There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 156

* * *

The spare time before the finale of the selection ceremony, the Hero’s appointment.

Philomel led her group to a secluded place inside the Great Temple.

Justis, facing Philomel, spoke.

“Philomel, congratulations on your victory. I believed you would do it…….”

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but may I borrow a room!”

“……Very well.”

A residence provided by the temple for the secretly visiting Emperor. Currently, this is about the only place to have a discreet conversation in the Great Temple.

News that the test was over had brought even more crowds. Besides, everyone was eager to have a word with Philomel, who had become a Hero.

She barely managed to get here with the help of the Veil of Ignorance [a magical item that conceals one’s presence].

“If you ever need to see His Majesty, you can come this way.”

The Emperor had previously sent someone to inform her of his residence. Though he probably didn’t mean for them to come in such a large group.

Servants served each of the suddenly arriving guests a cup of tea.

‘Since I have to tell His Majesty anyway.’

He is also tracking the whereabouts of the evil god who took Ellensia.

Philomel summarized the events she experienced in her dream and told them. Everyone’s expression turned serious.

“To be able to interfere with the mind.”

“To target people when they are asleep, what a cowardly bastard!”

Lexion was lost in thought, and Kadin was indignant.

“Are you feeling unwell anywhere? What did that guy do?”

Philomel answered Nasar’s worried question energetically.

“I’m fine. Nothing serious happened.”

“Still, just in case, how about postponing the appointment to the next time?”

She shook her head at the Emperor’s suggestion.

“The fact that Ieries is bothering me with such troublesome tactics at this point probably means he doesn’t want me to become a Hero.”

Quite strongly, too.

“Then I need to get appointed quickly. I’ve already told the temple to call me as soon as the ceremony is ready.”

The Emperor nodded.

“I understand. But as much as the crowds gather, the surrounding security tends to become lax.”

“Well, that’s true…….”

“I will have my knights join the security, but be careful.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Philomel looked at the faces of those sitting beside her in turn.

‘Honestly, with these people around, I’m not too afraid of the evil god.’

Each of them is very reliable in terms of combat ability.

Then Philomel noticed that Nasar was glancing at her.

“Nasar, do you have anything more to say?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a carefree story in this situation…….”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Was I also in Philomel’s happy dream?”

In other words, Nasar is wondering if he himself is included in Philomel’s happiness.

Philomel smiled at him, finding him cute, and replied.

“Of course. Nasar was there too.”

Nasar’s face brightened, and at the same time, questions poured out.

“Phil! What about me? Did I appear too?”

“I’m curious too.”

“If these two guys appeared, I must have appeared, right?”

The brothers asked in the order of Kadin, Lexion, and Jeremiah, and Regin also ‘Meowed,’ as if he was concerned.

“All four of you appeared.”

“Yay! I appeared!”

“It’s an honor.”

“That’s the obvious result.”

“Meow.”

They showed joyful reactions in the same order as before.

Now only the Emperor remained.

“…….”

He seemed not very interested in this topic and drank his tea, but Philomel, who had seen him for many years, could tell.

‘He seems curious.’

But it seemed like his conscience wouldn’t let him ask.

“Well, let’s stop this story here.”

Philomel changed the subject. She didn’t want to tell Justis the truth.

“Meow, meow.”

Whether it was her imagination or not, the cat’s cry sounded like mockery.

Philomel looked at the cat and suddenly felt strange.

“What do you think, Regin?”

The person who wouldn’t be surprised to make the biggest fuss at the news that Philomel was attacked is unexpectedly quiet.

“Father, did you come to this place too? Where are you?”

Nasar, who still doesn’t know the cat’s identity, looked around.

“Meow.”

Frustrated, Philomel picked up the cat.

“Why are you in cat form even in this urgent situation? Return to your true form, Regin.”

A dumbfounded voice came from Nasar.

“Gwingwi is Father……? W-wait, then at that time, I was…….”

Likewise, the Emperor, who now realized the truth, muttered.

“I knew he was ugly.”

“Waaaaaah!”

“Regin!”

Jeremiah grabbed Philomel’s arm, who was shaking the cat.

“He’s not not returning to his true form, he can’t return.”

“……Why?”

