There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 155

She looked like an angel descended from heaven. I wanted to reach out and take her hand right away.

But.

“I refuse.”

Philomell didn’t take her hand.

“Because only destruction awaits at the end of being with you, Ieries.”

At her calling the evil god’s name, the woman stopped abruptly.

Thud, Philomell’s body fell to the floor.

Fortunately, there was no pain, perhaps because it was a world within her mind.

“……It would have been better for both of us if you hadn’t noticed.”

The woman’s smile disappeared. The halo turned into a gloomy darkness.

“You’re kicking away happiness with your own feet.”

The Empress’s face contorted.

At that moment, the darkness surrounding the evil god grew.

“Ah, this isn’t working.”

The evil god twirled her hair with her finger.

“There are too many guys protecting your body, so I tried to attack your mind, but… it’s ruined, ruined.”

Pajijijijik!

The space distorted, and sparks flew from all directions.

Philomell straightened her trembling legs and rebuked herself inwardly.

‘Don’t be afraid!’

If Ieries could harm her, she would have done so already.

It’s highly likely that she can’t exert that much influence.

“You shouldn’t have borrowed the appearance of Empress Isabella.”

“Why?”

“Because the Empress looks a lot like Elensia.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“If Elensia shouldn’t exist in this world, then neither should the Empress.”

Ieries’s eyes widened slightly.

“I can’t think of the Empress without Elensia, so it’s strange for only one of them to exist!”

In fact, because the Empress’s face was there, Philomell was able to recall Elensia from her vague memories.

“……So that’s how it was.”

The evil god sighed briefly.

“Was it a mistake to erase the princess’s existence? I thought that would be more to your liking.”

Judging from the nuance, it seemed that Elensia’s absence here was due to the evil god’s intervention.

In other words, Philomell’s statement that she wished Elensia would disappear was also a lie.

Deceiving and manipulating people.

This is the evil god.

Philomell shouted.

“Get out of my mind!”

At that moment, Philomell’s eye level suddenly rose.

She looked down at her body. She had returned to her original body from the child’s body.

Ieries clicked her tongue.

“You woke up on your own.”

With a tremendous roar, the cracks in space grew larger. Ieries’s form also began to fade gradually.

“I’ll ask you just one last thing. How did you come to your senses?”

In the blink of an eye, the evil god was right in front of Philomell.

“Do you think I’ll tell you?”

At Philomell’s answer, Ieries grabbed her chin roughly.

“It’s okay. I haven’t been completely kicked out yet, so if I use a little more strength…”

Instinctively, she knew. Philomell’s memories were leaking out.

“Indeed, that’s it! The rock giant’s tentacle. Now that I think about it, there was something about a flower scent.”

The evil god’s eyes gleamed.

“You’re quite cleverer than I thought.”

“Let go of me!”

Philomell slapped away her hand, but she laughed and disappeared.

“Let’s meet again next time. Another child chosen by Miwa.”

Miwa, as in the creation god Miwa?

“The god Miwa chose me? What does that mean!”

But the next moment, she was the only one left in the collapsing world.

* * *

Her eyes opened.

The first thing she felt was the familiar scent of flowers.

Philomell got up and spat out what was in her mouth. It was a part of the rock giant’s tentacle in the shape of a flower.

“I survived thanks to this…….”

If not, she would have been trapped in the illusion.

I read it in the Monster Encyclopedia. Rock giants are the natural enemies of spotted wyverns and have resistance to fang venom.

‘I wondered if it would work, but I didn’t expect it to actually have an effect.’

She wasn’t sure.

Philomell had only kept the tentacle she had obtained by chance. It was something Nassar had risked danger to bring her.

Then she remembered the contents of the Monster Encyclopedia and brought the petals, grasping at straws.

Before the start of the test, the priests thoroughly examined the candidates’ bodies.

But they couldn’t find even a single petal hidden in her sleeve.

‘Even if I put the tentacle in my mouth, it’s unlikely that I’ll develop resistance…….’

At least, she judged that the scent was so strong that it would be effective in waking her up.

“This is not the time to be doing this.”

Ieries attacked her.

Thinking that she had to quickly inform everyone of this fact, Philomell got up.

She ran down the dark hallway.

She staggered a little because her mind wasn’t completely clear yet.

The moment she entered the original wedding hall, Philomell squinted at the bright light.

After a while, the figures of many people came into view.

“…….”

“…….”

Faces filled with astonishment, mouths agape. And soon, people cheered.

She belatedly grasped the situation.

‘That’s right. It was during the test…….’

Ieries’s appearance was so intense that the victory or defeat of the test was pushed to the back of her mind.

Philomell looked around. Killian seemed to still be in dreamland. It was her victory.

Thus, a hero was born.

* * *

Afterward, according to what the priest told her, Philomell had been asleep for about three hours.

‘I spent at least more than half a month in the dream.’

There was a reason why people were shocked when Philomell appeared.

The shortest record in the history of the thirteenth test method is seventeen hours. The longest is two days.

