We drove the carriage out of the capital.
Trail spoke.
[Did you really have to provoke the emperor like that?]
‘Huh?’
[The emperor plotting Kaeld’s assassination isn’t really a bad thing for you, is it?]
‘What if that plot ends up targeting me instead?’
Trail went quiet for a moment before replying.
[No way he’d do that unless he’s lost his mind. What we saw through the Eye of Omniscience was from before the Black Sun.]
‘……’
[Things are totally different now. Even if there’s no prophecy yet, there’s no way they won’t acknowledge the guy who dropped the sun as a Hero.]It was a logical take—but I didn’t agree.
‘That bastard didn’t order Serein to assassinate Kaeld because he genuinely thought Kaeld was a fraud.’
[Huh?]
‘That was just a story he made up to feed Serein. You think a guy who poisoned his own father without blinking and deceived the entire empire would order an assassination out of concern for the empire’s peace?’
[Then what does he really want?]
‘I’ve got a few guesses… but forget it.’
It wasn’t something important enough to share.
[Cutting off a thought midway is the worst.]
‘You’ll live.’
[If a new Demon King ever descends, it’ll definitely be the Demon King of Cutoffs. Thanks to bastards like you.]
I ignored that.
Just then, Offense spoke up with a curious expression.
Since he had waited in the carriage, he was naturally interested in what we’d talked about.
“So? What did you discuss?”
“Oh, things like ‘What’d you have for breakfast?’”
“Miss Pheasant always manages to relate everything back to food, doesn’t she?”
“That just means it was a boring conversation. And seriously, get rid of that pheasant already. People might think my nickname is something like ‘The Pheasant’s Agent.’”
Offense chuckled and turned to me.
“I didn’t expect you to let such a monumental moment pass so blandly, facing the emperor and all.”
“The more you talk to that guy, the more we lose.”
“Hmm?”
“He’s a very wicked man.”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
Adwin asked,
“He didn’t seem that way to me. Seemed like a nice guy. Right, Neril?”
“Well… he did seem like someone worthy of formal speech. But if Mide says that—”
Her expression hardened.
“—then it must be true.”
“C’mon, don’t be so dramatic. Just listen.”
I revealed that the current emperor was the one who poisoned the former emperor.
I told them everything I’d seen through the Eye of Omniscience, in vivid detail.
Even without presenting evidence, their faces went pale.
“……”
After a moment, Neril spoke, her tone thick with disgust.
“I haven’t lived that long, but I thought I was a decent judge of character. Guess I got played by a hell of a performer.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said I haven’t lived that long.”
“Oh… hmm? Adwin, what’s with you now?”
Adwin had his arms wrapped around his knees, laughing bitterly.
“Heh. So there is someone in this world who could fool me…”
“……”
“Ah, Mother… you’ve placed a fraud upon the throne.”
I calmed them down.
To be honest, if I hadn’t had the Blood Script or the Eye of Omniscience, I probably would’ve thought, ‘Wow, what a noble ruler.’
“Well, you probably need that level of deviousness to be called an emperor.”
“The founder of the Grade Empire would roll in his grave if he heard that.”
“In any case, that whole affair with the previous emperor was 13 years ago. It has nothing to do with us. Let’s move on. What matters is what comes next.”
I swallowed hard.
Then I continued slowly.
“We’re going to meet Serein.”
Patrick Benjamin was rotting in a prison cell in the capital.
He was supposed to be waiting for trial, but the emperor had already treated him like a convicted criminal by tossing him into the prisoners’ wing.
His empty right eye kept throbbing with pain.
Grinding his teeth, he muttered,
“Damn it… Just you wait. I won’t end like this…”
It should’ve been a monologue, with no reply.
But someone answered.
“You’re right.”
“…?”
“You won’t end on the executioner’s block. You’ll die here.”
Sssshk. Riiip.
Like fabric being sliced with a knife, a line tore through space.
That line opened up, and someone stepped through.
