The Godking's Legacy Page 31

  “Ilya, what are you thinking about?” my father asked from his chair in the study.

  I was reading up on properties of divine beasts to see how many similarities I could find between them and Lucia. Since the majority of Lucia’s power came from her absorbing beast cores and not her qi, it’d make sense for her to adopt some animalistic characteristics. It’s a shame I don’t have any divine beasts locked up to compare their statuses with Lucia, but I suspect her base stats are similar to divine beasts’ albeit weaker. For example, divine leopards specialize in speed, but while their strength may be low compared to divine gorillas, it should still be stronger than a spirit gorilla’s. So while Lucia might not have absorbed enough divine leopard cores to be as fast as one, she should be as strong as one since she absorbed 25 different divine beast cores. Likewise, her speed should be on par with a divine gorilla’s even if her strength isn’t.

  “Ilya?”

  Oops. I got lost in thought. “Yes, Father?”

  “Mm, never mind,” my father said. “Are you ready for your party? Once the emperor heard about you almost breaking through to the fifth circle, he ordered the princes and princesses to attend.” My father gave me an odd smile. “I heard that the first prince has taken an interest in you; what do you think?”

  “I’m only going to be fourteen, Dad.” Marrying young isn’t unheard of amongst the upper nobility; however, I have no intentions of doing so. I’m almost a fifth-circle magician; in the future, I might even be as strong as Cain. Why would I bog myself down with the inevitable fight for the throne if I marry into royalty? It scares me a bit to say this, but I’d rather go on an adventure with Lucia than deal with the first prince.

  “Isn’t fourteen when most people start noticing the opposite sex?” my father asked. I glared at him. “Alright, alright. I won’t place any unreasonable expectations on you, but I do want to see grandchildren within my lifetime. Anyways, did you invite Lucia to attend?”

  “I was going to, but she was … preoccupied.” Alongside drawing creepy pictures on the wall, I saw her creating dolls made of straw and driving nails through their heads. I think it’s a form of black magic created by the humans called voodoo, but Lucia has no mana, so it shouldn’t work…? I hope she’s not possessed by anything; it’s very difficult to destroy a lingering soul.

  “I’ll invite her,” my father said. “Can you bring her here? There’s also something I want to talk to her about, namely, the bodies in the refrigerator.”

  “The what?” Bodies in the refrigerator? Did Lucia kill people? Wouldn’t that place the responsibility of those lives on me since I brought her here?

  “Just bring her here, please,” my father said and sighed as he leaned back into his chair.

  What the heck did Lucia do!? I made my way out of my father’s study and approached Lucia’s room. I knocked on her door, but there was no response. “Lucia?”

  A really loud yawn came from the other side of the door. There were some clomping sounds, and the door swung open. Lucia was sloppily dressed with her hair in a complete mess. Her eyes were half closed, and dried saliva was stuck to her cheek. “Ilya?” Lucia’s head flopped to one side while her tail flicked back and forth on the floor. “What’s up?”

  “My dad said he wanted to talk to you about the … bodies in the refrigerator.” Will she know what I’m talking about? I hope not.

  “Oh, those,” Lucia said with a nod. “Okay.” She placed her hands on my shoulders and stared down at me. “Clean, please.”

  So she knew. I hope no serious issues arise from this. I sighed before casting a simple clean spell on Lucia. Then she fell over on top of me, knocking me to the ground. “Lucia!?”

  “Carry me,” Lucia said and yawned again. She closed her eyes and turned into dead weight.

  “You’re not serious.” I managed to crawl out from under her, but her hands were grabbing my ankles. “Why are you like this, Lucia?”

  “I stayed up all night making voodoo dolls,” Lucia said. “And I stopped abusing bones of strength to remove tiredness.”

  “Even still! With qi, you should be able to stay up for months at a time without sleeping.” I read about it in one of the books on warriors. As long as they circulate their qi, they can remove fatigue and hunger. A peak spirit warrior wouldn’t need to sleep or eat at all. What went wrong with Lucia?

