DKIE CH35: Fate

The speech lasted for a total of twenty minutes. Luka became the second being, after the ancestor of the demon race, to successfully deliver a speech at Keli Sentry Tower.

The difference was, after his speech ended, he was not met with an assassination attempt.

Everyone was busy queuing up for Gugu bird eggs. Anyone who dared to use their magic to shatter tens of thousands of eggs at this time would be asking for death.

“It went rather smoothly.” Luka’s long-tense nerves relaxed. He stepped down from the right side of the platform.

Just as he descended the steps, a voice came from ahead. “Keli Sentry Tower has a dense demon population, a large base. No matter which crown prince it is, if they promise a little benefit, everyone will vote for them.”

A man with an unusually large build and hair as fluffy as a lion’s mane had appeared nearby at some point.

From his attire, Luka identified him as belonging to the demon race’s military guard. The black cape indicated his status was far above that of an ordinary soldier.

“But do you know why most crown princes give up on the votes in this region?” the demon asked.

Due to the height difference, Luka took two steps back to ensure he was still on the steps.

He first considered Brolani’s advice.
There was no fake milk on the Holy Demon Continent. His original body had been severely malnourished in its early stages; drinking more could promote height growth.

Only then did he show off his angsty internet literature, saying:
“Because a promise made is a debt owed.”

“Who has humbled the promise? Perhaps it’s the fear of repeating past mistakes.”

The guard captain: “…”

For some reason, a layer of goosebumps rose all over his body.

The non-mainstream Luka stood as straight as a pine tree, trying his best to look up. “Am I right?”

The guard captain was at a loss for words for a moment. When he spoke again, his tone carried a faint threat. “You should be very clear about what it means if you can’t deliver on the contents of your speech.”

He would forever face the wrath of the entire city, especially since this place was famous for assassinations.

Luka, however, smiled slightly. “Can I interpret this as you are willing to cast a vote for me?”

The guard captain stared at him. The eyes opposite him were still shining brightly, without a hint of evasion.

After a moment, the guard captain finally nodded.

Luka’s smile widened. “Don’t worry, I always keep my word.”

Having gained the support of most of the local demons, Luka’s accommodation was moved from a dilapidated hut to inside the sentry tower.

Even so, in terms of both hygiene and living conditions, this place was more than just a little backward.

At noon, a reporter who had rushed over from the Dark City with the newspaper’s team met with Luka under the pretext of an interview.

The paper he handed over was not a list of questions, but a statistics sheet.

Grand Highness Alec: 29.3 million gold coins.
Second Highness Eve: 18 million gold coins.
Third Highness Klein: 17.3 million gold coins.
…

It was a tally of the wealth each crown prince had earned since the start of the Hunt.

Wealth was also included in the final assessment criteria. No matter how high the final vote count, anyone not in the top three would be disqualified.

There would usually be a dedicated team to verify the numbers.

Luka was currently at the bottom. After all, the peak of his book sales had been before the Hunt began, and the movie was currently only showing in the Dark City. The rest of his merchandise, plus movie tickets, after deducting Kalun’s cut, had earned him a total of over six million gold coins.

At the very bottom of the sheet, a turtle was drawn.

“It’s Lilian,” he said, looking at the reporter. “You’re one of Lilian’s people?”

Luka still remembered the turtle memorial tablet Lilian had sent.

The reporter corrected, “I am Miss Lilian’s demon.”

“…My apologies.” A slip of the tongue.

“Miss Lilian asked me to pass on a message. She is very grateful for the notes you sent her about the suona the other day. It helped her complete a special report, which was well-received.”

Luka put the sheet away. “Please thank Lilian for me as well.”

Worried that staying too long would arouse suspicion, the reporter did not linger and left after leaving the report.

Before leaving, he heard another voice. Turning his head, he saw a silver-haired youth inside the room talking to Luka.

The reporter was startled. Why hadn’t he noticed another person in the room earlier?

