Impelium only answered with a smile.

At this rate, he was just going to brush it off again.

I changed my question.

“Let’s start simple. How many party members did you have in total?”

“Hmm… including me, four.”

“You, Adin, and Miss Serad here. Who was the last one?”

It was meant as just a light question to get the conversation flowing.

But at that moment, both Impelium’s and Serad’s expressions froze over.

The looks on their faces were so grim that even I flinched.

Serad spoke.

“Aktion Oscar. Impelium’s third party member.”

“Serad, that name…”

“What does it matter. It’s all in the past anyway. Isn’t it enough if we just keep quiet about the things Aktion did?”

“……”

“Fine. I will stop.”

Even I felt like I should stop there.

‘Better just cram that name into my head. Aktion Oscar.’

Perhaps to ease the mood, Serad spoke again in a gentle tone.

“Anyway, aren’t you going to eat?”

“……”

“There’s a limit to what this man can tell you. Please don’t press him too hard.”

“I don’t intend to. I haven’t said it outright, but I am truly grateful for all the help so far.”

“Hehe. You just said it now.”

Feeling the mood lighten, I threw Impelium another question.

“Just tell me this. It looked like Velosian took Kaeld.”

“Mm.”

“He is trying to give Kaeld some of his power.”

“Right.”

“Why would he do something like that?”

Impelium chuckled lightly.

“Velosian passed Adin’s fame to Kaeld, but even so, the gap with you is still too wide.”

“Wait. There’s something I don’t understand about that part too.”

I quickly cut in.

“How is it even possible to transfer fame?”

“……”

“No one on the continent is praising Kaeld anymore. Yet his fame is over 800,000. How can someone unwanted and unloved boast such fame?”

“That’s what’s terrifying about Velosian.”

Impelium’s expression darkened slightly.

“Velosian didn’t deceive humans. He deceived the world itself.”

“……”

“Even if no one on the continent recognizes Kaeld, the world perceives him as a ‘recognized hero.’”

“……”

“He doesn’t care in the slightest how humans see him. What matters is deceiving the world. Most of the lies he created weren’t tricks on humanity, they were lies forced onto the world itself.”

Suddenly, something clicked.

Idria, who gained power by deceiving humans.

Velosian, who gained power by deceiving the world.

This wasn’t even about strength or weakness.

Idria could never resist Velosian by any means.

I organized my thoughts for a moment, then returned to the point.

“So Velosian is sharing power with Kaeld? To make up for what he lacks.”

“Calling it a ‘lack’ isn’t accurate. Kaeld can’t turn fame into power.”

Ah. Right, Velosian said the same thing through the Eye of Omniscience.

Impelium spoke firmly.

“Do you think he is the type to abandon something precious to him?”

“Never.”

“Exactly. His fame is literally just fame. Without the resolve you all have, it’s nothing more than a number.”

“Then?”

“Velosian has to build Kaeld up from scratch. A tedious, grueling task.”

He dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

“And as you know, he and Kaeld are in the special room.”

“……”

“Next time Kaeld comes out, he will be on par with you. Maybe even stronger.”

I shook my head, not understanding.

“Why go so far to help Kaeld?”

“To help Idria, most likely.”

“Fine. Then let me rephrase. Why does Velosian want to help Idria? And don’t say it’s because he cherishes her like a daughter.”

“Of course not.”

Impelium laughed, as if I had told a funny joke.

But soon his face turned serious.

“That, you will have to find out yourself.”

“Again?”

“There’s something more important. Earlier I said Velosian deceived the world… but I don’t think you quite grasp how incredible that is.”

Impelium looked at Serad.

As if asking her to explain.

Sure enough, she spoke.

“Think about it, Mr. Mide. This world was made for humans and runs because of humans.”

“I don’t fully grasp it, but yes, it seems so.”

“And yet Kaeld’s fame, unrecognized by humans, has passed 800,000. Well… Kaeld will probably ruin it again with his nonsense, but at the moment, it’s an enormous fame.”

