't you say today?]
[Humans and elves, humans and the Demon Clan, elves and the Demon Clan are mutually opposing yet indispensable existences.]
[What about demons? How do demons count?]
On the throne, Yulian was like a curious child.
[Demons,]
Symbols flowed in Schlacht's eyes, finally returning to clarity.
[Demons, vassals of the Demon Clan,]
[Food for the Demon Clan.]
[They are merely low-level creatures that Your Majesty need not concern himself with.]
[But aren't they still driving large numbers of demons to fight with elves on the front lines?]
Yulian was puzzled.
[Just cannon fodder, Demon King.]
Schlacht hesitated for a moment.
[Actually, I don't quite understand the situation with those low-level creatures.]
[I only know that when a Greater Demon emits its aura, demons will naturally submit.]
[I see...]
Yulian fell into thought.
[Your Majesty Demon King, you only need to study Magic.]
Schlacht bowed slightly, then closed the palace door and left.
The top priority was indeed studying Magic.
Yulian looked back at the mountain of Magic books, which was the culmination of all the Magic from the Demon Clan's geniuses.
However, even now, Yulian didn't quite understand what demons were to the Demon Clan.
Just like Schlacht, they were driven and exploited.
...
Near the Burate region, the nearby Village.
"Someone's gone missing on the mountain path?"
Frieren guessed.
"Is it a demon?"
"I wouldn't know about that, after all, it's just news being passed around by word of mouth."
The young woman smiled and explained.
"I see..."
"Thank you."
Frieren looked at the young woman with her beautiful emerald-like eyes.
"Well, you're welcome, haha!"
The woman was a little flattered and immediately started laughing happily.
However, the next second the woman found that the elven girl who had just been beside her was gone without a trace.
"Huh... she left...?"
After putting the bought bread inside, Frieren thought for a moment and started talking to Fern.
"When I went out just now, I heard that someone went missing on the mountain path not far from the Village."
"Missing?"
"Is it a demon?"
Fern was lying on the bed reading a book. Hearing Frieren speak, she immediately turned over curiously to look at Frieren.
"Rustle Rustle"
Frieren glanced at the Magic book Fern was reading while changing her clothes.
"Probably."
"Demon Encyclopedia, have you seen this book?"
There was a hint of surprise in Frieren's calm tone.
"Mm, because I always feel like I need to work harder."
"Since traveling with Mistress Frieren and Mr. Yulian, I seem to have become quite lazy."
Fern smiled slightly.
"Let me test you," Frieren put on a pure white nightgown. At this moment, she was supporting herself on the bed with one hand, looking down at Fern.
This was somewhat similar to a "kabedon" pose, creating a great atmosphere, but Yulian was not fortunate enough to see it.
"Is it about the demon on the mountain path?"
Fern closed the Magic book, her eyes serious.
"I'm ready."
"The villagers said it was a ghost on the mountain path that took those people."
Frieren's face was very close to Fern's, her breath gently fanning Fern's face.
A hint of red flashed across Fern's face, and she moved slightly away from Frieren.
"Is it an undead?"
Fern bit her finger, thought for a moment, and asked uncertainly.
"No."
"Keep guessing."
"Ghost, take away?"
Fern's eyes showed she was thinking.
After a moment, she could only give up helplessly.
"I probably haven't gotten to the page introducing this demon yet..."
Frieren nodded undeniably.
"Your guess about the undead is probably because you've only read the branched demon chapter, not the strange Demon Clan chapter."
"You should know in the next few pages."
Frieren gently pulled the Magic book from Fern's hand, flipped through it casually, and returned it to Fern.
"Phantom Ghoul..."
"A cunning monster that manipulates illusion Magic. It preys on humans by disguising itself as someone important to them."
As Fern's lips parted and closed, she slowly read out the description of the Phantom Ghoul on the page.
"What about the danger level?"
Frieren moved a little closer to Fern again.
"High, danger!"
Fern's pupils widened slightly. This was the second highly dangerous demon she had seen!
"Don't be nervous,"
Frieren smiled faintly (=ω=), and was already lying down beside Fern.
"Fortunately, there's more than one way out of the Village."
"But Mistress Frieren!"
Fern said excitedly.
"If we just leave like this, what about these villagers?"
"Huh?"
Frieren was slightly surprised.
The reflection of Fern in her clear eyes seemed to overlap with that vain man.
"So much like Himmel."
Frieren smiled as she spoke.
It seemed she was praising Fern's kindness.
"Mistress Frieren, I'm a good child."
Fern puffed out her cheeks and turned her body to the other side.
She's angry...
A look of helplessness appeared on Frieren's face.
"Then let's take the mountain path tomorrow, and deal with it along the way,"
"This disgusting demon."
"Click~"
Frieren extinguished the gas lamp in the room and quietly closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.
The moonlight shone into the room. Fern, who was lying on her side facing the window, was not asleep.
Fern's beautiful, bright eyes looked at the moon outside the window, and a familiar face appeared in her eyes.
Heiter's gentle words seemed to echo in her ears.
[Fern,]
[If you're a good child, perhaps I'll turn into a ghost to see you.]
Phantom Ghoul, huh...
Yulian looked at the moon outside the window, blinking.
The sound insulation of the inn room wasn't good, and coupled with Yulian's already extraordinary hearing, he heard most of what Frieren and Fern said.
Knowing that he would encounter something like this tomorrow, Yulian only felt a wave of vulgarity.
If it were Fern, she would naturally hope to fight the Phantom Ghoul, but for Yulian, this was indeed very painful, an unforgivable matter.
Fern was still young and missed Heiter. It was understandable for her to want to use the Phantom Ghoul to see him.
But for Yulian, the dead should rest in peace.
The Phantom Ghoul's method of using memories to "resurrect" the dead to lure and feed on humans was unacceptable to Yulian.
After being affected by the Magic, seeing the little girl he once doted on immensely, Yulian would definitely be unable to act.
He had to find a way.
Directly releasing Magic power to drive the Phantom Ghoul away, or forcing it to commit suicide?
No, such a massive use of Magic power would be keenly sensed by Fern and would cause her to feel disgust in her heart.
This disgust wasn't about Fern hating Yulian's identity as a Demon Clan member, or anything else, but simple aversion.
It's like eating food you dislike; it's decided by the subconscious.
This is also a characteristic of the Demon Clan's Magic power, inherently disliked by other races.
"So annoying."
Yulian sighed helplessly.
Since that's the case, it seems he'll have to expose something more...
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