Chapter 26 : An Emergency

“You mean, no Yuri?” Schiller anxiously raised and lowered his hands.
“You mean your flushed cheeks and affectionate eyes are just shyness?”

Schiller paced restlessly.

“I object.”

“I demand that you two get married on the spot, otherwise I won’t agree to this job.”

Schiller waved Aileen over to stand beside him.

“Ow… Lady Celia, Young Master, he doesn’t agree!” Aileen, as if finding her anchor, looked tearfully at the calm head maid, Celia.

“Hmm… Young Master acts like that often lately. It’s probably some new type of Yuri virus.”

“Virus?!” Aileen’s small face instantly turned pale with fright. “That’s very serious…”

“No, don’t mind him,” Celia shook her head. “More than that, the Master has a request.”

…

…

The Viscount’s manor, main gate.

After passing through layers of courtyards, Schiller reached the main gate of the Viscount’s manor. Not only his father, Haugen, but also the head maid, Selena, stood there.

And a silver-white pervert was standing elegantly there.

“Ah, here they come.”

She was bouncing and waving at Schiller, her smile exceedingly bright.

Just seeing Sheryl’s face gave him a stomachache.

‘For the sake of a man’s pathetic self-respect, I will completely ignore her today!’

He silently made up his mind.

“Hurry up, Uncle has been waiting for a long time!”

“…”

Schiller deliberately walked past the joyous Sheryl without saying a word, heading towards Haugen.

“Father, you called for me?”

“Mmm…!” A sound of dissatisfaction seemed to come from nearby.

‘Ignore her, ignore her, ignore her, completely ignore her.’

Selena stood in front of Haugen, pulling him into an embrace:

“Sniff, sniff, oh my, oh my, Young Master, you are…” She looked at Schiller with a playful expression, then at Sheryl.

Upon closer inspection, her posture wasn’t as natural as usual either.

“I heard you slept all day yesterday, are you alright?” She gently stroked Schiller’s head.

“N-nothing, no need to worry, just over-trained with the sword.”

For some reason, the nearby Sheryl’s cheeks turned crimson upon hearing the words “sword training.”

“Is that so? You should know when to stop even when practicing the sword.” Selena did not stop her actions.

“You’re the one who should know when to stop! Lady Selena!” Celia, displeased, pulled Schiller away from her dangerous embrace.

“Oh? Celia, do you wish to spar with me after so long?” Selena raised an eyebrow, a hint of competitiveness igniting in her eyes.

“Hmph, gladly!”

Their gazes clashed intensely, as if sparks could fly.

‘Can’t move, I can’t move at all…’ Schiller stood trembling in the crowd.

Haugen quickly leaned closer:

“Alright, you two, it’s almost time.”

“Time? Speaking of which, Father, what was it you called me for?”

Schiller looked at the three hesitantly. Just then, a land dragon was led over by a keeper.

“Land dragon? Are you going on a long journey?”

While they couldn’t fly, their explosive power and endurance, inherited from their dragon bloodline, far surpassed ordinary horses.

Haugen nodded slightly:

“Although it sounds a bit irresponsible, I hope to borrow Celia for a while…”

“Borrow?”

‘You mean, why does he need my consent to borrow Celia?’

He sighed:

“No, after all, that child has such a personality; she doesn’t listen to anyone’s orders except yours.”

Although he didn’t know the reason, it seemed Celia was truly a bona fide personal maid.

However, given that she had proactively suggested Aileen become his personal maid, she probably had already made her plans.

“Celia, I agree. But there’s one thing: you must protect yourself well.”

“Yes, Young Master,” she opened her mouth, then spoke, hesitating, “When I return, I hope Young Master can give me some reward.”

“Reward… is that so? I understand.”

Celia bowed respectfully, then stepped aside.

“But, how long will you be gone?”

Hearing such sudden news, even Schiller was a bit bewildered. And if his father left, what about the safety of the mansion?!

‘Rely on him? A mid-tier lower waste?’

“It’s hard to say. The monster hordes in the northern forest aren’t quiet, and the scale reported by the scouts far exceeds previous years. Even more troublesome, there are rumors that demonkin have appeared there.”

“As a father, I failed to educate you properly, but as of now, I am very proud of you.”

“I am very confident leaving the manor in the hands of the current Schiller.”

‘Confident my ass!’

But, speaking of demonkin…

So-called demonkin actually refer to the familiars of the Demon God. There are seven such familiars in total. They are the Demon God’s agents, pawns before the Demon God’s revival. However, that doesn’t mean they are absolutely loyal to the Demon God.

Though directly created by the Demon God, they are monsters with self-awareness, equally indifferent to both humans and demons. The demon race, at this moment, is probably struggling to survive in another realm.

Demonkin appear in each main character’s route and serve as the final boss for their respective routes.

Among them, the most troublesome is probably Albion from Princess Chris’s route.

That being looks like a succubus, but possesses terrifying authority.

[Time Reversal]

With this authority, the protagonist must defeat her countless times.

Although demons exist in this world, they are also merely pawns of the Demon God, exiled to the distant northern “Demon Continent.” Over the past thousand years, there have been wars concerning the human world, but they all ultimately ended in failure.

The Empire—the Lanston Empire—occupied a full third of the central continent, and such a vast empire faced all the pressure from the northern border.

For a thousand years, the empire defended against humans and demons by enfeoffing dukes along the border. While effective, this measure seemed to be reaching its limit in recent years.

The Duke of Water’s family in the North had no capable successors; their descendants were mediocre. His Majesty the King had no choice but to transfer Viscount Haugen, known as “The Unbeaten,” to the North to oversee it.

“So that’s how it is!”

In the original work, the demons had launched an attack four years before the main story began. Although that attack failed, it caused immense damage to the northern part of the Empire.

It was precisely because the Empire paid such a huge price in that war that when the demons attacked later, the northern border army collapsed at the first touch, forcing the protagonist to face the task of “saving the imperial capital.”

Known as the “Windwater Fortress Incident.”

“A whole year…”

Schiller unconsciously rubbed his head.

He would lose a whole year of protection!

‘Where’s the beginner protection period? This is too short!’

No, no, I must act immediately again!

“Actually, I think I can also…” Schiller tried to grasp at a last ray of hope, expressing his willingness to accompany them.

“Schiller, I look forward to your growth.” Haugen patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, your father here is known as [The Unbeaten].”

“But I’m a weakling!” He cried out internally.

Selena walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, the combat effectiveness of the viscount’s maids is guaranteed.” Her gaze turned to the pink-haired maid who was trying to minimize her presence.

“Aileen!”

“Yes! I’m here! Lady Selena!” Aileen jumped to attention like a startled rabbit, her voice trembling.

“I, I’m here!”

“You must protect Young Master well.”

“Yes, yes indeed!” The girl’s timid demeanor made Schiller suspicious.

“Haha, don’t joke around. Are you saying this clumsy maid will protect me?”

‘It’s more like I’ll protect her!’

“Ouch! Young Master! Don’t look down on me!” Aileen, feeling underestimated, abruptly raised her small fist and swung it vigorously at a nearby empty space without looking!

The shockwave from the side made him unable to open his eyes.

“…”

“Aileen has mid-tier upper strength, you know.”

“Unfair, what is wrong with this world?!”