Chapter 8
The Mother Impregnated with Love,
Part 3
The Exorcists who had parted ways with Akatsuki and the others at Miscar Town returned to their own carriage.
Plume was hurriedly rummaging through their luggage, looking for the items Riza had requested.
“Will this towel do? Oh, for goodness sake… and we don’t exactly have an abundance of clean water either…”
Plume let out a heavy sigh.
She was tired from the incident in the town and really wanted to rest, but she needed to get back to Chronoa and Riza quickly. Maria probably never imagined things would turn out like this either.
“But that pair… A human and a demon being so close, how strange.”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen a pair like that before either.”
Scarlet, who replied to Plume’s comment, was reading a thick list with a stern expression.
It was the list of demons targeted for subjugation, distributed to each Exorcist team. It was an important document, also serving as a warning about which demons were dangerous if encountered by chance during their travels. She carefully turned the pages one by one, ensuring she didn’t miss anything.
“…That Dia woman from earlier, was it? Lady Scarlet, are you still concerned about her?”
“I’m not sure. But I feel like I’ve seen the name ‘Diabolos’ before.”
“R-Really!?”
Plume also peered at the list.
The list was crammed with the names, sketches, and other details of wanted demons.
It was common knowledge that demons, even lower-ranking ones, were generally stronger and more fearsome than humans. Victims were added to the list as soon as they were identified, leading to a vast number of entries. The list was updated regularly, so few Exorcists, even seasoned veterans, could remember them all.
So far, no demon named ‘Diabolos’ was recorded.
But Scarlet’s intuition was often correct. Plume couldn’t outright dismiss this unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach either.
“You think their relationship might be a deception…?”
“No… On that point, I’d rather it were fake, but I think that level of perversion was genuine. But one thing is certain: a demon so ‘weak’ that we couldn’t detect its demonic nature shouldn’t be capable of using such a powerful barrier spell that doesn’t even let sound through.”
Plume was startled by those words.
At the time, she had only been thinking about how to calm down the furious Maria and hadn’t noticed. Being a mage herself, she understood. Even for a small area, barrier magic required considerable skill. A barrier so impervious that not even sound could pass through should require meticulously concentrated magical power.
And that demon who called herself Dia had erected that barrier around Maria in an instant, while sighing.
“Plume, before we entered the town, I said that over 99% of demons whose true nature we can’t detect are either weak or are using mimicry. The remaining less than 1% are highly skilled magic users capable of deceiving others. Those kinds aren’t just long-lived by nature. Their actual years of life experience are far greater than any human’s.”
“Th-Then, should we pursue those humans!?”
“No, we probably can’t do anything about it ourselves. That’s why we must contact headquarters quickly. Plume, I’m sorry, but checking this list and contacting HQ will take me some time. I know you have your hands full too, but could you relay that to the other members?”
“Understood!”
Plume, having given her reply, hurriedly left the carriage.
Even while talking with Plume, Scarlet had been scrutinizing the list, but it still wasn’t there. Was it even possible for such a powerful, long-lived demon to remain undetected and unlisted by anyone?
“Time is precious… I’ll work on this while also preparing the report.”
As the leader, she had a duty to her three companions and to safely bringing the capture target back.
She took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm her frantic feelings.
