The magic cards I made are absolutely flawless!

[Illustrations for Volume 5]

Here are the illustrations for Volume 5 that were previously announced!

The Shadow World section of Volume 5 should have revealed most of the foreshadowing from earlier chapters. This chapter and the next are essentially the prologue to the Holy Kingdom Shadow World. In fact, the plot structure for the rest of the story is already quite clear: after the Hero Festival in the present world, the Holy Kingdom Shadow World arc will begin.

Because only images under 500kb can be uploaded, the image quality has been significantly compressed. Below are two slightly enlarged close-ups.

The original image is in the group files (group 948957812). If the group is full, I will create a new group and post the new group number when I create a new chapter.

Please vote with your monthly tickets! [1 extra chapter for every 500 monthly tickets], let's make a final push before the end of the month!

And let me reiterate, all the bounties owed for this book will be paid off in this book; there's no such thing as paying them off in a future book. The chapters that weren't finished when the main story reached its seventh volume will all be converted into free side stories and epilogues to extend the book. Whether it can reach an eighth volume depends on this, because it's confirmed that even by the end, the bounties won't be fully paid off. Therefore, this is the last and only chance for this book to top the monthly ticket charts.

284 The Holy Kingdom Dream of Dekan

A few minutes later.

The aurora borealis resembled a wisp of smoke in the starry sky, remaining motionless for a long time.

The moonlit night was slightly cool, and all was quiet. The gray-haired youth strolled through the mountains and fields without ever looking back.

He continued forward, the bright moonlight generously illuminating the flowers around him.

Behind the lord's manor lies a cliffside sea of ​​flowers.

At the end stands a towering ancient tree.

His destination was there.

A red-haired girl with a slightly haggard face leaned against the tree.

His footsteps quietly disappeared into the grass, but he didn't expect to shatter the rare tranquility of the sea of ​​flowers.

As if by coincidence, the wind and clouds rose and she was awakened by the noise. She opened her eyes and looked at the grass and waves reflecting the surging moonlight. She slowly stood up, leaning on the tree trunk, and looked at the lonely gray figure opposite her with a kind smile.

The gray-haired youth frowned, seemingly unable to understand why she was laughing.

Just as the gray-haired youth was about to say something...

The red-haired girl gently raised her hand and pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling him not to speak.

The gray-haired youth swallowed back the words he was about to say and walked towards the girl with a somewhat sullen expression.

The red-haired girl smiled as the gray-haired youth walked up to her and asked:

"Delois, I guess you want to ask me now whether my smile is out of kindness or malice, or perhaps neither?"

Delois shook his head:

“Miss, you know I can’t understand human kindness and feelings, so why are you deliberately making things difficult for me?”

He didn't understand this girl.

Her name is Coraldia, and she is the daughter of the lord of this territory.

My first encounter with her and her father was about three years ago.

It started as a casual whim; he happened to save a lord who had been ambushed and was on the verge of death, and wanted to study this down-on-his-luck middle-aged man with a desperate yet stubborn look in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, the lord with unique insight saw through his disguise as a demon.

Just as Delois was about to kill the lord to silence him, the lord actually proposed a contract to him.

The lord promised to teach Dolois more about humanity and how to disguise himself more perfectly, in exchange for Dolois lending him his power.

And at the end of the contract, the lord also willingly gave his life to Delois.

Perhaps it was because they found some interesting emotions and traits in this lord.

For example, the lord might find some humans more evil than demons.

Delois readily accepted the contract.

After signing the contract, he completed all of the lord's requests within a few months, and in the process, he also learned a lot from the lord.

For Delois, their contract had already ended.

He should, as agreed, take the lord's life and then leave the place.

But change always happens faster than plans.

In the eyes of Deloitte, who was fond of studying anthropology, the lord's daughter, this conspicuous red-haired girl, was like an outlier.

Delois could never understand her thoughts and feelings.

She perplexed Deloitte like a set of puzzles.

He had originally planned to leave this territory long ago.

It was because of this girl that they stayed here for another two years.

He also lived like a real human being for two years.

Although in the first few months, Delois mostly did dirty work such as cleaning up villains.

But in the following two years, he helped the leader organize many other things, which can be described as doing good deeds and accumulating merit.

This is utterly absurd for a demon.

Perhaps an ordinary demon would have already been driven mad by this kind of morally corrupting test.

But for Delois, all of this was worthwhile.

If one day I can understand this girl's thoughts, then I will definitely take a big step closer to understanding the great academic subject of human emotions.

Unfortunately, Coraldia suffers from an incurable disease that is not present in this era, and she is nearing the end of her life.

I don't know if I'll be able to find out the answer before she dies.

But that's alright.

As long as she dies.

He had no reason to stay in this territory any longer.

Now you can proceed to your next destination with peace of mind.

Delois thought about it, and his expression gradually returned to normal.

That perfect fake smile.

However, before the young girl Clotea could utter another word...

Her expression turned pale, and she swayed slightly.

It seemed that standing up had exhausted all her strength.

Delois quickly stepped forward and helped her up.

It was not out of concern.

Rather, it's a conditioned reflex of being an excellent housekeeper.

The moment Deloitte actually touched her, she realized how thin and haggard she had become, as if she were about to disappear at any moment, like a feather.

Perhaps those chosen by death become more delicate and graceful, as if to demonstrate that death is superior to life.

There was no sadness on her face.

Only that warm smile, which seemed to dispel even the moonlight.

For some reason, Deloitte felt that she was more beautiful than any work of art he had ever seen before.

"I may not have much time left... I may not be able to give you the answer you want to know."

"Claudia said weakly."

She gradually lost even the strength to stand.

She let Dolois hold her and nestled in his arms without any suspicion.

"It's alright. This was an unexpected surprise outside of the deal between me and the lord. I won't be disappointed by your death, nor will I feel the same sadness and grief as the lord."

Delois's words sounded extremely malicious.

What he said was indeed the truth.

Demons cannot feel the sorrow of parting from humans.

However, this did not make the red-haired girl sad or angry; she seemed to have gotten used to this gray devil friend.

She simply continued:

"Even though you say that and you think that way, the memories of the past three years we've spent together are all in your mind, right?"

Delois: "Yes."

Hearing Dolois's affirmative answer, the red-haired girl smiled gently:

"Let me tell you, people's thoughts change over time. When you think back on me someday, you might have different thoughts."

Delois frowned.

It seems to have become even more confusing.

"I can't understand it. It took me years just to learn how to distinguish between what humans call good and evil. Not to mention the strange things you keep saying. After all, I can't possibly become a real human being."

The girl smiled helplessly and shook her head, seemingly preparing to change the subject, and asked:

"If it were possible to become a human, would you want to be a good person or a bad person?"

Dolos didn't dislike talking to her; he would answer any question she asked.

As long as she can still pose difficult questions.

My interest in her won't diminish.

If I had another five or ten years, maybe I could really find the answer.

So Delois thought for a moment and replied:

“…I don’t know, but I do know that if it is done according to the wishes of Miss and Lord, the things you asked me to do can be called punishing evil and promoting good, so I did a good deed.”