The female imp had to wait for the Tobunoan convoy to stop, and of course it had to be at night, a time for camping, to take a rest and sleep. Considering that it was an urgent matter, it was a little agonizing that she had to waste even more time just to get the chance to speak with her contact. The target would have been long gone from the capital city by now, but not like they could just directly go ahead and get them. If Rytus and his team failed to restrain her, then they also couldn’t without apt preparations. They shouldn’t be careless.

  The bright thing was that she had contacts within the criminal organization, so it should be easy to track down the target. Still, even that could have limitations.

  She could just go ahead and talk to Bakin, but that might ruin all his work on Tobunoa. It was not her place to ruin all that work. The lord of Tobunoa was a valuable tool; if someone sought to throw it away, it should be Bakin. Even though all of this was mostly for amusement and control. She wouldn’t want to incur his fury.

  For this female imp, she would cast away Kazuhiko whenever she needed to. His value was vastly dim compared to the daughter of that goddess, one that they needed in all time. For this Tobunoan lord, however, she didn’t have the right to ruin it when it could be avoided with a little patience. At any rate, they knew where the princess was going, and that was fine for the time being.

  She worked hard to get to what her work was right now, but she would cast it away like she threw away trash. If it came to it, she could dismantle everything and start all over again. She had all the time in the world, and the people of this archipelago were not a threat whatsoever. They believed they ruled their own lives and islands, but they had always been at the mercy of the demons.

  The imp had made her presence known since she had found the convoy. At the moment, she observed from a distance, waiting for her accomplice to go and meet her. To be honest, she was feeling quite frustrated with every passing minute. Bakin was unaware of the stakes; therefore, he was still waiting for the right time to slip away.

  Meanwhile, Bakin and his entourage were preparing their camp. Bakin knew his associate was waiting, but with the lord of Tobunoa present, he couldn’t just casually leave while they were still setting up camp. If he could, he would prefer not to cause suspicion from the human, it would be annoying to deal with.

  In these dark fields, with nothing but the moonlight to illuminate the area, they set up a secure perimeter. Despite how open and peaceful this area may be, it was only natural to expect monsters might arrive at any moment. Teams would be in rotation when it came to sleeping. Guards were scattered around the camp, making sure there were no blind spots. Bakin wondered how he should go about meeting his accomplice. But perhaps there was no need to overthink.

  As they were about to finish setting up camp, Bakin glanced at the lord’s carriage. The lord was still inside. It was indeed more comfortable inside there. That meant Bakin could leave without question for the time being. Bakin approached one of the men finishing up the fire as he went past.

  “I’m taking a piss.”

  With such a simple reason, he walked away from the area. He walked to a group of boulders, looking around to make sure no one was nearby before continuing onward. The female imp in her human form got off a rock’s surface and let out a relieved sigh.

  “Finally, I’ve been waiting for ages!”

  Bakin raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the impatience? It’s not even usual for us to talk.”

  “I fucking know that. But you’re the only one I can go and meet for this. Higher authority and all that.”

  “You normally don’t need me for anything.”

  “Yeah, well, this one’s a pretty big deal.” Bakin remained silent, waiting for her to continue. She sighed. “No news about Rytus yet, isn’t it?”

  “Nothing.”

  “They should be here already, right? Then that could mean something went wrong. Fuck, okay… I have kinda a mix of good and bad news.”

  “And that is?”

  “I saw the daughter of the goddess.”

  Bakin’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?” He didn’t expect it — no, he couldn’t believe it. It was not at all in his expectations. “Where?”

  “Back in the capital city, where you and I were.”

  “What the fuck?” He was flabbergasted. “How? And Rytus?”

  “That’s what I’m saying, he ain’t anywhere. The girl is free as fuck. Here on this island.”

  Bakin stared away, thinking about how this situation had come to be. And to think they missed her, she was just in the city all this time. But there was something he found curious. “She’s here, that means Rytus managed to bring her to the archipelago. But somehow, she escaped, likely defeating Rytus in the process.” There was just no way for Rytus to let her go without a fight, nor could she easily slip away.

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  “Rytus defeated? You think he’s dead?”

  “Considering that he had yet to make contact, we can assume so.”

  “No damn way.” She pursed her lips. It was not easy to kill an imp, impossible in fact without holy magic. It was something they all feared the most.

  “If she escaped, then why is she all the way here? How did you even find her?”

  “She’s seeking transport to Nishinoa. She went through the criminal organization I’m supervising.”

  “She wants to go further in? Why? What’s in Nishinoa?”

  “How the hell should I know?”

  “Well, aren’t you fucking useless? What’s the point of having you out there?”

  “Fuck you, Bakin. Want me to poke my nose in and spook her, are you stupid?”

  “You could have at least learned their purpose.”

  “All I know is that she was helping that Miyako girl to Nishinoa.”