  “I’m tired,” Lucia whined and shook her head.

  Why was she more childish than me? “I’ll give you something good to eat if you cooperate.”

  Lucia’s tail perked up into the air, but she remained motionless.

  “Matthew just came back from the capital, and he bought a ton of sweets. You know what chocolate is, right? But have you tried hot chocolate? It’s a melted form that you can drink.” For some reason, sweets and desserts were her weakness. I suspect it’s because she never had any while growing up.

  Lucia raised her head. There was a gleam in her eyes as she sat up, resting her butt on her ankles. “You’re not lying?” she asked and stared at me with narrowed eyes.

  “I’m not. He bought it all for my birthday banquet that’s going to happen in a week. I can let you have some earlier than everyone else.”

  “What are you waiting for?” Lucia asked and stood up. She grabbed my waist with one arm and slung me over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Let’s go!”

  …If only she would’ve carried me like this while she was hunting divine beasts, then my life would’ve been a lot less stressful during that period. I’ll have to bring lots of dessert for our next adventure.

  ***

  This hot chocolate is delicious! Whoever created it must’ve been a genius on par with the Godking. But I wonder how Ilya’s dad found out about the bodies in the refrigerator; there was already a stack there, so obviously someone else had put them there first. How’d he know the other ones were me? Maybe, Ilya’s dad is the one who stores them there and noticed some extras! That would explain it. Nobles do have creepy hobbies.

  After finishing my hot chocolate, Ilya insisted on heading to her dad’s study right away even though I wanted more. I decided to listen since she said she was saving it for her banquet that I’m inviting myself to whether she likes it or not. Her dad’s study is like a library, filled with books and couches everywhere. There’s this massive desk that faces the door, so the first thing people get to see is her dad’s face staring without blinking, watching every step they take. …Why is he watching me so intently? He couldn’t have fallen for me, right?

  “Have a seat, Lucia,” Ilya’s dad said and gestured across from him.

  This smells suspiciously like an interrogation. Do I have to take part? Well, I’ll sit because I don’t want to stand.

  “Did Ilya say anything about why I called you here?” Ilya’s dad asked, folding his hands on top of his desk.

  “Nope.” Deny everything!

  “I did!” Ilya said. “The bodies, remember? You even said, ‘Oh, those. Okay.’”

  “Mm. Nope, doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “Lucia, a magician has ways to tell if you’re lying,” Ilya’s dad said.

  “Oh, really?” Let’s test it then. “I have nine toes. True or false.”

  “False,” Ilya’s father said.

  “Hah! You’re wrong. It’s true.” It isn’t actually true, but there was a time in the past when I was cooking and dropped the knife I was holding and tried to catch it with my foot. Yeah, I lost my pinky toe then. But it grew back when I became a spirit warrior!

  “Wait, really?” Ilya asked, her eyes widening. “Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen your feet before. You’re always wearing those socks.”

  Of course. Puppers is too comfortable to not wear. I think my world would collapse if I took Puppers off. I can never go back to wearing normal socks or walking around barefooted again. “Mhm. It’s really true.”

  “Forget it,” Ilya’s dad said and shook his head. “Do you happen to know anything about the b
odies inside the refrigerator?”

  “They were there when I got there.” That’s the truth, technically. Bodies were there—just not all the ones that currently are there.

  “I see,” Ilya’s dad said and rubbed his chin. Was that it? Was the interrogation over? “I was just wondering; the servants noticed the spice rack is empty of everything except salt. Do you know what happened to the rest? I mean, you’ve been cooking a lot, so I thought you’d know.”

  “Yeah, they were poisoned, so I threw them away.” Why would you even keep poisoned spices in your kitchen anyways? It’s almost like someone wanted to assassinate the duke.

  Ilya’s dad tapped his chin slowly before smiling at me. “You know, something that the bodies had in common were the fact that they were all poisoned with spice residue inside of their mouths,” he said. “How did you know the spices were poisoned, Lucia?”

