Episode 112
The demon in uniform changed his tone once he realized their identities.
“Welcome. From here, we’ll guide you. I’ll escort you to Schwarz Demon Castle.”
On his chest gleamed a medal, woven with intricate metal patterns. His posture was both polite and disciplined.
Seeing how the soldiers obeyed him, he seemed like a high-ranking officer by human standards.
“My name is Debel.”
Following Debel’s lead, the crew disembarked one by one.
But as he studied them, Debel’s face suddenly twisted in shock.
“What?!”
His eyes locked on the figure that had just landed beside Ariella after circling in the sky.
His lips opened and closed, unable to speak, disbelief spreading even to the other demon soldiers.
“…No way. A Gold Dragon?”
Pi puffed out his chest and lifted his chin.
In the past, he would have shouted, ‘That’s right, I’m the Gold Dragon!’ in excitement. But now that he’d grown a bit, he considered such behavior childish.
Instead, he put on a solemn expression and stared off at some distant point, pretending to be dignified.
The sight made Ariella chuckle inside.
“Yes, that’s right. His name is Pi.”
Debel still looked dazed, even more shocked than when he first saw a southern ship arrive in the north.
“A real, living hatchling?”
Pi’s mouth twitched.
He was thrilled at the attention, but tried hard to hide it, keeping what he thought was a ‘mysterious dragon’s face.’
Trying so hard, aren’t you.
Under Ludwig’s conjured light, Pi’s golden scales gleamed, captivating the northern demons who stared as if entranced.
“How could a dragon be traveling with demons…?”
“It’s a long story.”
Ariella smoothly cut him off.
“Shall we get moving first?”
She smiled playfully and winked.
“Ah, understood.”
Debel asked no more questions.
But from that moment, the northern demons’ gazes clearly changed.
Ariella could even hear the whispers among the soldiers.
“Don’t dragons guard their hatchlings with their lives? Why would one let demons raise it instead?”
“Could these guests be truly extraordinary beings?”
“They must be. Having a hatchling nearby means they’ve earned the trust of dragons.”
Meanwhile, Ludwig—expressionless as ever—watched Ariella with his usual blank stare.
Yet, with his mysterious presence and the earlier display of power, this Demon Lord was already etched in the soldiers’ minds as someone remarkable.
“Not just any dragon… a Gold Dragon.”
“I thought golden dragons only appeared in legends.”
“Wait, wasn’t there a story about golden-scaled dragons?”
“Yes! I remember—wherever a Gold Dragon dwells, gold never runs dry, and the harvests are always bountiful!”
Leaving the chatter behind, the group headed toward the carriage that Debel had prepared.
But the sight was strange.
“What’s this?”
It was a carriage in structure.
But there were no horses to pull it.
Aside from the mounts Debel’s men had ridden, the driver’s seat stood empty.
“No way…”
Cecile narrowed her eyes at the carriage.
Its roof and body were plated with metal, and inside came a faint whirring, as if something small was turning.
At first glance, it looked like an artifact. But Ariella realized it was something else.
“This doesn’t run on magic stones, does it?”
Debel answered.
“Ah, I see you haven’t seen this in the south. It’s a steam engine. A technology that only recently spread here in the north.”
Chiiiii!
As they all boarded, a hiss of steam escaped, and the horseless carriage began to move.
Cecile’s eyes sparkled brighter. She looked like she wanted to take the machine apart right then and there to see inside.
Outside, the scenery rushed past.
“For something powered only by machines to move this fast!”
“In the north, magic stones are also scarce,” Debel explained.
“We don’t have enough to power everything. To keep thousands of artifacts running would consume dozens of tons of stones each year.”
“So you chose this engine instead?”
Cecile pressed on, peppering Debel with questions about the steam engine.
He admitted he wasn’t a technician and only knew the basics.
Even so, from just a few words, Cecile pieced together much.
“So, steam expands, builds pressure, and that pressure moves things.”
Her mind raced, and soon another question formed.
“To withstand that much pressure, the structure must be very strong, right? If the pressure leaked, or the chamber broke—?”
She traced a circle in the air with her finger as she spoke.
“Does combustion happen inside the pressure vessel itself? Or is the heat source external, with the water heated indirectly?”
Debel floundered, embarrassed.
“As I said, I don’t know the detailed workings…”
Not only Cecile, but Ariella also grew deeply curious.
It felt like she had stumbled upon a new piece of a great puzzle.
Just then—
“Ariella! Something strange is coming!”
Pi’s voice rang down from above.
A moment later—
Bwoooooooom!
A thunderous roar rolled across the plains, heavy like a beast’s bellow.
“What is that?”
Ariella pressed against the window.
Across the fields, a giant serpent-like machine sped forward.
Dozens of meters long, made of steel.
Steam poured out as its body thundered with rhythmic thunks and vibrations.
“That’s a steam train. It’s the main method for long-distance transport between northern cities.”
Ariella tried to recall.
There was nothing about this in the Demon Realm Chronicles.
It had been nearly a century since Gimmelt observed the demon realm.
Could this be technology developed since then?
Eyes glued to the train, she asked:
“How fast?”
“Four times faster than this carriage. Nearly 500 kilometers a day.”
“If such technology exists, why not use it for ships?”
“What?”
Ariella pressed further.
“You said this carriage and that train are incredibly efficient thanks to steam engines. Couldn’t the same be applied to ships? That way, you could cut through stormy seas.”
The problems her group had solved with magic stones—maybe these people had solved with technology.
Debel stroked his chin, as if he’d never even considered it.
“Perhaps because there’s no demand.”
Though not an engineer, he could guess.
“The north already has railways spread everywhere. There’s no need to risk the seas. Even if possible, it would be an unreasonable investment.”
“Maybe so for the north. But for trade with the south, they’d have reason to pursue it.”
“There hasn’t been much commercial demand in that direction.”
His polite words still carried a hint of the north’s prideful attitude—that they had no need for southern trade.
Time passed, and the carriage finally approached Schwarz Demon Lord’s territory.
“Hm?”
Even Ludwig, who rarely reacted, muttered in surprise.
“What’s all that?”
The first thing that caught their eyes were the countless chimneys.
Like spires, they spewed white smoke into the air. Along the city walls, gear-like machines turned powerfully.
The carriage passed through iron gates and entered the demon castle.
“This way.”
The outer walls of Schwarz’s castle were made of black steel and glass.
As they went deeper, Ariella felt a powerful aura of mana.
He’s here.
At last, the group came face-to-face with him.
The Demon Lord of the north—Schwarz.
Ariella’s first impression of Schwarz was solidity—and coldness.
Cold.
A chill ran through her body. It came from the mana faintly swirling around him.
His energy was the polar opposite of Ludwig’s familiar presence.
It felt like the space was filled with countless unseen shards of ice.
“Welcome.”
Piercing blue eyes, deep and cold, locked onto them.
If Ludwig’s long black hair was like soft silk, Schwarz’s short-cut dark blue hair looked like it carried the hardness of steel.
Schwarz’s low voice rumbled.
“Ludwig, Demon Lord of the south.”
“Greetings.”
Ludwig gave a short nod.
He was following Ariella’s advice: keep words to a minimum, only the basics.
“And…”
This time, Schwarz’s eyes shifted to her.
“Ariella, Ludwig’s contractor.”
