Neril and I were preparing breakfast.
Lisel tilted her head and said,
“I can make the meal.”
Neril with her face still red, replied,
“It’s fine. We will do it.”
“…”
“It’s not what you think, okay?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Offense smirked.
“See, Adwin? Good thing we slept in the carriage.”“I feel like something’s going on in this party that I’m the only one not aware of lately.”
“You’re still young.”
“Come on, I’m not a kid!”
“And I’m not an old man.”
Anyway, breakfast was soon ready.
Compared to Lisel’s cooking, this tasted like chewing on raw grass.
Xenia smiled slightly and spoke.
“Mr. Mide, I will give you half of my meal again today. I did say I would give you half of every meal for the rest of my life if you saved Ophelia.”
“And I keep turning you down every time. You don’t have to ask anymore.”
“I know you will say no, so I’m offering with peace of mind. Besides, today’s food is something I don’t mind sharing.”
Neril interjected.
“Are you saying that so I will hear it?”
“Why don’t you take some cooking lessons from Lisel, Neril? Then you can be her assistant in the kitchen later.”
“So you were serious about that.”
Anyway, just as breakfast was wrapping up, I spoke up.
“Let’s go meet the lord of this territory today.”
Serein asked,
“Huh? Why?”
“This Hero’s mark etched thanks to Neril’s headband. We need to see if it really works.”
“Ah. It’s kind of like how the high priest at my old temple tested fake potions on his friends before selling them to others.”
“Uh… yeah.”
I wanted to deny it, but it really was too perfect a comparison to argue with.
Adwin took a gulp of milk and said,
“Won’t it work just fine? Both Lisel and Beyond said it was flawless after seeing it up close, and they met the Hero and all.”
“He’s pretty sloppy.”
When we arrived at the lord’s residence, the reception was overwhelming.
Practically every servant came running out to greet us.
An elderly butler at the front spoke up.
“Sir Mide Mohan, Hero. And all of you, welcome.”
From behind me, I could hear Xenia and Neril whispering.
“He called Mr. Mide a Hero. This lord must be wise.”
“Or just cunning.”
“Excuse me?”
“Either way, the second oracle did declare Mide the Hero. From the lord’s perspective, it would be risky to oppose him outright.”
I agreed with her.
But of course, I didn’t say that aloud.
“Thank you for the warm welcome. We have come to see the lord.”
“My sincerest apologies, but the lord is currently away.”
“Oh dear.”
“He will return soon, now that we have informed him of the Heroes visit. Could you wait an hour or two?”
I was about to nod when I suddenly noticed something.
“You said… ‘Heroes’?”
“Yes. Please don’t be offended. People like us can’t possibly tell which oracle is real.”
“I understand. But… are you saying the other Hero is also here?”
“He’s currently waiting in the reception room. Mr. Kaeld… ahem, I mean, Sir Kaeld.”
Offense clicked his tongue.
“Your instincts are scarily accurate, Mide. But I didn’t expect him to show up first.”
“Think he’s here to go after Mide?”
“What else would he be here for? He’s got guts, though.”
“Sorry?”
“There’s seven of us, and he’s alone. Idria wouldn’t have followed him like a nanny.”
He was right, from a logical point of view.
But I couldn’t imagine Idria sending Kaeld without some sort of backup.
We would see soon enough.
I straightened up and said,
“We will wait in that reception room too.”
“Pardon? But…”
“I understand what concerns you. There’s only one Hero, and if either I or Kaeld is a fake, a fight might break out, right?”
“Ahem.”
“Don’t worry. Fighting inside the lord’s home would be disgraceful. A Hero can’t do that.”
It would hurt my reputation, after all.
I didn’t say it out loud, but the butler seemed to understand and nodded.
“In that case, please follow me.”
Soon, we stood in front of the reception room.
The butler stepped back slightly and said,
“We will inform the lord the moment he returns. Please wait a little while.”
“Thank you.”
After the butler left, we glanced at each other.
Neril spoke.
“So that bastard is in there?”
“I thought you were softening up lately.”
“I can’t help being sharp when it comes to him.”
“I see. Then be even sharper.”
She shrugged, then turned to Adwin.
“Adwin. That thing.”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
Quick on the uptake, Adwin began chanting.
Neril was initiating the secret soul conversation.
She spoke in a teasing tone.
[Let’s say something Kaeld in that room wouldn’t want to overhear.]
[That kind of talk is always welcome. What exactly are you thinking?]
[I agree with what you said earlier, Kaeld is sloppy. So let’s push him a little.]
[Push him?]
[Make him say out loud that he’s working with Idria.]
Just from that, I understood Neril’s plan.
We all already knew the full story.
If I played my part just right, Kaeld might let something slip.
Then… his confession…
[You are planning to spread it through Append View, right?]
[Yeah. Sharp as always.]
[Still not as sharp as you. That’s a good move.]
[Don’t get your hopes up too much. Kaeld might not be that careless.]
[That depends on how I provoke him. Fine, let’s go with that plan.]
[Got it. I will set up Append View in advance.]
With that, we came up with a quick plan and opened the door.
Click.
And the moment I stepped inside, I sensed that this small plan was about to fail.
Because Kaeld wasn’t alone in there.
‘That guy…?’
[What? do you know him?]
‘Yeah. Never thought I would run into him in a place like this.’
Though his face was hidden behind a helmet, that only made it easier to identify him.
The First Finger of Lie. Sobius.
