Chapter 229 – Side Story, Or (9)

An unofficial state of emergency had been declared in the Imperial Capital.

All major officials were summoned back to the capital, and every military unit was placed on standby.

The reason: the Demon King’s resurrection was now considered all but confirmed.

Up to this point, the capital had taken a rather passive stance.

There simply hadn’t been any concrete evidence.

Maybe the ritual had failed. Maybe it wasn’t even a resurrection attempt in the first place.

But now? That was no longer the case.

Once Merilda, an Academy student, uncovered a clue, the investigation advanced at breakneck speed.

A mandala she claimed to have seen in an old book tucked away somewhere in the Academy’s library.

That was the final drop that overflowed the cup.

So why had the top cryptanalysis experts — who were supposed to know everything — failed to recognize something a mere student could identify?

The answer lay in the origin of that mysterious book.

Apparently, it had been part of a donation from Kaiden — a selection from his personal library. An ancient and arcane text, the existence of which most people wouldn’t even be aware of.

In any case—

Merely considering the possibility of the Demon King’s resurrection and confirming it are two entirely different things.

Until now, the capital had largely relied on the Special Operations Unit for any response.

But now, the entire army was placed on alert.

Imperial forces scattered across the land suddenly began returning en masse to their respective garrisons — an astonishing sight.

At a battalion outpost of the Central Capital Legion—

Amid the chaos of an unexpected midnight alert, the battalion commander barked at his staff officers.

“Hey, what the hell’s going on? What’s all this about?”

“Headquarters ordered full standby across the army, sir.”

“Yeah, but why? What’s the reason? What, did the Demon King come back to life or something?”

“Here are the orders, sir.”

“Hand ’em over.”

The commander read the document, tilting his head in bafflement.

“What the hell is this? Check the identity of every unknown person? What, is there a jailbreak or something?”

Beyond the identity checks, the orders contained several other directives.

Judging by the contents and tone, it seemed the capital was determined to find someone at all costs.

But one instruction, in particular, stood out as strange.

“…Search their hair?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Why search hair?

What exactly was going on?

“What’s the Legion saying?”

“They say just follow orders, sir.”

It sounded like even Legion HQ wasn’t offering a proper explanation.

Well, nothing to be done about it. A lowly battalion commander asking questions isn’t going to change anything.

Orders are orders.

“Call in all company commanders once they return. Operations Officer — get the checkpoint deployment maps and command board set up. Move fast!”

By the next morning, every checkpoint in the Empire was active, and patrols were dispatched to the borders and unclaimed zones.

Tens of thousands of troops were mobilized in this massive operation — yet no one knew exactly who they were supposed to be looking for.

But that didn’t mean the capital was being reckless or clueless.

If they went public with “The Demon King has returned — we must find him,” sheer panic would erupt.

And they had no idea what form his possession had taken.

They couldn’t simply say “a demon is roaming freely” either — that carried too much risk.

Ten years had passed since the war, but the terror of demons still ran deep in people’s minds.

And so, the good citizens of the Empire had to endure countless inconveniences to their daily lives — all without knowing why.

Among those affected was a certain senior professor at an Academy — one who was widely respected by both faculty and students alike for his dedication.

# # # #

“I told you, I’m not suspicious!”

I protested as Legion soldiers suddenly stepped forward to search me.

“Don’t touch my hair! You’re messing it up!”

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Olysia flailed her little fists at the soldier rifling through my hair.

“Why are you treating him like a criminal?!”

“Because he looks suspicious!”

“What part of this looks suspicious?!”

“You’re a grown man having dinner alone with a minor girl in the middle of the night — that’s suspicious!”

Ah, here we go. Now they’re mistaking me for a p3d0 again.

“What the hell is this?! I’m a retired Lieutenant Colonel! Bring me your battalion commander!”

The soldiers paused and gave me a second look.

“Did you say… Lieutenant Colonel?”

“Yeah, you brats! I was fighting on the front lines while you were still picking your noses! What’s with this treatment?!”

“That just makes it more suspicious! What kind of person gets that rank at your age?!”

I shoved them back and shouted.

“Goddamn it! And shouldn’t you be checking IDs first if you’re going to stop people?!”

“Oh — right. Yeah. We were supposed to check IDs first.”

I let out a hollow laugh. Ridiculous.

Judging by their rank insignia, they were all enlisted grunts.

Rumor had it that the Empire had mobilized the whole army for these inspections, and I guess they were short on personnel — sending out these barely-trained rookies in teams.

Well, as their senior, I suppose I can be understanding.

“Here. Take a look.”

I showed them the ID card proving I was an Academy professor.

“He looks like a lazy bum, but he actually has a job and a place to live!”

Olysia shouted indignantly beside me.

