CH 274

The following day, I returned to the temple.

I had made a rather vague excuse, claiming I had been on a special mission under the instructions of Master Epinhauser.

Perhaps that was why neither Ellen nor Harriet were angry with me.

In truth, the recent events had been the most dangerous moments I had experienced in a while. I couldn't reveal the details, and ultimately, whether Ellen worried or not, I was the one seeking out danger.

I felt sorry.

But I couldn't avoid it, so my remorse grew even larger.

There would be many more such incidents in the future.

"What was the special mission?" Ellen asked.

I clicked my tongue briefly. "It wasn't so much a special mission... more of an excuse."

Had I caused trouble again?

Seeing Ellen's expression beginning to twist, I quickly shook my head. "It was related to Tiamata."

"Did you get caught?"

"Let's say..."

It was both true and false.

Charlotte and Sabiolin Tana knew that I had become the master of Tiamata.

Ultimately, I was lying, and I was terrified that Ellen would see through my deception.

"We decided to keep it a secret. There should be no other problems."

"...Thank goodness."

Ellen stared intently at me.

"Were you worried?"

"Yes."

Upon seeing Ellen's calm demeanor as she spoke those words, a sharp pang tugged at my heart.

"It's fine, as long as nothing happened."

That was all Ellen had to say.

Charlotte said that since nothing happened that night, she would spend the weekend in the Imperial Palace and then return to the temple.

Charlotte and I were to return to the temple together, as Berthold might find it strange otherwise. It seemed that there would be no issues for a few days.

Charlotte's survival had been confirmed as a turning point in history. Although the duration of this effect was unknown, there should be no issues for the time being.

A newly-acquired ability. It could be said that the role of inspiration was immense.

It had been a stormy few days. Yesterday was Friday, so today was the weekend.

In the end, everything had passed without incident. Ellen grabbed my arm.

"You have something to do."

"…Huh? What do I have to do? Training?"

"No."

Ellen vehemently shook her head.

"Study."

What an unexpected remark.

"Kids are waiting."

Ellen dragged me off somewhere, gripping my arm.

She led me to the A-class dormitory's study room.

Liana, Harriet, and Adelia were huddled together there.

"Ah, the protagonist has arrived. How did your special mission go?" Liana greeted me with a nervous expression. Harriet glanced at me and, with a determined look, suddenly stood up, while Ellen pulled me along and made me sit down.

"What is this all about... Right after I came back?"

Harriet placed a notebook in front of me.

"These are the key points and expected questions for the upcoming final exams. Ellen, Adelia, and I worked on this together."

No.

What did she just say?

Harriet's eyes sparkled.

Come to think of it, there were only a few days left until the final exams.

"If you study this, you won't finish last," she assured me.

No.

My friends.

Why do you move me with such a gesture?

"We can't lose to Ludwig again. Understand?"

I didn't really need this.

However, the serious expressions of Ellen, Harriet, and Adelia left me unable to say that I didn't care about my exam scores.

My rival is Ludwig.

How far have I fallen...?

------

Sunday.

Winter Palace.

Berthus received a report and sat quietly in his office chair. It wasn't his usual frivolous smile, but a tense, expressionless face.

Berthus read the report without any expression.

The content was simple.

The protective measures for Charlotte de Gradias and the Spring Palace, ordered by the Emperor, had been lifted.

"… Didn't they say they couldn't control that ability?"

"Yes, Your Highness. We thought that was the case, and it was expected that actions would be taken against the First Princess soon…"

Berthus had been concerned about Charlotte's ability not long ago.

A supernatural power to control shadows.

It was rather peculiar that someone who had been imprisoned in the Demon King's Castle would obtain such a power.

Depending on how it was framed, Charlotte's power could be seen as a dark power, and thus, it could be easily linked to a curse from the Demon King.

But there was no need to go that far.

There were some things that could not be covered up even if one tried.

The protective measures for the Spring Palace.

The news of Sabiolin Tana residing in the Spring Palace with minimal personnel.

The incident of a palace maid being murdered at midnight in the Spring Palace.

After considering various circumstances and deductions, Berthus had a hunch that Charlotte's end was not far off.

So, he left her be.

However, the lifting of the protective measures and the news of Charlotte's safety meant that somehow the matter had been resolved.

