Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 521

521

“About that security operation. Who was the team leader back then?”

“Originally, it was me, but I couldn’t join in time, so the deputy leader, Black Hawk, took over.”

“Black Hawk, huh… I think his name was Pavel. The brother of that Pavel who became the new Umbra leader?”

“Yes, they are brothers.”

“Oh, really?”

His lips twisted slightly. He didn’t say anything, but I could guess what he was thinking. Davian’s eyes were also shaking.

“That can’t be. Pavel would never betray Naxia.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

He answered casually, then turned his gaze to Ira.

“Did Pavel do anything unusual before he was attacked?”

“Well, we stayed in separate rooms, and we didn’t interact during the voyage to avoid looking like we knew each other. Oh, come to think of it, Pavel did knock on the door a few times from the outside. But I didn’t feel good about it, so I didn’t go out.”

“Was it definitely Pavel?”

“His voice was.”

Lamias chuckled again at the calm answer. Davian’s face was even paler.

“So, some of the agents knew who Pavel was. Did he tell you his real name?”

“Yes? Ah, yes, he did….”

“When?”

“From the beginning when he took on the guard duty. He introduced himself as the deputy leader, saying we should get along comfortably. Thanks to that, everyone was able to get close without hesitation….”

Perhaps because of the ominous atmosphere, his voice gradually grew smaller as he answered. Lamias turned to Davian.

“When did you introduce yourselves to them?”

“……When we reunited here.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s what a proper agent should do. It’s not exactly forbidden to reveal your real name, but the principle is not to reveal it during an operation. Of course, you shouldn’t mention your position either. But Pavel seems to have been careless. Well, if he thought the target was about to die, he might have been careless.”

Davian’s eyes shook again.

“It wouldn’t be a coincidence that your movements were discovered.”

It was like driving a wedge. Davian’s fist under the table was already white-knuckled. I had already guessed that there was a problem within Umbra. But confirming the reality right in front of me was a different feeling. I felt very embarrassed to be here, inadvertently learning about the corruption of another country. Ira and Edith were also subdued and couldn’t say anything.

“Come to think of it, the new Umbra leader seems to be quite close to the Crown Prince of the Epen Kingdom.”

Even that damn Crown Prince again. Everyone in the room seemed to have the same thought, and their expressions became similar. It meant that one of the two secret organizations in the Empire had become useless. Aegis, the intelligence agency, would have been more useful, but they couldn’t dare to touch Duke Sepion, the genius swordsman and guardian. Should I not have stepped in, no matter how annoying Karian was? A sigh escaped me.

“You said they showed you illusions while you were trapped?”

“Yes, mostly similar kinds of hallucinations.”

Edith nodded slowly in response to the question.

“Can you tell me what kind?”

“……I had to keep watching my acquaintances die or be tortured. Sometimes they even tried to kill me.”

“Do you know why they showed you those illusions?”

“No, I don’t know the reason. But after seeing those illusions, I was always exhausted. When my energy returned, they showed me the illusions again. Looking back now, I think they were trying to get me to use divine power.”

“Tell me more about it.”

At the serious urging, Edith took a light breath. It was still too soon to mention what happened back then, as she hadn’t fully recovered from the aftereffects. I was about to stop her, thinking it was too much, but her answer came faster.

“The situations the illusions showed were always different, but one background was always the same.”

“What was it?”

“In the illusions, it was a demon who tormented my friends. And I was the only one who could stop it. When I attacked the demon with my divine power, the situation seemed to get a little better. The more I resented the god, the more I resisted him, the better I felt. ……It was as if he was waiting for me to resent the god.”

It was exactly the principle of the spell I knew. It was said to draw out the corrupted divine power of a priest who had betrayed God. Edith clenched her trembling hands tightly.

“I knew it wasn’t real. Even though I knew it, even though I felt it was strange… it was so hard… I followed the situation. I can’t forgive myself even now.”

“Edith….”

