# Chapter 84
At that time, the Empire and other kingdoms had used that place as a stronghold, but since the fall of the Demon King's Castle, the borders had loosened and the area had been neglected.
"Otheloid."
"Yes?"
"Start the investigation from Otheloid.
Find every possible path into the Empire through Otheloid."
Upon Kiriel's command, Levon immediately froze in place.
In truth, no one was unaware of Otheloid.
It was the boundary between good and evil.
The benchmark of holiness and demons.
Long ago, there were even rumors that it was a city where demons and humans coexisted in harmony.
"...Could it be?"
"Don’t doubt it.
Just investigate and bring me the findings.
It’s likely that the child was very young, probably unable to walk properly.
Also, there’s a high chance that the child was with a woman."
It was highly probable that the woman named "Luri," often mentioned by Burnie, had been with him continuously.
"...Understood."
"Proceed in secrecy."
"Yes."
Levon silently bowed his head at Kiriel's words.
His job was to follow Kiriel’s orders, not to question them.
Thud.
After Levon closed the door and left, Kiriel let out a short sigh.
He stared at the glass orb for a moment before picking it up and glancing at the clock beside him.
It was time for his meeting with the Duke.
'If it weren’t for the mining issue Burnie mentioned, I wouldn’t want to leave.'
However, the term "purification stone" lingered in his mind, bothering him.
It was a name he had never heard before, after all.
Lost in thought, Kiriel reached for his coat, preparing to leave his office, but stopped abruptly.
'...I’ve really become diligent.'
Since when had he started keeping promises and going to the office every day?
It seemed laughable, but ever since he had become a father, he had naturally become more disciplined, and there were now many tasks to attend to.
"Burnie... still so clever and useful?
If you hug Daddy, I’ll cry."
Burnie had, strangely enough, been very mature even when they first met.
She seemed like the kind of child who, without experiencing any hardship, had grown up only in love—a soft, innocent, pure yet curiously grown-up child.
Thinking back, every time Burnie came to visit, she brought information like "In a few days, something big will happen here" or "Something in this shop is going to become a huge success."
On days when she didn’t have any information, she would bring a worn cloth bag full of fairy tales.
‘She never came empty-handed.’
Burnie must have considered those things "useful" in her mind.
She probably believed that only if she was useful, unbothersome, and clever would she not be abandoned.
"Burnie’s so smart!
And she has great eggs too!
And she’ll probably be able to cast the greatest spell...
So, if Burnie is here, the King gets so much more!
It’s no trouble at all, and I get allowance!"
At their first meeting, Burnie had said such peculiar and strange things, and Kiriel had thought her to be an odd child.
But maybe... she thought that’s how she could make herself needed by others.
'Is that why she wants to be an adult?'
A sharp, fleeting sensation suddenly ran through his chest, and he pressed his hand over his heart.
It was strange—every time he thought of the child, his heart felt as though it was being pricked.
Kiriel finally entered the conference room, pushing the door gently.
"...I told you to leave that child alone!"
Crash, bang!
Of course, it wasn’t much of a secret that only minutes after Kiriel stepped into the conference room, the door had been half-destroyed and embedded in the marble wall.
***
"......"
"......"
"......"
The sound of eyes rolling was the only noise breaking the heavy silence.
Burnie stole a glance at Allen.
Allen shook his head and looked at Kalvado.
Kalvado also shook his head.
'Daddy’s sharp.
It stings.'
Kiriel’s energy, which had been spreading, had felt incredibly sharp, and Burnie quietly asked, "Daddy, are you mad?"
"Hmm?"
At the sound of Burnie’s voice, Kiriel slowly lifted his gaze, which had been frozen with a fork and knife in hand, to look at her.
Seeing the eyes of all three children on him, he clicked his tongue inwardly, set down his utensils, and rubbed his brow.
"No, I was just thinking about something."
"Lie."
Burnie immediately stamped her little "lie" stamp on his words.
Kiriel paused for a moment.
"Daddy, sharp, sharp."
"...What do you mean, sharp and sharp?"
"Ugh...
Daddy, you’re always sharp and stingy, so it feels prickly!"
Kiriel couldn’t understand a single word of what Burnie had said, so he vaguely nodded and waved it off.
One thing was clear: it seemed he wasn’t in a good mood.
Trying to push down the dizziness in his head, Kiriel slowly spoke.
"Burnie."
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you one thing?"
A request?
Burnie’s eyes lit up at Kiriel's words.
"A trial?!"
"A trial...?"
Where did that come from?
Kiriel couldn’t hide his confusion as he looked at Burnie, who was eagerly fidgeting.
This was because Burnie had once heard a story from Luriel’s fairy tale book.
In the story, the protagonist always faced a trial that began with a "request."
Usually, the trial would be initiated by the protagonist’s big uncle, a friend’s parents, or someone who once disliked the protagonist, making a "request" to trigger the trial.
"Save my son!
Only you, with the super magical powers of the King, can save him!
I’m sorry for ignoring you!"
"Great Demon King!
I’m sorry for calling you a bastard!
You are the true Demon King.
Please, please save our Demon Empire!!"
"The only one who can save the world is you.
I acknowledge that I am a small emperor compared to you.
So, let’s join forces and overcome the great crisis of the world’s destruction, Great Demon King."
Burnie thought she might be about to face such a trial to save the world.
After completing the trial, the protagonist was always recognized by everyone and viewed differently.
Furthermore, everyone would swear loyalty to the protagonist.
"I’m sorry for ignoring you.
You are part of our family!!"
"I will serve you as my true master, Great Demon King."
"Won’t you live with me and make this world peaceful?
My Great Demon King."
While imagining all of this in her head, Burnie trembled with excitement.
She smiled widely and nodded.
‘Duke family’s top Burnie, now I’ll show everyone the grand power of the King!’
Having completed the trial, Burnie would become an even more mature person.
"Really?"
Burnie asked enthusiastically, and Kiriel, looking a bit awkward, opened his mouth.
"Do you remember the voice that came from the stone a while ago, Burnie?"
"Stone?"
Burnie tilted her head, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!" and nodded vigorously.
Kiriel sighed softly, grabbed her, and said, "Yes, that’s the one.
I need you to do me one more favor.
I went to the place you mentioned, and I found some elves there.
But they were speaking in a language I couldn’t understand."
"Won’t you make the grand bang?"
"Grand bang?"
"Burnie, aren’t you going to save the Empire?"
Burnie, who had expected a huge trial, looked a little disappointed.
‘Does she want to save the Empire?’
After all, Burnie had once said her dream was to be the Demon King.
Maybe she was dreaming of world domination.
Still, considering that she wanted to save the Empire rather than conquer the world, perhaps she deserved some credit.
"....Well, in a way, it is a path to saving the Empire.
If the elves turn into monsters, the world will be in danger."
Of course, before that, the entire staff of the Udia Duke’s family would be deployed to purify the area and destroy it with explosives, but that was a conversation for another time.