Ch.70Devil Cosplay (1)

Sweat poured down his entire body like rain.

Kiel couldn’t remember when he had last focused so intensely on training, and he felt a renewed sense of appreciation.

He was the Empire’s greatest swordsman, but still a knight with plenty of room to grow.

However, his growth had stagnated because the fear of death had become a worm eating away at his heart.

‘But not anymore.’

Fear of the unknown was no longer an issue.

“Brother…”

“Lady Hilde. You mustn’t disturb the family head’s training.”

Hilde had been lingering outside the sealed training room for days now. Kiel had been able to leave his post freely because Hilde had been faithfully performing her duties as acting head of the family.

Therefore, Hilde certainly had the right to say something to him.

But not now.

“Who do you think you are?”

Kiel’s purpose for training in seclusion was singular.

Olivia.

To engrave himself in her memory.

And to erase the constantly rising anguish.

Kiel realized anew how profound an influence Olivia had on his life.

“Duke Kiel, Your Grace!”

Kiel’s greatsword stopped mid-air. Someone was shouting frantically from beyond the boulder blocking the training room.

The family’s retainers don’t call him “Your Grace.” They call him “Master.”

Therefore, this was clearly an envoy sent by the Emperor.

“Duke Kiel, Your Gra—oh, ahhh!”

SCREECH.

The boulder blocking the training room tilted diagonally. The messenger unconsciously covered his mouth at the clean cross-section.

Kiel looked at the wide-eyed messenger with a face full of disdain.

“Did His Majesty the Emperor send you?”

“Y-yes. Orders have been issued for you to enter the palace immediately.”

Kiel returned his greatsword to its scabbard.

In the past, he would have considered this situation an interruption, but not now.

He owed the Emperor a debt.

A debt he couldn’t repay to “that woman.”

“Is the carriage waiting?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then wait a moment. I’ll return as quickly as possible.”

He meant he would make himself presentable first.

“M-Master!”

“Head servant. Prepare bath water quickly. And clothes suitable for an audience with His Majesty.”

“Yes, sir!”

The servants moved busily. The mansion, which had been silent until just a few minutes ago, was now bustling with activity.

“Brother! Are you finished already?”

“No. Orders have been issued to enter the palace.”

Hilde’s brown eyes widened.

“…You’re going to the palace right away?”

“Is there a problem?”

“W-well, umm…”

Hilde seemed unable to adapt to Kiel’s sudden change. It was understandable that she was surprised, given that Kiel, who had always prioritized training above all else, including the Emperor, had now abandoned his secluded training.

“Master, everything is prepared.”

“Very well. I’ll be back soon.”

Kiel quickly finished his bath and headed straight to the dressing room. The prepared clothes were a dignified formal uniform.

“Is there nothing else?”

“…Why? Don’t you like it?”

How could he not like it?

Hilde was one of the few people Kiel had opened his heart to.

And these were clothes she had given him as a gift.

However…

‘…It was this outfit.’

If he went to the imperial palace like this, he felt he would see Hilde’s frozen face.

“Give me something that looks more modest. I don’t think this is an ordinary summons.”

Hearing that, Hilde couldn’t complain.

The carriage carrying Kiel moved directly to the imperial palace. The messenger sitting on the opposite seat briefly explained the situation.

“To be brief, the reason His Majesty has summoned Duke Kiel is because of negotiations with the Eastern Alliance.”

He had heard about this.

It was already well-known that the Red Tower Master had been selected as the representative of the negotiation team.

People were spouting nonsense about how the status of magicians had fallen, how knights had won, and other such trivial matters, which he had promptly ignored.

Kiel simply couldn’t understand such meaningless power struggles.

He was a knight, but he didn’t belong to the knight faction.

“Is there a problem with the negotiations?”

“…Yes.”

Judging by the messenger’s troubled look, he was supposed to hear the rest directly from the Emperor.

‘…Things really have changed.’

In his previous life, negotiations with the Eastern Alliance never happened. For some unknown reason, the Alliance had simply given up their interests and retreated.

What had changed from his previous life?

In this life, he hadn’t hunted the dragon.

And in this life, Melina had lost her mind and disappeared somewhere.

Therefore, the Empire had neither a Dragonslayer nor the Great Witch who had acted as its guardian for hundreds of years.

That must have led the Eastern Alliance to choose “negotiation” rather than “retreat.”

