episode_0004

After the welcome party.

Three heroes remained in the conference room after everyone else had left.

“You should have prepared properly, Princess Aina!”

“There was no way. You guys couldn’t have predicted that Serena would come, right?”

“But what kind of response is that? If you were not careful, wouldn’t you have been caught? If that happened, everything would be over!”

Aina and Claire start fighting.

Aria, caught in the middle, just trembled and waited for the fight to end.

“That’s why I didn’t follow your plan!”

“Plan? I’ve never made a plan before. If it was a plan, you would have made it, Claire!”

After Lee Han died, the relationship between the three worsened day by day. Lee Han’s will had a big impact.

— ‘I’m glad I could be of help to you. I’d be willing to die for you.’

It’s as if Lee Han has been sacrificing himself for someone. At the same time, there’s a nuance that someone is definitely benefiting from Lee Han’s sacrifice.

The topic of who that someone was was enough to drive a wedge between the three.

Until the welcome party, the relationship between the three was completely estranged.

All we did was exchange opinions on how to deal with any doubts that might arise at the welcome party.

In a way, it was natural that we would hit each other as soon as we met.

“Over there…Over there.”

Aria raises her hand cautiously.

The other two look at her sharply.

Eek.

Aria, her shoulders shrugging, carefully turns around.

“I, I think I should go now. Well… Well then.”

She walks out in a hurry.

But he was soon caught.

“Where are you going? Aria, you could have been the one who acted so innocent and conspired with Ihan behind the scenes. Not just anyone can become a saint of the Deus Church. Stop acting innocent. ”

“That… That.”

Aria looked like she was going to cry.

I hated this situation so much.

It was true that Lee Han’s death contributed to her becoming a saint. However…

“I… I’m not really. Just let me go.”

“Do you think there’s a fool here who would believe that?”

“Really… ”

“Originally, the person who pretends to be the most innocent is the one who ends up the most dirty. Just wait.”

Ooooh. Aria was caught with an expression that looked like she was about to cry. Her stomach was churning. Aria was infinitely weak to this kind of psychological pressure.

Aina suddenly frowns upon seeing her like that.

“That’s right. I’ve seen you leaning on Lee Han a lot, too. Tell me honestly. Wasn’t there something between you and Lee Han? Otherwise, why did Lee Han say such a thing?”

“After thinking about it carefully, you’re definitely suspicious, Aria. You were the one who was most attached to Lee Han. Could it be that you were the one who planned all of this?”

Claire clung to Aria as if embracing her.

Aria’s lips trembled.

She cried out in frustration.

“That… That can’t be true! Why are you suddenly blaming me! You… You’re one of you! I just… I just…!”

Just as Aria was about to shout something more.

— Bam!

The conference room door opens.

The heads of the three heroes turn creakingly.

“… What are you talking about now?”

Instead, the appearance of Richard and High Priest Julius.

Those with the second highest power in the Empire and the Holy Constantine.

“Dude, how long have you been listening to me?”

Aina, embarrassed, admits that her feet are numb.

‘Fuck.’

‘It’s ruined.’

Aina clenched her fist.

Claire bit her lip.

And Aria just stood there blankly.

As if frozen in place.

Her gaze was turned to Archbishop Julius.

Aria was always afraid of the archbishops.

They were strict and disciplined and reminded him of his abusive father as a child.

He heads straight towards Aria.

“What are you talking about, Saint?”

“That…that’s it.”

“Based on my limited knowledge, I can guess that the three of you are plotting something against the other world’s demons… no, the warriors. That’s what it sounds like.”

Aria took a step back.

“That… There’s no way something like that could have happened… … . I, I am Lee Han…….”

Lee Han was always kind.

Lee Han just took care of Aria when she was feeling down. He told her that she looked depressed. He asked her if there was something she couldn’t say despite her discomfort.

‘… was kind.’

— Crunch!

The scene of Lee Han’s execution suddenly came to mind. Aria hurriedly tried to erase the image from her mind, but she couldn’t.

Toouk.

Lee Han’s head rolling on the floor. And then the eyes that met for a split second. The emptiness, betrayal, and anger seen beyond the fading life. The mouth that opened as if it wanted to say something.

‘iced coffee…….’

Suddenly, Aria’s body begins to sway.

Aina and Claire frown, thinking she’s acting.

Tada, hit.

Aria took a few steps and staggered forward, and her position was naturally at the highest podium in the conference hall.

Bam.

Aria raises her head.

He seemed to be looking forward, but then he bent his head back even further and stared at the ceiling. His neck was bent so much that the back of his head almost touched his back.

“… … Aria?”

Claire asks back at Aria’s extremely unnatural movements. But Aria doesn’t move at all. The moment Claire, flustered, approaches and tries to grab her.

“No way!”

The Archbishop runs towards Aria and Claire.

“Don’t touch the saint now!”

The archbishop pushed Claire away.

Claire, who was knocked down by the completely unexpected violent action, could only blink.

That moment.

– CLANG!

In the center of the conference room, a large door opens.

