Chapter 216: A Dark Future
“...Good heavens. Is that truly the Grand Elder we knew?”
At the Guild Headquarters, with all the Elders and Arganns watching, the recording orb captured by Hillan Cargill was projected.
Within it, every shaless act and fanatic devotion of the Grand Elder was laid bare.
“That looks just like those fanatics....”
“Watch your tongue!”
“Do not speak that na so lightly!”
The Argann who had muttered blankly shut his mouth.
However, even if the others did not voice it aloud, they were all thinking much the sa thing.
With no evidence, no corroboration, and no witnesses, condemning Hillan as a traitor based solely on the Guildmaster’s words was, to anyone, the behavior of a fanatic.
“...What of the Guildmaster’s whereabouts?”
“I apologize.”
Among the three remaining Elders, the eldest, Tristano Kanieff, asked an aide.
Tristano had heard the matter from Hillan Cargill before anyone else and had secretly sent people to search for the Guildmaster. Yet his whereabouts remained unknown.
“Could it be that the Guildmaster....”
“That cannot be!”
“But....”
“That man was from centuries ago!”
“There are rumors that he beca a god, are there not?”
“You believe such absurd nonsense?”
Argunts passed back and forth among the Elders and Arganns. By common sense it was impossible, yet the image of the Grand Elder had been far too vivid.
If Daniel Deyrus were not truly alive, could such a thing really happen?
After a mont lost in thought, Tristano opened his eyes.
“...This matter must never leak outside.”
He did not know why the Grand Elder was framing Hillan Cargill as a traitor, but that was not what mattered.
What mattered was that, to anyone, the Grand Elder in the footage was the very image of a fanatic.
Centuries ago, a great hero had been worshipped as a god and thereby branded a traitor. It was the reverse scale of kings and royal families alike, an impure na that even now must not be spoken.
If it were revealed that the Guildmaster of the Hero Guild, and the Grand Elder, were connected to that matter in any way, the Guild’s already-plumting reputation would fall into an abyss beyond recovery.
This had to be concealed.
No matter what.
“Of course.”
All the Elders and Arganns recognized that fact and agreed.
At that mont, Hillan raised his hand and was granted the floor.
“But soday it will inevitably co to light. We must resolve it before problems arise.”
“That is obvious enough, but do you have a good solution?”
“It has beco certain that the Guildmaster is directly or indirectly connected to the fanatics.”
“Indeed.”
“Can we really continue to seat such a person as Guildmaster?”
“...!”
“...!”
At his words, the atmosphere in the chamber shifted.
“Your words are not wrong, but....”
Tristano shook his head.
“It is impossible for now. You know why.”
“Because we do not know the Guildmaster’s movents?”
“Correct. If we dismiss him at will and elect a new Guildmaster without knowing his precise whereabouts or intentions, and he suddenly appears, what then? The Guild’s reputation would plumt beyond saving.”
“What if we could know the Guildmaster’s whereabouts precisely?”
“What do you an? Do you know?”
“Not I, but there are heroes who do.”
“There are those who know?”
“Who are they?”
The murmuring of the Arganns grew louder. Tristano raised his hand to silence them.
“Who are they?”
“I have already summoned them all to the headquarters. May I have them attend this council?”
“What are you saying? Those without qualification cannot enter this eting.”
“They are more than qualified. They are the Stars who set out on the hero’s march.”
“...What?”
Tristano’s brow furrowed.
“What do you an?”
The other Elders asked at once. Without a word, Hillan turned and personally opened the door.
There stood the Stars.
Rozel Charnte, Aina Diaphrin, Watton Colo, Ralph Schmitz, Pablo Barkat.
All five surviving Stars were gathered in one place. They stepped forward proudly, following Hillan.
“...I have not yet permitted entry.”
“What more needs to be said?”
Rozel Charnte snorted.
“That day, every hero who joined the hero’s march witnessed it.”
“The Guildmaster? But there would be no reason for the Guildmaster to suddenly appear there....”
“Balraf Dislode. When his skin was peeled away, he beca the Guildmaster.”