  I’ve been bamboozled! Why are magicians so sneaky with their words? “Uh, I saw the servants eat the spices. Mhm. Are you suspecting me? I’m not a murderer, okay?”

  “Huh,” Ilya’s dad said and blinked. “The lie-detection spell didn’t go off when you said you weren’t a murderer.”

  “That’s impossible!” Ilya shouted and stood up. “She’s killed so many people in front of me! How’s she not a murderer!?”

  “No, no, those were beasts, Ilya.” Jeez, how many times do I have to correct this misunderstanding? Super-rare spirit beasts that can talk and cast spells are not people. It’s not murder to kill them—it’s population control. And moneymaking.

  “That’s what the spell says,” Ilya’s dad said and shrugged. “Then it wasn’t you who killed those people. Did you put poison in the spices by any chance?”

  “Nope.” The only thing I put poison in is Puppers. Other than being eaten, he’s completely useless while fighting divine beasts, so why not make him injure the divine beasts while he’s being eaten?

  “Then it was the chef,” Ilya’s dad said. “Ilya, who did we hire to cook for your banquet? Was it Mr. Ei?”

  “Yes,” Ilya said. She blinked and pursed her lips. “Do you think he’s an assassin?”

  “It’s possible,” Ilya’s dad said. “Or it could be one of our servants.” He sighed. “This is troublesome.”

  “Why?” How is it troublesome? Just interrogate everyone. “Don’t you have a lie-detection spell? Why not just use it on all your servants?”

  Ilya’s dad cleared his throat and turned his head away. “The lie-detection spell..., the lie-detection spell only works on those who aren’t burdened with great mental capabilities.”

  Those who aren’t burdened with great mental capabilities…. I’m being called stupid again, aren’t I? I’m going to smack him.

  “Ow!”

  “Lucia, assaulting a duke is a serious crime,” Ilya said. I smacked her too. “Ow!”

  That’s right; fear me. “No, seriously, why don’t you use the lie-detection spell on all your servants?”

  Ilya’s dad held his swollen cheek. There were tears in his eyes when he said, “I wasn’t lying when I said what I said before.”

  Well, if assaulting a duke is a serious crime, then it looks like I'm going to be a criminal. A few minutes later, Ilya was casting a healing spell on her dad’s face. Her dad cleared his throat and stared at his hands while asking, “So … would you like to attend Ilya’s banquet? The upper echelons of demon society will all be attending. It’s understandable if you’re uncomfortable and choose not to.”

  It seems like I don’t have to invite myself! That’s great. Is it just me, or is Ilya’s dad a lot friendlier now? I’ll keep this trick in mind for the banquet. If any demons aren’t friendly, I’ll smack them around a few times until they are. Maybe just one more smack.

  “Ow! What was that one for?” Ilya’s dad asked with a frown.

  “I’m still upset you called me stupid.” The requirement for the lie-detection spell can’t really be based on intelligence, right…? I’m not a dumb person!

  ***

  Ah, I’m so nervous. The day of the banquet has finally come, yet Lucia still looks totally relaxed despite the fact that dozens of demon nobility will be here in a few minutes. I tugged on her sleeve. “Aren’t you nervous?”

  “Nervous? About what?” Lucia asked and tilted her head. She had changed out of the white dress that she always wore and had on a red backless dress that plunged down far enough for her tail to be freed. A black leather belt was strapped around her waist with a scabbard attached that held her sword. Despite the fact she was wearing high-heels, she insisted on wearing her socks with the cute wolf and paw print patterns on them. I honestly didn’t know Lucia could look so ladylike. In my head, she’s like a blood-covered demon. It’s a bit unsettling to see the stark contrast.

  “About meeting nobility,” I said. “The emperor is coming, you know?”

