At that mont, Lepia continued speaking.
“Idria, who seized my soul, sought you out, Mariana. You do rember eting her, don’t you?”
“Y-yes. But she left without saying anything important.”
“When she spoke about a ‘vessel’… it was then that I beca part of your soul.”
“……”
“I don’t know why she placed inside you. What’s more, she cast a spell to keep from taking over. The only reason my soul blended in peacefully wasn’t because I’m kind—it’s because Idria put to sleep.”
It was similar to the case where she had given the Gem of Desolation to the Martial King.
Idria—for reasons utterly unknown—was throwing so-called growth items to those with potential across the continent.
Why? Why in the world?
‘If she’s the Demon King, shouldn’t she be wary of humans growing stronger? Why is she helping them instead?’
Just then, Mariana hastily asked,
“M-my husband? Do you know what happened to my husband?”
“……No. As I said, I rged with you and fell asleep imdiately afterward.”
Mariana’s face visibly darkened.
Lepia opened her mouth again in a regretful tone.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes?”
“I feel like I only confused you more under the guise of revealing the truth.”
“Not at all. You’ve been a great help.”
Lepia smiled gently.
It was a bit of a sha that she was wearing Adwin’s face.
The portrait recorded in the history books had shown her to be truly beautiful.
“Well, I’ll be going now. Iori is probably stretching his neck waiting for .”
Then Neril spoke up.
“Please tell him I said, ‘Let’s not et again.’ Not that there’s any chance of it happening anyway.”
It was genuinely surprising to hear her speak so politely to soone.
Of course, Lepia lived long before Neril, but by that logic, she’d spoken informally to Iori without hesitation.
‘So this is a Hero. Soone so remarkable that even Neril uses honorifics with them.’
[You’re admiring sothing strange.]
Lepia replied,
“Hehe. Iori probably likes you quite a bit.”
“No way. We literally fought each other to the death.”
“He’s incredibly generous to those he acknowledges. And your magical skills are more than enough to earn his recognition.”
“……”
“Besides…”
Lepia paused and looked at .
“Hero of the future.”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
“I have a proposal.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Fortunately, in this Fifth Party gathering, there’s an outstanding necromancer whose body I’m currently borrowing. Through him, I’d like to support all of you.”
I instantly understood what she ant.
It seed the others did too—their eyes widened.
“You an—”
“Yes. I’d appreciate it if you summoned from ti to ti. I also want to deal a blow to Idria—that Demon King of lies and deception.”
“……”
“Especially you, Mr. Mide. Your swordsmanship is quite unorthodox and free-spirited, perhaps because you learned on your own. Luckily, so did I. I think we’ll work well together.”
To be acknowledged by a legendary Hero—
As soone aspiring to beco one, my heart raced.
But I couldn’t nod readily here.
Mariana sat across from us, her face filled with unease.
No mother would be thrilled to see her only remaining family—her beloved son—joining a dangerous Hero’s party.
“It’s a great honor, but… Adwin isn’t part of our party yet.”
Mariana let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Lepia seed to notice and quickly adjusted her words.
“I see. Even if not through him, I hope we’ll et again soday.”
“I hope so too.”
“And Miss Neril. If there’s a next ti, how about receiving so instruction from Iori?”
Neril frowned.
“I don’t need instruction. But if it’s advice, I’ll listen to a few words—only because it’s you, Lady Lepia.”
“Ahaha. Iori will be quite upset if he hears that.”
At that mont, another spell began to glow on Adwin’s arm.
It seed ti to go back. Lepia’s voice began to fade.
“Everyone, I’m sorry. And thank you.”
“……”
“Idria is unusually powerful and cunning. I was very worried.”
“……”
“But seeing you all has eased my heart. Please, take care of this Empire and this continent.”
I hurriedly bowed my head to her.
“We’ll see it through.”
Everyone followed with deep bows, filled with respect and awe.
“Farewell.”
“See you again! Next ti, let’s eat together!”
“P-please take care on your way back.”
…Was that last part appropriate for the situation?
In any case, that’s how Lepia departed.
Soon, Adwin slowly opened his eyes.
Noticing everyone’s attention on him, he opened his mouth.
“Fufu. Such intense gazes. Have you sensed the aura of the blue wolf slumbering within ?”
This incident was as spectacular and noisy as it was chaotic, so the aftermath caused a stir as well.
A catastrophe on the level of a castle and bell tower collapsing and townsfolk fainting in broad daylight.
The lord intended to report to the capital, and for that, he needed to grasp what had happened.
Since we were the ones who had resolved the incident, we took on the role of advisors and stuck by his side.
We spent a day helping him craft a report that was… tailored to our tastes.
The lord spoke to Xenia.
“I see. So all the recent ghost incidents in the domain were due to that wicked spirit.”
“Yes. It was a spirit far above Mariana’s class. It’s no wonder she didn’t notice.”
“Hm. I must apologize for that, then.”