The next second, the door was closed by a gust of wind, blocking his view.

Luka sighed. “When it comes to making money, Alec is indeed in a league of his own.”

Quill: “You have already done very well.”

Just a few months ago, he had been worrying about one or two gold coins. Now, any small goal he set was in the tens of millions.

A strange look flashed in Luka’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Luka shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just the first time I’ve been praised for doing well. I’m still not quite used to it.”

When he was a trainee, he was constantly being put down, picked on for this and that. Then they’d say, “at least you have a decent face.” Later, when he switched careers to become a paparazzi, he couldn’t very well expect a celebrity to praise him for digging up a big scoop.

Quill was silent for a moment.

Writing in his diary too much had inevitably made him irritable, so he hadn’t said nice things since he was young.

Hearing this, he decided to be a little more generous in the future and offer praise more appropriately.

On the other hand, Luka was very career-minded. “It’s time to make money. The profits start with writing.”

Quill retorted angrily, “Is this how you repay kindness?”

“…” What kindness?

After lunch, Luka immediately started writing.

“The Pampered Three-and-a-Half-Year-Old” Part Two was relatively easy to write. He just needed to prepare the key framework and character designs, then slowly fill in the stories.

The pressing matter was to ride the hype of “The Real and Fake Young Masters” and write “My Demon King Father” as quickly as possible.

Actually, outside the Demon Realm, he didn’t even need this wave of hype.

Luka could imagine how much of a bestseller this book would be. Who could refuse gossip about a super big shot? Especially in the realm of romance.

Perfect for short-term cash grabbing!

He took out the small notebook he had used for research at the Giantstone City Lord’s place.

His original self had little memory of his feuding parents. He only had some memory of the Saintess’s mother-in-law, the first female warrior of the demon race.

The story of the prince and princess after their marriage certainly couldn’t be placed at the beginning.

He looked down and browsed through it. Regarding their first meeting, there were a total of three usable pieces of information in the notebook:

First, the Saintess left the Holy Court for the first time during a diplomatic meeting between the demon and human races.
She did not meet the Demon King at this time. Because he was personally dissatisfied with the truce with the humans, the Demon King found an excuse and did not attend the banquet himself.

Second, at that time, the Saintess was very curious about the outside world. After the banquet ended, she snuck out of the delegation. The Giantstone City Lord was ordered to find her and finally found the Saintess on a cliff in the back mountains, where the young Demon King happened to be as well.

Third, annoyed by the human presence, the Demon King was originally going to kill her. But due to the newly established diplomatic relations, he ultimately only shattered the Saintess’s protective jade pendant as a warning.

A completely uninteresting first meeting.

Luka began to add more:

Highlight one: The banquet was filled with all kinds of delicacies. The Saintess felt sad in her heart, thinking, bunnies are so cute, how can you eat bunnies?

Quill: “…Were you listening from under her table?”

Luka pretended not to hear.

He couldn’t just keep randomly filling things in. Quill wanted to see what else he could come up with.

Half an hour later, he sucked in a cold breath.

[The figure standing on the cliff was aloof and cold, as if devoid of any warmth.
Behind him, a woman in a white robe rushed over and grabbed the man’s arm. “You…”
The man turned slightly, his face cold, a hint of killing intent flashing in his blood-red eyes.
The woman, unaware that her powerful magic jade pendant had shattered in an instant, sighed in relief upon grabbing the man. Her tone carried a hint of reprimand. “Life is so precious. What could you possibly be dwelling on that would make you want to commit suicide?”
“Suicide?” The killing intent in the cold man’s eyes turned into faint astonishment.
“Anyway, I’ve got you,” the woman’s smile was like a blooming flower.
…]

The familiar feeling of physical discomfort returned. Quill: “What is this garbage you’re writing?”

Luka: “Some artistic adaptations based on reality.”

Quill: …Don’t mistake demonic for artistic.

Luka calmly asked, “Don’t the main characters in a novel need lines?”