There’s definitely no one there.

Claire, who was looking back at the door, had to immediately turn her head away.

A beam of light poured through the open door.

And it illuminates Aria.

With a stained glass window of a saint behind her.

“Ahh.”

Admiration naturally flows out at the boundless divine appearance.

And then.

— “You are so stupid and foolish.”

Aria’s mouth opened.

A voice that was clear, crisp, almost divine, and at the same time eerily emotionless.

It was a marked difference from her usual mumbling voice.

– Kwung!

There was a heavy sound.

It was the sound of Archbishop Julius hitting his head on the floor.

He shouts while everyone watching is shocked.

“I see the Almighty Deus! Please guide the little lamb!”

It’s creepy.

The hairs on my body stand on end and my lips tremble.

Aina and Claire both took a few steps back as if they had fallen.

— “You have abandoned the hope that was given to you”

It’s God.

God is speaking through the mouth of a saint.

So, here it is.

— “Ten cycles. One more trial will come within them. But do not be at ease. At the end of it, more trials and darkness will come. It will be a dark, deep, endless darkness.”

Kuung!

Once again the archbishop hits his head.

Even though his face is covered in blood, he shouts without caring.

“Please guide me!”

Every time the archbishop opens his mouth, blood foams.

A gruesome yet sacred sight.

— “The road will only be filled with reflection and regret. The opportunity will not come twice.”

The revelations continued until the Archbishop’s blood dried.

◆

As the revelation ended, Aria collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

The archbishop froze in a bowing posture, as if unable to bear the aftermath of the revelation.

Aina fell to the floor as if her legs had given out.

Claire was shivering in the corner.

The Imperial Chancellor, Minister Reinhard, was watching this tragedy unfold.

“Huh.”

A hollow laugh escapes his mouth.

For over 30 years, it was a fresh and extremely heavy experience that he had never experienced before, as he had become one of the pillars supporting the empire.

— Squeak

He closed the door first.

Fortunately, there were no servants left.

It meant that there was less trouble in getting blood on the body.

No matter what happens, this revelation must not be spread.

The continent that was revived after the death of the Demon King will once again enter a dark age. That should not have happened.

— Jeokbuk

He turned around.

Stand before the high priest and open your mouth.

“The Demon King is coming back to life? I can’t quite understand it with my old mind.”

“… That’s right. And then something more comes after that.”

“What is that?”

“… I don’t know.”

The high priest raised his head.

Even with his blood-stained face and exhausted appearance, his eyes were filled with a sense of crisis.

“I have to report to the Holy Emperor. Then I have to collect all the information I can. I have to look into the Holy Emperor’s office’s archives.”

“The Britannian Empire will also do its best to cooperate.”

“… The Holy Land and the Empire are joining hands like this.”

“Shouldn’t the destruction of the continent be avoided?”

Swish.

The lips of the high priest, who had been rising feebly, suddenly fall apart.

“I don’t know if it can be avoided.”

“I have to do this. I have to prepare right away. Do you really have no idea?”

The archbishop coughs.

Bright red blood pouring out of his mouth.

After a few gasps for breath, he opens his mouth.

“Re-blood donation.”

“… Bloodshed Church? Are you talking about heretics?”

“Recently, many girls and boys have disappeared all over the continent. What could it be for?”

“I don’t know.”

“There is this among the black arts. Making an altar and offering sacrifices to manifest a higher being.”

“Huh.”

“But as Your Majesty knows.”

“It is not easy to track blood transfusions.”

“You should prioritize it. Highest”

Reinhardt’s wrinkles deepened.

After a brief but profound thought, he comes to a conclusion.

“I’ll infiltrate the White Knights. If it’s 10 years… I’ll somehow be able to reach the depths of the Blood Cult before then.”

“Holy Constantine will do his best. And the warrior of the other world. Perhaps he is the key. We must find it…”

“Even though this old man is old, he still has that much intelligence. Okay. Stop resting. You’ve given the guests who came to the empire too much work.”

“What do you mean by work? It’s just cooperation on equal terms. ”

“You’re not going to give up until the end. You old fox.”

Swish.

Reinhardt stood up as he watched the archbishop lying on the floor.

Then he approached Aina and Claire, who were lying down.

“Your Highness the Princess Aina. And Claire.”

As he opened his mouth, Reinhardt felt a strong impulse for the first time.

Estrid, a noble bloodline of the empire.

That kind of impulse where you no longer want to use honorifics or respectful language towards the princess who has it.

But he was wise and old enough to be swayed by impulse.

“This is something that should not be counted. Therefore, you will still be treated as a hero.”

Reinhard declared to Aina and Claire, who were just blinking blankly.

“But take responsibility for what you did and what happens next.”

It is neither a threat nor an order, but it is a pressure that is so strong that it makes the listener’s heart feel like it is going to burst.

Reinhardt stood up, looking at them with an infinitely cold and indifferent gaze.

‘I guess I’ll have to postpone retirement a little.’

— Jeokbuk

The place he left was filled with silence.