The rival he had expected to fall would rise again.

'Have I missed my chance?'

He should have taken advantage when the opportunity presented itself.

If the First Princess had successfully sealed the powers or something of the sort, the story of the cursed princess wouldn't have been convincing.

Moreover, it would have tarnished the imperial family's honor. The Emperor's wrath would be directed at him.

While a benevolent competition was impossible, the Emperor had desired it and commanded it.

He had the means to attack, but whether it was effective or not remained uncertain.

It was more likely to provoke the Emperor's displeasure.

'What on earth happened...?'

Leaving Charlotte alone had been an act of final mercy.

He hadn't been particularly keen on meddling with a dying princess. Pointlessly interfering might have only earned him baseless criticism.

If the situation was resolved, the battle would have to start anew.

How should he proceed?

"What about the Spring Palace's security?"

"It appears that it will be strengthened again."

"Hmm... It'll be difficult to obtain information now."

The once ironclad defenses would be reinforced again, making it even more challenging than before.

"Sabiolin Tana must have seen what happened..."

"She won't say a word."

"Yes, that's right."

It was the leader of Shanafel who heeded only the command of the Emperor. Sending her to the Spring Palace was an extraordinary event, for she had been striving to maintain perfect neutrality regarding the matter of imperial succession.

Had Charlotte's condition improved, she would have returned to neutrality.

"Investigate. Find out what happened. Whether the First Princess's condition has truly improved."

"Yes, Your Highness."

As the attendant withdrew, Berthus crossed his arms.

The downfall of his rival.

It seemed he should be in a foul mood now that it had been reversed.

Yet, strangely, Berthus didn't feel all that bad. Wasn't this a situation where he should be hitting the ground and hurling something in anger?

However, Berthus wore a smile.

'Hey, why the long face all the time? How unlucky.'

'What does it matter?'

'Well, it's even more unlucky when an already ugly face looks even more unhappy. Smile a little. Who's going to slap you for smiling?'

'Who dares to slap my cheek?'

'You always twist my words. You always hear them differently than I mean them.'

'You're the one who always speaks strangely, always starting quarrels.'

'Anyway, smile a little, will you? Your face is already unpleasant, and it gets worse when I see it.'

'Ah, you're truly annoying. If I smile, will you leave me be?'

'I don't know about leaving, but I might think of you as a little less unlucky.'

Berthus, who had rarely smiled, who hadn't smiled much since his mother's passing, tried on an awkward smile at that time.

'Well, that's a little better. Still unlucky, though.'

'What do you want me to do?'

He had exchanged such conversations when he was very young. He couldn't even remember how old he was then.

It was when he didn't despise his half-sibling as much as he did now.

It was when he didn't fully understand their relationship.

Just a cheeky fellow, that was Charlotte to Berthus, and he too was such a fellow to Charlotte.

The two were irreconcilable.

If one existed, the other should not.

He would have to fight the battle he thought had ended once again.

And that was a delightful prospect.

Berthus thought so as he quietly smiled in his office.

------

Name: Valier

Age: 17

Current stats: [Strength 10.2(C)] [Agility 9.9(C-)] [Dexterity 11.9(C)] [Magic 14.2(B-)] [Stamina 15.2(B-)]

Race: Arcdemon

Talent: Psychokinesis-Self Hypnosis, Psychokinesis-Word Magic, Magic Sensitivity, Magic Control

Traits:

[Sacred Mind] - Increased resistance to mental magic

[Hero's Bloodline] - Significantly increased growth limit, increased growth rate

[Sixth Sense] - Crisis detection

Abilities:

[Demon Control B] (Arcdemon unique ability) (Currently unusable in this state)

[Self Hypnosis A]

[Word Magic F]

[Magic Enhancement D]

Overall Ability Evaluation - Intermediate Demon King

Battle Level Evaluation - A

It had been a while since he last checked his status, and the increase was quite significant.

Influenced by the Hero's Bloodline, he could feel that the speed of his status increase had accelerated considerably.

His battle level was now ranked A.

It felt like just yesterday when he was at rank F, and he had come a long way since then.

Magic Enhancement had also become possible, and Self-Hypnosis had reached Rank A. Although it was the lowest rank, the power of Word Magic had awakened as well.