Quill gave him a “you’re stating the obvious” look.

“Besides the lines, looking at the essence beyond the phenomenon, isn’t what I wrote completely in line with the facts? First meeting in the back mountains, Demon King had killing intent, jade pendant shattered—all the key points are there.”

After a long silence, Quill finally said, “All your speeches will be successful.”

He was twisting concepts to the point of entering another dimension.

Luka clenched his fist. “Exploiting my parents, starting with me.”

It was about time he paid for the past dozen or so years of child support.

As he was speaking, he suddenly felt something was strange.

The memories of his original self were particularly fuzzy when it came to his childhood.

But he vaguely remembered that because the Demon King had not provided any protection, the entire Demon Realm had been very hostile towards his original self.

How did he survive in that kind of environment?

The more he thought about it, the more his head ached.

“Forget it, no use overthinking.” Better to focus on the present.

Before “The Pampered Three-and-a-Half-Year-Old” burst onto the scene, love stories had always been the mainstream of the market. All operas and songs were almost centered around this theme.

Luka had seen his fair share of various types of scripts in the past.

Just the tropes from old internet novels were enough to be popular on the continent for a long time.

“It’s a pity the jade pendant broke. Otherwise, I could have written so much more.”

He picked up two small twigs and, without any warning, began to tap the table and chant:
“The Saintess, veiled, they first did meet, in panic, she made a hasty retreat. A supporting actress found the jade by chance, and claimed her place, to the Demon King’s glance.
He doted on her, his palm’s delight, and later abused the Saintess with all his might! Bloody drama, a tangled mess, with tears and blood and near-miscarriage stress.
One day the truth was finally revealed, the couple reconciled, their home now healed… their home… now… healed!”

“…”

“Luka.”

“Hm?”

Quill took out the last of the money he had earned from betting. “I’ll pay you to shut up.”

“Deal.”

Luka didn’t idle in the afternoon either. He started working on “Three-and-a-Half,” and at night, he needed to continue writing his speeches.

For different tour cities, there naturally had to be different breakthrough points.

He worked at his desk until night. A short, powerful knock came at the door.

The visitor was someone Luka did not expect. It was the guard captain.

“What is it?”

The guard captain saw Quill, who was already lying on the bed, not wanting to see the article’s contents anymore.

He hid the surprise in his eyes. “We’re not so poor here that we’ve reached that point. There are extra rooms.”

He clearly thought Quill was a bodyguard Luka had hired.

If word got out that Keli Sentry Tower was so poor that it made guards and their employers sleep in the same bed, it wouldn’t sound very good.

Quill’s expression did not change.

The room seemed to have cooled down a bit. The guard captain glanced at the window, thinking it was old and in disrepair, and that he should have his men fix it tomorrow.

After a moment, he got back to the point. “An invitation from the main city.”

A small golden card, on which only a time and place were marked.

“What’s it for?” Luka even held it up to the light to study it, making sure there were no concealment spells.

The guard captain was a little surprised, but he quickly reacted. “Your Highness has lived a semi-secluded life in the past. It’s normal that you wouldn’t know.”

Formally addressing him as “Your Highness” at least represented a temporary acknowledgment of his status.

Others like Alec had received standard heir training and were long familiar with all the details of the Hunt.

His original self only knew the most basic procedures.

The guard captain explained, “Some regions will show their attitude at the start of the Hunt, like the Dark City, Blood Valley River, and so on.”

He rattled off dozens of places in one breath. “The remaining hundred or so cities have wavering stances. These are also the places the crown princes will compete for.”

“But there are ten central cities that are exceptions. If you can win over the demon voters in these places, you can offset a large part of your initial disadvantage.”

The other crown princes all had their own territories. For example, the masses in the Dark City would most likely still choose Alec.

So Luka was at an absolute disadvantage from the start.

Luka also knew this in his heart, but he didn’t understand what it had to do with this small golden card.

“These ten central cities don’t care about the crown princes’ performance in the Hunt at all. They are more concerned with the trajectory of fate.”

