Chapter 116

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My thoughts momentarily drifted to irrelevant places.

Whether it’s a massage or something else, that’s a problem to consider when there’s more time.

Since Eugene finished his story, it’s now my turn.

It was a good decision to delay my turn. I could gauge how much Eugene had uncovered, allowing me to omit a significant portion of what I planned to explain. The protagonist is indeed the protagonist. Even in a dire situation, he managed to extract important information.

The fact that the devils are not human.

A powerful supernatural of unknown identity and a monster disguised as a human feel entirely different from the start.

This news will likely shake the Celestial Corps to its core.

A being capable of perfectly disguising as a human, with power surpassing even the captains.

A new threat that even surpasses the calamity-class monsters.

This alone is already a crisis, but unfortunately, the bad news doesn’t end here.

“Lucia, you said you have something important to share too, right?”

Isabella, who had been lost in thought, spoke while focusing her grey eyes on me.

“…I’ll skip what overlaps with Eugene’s story.”

There’s no need to repeat the same information.

Since Eugene already explained the situation, I had less to say.

With the foundation laid by Eugene, I only needed to plant the seeds on top.

“When I was briefly separated from Eugene and Alice at the cherry blossom festival, I encountered Murmur.”

A being briefly mentioned in Eugene’s explanation.

The child with the white cloud mask.

Murmur.

However, Eugene didn’t know much about Murmur except that she was Astaroth’s companion, so his explanation was brief.

There was such a being, and she had a cryptic conversation with Astaroth before disappearing.

I began to flesh out the skeleton Eugene had laid out.

“Although it was a chance encounter, I immediately knew upon seeing her. That she was a dangerous presence, similar to Astaroth.”

She wasn’t just dangerous—she was a walking, moving, breathing nuclear bomb.

If it exploded, it wouldn’t just destroy a city.

Even captains, who can erase cities from the map, would be required to fight the devils in a team of at least three in order to stand a chance.

“I tried to get her attention and stop her somehow…”

But all I could do was to take a beating and buy some time.

In the end, I could only delay what was bound to happen. 

Ah, truly.

Murmur had no mercy.

Even Frey, at her worst, still held back, but the child with the white cloud mask showed no such restraint.

She tore off my arm and used it as a club, crushed my teeth with her fist, pulled out my organs and made me perform, and finally tore my upper and lower body apart.

She probably showed mercy because she declared that she wouldn’t kill me.

Otherwise, she would have just cut my neck and kicked my head like a soccer ball.

Words are power, and for higher beings, language carries intent.

Once spoken, words cannot be taken back.

The devils always kept their word.

But language is inherently ambiguous.

The same words can mean different things depending on how they’re interpreted.

Astaroth often uses this tactic—omitting subjects to make statements vague or using wordplay to contradict previous statements, slipping through the devils’ rules like a snake.

Murmur could have done the same if she wanted.

She said she would spare me, but she never said for how long.

──Meaning she could kill me whenever they wanted.

However, Murmur had a surprisingly honest side and didn’t resort to such tricks.

Thanks to that, I was able to buy some time and survive without dying.

Becoming Lucia and trying various things was one thing, but this was my first time experiencing such torture.

Even now, thinking about it makes my spine tingle. Just recalling it makes me tremble unconsciously.

“Lucia…”

Perhaps realizing what I went through, Eugene called my name in a pained voice. Angelica, who had been silently observing, also looked displeased.

Well, I suffered, but it’s fine. It was also fun, though I couldn’t fully enjoy it because people’s lives were at stake.

I composed myself, taking a deep breath to clear my mind. I couldn’t let Ariene, who could read emotions, see my true feelings.

Her eyes were unavoidable. She must be focusing her sensing ability to determine the truth of my words.

However, Ariene can only read emotions, not thoughts.

“…Sorry, can I hold your hand for a moment? Is that okay?”

“Uh, yes…”

I carefully took Eugene’s hand as I spoke.

Eugene, flustered, obediently gave me his hand.

He must be sensing my unease about possibly revealing my true nature.

By holding the hand of someone next to me, I can make him interpret that unease as fear from today’s events.

Hehe, good. Even if I show joy while reminiscing about the past, she’ll think it’s because of Eugene.

Lucia doesn’t have romantic feelings for Eugene, but it doesn’t matter what others think.