‘The butterfly effect.’

Two seemingly minor elements had drastically altered the future.

Kiel suddenly had a thought.

Olivia.

In her previous life, she was a genius.

It might be an excessive title for a mere human, but at least to Kiel, Olivia seemed omniscient.

‘…Perhaps.’

Could all of this be because Olivia had regressed?

Of course, that was just a possibility.

A very slim possibility.

When the world could change so easily with minor butterfly effects like this, how could someone know everything after just one regression?

If it were hundreds or thousands of times, that would be different, but…

At that thought, he suddenly found it amusing.

“We have arrived, Your Grace. His Majesty is waiting in the garden.”

Such a thing couldn’t possibly be true.

“…”

Kiel briefly looked toward the north before heading to the garden without hesitation.

It wasn’t time yet.

Not yet.

“You summoned me, Your Majesty.”

“Duke Kiel. Read this.”

The paper handed by the Emperor had this written in crude common language:

[We cannot negotiate with conjurers.]

Not even magicians, but conjurers.

As far as Kiel knew, there was only one person who could call magicians that.

“It seems the barbarians of Mikabel have grown bold,” the Emperor said in a sharp voice.

“You must go to the East.”

*****

Olivia gently placed the unconscious Livga on the floor. She thought it would be safer to put her on the slightly dirty floor than on an old chair that might break at any moment.

“…Phew.”

Olivia sighed in relief only after confirming the notification of successfully subduing Livga.

To be honest, she was the easiest regressor to subdue so far.

Of course, the reason she was able to subdue her so easily was because Livga was fundamentally a caring person.

Holy power is basically based on the user’s faith. Olivia had steadily shaken Livga’s faith through confession.

When the shaken Livga showed signs of dropping her holy chant, Olivia immediately shot an electric current to knock her unconscious.

Among the regressors, each with their own loose screws, Livga was one of the few normal ones.

No wonder users called Livga a “natural monument.”

Of course, even this kind Livga had a type she wouldn’t associate with—demons.

Demons.

High-level monsters that appear in the middle to late story.

Not only do they tempt pure humans with their cunning tongues, but they also hide among humans, spreading all kinds of plagues—a cancerous existence in the world.

As if everything before had been just a taste, the game’s difficulty rises vertically from the moment demons appear.

Trusted companions stab you in the back, and lords sacrifice their subjects to demons.

Even the Church of Light has apostates.

Just thinking about that time still…

‘Makes my teeth chatter, makes my teeth chatter.’

Olivia shuddered.

Anyway, now she needed to plan how to overwrite Livga’s memories.

Livga was one of those whose favor could be raised quite easily. But that didn’t mean overwriting her memories would be easy too.

It was because of the “Falsehood Detection” skill.

The Saintess’s unique skill that allows her to see through lies.

Because of this one skill, the difficulty of overwriting Livga’s memories increases tremendously.

Perhaps even more than Melina.

If she made even one mistake in her words, she would immediately be detected as lying and be driven out of the Holy Country.

If that happened…

‘I’m doomed.’

She might be able to lift the access ban by apologizing profusely, but then she would be treated as “a soul parasitizing Olivia’s body.”

‘…I might even be forcibly exorcised.’

She needed a different approach than before.

A completely new approach.

[You have acquired 3 clues and a reward will be given!]

[Would you like to check your reward?]

‘…Let’s check the reward first and then think.’

Her course of action within the clues would depend on what reward she received.

[Reward for acquiring 3 clues.]

[From now on, you can switch to ‘Spectator’ mode up to 5 times per memory!]

– Spectator mode can be deactivated at will.

…This was completely unexpected.

Spectator mode must refer to what happened when she skipped before.

And being able to deactivate it at will means she can freely switch between possession and spectator states.

Although limited to 5 times per memory.

‘If I enter memories ten times, I can spectate up to 50 times… is this even useful?’

She could use it to avoid difficult questions, but Livga would quickly sense something was off if she did that.

‘…Wait a minute.’

What if she used that sense of discomfort to her advantage?

Olivia pondered for a moment.

And came to a conclusion.

‘This has potential.’

Olivia immediately placed her hand on Livga’s head.

[Would you like to use Clue #3?]

[Memory of January, Imperial Year 993]

This time, she would switch roles.

If she had been pretending to be a victim until now.

This time, she would act as the perpetrator.

Openly.