  “So?” Lucia asked again. She yawned and fiddled with her hair that had been tied into a bun by our maids. A pin fell loose, and her hair cascaded down to her back. “Ah! That wasn’t supposed to happen. Oh wells.” She shrugged and poked me with the pin in her hand. “Are you nervous?”

  “Yes.” I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. With a ticking time bomb like Lucia attending my party, it’d be a miracle if nothing disastrous happens. And other than that, the emperor holds the life of all his subjects in his hands. Though it’s unlikely, he can strip my father of his title and lands. How can someone not be nervous around someone who controls their life? Wait a minute….

  Lucia, the one who controlled my life for over three months, slapped my back. “Chin up! Pretend they’re divine beasts and all your feelings of nervousness will turn into hunger.” She nodded and stared off into the distance with a glint in her eyes. Her stomach growled.

  “I don’t think seeing a divine beast provokes hunger in normal people,” I said. But I have to admit divine beasts are delicious. Eating their meat has almost spoiled all other kinds of food for me. Lucia’s right; what do I have to be nervous about? I’ve seen over thirty divine beasts die in front of my eyes. Someone like the emperor can’t strike fear into my heart.

  Lucia yawned and shifted her weight from foot to foot. “When are they coming?” she asked. “And why do I have to stand here with you? I’m not the birthday girl; I should be allowed to slack off and eat all your food without repercussions.”

  “You already do that.” I grabbed her hand. “Can’t you stand here with me? I don’t want to stand up here by myself.” My father had me and Lucia wait inside the dining room, which had been repaired with the help of magic after Lucia destroyed it. A stage had also been set up by one of the walls in the center of the room. We were waiting on the stage with the curtains down because my father wanted to do something like a grand reveal with music and flashy effects. But it’s scary standing up here alone! Under the guise of protecting me from assassins, I managed to convince my father to let Lucia stay up here with me.

  “The food’s not going to be poisoned, right?” Lucia asked. Her tail swept against the floor as she closed her eyes, most likely imagining the delicacies prepared for the banquet.

  “Just wondering, but why are you so paranoid about poison in your food?”

  “Because I was poisoned once,” Lucia said as her eyes snapped open. For a second, they turned white like she had activated her Path of Slaughter, but her irises and pupils returned when she blinked. “Sneaky little bastard. Once I get my hands on him, I’ll chop his ears off and make a stew out of them.”

  “That sounds a bit like cannibalism.” She’s talking about a person, right? Unless a rare spirit beast that specialized in poisons poisoned her.

  Lucia looked at me as if I were an idiot. “I never said I was going to drink the stew. I was just going to make it.” She raised her head. “Oh, they’re finally here.”

  Moments later, I heard faint chattering and the sound of the dining room doors opening. My father’s voice rang through the air followed by the shuffl
ing of footsteps and scraping of chairs against tile. Earlier, my father had his servants place nametags at every round table for the guests. Once everyone was seated, he’d direct their attentions towards the stage and the curtains would rise.

  I glanced at Lucia. She was fiddling with her sword while humming. Wait. Why was her sword out!? “Put your sword away,” I said in the sharpest but lowest voice I could muster. Seriously, what was she thinking?

  Thankfully, Lucia listened and rolled her eyes before sheathing her sword. “It’s just a habit,” she said and patted my head. “Besides, if you’re angry at me, you won’t be nervous.” She frowned. “But I don’t get why you’re always angry or bitter at me.”

  Am I? Have I been treating Lucia unfairly? I don’t think so. I think anger and bitterness are completely normal emotions to feel when dealing with Lucia. And it’s not so much anger as it is frustration. She doesn’t understand social norms or etiquette when dealing with people. But is that her fault…? Right now, she might be dressed like a noble, but I’m not sure what her background is actually like. I always assumed she was nobility because commoners aren’t powerful: their starting points are lower and they won’t have the same amount of resources. Now that I think about it, how much do I actually know about Lucia other than she’s a divine warrior who can kill divine beasts and has an obsession with gold and good food?

  “Hey, Lucia.”

  “Hmm?”