Reincarnated as a Dragon and Raised by a Demon

The crimson mana of the Demon King began to escape from the Duke.

“With the blood and mana of my master, grant me a new life.”

Jema held the Duke in his hand and lightly drew blood from the tip of the Duke’s blade with his thumb.

“Ah, that hot and burning sensation!”

Receiving Jema’s blood and mana, the Duke glowed red on the blade and was enveloped in fire.

“Excellent mana!”

As the flames subsided, the Duke gently came to rest on the ground.

“Now, that sword is yours.”

“It feels a bit unpleasant, to have the mana flowing out like this.”

“You’ve probably been hungry for a while. You should rest quietly for today.”

Looking at Jema through the mana, I noticed that the amount of mana was visibly reduced by half compared to usual.

“I can’t move at all today.”

“Well, there’s no urgent matter at hand anyway.”

Knock. Knock.

The person who knocked on my room’s door was none other than Melorna.

“Did you call for me?”

“I’ll need you to guard Jema for today.”

As long as we’re inside the city and at the inn, there shouldn’t be any issues.

The need for protection was more of a formality; I simply wanted someone to talk to beside me.

While sending off the Demon King, I asked Melorna when Aila might return.

“I don’t know. It depends on her.”

“It seems like it’s taking longer than expected.”

“That’s right. At first, she tried to break out with force.”

In other words, it seemed she was considering using strength to escape confinement for a while instead of magic.

“Well, she won’t get out quickly.”

The Demon King boasted confidently, snapping his fingers as he disappeared.

If he didn’t return soon, I would be the one in trouble.

I was now more well-known than Aila, who typically didn’t attend public events.

If this continued, the day would come when I would completely replace Aila.

I began to walk towards the harbor.

In a two-story pub a bit further away, in the innermost room.

The door was completely unlocked, so I just opened it and stepped inside.

From one dark corner of the room, two eyes were watching me.

“Ah…. Captain.”

As I fumbled along the wall to turn on the light, the clear figure of Iwaf came into view.

Signs of battle were evident in various places.

“Weren’t you supposed to be undercover?”

“There was a bit of a scuffle at the scene….”

“What about Roxi?”

“She said she would watch from a distance, but she hasn’t returned yet.”

Given Iwaf’s injuries, it didn’t seem like a small conflict.

“Did you clash with Walker?”

“No. It was someone who was with that guy.”

There was no way she infiltrated alone.

I searched Roxi’s room briefly for tools to treat Iwaf’s injuries.

Opening the closet, it was filled with all sorts of items.

I took out a first aid kit from one corner, opened it, and checked its contents.

“This will do.”

I filled a large basin with water from the kitchen, dampened some gauze, and wiped the blood flowing from Iwaf’s wounds.

“Fortunately, the wounds aren’t too deep.”

“That guy is extremely dangerous. The dagger….”

“He’s the best assassin in the southern region.”

Turning towards the direction of the voice, I saw Roxi locking her door.

“You managed to escape unharmed.”

“That much is easy.”

After treating Iwaf’s injuries, I prepared to hear Roxi’s detailed report.

“Sorry, I’m kinda tired and want to lie down….”

Iwaf must have been really exhausted, as he fell asleep almost immediately after lying down.

“Now, tell me. What happened?”

“Walker has become the leader of the assassin group.”

That wasn’t particularly surprising.

I had already known that a person named Walker had been involved with the assassination organization before.

“He’s working under Walker, and he’s referred to as a Footprint, the best assassin in the south.”

“He sounds like the kind of person who fits well with Walker.”

“He’s very skilled. After eliminating a target, he leaves behind only a single footprint, which is how he got that name.”

Roxi speculated that part of Walker’s organization had infiltrated here in Harfen.

“Is it not the entire group?”

“As an assassination organization, I don’t know the exact number of members. But our forces aren’t so weak as to be overwhelmed by the entirety.”

I felt uneasy knowing that a dangerous person was inside the city, despite not knowing what Walker’s objective was.

“What do they want?”

“It seems they are making money by using the gambling house, although the income isn’t substantial.”

Since the gambling house wasn’t illegal, it wasn’t a big deal.

The problem was that the one operating it was a criminal who was on the run.

I didn’t know what purpose Walker had for returning, but I couldn’t just leave it alone.

Roxi had managed to gather quite a bit of information in a short time.

“There are a total of five members in Walker’s group. I’ve roughly identified four of them, except for one.”

That one person was known as “Footprint,” and according to Roxi, nothing else was known about him besides that nickname.

“This is someone we need to be cautious of. They can fight on par with the Knight Order.”

After external threats, now there was an internal enemy.

Moreover, the external threat hadn’t been completely eliminated yet.

“If we let it grow, it will become dangerous, so we need to uproot it.”

