194. How Rich Is He?
Unlike the current Ian, the Ian of her childhood was not a woman who wrapped herself in a trench coat every day, and was either on the battlefield or on the way to a dangerous mission.
When she was a child, she also liked cute clothes and was the apple of her mother’s eye.
Her mother was a tailor, and her father had been promoted to a knight. The family of three lived a very happy life.
At that time, Ian had even raised a cat.
Until her father, under the king’s command, became the vanguard against the demon army, and the peaceful days came to an end.
At that time, she would often ask her mother, “Where did Father go?”
And her mother’s answer was always the same: “When there are no more demons in this world, your father will come back.”
The demons were destroying the peace of humanity, and her father had gone to fight against them.
So, a sentence gradually appeared in Ian’s mind…
“As long as we exterminate all the demons, this world will be at peace.”
This sentence had remained in her heart until she became an intelligence officer in a Holy Knight squad.
She would indeed do so. After all, the shameless acts of the orcs in slaughtering humans were not just Ian’s personal hatred.
So, when the peaceful era after the God Slaying Society arrived, and then Elena started a trend, creating Delgon, a country where demons and humans could live in peace, she would feel a little uncomfortable.
As a retired Holy Knight after the war, it was actually very difficult for her to tolerate living with demons.
After all, some ideas were already deeply rooted and very difficult to change.
She would often complain and even attack demons who posed no threat. This kind of thing had continued until she had lived with Beth.
Beth had explained the basic composition of this world. Even though she had already carried out Elena’s secret orders and was known as the [Strange Pursuer], she still trusted Beth.
—Demons and humans, from a certain perspective, were essentially the same.
So, humans were not pure and innocent, and not all demons were invaders who liked to burn, kill, and plunder.
Therefore, for baseless hatred and unsubstantiated accusations, Ian began to treat them with contempt, as if she were despising her irrational past self.
A succubus, a thing that almost didn’t exist, how could it become an existence that would frame Josan?
However…
If she could eliminate all the evil in this world, then this world would eventually be at peace.
And that disappeared sun must represent something. No matter what, Ian wanted to figure out the reason.
“In other words, Ian believes that succubi don’t exist, and that Josan you mentioned… was framed by someone else?” After hearing Ian’s account of her own experiences, Beth stroked her chin and thought.
“Mmm.”
“I’m really happy that you can tell me the truth, Ian~”
“Call me by my proper name!”
“Hehe~”
Beth’s smile was very sweet. Beth’s smile was very sweet.
Looking at her beautiful face, Ian suddenly discovered that her heart was racing.
Actually, this wasn’t the first time she had been nervous. Lying on Beth’s bed, completely naked, would it really magnify her shame?
Ian didn’t think much.
“So tonight is the last mission, Beth. If I can come back safely, we…”
“Get married?” Beth’s eyes widened in excitement.
“What are you talking about? Are you a dummy!” Ian discovered that Beth’s head did indeed have strange things in it.
Could there really be that kind of feeling between girls?
Beth giggled foolishly and got away with it by holding Beth’s hands and swinging them back and forth.
In a daze, Ian wanted time to be forever frozen at this moment, to never pass.
—
In the early morning, Beth prepared “dinner” for Ian and then said goodbye to see her off.
The two didn’t say much.
Ian got on the carriage that had been parked in front of the door for a long time. After getting on, it was the man who had provided her with the clue.
The two nodded in greeting. Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at a hidden, large warehouse. The man skillfully got off with his longsword, covered for Ian to enter the warehouse, and left with Josan. After the mission was completed, he made a quiet gesture and said goodbye to Ian.
The meaning: “Good luck in battle.”
Arriving at the foot of the warehouse, Ian saw Josan, who was equipped with a full set of magic weapons, and Ezech, who was holding a cup of coffee. The three looked at each other.
“You mean, we’re the only three left?” Ian couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yes, and the place we’re going next is only known to the three of us.”
“How much further? Oh, Goddess of Light…”
Ezech seemed to have walked here on foot with Josan. He wasn’t tired, but he was afraid that the dew on the grass would dirty his clothes.
The group passed by the warehouse and walked towards the depths of the forest behind them. Just as Josan had said, they had walked for an hour…
and had arrived in front of a huge, castle-like building.
Rather than a castle, it was more like a secret research base built in the forest.
The stone piers were covered with unkempt weeds, and the most conspicuous feature was the two mechanical magic golems guarding the end of the steps, at the main door.
The mechanical magic golems were all [Berserker class], not something ordinary people could contend with.
“Before Josan could explain, Ian sighed and said in a disdainful voice:
“Don’t tell me the core is in your secret research headquarters?”
“It is indeed here,” Josan said in a low voice. Rather than being righteous, Ian could see that he still really wanted to take the core back. His expensive magic weapons were the most sufficient evidence.
“Why is it here?” Ezech poked his head out.
“I think no matter who our enemy is, he is very smart, because this core is no longer a secret. I’m afraid even the cursed one, Mia, knows of its existence. So, hiding it in the safest place is the best choice.”
“This way, the enemy can only find the research institute’s… you, right?” Ian also understood.
“Yes, so this person is very smart.”
The three exchanged a glance and cautiously walked towards the main door. Ian had originally thought that Josan had a way to use the magic weapons on his body to control the magic golems and paralyze them, which was why he had dared to walk over so swaggeringly.
But unexpectedly, Josan suddenly threw out a wave-shaped short sword.
The short sword accelerated in the air and actually broke through the magic golem’s perception, piercing into the stone bricks under the magic golem’s body.
Then, that short sword actually shattered with a roar, emitting a vast magic field, forming a semi-transparent red barrier, and trapping the two magic golems inside.
The space within the barrier began to collapse and distort with a roar, until the magic golems were crushed into pieces by the space and various forces.
And what was most exquisite was that even if the magic golems exploded within the barrier, the loud sound did not travel to the outside, as if it were separated by an invisible barrier.
“Damn it…” Josan clenched his fists tightly.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t we win?” Ian asked in consolation.
“Hehe, that short sword cost me 20,000 gold coins. I didn’t expect it to be a one-time-use item!”
“How rich are you?!”
