Demon Prince 51.2

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Chapter 51.2. Charles And The Unicorn

As Lily said, this light is warm.

And it seems to sink into the body.

"It appears Jun and Lily have been liked by him. Being favored by such a picky creature is quite impressive."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. My friend here is not only particular but also rather selective. In fact, this is the first time he's blessed anyone besides me."

Is that right.

So, he suggested it so casually despite that.

It would have been awkward if no one got it.

"Ugh... what didn't he like about me?"

"What didn't he like about me, I wonder." 

Cornelia echoed.

It seems both Ai and Cornelia were dissatisfied with not receiving the blessing.

"My friend here, when it comes to preferences in women, appears to favor those with larger chests."

Immediately, everyone's gaze went to Lily's chest.

"Ah, hey, stop staring at me like that!"

"Tch, even a unicorn prefers big breasts..."

"Are big breasts really everything?"

Indeed, among us, Lily is the most endowed.

At fifteen, she's already a G-cup.

One wonders how much she'll grow in the future.

"Sigh..."

The flattest among us, Yufa, let out a deep sigh.

She patted her chest with a sad look, eyes moist.

Cruel...

"Ah, um, thank you, Unicorn."

"Ah, thank you very much."

With a bray that sounded like a response, the unicorn stood beside Charles.

We shouldn't intrude on their time together.

Time to go.

"Well then, we shouldn't disturb the two of you any longer, so we'll be off. Thank you."

"Not at all. Think nothing of it. Until we meet again."

"Yes, until next time."

"Oh, right. About capturing the Invisible Birds: you might want to approach it more simply, now that you’ve been blessed."

"Is that so? Got it. I'll give it a shot."

"Good. The blessing's effect should last through the day. Do your best. Farewell."

And with that, we parted from Charles.

Walking through the forest once more in search of the Invisible Birds, we quickly found them this time.

"So, what now, onii-chan?"

"Do we throw the magic net as usual?"

"No, as Charles said, let's try a simpler method."

I pulled out a large insect net I had prepared from my magical bag.

"No way."

"Yes. I'll use flight magic, chase it down, and capture it with this net."

A straightforward approach.

"Even if you can fly, can you catch a bird in mid-air? And one that turns invisible at that."

"Just because it disappears doesn’t mean it leaves the area. Once it's in the net, it's ours."

Activating auxiliary magic, I prepared both the Demon God’s Crest and the Demon Lord’s Crest for the challenge.

Thanks to the unicorn’s blessing, I moved faster than usual.

"Chirp!?"

"Gotcha!"

I closed the distance on the Invisible Bird before it could react.

Surprisingly, it was caught quite easily.

"We did it! Finally captured one!"

"Yay!"

"Onii-chan, that was incredibly fast!"

The unicorn’s blessing is amazing.

Let's keep up this pace and capture more!

"Jun, I'm going to try a different method."

"A different method?"

"Yes. Like Charles said, something simpler."

"Hmm? Let's split up, then."

My team included Yuu, Ai, and Sebast.

Lily's team had Noella, Cornelia, Yufa, and Hati.

"Let's meet back here in two hours. We’ll use fireballs to signal each other if necessary. Cornelia, you can handle it, right?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. In emergencies, launch a fireball. Even if it’s unseen, Hati can track its scent to find us."

"Woof!"

"Alright. I'm counting on you, Hati."

Two hours later, we reunited after capturing six Invisible Birds.

It felt like our luck had turned around.

Finding them was easier than before.

"Incredible, this unicorn."

"If this kind of ability gets known, people will hunt unicorns."

"Better keep it secret."

That's a good idea.

I'll tell Lily’s team later to keep it quiet.

"Alright, launching the fireball."

""Okay.""

When I launched my fireball, theirs went up soon after.

Lily’s group was over there.

Lily came towards us with a big smile, but the rest of her team looked... off.

What happened?

"How was it?"

"Yes! We caught a lot!"

Oh? So her different method worked.

"Though... Cornelia and Yufa don’t seem happy."

"That's something Lily wouldn’t understand."

"Haha, well, it did work, so it's Lily's success, but..."

"It's... hard to feel satisfied without seeing for yourself."

What's going on?

If it worked, that’s what matters.

"Where are the captured Invisible Birds?"

"We caught so many we couldn’t bring them all. They’re tied to trees over there, with Noella watching them."

So many?

Noella stayed behind to guard them.

"Alright, let's meet with Noella."

"Okay."

By the way, each bird I caught was promptly bound through summoning contracts and released.

"Oh, there she is. Noella!"

Beside Noella were, indeed, several Invisible Birds.

Eight, to be exact.

More than I captured.

"Impressive, Lily. How did you do it?"

"Ehehe. I'll show you."

Ai, curious, quickly asked Lily about her method.

I was intrigued too.

Lily moved to an open spot, pulling out a large wooden bowl propped up with a stick attached to a string.

She placed nuts inside and motioned for us to hide.

"In here, please."

Pulling the string, we hid and waited.

This... feels like an ancient Japanese bird-catching method.

"Back when I couldn't use a bow, I caught birds like this."

With magic bags provided to all, Lily must’ve stored it for such an occasion.

Ten minutes later, an Invisible Bird took the bait.

"Now!"

Snap!

The stick fell, trapping the bird.

"Got it!"

"""..."""

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... well done, Lily."

"Ehehe~."

I see.

No wonder they looked dissatisfied.

All our struggles, and a simple trap worked...

Simplicity is best, I guess.

"Anyway, we’ve got enough. Capture mission complete."

"Finally done!"

"That took a while. No more forest walks for me for a bit."

"Agreed."

Contracts complete, we secured sixteen Invisible Birds.

Ready for the auction pursuit mission.

I'll thank Charles properly if we meet again.