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Side Story Chapter 78

“I’ll need to take a long vacation later, but I’m fine right now,” Cain answered.

Joshua looked over his bloodied knight and nodded.

“That’s good to hear,” he said.

As a matter of fact, Joshua wasn’t in good shape either as he had overworked himself by detonating the last spear.

“But we basically lost. The demon got away.”

“That demon is Kiruea’s prey anyway. As his father, I should give him better prey, not take it away.”

Cain closed his mouth. He couldn’t help but wonder when Joshua had become considerate of others.

“Are you sure about this, Kireua?” Joshua asked.

Kireua quickly stood up from the ground. “Of course!”

“He’s one of the Seven Demon Kings, the strongest demons in the Demon Realm.”

“I think this is for the better.”

“For the better?” Joshua repeated.

“I got motivated and recovered west Avalon with ease.”

“…Haha.” Cain quietly chuckled. “He doesn’t get dispirited even if he loses, is confident, and resilient. His Highness is definitely your son, Your Majesty.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve never lost a fight in my life.”

“Why do you always have to ruin the mood?”

“I have to get the facts straight.” Joshua shrugged.

“It didn’t matter if your enemy was the emperor, your biological father, or an army a million strong, you smiled in situations where you were most likely to lose. That’s what I’m talking about.”

“You should have led with that.”

“I put it that way to console His Highness,” Cain grumbled. “Well, if I nitpick, we basically lost today. Ah—don’t say that it was for His Highness’s sake.” Cain raised an eyebrow.

“You saw Beelzebub dissipating like fog in the end, right? Gasification is the Demon King of Gluttony’s other ability. He synchronizes with people’s emotions and makes them lose their reason, allowing him to possess their body.”

Kireua\'s eyes widened when he realized what he had gone through. If that was true, it was truly horrifying.

“I can’t go after someone like him in my current state.” Joshua shook his head.

“Well, he must be a Demon King for a reason… Okay, I’ll let that go for now.”

“You’re so old that it wouldn’t be weird if someone called you a grandpa, but for some reason, you seem to have become more narrow-minded over time.”

“I also don’t usually nitpick unless I’m dealing with you.”

Joshua raised an eyebrow. “What did I do?”

“I have no reason for it, but I just want to get grouchy when I look at you. It’s all because of your karma.”

Joshua shook his head for a moment before turning his attention back to Kireua. “Anyhow, I think we haven’t finished talking.”

“Pardon…?”

“I’m talking about that thing on your shoulder, Kireua.”

Kireua’s confusion was wiped away by shock. “Y-You can see this?”

“Of course I can. Judging from your reaction, other people can’t see it, huh?” Joshua peered at Coal, who was crouching on Kireua’s shoulder, snoring.

“What in the world is on His Highness’s shoulder?” Cain asked. He was one of the strongest people on the entire continent, but even he couldn’t see it.

“Use mana to enhance your vision if you want to know. Focus only on the area on top of Kireua’s shoulders,” Joshua instructed.

“…I’ll give it a shot. Cain’s eyes sparkled and shortly after, he could discern the faint form of a cotton ball. “That’s…? What in the world is that?”

“You should ask Kireua himself. Do you know what that is, Kireua?”

Kireua hesitated for a moment.

“...I don’t know its exact identity, but the demon called Coal the Evil Sin of Greed.”

“Coal? Is that this alien creature’s name?” Joshua asked.

“Yes, that’s right…” Kireua’s face reddened slightly in embarrassment.

“D-Did you say the Evil Sin of Greed?” Cain spat.

“That is what I heard.”

“That demon earlier was the Demon King of Gluttony?”

Joshua nodded. “If you’re talking about Beelzebub, I’m certain he was.”

Cain drew his sword. “In other words, that alien creature is another demon that will harm His Highness someday. I’ll kill it myself.”

“W-Wait, Sir Cain.” Kireua stumbled backward.

“Your Highness, the reason why you’re suddenly able to use ebon flame is that demon, isn’t it?”

“I—”

“It was strange. Although I didn’t notice anything suspicious, the ebon flame is called the fire of the Demon Realm. Unsettling,” Cain murmured.

“C-Coal has never harmed me until now!”

“There is no guarantee that the demon will stay that way.”

Kireua took one more step backward, biting his lower lip.

Coal was still dozing on top of Kireua’s shoulder, unaware of the situation that it was in.

In truth, Kireua was also confused and had been momentarily suspicious of Coal because he’d lost control over his body too easily.

