Ch.171171. The Actor’s Time

People gathered around the campfire. Thanks to Erika’s spirit magic, they could breathe normal air despite being near the Flower Garden.

“Where’s Deus?”

“He fell asleep in the carriage.”

“Sigh.”

The scene of him losing consciousness after being intoxicated by the pollen in the air clearly showed how broken a man he was.

“It’s not simply Deus’s problem. The air here is so polluted that even the spirits are reluctant to be here.”

Were those butterflies flying around Erika spirits? Deia wondered about this but let Erika’s defense of Deus go in one ear and out the other.

Having already eaten the food they brought, there wasn’t much else to do. It was too early to sleep, so they naturally tried to make conversation. However, since they weren’t particularly close to each other, an awkward atmosphere hung in the air.

“There are no stars.”

Aria Rius, who had much experience with adventures, broke the silence. As everyone naturally looked up at the sky following her comment, they saw that there truly wasn’t a single star visible, and even the moon’s presence was ambiguous.

This meant that Clark Republic’s sky was filled with impurities and turbidity.

Being the youngest among them, Aria continued with lighter questions despite the heavy situation of essentially walking into the enemy’s mouth.

“Do you think the President really called us for a peace treaty?”

“That’s bullshit.”

Deia sighed, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her elbow.

“The Republic’s President is supposedly a Great Demon. Would someone like that really advocate for peace?”

“Hmm.”

Having personally seen Great Demons a few times in her first playthrough, Aria thought it might be possible. Great Demons aren’t necessarily absolute evil; they simply follow their desires.

Just as something can be justice to one person and evil to another, they too are simply pursuing their own justice. Although their concepts and nature differ greatly from humans.

“That’s why they’re deliberately inviting representatives from other countries.”

A minimum shield.

Not only were Clark and Griffin participating in this peace banquet, but delegations from places like the Desert Kingdom of Zerman were also invited. It was supposedly to express gratitude and congratulations for the two countries’ decision for continental peace.

In reality, it was just to test the diplomatic atmosphere and direction.

“If they try anything here, they’ll instantly become enemies of the entire continent. They can’t act recklessly.”

Unless Clark was insane, they wouldn’t bare their teeth at Griffin in this situation. This was a clever move by the Griffin Kingdom.

A banquet for peace?

Fine.

But let’s do it proudly in front of everyone.

That was the meaning behind inviting delegations from other countries.

“I’ve also brought a secret weapon for truly dangerous moments.”

As Darius grinned and gave a thumbs up, Erika tilted her head and asked.

“A secret weapon?”

“Sister-in-law, you’ll be surprised when you see it!”

Seeing him chuckling proudly, Deia felt annoyed. Additionally, she didn’t like the term “sister-in-law.”

“The Holy Grail.”

She spitefully revealed the answer, causing Darius’s mouth to drop open.

“Ah, no. Should you reveal it so easily…?”

Darius continued to gape at Deia for revealing it so simply, but she just shrugged.

“Anyway, the only one here who doesn’t know is her. Did you forget that Aria and Findenai retrieved the Holy Grail?”

“Huh? Did someone call me?”

Findenai, who had been smoking behind the carriage, dusted himself off and sat down casually.

“The Holy Grail…”

Though surprised by the unexpected mention of such an item, Erika felt reassured. If it bore the name “Holy Grail,” it would likely be extremely effective against demons.

“I didn’t know such a thing actually existed.”

As Erika added awkwardly, Darius nodded vigorously.

“That’s right, sister-in-law. I didn’t know the Holy Grail was real either. When you think about it, Deus… no, Shinwoo Kim… ah, what should I call him?”

Scratching his head in confusion, Darius looked to Deia for help.

“Just call him Deus. That’s what he would have been called anyway.”

“Hey now, don’t say ‘he.’ Call her your sister-in-law properly.”

“We’re not even married yet, so stop making such a fuss!”

“Despite how she appears, she’s a good kid. Her snappiness can be cute… well, not really…”

Trying to say something nice about Deia, Darius eventually cleared his throat and returned to the original topic.

“Anyway, how did he know something like the Holy Grail existed? Deus is quite capable, isn’t he?”

“Sigh.”

“Despite how he looks, he’s very caring and…!”

Deia gave up trying to stop Darius as she shook her head. Darius began listing Deus’s good points to Erika, but unfortunately, he couldn’t even last three minutes.

“…”

The good points could be counted on less than five fingers. Of course, others might think differently, but at least for Darius, not many positive traits came to mind.

He’s blunt.

You never know what he’s thinking.

He speaks informally to his older brother.

‘What’s going on?’

Why do only negative things come to mind the more he thinks about it?

As Darius was about to get lost in his thoughts, Findenai added more fuel to the campfire and interjected.

“He’s surprisingly considerate.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Voices came from both sides.

Ignoring the exclamations from Deia and Erika, Findenai continued bluntly.

“He’s kinder than you’d expect. He shows consideration in unexpected places and situations.”

“Ah, I know that too. He holds doors open, and if I haven’t had dinner, he takes me out to eat.”

