episode_0205

As I entered the temporary meeting room that served as Serista’s dormitory, a strangely awkward atmosphere pervaded the entire space. Serista seemed startled when our eyes met, and Agnes, for some reason, quietly gazed into the distance with her eyes, which was evidence of the strange tension.

Edan blushed occasionally when our eyes met, so it didn’t feel much different from usual.

I turned my head slightly to see Gyeommyojosegyekwat’s expression, wondering if I was the only one feeling strange. It seemed that she also sensed the strange atmosphere.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone so awkward…”

“…Instead of small talk, there are more important things to discuss. How did the verification of what Lillis said turn out?”

“Oh, that? It was all true. The fact that Prince MacHart attacked Lillis and that it was actually related to the demons.”

“I see…”

“…As expected, it was true.”

Serista and Agnes, who still had doubts, nodded in agreement after hearing the hero’s statement, as if they could now be sure.

Serista had taken me confidently to verify the truth with the Holy Sword just a while ago, and then returned. It might have seemed like a natural thing, but seeing that they couldn’t see through the lie of the Holy Sword story, both Serista and Agnes were incredibly naive.

Or maybe they didn’t even consider the idea that lying with a sword blessed by the gods was a sacrilegious thought. Of course, the hero didn’t seem to have any guilt about calling me out on nonsense from the start.

“To be honest, I didn’t really get the impression that Lillis would lie from the beginning. Still, I had to confirm it just in case there was a rare exception. Lillis didn’t seem like the type to lie.”

“If you’re going to try to win Lillis’s favor with such obvious flattery, why don’t you stop? It’s ridiculous to say that you believed her from the beginning after verifying the truth with the Holy Sword. I never even thought that Lillis would lie in the first place.”

“Edan, sir?”

“…Ahem.”

Edan’s response seemed to have become more guarded than before.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“What are we going to do? There’s only one conclusion.”

“Of course, we have to fight Prince MacHart…”

Serista was someone who didn’t hesitate to face monsters or demons head-on, but when it came to facing humans, especially a prince, she didn’t look so good.

Most of the enemies that appeared in the current standard story were either monsters or demons, and there were probably only one or two people who could be considered villains.

For someone as gentle as Serista, telling her to kill a human, especially a prince, would naturally elicit this kind of reaction.

However, the MacHart battle would probably require gathering all available forces in the current state, so there was no way to let Serista leave. First, put out the urgent fire and then try to calm Gyeommyojosegyekwat later.

“Now we need to come up with a specific plan, so everyone here must absolutely not disclose today’s conversation to anyone outside.”

“Of course.”

“…Yes.”

“I understand.”

“…Yes, yes!”

“Even if you think someone else can help, you must never let it be known outside. Remember that.”

If we were caught, not only would everyone here be accused of treason, but the safety of the entire tribe would be at risk.

We had to keep the Crown Tribe, as well as people like Seraphine and Natalina Thomas, who were currently allies of the protagonist, in the dark.

Anyway, Natalie and Seraphine were not the protagonist’s allies, they were Lilith’s allies. It was foolish to have the delusion that the protagonist was being used by me.

The people who can be trusted and can be of great help are Agnes, Ethan, and the hero.

“First of all, the most important thing to do is to lure Prince Machart.”

“Well, we can’t just attack him in the middle of the academy or the palace.”

“Also, when I look back on the moment when I was attacked by Prince Machart, his demonic magic didn’t seem very effective against multiple people.”

“What kind of magic was it?”

“He approached me, grabbed my wrist, and took me to a dark space with unknown characters. There was only a small circle of land with Prince Machart at the center, quietly shining in the darkness, and the shadows surrounding it blocked my path and grabbed my ankles.”

In fact, I was itching to just explain all of Machart’s abilities and how to deal with them. But if I start shouting about things that I couldn’t have known besides seeing it once, it will naturally raise suspicions. It will even make the suspicion that I almost got assassinated by Prince Machart even more suspicious.

So, it was the most ideal way to explain in detail but leave the identity and how to deal with that magic to be figured out by the remaining people.

By doing this, I could explain Machart’s magic and how to deal with it without being suspected. Anyway, Agnes, who is a magic genius, is here, so she will interpret and understand it on her own.

“The moment he grabbed my hand and dragged me into the dark space, it seems like demonic magic.”

“Just by that, how do you know, Blaze?”

“The demons use mysterious powers. Strange magic that works on completely different principles than regular magic. They probably store magic in their bodies in advance and can activate it depending on the conditions.”

“The, the witch of Seolsan who fought in the north also used a similar ability! I, I heard that she was one of the elite soldiers led by one of the four knights under the demon king, ranked third among the seven lieutenants…”

…Isn’t that enough to not introduce yourself?

In realistic terms, it would be like a level 4 government official introducing themselves. It almost made me burst into laughter at the thought. Serista, who remembered that, was truly impressive in many ways.

“Anyway, demonic magic, with special powers, has conditions attached to it. Machart’s magic probably had grabbing the wrist as the activation condition.”

“It’s definitely a difficult condition to use during battle. Giving your wrist to the opponent in the middle of a fight is practically admitting defeat.”

“Yeah. But it’s undoubtedly a dangerous magic to use in assassination or one-on-one situations. It’s a magic that can take you to your own space just by grabbing your wrist.”

“Normally, it would be a condition that is not easy to use, but if it’s him, he could probably use it easily because of his status and appearance.”

As soon as the conversation about magic came up, Agnes enthusiastically analyzed based on her knowledge, and with the help of the timely intervention of Gethmog, the story flowed smoothly.

By the way, the hero obviously knew about Machart’s abilities and how to deal with them, so now he was pretending to have just realized it and giving hints to the rest of the group.

As mentioned earlier, if the guy is the right person for the Salvation Mercy, they would have already moved on from the Machart conquest part.

“The problem is how to reveal that Prince Maekhart is using the power of the demons. Even if we succeed in eliminating him, if we fail to prove his connection to the demons, it may end up being seen as an act of rebellion.”

“…I heard that there is a way to find evidence of the demons from the bodies of the demons, can’t we use that?”

“He seems to be only using the power of the demons for now, without fully becoming one of them. The time it takes for the demon’s power to resonate with a person’s body varies. There seem to be two options. One is to wait for his body to fully resonate with the demon’s power, and the other is…”

The strategy meeting on how to eliminate Maekhart and reveal his connection to the demons continued for quite some time, lasting over three hours. During the lengthy meeting, Edan absentmindedly looked at me and quietly muttered, “Looking back, maybe the recent disappearances of the maidens are also related to him.”

“…That’s possible. Perhaps after we eliminate Prince Maekhart, we might be able to find out their whereabouts.”

“…”

“…Edan, sir?”

As we discussed the missing maidens, Edan suddenly gazed at me with a poignant look in his eyes. Then, as if overwhelmed by emotions, he tightly grasped my hand and quietly sobbed.

“I’m truly relieved that you’re safe, Lillis.”

“Y-yes…”

“I will definitely tear that Maekhart apart and kill him. And I will expose all the evidence of his connection to the demons to ruin his reputation.”

“Um, can you please let go of my hand…? There are other people watching…”

Especially that nosy Gyeommyeoshagwach guy.

With a smirk that seemed to suggest he was enjoying the spectacle of Edan, who was genuinely worried about me, holding onto my hands tightly and even shedding tears, the guy chuckled as if he found the situation amusing.

…If he wasn’t a hero, I would have punched him in the face for real.