The sound of knocking echoed from the door.
"Is there another visitor?"
Every eye in the room turned towards the door.
"...Lord Maximin."
Smith cast a brief glance at Maximin.
Upon seeing Maximin's subtle nod, Smith gently opened the door a crack.
"Who might you-"
"I apologize for the intrusion. There's an urgent matter, so please excuse our sudden appearance."
From outside the door, Mari and Natasha pushed their faces into the small opening and, without further ado, swung the door wide open.
It was an incredibly rude gesture, but their urgency justified it in their minds.
At this moment, both Mari and Natasha were desperate to find Theo.
"Huh?"
As Mari and Natasha looked around the room, their eyes widened in surprise.
In addition to Theo, whom they had been seeking, they also noticed a silver-haired middle-aged man and a redhead girl with a short bob cut.
The man bore some resemblance to Theo's father, but it wasn’t him.
His face, however, was unmistakably recognizable to anyone familiar with the world of heroes.
'Theo is having a private meeting with Lord Maximin? And with Piel as well?'
Of course, they knew that Maximin was Piel's father.
Mari and Natasha exchanged startled looks.
"..."
It was clear to anyone observing that this seemed like a formal introductory meeting, or something similar.
'...We've messed up!'
Mari, regaining her composure slightly faster than Natasha, deeply bowed her head to Maximin and said,
"I deeply apologize for the intrusion, great 'Demon Hunter' Lord Maximin! We were searching for Theo, who will soon join us in our presentation, and in our urgency-"
"Haha, it's alright. We were just wrapping up our discussion. Theo, good luck with your seminar. We'll catch up later."
"Understood."
Theo politely nodded to Maximin and then stood next to the flustered Mari and Natasha.
"I apologize for disappearing without notice. We had a minor hiccup. Let's get going."
"Yes... Yes, let's. Once again, I apologize for our rudeness."
With Maximin's warm smile and nod of understanding, Mari and Natasha finally felt relieved enough to move their frozen legs.
After Theo, Mari, and Natasha left the room.
Maximin's expression hardened in an instant.
The face that was laughing moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
“All except Piel, leave the room.”
“I understand, my Lord. I will accept any punishment for this incident. Please spare your wrath."
“No, it's done. Leave.”
“I understand, my Lord. I will wait outside.”
With a creak,
Smith and his three subordinates exited the room.
Meanwhile, Piel's gaze remained fixed on the floor.
Ever since Theo left, she hadn't looked anywhere else.
'...This is too much. Why did I even follow him here?... Couldn't he be a bit kinder?'
Piel attended the academic seminar because of Theo.
In hopes of possibly running into him.
She wanted to introduce him to her father, known as the 'Demon Hunter', who had twice subdued a mid-tier demon that descended into the mortal realm.
She wished he'd understand her feelings even a little, but he seemed utterly oblivious.
As if he had no concern for her, he quickly finished his conversation with Maximin and swiftly departed.
'At least after the academic seminar, I'll see him again...!'
Her primary objective was achieved.
Piel smiled faintly, looking at Maximin, who had arranged the meeting.
As a child, she might have resented him, but lately, she found herself increasingly satisfied with her father.
Whether he was aware of her feelings or not, Maximin, lost in his thoughts, finally spoke.
"Piel."
"Yes, Father!"
Piel responded cheerfully.
“Did you risk everything for 'that thing' because of Theo?”
"······."
Piel couldn't respond.
She feared that Maximin might have saw Theo's true nature.
'Of course, if Theo is related to demons or demon kings, it's best to root it out early, but...'
Was it because she had feelings for him?
Or was it jealousy at the thought of someone else dealing with it, not her?
Piel kept her lips sealed.
After all, Maximin had the best eye for detecting demon contractors on the continent.
It was he who first discovered that Markvern was a [Contractor with the Great Demon].
But a decision had to be made.
After briefly observing Piel, Maximin said,
"······Right. Perhaps it's a bit embarrassing to say it yourself-"
"······Yes."
Piel interrupted Maximin.
"Your guess is right, Father. I asked for 'that thing' for Theo's sake."
"······I see."
