Episode 101
A few days later.
“Come get your fever herbs, fever herbs! Freshly picked straight from the Fairy Forest! If these had legs, they’d run away on their own!”
“Fresh plums harvested just yesterday! Sweet and tangy—don’t miss out, take some home!”
“Plums with honey flavor? Bah! That’s nothing! Hey, customer! Buy some real honey here! Honey so good, a bugbear would die twice just to taste it again!”
The marketplace in the heart of Ludwig’s Demon King’s domain was buzzing with life as usual.
The population had grown rapidly, and outsiders were swarming in too, even crossing the winding mountain roads just to grab local goods at cheap prices.
No one noticed the suspicious figure blending into the crowd.
‘It’s getting busier day by day.’
He was one of Delac’s spies who had stayed here for quite a while.
Pretending to shop casually, he checked the goods displayed at each stall.
He was spying, gauging the level of commercial development.
‘The variety of crops has grown.’
Not just basic food, but luxury items were showing up more often.
He reported all these changes in regular written updates sent back to Delac.
While walking, he spotted something unusual.
“Wine! Freshly brewed wine from Ludwig’s Demon King’s land! Three bottles for only 10 sel! Just 10 sel for three bottles!”
The spy’s eyes widened.
Wine was expensive. It required fermentation and a lot of work.
That price made no sense.
Suspicious, he asked,
“Really, three bottles for 10 sel?”
“Yes, sir! Pay 30 sel and I’ll give you ten bottles!”
“Can I taste it first?”
The merchant’s eyes shook violently, like an earthquake.
“T-taste it?”
“Yes. That’s not an unusual request.”
It was common in the marketplace.
But the merchant looked far too nervous.
At last, he pulled out a small cup, poured a bit of wine, and handed it over.
The spy took a sip—
“Ugh!”
The taste was so shocking he forgot his mission for a moment.
He scowled and shouted angrily,
“Damn it! This is vinegar! And you dare sell this for money? Have you no shame?”
He even forgot the rule of never drawing attention.
The merchant stammered,
“S-some people enjoy a sharper taste, so…”
“This isn’t sharp, it’s acid! You could assassinate someone with this!”
As the spy turned to leave, the merchant panicked.
“W-wait! How about four bottles for 10 sel?”
“No thanks!”
“If it’s too sour to drink, use it for cooking! Add some to salad, it’s perfect! Or use it for cleaning! Splash it on stubborn stains and scrub—it works like magic!”
But the spy didn’t even look back.
His mind returned to his duty, already drafting his report to Delac.
It would read:
Ludwig’s Demon King’s land has started wine production, but the quality is terrible. No chance of improvement—it’s dreadful.
Then it happened.
“So it really tastes that bad?”
A voice came from above his head.
The spy instinctively looked up.
Whoooosh!
The sound of air being forced aside—
A massive figure landed in the marketplace.
“……Hhhk!”
The spy gasped in horror.
A creature with dazzling golden scales.
It sniffed curiously, glancing between the spy and the wine stall.
‘A hatchling!’
He had never seen one this close before.
Meanwhile, the appearance of a holy dragon caused chaos in the market.
People crowded in, forming a circle to watch.
Some even knelt and bowed.
The hatchling enjoyed the attention, returning their gazes, answering their calls like a ruler greeting followers.
The crowd’s excitement grew hotter.
“Ohhh, Lord Pi!”
“The source of abundance, the Gold Dragon!”
“A sacred dragon blessing our land!”
“Lord Pi, look this way! Kyaaah!”
Cold sweat ran down the spy’s back.
‘Damn, I need to get out of here!’
But it was already too late.
The crowd formed a wall, blocking all escape routes.
Meanwhile, Pi sniffed at the stall.
“It’s true. Smells really sour.”
The merchant looked embarrassed.
Then Pi whipped his long neck around—
He had already lost interest in the wine, and now he fixed his gaze on the spy.
“……?”
Thump, thump!
The spy tried to stay calm, but instinct told him to tremble in the dragon’s presence.
“What’s your name?”
The spy screamed silently inside.
‘This is bad!’
Dragons never forget.
To be marked by their eyes meant he could never operate here again.
“M-my name is…”
He gave the false identity he’d prepared.
But Pi tilted his head side to side.
“You’re not from here. That name isn’t in our resident records.”
The dragon kept asking questions.
What work did he do? Where did he live?
“I’m just a merchant buying herbs. I work alone, no guild. I’m staying at the inn in the back alley.”
But then his heart dropped.
“No, you’re not.”
Pi’s voice was innocent, but the spy nearly fainted.
“This morning you came out of the hut across the market. Not the inn.”
Before he could reply, Pi continued,
“I remember every house in this land! And two days ago, you bought 20 servings of giant boar meat from the butcher. Was it tasty?”
The dragon smacked his lips, then added,
“Well, if twelve grown men are living in one house, of course you’d need that much meat. Must be really close, huh? So how do you all know each other?”
The spy couldn’t say a word.
An hour later.
A messenger bird carrying a coded letter flew out from Ludwig’s land.
Its secret destination: Delac’s Demon King’s castle.
“Idiots.”
Delac scowled, his plump cheeks twitching with irritation.
“Spotted by a dragon, were they?”
His thick jowls shook with every word.
He clutched the decrypted letter, reading it again and again in disbelief.
“Talk about rotten luck.”
The spies insisted the hatchling likely hadn’t discovered their true identities.
It had seemed like coincidence in the market.
But once a dragon spoke, word would spread fast.
Even if the young one meant no harm, Ludwig’s people would sense something suspicious.
“Any chance Ludwig set a trap ahead of time?”
Kirren shook his head.
“If that were the case, he would’ve arrested them long ago. Didn’t you say Ludwig has a fiery temper?”
“True. He’s never had patience or cold judgment. Instead of planning ahead, he’d have cut down all twelve of them on the spot.”
But the spies had escaped alive and sent word back.
They had already abandoned their hideout and were returning.
“Helen.”
Delac turned to his daughter.
“What do you think?”
Helen chose her words carefully.
“My impression was the same. Ludwig isn’t the type to scheme like this.”
“And his contractor? That human woman—wasn’t she clever? Could she have plotted it?”
Helen pretended to think, then replied.
“She did lead the meetings, but only because Ludwig dumped all the bothersome work on her. If Ludwig decides something, no contractor could stop him.”
She twisted her report, just slightly.
“So it was really just an accident, then.”
Delac exhaled heavily.
“Should we give up on planting more spies?”
Kirren shook his head.
“No, we must keep them. Spies are essential.”
“It won’t be easy now that they’ve been discovered.”
“Then reduce the number. Send only the very best—mages so skilled they could even hide from a dragon’s eyes.”
Such talents were usually tied to defense in the Demon Realm.
Delac didn’t like the idea of wasting them on mere espionage.
But Kirren pressed harder.
“We’re almost there. Practically everything is in our hands.”
Ludwig’s side seemed eager for negotiations.
They clearly believed the tunnel project was real.
“We can’t let our guard down until the very end.”
Like ripe fruit, it must be watched carefully until it was ready to eat.
Delac finally gave in to Kirren’s persuasion.
“Fine. You choose the next spies. Only those who won’t get caught.”
“Understood.”
Just then, Helen quietly spoke up.
As she had planned with Ariella beforehand—
“This time, why don’t we give the spies real identities?”
