Rumors spread that a second wave of attacks by the Demon King's minions and demon worshippers had occurred in the city of Rajeurn, resulting in a massive number of casualties.
The tale of the demon's curse, which brought the dead back to life to devour the living, and the newly-dead rising to feast on the living, filled the people with terror.
Although the situation in the Empire was not as extreme as the witch hunts in Rajeurn, the people shuddered in fear, realizing just how much havoc the demon worshippers could wreak if they were to draw their swords.
The emergence of the sinister-sounding Death Knights in the very cities where people lived only intensified their fear.
Of course, not only these terrifying stories spread.
Alongside the chaos, rumors emerged of two heroes wielding sacred relics appearing at the scene.
A man with the Alsebringer.
A woman with the Tiamata.
The Apostles of Als and Tu’an were said to have appeared in the desperate city of Rajeurn, slaughtering the reanimated corpses, demon worshippers, and Death Knights.
In truth, it was indeed the work of Reinhardt and Olivia.
However, it was the Empire's support troops and Shanafel who played a decisive role in resolving the situation. The Empire exaggerated Reinhardt and Olivia's achievements even more.
"That's the Alsebringer, the hero's sword!"
"And the Tiamata too…"
"The gods haven't abandoned us!"
As fear spread, so too did hope follow.
The attacks by the remaining demon forces had only sown fear until now, but the appearance of the two champions in Rajeurn had planted a hope in the masses that was stronger than their fear.
Heroes had appeared to fight the Demon King, and there were two of them.
Their true identities were not widely known, but rumors have a way of spreading.
Some knew that the man was Reinhardt, a second-year student of the Temple Royal Class, while the woman was a sixth-year student.
A truth known to few soon becomes a truth known to all.
The two champions had suddenly emerged and were holding onto the hearts of those who were sinking.
That's why many people felt relief rather than fear when they heard the rumors of the Rajeurn attack.
The demon worshippers' assault was no longer a tragedy but a story of hope. After all, it was happening to strangers in an unknown place.
The rumor that the Demon King's challengers had appeared would soon expand to say that the Demon King would be defeated soon.
Those who knew the truth understood that no matter how powerful Reinhardt and Olivia were, they couldn't possibly stand against the Demon King. Of course, even this wasn't the whole truth.
However, whether the hope was real or false wasn't important.
If peace persisted due to false hope, then it wouldn't be much different from real hope.
As if preventing people from falling into chaos with their faith in the impossible idea of the Heroes' Teachings.
Whether or not the challengers to the Demon King could actually defeat him, the people could endure the present by believing that they would.
Several days later.
The Winter Palace.
"..."
Bertus sat in his office, deep in thought.
Though he had the emperor's approval, the attack on Rajeurn had been Bertus's own plan. He was well aware that civilian casualties were inevitable in such situations.
However, he had not anticipated the subsequent fallout.
Especially not in this manner.
The Demon King was bound to be hostile toward the empire's royal family. The collapse of any connection with the revolutionary forces and even being used by them had naturally fueled their anger.
Cultists of the Demon Faith began to appear.
Their goal was to complete the unfinished plan of the Demon King.
However, the attack on Rajeurn was not the work of the Demon King, so claiming to complete his plan was absurd.
If the Demon Faith's cultists were part of the Demon King's forces, they should have known that the Rajeurn incident was not his plan.
Therefore, it was likely that the cultists had no direct contact with the Demon King.
'Is it really unrelated?'
But there was a slim chance.
Out of anger for their previous humiliation, the Demon King could have deliberately orchestrated this incident.
The attack on Rajeurn had been disguised as the Demon King's work, but the actual damage was minimal. Many civilians had been killed, but the focus had been on the numbers.
The death toll was not that high, and the Rajeurn attack had ultimately failed.
The Demon King may have felt cheated and angered by the minimal damage caused by an act disguised as his own.
Perhaps he thought it was laughable that his forces could barely destroy the capital of a small provincial nation.
Thus, he may have initiated such an incident to demonstrate what would happen if they seriously attacked somewhere. People might start to underestimate the Demon King, considering the unimpressive results of the attack that was rumored to be his doing.
Therefore, it wasn't entirely impossible that the cultists were claiming to be acting under the Demon King's orders.
They could easily issue orders to appear at the disguised attack site and turn Rajeurn into a wasteland.
To warn Bertus of the consequences of using their name so recklessly.
The Demon King had spared Owen de Gatmora, but took revenge by destroying Rajeurn.