Idria.
The Demon King of Lies and Deception floated in midair, legs crossed.
“Wh-Who are you?!”
“You don’t remember me?”
“Wait, could you be…?”
“Yes. The one who implanted that fancy thing in your eye. Though thanks to your sloppy handling, it got stolen.”
Idria giggled and continued.
“You’re such an idiot. Compared to Bion Kunze, I have terrible judgment in people.”
“H-Hey!”
Patrick dropped flat on the floor.
Thud!
He slammed his forehead against the ground and cried out.
“Just give me one more chance! I can’t end like this!”
“I said this isn’t how it ends for you. Do you not listen?”
“Just days ago, I was one of the empire’s twin blades! The head of Alkahad! If you help me just one more time—”
“One more time and you’ll…?”
“I-I’ll forge the lies you desire!”
“Heh heh.”
Idria let out a cold laugh.
Shink.
She casually dragged her finger downward through the air.
Just like before, a thin slash opened in space.
She reached into it.
What she pulled out was a small dagger.
Clatter.
She tossed it in front of Patrick.
His face lit up.
“Ooh! What power does this blade hold? Another Demon King’s core, perhaps?”
“It’s just a dagger.”
“…What?”
“If someone sneaks into the capital prison and kills you, that’ll cause too much fuss. This way, it’ll just look like you took your own life.”
It was an official dispatch.
Idria held a pen and looked quietly at the form.
‘Let’s see. Kaeld just finished healing Lord Dronoar, didn’t he?’
It should be around the time he completed the quest she gave him.
Now it was time to issue the next command.
This…
This might be a turning point.
If she let Mide get any further ahead, Kaeld would become completely useless.
But Idria herself couldn’t get involved directly.
As long as Bion Kunze kept those sharp eyes open, she couldn’t personally kill Mide.
Idria let out a sigh.
“Ahh, Bion Kunze… You lucky bastard. How did you end up with such a perfect vessel?”
Well, what’s done is done.
No point in envying others forever.
‘In that case…’
It was finally time to kill Mide.
A cruel smile formed on her lips.
“You must not become a Hero, Mide Mohan.”
Time to step down from the stage.
She began writing on the official notice:
<Mandatory Quest: Kill Mide Mohan. Absolutely.>
I told the others that the emperor had hired Serein to carry out an assassination.
They were visibly shocked.
Xenia spoke first.
“That woman? I didn’t think she was the type to do something as low as an assassination. Sorry, Offense.”
“Assassination is low, yeah. Not like I take any pride in the job.”
“Did you notice anything off when you were in Kaeld’s party with her?”
“Hmm… There was some invisible tension between her and Kaeld.”
Offense folded his arms and continued.
“But it never seemed like she’d actually hurt him.”
“She couldn’t have, anyway. Serein’s not strong enough to handle Kaeld. And trying to assassinate someone next to a legendary assassin is suicide.”
“That may be true, but still—when someone decides to kill, they give off a certain… aura. And I’m good at reading those.”
“……”
“And if I didn’t sense anything, that just means Serein was really good at hiding it. Honestly, if it had been anyone but you saying it, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
It was true—Serein’s outer appearance and inner self were worlds apart.
A face so innocent that no one would hesitate to call it lovable.
And yet she was hiding something pitch-black behind it.
‘But…’
Was that really all there was to it?
No matter how sly Serein was, could she really deceive not only Offense but me, too, before the regression?
Even in the previous timeline, she must’ve received the same assassination order from the emperor.
But up to the very end—the final battle against the Demon King—she never laid a finger on Kaeld.
Sure, maybe she didn’t have the ability… but maybe—
[Maybe?]
‘We saw it in the Eye of Omniscience, didn’t we? She accepted the order because she wanted something from the emperor.’
[…]
‘Maybe, in the previous timeline, she realized Kaeld was more likely to fulfill her wish than the emperor—and changed her mind.’
Or maybe Kaeld realized what her wish was by walking that so-called “Path to Becoming a Hero.”