“...!”
“...!”
The Elders and Arganns were struck with shock.
“Are you saying Balraf Dislode was actually the Guildmaster?”
“That’s impossible.”
“You’re saying soone wore another person’s skin? Is that even possible?”
“Wait, but Balraf Dislode died, didn’t he?”
“Then....”
All eyes focused on the Stars. Tristano, barely regaining his composure, asked:
“What kind of absurd....”
“One person lying might be false, but over seven hundred heroes all witnessed it. Do you think that is a lie?”
The remaining Stars all nodded.
“...Then why have no rumors spread?”
“Because we swore an oath.”
The answer ca from Hillan Cargill.
“An oath?”
“We are also heroes, mbers of the Hero Guild. We do not wish to see the Guild’s honor trampled. So we all swore, bound by interference power, that we would not speak of this to anyone outside the Guild’s heroes.”
Such a thing did not truly exist. But having beco the Demon King’s retainers, and having been entrusted with secrecy by the Demon King, it carried a force greater than any oath bound by interference power.
“So Balraf Dislode truly was the Guildmaster?”
“Yes.”
“But Balraf Dislode is....”
“Yes, he is dead. That is why we propose the election of a new Guildmaster.”
“Good heavens.”
Tristano staggered. His mind went blank from too many shocks. And he was not alone.
Everyone present denied reality.
“Enough denying reality. If you keep saying it’s hard to believe and the Guild truly collapses, what will you do then?”
“Balraf Dislode was the Guildmaster, and he is dead. That is fact.”
“I stake my honor as a prince. It is undeniable truth.”
“That’s right. I, a great mage who has never spoken falsehood, affirm it.”
“Indeed.”
The Stars all maintained the sa consistent claim.
It made no sense that they would unite to confuse the Elders and Arganns. To begin with, they were not especially close, and if the Guildmaster were to return alive, the lie would be exposed imdiately.
Above all—
“....”
“....”
Tristano’s eyes t those of his granddaughter. Her upright gaze did not seem like that of soone trying to deceive him. She was not that kind of child.
“...Even so, I need ti to accept this. It is hard enough to accept that the Guildmaster and Grand Elder are connected to fanatics, but that he was actually Balraf Dislode and is now dead? The election of a Guildmaster must co after....”
“No. As a Star of the Guild, I wish to make a proposal.”
It was his granddaughter.
“What is it?”
“The Demon King has grown incomparably stronger than before. Because of that, the Guild’s honor continues to fall without end. I believe that now is precisely the ti for a strong Guildmaster to set the Guild right. The Guildmaster is the symbol of the Guild.”
“...That is.”
“Therefore, I recomnd Hillan Cargill as Guildmaster.”
“...!”
“...!”
Aina Diaphrin, her sword sheathed at her side, dropped a bombshell. Her gaze remained fixed on Tristano the entire ti.
* * *
While the Hero Guild was being overturned by sudden upheaval, Berje was spending peaceful days in the Kingdom of Arkan.
Even preparations for the hero’s march were matters for the military or the mage tower; Berje rely joined as a guest. Until the day of full deploynt, he had little to do.
“Ah.”
Actually, there was one thing. Looking after a squirrel-like princess who followed him everywhere.
‘Am I a nanny or sothing?’
Grumbling, he habitually tossed so chocolate. When the throw went slightly off, Lavinia caught it neatly on her own.
“When is your younger sibling arriving?”
“Soon.”
No sooner had Lavinia finished speaking than footsteps were heard.
“Your Highness Lavinia, His Highness Prince Cain, and Lord Pale have arrived.”
“Wow.”
The door opened. Cain entered, leaving his escort knights outside.
“It has been a while, Lord Pale.”
“I saw you the day before yesterday.”
“Are there no more botherso mages? I did give them a proper warning.”
“There are none.”
When he had first stayed in the annex palace, mages seeking his blood had sward like insects. But Pale had summoned Cain and Rozel and threatened to leave if it continued, and in the end, Cain mobilized royal soldiers to block the mages.
Hearing that the blood they could obtain would decrease, the mages even withdrew of their own accord.