‘But it’s still wrong. I don’t have anything to back up my belief, but… I need Coal’s power to get revenge on a Demon King,’ Kireua thought.

Cain stomped right up to Kireua and held out his hand to Kireua. “Give it to me, Your Highness.”

“…No, I don’t want to.”

“Your Highness, this is not something you can be stubborn about. That creature might not only endanger you but also everyone in the Empire, including the Queen Consorts.”

“That’ll never happen. Besides, His Majesty is here now.” Kireua pointed at Joshua.

Cain halted.

“Even if this is really the power of a Demon King, the Martial God is right here in Avalon. Who can possibly even try to bring harm to the Empire?” Kireua asked.

“Your Highness, His Majesty is currently—”

Joshua raised his hand, cutting Cain off. “It’s fine.”

“What do you mean, ‘fine’? Your Majesty, no matter how I frame it, this is…”

“I’m saying that Coal will not be a danger.”

“…Pardon?” Cain gaped blankly at him.

Joshua turned to look at Coal. “The Evil Sin power of Gluttony is still together with its owner, Beelzebub, but I can’t detect any traces of Mammon, the original owner of Gluttony, from Coal.”

“Then…?” Cain trailed off.

“Coal is the power of Greed itself.”

“Master, I don’t understand. I thought that the Evil Sins’ powers are powers like the authorities of this land.”

“That is right, but unlike the other six, the power of Greed has one key difference.”

“What is it?”

“It’s the only Evil Sin power with a personality of its own.”.

This came as a shock to Cain. An Evil Sins’ power with a personality of its own was equivalent to one’s mana having a personality of its own and being able to think for itself.

“The highest ranking demons fought for eternity to obtain these powers, but the power of Greed has been choosing its owner for a long time, like the gods that people now call authorities,” Joshua explained.

“Oh my goodness…”

“So, Kireua…” Joshua gave his son a long look, making Kireua squirm until he finally gave up on protecting Coal. “...I trust you.”

Just like before, Joshua made only one remark, but Kireua’s face instantly brightened up. Kireua was an adult prince who had reached the peak of knighthood long ago, but he acted the same as a boy who received a toy from his father.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Kireua yelled.

Cain shook his head. Since Joshua had made his decision, there was no way of changing his mind. Regardless, Joshua demonstrated an ability to persuade and influence people so greatly that they were incited to their maximum potential.

‘This country still needs him,’ Cain thought. He decided that he would never let Joshua retire until the day he was buried.

“Kireua, go back to the Palace,” Joshua instructed.

“Pardon? B-But what about the rebel remnants of the west—”

“Cain and I’ll take care of them. I’ll also be able to meet Ranger. It’s about time.”

A faint smile spread on Cain’s face. “He might get too happy and faint.”

“I think I’ll get punched in the face. If that happens, please stop him.”

“I\'m also not feeling very well… so I can’t guarantee anything.”

“And you call yourself my guard?” Joshua narrowed his eyes at Cain.

Cain grinned. “You’ve been doing fine without any guards, haven’t you?”

Joshua gave Cain the side-eye and then let out a sigh. “So this is how you’ll get your revenge on me, huh? Where did I go wrong? And don’t tell your mothers that I got hurt, Kireua.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Kireua asked.

“I’m your dad.”

“…Yeah, I was worrying about nothing. I’ll help too, then.”

“No.” Joshua shook his head. “There is something you guys need to do back in Avalon.”

Kireua tilted his head in confusion because Joshua said ‘you guys’, not ‘you’.

“I started a very big event as soon as I returned—continent-wide big.”

“An event…?” Kireua was still confused.

“You’ll know once you arrive in Avalon. I want my sons to show the entire continent that Avalon is still doing well, okay? I’ll also be there, so don’t let the Four Paladins or whatnot from Hubalt walk away unscathed. I’m giving you my permission to beat their souls out of them. Take one each and break one limb at least. Do you understand?”

Joshua didn’t give Kireua a detailed explanation, but Kireua managed pieced it together more or less.

“Why aren’t you answering me? Are you not confident?” Joshua tilted his head. “That’s fine. I’m being honest when I say that you’re strong enough to deal with them. Their ‘Four Paladins’ titles is full of bubbles, you know.”

Kireua shook his head. “It’s not that.”

There was one thing Joshua had forgotten about.

“I was just thinking about breaking all the Four Paladins’ limbs.”.

Kireua’s temper took after his father’s.