“……”

“Don’t you see what that means?”

I closed my eyes and thought.

Fame is bestowed by humans.

But Velosian, by deceiving the world, gave Kaeld 800,000 fame regardless of human will.

‘Wait. Don’t tell me…’

A sharp chill ran down my neck.

I straightened up.

“Let me put it this way. Velosian’s ‘true authority’ isn’t simply deceiving the world, is it?”

“Hm?”

“Deceiving the world is just the result of his authority. His real power is something more fundamental, isn’t it?”

“Heh. And what would that be?”

I turned my gaze from Impelium to my companions.

Then declared aloud for all of them to hear.

“Changing the laws of the world. That’s Velosian’s true authority.”

The banquet ended on a surprisingly pleasant note.

Hearing about Velosian’s true power had been grave, but the delicious food and light conversation eased the atmosphere.

Of course, the most reassuring thing was what Impelium said:

“It’s not like he can twist every law of the world as he pleases. At best, he can barely interfere with a few.”

“……”

“Still, even that was enough to kill me and raise Adin to a Celestial God.”

“Speaking of which… were you really killed? And this banquet hall and food, what world do they belong to?”

“That…”

“You’re going to say I should expand the Eye of Omniscience and find out myself, aren’t you.”

“You catch on quick now.”

And so, the banquet came to an end.

The moment we cleared away even the dessert Serad had prepared, my vision suddenly began to blur.

It must be time to go back.

“Come to think of it, you seemed to be mulling over whether to deal with Kaeld, Velosian, or Idria first.”

“Yeah.”

“Hm. That’s entirely for you to decide, but let me give you one hint.”

“……”

“It will take at least three months for Velosian to raise Kaeld’s strength. Well… to be precise, he can raise it quickly, but it will be exhausting. Recovering from that will take three months.”

That was useful information, but I grumbled as if to pry for more.

“So what? He can still send his body outside the special room.”

“No. Not this time. Sharing the Demon King’s power with a human means altering the laws themselves. It’s completely different from how Idria does it, who is also a Demon King of Lies.”

“……!”

“See what I mean? For the next three months, he will be stuck in that room to recover, and naturally he won’t be aware of what’s happening outside.”

The smile on his face was full of implication.

As if to say, “You understand what that means, don’t you?”

I was about to speak when Impelium’s words cut in.

“Well, you won’t be able to learn what goes on inside the room either. Even with your Eye of Omniscience at S-grade, that place is too unique a realm.”

“What about your Eye of Omniscience?”

“I can see it, but I won’t tell you.”

“Petty.”

“I am a little petty, yes.”

But it probably wasn’t really pettiness.

From experience, I knew that he only revealed information up to what my current Eye of Omniscience could perceive.

Perhaps it wasn’t that he refused to tell me more, he simply couldn’t.

I chuckled.

Then, beyond the blurring vision, I looked toward Serad.

“Your cooking was truly excellent.”

“Hehe. Thank you. It was worth the effort.”

“If it isn’t too much to ask, could you teach the recipe to Lisel?”

Lisel nodded so hard her head nearly fell off.

Serad replied,

“Very well. If you save the world, I will give it to you as a reward.”

That’s an easy condition.

After all, I was going to do that anyway.

The next morning.

We were heading toward the Emperor.

Seated in the finest carriage courteously sent by Alkahad, Xenia spoke.

“I’m hungry.”

“You always are.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“You don’t even hide it anymore, do you?”

“You know what I mean. Yesterday’s banquet.”

At that banquet, Xenia had asked for seconds five times.

Honestly, when she was about to request a sixth, I thought I saw a vein pop on Serad’s forehead.

She must have noticed and restrained herself.

“So the food isn’t sitting in your stomach anymore?”

“Exactly. Makes sense if you think about it. That mansion of Impelium’s clearly wasn’t a physical place.”

“Then just where was it?”

