Idria’s brow twitched.

“Take him?”

“Anyway, isn’t there a two-month truce with Mide?”

“How do you know that? And why are you so perfectly fine? You were practically ground meat.”

“I have plenty of spares for my body.” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovєlFіre.net

Clack.

He grabbed Kaeld by the collar and hauled him up.

By now, Kaeld had already lost consciousness from the pain.

Tap, tap.

Velosian lightly tapped here and there along Kaeld’s body.

Then black smoke began seeping out of his mouth and ears.

“……! You erased the bugs?”

“Mm. Since this fellow is my property now, I erased them. Sorry for doing it without asking.”

“Drop the act. You’re not really sorry. Just like you weren’t sorry about erasing Pirensha’s soul.”

“You’re quite angry.”

Clack.

Velosian slung Kaeld over his shoulder.

Then he clicked his tongue lightly.

“You’re fine in most ways, but you’re too soft. And too leisurely.”

“……”

“Mide will only keep getting stronger and more famous without end. With that sort of sentimentality, do you think you can really achieve your wish?”

“At the very least, it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“How could I not worry, when it’s about my daughter?”

He turned his head toward Pirensha.

Then casually pointed a finger at her.

Idria flinched, but fortunately, Velosian didn’t attack.

On the contrary…

“Uh, mom.”

“Pirensha? Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine. No, actually I feel incredibly refreshed.”

He had healed Pirensha.

Restoring the soul he had once erased.

Just a moment ago, Idria had no idea what to do, and yet with nothing more than a gesture…

She gulped hard.

“This is my way of apologizing. Whether you will accept it or not, I don’t know.”

“…I can no longer trust you.”

“Shame. Well then, I will wait until your anger cools. In the meantime, I will deal with Mide.”

Idria asked.

“Deal with him? How?”

“I will chip away at that sky-high reputation of his.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

“No need for you to know. But if I must say one thing, between the two of us, I’m the greater expert at cutting down those with lofty fame.”

“…!”

“You said the truce lasts two months? Rest well until then. You must be exhausted.”

Step. Step.

Velosian left the cave.

Idria looked at his retreating figure.

----------------------------------------

Two months of truce.

But that was a promise made with Idria.

There was no agreement with Velosian.

Even if Idria kept her word, there was nothing stopping Velosian from acting on his own.

‘Even so…’

She had no inkling of what that might be.

The Eye of Omniscience still couldn’t see through his secrets.

So then.

“For now, let’s rest for two months.”

“Rest?”

Neril blinked.

I nodded.

“Looking back, we have been pushing ourselves too hard. We need some rest.”

“But sleeping soundly every night is enough, isn’t it? Thanks to Adwin, we always wake up in top condition.”

Adwin raised his chin proudly.

“Keke. At last you recognize my greatness. Letting a weary soul rest deeply is as easy as flipping my hand.”

“……”

“It’s like the warm sunshine breaking through a clear blue sky… Uh, hey. Why aren’t you stopping me?”

“Seems we have finally found some peace of mind. Keep going if you like.”

“No, if you actually ask me to, I can’t.”

Xenia chuckled and cut in.

“So, do you really think it’s fine for us to rest, Mr. Mide?”

“To be exact, it’s not that. It’s just… we don’t really have anything else to do right now. I still have no idea what our next step should be.”

“Ah.”

“I do think Idria will keep her word. That leaves Velosian, but I can’t even guess what he is plotting.”

“Even with Mr. Trail’s ability?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately.”

Everyone let out a light sigh.

Then Neril spoke.

“Actually, that’s perfect. There’s something I wanted to say too.”

“What is it?”

“We need to grow stronger.”

All eyes turned to Neril.

Offense asked.

“Stronger than we are now?”

“Offense, don’t you remember bleeding all over when fighting Velosian?”

“…I don’t remember the bleeding part.”

“None of our trump cards worked on him.”

Offense swallowed hard.

Neril bit her lip.

“I didn’t say it then, but honestly, it shook me to the core. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Trail and Mide, we would all have been on our way to the underworld that day.”

“Hm.”

“It’s great that our leader is getting stronger. But I want to be more helpful to Mide too.”

At that, she noticed everyone staring at her.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“Aw, you’re all lovey-dovey now.”

“Hmph. Once you meet a good man, you will understand this feeling, little one.”

“Ugh!”

Serein fumed, then got back to the point.

“Anyway, I agree. We couldn’t even figure out how to deal with Adin at full strength… and Velosian is far stronger than that. We definitely need to grow.”

“Hmm. But how?”

“That’s what I was going to ask Mide.”

Serein’s eyes sparkled as she turned to me.

“Mide. How did you become so strong? Was there some turning point?”

“Fame.”

“…What?”

“Impelium told me that fame can be converted into power. I guess I figured out how to do that.”

Lisel tilted her head.

“‘I guess’? Isn’t it your own power?”

“Honestly, I don’t know how. I just thought ‘I can,’ and then I could.”

“Mr. Mide, you have lost the right to complain about Sir Leon’s explanations.”

That stung. Truly.

Everyone groaned and folded their arms.

While the silence stretched, I sank into thought.

Neril’s proposal was correct.

I mustn’t cling to the arrogance that I alone can kill Adin or Velosian.

From the first generation to the third, the role of companions in slaying the Demon King had always been immense.

Just as I have grown stronger, so too must my comrades.

[So how, then?]

‘Should I ask Impelium?’

[Huh? Can you just meet him whenever you want now?]

‘No. I probably can’t seek him out myself.’

From past experience, no matter how many times I called his name, if he refused to appear, I couldn’t meet him.

Impelium had to summon me first.