“Are you planning to take matters into your own hands?”

“I’ll ask a few people for help.”

It was about catching the rat that had hidden inside the castle walls.

“I’ll take Iwaf with me because he needs treatment. Why don’t you stay at the Knight Order’s inn for a while?”

“Our inn is often empty.”

Several knights, including Python, frequently found their inn nearly vacant.

Leaving Roxi alone here in a situation like this didn’t seem very safe.

“Is there any chance these guys will find us here?”

“I’ve definitely shaken off any tails….”

Roxi looked at the sleeping Iwaf.

If she had only been thinking of running away and came straight here, there was a possibility that she might have been followed.

“It doesn’t seem very safe here either. Let’s go.”

“Yes?”

“Our inn will likely be safer than here.”

It would be convenient to contact nearby members of the Knight Order if there was an emergency.

Roxi said she would prepare and started gathering her things from the closet.

To my surprise, everything she packed fit into one large backpack.

“By the way, aren’t you getting even a single escort from Python?”

“My mission is to gather information. If I miss the enemy, my job is to collect their traces.”

The implication was to avoid dangerous tasks and safely gather information.

“And we don’t have the capacity to assign guards.”

“That goes for us too.”

Staying at our inn is just relatively safe.

It doesn’t mean we could provide security.

If we pooled in everyone who could act right away, that would be about three people at most.

We also lack the ability to assign guards for Roxi.

“Instead, there are plenty of people nearby we can ask for help, so go there if anything happens.”

“Yes.”

The closest would be the Seventh Knight Order’s inn.

It was nearby, and I had occasionally visited.

Aside from that, Alex and Leon were a bit farther away towards the city hall, but it was still a sufficiently close distance.

When I arrived at the inn with Iwaf on my back, Jie was standing at the door.

“Oh, you’ve arrived?”

“Is something wrong?”

“First, let’s go inside.”

Jie’s voice was lower than usual, and he quickly scanned the surroundings.

Once inside, Jie pointed upstairs with his finger.

Silently following Jie, I climbed to the second floor and opened the door.

“Welcome.”

Waiting for us was none other than Riki.

As the two of them sat on the sofa provided in the room, I took the seat of honor.

“What’s going on?”

“Since this morning, I’ve sensed unusual movements around the inn.”

“Unusual movements?”

“Yes, the commander from the next knight order visited as well.”

Riki conveyed that while I was away, Frey had reported it.

What was happening now was certainly not random.

“It seems our tails have already found us.”

“That quickly?”

If Iwaf hadn’t moved while being careful about his trail, it would have been easy for them to find us.

The Knight Order was an elite group, so it wouldn’t be hard for someone to deduce who it was with just a few identifying features.

“Who dares target us?”

Mana began to seep from every part of Riki’s body.

Thanks to his enchanted sword, perhaps his mana’s intensity was gradually increasing, revealing a deeper shade.

“Calm down. I’m planning to discuss this matter with others anyway.”

“It’ll take a while.”

“I’ll make sure to get permission by tonight. Since this isn’t an official operation.”

I had received this request personally, but as I delved deeper, I found that the opponent had buried their roots quite deep in the organization.

Uprooting this alone would be difficult.

“So until I return, don’t do anything reckless and wait.”

I spread my mana around.

I knew they wouldn’t listen just by talking and might run outside.

With the weight of my mana, Riki and Jie responded with trembling voices.

“Ah, understood.”

I gathered back the mana I had dispersed and left the room.

This time, I would definitely catch that Walker for certain.

After leaving the inn, I headed straight to find Leon.

Just then, he was finishing getting ready to go out.

“Where are you headed?”

“I have business with the Seventh Knight Order.”

“Good. Let’s go together.”

Having someone who understands the situation with me would make it much easier to explain than doing it alone.

When Leon and I arrived at the Seventh Knight Order inn where Frey was staying, one of the members was waiting for us outside.

“I’ve been waiting. Please come in.”

Even though I hadn’t been formally invited, I was allowed inside as well.

Frey used the first floor as her office and room.

“You both came together?”

“By chance.”

“Please, have a seat.”

Frey invited us to sit in the chairs placed in front of her desk.

Once seated, there were snacks prepared in front of Leon, but not in front of me.

“I didn’t expect to see you, Ririan. I’ll share my half.”

Since a teapot was by Frey, I received a cup of tea and half the pastries.

“For now, it’s not very good news.”

Frey glanced at me once before fixing her gaze on Leon.

Since I already knew the detailed situation, it was clear she intended to only explain it to Leon.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems there’s a problem within the army. Ririan knows the details.”

“Please explain.”

Leon turned to me and asked.

I began recounting the story that I had heard from Roxi to the two of them.

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