Demon’s Lair

It was already late at night on our travel.

During the past few days, the labor that's mostly done by me was transferred to Aster who does it without a single complaint.

He was even the one driving the carriage for us whilst my job was to point out directions on the road.

In exchange for that, however, is free food which is the only part of our little deal that I was involved.

My slave handles the rest of it.

"Is your sister asleep, Cillian?"

Fully awake while only closing my eyes to put my focus on my surroundings, I pondered for a moment before retorting.

"I am. Something's wrong?"

Even though Aster appears to be shameless, I knew he wasn't the kind of person who does something without proper reason.

For example, beating a second year because someone is harassing him.

Now, it was weird for him to suddenly ask to join us on our way home without being weird about it.

He would've fooled Yana that it was because he had no money and used us to acquire food when I saw that he was a capable hunter since he was the one who procured all our meals.

There's no need for money, he can just hunt for himself.

Hence I kept finding reasons for our travel and couldn't find anything.

He's good at hiding it.

For a while, Aster was silent.

He seemed to be hesitating to reveal what was going on inside his mind until finally found the courage to explain since all of it would be nothing if he didn't shoot his shot.

If an opportunity comes to the front, one has to seize it.

"It's about my condition,"

Oh…

"On my way towards the Academy, I've encountered a Demon's Lair. It was a broken castle just in between the Dimity Kingdom and Arogary Kingdom hiding at the Crimson Forest. I would've ignored it if not for the fact that a figure entered this place. However, that was my mistake,"

Aster took a long pause.

"The figure was no other than an illusion created by the Demon of that castle to catch humans and feast on them. I fought my way out of it which took days and defeated the Demon. I wouldn't be here talking to you if I weren't,"

Aster touched his chest and stated.

"However I didn't escape from that place unscathed. The Demon managed to inflict some curse on me. At first, I thought it was nothing but I began to feel some symptoms of my worsening condition. The worst one yet now is the disruption of my mana. I don't use mana quite well but I've heard it is an integral part of a human and I could get worse conditions if not treated right or fast,"

Aster glanced behind the carriage to look at me and said.

"I have a request to make. I know you're going to be an exemplary mage just being getting that first place at the trial. Hence I wanted to ask for your help to see my condition and help me treat it."

So it is about that, huh?

Aster was the person I noticed back before coming to the trial gates, right after we entered our own trials, and after we passed the trials themselves.

Even though I get to learn him better, one thing that doesn't change about him is the chaotic mana circling inside his body.

Everyone might've not noticed it but who are we kidding here?

I am the Arcane Emperor.

Sensing the mana of a person even if the origin of it is unknown is already a piece of cake for me.

"Hmm…"

Pondering on what to reply, my arms crossed and then let out complimentary words.

"First of all, very impressive. You defeated this so-called 'Demon'"

Back in my time, these so-called Demons are similar to Magic Beasts or Evil Spirits and Wraths.

However, the way Aster described the 'demon' he fought seems to be different from what I was imagining.

After all, Magic Beasts and Evil Spirits or Wraths didn't have a castle that could be called their own.

I needed clarifications to see if these Demons are another kind of enemy hence I asked.

"Can you describe to me the demon you saw at that castle?"

Aster thought for a while and replied.

"Four to five meters tall. Has three horns and long wings. Very slim body, long limbs, and a gaping mouth with a hideous face. It carried a necklace around and a magic wand. Oh, I have those two in my bag if you want to see it,"

Liking that Aster had something to show that I could study later on, I also liked that my suspicions were true.

'Demons… they are entirely new different species from the knowledge I already possessed a while back.'

Suddenly, my mood dampened as I recalled that one group that made my existence perish just by peering into their secrets.

'The Order… is this your doing?'

Looks like idling around will do me no good now.

If those Demons or The Order were the reason that comprised the safety of my family, going for a rest would be an idiotic move.

Of course, I'll be having fun here and there but…

'It's time to bring back the Emperor of old that was feared by all nations and races,'

"Cillian, are you still there?"

With a stupid smile playing on my lips, as the scenes where I trampled everyone who dared to come at my empire resurfaced inside my head like a record, I let out a short cough and retorted.

"I'm here. Wait, I'll get out of here,"

Walking towards the driver's seat, I sat beside Aster and said.

"I'll fix your condition but we're going to have a deal."

Aster chuckled.

"That's so like you. What is it?"

Before telling the deal we were going to make, I explained his situation first.

"What you heard about your mana being influenced by an unknown power is true. It will lead to troublesome cases, and it may cause your death if wasn't treated right away. Hence if I'm going to help you, consider it as saving your life,"

Aster nodded, his innocent face and young-like face all understanding the words where I was coming from.

Then I proceed to the deal.

"The only one I wanted to get from you is protection,"

Aster tilted his head and blurted out straight away.

"You're not the type of person that requires protection. Are you pertaining to your enemies perhaps?"

Chortling at that humorous reply, I shook my head and stated.

"No, it's not for my enemies. You see, I want to request that when the time comes, and I'm sure that it'll happen, protect my family at all costs. Whether it is Yana, my father, or my mother, you will protect them."

Aster gave me a long look after he heard that request.

His innocent eyes darted towards inside the carriage before ending up on me as he removed one of his hands from the horse's straps and extended his hand.

"Sure,"

I smiled and my eyes glinted in greediness.

"Oh right, everything you've taken from the castle also belongs to me now. I almost forgot to add that to the condition. Do you agree?"

Aster seemed to have been taken aback by the additional request that the only thing he could do was laugh his heart out before nodding once.

"Okay, it's yours,"

Wow, and here I was thinking he wouldn't accept it.

With the negotiation coming to an end, I received his handshake and smiled devilishly.

'Oh, you bastard. If you didn't protect my family when the time comes, the magic that can help cure your condition will force you to do it until you are successful. Well, if I can make it in the first place. If his condition is different... I'll force another way to make our deal a success... Man. Oh, man. You'll regret making a deal from the devil himself,'

Hehe.