Ira grabbed Edith’s hand. Tears were already falling from Edith’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ira, but I can’t stop thinking about it. I kept resenting and attacking the demon several times. How could I, a priest of all people….”

“It’s okay. Priests are human too. In that situation, not only Edith, but anyone would do that.”

“No, I’m not qualified to be a priest.”

“Did the seal disappear?”

When I butted in with a question, Edith flinched and carefully shook her head. When she rolled up her sleeves, the symbol of God engraved on her arm was clearly visible. She was a higher-ranking priest than I thought. I smiled without showing my admiration.

“You endured well without breaking the rules. You’ve been through a lot.”

“I, I, but….”

“Trust Ira. The demon won’t care.”

“But… still….”

“Think about it. The demon is a really great god. He’s also the creator god of the demons. How many unsightly things must he have seen while watching those unruly demons? That much resentment won’t even tickle him. Rather, he’ll be glad that Edith is safe.”

Of course, he’ll definitely think she’s a hundred times more commendable than Karian, who I sent to help but is causing trouble.

“I’m so glad. The demon would have been sad if he had lost you.”

I was telling the truth in my own way, but Edith started crying even harder. I was flustered and looked at her, but Ira smiled softly and shook her head. It seemed to mean that it was okay to leave her alone.

After that, we spent time calming Edith down and chatting about trivial things. Lamias seemed to want to ask more, but he became quiet as I gave him a look.

“I was so surprised when I ran into Davian here by chance. I thought I would never see you again because you couldn’t join that day.”

“I was lucky to survive. It was thanks to El.”

“Hey, don’t give me all the credit.”

“No. I would never have survived without El.”

“From what I’ve heard, that’s right? Thanks to you, Edith was rescued safely, so I don’t know how to repay this favor. There are other apostles of the oracle, but to us, you two are the ones sent by the demon. Isn’t that right, Edith?”

“That’s right, Ira. I think so too.”

Embarrassing compliments lightly followed,

“But Priest, didn’t you used to speak informally to Ira before?”

“Yes? Ah, well, I was too out of it then… I was confused about whether it was a dream or not….”

“Actually, she used to talk comfortably when she was young. After her coming-of-age ceremony, she changed her tone, saying she had to be more mature. I like her original tone better, though.”

“Ah, Ira!”

Time was also spent joking around.

In the meantime, the heavy atmosphere had subsided. Lamias, who had been sitting there without any involvement, poked my shoulder. I looked back in confusion, and he signaled me to follow him with a chin gesture. After asking for understanding from the remaining people, I followed Lamias out of the house. He cast a soundproof magic around the area before turning to me.

“You weren’t surprised at all when you were talking about the spell earlier? No, you even looked like you expected it?”

“……When did I?”

While I was focusing on Edith, this sly old fox was watching me. No, the victim is Edith, so why are you watching me? I swallowed my absurd feelings and sighed.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’ve already heard the story from my excellent chef. You also asked about the spell that Davian brought, right? I only explained the keywords, but you understood it right away, and you got angry at me for just making a stupid face.”

……Is that excellent chef Sibelius? I don’t know when he became after being so sarcastic. Why did you resist not accepting it when it was going to end up like this? As I stared at him in disbelief, he subtly avoided my gaze.

“Hey, I didn’t say it, but the fact that the demons were watching you is also being seen as unusual, you know? That’s not just a coincidence, is it?”

“…….”

“Tell me honestly. What do you know?”

If he had been angry or suspicious, I wouldn’t have been willing to cooperate even if a knife was held to my throat. But the face asking with a gloomy expression clearly showed a hint of resentment, so I couldn’t help but laugh. I guess that’s why they say that even bad relationships are scarier.

“How much has the intelligence agency figured out?”

“Huh, look at this. You’re talking like you know more than the intelligence agency?”

“Isn’t that why you’re asking?”

“……We’re guessing that they’re extracting the divine power from the demon priest and using it somewhere.”

Well, they’ve figured it all out. As I nodded, his expression became subtle.