“Because I supplemented your automatic protection magic with mana, so he doesn’t have enough mana left to transform into a human.”

“What do you mean? There’s no way Regin would lack that much mana.”

“Because it’s not him.”

“Huh?”

Jeremiah opened his mouth towards Philomel, who was asking blankly.

“The Regin here right now is a clone.”

* * *

Ieries opened his eyes. He had just been pushed out of Philomel’s consciousness.

The evil god recalled the face of the girl who had driven him out.

“She was not an easy child.”

Still, she is attractive.

“Should I make that child the next host?”

This body is slowly reaching its limit.

Marica, the owner of the body, was a useful talent, but she was slowly withering away because she had harbored a god for a long time.

At that time, a loud noise struck her eardrums. The surroundings are noisy.

“Something happened.”

Mental intervention is annoying for this reason. Instead of invading the intimate area of others, you become vulnerable yourself.

Bang! Suddenly, the door to the bedroom where she was staying was smashed.

Soon, a figure appeared.

“Found you.”

The man with golden eyes smiled eerily.

Whirrrrr! Whirrrrr!

As soon as the man finished speaking, bars of magical power rained down. The objects in the room were mercilessly destroyed.

“Attacking without warning, how rude.”

But even with the fierce attacks, there was not a single scratch on Ieries’ body. The darkness surrounding her swallowed the bars.

“I’m from the streets, so I didn’t learn such elegant things as etiquette.”

The man, covered in blood, sneered.

Ieries already knew the identity of this person.

“The Magic Tower Lord.”

But there was also a point that was hard to understand.

“How are you here?”

When she peeked into Philomel’s mind, that guy was clearly in the Great Temple. If he used teleportation magic, it wouldn’t be impossible to come in an instant, but…….

Ieries focused her mind and examined the signs outside.

“Activate the attack magic circle!”

“Protect Marica’s bedroom!”

“The defense line has already been breached!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

The screams of the believers echoed. The pungent smell of blood stimulated her sense of smell.

The Order’s headquarters was currently under attack. The enemy was most likely the Magic Tower’s mage corps.

Something is strange. The timing doesn’t match.

“There’s no way they would have carried out such a large-scale attack without the Magic Tower Lord. It’s also strange that he watched his daughter’s Hero test and then slipped out…….”

The understanding was quick.

“Ah, it was a clone.”

“Yes, it’s a clone. I told you, so now die.”

Again, countless attack spells poured down.

Whirrrrr! This time, the power was so great that the ceiling of the bedroom collapsed.

Ieries, wrapped in darkness, soared upwards. The Magic Tower Lord also followed her to an open space.

“You run away like a rat.”

The evil god gave a bitter smile.

“Don’t be presumptuous. You’re just picking up the power that Miwa dropped.”

“What am I picking up? I even ate the cat food my daughter gave me this morning.”

That’s the story of the clone.

Regin recalled the memories he had when he was staying in the Imperial Palace.

“People all look at me strangely. They say I’m feeding human food to a cat.”

Philomel said this and made food that suited people’s tastes and gave it to him.

‘Honestly, it didn’t taste very good.’

Considering his daughter’s sincerity, he emptied the bowl every time.

Perhaps because of that, Philomel liked his handmade food very much. So much so that she put it in her backpack and brought it to the Great Temple.

‘Phil…….’

He was worried about Philomel, who he had left behind, but she would be fine. His daughter has her sons by her side.

‘They’re annoying guys, but those humans are there too.’

Regin clicked his tongue at the faces of the two people that followed.

The evil god, who was possessed in the body of a middle-aged woman, said.

“Daughter, I thought you were just supporting your daughter to become a Hero because she was in the Great Temple.”

“I’m a clean father who clears the path my children will take in advance.”

Regin no longer intended to stop Philomel from becoming a Hero, but that was a separate issue from the evil god.

“You only have your mouth alive. Do you really think you can kill a god?”

“I have to try to know if it’s possible or not.”

“Use all the power you have and try to hit me.”

“I’ll do that without you telling me. How dare you cause trouble in my daughter’s dream?”

“Huhu, the news from the clone is also very fast.”

“I’ll cut off your breath quickly.”

Facing the evil god who was smiling leisurely, Regin raised his magic power.

It looked like it was going to be a long day.