Everyone was even spreading mats on the floor to wait leisurely, but Philomell appeared.

“What, is it already over?”

“No! I’ve been lining up since last night to get this seat!”

Some people even missed the important scene and were frustrated because they were trying to rest at home.

When the winner was decided, the priests woke Killian with an antidote.

He came out with a slightly dazed and subdued expression.

“…….”

Killian glanced at Philomell and headed to the Archbishop’s side.

The priest in charge of the proceedings cleared his throat.

“With the victory of Philomell candidate in two of the three tests, the hero has been decided. Everyone, please applaud…….”

“I can’t accept it!”

Archbishop Milov shouted.

He looked around the audience, panting.

“Everyone, don’t be fooled! This test result is wrong!”

“Archbishop, what are you talking about?”

“I hereby formally question the fairness of the test!”

Philomell glared at Milov.

‘Why at a time like this!’

She had to discuss the evil god with everyone as soon as possible, but she was being held back.

The facilitator looked at Milov with a cautious face.

“The test was conducted under the thorough supervision of the temple. If you wish to raise an objection, you must have a valid basis.”

The Archbishop pointed to Killian.

“Candidate Killian says that there was a problem with the venom of the spotted wyvern.”

Philomell was startled.

Was he going to bring that up?

“What kind of problem are you talking about?”

At the facilitator’s question, Milov declared confidently.

“The dream Killian saw was not a past trauma! In other words, it goes against the purpose of this test.”

“T, that can’t be. We investigated the ingredients of the venom before the start of the test.”

“Didn’t you not investigate it thoroughly due to lack of time?”

“That’s true, but…….”

“The person who provided the venom was the opposing candidate.”

Milov’s sly smile was directed at Philomell.

“In other words, it means that she may have manipulated the venom or brought a different venom in order to win the test.”

He then laughed and added another word.

“Of course, this is just a matter of possibility, and there’s no way that the imperial family’s guest and the daughter of such a great father would have done that, right?”

That human being…….

“I believe that she unintentionally brought a venom that had been altered.”

People buzzed at the sudden suspicion.

“What, is that true?”

“If the Archbishop’s claim is true, what will happen to the test?”

“I wonder if they’ll take the test again.”

“If it is determined that she intentionally committed fraud, she may simply be disqualified.”

Philomell lowered her eyes.

‘What should I do?’

Unfortunately, Milov’s claim that the venom’s ingredients were different from the record is correct. Philomell didn’t even know why.

‘If they investigate thoroughly, that fact may be revealed.’

Killian’s side would surely claim that Philomell deliberately brought a different venom, and she would counter that…….

Philomell was thinking about how to respond in the future.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding.”

A calm and low voice echoed through the wedding hall. It was Killian.

“The dream I saw is indeed a painful memory from the past.”

Milov was shocked and shouted.

“Ki, Killian! What are you saying? You clearly said that your dream was different…….”

“Did I?”

Killian asked back innocently.

“I said it was an unexpected dream, but I didn’t say it wasn’t a memory from the past.”

He bowed to the facilitator and Philomell.

“There seems to have been a problem with communication on our side. I sincerely apologize for causing disruption to the selection ceremony with unfortunate remarks.”

The facilitator wrapped up the situation.

“Then there is no problem with the fairness of the selection ceremony.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Milov’s face turned red and then blue.

“Eeeek……!”

The words people were saying about him were heard clearly.

“What, why did he make a fuss when the person himself said it wasn’t true?”

“Now that I see it, the Archbishop was the one who was blinded by victory.”

“Not all high-ranking clergy are good people.”

“Isn’t it most unfair for a priest to take sides with only one side in the first place?”

It was a fatal blow to the clergy who made a living from reputation.

‘Especially for someone like that who is full of ambition to succeed.’

The selection ceremony is an important event that the temple is paying close attention to. Milov was now unable to recover from the accident he caused in such a place.

He was likely to be stripped of his Archbishop position and kicked out to a minor position.

‘Not that it’s any of my business.’

The facilitator continued the ceremony that had been temporarily suspended.

“Please give a round of applause to the new hero!”

A thunderous applause poured out.

“The two of you who had a good-faith competition should also shake hands with each other.”

Following the facilitator’s words, Philomell shook hands with him and asked in a very small voice.

“Killian, why?”

Why did he cover up the truth? Even turning his back on Milov.

“You were right.”

His eyes were deeply sunken.

“I grew up as an ordinary child in my dream. Playing to my heart’s content and acting spoiled with my parents.”

“…….”

“I didn’t want to wake up from that dream. As you said, the hero is my father’s dream, not mine.”

Killian grabbed Philomell’s hand a little harder.

“I just judged that you were more suitable as a hero than me. So I have no choice but to accept the result.”

At that time, Philomell thought for the first time that Killian’s eyes were clear. The turbidity that had been felt since the first meeting had disappeared. He had also gained his own enlightenment.

Thus, the test was concluded.