Aria added that she sometimes deliberately skips dinner to visit the research lab for this reason!

Findenai agreed with the bold statement from the female student and grinned.

“He lets us choose the menu too. Thanks to that, we can eat lots of expensive food.”

“That’s right!”

From Findenai’s perspective as a maid and Aria Rius’s as a student, the two who had spent considerable time with Deus at the Academy began excitedly chatting.

“Sometimes when he’s reading, his jawline looks sexy from the side!”

“I do want to lick it.”

“What? I mean, I get the feeling, but… are you really an animal?”

“I think I’m better than you, drawing weird pictures of your master.”

“Wait! That wasn’t me, it was Elenoa! I was just watching from the side!”

Aria quickly distanced herself from the princess. While it was quite amusing, Darius and Deia were a bit confused.

“More importantly, I’m curious about Professor Erika! Weren’t you supposed to break off the engagement?”

Aria’s bombshell statement to escape from the Deus drawing incident. At those words, Darius’s eyes widened as he looked at Erika.

She just shook her head with a slightly embarrassed smile.

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t given up.”

Quite a meaningful statement.

Darius, who was about to make a fuss, calmed down, but this time Deia’s eye twitched slightly.

The two women’s gazes naturally met, and various emotions passed between them.

As always, it was Findenai who broke the static atmosphere.

“Well, I don’t care whether they get married or not.”

She nonchalantly uttered something she had heard somewhere.

“Isn’t the personal maid usually the one who’s truly in love?”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

Aria glared at Findenai in disbelief, and Erika confronted her with silence.

Despite the sharp and heavy gazes coming from various directions, Findenai didn’t flinch at all.

“That’s what I heard. They secretly hold hands behind the scenes, and stories about husbands escaping from their wives’ stress to love their sensual and attractive maids are common.”

“Who… said such nonsense.”

Erika’s teeth clenched as the image seemed to form quite concretely in her mind.

She probably imagined Deus abandoning her to share love with Findenai.

“Illuania did. She’s seen it a few times, apparently.”

Having frequented brothels, Illuania had seen many such mudslinging fights and was quite knowledgeable.

As the conversation gradually deepened.

Kisses are like lemons…!

That’s actually…

How unfair!

Watching various conversations touch the campfire and burn away, Deia quickly returned to the carriage to escape this shock.

* * *

“Wow.”

“Impressive.”

After passing through the Flower Garden and traveling for several more days, they arrived at Clockwork, the capital of Clark Republic.

Deia and Darius couldn’t help but express genuine admiration at the high walls of the city.

Walls that soared so high it was unclear what they were meant to keep out. A height from which falling would mean not just instant death but an explosion of one’s body in all directions.

Standing before the walls that required craning one’s neck to see the top, Deia handed the warp marker she was carrying to Deus.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

He took several deep breaths, seemingly nervous, and looked around cautiously. His hands were visibly trembling as he took the warp marker from Deia.

“You’re a Spiritmaster now. You’re responsible for the warp for the kingdom’s guests.”

It wasn’t actually a difficult task.

He just needed to go to the designated spot in the Republic and place the warp marker, allowing the kingdom’s delegation in Greyfond to arrive here through the warp.

But for a degenerate who spent his time drinking, sleeping with women, and doing drugs, it was quite a heavy responsibility.

“Get yourself together. Eyes that seem devoid of emotion. Like this! Just like this.”

Deia mimicked the eyes of Spiritmaster Deus. Being siblings, she could produce a quite similar atmosphere.

“And keep your responses minimal. No, actually, I’ll be beside you, so don’t answer at all. I’ll cover for you by saying you have difficulty speaking due to an injury to your right hand.”

“Okay.”

Slap!

Deia finally slapped Deus’s cheek as he wasn’t focusing properly.

Deus stared at her blankly in surprise, and Deia burst out in anger.

“I said get yourself together! You’re not the degenerate Deus right now. You’re Spiritmaster Deus, the face of the kingdom and the representative of the delegation. Be confident! Be cool and calm!”

“I-I’ll try.”

“It’s not about trying. You have to do it. At least until the real one wakes up.”

Deus swallowed hard and nodded in agreement.

Though awkward and uncertain, he at least tried to follow her instructions.

The carriage passed through the city walls and stopped.

Outside the window, soldiers of the Republic had grandly cleared a path.

“Sigh.”

Seeing that Deus still hadn’t come to his senses despite the time having come, Deia finally pulled out a photograph.

“Take this.”

“Huh?”

Trembling and clutching the warp marker with his left arm, he took the photo.

In it was Illuania, smiling while embracing a small child.

“Ah…”

The only woman Deus Verdi ever loved. For the child born of that woman, he ultimately sacrificed even his own body and chose eternal rest.

“Steel your heart. For both of them.”

“You can do it!”

With Deia and Darius encouraging him from behind, Deus nodded with a bit more courage.

He gazed at the photo of Illuania for a moment before carefully tucking it into his chest.

Outside, Findenai opened the carriage door.

For a brief moment, Deus Verdi began his time as a Spiritmaster, or rather, as an actor.