“What are they using it for? Are they making bombs or something? Making artificial divine weapons?”

“No, mermaids.”

“Mermaids?”

“This isn’t accurate, but….”

It is accurate, though.

“It seems that corrupted divine power becomes nourishment to enhance the power of mermaids. I guess the goal is to grow mermaids with it.”

“Is that related to what the princess said at the banquet?”

As expected of the head of the intelligence agency, he’s already figured that much out. “I think so.” As I nodded, Lamias sank into thought with a serious face.

At that moment, a bird cried out from above. Lamias raised his arm, and something similar to a hawk landed on it. I couldn’t call it a bird because it wasn’t a living creature. It was clear at a glance that it was an artificial object made with magic, as its entire body was made of glittering golden letters.

“It’s a magic messenger.”

“Isn’t it too conspicuous for a messenger?”

“It’s only used inside the mansion. Only when there’s an urgent report when I’m not in my office.”

In other words, an urgent report had arrived. Lamias held the magic bird, which was preening its beak on his arm, with his other hand. Then, the bird’s shape immediately crumbled, turning into several sheets of paper filled with dense letters. Lamias’s expression changed rapidly as he skimmed through the contents. In the end, he looked almost devastated.

“……They’re completely out of their minds.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“The Crown Prince met the Emperor. It seems the Epen Kingdom will participate in this demon subjugation.”

He readily answered, thinking that I should know the contents, even though he thought he would hide it as a secret. I had already guessed that much. As long as the princess was mentioned as the key to Haeju, the Epen Kingdom had no choice but to participate in order not to displease the Empire. In fact, they would have more to gain from it, so they would be cheering. But that wasn’t the end of it.

“They revealed the hidden reason why the demons tried to attack the princess. It’s an extension of what she said at the banquet: the merfolk are cursed and turned into monsters, and the curse was cast by the demon. The princess has the key to solving the curse, so they’re trying to eliminate her?”

“……What?”

“They introduced a knight, saying they would prove the curse. That person was a mermaid. His behavior and intelligence were no different from ordinary adults. The princess cured the curse, so he became normal. But to solve the curse, a demon priest is needed.”

“What is that… Here, wait a minute.”

“Listen to the end first. The last part is even more absurd. They claimed that to conquer the demon, they must revive the forgotten god. They said they should establish a state religion and proclaim a sacred empire of the forgotten god. Then the subjugation army would gain great power. Here, the forgotten god is the mermaid’s creator god, Siren.”

“What the….”

“But the Emperor accepted it?”

How is this happening?

Why does it feel like this every time I talk to Lamias? I was stunned by the increasingly absurd feeling. I immediately understood all the circumstances: what Karian meant by crossing the line, and why Kanos even went so far as to eliminate the existence of mermaids.

The revival of a forgotten god is too big of a scale. Besides, that god isn’t just an ordinary god. She was once stripped of her divinity for trying to become an evil god. What’s even more annoying is that this incident will be connected to the future Karian. The spells he used then, the way he kidnapped the children, everything. It can’t be a coincidence that they’re like a mirror image of the present.

“There are many ways for a country to fall, but this is a bit novel.”

Lamias, who muttered in an absurd tone, also rubbed his forehead with a tired face.

“And one more very unfortunate thing.”

Is there anything more unfortunate here? I looked at Lamias, implying that he didn’t have to say it. Lamias nodded, perhaps interpreting it the other way around (or maybe he just ignored it), and opened his mouth.

“The princess is suffering from extreme fear from the last incident, so it’s impossible for her to have a normal daily life. She can’t be relieved with her own security alone, so she requested a guardian knight.”

“Why is that?”

What, it wasn’t a big deal after all. I inadvertently felt relieved, then hardened my face. A sense of foreboding, incomparable to anything so far, began to creep in. Please tell me it’s not what I’m thinking. Lamias nodded this time as well in response to my desperate gaze.

“That’s right, she appointed Ain Idris as the guardian knight.”

……No matter how I think about it, we weren’t a good match.