The Unusual Adventurer

Just as Vivian and Lucia delved deep into the mine veins for their investigation, on the very next day, a lavishly decorated yet dust-covered merchant caravan appeared at the rather plain gates of Evernight City, accompanied by the clear ringing of camel bells.

“Inform Her Majesty the Demon Lord that Angste of the Gilded Gold Chamber of Commerce requests an audience,” the leading female merchant said to the guards with a smile.

She still carried herself with that sharp, capable air—her silver-white hair neatly coiled into an elegant chignon, dressed in a perfectly tailored merchant’s robe of fine material.

Despite the long journey, she showed scarcely any disarray.

Though the scale of her caravan was not as grand as the last time, the crates loaded onto the wagons were clearly heavy, their weight evident even at a glance.

The guards immediately sent someone to notify Lucia, who was currently wrestling with a mountain of documents.

“Angste? Why does she have to show up right now…”

Lucia lifted her head from a pile of pending supply requisitions, her ice-blue brows furrowing slightly. She could already feel the familiar ache beginning to throb in her temples.

Her Majesty had ventured into the deepest parts of the mine last night. Even at the fastest pace, the round trip would take at least a full day.

Barely half a day had passed—she could not possibly return yet. Aria, meanwhile, was following the Demon Lord’s orders to drill the new army.

That left Lucia herself to handle governmental affairs.

Receiving a merchant caravan at a time like this was… inconvenient.

Yet the Gilded Gold Chamber of Commerce was an important trade partner for the Evernight Territory. She could not afford to slight them.

“Let her in. I’ll receive her first,” Lucia decided after a moment’s thought, drawing a deep breath laced with weary resignation.

“Also send someone to inform Aria and have her prepare. If possible, ask her to come as well—even though Angste has always been friendly, it never hurts to be cautious.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

As the messenger departed, Lucia let out a melancholy sigh.

“Sigh… I was just hoping I might slack off for a single day and do some light paperwork. Instead I have to entertain a VIP like this… What exactly did I come to the Evernight Territory to do? Why does it feel like I’m getting busier by the day?”

The Frost Banshee’s face was etched with woe. When she had accepted this assignment, she truly hadn’t expected to be worked like a mule.

Had she known she would suffer this much, she would rather have stayed in the Winter Territory until she died of boredom. Guarding the front lines would have been better than slaving away here.

Lucia inwardly wailed, feeling as though coming to Evernight had been the equivalent of signing an indenture contract.

The once-aloof Frost Banshee had been reduced to a “governmental brick” to be moved wherever needed—and now she was moonlighting as a diplomat too.

But there was no helping it. She quickly buried her little grievances deep inside, and soon enough, Angste arrived before her with several guards in tow.

“Miss Lucia, it has been too long.” Angste performed an elegant curtsey. “I had hoped to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Demon Lord directly, but I hear she is away?”

“Yes, Her Majesty is attending to some private matters,” Lucia replied smoothly, having already composed herself.

“However, Lady Angste, feel free to tell me whatever it is you wish to discuss—Her Majesty trusts me completely, and my word carries her full authority.”

“Then allow me to explain something I believe the Lord of Evernight will find most interesting.”

“These are engineering blueprints that have circulated out from the prosperous core territories of the Demon Clan.”

Angste smiled as she introduced them, her tone carrying just the right touch of pride. “Improved waterwheel designs, new types of blacksmith forges, and several alchemical formulae.

I know Evernight is currently focused on large-scale development—these should prove quite useful.”

Lucia accepted the blueprints and skimmed through them.

With her discerning eye, she could immediately tell they were genuinely valuable—especially the improved waterwheel design, which aligned perfectly with some of the ideas Her Majesty had mentioned before.

She had long known that the border Demon Lord territories lagged behind the core regions that the Demon Clan had managed for centuries, but she hadn’t expected the gap to be laid out so starkly. Yet Angste had somehow acquired an entire crate of mature technical blueprints with apparent ease.

Thinking of how Vivian stayed up until the dead of night, personally drafting sketches and crunching numbers, a complicated feeling rose in Lucia’s chest.

Though she herself loathed overtime with every fiber of her being, seeing her superior pour her heart and soul into the work still made her hope the Demon Lord could take things a little easier.

Perhaps these ready-made blueprints really could lighten the load and give that workaholic Demon Lord a moment to breathe?

The Frost Banshee’s expression remained unchanged, yet deep inside she earnestly wished Vivian’s burden could be lessened.

“And this.”

Angste opened a second crate. Inside lay rare ores and magical materials—mithril ore, dragonblood grass, moonstones… all essential ingredients for crafting high-tier equipment, painstakingly gathered from across the lands.

Lucia’s expression grew solemn. These materials were priceless, and Angste would never give away something so valuable without wanting something in return.

“Lady Angste, I can feel your sincerity,” Lucia said calmly. “So—what is it you want?”

“Straight to the point. I like that.” Angste chuckled. “It’s quite simple: priority supply rights to Evernight Crystals, increased production quotas, deeper cooperative projects, and…”

She paused, her gaze turning meaningful. “I would like to know the source of Evernight’s technological advancements.”

Lucia’s eyes sharpened instantly. “What do you mean by that?”