“Ah, right. You’re a professor at the Special Mission Academy. Our apologies.”

They returned my ID, then turned to Olysia.

“You too. ID, please.”

“I don’t have one. I’m a minor.”

“Then what’s your relationship to the professor? His daughter?”

“No, not daughter. I live with him in his residence and serve him— Wah?!”

Before she could finish her sentence, the soldiers jumped on me again.

“See?! Suspicious! A well-dressed professor keeping a young girl as a live-in servant?! What is this relationship?!”

“YOU BASTARDS! What else do you want as proof?! Bring me your commander! Hell, bring me your Legion commander!”

“You think the Legion commander’s your buddy?!”

“Isn’t it General Leon-whatever-his-name-is right now?! I fought alongside him during the war, back when he was a regimental commander!”

“Quiet! You’re coming with us!”

I had no choice but to comply.

I couldn’t exactly use force against soldiers officially on duty.

Still, it was clear now — Olysia needed some sort of document or ID to avoid this sort of thing in the future.

More importantly… what the hell is going on?

Did some dangerous criminal escape custody or something?

If that’s all it was, couldn’t they just send out a few members of the Special Ops Unit?

Would they really need to mobilize the entire Imperial military?

Unless… something like the Demon King secretly resurrecting and vanishing without a trace?

I chuckled to myself.

Nah. That’s impossible.

The Demon King did die. That was the final chapter.

There were no hints of resurrection, no sequels, no side stories.

Ever since I left the drawbridge at the capital, the story had broken free from the original.

This world stopped being someone's creation — it became a reality of its own.

And if something like that had happened, the emperor would’ve contacted me or Linus by now.

“Stop laughing and move it!”

“Alright, alright. You’ll regret this though. Just trying to help you out, little buddy.”

“Shut it, p3d0!”

“I prefer ‘more is better’ ideology.”

I laughed and let them drag me away.

# # # #

Damn it.

I’d just arrived in Calvasar and already I was stunned.

The streets were crawling with Imperial soldiers, and checkpoints had been set up at every major road.

Something big was going down. Big enough to warrant full military mobilization.

“You there. Stop.”

As I stood there wondering what to do, a group of soldiers flagged someone down.

A young man, accompanied by a young girl — his back turned to me, so I couldn’t see his face.

The soldiers started rifling through his hair without a word, and naturally, a commotion broke out.

The moment I saw that, I understood.

The Legion had begun moving to catch me.

They must’ve figured I’d cut off my horns to disguise myself.

And the moment I entered the capital — just my luck. Now I was a rat in a trap.

How did they figure it out?

No time to wonder. I needed to hide. Immediately.

“Call the Legion commander!!”

The man shouted, drawing all attention from the nearby soldiers.

I slipped into a side alley while they were distracted.

“Over here!”

Pressed against a corner, peeking out — when someone whispered to me from behind.

I turned. A man wrapped in old cloth gestured toward me.

“This way!”

“You know me?”

“You’re trying to avoid the inspection, aren’t you? I’m in the same boat. There’s a place to hide. Quickly!”

No time to think.

The noisy guy was being dragged off, and the patrols would resume soon.

I followed him. He opened a tiny side door beneath a building.

“Get in!”

It looked like an unused basement. Maybe an old sewer access point.

Filthy — but from the outside, it was invisible. A perfect hiding spot.

“It’s gross, but stay here for now.”

The man lit a small candle and gave me a kind smile.

“You’re hiding here too, huh?”

“That’s right. Can’t afford to get caught with unclear ID.”

“This place feels worse than jail.”

The man chuckled quietly.

“True. But there’s someone I must find — no matter what.”

“Someone worth hiding in a sewer for, huh? Must be important. Your runaway wife?”

“Haha! Not quite. By the way — you hungry?”

He pulled out a dry piece of bread and tore it in half.

“Here. You’ll need the energy if we’re both going to escape.”

As I took the bread, the man asked:

“So, what’s your reason for dodging the checks? You look perfectly normal to me.”

“I’m looking for someone named Dian. One of the Demon King Slaying Special Force. But it hasn’t been easy.”

I answered, tearing off a bite.

“No one I’ve met so far has heard the name. It’s all about Linus and the other members. Do you know anything?”

The man didn’t respond.

When I looked up, I saw him frozen mid-bite, staring with his mouth open.

“What? Not hungry? I’ll eat yours, then.”

As I reached for his bread, he spoke.

“…The fifth member of the Demon King Slaying Special Force…”

“What?”

“You’re talking about the forgotten hero…?”

I stared at him and asked quietly,

“You know Dian?”

“That’s the one I’m looking for.”

“You’re searching for Dian too?”

“Yes.”

The man’s face hardened.

“…Are you a Possessor as well?”

Possessor?