Interestingly, it was not that Self-Hypnosis had evolved into Word Magic, but rather that an additional psychic power had emerged.

A battle level of Rank A would now mean that I had nothing to fear when compared to others.

At some point, Demon Control had risen from Rank C to Rank B.

Rank F Word Magic.

I had reported this only to Master Epinhauser, and I was not sure whether he had fully understood the details, but we had agreed to keep it a secret.

It would probably be revealed during a physical scan, but Master Epinhauser would keep the secret.

As expected, even upon hearing that I had awakened a very powerful psychic ability called Word Magic, he merely said, "Is that so?"

I still do not know the extent of its usage. I have not had the leisure to experiment with it on my own.

Because I had to study for the final exams, forcibly entangled in the children's affairs.

The children did not know what had happened, and Word Magic was kept a secret from them.

The newly awakened power, Word Magic.

And the new information about Tiamata's usage.

It responds to my anger.

It was fortunate to have saved Charlotte, but ultimately, it was also necessary for myself.

"Reinhardt."

"Ah, Charlotte."

Charlotte returned on Monday morning.

Judging by her expression, nothing seemed to have happened while she was alone.

The shadow that always seemed to linger on Charlotte's face appeared to have been lifted.

I was tempted to ask Eleris about it, but I had decided not to speak of it.

If she knew that it was a trace of the Demon King, Eleris might try to intervene.

Sarkegaar would try to revive it, and Eleris would try to eradicate it.

Of course, there is a possibility that Eleris would not act upon my persuasion, but it is unlikely that Eleris could do anything that even the royal magicians could not.

I am the only one who can control Charlotte's power. The fewer people who know, the better.

And for now, it is difficult to leave the temple.

Due to the pressure from Harriet and Ellen to focus on our studies and not to sneak out.

As there seems to be no imminent threat to Charlotte's safety, I intend to observe the situation.

Having overcome the crisis with Charlotte, I now had to think about the next issue.

The revolutionary forces.

I had to think about what to do with them.

The royal family, the emperor, and even Charlotte's rival, Berthus, were all focused on the issue of Charlotte's death, and they seemed to have failed to grasp the revolutionary forces.

If left unaddressed, civil war or rebellion may break out in the empire, and if the Gate incident occurs, it could be the final blow to the staggering empire.

Without a doubt, the revolutionary forces must be eliminated.

But how to accomplish this?

Sarkegaar, who is responsible for infiltration and intelligence gathering, believes that I intend to use the revolutionaries to cause chaos in the empire and rebuild the demon world.

Hence, it was not possible to order Sarkegaar to eliminate all of their chieftains.

If I were to give information to Charlotte or Berthus, I would have no means to explain how I had come to know it.

The most plausible method that comes to mind is to claim that I learned it through the Thieves Guild.

However, the actual source of the information is not the Thieves Guild. If one were to investigate the Thieves Guild, it would be easy to discover that the source is false.

Charlotte's trust in me is stronger than Berthus's, so I wonder if it would be acceptable to simply say that I have such information without providing an explanation.

Time passed, but I struggled to make a decision.

I did not wish to influence the future succession structure.

To be precise, I did not want to take Charlotte's side and make an enemy of Berthus, nor did I want to support Berthus and bring about Charlotte's downfall.

It was not something that could be decided easily.

Amidst the many issues that lay scattered, time as a student continued to pass at the temple.

The final exams were just around the corner.

On Monday, apart from Charlotte's return, there were other changes.

It was presumed that Charlotte's current abilities had overcome the crisis.

This was only an 'assumption.'

Therefore, the royal family, or to be precise, the Emperor seemed to have not only allowed Charlotte to return to the temple but also thought of safety measures, naturally.

On Monday morning, before classes began, the first-year Royal Class students were briefly gathered at the dormitory.

Teachers Epinhauser and Mustlang introduced someone to us.

"Starting today, Lady Sabiolin Tana will be serving as the Royal Class first-year supervisor, responsible for your daily safety and dormitory discipline."

"Nice to meet you. I am Sabiolin Tana, entrusted with your daily safety and the discipline of your dormitory life."

Thus, Sabiolin Tana unexpectedly began to reside in the Royal Class dormitory.