I immediately used the Eye of Omniscience to reveal the secret between Velosian and Adin.

There’s no way Kaeld could have a power that absorbs another’s fame. If he did, he would have absorbed mine long ago.

Adin wouldn’t have willingly given his reputation to Kaeld either. The only remaining possibility was Velosian’s scheme.

The Eye of Omniscience has been used.

The current level of the Eye of Omniscience is 5. Accessible secret rank: S-grade.

Selection condition: “The secret between Velosian and Adin Press.”

The secret is classified as S-rank. Accessing.

As expected, it was an S-rank secret.

Secrets I couldn’t have known before were revealed to me.

I felt an odd sense of relief at first, but by the time the vision ended, only emptiness remained.

“Your power? Then why bother using me at all? Why not kill Mide yourself?”

“Because I still can’t leave the special room. And even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to defeat Mide outside it anymore.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“Come with me into the room. There, I will grant you a portion of my power.”

Tak.

With that exchange between Velosian and Kaeld, the vision ended.

Time returned to its normal flow.

I spoke to my party.

“It was Velosian’s doing.”

“Hm? Ah, you used the Eye of Omniscience.”

“Yeah.”

“But what do you mean, Velosian’s doing?”

I let out a sigh.

“He killed Adin. Ironically, it was Velosian who granted Mime’s request.”

“……!”

“Velosian killed Adin and transferred his fame over to Kaeld.”

“W-wait. Is that even possible?”

“Yeah. He can’t raise or lower someone’s fame himself. But he can transfer it… by killing the person.”

And the more important part…

“A long time ago, he transferred Impelium’s fame to Adin the same way.”

“……!”

“And Velosian was…”

I swallowed hard at this point.

“…the Demon King of Lies of that era.”

“……!”

“That’s as far as I could uncover.”

“So Idria is… what, Velosian’s successor?”

“More like his daughter. Though I doubt it was a loving father–daughter bond.”

My earlier sowing of discord should still be working.

Silence lingered among us for a while.

After a while Lisel spoke.

“Where is Kaeld now?”

“Seems Velosian took him.”

“Ah, then…”

“Yeah. The imperial palace’s underground gate. More precisely, the special room. That’s where Velosian and Kaeld are.”

I crossed my arms.

“Let’s sort this out. There are three beings that currently threaten humanity.”

“Kaeld, Velosian, Idria.”

“Right. Those three must be dealt with. Well, if you count the Fingers of Lies, there are more, but let’s lump them in with Idria. What we need to decide here is…”

Offense picked up.

“…the order.”

“Exactly. Which one do we take out first? In what order would it benefit us most?”

Everyone fell into thought.

Then it happened.

Knock knock.

Along with the knock, a voice came from outside.

“Hero. And honored champions. I am Salt, commander of Alkahad.”

“Alkahad?”

So they had already chosen a new commander after Patrick’s Black Sun incident.

Seems plenty happened in the empire while we were occupied.

“May I trouble you to open the door?”

Back when I was still running mercenary jobs, I never imagined I would hear such formal speech from the commander of Alkahad.

I rose and opened the door.

Outside stood not only Commander Salt but also several well-trained members, all standing respectfully.

“What brings you here?”

Salt bowed deeply, as though he dared not meet my eyes.

[The commander of Alkahad wouldn’t even bow that low to the emperor.]

‘Well, I did just gain literally godlike fame. To people, I probably look like some divine being.’

[Heh. Must feel good.]

‘Not at all.’

Honestly, it was unsettling.

Trail looked puzzled, but without explaining further, I addressed Salt.

“Please, raise your head.”

“Hero. On behalf of all who live in this age, I offer you our deepest gratitude.”

“Ah, uh… sure.”

“His Majesty the Emperor wishes to receive you. Would it be a sin to take the liberty of asking for your precious time?”

What kind of nonsense is this?

Neril cut in.

“Receive you? I mean, Mide was impressive and all, but isn’t that wording a bit much?”

“The words were chosen directly by His Majesty.”

“……”

“And if I may add my own humble opinion, I regret that no better words could be found.”

“……”

“We would not presume to demand you come immediately. It is already late in the evening, after all. We merely request that, should you ‘wish it,’ you grace us with your presence tomorrow at 10 in the morning. His Majesty will await you.”

“……”

“Please rest well.”

He bowed again.

Then, like someone retreating from a royal audience, he took several steps backward before leaving.

Creak. Click.

I shut the door and turned back to the others.

Everyone wore an awkward smile.

Adwin spoke.

“Guess this really was a huge deal. So this is what 1.2 million fame looks like.”

“You are not far behind either.”

“Huh?”

“Hold on.”

I asked Trail to display the party’s reputations.

Neril Slane / Total fame: 727,160

Xenia Seide / Total fame: 714,390

Adwin Ayn / Total fame: 708,500

Offense Dake / Total fame: 690,970

Lisel Vint / Total fame: 689,400

Serein Magnus / Total fame: 676,880

As expected.

Everyone’s fame had nearly doubled.

I relayed the numbers to them.

Serein clutched her head.

“I’m last again!”

“You could have avoided it if you had joined earlier. Even if you had switched sides during Tetra’s Great Earthquake, you would have been better off than now.”

“I have already regretted that for ages, so stop rubbing it in.”

“Well, it works out. Once we break the Branch of Corruption, we will be able to use those fame too.”

Neril leaned back in her chair.

“Back then, it only took about 300,000 fame to wield Dor Ascané across the whole continent. Now I have double that. It will be a huge help.”