Just like he had told Lisel, “I’ll make you human”, maybe he told Serein that he would grant her wish, too.
Of course, judging by how things ended for Kaeld, those promises were just empty words.
Trail spoke.
[That explanation sounds much more plausible.]
‘Right? So the real secret isn’t between Serein and the emperor. It’s between Serein and Kaeld. We need to find out what she really wanted.’
[Agreed.]
A screen appeared.
<Eye of Omniscience.>
<Current level: 3. You may access secrets up to Grade B.>
<Selection Criteria: “The secret between Kaeld Wake and Serein Magnus.”>
<Secret Level: Grade C. Accessing…>
I watched the vision quietly.
Kaeld and Serein were alone.
Serein was the first to speak.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Not yet.”
“…Then why the heavy atmosphere? You even sent off Lisel and Offense.”
“Serein Magnus. You received a contract to assassinate me from the emperor, didn’t you?”
Serein’s face turned pale.
I clicked my tongue.
‘So I was right. The Hero’s Path really is all-seeing.’
[Hmph. That’s nothing to brag about.]
‘Don’t get all competitive now.’
Serein opened her mouth repeatedly, but didn’t try to deny or lash out.
She could see from Kaeld’s expression that he wasn’t just guessing.
“Ah, well… it just sort of happened.”
“You think that kind of thing can be brushed off like that?”
“Can’t you just let it slide? I’ll quietly leave the party.”
“No. You’ll stay with me.”
Serein’s face twisted.
But Kaeld’s next words widened her eyes.
“In exchange, I’ll grant your wish.”
“…?”
“What’ll it be? Want to say it yourself? Or should I tell you?”
“…Tell me.”
Kaeld gave a small smile and said slowly:
“You want to eliminate all the ‘clerics’ from this continent, don’t you?”
“…!”
“I don’t mean you want to go on a mass murder spree. More accurately, you don’t want to kill all clerics…”
“……”
“You want to abolish the profession of clerics. By law—or imperial decree.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
[Isn’t Serein a cleric? And she wants to erase her own profession?]
Just then, Serein shot up from her seat.
“What the— How do you know that?!”
“I looked into your past.”
“My past?”
“You’ve got a long list of grievances with clerics. At first, maybe just a few individuals. But over time, that hatred spread to others.”
“……”
“Eventually, it became a curse on all clerics across the continent. Am I wrong?”
At that moment—
Serein’s expression changed subtly.
I caught it perfectly.
‘Huh?’
But in the next instant, her face morphed back into one of shock.
Serein shouted as if genuinely outraged:
“Why are you digging into people’s personal history?!”
“I said I’ll grant your wish.”
“……”
“Look. It’s impossible to eliminate the cleric class through law or decree. The Heavenly God is the root of all imperial belief. Not even the emperor would seriously entertain your request.”
“Hmph. It’s not like I truly trusted that snake. Just that…”
“He was the only one who might’ve had the power to try. No one else could even attempt it.”
Tap.
Kaeld pointed to himself.
“But a Hero could.”
“……”
“Once I kill the Demon King, I’ll use my title to declare it across the continent. I’ll abolish the cleric profession.”
Serein’s eyes trembled.
Snap.
The vision cut off there.
Trail said gravely:
[Hey… do you think you could actually grant that wish?]
‘No way. The entire continent would rise up like a hornet’s nest. Once I kill the Demon King, I plan to retire in some quiet countryside. I don’t want to get dragged into that mess.’
[Then winning over Serein is impossible.]
‘Not necessarily.’
Was that really the whole of Serein’s wish?
No—it was her wish.
But that doesn’t mean it was the whole story.
Kaeld said she wanted to erase the cleric class because she hated and cursed all clerics across the continent.
But is that the truth?
Let’s think back to that subtle change in her expression during the vision.
With just her face, she was practically saying:
—You totally missed the mark. You were doing so well… but missed it completely.
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