The Demon King's First General
Chapter 115: Calmness Before The Storm

Chapter 115: Calmness Before The Storm

Kizeler finished his meal in silence after reminiscing about the events that happened on the day of his arrival. Then he left the tavern to take a look at the situation in the city.

Most of the establishments were closed, and the main street, which had just an ounce of snow the day before, was now entirely covered with a thick pile of soft, cold matter.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Kizeler uttered as he looked up and sighed.

Afterward, he began to walk in the direction where the entrance to the castle gate was located. Like he expected, there were still knights marching and guarding the place. Without any concrete plan in mind, he just let his feet move, and after a few minutes of constant walking, he arrived in an area with several trees and bushes.

"Is this some kind of park or maybe a garden?" He blurted out his thoughts.

Then he began to amble along the towering pine trees. Plenty of tables and benches made of stones were lined along the side. There were also lamps hanging from a thin wire across the area; their lights were on despite the fact that the sun was still up there, brimming with sunlight.

Kizeler was about to sit down on one of the benches when he noticed a silhouette of a person leaning at the farthest table from him.

Curious, he walked towards the silhoutte, and to his surprise, it was a woman whom he seemed familiar with. She was staring somewhere far and deep into her thoughts.

Then, the moment Kizeler stepped once more to close the gap between them, several icicles materialized around him, and a chilling voice echoed in the atmosphere.

"State your motive for approaching me," the woman exclaimed as she glanced at the young patriarch.

Despite the sharp objects pointed at him, Kizeler remained calm and collected. He raised both of his hands in the air and spoke.

"I don’t intend any harm," he replied.

However, the woman snapped her fingers, and the icicles started to move, aiming to pierce every part of Kizeler’s body.

"Your motive," the woman repeated.

"Nothing but curiosity," Kizeler said without a second thought.

The icicles stopped moving, but they were still hovering in the air, ready to thrust the man any second in time.

"Pardon?" The woman couldn’t help but ask again if the word she heard really was it.

"I’m just curious what the princess is doing here, deep in thought," Kizeler explained while still raising his hands.

"Well, I don’t have any reason to satisfy that curiosity of yours, so you may now leave, and if you value your life, you should consider evacuating from this place while you still can," the woman replied, and the icicles dissipated from thin air.

"That would be impossible for me at this moment. I’m waiting for someone here," Kizeler said.

Instead of leaving, he sat on the table and looked up; however, the sun was too bright for his eyes, so he directed his vision to the woman once more.

"Arctic? Is it?" He asked, confirming the woman’s name, but he received no reply.

’Too cold,’ he thought.

The princess glanced at the man and noticed the pendant hanging from his neck.

"Are you really tired of living? A fight will break out soon here," she said, clicking her tongue.

"I can hide somewhere in the city; I heard that there are only two enemies; this place is so huge to be a whole battlefield." Kizeler expressed his opinion.

Arctic shook her head as she realized how dumb the man was.

’This man, really,’ she thought.

Afterward, she was about to answer when she felt another person around the area.She glanced at it and saw a knight.

"Princess, it’s time; they are waiting for you," the knight said.

"I already told Father, I won’t leave this place," Artic replied.

"But princess, it’s for your own safety!" the knight exclaimed, trying his best to convince the woman.

"A disaster like what happened in Shieldscape City is being expected to hit this city as well," he added.

After hearing the knight, memories about a specific person resurfaced in her mind.

"That silver-haired man," she uttered, unaware.

Meanwhile, Kizeler, who was listening to the princess and the knight’s conversation, reacted as soon as he heard the woman’s last phrase.

"Pardon my intrusion, but are you perhaps referring to a silver-haired man with a red dice hanging on his left ear?" He chimed in the conversation.

The two people looked at him, but shock was evident on the princess’s face.

"Do you know him?" She asked.

Kizeler nodded without further ado.

"Yes, he’s the one I’m waiting for," he replied.

His words brought the princess into a daze, and several possible scenarios ran wild in her mind.

’If it’s him, maybe...’ She thought.

"Don’t get your hopes too high; if he doesn’t have enough reason to help, he won’t bother himself to do so," Kizeler stated.

"Though he’s looking for certain keys as well," he added.

Arctic stood straight and turned around to face the man; she even closed the distance between them.

"Where is he?" She asked, her eyes beaming with excitement.

"That’s... He’s part of the expedition, so I don’t know where he is right now?" Kizeler answered as he let out an awkward smile.

"Princess, regarding that, a report came just this morning that the Duke had returned but the expedition was a failure; almost half of the mercenaries had died and one of the Diamond-class mercenaries had gone missing," the knight reported.

"What?" Kizeler and Arctic exclaimed at the same time.

Both of them couldn’t believe what they heard. Arctic knew how strong Duke Glacksberg was, and aside from that, the priestess affiliated with the Deity of Fortitude was with them, and if that silver-haired man really participated.

’There is no way for them to fail,’ she thought.

Meanwhile, Kizeler had the same line of thinking, though he only believed in the demon’s capabilities and not the others.

"Forbid my lack of knowledge, princess, but that is the only thing I know," the knight replied, lowering his head.

Afterward, Arctic decided to send the knight back to the castle with several parting words.

"Tell that foolish father of mine that no matter what happens, I won’t leave Winterbell City," she said.

The knight wanted to reply, but upon seeing the princess’ glaring eyes, he chose to turn around and leave.

"Why don’t you follow your father’s order? I’m pretty sure he’s doing it for the sake of his own daughter," Kizeler blurted out.

He was expecting a harsh response from the princess, but the reality was quite the opposite.

"I’m not some kind of idiot not to know that, but leaving this place is like letting that old man get killed," Arctic replied, shaking her head.

"I may not be strong enough to face those invaders, but I can’t afford to let my father sacrifice himself just for us to live," she added.

Kizeler contemplated for seconds, thinking of the best advice he could give. He was surprised to hear those words from the princess. He really thought that she had a very stubborn personality, but upon knowing her reason, he started to see her in a new light.

"Because no parents wanted their children to suffer. Seeing their precious daughter getting hurt is a lot more painful for them. Just think about it: fighting while being mindful of your safety and fighting while knowing that you are in a safe place. Which one do you think is better? Both can greatly affect the outcome of a fight," Kizeler stated.

However, Arctic shook her head and smiled.

"I never thought that a random stranger would try to impart a lesson to me at a time like this," she chuckled.

"What’s your name?" She added.

Without further ado, Kizeler told the princess his name.

"Kizeler, huh? That’s quite a name you’ve got there," Arctic said.

Then she began to walk away and waved her hand towards the man.

"Did you change your mind about staying?" Kizeler asked as soon as Arctic passed him.

"No, I’m already decided; if I die, this will be my grave; nothing has changed," she replied while walking.

’She really is a stubborn princess,’ Kizeler commented inside his mind.

Afterward, he also decided to go back, as he saw no point in staying. On his way back to the tavern, he saw two people heading into the castle.

A tall man and a woman with a scary-looking doll, but despite this, he found the woman very attractive.

"Hello," the woman said, smiling as she noticed the man’s gaze.

Kizeler remained silent, but he let out a warm smile as a reply. They passed each other like nothing.

"Wait a second... A doll?" He uttered, then halted his steps upon realizing that something was amiss.

Only a fraction of time had passed when they passed by each other, but as soon as he turned around, the two figures vanished without a single trail.

’W-What the...’ He thought and stormed his way towards the castle.

. . . . .