As long as Alice (Frey) doesn’t misunderstand.

Thankfully, Isabella didn’t bring a telepath.

Telepaths can read thoughts but struggle to uncover hypnosis or delusions.

If someone truly believes in a lie, even a telepath can be fooled.

Moreover, supernaturals have strong mental barriers, making telepathy less effective.

That’s why they brought Ariene, but… hehe, even with her, I can create a loophole.

By the way, I thought of this when we held hands last time, but Eugene’s hands are really big. Is it because Lucia’s hands are small? They’re rough and calloused. They’re sweaty, which is a bit unpleasant, but it’s kind of cute to think he’s so nervous.

Even though he pretends to be mature, he’s still just a kid. The future savior is still just a student. Meeting a high-ranking official must make him sweat nervously, right? 

A private meeting with a legion commander would make a recruit forget how to breathe. A new employee having dinner with the chairman would forget whether they’re eating with their mouth or nose. Even adults would be nervous, so how much more so for a student who hasn’t even graduated from the academy?

I gave his hand a firm grip, as if to cheer him up.

Hehe, it’s warm. Maybe because of his pyrokinesis, his body temperature is high.

Wouldn’t he make a good hand warmer in winter?

Even if we’re close (planned), is that too much of a bother?

…Wait, why is his hand so damp?

Is there something wrong with his health?

“…I failed. I couldn’t stop Murmur.”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. If that Murmur person was Astaroth’s companion… it would be difficult, if not impossible, for a student to stop them alone. You’re lucky to be alive.”

I responded to Isabella’s encouragement with a bitter smile.

I have no regrets now. I did my best, and even then, I failed. What more can I do? I’m not kind. Unlike Eugene, I don’t have the grand goal of saving everyone. I just do what I can. I’ll do my best to save people, but I won’t wear myself out with guilt if I fail. I’m sorry, but even if I went back in time, I wouldn’t be able to save you. So I have to accept it. Suffering in silence only hurts me. I can’t enjoy this kind of pain.

“I was injured so badly that even my regeneration couldn’t heal me all at once. It was hard to regain consciousness…but I saw it.”

The introduction was over. Perhaps thinking I was finally getting to the main point, the atmosphere grew heavier.

At that time, I was in critical condition. My upper and lower body were torn apart. My consciousness was hazy. Even now, I’m not sure if what I experienced was real, a delusion, or a dream. But I definitely saw it. The sight of Murmur reaching towards the sky.

“Murmur…opened a rift artificially.”

A loud noise echoed as a chair fell over.

Isabella abruptly stood up, pushing her chair back as if she had been propelled.

Her face was filled with shock. Not only her, but Ariene and Angelica also couldn’t hide their surprise.

Eugene’s story would have already been known in advance through Angelica. Hearing it directly from him was likely just a process to verify the authenticity of the information they already knew. 

However, this time was different. The revelation that Astaroth was a devil, and perhaps even more shocking than that, was staggering. It was natural for them to be utterly stunned and unable to hide their astonishment.

“…Yes, that could be possible.”

“This isn’t exactly new information.”

I thought they would grab my shoulder and shake me, demanding to know if it was true, but surprisingly, they quickly regained their composure. Perhaps the titles of captain and vice-captain weren’t just for show. As if to say, “When have we ever been caught off guard?”, Isabella calmly righted the overturned chair and said,

“If Astaroth interfered with the rift to rapidly expand it, then opening a rift wouldn’t be impossible to begin with.”

It was a simple conclusion.

If you could widen a slightly open door, you could open a closed one as well.

In the end, it was half right and half wrong.

Only Murmur, among the four devils who crossed over to this world, could open a rift.

Astaroth could interfere with an open rift, but she couldn’t open a new one.

However, I couldn’t tell them these specific details.

I didn’t know how much of the ‘novel’ I knew aligned with the ‘reality’ of this world, or where they diverged.

And being too specific could invite unnecessary suspicion.

For now, this much was a suitable hint.

The rest would have to be entrusted to the captains.

At least until Eugene awakened, the strongest sword and the greatest shield protecting humanity would be the captains of the Celestial Corps.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
She said that Eugene’s hands are very warm.

She said that they are as good as hand warmers.

And Lucia is stupid.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
If you ever feel useless, remember that Angelica actually existed in this scene. 

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