A formidable enemy who had once driven our party to the brink before regression.
In fact, I had nearly lost a party member in the fight against him.
[Come to think of it, you mentioned in Dronoar Territory that you were driven into a corner by the First Finger of Lie and had to tear through space.]
‘Right. I had no other way to hide my party.’
[Is he really that strong?]
‘In pure swordsmanship, I could win. But his special techniques left me totally helpless.’
I gave him another look, this time with fresh eyes.
His entire body was wrapped in pitch-black armor.
Even though he must have heard the door open, he didn’t even glance in our direction.
I also turned my head away from him, hiding my unease.
Then Kaeld spoke up.
“Mide Mohan.”
“Oh, what? You were here?”
“…”
“It’s been a while. You doing okay?”
Thud.
I flopped down comfortably on the couch opposite him.
The rest of the party sat beside me, glaring at Kaeld.
On his forehead was the mark of a Hero.
‘That’s fake too, right?’
[Yeah. The oracle and the mark always come as a set. There’s no way Idria would have forgotten to include the mark.]
‘Ugh. I need to expose that it’s fake somehow.’
[Your own mark is fake too… wait, no, never mind.]
Then Kaeld chuckled and said,
“Heh. Seeing you again like this is oddly nostalgic.”
“You still have that creepy laugh.”
“Weren’t you all supposed to be seated by my side?”
“Even if I had been one of your party members, I would have never sat next to you. Even putting your misdeeds aside, we are just fundamentally incompatible.”
…said Neril, seated right beside me.
Kaeld glanced at the rest of the party.
“Are you all happy being with Mide?”
Everyone answered without hesitation.
“At least more than we were with you.”
“Mide even covers all our travel expenses, you know.”
“Honestly, I would rather forget the time I ever followed you.”
“How about surrendering before it gets worse?”
“Though to be fair, it’s already quite late for that.”
I didn’t know my party was this good at trash talk.
Still, Kaeld, being Kaeld, didn’t lose face and tried to say something.
But then…
A low, deep voice cut between us.
“Stop talking.”
“…What?”
“They are plotting something.”
Damn. Looks like we have been found out.
Sobius jerked his chin toward Neril.
“Hold out your hands.”
“Hah. You’re ordering me around now?”
“Yes.”
“You bastard…”
I stepped in.
“Just cancel it, Neril.”
“But…”
“They have already caught on. If we keep the spell up, they will just shut up and stall for time. We are better off squeezing some useful info out of them.”
Neril clicked her tongue and held out her hands.
Then, right in front of Sobius, she dispelled Append View.
Kaeld broke out in a cold sweat.
“That spell was…”
Sobius answered for him.
“What was it again… Append View? You took quite a hit to your reputation back in the Tetra Territory because of it, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
“And yet you made no effort to watch out for it this time. Makes me wonder how I’m supposed to work with someone like you.”
“That’s a bit harsh, even for a leader.”
“I will treat you like a proper leader in front of the public. But in front of people who already know everything? There’s no point.”
Kaeld bit his lip.
I wasn’t all that interested in his humiliation.
Instead, I turned to Sobius.
“What’s your deal? Kaeld’s the leader, really?”
“Just as you heard.”
“Looks like you are another one of Idria’s lackeys… and you bowed your head to Kaeld?”
A soft chuckle came from beyond Sobius’s helmet.
“Bowed my head isn’t the right phrasing. I’m merely pretending to be one of Kaeld’s party members. You should know the reason.”
“Because there’s never been a ‘true hero’ in history without a companion of legendary caliber. You’re just propping him up for appearances.”
“Exactly.”
He nodded proudly, without a hint of shame.
Neril spoke in a disgusted tone.
“So even the Demon King’s filthiest lackeys are cunning now. Guess the end times really are here.”
“Neril Slane. I didn’t expect you to show up in this territory.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Everyone of high noble rank knows it was you who destroyed House Erenica. Why come back to a place filled with painful memories?”
I watched Sobius closely.
From the way he said that, it felt like he already knew the answer and was just baiting her.
Neril frowned.
“You bastards are all experts at getting under people’s skin, huh?”
“Mide has the Hero’s mark on his forehead, I see.”
“…”
“Did you come here just to grant him that?”
I involuntarily sucked in a breath.
He is the First Finger of Lie, sure, but how could he tell even that?
Neril’s headband had one key feature: it was undetectable.
The spell was low-level, but it was specifically designed to be undetectable as magic. Even Beyond, the Father of Mana, vouched for it.
‘So how did he spot it at a glance?’
[Maybe he was just fishing for a reaction.]
‘No. He definitely knew. He was sure of it.’
I quickly cut into their conversation.
“Why are you picking fights with my party member?”
“Just making an observation. That second oracle… it lacked sincerity, no matter who you ask. Like it was handed down reluctantly.”
“…”
“But then the mark was clearly visible. That piqued my interest.”
“Throughout history, the oracle and the mark always come as a set. If you receive the oracle, the mark gets engraved. No matter how half-hearted the second oracle seemed, assuming there would be no mark is ridiculous.”
This time, Sobius fell silent.
I growled in a low voice.
“What the hell are you?”
“Who knows.”
Of course he wouldn’t tell me.
Fine. I will find out myself.
I checked for his blood script.
If he was like Ophelia or Hyran, there would be black letters floating above his head.
Sure enough, as I expected, the blood script…
‘…?’
I rubbed my eyes once.
What did I just see?
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