Luka looked confused.

“They usually invite powerful astrologers to observe the crown princes’ fate trajectories on the spot, and they favor the one with a good fate.”

“??” What the hell.

The guard captain calmly repeated himself.

Luka: “What if the astrologers are bribed?”

The guard captain’s expression became solemn. “Absolutely not.”

Just like the Hunt, neither the Demon King nor the princes could interfere too much. This was a rule set by the first ancestor of the demon race. After the ancestor’s death, his will transformed into the laws of heaven and earth that enveloped the Demon Realm. No one dared to defy it.

“The same goes for those astrologers.”

“And this time, it’s not just astrologers from the Northern Realm. They’ve also invited witches from the Southern Domain.”

It had now evolved into a highly anticipated North vs. South battle.

The guard captain looked at Luka with great sympathy.

“Princess Mary will also be there at that time.”

Princess Mary was the current Demon King’s biological mother, which made her Luka’s paternal grandmother.

She was once the daughter of a prince and had a purely political marriage with the old Demon King. In the Demon Realm, she stubbornly demanded that other citizens still address her as “Princess.”

In the struggle for the crown, Princess Mary had bet on the Fifth Highness, Alicia. Her trip this time was likely for Alicia as well.

Thinking of this, the guard captain shook his head repeatedly.

His paternal grandmother favored the daughter of a prince from her own line. His father favored Alec. His mother had been indifferent for so many years.

He had been disliked since birth. Although he had recently managed to create a few big stirs, each move was actually a secret act of rising from the ashes.

With all this, it would be a miracle if his fate was good.

Luka seemed to be well aware of this in his heart. He angrily picked up a small twig. “My fate is my own, not for the heavens to decide! Feudal superstition is the death of me, the death of me!”

“…”

Quill, who had been staring sinisterly at the guard, felt a sense of relief. Finally, he was not the only one suffering from the poison of the doggerel poetry.

Trying hard to ignore the demonic words, the guard captain said, “Your Highness can release a rumor, claiming to have been assassinated in Keli Sentry Tower, and directly give up on the judgment of fate.”

At least it was better than being slapped in the face on the spot.

Before he could finish, he saw Luka staring at the date on the invitation with a puzzled look. “The date on this is tomorrow. It’ll take at least three or four days to get to the central city from here.”

The guard captain was amazed. “You’re going?”

Luka nodded. “Can’t lose face before the fight.”

Are you sure you’re not just trying to save face?
The guard captain couldn’t help but speak the truth.

Luka thought for a moment. “You’ve reminded me. I need to go armed with my doggerel poems.”

He had already thought of the newspaper headline.
“Iliad Publicly Provokes Astrologers, Once Again Makes Arrogant Declaration of ‘My Fate is Not for the Heavens to Decide’ at the Scene.”

He had to seize every opportunity to create momentum. News of fleeing without a fight or being seriously injured in an attack would be very detrimental to his future canvassing.

The corner of the guard captain’s mouth twitched. So he was specifically going to cause trouble?
His throat moved. “There’s a teleportation array in the tower.”

Luka nodded. “Alright. Wait for my good news in the papers.”

“…”

They had to move again in less than two days.
Luka first went to explain the situation to Brolani and the Green Crystal Dragon.

The cold light of a kerosene lamp floated in the room. Seeing that Brolani was still reading the first volume of “Three-and-a-Half,” Luka decided to work hard to release the second volume soon.

“Astrologers?” Brolani pondered for a moment upon hearing this. “The North-South conflict has existed since ancient times. The astrologers coming this time should be quite powerful.”

Thinking of something, his tone changed. “The greatest astrologer of this era has long resided in the Holy City. Apart from his words, you don’t need to pay too much attention to the results divined by other astrologers.”

Luka knew this was to comfort him and patted his chest to show that he was very open-minded.

Brolani didn’t want him to dwell on this issue too much. Just then, the Green Crystal Dragon interjected, “Let’s set off at dawn.”

