CHAPTER 67: EVIL INFILTRATION [2]

Though his expression seemed somewhat dubious, Hyde accepted it.

Seeing the future doesn’t make sense, and if there was another possibility, it would mean he directly planned this incident...

That would mean he was an evil one.

Hyde, who had served his master for many years, knew better than anyone that his master couldn’t be an evil one.

"Then I’ll take my leave. Call if you need anything."

"Alright."

Hyde left. Gerhard routinely took out blueprints and began to sketch.

He didn’t know when the next future would appear, but having put out the urgent fire, it was time to fully focus on golem design again.

***

"...This is driving me crazy."

Bella Hoenne munched on a sweet parfait.

"It feels like I’ve stepped into a swamp I can never escape. I’m really troubled."

"Bella, you look really happy right now."

"It’s the sugar. The sugar."

But it wasn’t a lie that she was troubled.

Honestly, when Luina asked for help, she was half-skeptical. But seeing an actual evil one with her own eyes made it feel different.

"Aren’t you bothered at all?"

"It’s not my first time."

"Right, that’s true. No, that’s not it. Does it make sense not to be bothered just because it’s not your first time?"

Evil ones?

Bella swallowed her next words, considering the eyes around them.

"And why doesn’t Gerhard hand it right over to the academy? Shouldn’t measures be taken?"

"He said it’s because we don’t know for sure who’s an enemy and who’s an ally."

"That... makes sense."

She had been infected with evil energy despite living a normal daily life.

This wouldn’t make sense unless there were evil ones within the academy.

"Then what’s the plan?"

"For now, I’m trusting Gerhard."

Based on what he had shown so far, he was certainly trustworthy. He had properly handled both Veriana’s issue and this incident.

"So when did you start working with Gerhard? When you became pairs?"

"That’s right."

"I thought something seemed off, but this explains everything."

"...What do you mean?"

"No, honestly, even after hearing your explanation, I wasn’t completely convinced."

That Luina, who couldn’t get along with Goldenheim, would form a pair with Gerhard.

He said he judged based on grades without personal feelings, and she was actually hiding her abilities, but honestly, it was hard to believe at face value.

She had just gone along with it because Luina said so, but the doubt hadn’t completely disappeared.

"But if it’s about evil ones, that’s different. I know what kind of person you are."

The epitome of a knight with a strong sense of justice.

If they had joined forces to face evil ones together, it made perfect sense.

"...That’s..."

Not true.

But Luina didn’t have the courage to tell the truth that she had joined for money, breaking her friend’s illusion.

"...Yes. That’s right."

"I knew it! Those people who were saying nonsense about you falling for money should all know the truth."

"...Y-yeah."

In the end, Luina had no choice but to tell a white lie.

***

For Aint Armian, everything felt like a dream.

"Suddenly, a horde of sea monsters attacked the ship, an evil one appeared targeting my life, and I agreed to cooperate with Senior Gerhard..."

The events that transpired in an instant were like a wave. All he had done was be swept along with the flow.

But the outcome was the best.

That was true.

In the end, thanks to Gerhard, Aint escaped a near-death crisis, obtained the first emperor’s legacy, and could now openly discuss demons.

"Plus, Senior Luina too..."

Tsk, that’s not what’s important right now.

But objectively speaking, Luina Berchef’s abilities were beyond imagination.

If she became a definite ally, she would undoubtedly be immensely reliable.

"But is it really true? That there are already quite a few people contaminated by evil ones."

Probably. At least, this human called Bella definitely had traces of being contaminated by evil energy and then recovering.

That was, above all, clear evidence.

We must stop it. No matter what.

There had been humans contaminated by evil energy in the past as well.

They showed no particular abnormalities normally, but when they encountered a catalyst, they began to rampage.

"A catalyst?"

A ritual of demons. When the ritual activates, they rampage and attack everything around them indiscriminately.

Then we couldn’t even respond properly. They were, after all, just humans being used.

"So if something happens, there’s no solution?"

That’s how it was when we first encountered it. Later, it was surprisingly easy. The first emperor took care of all of them.

You can do it too, Aint.

The Armian family’s swordsmanship was antithetical to demonic power. It also had the effect of purifying evil energy that had contaminated others’ bodies.

"Then shouldn’t we immediately go around the city and purify the contaminated evil energy..."

Have you forgotten what the upstart said? Moving hastily when we don’t know who the evil ones are could be problematic.

That’s why Gerhard had asked him to stay put for now.

How about finding that guy that the upstart introduced to you for now? There’s too little you can do alone.

Since there’s nothing you can do immediately, it would be good to prepare for the future.

"Yes."

Before parting with Gerhard, Aint was introduced to someone from the same year.

"First, as a token of trust, I’ll introduce you to a reliable comrade. It would be good for you to have a comrade from the same year when dealing with evil ones, right?"

And a quite capable one at that.

Aint got ready to go out and headed to Lavidus Hall.

After using the token Gerhard had given him to request a meeting and waiting, someone soon came to find him.

"...Aint Armian?"

The face of the soon-to-be comrade, Veriana Kalproten, contorted.

"...Why are you here? Where’s Senior Gerhard?"

Honestly, he couldn’t believe it when he first heard. He knew how much Veriana disliked him.

But Gerhard had assured him.

"Don’t worry. In the end, he will have no choice but to become an ally who helps you."

"How can you be sure? Let me tell you the magic spell that will make him follow you."

"Veriana."

Aint called his name softly.

"It was me who called you. Not Senior Gerhard."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How did you get that token..."

"You."

Aint took a step closer to Veriana and whispered in his ear.

"Were an evil one, weren’t you?"

"...Huh?"

Veriana’s complexion turned deathly pale.