Maximin looked at Piel with contemplative eyes, then turned his gaze outside the window and muttered.
"Yes, he's a good, no, a terrifying boy. I wonder if I was like that at his age. It really feels like Robert gave birth to a dragon... I suddenly miss Robert."
Robert Lyn Waldeurk.
Theo's father, who currently remains hidden from the continent, was the former head of the Waldeurk family and had a rival relationship with Maximin, a former hero.
Maximin glanced at Piel and gave a slight smile.
"It seems my daughter has good taste in men. Well, no need to bring him then. Theo asked for an invitation to the Chalon family."
"…Yes."
Piel nodded slightly, then moistened her lips.
"By the way, father…"
"Hmm?"
"Didn't you sense something odd about Theo? Maybe some connection to a demon?"
"... He did seem mature for his age, but I felt no such thing. If he had any connection to demons, I would've been the first to notice."
"…I see."
Piel momentarily lost herself in thought, her face growing cold.
She remembered the moment she saw him bare.
The first suspicion was a mark of a demon contractor somewhere she hadn’t seen.
The second theory was that he might be a [Contractor of the Demon King].
The likelihood of Maximin being mistaken was incredibly low.
'So, it might be—'
The possibility that he was a [Contractor of the Demon King] was high.
Even someone as observant as Maximin might overlook it since [Contractor of the Demon King] is now a legend, a story from ancient myths.
There's a slim chance he wouldn’t recognize it.
With this thought, Piel said to Maximin,
"We really do need 'that'."
But with 'that' in their possession, they could instantly clarify things.
Because 'that' is a sacred artifact that purifies all forms of evil magic in the world.
Maximin narrowed his eyes and said,
"…Will you tell me the details, Piel?"
"…Yes."
And so, Piel began recounting everything to Maximin.
Having heard the circumstances behind Piel's actions, Maximin remarked,
"While it's hard to believe, we should confirm it. Considering that Theo might have a close relationship with our Chalon family in the future... Oh, Smith, head to the carriage and bring me my treasured item."
"Understood, Father."
"Yes, right away!"
Afterwards, Maximin and Piel made their way to the auditorium where the seminar was being held.
After wrapping up my conversation with Maximin, I headed to the lecture hall where the seminar was taking place with Mari and Natasha.
Both Mari and Natasha would occasionally glance at me, seemingly wanting to say something but only moving their lips without expressing a word.
'I vanished without a word, so their frustration is understandable. I should apologize again.'
Turning to face the two, I spoke up,
"I sincerely apologize once again. Professor Mari, Instructor Natasha, there was a minor hiccup. I assure you I won't disappear without notice again."
"It's not that we want an apology. We were just a bit surprised."
"I feel the same."
Mari and Natasha replied with a hint of unease.
Upon returning to the auditorium,
"...So, in the end, I successfully created a perfect artificial unicorn!"
The voice of the man currently presenting sounded familiar.
It was the same guy doing funny business with his Aide when I first arrived at the association.
Was his name Narang?
Anyway, as we listened to his presentation, Mari, Natasha, and I settled into our assigned seats.
"As you all know, a unicorn's horn is one of the primary ingredients in elixirs!"
Narang, standing on the stage, pointed at the caged artificial unicorn beside him as he spoke.
"Of course, elixirs made from artificial unicorns don't have the same effect as the real thing. However, they have shown quite promising results. We're almost done with testing! It'll be available for commercial use soon!"
─Wow, amazing!
─Is that the panacea Taylor from [The Hilté] claimed to have developed?
Cheers erupted from the audience.
And it was understandable.
Panacea are items so rare that even if you were willing to spend a fortune, they would still be hard to obtain.
Heroes naturally went crazy for them.
'So, the panacea Taylor made was crafted from that unicorn's horn.'
I calmly observed the unicorn inside the cage.
Though termed artificial, it looked no different from the real thing.
Its appearance, its snorting breath, everything was strikingly similar.
"Hm? Why is it acting up all of a sudden?"
At that moment, Narang on the stage expressed his confusion.
─Snort!
It was because the artificial unicorn snorted heavily.
It was glaring directly at me.
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