It had only been two days since I left the temple. And my return was at night, well past bedtime.
Thus, although people knew where I went, no one knew yet that I had encountered the Death Knight in Rajeurn and returned. Of course, given the nature of the incident, it wouldn't be long before rumors spread throughout the empire.
"..."
After parting ways with Olivia, I returned to the second-year dormitory, where I found Ellen sitting dazedly in the lobby.
I had thought this might happen.
Ellen looked at me.
"..."
I could read countless emotions in her eyes. She had been worried about me, wondering when I would return, and now that I was in front of her, she seemed unsure of how to begin.
Instead, she averted her gaze and bowed her head.
My chest felt tight, as if it were constricted.
Would we become strangers like this?
If so, wouldn't that actually be better?
Shouldn't we be glad for this situation, in which we both try to unburden ourselves of the emotions we carry for each other, if only a little?
Yes.
It would be less painful for both of us later on.
Yet, I couldn't find any comfort. Whatever I said would be a lie. We can't have everything, and I had made a choice.
I had chosen Charlotte.
I had to distance myself from Ellen Artorius.
And so, I tried to pass by her.
But then...
She grabbed the hem of my clothes as I attempted to pass.
"..."
"..."
I couldn't ask her to let go.
It wasn't a strong grip, rather a delicate one, as if she didn't even realize it.
Though I didn't know what to say, I couldn't just leave her like this.
With just a slight twist of my arm, she would have let go, but she held on ever so lightly.
Not long ago, she would have held on so tightly that she wouldn't let go.
Our relationship had been shattered by a single word: engagement.
And so, it wasn't even her hand, but the hem of my clothes, held so very lightly.
It seemed as if Ellen thought even this action was wrong.
"You went to a dangerous place," she said quietly, her head still bowed.
"..."
"I can smell... burning."
My clothes must have picked up the scent of burning, having been in the midst of a fiery inferno.
Unable to find the right words, Ellen seemed to have no choice but to guess where I had been and what I had experienced.
She was Ellen, who hated the thought of me being in danger with a passion.
She would hate it, but if I chose to do it, she wouldn't be able to stop me. However, this time it wasn't a dangerous place I went to, but a place that had become dangerous.
I couldn't push Ellen away, and she couldn't pull me closer.
"Will you keep... going to dangerous places like this...?" she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
She probably knew what I had to do.
"Most likely."
"..."
"Don't worry. I won't go to truly dangerous places, and even if I wanted to, people wouldn't let me."
It was a lie.
Even in less dangerous places, sudden incidents like the one that just occurred could happen. As long as there are followers emerging in places I cannot control, I cannot consider any place I go, or even this imperial capital, to be truly safe.
Ellen's gaze, as she looked at me, made it clear she didn't believe a word I said.
Rumors of the Demon Cultists attacking the holy capital of Levaina, Rajeurn, would soon spread to the imperial capital. The fact that Olivia and I were present would also become known, as well as my encounter with the Death Knight.
Ellen seemed to be about to say something, but in the end, she just lowered her head.
The hand holding my sleeve was eventually let go.
—---
I returned to my room in the dormitory.
I couldn't shake off my tangled thoughts.
Just before I lay down in bed after washing up, there was movement in the air.
Swish -
A white mist gathered in one corner of the room, taking on a human shape.
"So, how did it go?"
"Ah, you."
The silver-haired girl, Lucinil, had appeared.
Could Lucinil, like Sarkegaar, visit without anyone knowing? Lucinil was assigned to protect me, but due to certain limitations, she couldn't accompany me to Rajeurn.
"I heard it wasn't particularly dangerous…"
Whether she received that information from Epinhauser or not, Lucinil didn't seem too worried.
"Your expression says otherwise."
Of course, the reason for my current unpleasant expression was due to my recent encounter with Ellen, rather than what happened in Rajeurn.
"The Demon Cultists attacked Rajeurn."
"…What?"
Upon hearing my words, Lucinil's expression hardened.
As she probably knew the reason for my visit to Rajeurn, I explained only the events that occurred afterward.
The crowds in Rajeurn, driven mad by the terror of the Demon Lord, began persecuting and executing heretics. Then, suddenly, the real Demon Cultists attacked Rajeurn.
I also told her about my encounter with the Death Knight and how the situation seemed to worsen, so we decided to leave Rajeurn for the time being.
The crux of the issue was this:
"It seems the Demon Cultists are following me."
"…What on earth are you talking about?"
Yes. The situation was so bizarre that it was difficult to understand. I couldn't help but be dumbfounded and furious.