  Bakin frowned. “The hell? I don’t get it. Why would she help that human? Why wouldn’t she just go back home?” That was the sensible thing to do.

  “What does that Miyako girl even have that would be of interest to her?”

  “Fucking nothing. She has nothing to do with the princess, nor demons, or any gods. She’s just a plain old human. What the hell is going on…?” He closed his eyes for a moment. “No, that doesn’t matter. Do you know where she’s going at the moment?”

  “I have an idea, but I can know more. I came here in a hurry, you know.”

  “Let’s set aside the irrelevant. Now that we know she’s here, we need to retrieve her — safely. We need her alive.”

  “What will we do?”

  “Obviously we can’t do it with just the two of us?. We need backup.” If the princess managed to escape Rytus and his crew, then they had to be careful. For all they knew, the princess might have something up her sleeve. She was the daughter of the goddess, after all. They couldn’t take this lightly.

  Still, why is she heading further in? I need to consult with the people back home.

  “I will need to return to the homeland immediately. Tell the news and request support.”

  “Right now? What about that human group you’re with?”

  “I don’t give a fuck about them.”

  “You’re just gonna leave them, huh? That human lord might get suspicious of you.” Leaving the convoy was certainly a cause for questions. It was just unnatural.

  “That human is nothing but a plaything. He’s insignificant. His value is nothing compared to that princess… However, I’ll try to mitigate the issue as much as I can.” At the very least, he ought to keep the damage to a minimum, his compromise. But of course, his effort would also be at a minimum.

  “Alright, what about me? What will I do?”

  “You monitor them, figure out more in tracking them down, and get as much information as you can. But don’t interact directly with them, lest you be exposed. I’ll meet up with you once we’re ready. Just don’t lose them.”

  “Got it.”

  “Don’t fuck it up. I’ll fly back to the homeland.”

  With that, the female imp left and flew up into the sky. Bakin shook his head, feeling a bit stressed. There was still the mystery as to what exactly happened to Rytus and his crew.

  I might have to ask around about what happened to the ship they’re supposed to be using.

  Bakin walked back to the human camp with a frowning face.

  “Sir Bakin, everything’s set up… Hm? Everything good?”

  Bakin disregarded the human and kept on heading to the carriage of the lord. He roughly knocked on the carriage door, and a second later, the door opened up. Takehiro looked at him with a sharp gaze.

  “What? Everything done then? I need some fresh air.”

  Before Bakin could even get to speak his part, as he was in a hurry, the human amusement got off the carriage. Time was valuable right now, when every minute counted. It was annoying that this human was acting so arrogantly as he wasted the imp’s time.

  “I’m leaving for the time being,” Bakin said curtly.

  Puzzled, Takehiro directed a frowning look at him. “What do you mean leaving? Why?”

  “I have matters to attend to. You, Lord Takehiro, must continue moving back to Tobunoa.”

  Bakin was about to walk away, but they weren’t done.

  “Hold up. Where do you think you’re going? I didn’t order you to do anything.”

  Bakin resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance.

  This damn mongrel.

  He was actually considering to be hell with it. Freeing their god took priority over all. However, he kept his composure. There was no need to do anything unnecessary just yet.

  He turned towards him. “True. But I have personal matters to take care of. And I need to leave. We will meet back on the island.”

  Takehiro narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What the fuck is this, Bakin? What’s this all of a sudden? You think you can just leave anytime you want?”

  “Yes, I can.”

  “Are you fucking serious right now? Why are you so determined to leave?” He looked around. “Are you betraying me or something?”

  “I’m not. I just want to leave temporarily while I handle this important matter. Oh, I also don’t know when I’ll be back.”

  Maybe never.

  When they successfully capture the princess, then there was no need for Bakin to return to do his old amusement. They’d be freeing their god.

  “You’re not making any sense.” He placed a hand on his weapon. “I don’t like things that don't make sense. Something weird’s going on.”

  Bakin scratched the back of his head. “No point in thinking about it. Now I’m leaving.” He turned and started walking away.

  “If you leave, I’ll charge you with treason. You’re disobeying my damn order.”

  Bakin paused. “You don’t seem to understand how you got here.” He stared at him from the corner of his eye. “How do you think you got power? You think it’s all because of your efforts?”

  “What else, you damned fool?”

  “No. You think everyone would have followed your rule after you betrayed your own father? Who prevented you from being killed in your sleep? Who allowed you to rule this long?” Bakin directed a stern look at the human. “It’s all me. So you would do well to treat me wisely, young lord.”

  “... The fuck? You would undermine me, Bakin?”

  “That’s the truth. So stop with your pointless threats before everything we’ve worked for comes crumbling down.”

  The other men in the camp slowly approached warily.

  And Takehiro raised his hand to put them at ease. “Fine... Do whatever you want. You’re not significant.”

  Bakin chuckled. “Really now?”

  With that, Bakin left, heading for a far area away from their sight, before letting out his wings and flew in the air.