Since he was already here, he naturally had to bring back some local specialties—just enough to make up for that rather substandard Christmas Gift of his.
But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than shadows suddenly writhed at the street corner. A maid in a tight black dress emerged from them, appearing before him in a flicker.
Though he could not recall her name, he recognized her at a glance as one of Scorpio Palace's maidens.
Before the maid could say something like, "Greetings, Young Master," Dark waved a hand and said, "Get in."
The maid immediately boarded the carriage, then, after a brief hesitation, sat beside Dark.
Dark said, "Tell me what happened over the past two days."
The maid's lips moved, and a faint ripple of magic spread out. Her voice swiftly vanished, and her lips closed tightly.
Yet an even clearer voice entered Dark's ears directly. Dark listened quietly, gradually gaining a detailed understanding of what had happened over the past few days.
First was December 24th.
What had occurred in the Free City that day largely matched the information he had received. Though there were some discrepancies in the details, they were insignificant.
Then came December 25th—Christmas Day.
The Free City was far from peaceful.
Drawn by the Christmas festivities, a large number of people continued streaming into the city even on Christmas Day itself.
The Free City on December 25th essentially reenacted what had happened on December 24th.
The Demon Race remnants that simply would not die, along with evil cultists whose brains had evidently short-circuited, used all manner of methods to attack the Free City.
But these overt offensives were swiftly crushed by the Christmas event known as the "Demon Extermination Convention."
Members of the major factions once again sprang into action,