“Miss Lucia, please don’t misunderstand—I bear no ill will.” Angste spread her hands in a gesture of openness.

“I’m merely curious. The changes Evernight has undergone in just a few short months are simply too extraordinary—standardized administration, advanced agricultural techniques, educational concepts I have never heard of before… none of these feel like things the Demon Clan would traditionally possess.”

At this point, Lucia’s expression turned grave. Clearly, during the time Angste had been away, her intelligence network had never stopped monitoring Evernight.

The personnel left behind by the Gilded Gold Chamber of Commerce had been reporting every single change in detail.

“Moreover,” Angste continued, her tone growing more serious, “after I left last time, I conducted some investigations of my own. I discovered that before Her Majesty Vivian reclaimed her throne, she displayed no particularly remarkable talents. Her strength was respectable, and the territory itself was merely inherited from the previous Demon Lord. Yet after reclaiming her position, she suddenly became… extraordinarily different.”

“This naturally makes one wonder—where exactly did all of this come from?”

Lucia fell silent.

She knew Her Majesty harbored many secrets, but those were not hers to reveal—and she didn’t even have the authority to know most of them.

“Lady Angste,” Lucia said after taking a steadying breath, meeting the woman’s gaze calmly, “matters concerning Her Majesty are not for me to discuss lightly. If you truly wish to know, you may ask her yourself when she returns.”

“However,” Lucia’s tone suddenly hardened, “no matter where Her Majesty’s knowledge comes from, she is the legitimate ruler of Evernight and the leader we follow with absolute loyalty. Anyone who questions her is an enemy of Evernight.”

Angste blinked, then smiled.

“It seems Her Majesty commands great loyalty.” She spoke softly. “Miss Lucia, you misunderstand—I am not questioning her. On the contrary, I admire her deeply.”

“A ruler capable of bringing about such transformation while keeping her territory and city brimming with vitality and stability deserves respect, regardless of where her knowledge originated.”

“As a merchant, it is only natural that I wish to understand my business partner more thoroughly. After all, when cooperating with a mysterious yet immensely promising power, one must know at least a little of their background, mustn’t one?”

Lucia regarded her for a long moment before replying, “Since you put it that way, I can share some public information.”

“Her Majesty does indeed possess certain… extraordinary knowledge that allows her to view the world from an entirely new perspective and enact corresponding changes. As for the precise origin of that knowledge, I’m afraid I cannot disclose.”

“But one thing I can guarantee,” Lucia declared, her gaze unwavering, “everything Her Majesty does is for the betterment of Evernight and the improved lives of its people. She harbors no evil intentions and poses no threat to any friendly power.”

Angste nodded thoughtfully.

“I understand,” she said. “Then, regarding priority supply rights to Evernight Crystals… the recent batches have been far too small in quantity.

We need more, though I know that requires seizing quota from the Winter Territory…”

“Very well. I can agree to that,” Lucia said after a brief pause. “On one condition—you must guarantee that Evernight Crystals will not fall into the hands of hostile forces, especially the churches and armies of the human kingdoms.”

She was, of course, well aware that the Gilded Gold Chamber of Commerce engaged in smuggling and dealings with other races for profit, which was why she added that stipulation.

“Naturally,” Angste agreed readily. “The reputation of the Gilded Gold Chamber of Commerce is beyond reproach.”

The two then discussed further details of the transaction and eventually reached an agreement.

As Angste rose to take her leave, she suddenly turned back. “By the way, Miss Lucia, I’ve recently heard some rumors from the human kingdoms.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“That anomalous adventurers have begun appearing.” Angste’s expression grew grave. “This is no joke. They possess power far beyond reason and seem particularly interested in demon territories. Aside from the direction of Evernight, several small border territories in other regions have already been attacked.”

Lucia’s heart tightened. “Anomalous adventurers?”

“Yes. Their fighting styles are bizarre, and the weapons and magic they use often fall outside conventional norms. Moreover, it is said that after they are killed, their corpses vanish almost immediately, as if they never existed.” Angste lowered her voice. “I found the whole thing highly irregular, so I made sure to warn you.”

“Evernight is flourishing so beautifully right now—be careful not to catch their eye.”

“I understand. Thank you for the warning.”

Lucia nodded. The moment Angste departed, she immediately summoned Aria and Luna Te and relayed the information.

“Anomalous adventurers?” Aria’s face darkened. “Now that you mention it, when I was guarding the Demon Lord’s castle, I think I encountered some of those strange fellows… When I later went to deal with the bodies, they had suddenly vanished. I thought I was just exhausted and seeing things, but…”

“Regardless, we must inform Her Majesty as soon as possible.”

“She’s still deep inside the mine veins,” Lucia said. “Sending someone now would be pointless. Her Majesty will return naturally once she finishes her business—we’ll wait.”

At that very moment, far within the mine veins, Vivian and Lucia had already reached the core region.

Here, the Evernight Crystals emitted a gentle radiance that bathed the entire space in a dreamlike glow. At the deepest point, they finally beheld the source of that “heartbeat”—an enormous, pulsating crystalline heart.

Strange veins of energy flowed across its surface like the blood vessels of a living creature. And at the very center of the core, Vivian dimly perceived a hazy silhouette.

It appeared to be… the outline of a human.