"They behaved as if I had ordered the attack on Rajeurn. They even referred to me as some kind of prophet."
"…But you didn't cause the events in Rajeurn in the first place."
"Exactly."
I clicked my tongue in irritation.
"They seem to think that there must have been a reason for me to destroy Rajeurn. So, they attacked Rajeurn as if they were completing the task I had failed to accomplish…"
Since I didn't actually instigate the attack on Rajeurn, the Demon Cultists' actions were just empty gestures. Numerous people were dying, but it had nothing to do with my intentions.
"A city turned to ashes by the misguided loyalty of strangers I don't even know…"
Lucinil sighed, folding her arms.
"You, what are we going to do about this?"
Lucinil had been skeptical about the talk of world peace and all, but the incident with the demonic cult's attack, resulting from Bertus's conspiracy, was cornering her as well.
She had somewhat anticipated that the demonic cult, which should have been destroyed by the return of the Demon King, would be expanding its influence somewhere. But it felt eerily real now that it had come to light.
"First, we need to find the members of the demonic cult and either bring them under our control or eliminate them."
Once I confirmed their loyalty to me, I would either turn them into my true subordinates or, if their beliefs were too dangerous, eliminate them.
The cultists needed to be found.
At my words, Lucinil cocked her head.
"But how are you going to find them?"
"We have to think about that."
They weren't the kind of people to be openly active, so it was hard to think of a way to catch them unless they revealed themselves like they did now.
"I'll share the information with the Council and the Order for now."
"Yes. And let's also get in touch with the royal family. I think they'll know, but we need to make sure they're aware that we're not behind this."
"Right, it's best to make things clear. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Although they would eventually communicate through Sarkegaar, it was a good idea to exchange opinions with the royal family as well.
In this situation, a connection had been created between the revolutionary forces, who tried to form a bond, and the royal family, who were practically their greatest enemy.
The royal family would expect us to become enemies at some point, but they would want to use us as long as they could, just as I was doing now.
Lucinil would take care of delivering my opinion to Sarkegaar.
"I know we couldn't help it this time, but don't get involved in anything too dangerous. It feels like you're hanging me out to dry."
She worried for me as if I were a child. I was grateful for her concern, but it was amusing to imagine Lucinil fretting and biting her nails upon hearing that I went to Rajeurn.
"I might follow you secretly, so don't be too surprised if I suddenly appear."
"That would be great for me. But you know that if someone sees us, both you and I would be kicked out of the Temple, right?"
"I'll take care of that, you little rascal. Anyway, I should head back now..."
"Oh, right."
As Lucinil was about to leave, I remembered one last thing I had to tell her.
"Well... this isn't as important as the demonic cult issue."
"What is it?"
"It seems that a new religion is emerging."
It sounded ridiculous when I tried to say it.
"A new religion? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"A religion that believes in the resurrection of Ragan Artorius is spreading among the people."
"Uh... what?"
Just as I was dumbfounded, Lucinil's reaction was no different. In their terror, some people suspected their neighbors of being heretics, while others, driven mad by fear, sought out an absurd hope.
Fear produced the same cause, but the results were vastly different.
"Wow... I've seen countless bizarre things humans do, but this is just astonishing..."
It seemed that Lucinil couldn't help but feel dumbfounded by the current situation, where the baseless belief that the already dead hero would resurrect spread due to the absence of a worthy opponent for the Demon King.
"Well, if the true owner of the sacred relic were revealed to the world, such beliefs would probably disappear. It's just that there's no reason to believe it right now..."
In the end, they believed that the hero would be resurrected and the Demon King would be defeated through faith. If it became known that an adversary of the Demon King, rather than the hero, had appeared in the world, wouldn't the faith in the hero naturally disappear?
At my words, Lucinil stared at me intently.
"That... Reinhardt, right? I don't think that's the case, you see?"
"Huh?"
"You said you would propose to the princess and reveal that you are the owner of the Alsebringer, didn't you?"
"Yes."
So what's the big deal?
"And Alsebringer is the sword of Ragan Artorius, right?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Then, wouldn't people believe that you are the reincarnation of Ragan Artorius?"
"What?"
I don't understand what he's saying.
"No, even if Ragan Artorius really reincarnated, he would be less than a year old now. He's been dead for just over a year. It doesn't make sense for people to believe that I am the reincarnation of Ragan Artorius based on the timeline, does it? There's no way they'd think that..."
"Does believing in the resurrection of Ragan Artorius make sense in the first place?"
"Ah."
At that moment, my mind seemed to freeze.
Right.