If this was indeed the Demon King's intention, then Bertus had paid the price.
In that case, the problem became much bigger.
Bertus had estimated that the remnants of the demonic forces were very few in number.
While individually powerful, they were certainly not a majority. That had been his assumption.
'But if the Demon Faith's cultists are also involved...'
The number of cultists was not comparable to the Five Great Holy Faiths.
However, they were led by powerful undead Death Knights and included priests who worshipped the five Demon Gods.
There were high-ranking priests of the powerful Demon Faith who could cast a curse that enveloped the entire capital of a small, albeit significant, nation.
Urban-scale terror.
The existence of the demon world remnants was proof that they could already wage war. To be able to wield the power of the Demon Cult was equivalent to the Demon King acquiring an army.
What if a curse that revives the dead to kill the living is unleashed in the midst of a battlefield? Regardless of actual combat ability, the soldiers, who rely heavily on morale in a full-scale battle, would be shocked and either collapse or flee.
'It doesn't matter if the Demon King's orders are involved or not.'
It's not important.
The Demon Cult itself is already a grave security threat to the empire and must be eradicated.
Bertus didn't feel guilty that this had happened due to his own mistake.
'Rather, it's fortunate. It's better to discover that such scum exists within the empire before it's too late.'
It was a relief to discover the existence of anti-empire, anti-church forces capable of such acts before their power grew even stronger.
In the current continental situation, where rumors spread that the Demon Cult was expanding here and there due to the Demon King's influence, fear caused some people to abandon their beliefs and seek salvation from the Demon King and his minions.
It was a tumor that would have grown larger if left alone, but now it had revealed itself.
This was not a crisis.
This was a rare opportunity, and the exposed Demon Cult's tail must be seized and uprooted entirely.
-Knock knock
-"Your Highness, there is a request for an audience with Owen de Gatmora."
At the sound of the knock that followed, Bertus took a deep breath.
"Tell him to come in."
At Bertus's concise command, the door opened, and an elderly man wearing a hat bowed deeply to Bertus.
"I am here to see His Highness, the Crown Prince."
"Sit down for now."
Although Owen had many reasons to visit him, Bertus felt he had some idea of the purpose of his visit.
Owen de Gatmora, seated on the sofa, looked at Bertus with a serious expression.
"Your Highness, the demon world forces have delivered their opinion."
"Opinion...?"
"They say that this matter is not their doing. Of course, whether this is true or not is uncertain..."
There is no connection between the Demon Cult and the demon world forces.
Although this claim could be false, it was clear that the demon world forces were reluctant to lose their connection with the royal family due to this incident.
If it were true that the Demon King had no connection to the Demon Cult, what would his stance on the Demon Cult be?
"If it's true, they would want to find the Demon Cult and subjugate them, and if it's false, they've already subjugated the Demon Cult."
Although certainty was impossible, the task at hand was simple.
The top priority now was to find and annihilate the Demon Cult before the Demon King could.
If they were even a little late, the Demon King would swallow the Demon Cult's forces, leading to further consequences.
—---
"Tiamata...."
Inside the Holy Knights' commander's office.
The current Holy Knights Commander, Eleion Bolton, was staring wide-eyed at the white-bladed sword before him.
It was none other than Olivia Lanze who had brought it.
Olivia showed the Tiamata with a calm expression and took it back into her hand.
"It's a welcome change of heart, and to have been chosen by Tiamata..."
"Is this enough to qualify for priesthood?"
It wasn't just the priesthood that was the issue; even without Tiamata, Olivia was capable of much more.
Now she had become the owner of the powerful and great symbol called Tiamata. To put it bluntly, she could easily push aside the current Holy Knights' Commander and take his place with plenty of supporters.
Eleion Bolton gazed at Olivia Lanze, her expression resolute.
"May I ask what made you change your mind?"
"…"
It wasn't for the sake of protecting everyone, but rather for the sake of protecting one person.
Since Reinhardt had saved her life, she would use it only for Reinhardt.
But Olivia knew that she couldn't say such a thing.
"I saw the followers of the Demon God."
"It seems the rumor that you were in Rajeurn is true."
"I thought I couldn't stand by and watch as humans disrupted the world, even if humans banded together, it wouldn't be enough."
Olivia gave a universal reason.
She, who had detested being forced to comply with universal standards and had struggled under the pressure to fulfill the duties of a saint, had come full circle back to where she was meant to be.
