CH 177.1

Chapter 177.1. Rumors At The New Year’s Party

“What’s going on with Solomon?”

Sena-san reacted to Masatoshi’s muttering and asked. It’s incredible how she responded to a mutter like that. It’s as if she’s attentively listening to every word I say, hanging on to my every syllable.

One would ask, “Did you say something?” as a default response, right? But Sena-san, who even remembers names perfectly, possesses remarkable hearing abilities.

Truly befitting of a saint.

However, Masatoshi’s face twitched uncomfortably. He didn’t want her to display that ability here.

“Solomon, that group of monster tamers, right? They were also scheming during the Coming-of-Age Party.”

“D-Did I… say something like that? Maybe it was a mistake with somen noodles.”

Masatoshi quickly came up with a genius way to deceive her.

“I heard you say, Solomon. Ah, but since we’re not in the right place, let’s go to the corridor.”

Sena-san decisively stated, gripping his hand tightly. She proceeded to pull Masatoshi forcefully, leading him to an empty corridor.

“To be safe, I’ll use a counterespionage magical tool.”

Sena-san casually said as she took out a magical device from her pocket and activated it. The space is distorted, making it impossible for anyone to eavesdrop.

They were alone. It felt somewhat thrilling, like a clandestine meeting between a couple. Masatoshi’s heart raced with excitement.

“W-We… we kind of look like a couple, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do. So, what is Solomon planning to do?”

Masatoshi blushed and tried to cover it up with embarrassment. But Sena-san asked, getting closer to his face with a serious expression, despite Masatoshi’s embarrassment and attempts to deceive her without changing his facial expression.

Their noses were almost touching, and when Masatoshi’s gaze wandered, Sena-san firmly held his cheeks and forced him to face her directly.

She forced me to turn around and face me directly.

Sena-san’s face was up close, and he could count the number of her eyelashes at such a close distance. Her crimson eyes were beautiful, and her adorable features tempted him to pucker his lips, but Masatoshi’s main heroine was oblivious to such thoughts. Instead, she stared at him with sharp eyes, getting closer.

“So, Aguni Dukedom has discovered something, haven’t they?”

“Y-You’re being quite direct, Sena-san,”

Masatoshi replied, blushing. He thought she should have been more indirect like a noble would be. But Sena-san frowned slightly.

“Of course, I’ll do it when the time is right. Aren’t we in a relationship, Masatoshi-san? Shouldn’t we have no secrets from each other?”

“W-Well… Have you changed, Sena-san?”

While showing a gentle smile, Sena-san also displays a strong determination, causing me to feel a sense of unease. I can’t pinpoint exactly what’s different, but she seems to have grown stronger.

“Is that so? It must be because of you, Masatoshi-san…”

“Because of me? Could it be… love?!”

I try to ask with an expression of joy, but Seina-san beats me to it.

“I felt reassured seeing that you have changed. I became confident that what I did was not a mistake.”

“Uh… the curly perm is just for today?”

When I ask if she liked the curly perm that much, she sighs for some reason.

“So, you’re planning to hide it… Are you not going to tell me, Masatoshi-san?”

With watery eyes, Seina confronts me. Looking into those eyes, Masatoshi can’t keep silent any longer.

However, confessing with a serious face, “Actually, I’m a reincarnated person from another world,” would surely lead to her getting angry, thinking I’m teasing her, or worrying that she’ll use recovery magic.

And then, she would keep her distance subtly, and the rest of his life would be spent as a background character. That scene vividly appears in Masatoshi’s mind.

So, I decided to tell a story mixed with lies.

For Masatoshi, who is a god, such deception is a piece of cake.

“Well, Aguni Dukedom has their information broker, and I heard some strange rumors from them.”

It’s a matter, of course, nobles have a confidential informant, so Sena-san doesn’t question it. I continued my story, making a serious face at the beautiful girl who nodded her head with a small hmmm.

“A group called Solomon has landed in Japan. As you know, that group commands powerful monsters known as “devils” and is involved in various incidents.”

“That’s right. They have similarities with Nidhogg and its ideology. Unlike Nidhogg, which idealizes the world’s rebirth, this group claims to be descendants of King Solomon and aims for nothing but the domination of this world.”

Long ago, there was a king named Solomon who commanded 72 Demon Gods and ruled the world. The Solomon Order is a group claiming to be descendants of Solomon, and they fit the template novel trope of aiming for world domination.

In the original story, Solomon occasionally made appearances. They would summon powerful monsters to torment the protagonist, Shin, and his harem party.

Unlike Nidhogg, who was eventually destroyed by Shin Solomon Order was different. It wasn’t surprising Shin, and his harem couldn’t defeat the Solomon Order, they were a formidable group. Victory remembers this well.

Presumably, the original author wanted to imprint in the readers’ minds Nidhogg was the fated enemy. Perhaps the author believed that having two major organizations destroyed would diminish the impact.

That’s why the enemy leader didn’t appear in the original story. In reality, the final boss, Demon God Ashtaroth, is one of the 72 Demon Gods of Solomon.

However, Solomon was treated as a mid-boss and a low-level combatant.

But precisely because they were treated as mid-boss, they were conveniently utilized and operated secretly.

At the beginning of the original story, the Japanese Magic Empire was in a precarious situation. The power of Duke Kanna was immense, and his Susano’o Units were engaging in tyrannical behavior. One reason for this was that, from the dungeons, an unprecedented number of monsters had appeared.

This situation happened because of the collaboration between Duke Kanna and Solomon Order, who conducted magic experiments in various dungeons.

These experiments involved controlling numerous monsters. As a result, monsters gradually emerged from the dungeons, causing damage to villages and towns.

To exterminate them, the Susano’o Units played an active role, causing an increase in the number of people who lost their homes and possessions due to monster attacks, increasing poverty. The nobles earned money by selling the defeated monsters. Duke Kanna, who led the Susano’o Units, expanded his influence even further, creating a chain of events.