I gave her a probing look.

“You don’t sound all that happy about it.”

“…I am glad we can support you more. But…”

She trailed off.

Xenia picked up where she left off.

“Commander Salt’s attitude just now.”

“Wasn’t that way too formal?”

“Formal enough to make me flinch a little.”

“……”

“Do you think Adin actually liked seeing that kind of submissiveness? Seriously, that guy’s tastes were impossible to figure out.”

Yeah.

My companions, myself included, were burdened by the fame that had risen too high, and the way people’s attitudes toward us shifted to match it.

And I actually liked that awareness very much.

[What exactly do you like about it?]

‘You once said it, didn’t you? That building fame is like a drug, and if you’re not careful, you will get swept away.’

[Did I?]

‘You did. You unconsciously hit the truth. If you let yourself get swallowed up, that’s when you become another Adin, or Kaeld.’

But judging by my party’s reactions, I didn’t have to worry about that happening to them.

That somehow made me feel warm inside.

Neril frowned at the satisfied smile on my face.

“You’re smiling now? We never finished our earlier discussion.”

“Let’s rest one more day.”

“What?”

“Tomorrow, let’s meet with the emperor and talk it over calmly. Anyway, no matter how much we rack our brains, nothing new will come out now.”

“Hm. You look weirdly cheerful.”

“Of course I am. I’m really, really happy.”

I spoke on in a gentle voice.

“I’m really happy you’re all my party members.”

That night.

An unexpectedly grand party took place.

In a dream.

I blinked and looked around.

I could see my party members.

They all wore the same baffled expression I had.

Even Trail was standing there, just like last time.

Neril was the first to press her forehead.

“No way. This is going too far.”

“What is?”

“…Since it’s a dream anyway, I will just speak freely. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind spending all 24 hours of the day with you.”

“……”

“But to have you show up so vividly even in a dream? What am I supposed to do with that? It’s embarrassing.”

So Neril thinks this is just a dream.

Well, it is a dream, but not quite the kind we would normally define it as.

She kept grumbling.

“And if you’re going to appear, why not just you? Why are the others here too?”

“Neril.”

“This way… you know… that sort of thing can’t happen.”

“Hey.”

“Then again, maybe it doesn’t matter since it’s a dream? No, no way. That’s not happening. I don’t have that kind of taste.”

“This feels like Impelium summoned us. Just like last time.”

Neril froze.

She stiffly turned her head.

Everyone else was grinning mischievously at her.

“Never thought I would see Miss Neril spouting nonsense like that. You have really changed since we first met.”

“But she is getting a bit shameless. Act your age.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What does that even mean?”

“Someone please bring our Adwin back. Back to the pure days.”

“It’s too late. There’s no going back now. Don’t you think so too, Trail?”

“Yep! I think so!”

“Yikes.”

That was the sort of chatter going around.

Neril’s face flushed so red it looked like it might burst.

She even flailed her hands as she made excuses.

“N-no, that can’t be! This isn’t the same room as before, right?”

“……”

“Look. There’s a table here and dishes full of food. It’s only natural I got confused.”

“Nobody said anything, so calm down.”

“Yeah, calm down.”

That last voice was Impelium’s.

We turned toward the sound.

He was dressed a little differently than last time.

How should I put it… like a noble attending a banquet in his finest attire? That kind of feel.

“Impelium. Where is this?”

“My dining hall.”

“What?”

“Why so surprised? If I can invite you into my room, why not my dining hall?”

“……”

“You have accomplished something great this time. After much hardship, you achieved big results. I brought you here to celebrate that.”

He casually pulled out a chair.

“Everyone, take a seat. And eat comfortably. I guarantee the taste.”

Creak.

We sat down for now.

Serein teased.

“Well, even if you guarantee the taste, can it really compare for us who are used to Lisel’s cooking?”

Lisel modestly cut in.

“Please don’t say things like that. I still have a long way to go.”

“You’re grinning though.”

“No I’m not. There are plenty of chefs in this world better than me.”

While the others chatted, I picked up a spoon.

I had already drunk Impelium’s tea last time, so it wasn’t like it mattered, but just in case, I took the first sip of soup myself.

And my eyes widened.

Lisel watched me closely.

“Huh? What’s with that reaction?”

“This is incredible.”

“Better than mine?”

“…No. Not better than you.”

“The pause is bothering me.”

“You yourself said there are plenty of chefs better than you.”

“That was just being polite. No way it’s true.”

Anyway, everyone tried their food.

Soon they all wore looks of admiration.

And then.

“Impelium. Is everyone here already?”

“Oh. Yes. Come on in.”

Impelium stood up.

Then smoothly pulled out the chair beside him.

The newcomer smiled gratefully at him.

“You didn’t need to go that far.”

“I wanted to.”

“Hehe.”

“Try some too. Everyone is enchanted by your cooking.”

Clatter.

Lisel dropped her spoon in shock.

“W-wait. Did you make this food? Could you maybe share the recipe?”

“There is something you should ask first.”

“Huh? What’s more important than the recipe?”

“My name.”

“…Ah.”

“Impelium, would you do the honors?”

I had a good idea already.

But before Impelium spoke, the woman introduced herself.

“My name is Serad. I’m Impelium’s wife.”

“……”

“And his former party member as well.”

Just as I thought.

I spoke to Impelium.

“So you were a hero after all. The hero who fought Velosian, the Demon King of Lies.”

“Yes.”

He dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

I took a deep breath and asked again.

“Can you tell us the details of that time?”

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