"Well, as a student, you won't have many responsibilities yet. However, I can give you any position, authority, and mission as an honorary post. Naturally, I can also provide support in terms of manpower for the tasks you want to undertake."
Eleion Bolton asked Olivia, "Do you have any plans in mind?"
Olivia, a saint with a high reputation.
Being the champion of Tu'an, she could have a significant influence just by spreading hope in the five major temples of the Divine Church. She had been sincere and diligent in helping people and saving others.
Eleion Bolton believed that by simply speaking of hope to those in despair, people would find peace of mind.
As if she already had something in mind, Olivia answered immediately upon being asked the question.
"I want to become an Inquisitor of Heresy."
"…"
Upon hearing those words, Eleion Bolton's expression hardened.
The Saint of Eredian.
He had thought she would devote herself to saving, helping, and protecting others.
But now she had returned and volunteered for a task that involved torturing, killing, and ferreting out heretics.
It wasn't too strange considering she had returned to the church after witnessing the horrific deeds of the Demon Church followers, and now volunteered for a mission to root out heresy.
The Holy Knights' Commander looked at the Tiamata in Olivia's right hand.
Generation after generation, the champions of Tu'an had killed not demons, monsters, or undead, but humans.
Hunting down the followers of the Demon Church had been the task of the champions of Tu'an.
Would Olivia Lanze be unable to escape that fate as well?
The Saint of Eredian, who had seemed incapable of even stepping on an ant, had now decided to become a heretic hunter for some reason.
"Very well."
Eleion Bolton thought that this must be the will of Tu’an.
—---
Rumors spread like wildfire. Especially when the royal court was intentionally spreading the rumor, the speed at which it spread could only be faster.
The attack on Rajeurn by the Demon Cult.
The appearance of the champions of Tu’an and Als at the scene.
Even their names.
It spread like wildfire in an instant. It wouldn't have been like this under normal circumstances, but with the mention of the Demon King on the continent, the names of the opposing heroes were bound to spread like wildfire as well.
The Royal Class had known about this from the start, but what was important was the reaction outside the Royal Class.
“That person is…”
“The Champion of Als…”
Though Reinhardt and Ellen were taking classes from Saviolin Turner, they were also attending regular classes, of course.
With the name Reinhardt on the attendance roster, they couldn't help but attract the gazes of countless people.
The gazes of the regular class students attending the same class changed completely, and even the teachers looked at them with eyes filled with awe, regardless of gender.
This was not only during classes.
"..."
"Hey, you... You're quite popular..."
Liana muttered blankly as she walked down the street with Reinhardt.
They were not out for a stroll, but simply on their way back to the dormitory after their psychic class had ended.
-Buzzing
As they walked, a large number of students were following and murmuring behind them.
“They must be dating.”
“Even heroes need romance.”
“They could just be friends.”
“Is that so?”
“No, didn't that person date Miss Temple last year? I saw it.”
“Really?”
"..."
With a crowd following them like some idol with a fan club, Reinhardt couldn't help but feel...
An incredibly dog-like feeling in real-time.
Liana seemed to be dumbfounded by all the attention in real-time as well.
Why on earth are they following?
Why?
Nothing comes from following!
“Hero! Please look over here!”
Being called a hero.
When he actually heard it, it sent chills down his spine.
"Hey, you bastards! Go home, wipe your feet, and sleep! Why are you following and making a fuss?! Huh?!"
In the end, he exploded.
The rumor of the hero with a bad temper would be added to the list.
Liana declared that she couldn't hang out with him anymore when they returned to the dormitory.
—---
It was a terrible feeling when people casually called me a hero. I never thought I'd take mental damage like this.
The expectations people had for me turned into interest, and they started to hover around me, which was really hard to endure. Some even became hardcore fans, following me around regardless of whether it had anything to do with classes.
And even.
"Let's have a match with the power of Alssbringer on the line."
Crazy people who came asking for a match, with baseless confidence, emerged as well.
"I'll test whether you're worthy of being the master of Alssbringer."
It was unclear whether they craved attention or were just overly confident.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
-Whack!
"Ugh!"
"If you're that desperate for attention, go take a dump in the fountain on Main Street, you crazy bastard. You'll get all the attention you can eat for a lifetime."
-Slap!
"Argh!"
It seemed that there were those who wanted to try something because I didn't appear as formidable as they had imagined.
“Kyaa! So cool!”
"...I want to die."
Being a hero.
In a different sense, I felt in real-time that having a strong mentality was essential for this occupation.
