Chapter 87
Ariella stayed in the library with Philly for several days.
“Philly, can you also find me books on this subject?”
She had once studied the Demon Realm’s seas right after coming here.
Back then, she had given up on sea trade completely—conditions were far too bad.
“Princess, do you really plan to go out to the sea?”
“Yes. I couldn’t even imagine it before, but our Demon King’s Domain has changed, hasn’t it?”
“Of course! Very much so!”
Philly nodded excitedly. She flitted about, carrying stacks of books that Ariella asked for.
She was happy—because once again, the library’s knowledge was going to help the territory.
“Let’s start the meeting.”
A few days later, Ariella stood before Ludwig and the retainers. Using the material she had organized with Philly, she began her explanation.
“Please, look at this map.”
“Hmm?”
Ulken, who was used to military maps, frowned. This was clearly a map of the continent, but very different from what he knew.
“What kind of map is this? I can see it’s our continent, but where are the borders, the rivers, the roads, the mountains? It’s all blank!”
Instead of land features, the sea was filled with arrows and strange symbols.
“This is a map showing the flow of ocean currents.”
“Currents?”
Ariella began to explain the idea of sea routes and the way water flows—something unknown to demons who had only ever lived on land.
As the former princess of a maritime kingdom, this was her area of expertise.
She pointed to different areas of the sea.
“The currents of the Demon Realm change depending on how close they are to land. Faraway seas are not our concern today.”
In the Demon Realm, the sun only rose over land.
No Demon King ruled the seas, so the waters there were dark and freezing.
Thus, while land stayed warm, the farther one sailed out, the colder it became until the ocean froze.
“These distant seas are too cold, often frozen solid. It’s impossible to sail there. So, let’s cross them off.”
She drew lines over that section.
Richmond leaned forward with interest. He knew the human world well.
“Interesting. In your homeland, the sea only freezes if you go far north. But here, it freezes no matter which direction you go—as long as you leave the land.”
“Exactly. That’s the power of the Demon Realm’s sun.”
Then Ariella drew a long line somewhere between frozen seas and land.
“This is the key area. Far enough not to freeze, but not too far away. Here, a very fast current flows.”
She named it the Swift Current.
“If we can ride this, we can reach the north far faster than by road or river.”
The reason it was so fast came from the extreme differences in water temperature and density.
Ariella, mindful of Ludwig’s understanding, skipped the deeper scientific explanation.
“But what use is a sea route,” Cecile interrupted, “when just going out to the shore near our domain is already a nightmare? You can’t even fish there!”
“You’re right, Cecile. That’s exactly the problem.”
She circled the coastline on the map.
“Most demons hate the sea. The coast is too dangerous. Even though Ludwig’s sun shines there, no one builds houses near the beach. Storms, heavy fog, even sudden tidal waves happen all the time.”
“It’s because the warm currents from the land collide with the cold currents from the far sea,” Ariella explained.
Ludwig wasn’t listening. He was doodling nonsense on the paper.
Annoyed, Ariella snatched the pencil away.
“Pay attention! This is important.”
She then gave her theory about the history of Ludwig’s territory.
“A very long time ago, this land was said to be a powerful Demon King’s Domain. Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
Richmond nodded. “Well, the library itself proves it. It’s extraordinary.”
The library was the oldest building in the territory. The outside looked shabby with wooden repairs, but inside were huge stone pillars and walls like a grand temple—clearly a ruin from ancient times.
“So how could such a strong land fall? A country cannot grow without trade. I believe the answer is the sea.”
“You mean our land once used sea trade?” Cecile asked, frowning. “Through that insane sea out front?”
“Yes. They must have built giant ships strong enough to cross the raging waters. Once through, they could catch the Swift Current.”
But as time passed, the land declined and could no longer maintain such ships.
Trade collapsed, and with it, the economy.
“So if we build ships that big again…”
“We can revive sea routes. Until last year, we couldn’t even attempt shipbuilding. But now things are different.”
Other Demon Kings used rivers like the Serbenyu River, but it didn’t reach Ludwig’s land.
For Ariella, the sea was the only choice.
“But there’s one problem.”
She looked south.
The southern sea of the Demon King’s Domain had become home to an uninvited guest.
“According to the records, a Sea Serpent has lived there for hundreds of years.”
The young gold dragon, Pi, suddenly appeared.
“Lazy Ched!”
“Yes, Lord Pi!”
Ched had been cleaning, but when Pi arrived, his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Unfortunately, the little dragon carried no food bundle this time.
“I came too quickly and couldn’t stop by the kitchen. I’ll bring you food next time!”
“You came in a hurry? Why?”
After all, Pi usually just flew around collecting shiny things all day. What could be urgent?
“Lazy Ched!”
“Yes, Lord Pi!”
“I realized something important.”
Pi crossed his short arms, trying to imitate Ariella’s thinking pose.
But his arms were so short that his left hand couldn’t even reach his right elbow. He wiggled helplessly.
“Ched, you’re a demon, right?”
“Of course.”
“You demons have long arms and legs. No scales. Pale skin.”
“Well… yes.”
“Ariella too! Long arms and legs, no scales, smooth skin!”
Then Pi declared, with shining eyes:
“I want to transform into a body like yours! You must help me.”
Ched almost fell over.
“M-Me? Me??”
“Yes, you!”
“But how could I possibly help with that?”
“You did so well on your last mission. You can do this too.”
“Well, I guess, but…”
“I love my name. Everyone calls me Pi now. I flap my wings proudly! But my arms… they’re still so short! Sometimes it’s just too inconvenient!”
That was Pi’s problem.
“So I’ll find a way to transform when I need to. Only sometimes!”
“And how exactly am I supposed to find this way?”
“That’s your job!”
Ched clutched his head. His skull felt like it was splitting.