What's the point of saying that people who believe in something that doesn't make sense won't believe in something even more nonsensical?
When it became known that I was the owner of Alsebringer, it was clear that the followers of the hero's faith would treat me as the reincarnation of Artorius or a prophet simply because I possessed Alsebringer.
"Wow! Our Reinhardt is amazing! A prophet of the Demon Faith and a prophet of the Hero Faith at the same time!"
Lucinil burst out with a malicious laugh and hugged me.
-Whack!
"Y-You bastard..."
"Our baby is the best!"
"Why am I your baby?!"
As I forcefully pushed Lucinil away, she pondered with a sinister smile.
"Wow, no joke, you really have a lot of titles?"
"Rightful heir to Darkland."
"King of all demons."
"Ally of the Vampire Council."
"Collaborator of the Black Order."
"Master of Tiamata and Apostle of Tu'an."
"Owner of Alsebringer and Apostle of Als."
"Prophet of all Demon Faith followers."
"And a prophet of the Hero Faith as well..."
Lucinil smirked.
"And, a son-in-law to the Empire's royal family?"
Even I felt dizzy hearing all that.
"Isn't my existence a contradiction in itself?"
Exactly...
What am I, really?
—---
As Lucinil said, it was only natural that the followers of the Hero Faith would revere and worship me as a prophet once they knew of my existence.
And so, the followers of the demon god proclaimed themselves as the servants of the Demon King.
Prophets of two groups with completely different attributes.
It was decided to leave the task of finding the followers of the demon god to the Council. Since the followers of the demon god would also want to contact the Demon King, capturing them would be a foregone conclusion once contact was made. The problem was that they didn't know in which direction to make contact.
The next day.
Olivia and I received a summons from Saviolin Turner.
"It has been confirmed that the followers of the demon god were responsible for the incident in Rajeurn."
"..."
"As expected..."
"At this point, it is presumed that the powers of the demon god Kier and Talad were used."
Kier, the god of corruption, and Talad, the god of fear.
Had the demon god priests, who were the counterparts of the two gods, been deployed? This would mean that the followers of the demon god were cooperating, just like the five major god religions.
I had thought that those who set the fires were using something akin to magic, but it turned out that they were using divine magic fueled by the divine power of the demon gods.
"What is the current situation?"
At Olivia's question, Turner's expression darkened.
"We were able to handle the resurrecting corpses. We captured some of the demon god followers, but they all committed suicide, and we failed to capture the core members. We are currently tracking them, but we don't know how it will turn out."
Although Saviolin Turner said this, it seemed that she expected the pursuit to fail.
Furthermore, Turner's face was filled with a deep sense of guilt as she relayed this news.
The Shanafel and the royal family would know that the followers of the demon god had no direct contact with the Demon King.
It wouldn't make sense for the followers of the demon god to come and put an end to the Rajeurn incident, which wasn't even an attack by the Demon King in the first place.
The empire's involvement in the self-made play had drawn attention away from the real issue. There was no way Turner could be pleased when Rajeurn suffered enormous damage because of the self-made play initiated by the empire and the subsequent misunderstanding by the followers of the demon god.
Saviolin Turner must be feeling an immense sense of responsibility right now.
The attack of the demon god followers had happened, and the dead could not be brought back.
It was clear that she believed they must find and exterminate the demon god followers responsible for this incident.
This time, Saviolin Turner looked at Olivia.
It was because Scottla Kelton had clearly seen Olivia holding my unmistakable Tiamata.
"Olivia and I share Tiamata."
The one who answered was not Olivia, but me.
"Sharing...?"
Naturally, she wouldn't know such a concept was possible, so her confusion was understandable.
"Didn't I tell you last time? Tiamata was corrupted, and Olivia purified the sword..."
"Yes, that's right."
I had drawn Tiamata while fighting against Charlotte, who was being eroded by the Demon King's soul. And then, I explained how I acquired Tiamata and told Olivia's story. Olivia had purified the corrupted Tiamata, and I became its owner.
I hadn't mentioned that Olivia and I now shared Tiamata.
"After that, Olivia and I became able to use Tiamata together."
"Such a thing... is possible?"
But even if it seemed impossible, it had happened.
"Yes, I understand why you wanted to keep this a secret. If you want me to keep this matter confidential, I can do so. However, I won't be able to do anything about the rumors spreading due to those who saw the two of you in Rajeurn."
"No."
At Turner's suggestion, Olivia shook her head.
"I plan to return to the order."
Knowing that her fame might be her downfall, Olivia decided to become even more famous.
Saviolin Turner's eyes widened upon hearing Olivia's decision.
