Shapeshifter
“I said there’s a shapeshifter, but that’s not all.”
At the end of the conversation, Prince Carlos suddenly said something strange.
“Not all? What do you mean?”
Leon furrowed his brows in suspicion.
“Within Ludonia, there may be others—beyond just the shapeshifter—who are colluding with the Demon King’s army.”
“Frankly, that makes more sense to me.”
Solon shrugged. He clearly had zero trust in humans.
“Now, now, don’t say that.”
The prince gave a wry smile.
“I’m merely suggesting we consider the possibility of human traitors in addition to shapeshifters. Right now, Ludonia stands united against the Demon King’s forces. The war is going well. I don’t want there to be traitors. But it’s dangerous to assume that only shapeshifters—creatures disguised as humans—are involved. I want you all to investigate without prejudice.”
“It’s more natural to assume humans would betray us. The idea of shapeshifters being involved is suspicious in itself.”
At Solon’s blunt opinion, the prince pointed at him.
“Great Sage, you of all people should understand. No matter the truth, this incident must be the work of a shapeshifter. The idea of Ludonian humans betraying us… cannot be allowed to spread.”
“……Indeed.”
Solon seemed to accept that.
Prince Carlos then pulled out a sheet of paper from his desk.
“This is a list of suspects I’ve narrowed down—individuals in positions where they could monitor military movements. Prioritize investigating them.”
“Good. That speeds things up.”
Solon took the paper without hesitation.
“That’s all. I’ve prepared rooms for you in the castle. Until your investigation is complete, you’ll stay here as my guests. Don’t wander off without permission, understood?”
With those final words, the prince dismissed us.
※ ※ ※
“Solon, what did Prince Carlos mean at the end there?”
After entering our assigned room, I asked Solon about the prince’s true intentions.
By the way, the room was shared between me, Leon, and Solon. Maria, being a woman, had been given separate quarters—so she wasn’t with us at the moment.
The room was spacious, fit for nobility.
“Basically, the prince doesn’t want this blamed on a Ludonian human.”
Rubbing his tired shoulders, Solon answered.
“Ludonia’s war efforts are solid. But if word got out that humans were colluding with the Demon King’s forces, panic would spread. Worse, it would prove that betrayal is possible. That’s the last thing Ludonia needs. More might turn traitor to save their own skins.”
“I see. Even if the culprit is human, Prince Carlos wants to pin it on a shapeshifter. A political move.”
Leon, who had been watching outside through the window, turned and spoke.
“Exactly. Personally, I don’t think shapeshifters are involved at all.”
Solon’s certainty made me pause.
“Why not?”
“Because shapeshifters are likely not demons.”
“What do you mean?”
Leon didn’t seem to follow either.
“Do either of you even know what a demon is?”
Solon’s question made Leon and me exchange glances.
“Aren’t demons just… evil creatures?”
That was common knowledge—even the Church taught it.
“Then what is ‘evil’?”
Solon instantly countered.
“Uh…”
“Evil is evil. Nothing more, nothing less.”
I stumbled, but Leon answered firmly.
“That’s correct… and incorrect.”
Solon’s cold gaze fixed on Leon.
“Good and evil shift with perspective. Just as humans have morality, so do demons. From their view, we are the evil ones.”
“Nonsense! That’s impossible! The God decreed demons are evil!”
“Hmph. Then why can demonkin use divine healing magic?”
Leon froze at Solon’s retort. “That’s…”
We had seen demonkin using healing spells during the battle in the Rozolov Forest.
“Then how are demons defined?”
I threw the question back.
“Simple. Humans decide. If humans call something a demon, it is one. In other words, demons are just… inconveniences. But academically, the distinction lies in which god’s kin they belong to.”
“Huh? Then aren’t humans the kin of the Almighty God?”
Leon tilted his head.
“The Almighty God has no kin—or rather, everything could be considered kin. That’s why there’s no real line between humans and demons. Right, Maria?”
Solon glanced behind Leon and me.
“Eh?!”
I spun around—and there stood Maria.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“Maria?! Since when—?”
Leon was just as shocked. We had been on guard, yet neither of us noticed her approach.
“I knocked, but you were all so engrossed in conversation…”
Maria smiled sweetly. It shouldn’t have been possible, yet Solon motioned for her to speak.
“Yes, as Solon said, there is no distinction between humans and demons in the eyes of God. God have no concept of good or evil. If God did and deemed demons evil, the Demon King’s army would vanish in an instant.”
Now that she mentioned it, that made sense. And since Maria was a Saintess, her words carried weight.
“But the God do define the forms of all things. A shapeshifter would be an anomaly—something that defies divine law. If such a being existed… would the God even allow it?”
“Alright, alright. Enough. This is getting tedious. Solon, what’s your point?”
Leon waved his hand, cutting off Solon and Maria’s lecture.
“For a future count, you could stand to be more curious… but fine. My conclusion? Shapeshifters aren’t demons. Their ability to change form has always terrified humans, but ancient texts suggest they were once worshipped as God. As the Church’s teachings spread, local deities like them were rebranded as demons. Common story. So no, I doubt they’d side with the Demon King’s army.”
“Seriously?”
Leon still looked unconvinced. Honestly, I wasn’t sold either. We’d always been taught shapeshifters were demons.
“Likely. So I believe the traitor is human.”
“But the demonkin—who supposedly can’t lie—said a shapeshifter is in Ludonia!”
Leon protested.
“That’s the one thing I can’t explain. Maybe there is a shapeshifter causing trouble. Either way, as the prince said, we investigate without prejudices.”
Solon scratched his head irritably.
Somehow, we were back to square one.
“So how do we proceed? Interviewing Ludonians tomorrow? I came here to ask that. I want this job over with so I can leave this country.”
Maria’s tone was impatient—probably because Solon’s lecture had dragged on.
“No need for interviews. Luckily, Prince Carlos gave us a list. We just monitor these people.”
“How?”
I asked.
“Hmph. A Sword Saint and a Saintess—useless in this situation. But I’m different. My magic is always useful. Listen up. Starting tomorrow, we move openly as The Kingdom’s ‘heroes.’ Our fame will draw targets to us.
Then, we mark them with a special enchanted dye—prepared by me, of course. Once applied, I can track their movements. Easy to tell if they leave the castle. After that, we tail them. Simple, right?”
“Won’t they notice being ‘dyed’?”
Leon frowned.
“Idiot. It’s invisible. This is my magic we’re talking about. Unless you want to paint Ludonian nobles bright red and humiliate The Kingdom?”
Despite the brilliance of his plan, Solon couldn’t resist adding snark.
…Though calling us an eccentric group wasn’t entirely wrong.
TLNOTE:
Because of that volume 1 and 2 fan translation in this site will be removed in the near future
otherwise check the internet archive
As usual, please consider reading other novels written by Daken sensei listed below :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Castle of Canaan ~ The Lost Kingdom’s Princess, the World’s Hidden Treasure, and the Grand Adventure of the Mightiest Band of Thieves Versus an Empire ~
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
- The Last Magic (translated by my friend narwhal)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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