“She’ll understand. She’s a good person.”
The lord, trying to change the atmosphere, looked to and asked,
“I heard you played a great role. Is there anything you wish for?”
“Not at all. It was simply sothing I had to do.”
At my hero-like reply, Neril and Xenia twitched the corners of their lips.
But the lord seed genuinely impressed and nodded.
“Hoho. Such humility. Truly befitting of a Hero.”
It seed he added the last part without much thought.
Realizing the weight of his own words, he stiffened for a mont, but then softened his tone.
“Yes… a Hero. You are a Hero.”
“Oh, please—”
“Haha. No use denying it. It’s not just who says so.”
Clack.
He rose from his seat.
Then he flung open the curtains and opened the window wide.
Outside, a roaring cry pierced the ears.
“The window’s open!”
“Is the story over?”
“Hey. Don’t block the view. I can’t see.”
“Do not cross this line! Seriously, don’t cross it!”
—
A huge crowd had gathered outside the barrier of the residence.
Xenia took a light breath and spoke.
“We experienced this at the last territory too… but still, it’s amazing. That cheering.”
“If you’re going to keep traveling with this guy, better get used to it.”
“I’m starting to worry I’ll beco too shaless.”
“It’s fine. You’ve got the talent for it.”
“…Was that a complint?”
“An insult, actually.”
I left the two murmuring behind and approached the window.
The lord moved aside to make room for .
“Waaaaaah!”
“Hero! Hero!”
“It’s Hero Mide!”
“Thanks to you, my daughter survived. Thank you, truly, thank you. Sob sob.”
“Hero! Is the Demon King really descending?”
“You’ll defeat the Demon King too, right? Just like last ti!”
Receiving their cheers, I slowly raised my arm.
Then I clenched my fist tightly.
“Everyone, be at ease. Nothing shall harm you. I, Mide Mohan, give you my word!”
“Wooooaaaaaah!”
A thunderous roar.
I quietly closed my eyes.
Just then, I heard Trail’s voice.
[Hehe. You’re enjoying it now. Isn’t it sweet?]
‘Yeah. Maybe this is why Kaeld didn’t want to kill the Demon King.’
He had tried to create a permanent crisis across the continent and empire by claiming the Demon King’s core instead of destroying him.
All to be praised as a hero forever.
[Building fa is like a drug. If you’re not careful, it’ll swallow you whole.]
‘Don’t worry. No matter how tempting fa is, it’s nothing compared to my vision of retirent.’
[Just what kind of value do you place on retirent, anyway…? Well, doesn’t matter. Look at this.]
A screen appeared.
Oh, I’ve t the condition for leveling up.
I quickly said,
‘I should level up.’
[Of course.]
He sounded just as excited as I was.
Soon, new ssages appeared on the screen.
So I’ve gone from “Slightly Famous” to “Fairly Well-Known.”
At this rate, maybe I’ve already surpassed Kaeld’s fa.
I’m curious, but there’s sothing more urgent right now. This update is available on NoveI(F)ire
I closed the window and spoke to Trail.
‘I should be able to see higher-level secrets now, right?’
Trail replied as if it were obvious.
[Yeah. Now that you’ve leveled up, you can access B-rank secrets.]
‘Good.’
[Hate to spoil the mood, but B-rank still won’t cover Idria’s true objective.]
‘I’ve got plenty of other questions anyway. Like the secrets of Neril and the Enerika family. But what I need to know most right now is…’
I paused to collect my thoughts, then continued.
‘What happened to Adwin’s father, Sol.’
[Eh? That’s a more mundane secret than I expected.]
‘Don’t call it mundane. It’s about my comrade’s father.’
[Ahem. I didn’t an it like that. Just that it’s not related to the continent’s crisis.]
‘You’re not wrong, objectively. But still—please show .’
I’d never t Sol in person, but when I saw his image on the screen before, I couldn’t help but think of my own father.
A face now faint in my mory.
One of the few remaining fragnts was from my birthday—when he cooked a deer he’d hunted himself.
His clumsy hands burning the at, fumbling awkwardly in the kitchen… that image still lingered in my mind.
[Alright. Hold on a second.]
The screen appeared again.
Oh.
Thankfully, it was a secret I could access at my current level.
Sol’s face appeared on the screen.
In the corner of the screen was a tistamp—it was the night he had placed the emperor on the throne and was returning ho with his wife.
He gently stroked the hair of his sleeping wife, Mariana.
“Whew. It’s really amazing how you can sleep soundly anywhere. I, on the other hand, just can’t fall asleep.”
“You’ve got good instincts.”
Suddenly, a voice Sol had never heard before rang out.
But I had.
‘The Demon King!’
The one who had mocked and tornted us endlessly—Idria.
She was floating mid-air in the darkness of the room.
In the exact sa pose children use when they lie down and read books.
“You’re just a lowly creature, yet you seem to know when your ti has co.”
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