Card Apprentice Daily Log

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Azorheim, Temporal Cave Valley, Temporal Cave No. ES3030

[ — Demon Merchant Codex —

> Grand Vizier of Owlape Empire, representing the Mulias Royal Family, has raised an appeal against you for leaving the Realm of True Evil using unknown means and avoiding the agreed fee to access the Realm of True Evil.

> The Demon Merchant Code has found their appeal valid and will be holding a hearing in one hour. (Dark Realm Time Zone)

> Failure to be present at the hearing without a valid reason will be considered a guilt, ending the hearing and proceeding to trial.

Note:

i) You have present in the inter-realm city court during the hearing since the appellant has requested it.]

As I struggled with the superposition nature of the World Calamity Tree’s noise, my Demon Merchant Codex rang, notifying me that the Mulias Royal Family had filed an appeal against me.

As I expected, they found me, actually sooner than I was expecting. But I don’t understand why they chose to question me through the Demon Merchant Code and didn’t directly come seeking me.

The Mulias Royal Family of the Owlape, like all True Ruler-class races, were tyrannical to those beneath them. So, I was half expecting them to ambush me the moment I left Azorheim. But contrary to my expectation, they actually went to the Demon Merchant Code, following the proper protocol.

I mean, you never expect a Dark Race to follow the rules they created and agreed on. After all, as far as they were concerned, those rules were only for the weak to cower behind and not to stop the strong.

What actually worried me was how much they knew.

Did they only suspect me because I left the Realm of True Evil without using the Demon Merchant Code’s inter-realm transportation function?

Did they know that I gave the Devil Merchant Token to the True Evil that used it to become a Devil Merchant?

Did they know that the True Evil Devil Merchant and I left the Realm of True Evil at the same time?

Did they know that the True Evil Devil Merchant and I were both in Azorheim?

I calmed my spiraling mind, as there was no way for me to know what the Owlape Empire knew until I attended the hearing.

If I had to guess, knowing that the Demon Merchant Code wouldn’t hesitate to sell the information about its merchant for the right price, I felt that it was likely that they knew it all.

However, it could just as easily be that they knew nothing. They didn’t even suspect me of it and just wanted to know how I left the Realm of True Evil without using the Demon Merchant Code’s inter-realm transportation function, as mentioned in the appeal.

There was a reason why I brought Scar to Azorheim with me even though I had it on good authority that the Demon Merchant Code might sell her location to those searching for her for the right price. It was because of the strict rules of the natives of Azorheim. It was a safe haven for many refugees. The little Redfoot Mino was a good example.

Yes, even though the Mulias Royal Family knew that Scar was hiding in the Azorheim Empire, they could do nothing about it unless they were prepared to go to war with the natives of Azorheim.

Regardless, I had given this a lot of thought before resorting to it. So, I was prepared for whatever the Mulias Royal Family planned to throw at me, let alone an appeal.

Where did I get this confidence?

It was from the information I possessed.

I knew where their Crown Prince was trapped. And if they were heartless enough to abandon their Crown Prince, I knew about the Ruler-class World Calamity Tree they were nurturing in the Realm of True Evil, which was not far from achieving the absolute peak of the Myriad Realm’s ceiling, which was a step from breaking into a transcendent realm.

Though I hoped everything would be solved here and I didn’t have to use the latter. Because even though it was a surefire method, it would paint a target on my back. I would have to add the entire Owlape Empire to my list of beings I had to watch out for.

Unless I chose to be cruel and snitch on them to the Librarian through Librarian Jr., who would not hesitate to wipe out the entire Owlape Race just to make an example of them. But then again, considering I was a part of the World Calamity Tree myself, it would be foolish on my part.

I even considered going to the Blood Rule Source and turning Mamas Mulias into a Daughter Gem as a precaution against the Mulias Royal Family, but I didn’t because I wasn’t sure how my Calamity Daughter Gem would fare against the Owlape bloodline that could adapt to the abilities of their opponents. I have seen how he defeated the Elder Anesthasia Dragon and then the Celestial Blood Slave.

Yes, I left halfway through his fight with the latter one, but was there to see the aftermath. And it was devastating.

I was beginning to see that there was a limitation to my Primordial Calamity Daughter Gems. It was the True Ruler-class races. The truly strong among them all seemed to have ways to deal with such abilities, or, to be more accurate, their abilities were simply too strong, making it harder for my Calamity Daughter Gems to do their work.

If things between me and the Mulias Royal Family really boiled to that point, I would have to… I planned to give turning Mamas Mulias into a Daughter Gem a try.

I was already at odds with the Faith Faction. And I really didn’t want to add the Owlape Empire to that list. Though the bottom line was I wasn’t that helpless against either of them. I just didn’t want to use extreme solutions for problems that could be solved with regular solutions. Even if it meant preparing for the worst.

Some things need to play themselves out first.

Novel Raider: The First Fiction Summoner