And when Lavinia noticed this and joined in, the mages were left stamping their feet in frustration.
“That is fortunate. But, Sister.”
“Yes.”
“Do you truly intend not to share anything about Cher with the mages?”
“Yes.”
“They did not seem inclined to give up easily.”
“No.”
“You were not usually like this.”
“No.”
“...Understood. I respect your will, Sister.”
In truth, mages had the freedom to keep their research secret.
Whether to keep it as a personal secret or to share it for fa and wealth was their own choice; Lavinia Arkan had simply shared everything willingly, having no interest in exclusivity.
‘It’s not as if the mages mistake it for a right, but....’
They always paid a proper price and did not attempt to take it by force.
Even so, their persistence was likely because Cher’s changes were astonishing beyond easy dismissal.
He could understand that.
“...But what have you been eating this whole ti?”
After a brief pause, sothing strange entered Cain’s view. Lavinia’s mouth moving incessantly, sothing going into it, and Pale tossing sothing over.
“Chocolate.”
“Chocolate? Sister, you do not like sweets.”
“I do.”
“You like them now?”
Cain tilted his head.
“Of course, tastes can change, but for Lord Pale to be feeding you....”
Mid-sentence, Cain fell silent.
‘Feeding her?’
Thinking back, the signs were more than one or two.
That they had been together for months in Ergest.
That Cher, who allowed no one but Lavinia and a few others to touch her, readily offered her shoulder to Pale.
And that, no matter how tired she was of the mages’ persistence, his sister was unhesitatingly staying in the annex palace with a man who was not family.
‘And now they are casually feeding each other chocolate.’
Was this not the perfect picture of lovers?
‘...Really?’
Cain alternated his gaze between Pale and Lavinia.
That natural motion was not the skill of soone who had done it only once or twice.
‘Then....’
Cain felt hope.
‘Is spring finally coming for my sister?’
Cain cared deeply for Lavinia, but even he had never imagined her eting and marrying a normal man.
She was peerless in magic and chira creation, but nearly a novice in everything else.
Moreover, with her frequent escapes and eccentric behavior because of chiras, even more so.
How many n would wish to marry a woman whose words were hard to understand unless you spent long years with her, and who constantly engaged in odd antics?
Lavinia herself had little interest in such matters. Thus, Cain had never imagined her forming a bond with anyone. Never.
But now it was different. There was evidence before his eyes, and Cain did not want to miss this opportunity that had co for the first ti since his earliest childhood.
Cain examined Pale’s face carefully.
‘Face, pass.’
Objectively speaking, he was handso. Annoyingly so, as a man.
‘Magical ability, too....’
He was highly skilled, more than sufficient as a princess’s partner.
‘And he has money.’
Even selling a little blood would bring mages flocking to offer sacks of gold.
‘The only flaw is his unclear background....’
He had said he was royalty from sowhere, but honestly, it could not be found. That ant he was hiding his status. Still, Cain thought Arkan could easily embrace that.
If it did not work, they could make it work. For the sake of protecting his sister’s love.
“...What is it? That is quite an unpleasant look.”
“It is nothing. The two of you simply look good together.”
Berje frowned.
“Did you not say you ca because you had sothing to say?”
“Ah, yes. In a week, the main force will depart for Trafarta. You may join us then.”
“Is that all?”
“That is all. It is late, and I should not disturb you.”
“Disturb? What do you an?”
“Ah, nothing.”
Cain shook his head.
“I am busy with work, so I will take my leave.”
“Already?”
“Yes, Sister. Enjoy your ti.”
“Enjoy our ti?”
“Ah, my mouth runs too freely. Please rest well.”
Cain disappeared, winking at Lavinia with one eye.
“...Strange.”
“Yes, the way he kept grinning made want to tear his mouth apart.”
“My younger brother. No.”
“Do not worry. Unless he picks a fight first, I will not kill him.”
“Yes.”
“Still, for a prince to be so lacking in dignity.”
The future of Arkan looked quite dark as well.
Tsk, Berje clicked his tongue.
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