The Elemental Sword Demon King
Episode 165: Exchanging Information
POV: Kirigaya Kaizo
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Shining in the Wind Palace, the sun had risen high. Kaizo and his group were having breakfast by the river.
"Seriously, you should have told us earlier that you were only doing sword training."
"That's absolutely right! I thought, you guys must have done something else..."
"I almost thought Kaizo was going to attack poor Eve!"
"As if it really happened! What kind of person am I in your eyes?!" Half narrowing his eyes, Kaizo glared at the three upper-class women who were blushing in their ears before him.
Awfully playing her finger, Eve muttered softly at the side, "Umm, I-I'm actually ready..."
"Did you say something, Eve?"
"N-no, nothing!" Eve's face instantly became a dead red
Kaizo frowned, "That's it. Anyway, let's eat before the food gets cold."
Sitting beside Kaizo, Nyx nodded impatiently, "Again, Kaizo."
The trunk of the tree is split to serve as a table, hot dishes are prepared for breakfast. The perfect toast. Fish from the river are roasted on fire and seasoned with salt.
Wild concoction salad, saute mushrooms with butter. Then there is the Neidfrost family special chicken soup recipe that uses ginger and spices effectively without exception, and each dish looks very delicious.
"So, good-bye. It's my confident creation." Aura proudly puffed out her chest.
"But really, it's very fancy. Where did you get all the ingredients?"
These dishes could not have been made using just the canned food they carry.
"Salamander and I collected it while you were sleeping."
"This asylum forest is truly a treasure trove of materials."
"A little like the Forest Spirit Academy, I guess. By the way, this place feels like some kind of other world."
In addition to being inhabited by many fine creatures, its ecology also feels no different from the land.
The former maiden princess in the Divine Ritual Obsession, Tiana, explained to her, "Kaizo, it's because this Wind Palace is a sanctuary ruled directly by the Elemental Lords. After all, given the large number of princess maids serving them, wouldn't it be a problem if they couldn't survive here?"
(That's. It seemed like this was a pretty special place, even in the Astral Spirit realm.)
"I'm going to hunt a giant boar for lunch." Aura suggested as she made a bow drawing gesture.
Normally, hunting was forbidden in this Sanctuary, as it was the territory of the Elemental Lords. Only during the Sword Style Festival were the restrictions lifted.
"I'll take part too. Although cooking is not my specialty, hunting is my specialty."
"But I don't like hunting. Thinking of killing those adorable, furry animals..." Eve frowned and picked up the Salamander who was busy eating the fish, hugging the beast in her chest.
"Grrr grrr grrr," confused, Salamander began to struggle noisily.
"Eve, surrender. Salamander doesn't like it if you do that."
"mmmmmmm. N-there's nothing like that! Look, Salamander and I are so close!"
"Grrr!"
Seeing the two of them with a sour expression, Kaizo drank a special soup. The taste of ginger, after actually getting into the soup, is immediately felt. He could feel his body warm from the core.
Sitting beside her, Nyx gave an expressionless compliment, "Tasting Aura is really good."
"Fufuu, Nyx, you should eat more if you want to grow faster."
As Aura stroked Nyx's head gently, Kaizo mocked her comment, "No, Nyx is a spirit, so she won't grow up."
"Well, I must admit, your cooking skills are commendable. When I restore the Lionstein family to its former glory once again, I might consider making you a servant."
As Aura began to show excitement, she was confused, "Hey wait a moment, why should I be your servant in the first place!?"
"A variety of waiters might suit you unexpectedly, you know?"
"W-what are you talking about!? Obviously it suits you better than me!" Aura replied in anger.
(By the way, didn't he get angry in a rather unusual way?) Kaizo tilted her head in confusion as she saw the two childhood friends fighting.
****
After breakfast, the group holds a meeting to decide their next strategy. Kaizo stared at the map on the table as she drank the tea brewed by Aura.
Using the spirit of the earth to spy
around the perimeter, the information gathered is then used to draw this map. Victoria seems to have artistic talent, as the resulting map is quite simple and easy to understand.
Victoria said, other than around their fort covered by a barrier, almost everywhere was empty. For example, they still did not know about the size of this entire Wind Palace.
"So, let's organize and summarize the information we have." Laying her teacup lightly, Victoria began to describe the current situation.
The main battle event of the Sword Style Festival, «Tempest», had a total of twenty-four participating teams. Based on the reports from the wind spirits sent to all the teams, the team that had been eliminated on the first day was clearly shown.
On the other hand, the Four Gods of the Bonia Kingdom, the Holy Spirit Knights of the Lugia Holy Kingdom, and various other powerful teams had built a safe fortress.
Having failed in their nocturnal attack on the first night, the Draconian Dragon Emperor Knight, one of the main candidate teams for the victory was currently slightly behind. But given their level of strength, it was not really considered a major setback.
"What I want to know the most is the information about Team Inferno, but unfortunately I don't even know where their fortress is."
"It looks like their team has an elementalist who is an expert in espionage techniques. All the wind spirits I sent for the scouts have been destroyed." Eve reported softly and regretfully.
"An elementalist who's an expert in espionage techniques, eh?" Suddenly, Kaizo recalled the girl with jade-colored hair that he had seen at the opening ceremony.
His face had been hidden by hooded clothes, but those pointed ears were definitely signs of the Elfim race. Born with exceptional skill in presence concealment, many Elfim who are elementalists take on the task of espionage.
"However, we get important information related to Team Inferno."
Eve's words made everyone pay attention.
"Remember the ominous-looking black knight who appeared at the opening ceremony?"
"Who can forget that!" Victoria showed a submissive expression. All the other girls nodded one after another. Clearly, Kaizo was not the only one who felt the ominous aura of the black knight.
"What about the black knight?"
"Yes. From the looks of it, the black knight had separated from the Inferno Team and was currently acting alone. Previously, it was mentioned that there were teams that were eliminated on the first day, right?"
"Could it be?!"
"Yes. The odds are exactly that. The team representing Jarin Kingdom, the girls seem to be finished off by the black knight alone."
"One man wiped out an entire team of Jarin Kingdom, yes..." Kaizo murmured seriously. Anyone who truly achieved that, was truly a monster that was beyond doubt.
"What kind of contracted spirit served the black knight? If we know what attributes that spirit has, maybe we can come up with a counter-strategy?"
"Ah yes, that is..." Faced with Victoria's question, Eve stutters and replies, "The spirit of darkness in the form of a human girl."
Everyone gasp. Kaizo's eyes widened in surprise. He could not help, but called out his name, "Alicia!?"
"That dark spirit girl, indeed..."
"The former spirit contracted Kaizo, right?" Victoria and Tiana whispered softly in worry. Eve and Aura exchanged awkward looks.
Although the two had never met Alicia in person, after a mission in the mining town, they had learned about Kaizo's past to some extent. They knew that Alicia was a very important existence to him.
...
*Connected.....
*Note: This story is fictitious. If there is a similarity in the name of the character, the scene, or the story, it is a mere coincidence and there is no element of intentionality.