Chapter 41: Unexpected Reunions in the Wolf Den

Inputting a series of instantaneous, high-speed commands, I sprinted with all my might during those accelerated five seconds, my heavy armor clanking.

I paid no heed to whether I might encounter Angela or Vinya along the way. After the countdown concluded, I had reached my destination… or so I presumed.

Before me lay a segment of the cliff face, part of a circular mountain range that protruded into the forest. At its base, precisely where I stood, was a cave entrance.

By my judgment, this was indeed the correct direction. However, despite the intense surge of the Demon King’s aura I had sensed moments ago, I hadn’t detected anything unusual on my journey here, not even a lingering trace of her presence.

Although the situation had calmed, it didn’t mean I could rest easy. The very fact that I had sensed it meant Bella had arrived here!

There was also another possibility: perhaps Nina had encountered danger, subconsciously activating the power within her at a critical moment.

No, before all that, there was a crucial prerequisite: Why were mother and daughter even here?

The entrance was guarded by soldiers; ordinary people couldn’t possibly get in. It could only be Bella, using Nina’s body, who had sneaked in.

As for how she managed it—whether by scaling mountains or slipping in invisibly—the Demon King was indeed omnipotent.

I didn’t care about that. All I wanted to know was why she had brought Nina to such a place again. This was my, no, our precious daughter… Wait, we weren’t in that kind of relationship.

This was Nina’s precious body! Couldn’t she show it some care?

Now, with no aura to guide me, I had no idea where to begin my search. Should I enter the cave first? Or scour the surrounding forest? What if my initial assessment was slightly off?

That seemed unlikely. While I possessed no extraordinary talents or specialized training, the experience I had honed during my days of adventuring gave me absolute confidence in the accuracy of my judgment.

‘Perhaps I should enter the cave first.’

Had they been outside, I would surely have seen traces of magic, but there were none. It was improbable that they would expose their abilities without good reason.

Therefore, I would have to rely on the ‘Prism’ to locate them.

****

I opened the armor on the back of my hand, inputting the scan command, and began sweeping a twenty-meter radius centered on myself.

…There was no activity.

The ‘Prism’ detected that the initial twenty meters of the cave were utterly empty, and it didn’t even reach the end.

Was this merely a wild beast’s den? If so, there wasn’t much to worry about.

My greatest fear was that this was a treasure vault, where the treasure’s owner had set up special mechanisms to seal an intruder’s magic or render them unconscious, then activate a chain of other traps to kill them. It wasn’t impossible.

However, this involved the Demon King and her daughter; they wouldn’t fall victim so easily, would they? I was probably just overly anxious and overthinking things.

Still, while I might not worry about their personal safety, the most serious issue was exposure.

I was certain Angela had also sensed that surge of magic, and this location was even closer to her. It was entirely possible they had already entered the cave ahead of me.

I needed to get inside quickly!

***

Illuminating my path with the ‘Prism,’ I advanced swiftly, but encountered no enemies. Instead, a faint scent of blood wafted towards me, and soon after, I saw a swath of corpses.

They were all of the humanoid wolf species. The deeper I ventured, the more uniform the equipment on the bodies became, and their physiques were slightly more robust.

These details alone indicated they were higher-ranking individuals within their pack—meaning this was indeed a humanoid wolf den.

Beyond that, extinguished torches lined the rock walls, with one or two still smoking, suggesting they had only just been put out.

The corpses bore no unusual wounds; upon examination, all had died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Could this truly have been Bella or Nina’s doing? If it were them, I would expect them to kill enemies with magic. This method of killing seemed more suited to me.

Carrying my questions, I proceeded a little further, and then…

“Father!”

“Don’t call me ‘Father’ when you have golden eyes.”

“Hmph!”

I finally found Bella. She was still wearing her simple dress, arms crossed, pouting, and turning her face away, clearly displeased with my reaction.

“Explain yourself. Why are you here?”

This was my immediate question. Although I desperately wanted to scold her with, ‘What if Nina got hurt?’, she was the Demon King; she always found a way to protect Nina, and indeed, Nina showed no signs of injury now.

“To play!”

“Be serious.”

“To find you and play!”

“Then hurry back!”

“No!”

“So, what exactly are you doing here?!

