Chapter 306: Chapter 270: Imperial Palace (1)

An extremely awkward silence filled my room.

So, uh…

Because we quite literally made tens of thousands of people in that field having an emotional breakdown, we returned into the portal the moment we got the chance to, as if we were trying to run away.

“U-Uhm…”

The speed of our retreat was so overwhelming, to the point that Victoria, who always wore a cold look, asked such a question with a dumbfounded look.

“Are you sure everything’s going to be okay even if you were to stop doing…that…you know…?”

“Yeah, we’ve done enough.”

To that, I cut her words off with a shrug.

We really had done enough.

How could I tell? Well, because I was seeing clear proof of it before my eyes.

[ You have neutralized most of the Upper Nobles Association’s military force! ]

[ Majority of nobles who belong to the association are scared to death. It adds to the chaos in their camp! ]

[ People who lost their will to fight keep increasing! ]

We really hadn’t done anything big, that was why such a doubtful reaction even came out in the first place. I just summoned the Purple Devil, made her sing a song that moved the people’s heart deeply, that was it.

But, if we were to look at the result of those small actions…

We, three unarmed people, went up against ten thousands of people who were clearly hostile against us.

And somehow, we managed to neutralize them all without returning their hostility.

Not only that, if someone were to ask those people to explain what happened, all of them would give out a strange answer; they were unable to bring themselves to fight.

With that in mind…

I basically made everyone in the continent know that I had the means to neutralize ‘large scale troops’ at once, and said means were pretty much unknown.

[—Don’t forget that you fondled those girls’ chests.]

“…”

[The whole continent is going to know of your perverted deeds.]

“…”

[They’re gonna scream out your name. Dowd Campbell! Dowd Campbell!]

…Let’s not talk about such useless things!

What I was trying to say here was that all kinds of uncanny stories and tales of heroism about me would spread around the continent like an avalanche, so it wouldn’t be strange for the Upper Nobles Association to restrict their movements for the time being.

“…Teach, I understand that you’re in the middle of making up some kind of what-if scenes of the future in your head, but…”

While I was occupied with my thoughts, Iliya, who was in charge of opening the portal to travel between here and the plain, interrupted me.

“…Could you tell me what that is first?”

She asked while pointing in a certain direction.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Purple Devil’s Fragment that came out of Seras’ body, still floating in the air.

Well, not really, it was more like she was sticking on my back as if I was giving her a piggyback. Seeing how her color was paler than earlier, it seemed like she had consumed quite a lot of energy when she was singing a moment ago,

She’d probably disappear soon.

“…Um, she’s a Devil…?”

“…”

When I gave out that simple explanation, Iliya threw me a glare, as if asking, ‘Are you kidding me?’.

She probably also wondered why such a thing came out and tried to casually chat with me like this too, but…

“…I don’t know… It just worked out like that…?”

Even I didn’t know the whys or hows…

I was still in the middle of examining the ‘abilities’ of the Fallen’s Seal by trying to use them one by one, I still hadn’t found out the principle behind it…

“…Could I assume that you were the one who called that thing out…?”

“…Umm…I guess so, yeah…?”

Though, I could give her a vague confirmation to that question at the very least.

“…”

But, the moment she heard my answer…

Iliya narrowed her eyes quickly.

As if she had heard something she shouldn’t have heard.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

As Iliya muttered gloomily, Victoria, who was sitting beside her, made a curt remark.

“…I hope I won’t ever see her again in the future. She looks too much like Seras—”

[You know…]

But, before she could finish her words…

The Purple Devil, who had been clinging on my back silently, suddenly opened her eyes wide and cut her off.

It was so sudden that even Victoria, out of all people, was startled because of it.

[Don’t you think it’s better to be a little honest sometimes?]

“…What?”

Victoria asked that in a flustered voice, meanwhile the Purple Devil just continued calmly.

Unlike usual, her voice didn’t sound flippant. Instead, she sounded so serious to the point that she almost seemed like a mature person.

[It isn’t like you’re picking fights with Seras because you hate her. You just can’t be honest with yourself. Am I wrong?]

“…”

[Hehe, this unnie can see through it all, you know~?]

After saying those words, the Purple Devil disappeared right away, as if her time was up.

Since she was unable to refute before the Devil disappeared, Victoria’s perplexion grew deeper than before.

Which was funny because at first she looked so stunned since she never expected that the Devil would talk to her in such a friendly manner. Now, she looked as if her spirit had left her body because of the absurdity of what had just happened.

“…”

This girl lowkey seemed to be easily swayed by the people around her.

“…Ahem, anyway…”

I changed the subject while clearing my throat.

“We managed to prevent the Upper Nobles Association from raising their army, which is great, but we still can’t afford to let our guard down.”

During the previous fights, we hadn’t seen anyone that was related to the most important personnel of the Upper Nobles Association.

Marquis Bogut and Count Nicholas.

They were the biggest obstacles of this chapter, and people whose movements could change the direction of the chapter easily.

“…Come to think of it…”

Iliya added as if something suddenly came to her mind.

“I’ve been noticing something strange about Maquis Bogut.”

“…Something strange?”

“I haven’t heard any news about him. At all.”

A slight frown appeared on her face as she said that.

“…”

What the hell is she talking about?

I asked that question to her with my gaze, she continued while shrugging her shoulders.