And since he was likely enjoying a peaceful retirement life, I would need need quite the bait.

‘Hmm……’

Tok tok.

I tapped the table with my index finger.

Soon, a good idea came to mind.

“A way to make you stronger. In other words, a way for you to use your own fame as power. Let’s ask Impelium.”

“Huh? He will tell us that?”

“We haven’t asked, so who knows if he will or not. That’s why I’m planning to meet him and ask.”

“Ah.”

“But he’s not the sort who just appears because I go looking. We will need some kind of bait to lure him out.”

Adwin asked,

“Bait to summon such a being? Would something like that even exist?”

“I’m thinking of going to the place where I first heard Impelium’s voice.”

“Oh, don’t tell me…”

“Yeah. I’m considering going back to my hometown.”

The Hasphil territory.

“And there… phew. Summon my father’s soul for me, Adwin.”

“Eh? A-are you sure about that?”

“Yes. In that territory, I’m going to ask Father exactly where he picked me up.”

“……”

“And then I will search the surrounding area a bit. That act might pique Impelium’s interest.”

“That’s troublesome. He could just lend a generous hand instead.”

Adwin grumbled.

But Neril was smiling faintly.

She looked like she really liked my idea.

“Not a bad idea, right?”

“No. Not at all.”

“……”

“There’s no guarantee Impelium will show up just because of that.”

“Then why are you smiling like that?”

Neril’s face flushed a little.

“No, it’s just… a side benefit, I guess.”

“Side benefit?”

“Side benefit. Ahem.”

Neril muttered so quietly it was almost like an ant’s voice.

“I thought I might finally get to greet your mother. Last time, I was the only one who couldn’t.”

----------------------------------------

Kaeld opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw were the tall reeds almost covering him.

A cool breeze rustled through them.

Through the swaying reeds, he caught sight of a figure’s back.

‘Velosian.’

Why is that man here?

No, more importantly, where is this place?

Kaeld tried to raise his body.

But an uneasy feeling stopped him.

‘Wait. Let’s just watch.’

Velosian had his head tilted back, staring at the sky.

As though something was up there.

“Will you come out, Mr. Adin?”

“……?”

“Not appearing when I call you by that name? Very well, then.”

He cleared his throat lightly.

“Descend, divine god of the heavens.”

Kaeld gave a short laugh.

He still didn’t know Velosian’s true identity, but the man was at least an ally of the Demon King, one of the pillars of evil.

Such a man’s summons could never be answered by the Celestial God.

No, it was impossible for anyone to summon the Celestial God in the first place…

And then.

“Why did you call me ‘Adin’?”

Kaeld felt like his breath had stopped.

Suppressing himself with superhuman patience, he focused every bit of attention on his ears.

Velosian tilted his head slightly.

“Is that not allowed?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“……”

“That name was abandoned a long time ago. And you, of all people, should know that.”

Velosian chuckled.

“My apologies. That was a bit much of a joke.”

“That goes far beyond any joke.”

“Well, setting that aside… I have a request.”

He continued as if it were nothing serious.

“Grant me another oracle.”

“What?”

“Idria seems quite upset with me. Out of defiance, she struck a truce with Mide.”

“……”

“Honestly, I think it worked out well. That child is still immature. While she steps back from the frontlines, I will take responsibility for handling Mide.”

“Ha. And now you want me to grant another oracle?”

Velosian nodded.

The Celestial God, Adin, spoke in disbelief.

“I have already given one oracle. I even declared that Mide Mohan is a hero.”

“Humans can’t tell which ones came from you anyway. If you deliver another oracle here, they will assume the first one Idria gave was yours as well.”

“……”

“That lie will only strengthen Idria’s power. And it will also raise Kaeld’s fame. Two birds with one stone, isn’t that a fine scheme?”

Adin sneered.

“A fine scheme for whom?”

“In any case, if this conversation is going to drag on, would you mind reducing your form a little? My neck is getting sore from having to look up the whole time.”

“From humanity’s perspective, two oracles have already been given. If I add another, that will make three in total. It would be unprecedented in history.”

Velosian spoke again.

“Just shrink down a little. My neck really hurts.”

“If I keep handing out oracles like this, what will mankind think of me? It would be madness, undermining my own authority. That would only shake their faith.”

“……”

“Above all, this would go beyond ‘passive cooperation.’ I cannot afford to relive that same miserable humiliation again.”

“Sigh.”

Velosian let out a light breath.

Then, calmly, or perhaps coldly, he said:

“I will say it one last time. Shrink down.”

“……! Y-you dare order me?”

“Yes. Isn’t the atmosphere clear enough?”

“You lunatic. No matter who you are, you cannot order me!”

Just then…

Snap.

Velosian flicked his fingers lightly.

And something shocking happened.

“N-no! Impossible.”

The brilliant light of Adin that filled the sky began to diminish.

No. Shrink.

Just like when he fought Mide’s party.

No, worse than that.

The pure white light cloaking his body was completely gone.

What remained was only an old man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles.

“H-how…”

Adin touched his face, wearing an indescribable expression.

Velosian spoke.

“Now we can speak eye to eye. You should have listened when I asked nicely.

“Velosian! How can you possibly do such a thing?”

“……”

“O-of course, I know full well you’re on a much higher plane than I am. But this is the starting point! This isn’t the ‘special room!’ How can you weaken me like this here?”

Desperation rang in Adin’s cry.

Velosian answered lightly.

“You’re right. As I am now, I’m weaker than Mide.”

“Y-yes. Even Mide could never reduce me to this. Then how…?”

“But when it comes to you, Adin Press, I can do whatever I want.”

“H-how?”

Velosian answered casually.

“Because all the faith humans have piled before you… was born from lies.”

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