Nobody knew the answer, so all we could do was groan.

Then Serein shifted the topic.

“What do we do now?”

“Meet the Emperor.”

“And after that? Velosian is in the middle of raising Kaeld, remember.”

“……”

“You never finished deciding the order last night. Why not just storm the room and take them both down? Honestly, Idria feels like nothing compared to Velosian now.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be better to deal with Velosian first, who’s the more immediate threat, than Idria, who we can take care of anytime?”

Compared to Velosian, who was on another level, Idria’s name indeed sounded lighter.

But I shook my head.

“We still don’t know if we can beat Velosian.”

“But our fame has grown so much. Not just you, Mr. Mide, but all of us.”

“Even so, Velosian inside the special room is the one who killed Impelium.”

“Oh. Then…”

“Right. We go after Idria first.”

Silence filled the carriage.

If you think about it, our journey had begun with the goal of killing the Demon King of Lies, Idria.

Now that the time had come, it was only natural to feel a rush of emotion.

Then Neril spoke,

“Mide, you’re plotting something, aren’t you?”

“Hm?”

“You have got that look.”

“You’re sharp.”

“I have been watching you long enough. What are you scheming?”

I looked out the window.

The imperial palace was drawing near.

“I think we might be able to use Idria. To deal with the one beneath that palace.”

“Use a Demon King?”?”

“Yeah.”

“I doubt it. Velosian has been helping Idria. Sure, you drove a wedge between them last time, but still…”

Neril folded her arms and went on.

“From her perspective, Velosian is the one helping her. You’re the one trying to kill her. If she has to choose, it’s obvious which side she will take.”

I chuckled.

“If that’s true, how did my little trick work before?”

“Well…”

“My plan is to create a situation where, even knowing she is being used, she has no choice but to cooperate. I already have something in mind.”

Everyone looked like they wanted to ask what that was.

But the carriage began slowing down, so I decided to leave it for later.

The Emperor himself welcomed us.

The high ministers nearly fell to their knees to greet us.

At the end of the line stood the Emperor.

Instead of sitting on his throne, he bowed deeply and said,

“Heroes. I am humbled that you have come.”

Who else in the world could receive such courtesy from an Emperor?

From what history books say, even the First to Third-generation Heroes never received respect on this level.

And this very Emperor had spoken without honorifics just days ago.

Flustered, I said,

“Your Majesty, please don’t.”

“No, I must.”

“……”

“You have surpassed Kaeld Wake, chosen by the Celestial God. That means you are beings who have surpassed divine authority itself.”

“……”

“A being greater than the gods. Even the word ‘hero’ is no longer enough to describe you.”

As I had felt yesterday, I wondered if this was truly the dignity of 1.2 million fame.

But, just like yesterday, it wasn’t exactly pleasant.

I answered in a businesslike tone.

“Thank you for saying so. But rather than courtesy, I would prefer to speak of practical matters. If possible, with you alone.”

“Let’s move, then. This way.”

So we headed to the garden the Emperor led us to.

This time, there wasn’t even the presence of guards.

The Emperor composed himself, ready to listen.

I spoke.

“This meeting was arranged at your invitation. What business do you have?”

“If it’s no trouble, I would like to hear the details of this situation.”

“……”

“All the priests of the Empire are in an uproar. How could mere humans, by believing in you, nullify the Celestial God’s punishment?”

Well, that was only natural.

I fell silent in thought.

My mind raced.

Then I said to Neril,

“Prepare Append View. Velosian will be locked in his chamber this time, so he won’t be able to erase the recording.”

“Huh? What are you going to record?”

“The conversation I’m about to have with His Majesty.”

Neril nodded and formed a seal.

I turned back to the Emperor.

“I will tell you the truth. With my fame as it is now, anything I say will be accepted without question.”

At last, the time had come to reveal the truth to the world.

TL : Do you guys want to know who the final villain of this novel is? I will leave a spoiler in the comments

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