I could no longer hold back, and I roared at her. I realized this was the first time I had ever reprimanded her.

“Ugh… Why are you so fierce…?”

Bella seemed startled, shrinking her shoulders and retreating a few steps, but I knew it was all an act.

“You’re not afraid even when I’m fierce with you anyway.”

Moreover, even when I was angry, she wouldn’t think she’d done anything wrong. I also lacked the energy to scold her further. In fact, seeing them both unharmed actually brought me a sense of relief.

“Hmph! You heartless fellow…”

“How am I heartless? Alright! Stop distracting me! How many times have I asked you already! Speak!”

“Ugh… Fine! I’ll tell you! Honestly, I didn’t cause any trouble…”

Not that she hadn’t, but I didn’t know if she would cause trouble.

The queen of this country was nearby, after all. It was fortunate she hadn’t arrived before me.

Otherwise, discovering a pile of humanoid wolf corpses with an unharmed young girl standing among them would certainly raise suspicions. If a fight broke out, it would be a huge problem.

“Simply put, someone called out to me.”

“Called out to you?”

“Yes, by feeling, it was someone quite familiar. Although I haven’t seen them in over a decade, they’re probably still angry. I didn’t expect them to sense my arrival from such a distance.”

“???”

I was utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend what she was saying.

A call… was it a call to the Demon King? Who would call out to a Demon King who was supposed to be dead?

…No, hearing her say that, a sense of unease settled within me.

“Can you be more precise?”

“…It’s nothing, probably just my imagination. There’s nothing here.”

“You came all this way for a delusion.”

“I had to confirm, didn’t I? Alright, it’s fine now. Let’s go, the smell in here is too strong.”

Saying this, she took my hand and pulled me towards the exit.

“You truly do whatever you want… Wait, did you eliminate all these humanoid wolves?”

“Yes, I did. I thought I could command them with the Demon King’s authority, but unfortunately, Nina no longer possesses that ability. When they rushed at me, I had no choice but to take care of them. You sensed my magic just now, didn’t you?”

“So you do have some self-awareness. Then why didn’t you consider what would happen if someone discovered you?”

“Run, of course. Disguise ourselves and escape. Such a small matter is easily done. But, speaking of which… Pfft!”

For some reason, Bella looked at my face (my helmet), and burst into laughter.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Arguing with me in this body is truly rare, so it’s a bit… Hehe!”

“I really don’t understand your sense of humor.”

Come to think of it, I was too rushed earlier to notice, but now that I thought about it carefully, this should be Bella’s first time seeing me in this body, right? Why did she recognize me at a glance?

“Hehe~ It’s strange, isn’t it? Despite looking like a brute, how did I still know it was you?”

“No.”

“Be more honest. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

She clearly had a mischievous look, not much different from Emma, just less cheeky. Even as a mother, why was she still so ‘lively’? Well, I didn’t dislike it. I just hoped she wouldn’t act so recklessly again.

“…Then why?”

“Because~” Bella suddenly hugged my arm tightly, pressing her body against mine. “I like you! Isn’t knowing your existence simply a given?”

“Meaning you sensed it through magic, since I have none.”

“Ugh~~ You blockhead! You have no sense of romance at all!”

“I apologize for my lack of romantic understanding, never having been in a relationship.”

Rather than lacking atmosphere, I simply didn’t know how to respond to her. I didn’t want her to misunderstand, and she wouldn’t allow me to refuse, so I opted for a slightly awkward joke to sidestep the issue.

In truth, my greatest concern was that I didn’t understand Bella’s true feelings, and I didn’t want to hurt her, so I absolutely couldn’t answer seriously.

“Let’s pick up the pace. Someone will be here soon.”

“Who would come? Besides you, who else would be so bold as to come rescue me?”

“…Be quiet!” (Whispering)

“?!”

I had hoped to leave before Angela arrived, but it was already too late. Although there was no light ahead, I heard footsteps, steadily approaching. I immediately pushed Bella behind me, shielding her.

Soon after, they appeared before us. The ‘Prism’ on the back of my hand illuminated their faces—I had encountered them after all.

Upon seeing me, Angela wasted no words, directly questioning:

“Could you explain the situation right here, Mr. Mori?”