“All kinds of incidents have been happening ever since Teach started invading Ravel Comital. Normally, this is the part when he should’ve made his move, or at least, made some kind of statement, but… He hasn’t done anything. It would be one thing if he’s unrelated, but he’s the leader of the Upper Nobles Association…”

“…”

That… Yeah, she got a point, that was strange…

I actually tried to predict his moves a lot of times, but I never woulda thought he would just do nothing at all like this.

As I thought so while stroking my chin, someone suddenly burst the door open and came in.

It was Eleanor, who was wearing an expressionless face as usual.

“…Um, Eleanor?”

Before I could ask her what brought her here, she already stated what it was in an urgent tone.

“Dowd, we need to go right now. Chancellor Sullivan has summoned us.”

“What?”

That person? Now?

What’s going on? Why suddenly—?

“We received an intel that Marquis Bogut is heading towards the Imperial Palace.”

Upon hearing that…

Iliya let out a bitter smile, as if saying, ‘I knew it,’ meanwhile, I narrowed my eyes.

“The chancellor said that he has something to talk about regarding that with you.”

Alright…

Guess we’re going to find out why he was being so quiet.

●

“…Seraphim.”

After leaving Dowd’s room, Iliya called out to the Holy Sword in a low voice.

“You saw that too, right?”

Usually, the angel was like an enemy who wouldn’t come out no matter how many times she called her. But this time around, Iliya was completely sure that she would at least reply.

After all…

They had seen ‘it’ together just now.

[Saw what? The way he handles other Devils in the way that he wanted to?]

“…”

Hearing the angel’s voice that managed to accurately sort out the ‘uneasiness’ that she was vaguely feeling, Iliya’s movement stopped.

“…I want to hear your opinion on this, Seraphim.”

[Don’t bother, you already know what’s going on. He’s shown it at the School Festival or whatever before, and what he just did should hammer in the point you already knew all this time even more.]

The seraphim replied slowly with a yawn, as if she was intentionally provoking her.

[He’s already stopped being a human, and is at the point of no return.]

Iliya gritted her teeth as the angel continued her words.

[Yes, this is related to the Devils. Actually, he might be in the process of turning into a Devil himself. One thing for sure is that he has a higher ‘status’ compared to the rest of them though.]

“…”

It all sounded like a bunch of nonsense.

The fact that the Devils held the highest status among all dimensions was something Iliya already knew.

But…

She couldn’t just ignore the fact that the man had materialized the Purple Devil’s Fragment like that. This suggested that he had the ability to ‘interfere’ with the Devil’s power in one way or another.

[Of course, he hasn’t reached that point yet, but seeing how he’s able to exert his influence on them like that, when he’s finally finished growing, that will probably turn out to be the case. He’ll probably turn into the king of the Devils or something.]

“…”

[And you should already be aware of this already, but…]

Iliya could only clench her mouth shut as the seraphim continued.

The angel still talked slowly, but the emotions hidden behind her words had been extremely sharpened.

[If he actually reaches that point, the angels of the Astral Realm would try to kill him.]

“…”

[I will remind you, the reason for the hero’s existence is to overpower the Devils. You don’t need me to spell it out, right?]

“…Teach hasn’t completely turned into a Devil.”

[As I’ve said, he’s already starting to turn into something inhuman, and he’s at the point of no—]

“Seraphim.”

Iliya called out to the angel, there was an unexpected smirk on her face.

As if she was saying…

That she had no thought of backing off no matter what the seraphim thought.

“He still hasn’t become a Devil completely,  no?”

[…]

“So, let’s leave it at that until we’re sure that he has turned into a complete Devil.”

Her tone was polite, but it was clear that she was threatening the angel to not cross the line.

Hearing this, the seraphim let out a deep sigh.

[…Oh my, it seems like I’ve lost too much of my power. This human hero even dares to turn on me just because of a single man.]

She was telling the truth.

Then again, she never expect that the hero would be so blinded by love that she willingly turned on one of the highest ranking angels like this.

“…Anyways.”

Hearing the seraphim’s grumble, Iliya continued with a smirk.

“Even if it turns out that way, I’ll deal with it in my own ways.”

[Hm?]

“I’ll find a way to protect him.”

‘Whatever’ it is that he’d turned into…

What I’d need to do won’t change.

I’ll protect him no matter what.

She made such a vow as she silently stroked the hilt of the Holy Sword.

[…Even if all the angels of the Astral Realm are going to come out and kill him, you’ll still try to protect him?]

“Yes.”

[Are you telling me that you’re going to fight against all the angels? You aren’t being serious right now, right?]

The seraphim asked in a dumbfounded voice.

But Iliya answered her without any hesitation.

“He’s someone I fall in love with. What else should I do?”

[…]

Forget it.

Blinded by love? This isn’t a simple case of that.

The seraphim then made a remark in a stunned voice.

[…You’ve gone nuts, haven’t you, Hero?]

“Well, they said that people who love each other will resemble each other. Considering how crazy Teach is, it’s no wonder that I was influenced by him.”

She replied so casually.

As if confirming the seraphim’s accusation.

However this time, the angel had something she could dig into, and so she pointed it out sharply with a snort.

[Didn’t you notice the amount of women around him? Who knows if he actually loves you back—]

“Shut the fuck up.”

[…]

What came back was a threatening bark that was able to make even the seraphim shut her mouth for a moment.