This place was too barren. It was more used to living on mountains of gold and silver.
“I’ll send a message to Grover and the others. We’ll meet up then.”

Luka was touched in his heart, knowing that this was to back him up.
The Green Crystal Dragon opposite him swam over. “Rio told me about your explosive feat in the Holy City. I have to say, well done!”
“…Don’t overthink it. No matter how flowery the astrologers’ words are, one punch and they’ll behave.”

Luka nodded confidently.

At dawn, when everyone had gathered in front of the teleportation array, Quill still had his usual arrogant demeanor before they set off, but his words also hinted that divination was unreliable.

Luka soon had no time to think too much. The feeling of jump-space teleportation was as uncomfortable as ever.

A light a thousand times brighter than an incandescent lamp flashed by. The magic patterns of the Keli Sentry Tower’s teleportation array also seemed to be in disrepair, and the teleportation time was exceptionally long.

When the dizziness faded, Luka swayed heavily before he could steady himself.

The smell in the air changed from a spicy, lung-scraping sensation to a slightly intoxicating sweetness. He opened his eyes and felt like he hadn’t just teleported, but had traveled through time and space.

Every brick and stone around him exuded a strong artistic flavor. The streets and houses were neat and colorful.

Completely different from the dullness of Keli Sentry Tower, blood-red trees grew in every nook and cranny, with some of their roots growing directly above the ground. If a passerby did not exude an aura sufficient to deter them, these trees might violently attack.

This was Keli Sentry Tower’s corresponding teleportation point, and also one of the central cities hosting the fate observation this time: Red Banyan City.

The entire city was famous for its carnivorous red banyan trees.

There were heavy guards stationed next to the teleportation array, who came over to verify their identities at the first opportunity.

Actually, there was no need for much verification. Luka’s true appearance had already been published in the newspapers, and no one would dare to impersonate the dragons following him.

After a symbolic run-through of the procedures, a soldier spoke up. “Please take your nameplates. Everyone, please follow me.”

Luka looked at everything with fresh eyes along the way.
With Quill and Brolani and the others, even if he didn’t deliberately release his pressure, the red banyan trees wouldn’t dare to attack randomly.

“My fate was bad before and after transmigration. Maybe a negative and a negative make a positive!”
Who doesn’t have beautiful dreams? Luka thought, amusing himself.

Red Banyan City was not large, but it was home to nearly thirty million demons, and that was only the registered population.

Due to the importance of the upcoming divination meeting, some demons had been temporarily relocated to nearby small towns. The main city area was only open to the major royal families and high-ranking demons from other central cities.

Despite this, it was still a dense tide of demons everywhere.

“Teacher, that lord is very strange,” in the distance stood a line of people in cloaks embroidered with star charts.

The youngest youth in the group looked at the nameplate on Luka’s waist that proved his identity and said, “He’s clearly a royal, but it feels like he’s never even been out of his own front door. He’s more exaggerated than I am.”

He was looking around everywhere.

The cloaked man addressed as “Teacher” was the leader of this group of astrologers. His whole being exuded the vicissitudes of time. On the crowded streets, people would subconsciously make way for him.

Hearing the words, he glanced over. For the next few seconds, his gaze did not move away.
“Teacher, what’s wrong?” the youth asked cautiously.

“That young man, his fate trajectory is a bit strange.”

Strange?
It was the first time he had heard his teacher use such a description. However, when the youth looked over again, all that was left was a fleeting glimpse of a retreating back.

“Let’s go.”
The astrologer leader did not elaborate much. He closed his eyes to settle his mind and prepare for the evening’s divination.

__

Author’s Note:
Excerpt from Luka’s Diary:
 

Happy weekend in Red Banyan. Streets and alleys full of demons. Visitors from afar all smiles, watching the comparison of fates. Com-pa-ring fates!
 

Alex: …Be normal. This is a diary, not a no-man’s-land.
 

Luka: ???