Chapter 218
When Luca's friends learned he had awakened, they burst into tears.
They knew he had truly come close to dying this time.
The weeping they had been holding back poured out.
Next came anger.
They asked why he had pushed himself so far.
They questioned what would happen to those left behind if he kept sacrificing himself.
To this, Luca bowed his head with a wry smile.
"Sorry."
"... Ugh. That doesn't suit you at all."
His friends were alarmed by his unusual demeanor.
Then, they forgave him.
They told him to be with them from now on.
They said they didn't want to survive at the cost of his sacrifice.
Luca simply nodded with a faint smile.
"By the way, I heard a lot happened over the past month. What exactly happened?"
"Ah..."
At Luca's question, Milia wore a complicated expression.
Then, after a deep sigh, she turned her head slightly to the side and spoke.
"Well, first off, I became second in line to the throne. The third prince's faction essentially collapsed."
"?"
['Hint of the Undying Princess' has been completed.]
As she spoke, a notification floated up.
But Luca ignored it and looked at her.
"Explain in detail."
"So...."
With the death of the Devil of Wisdom Agreas, a major schism arose inside the third prince's faction.
There had already been groups reluctant to cooperate with Demonz, but because of the Devil of Wisdom, they had no choice.
When they realized the Devil of Wisdom was gone, they broke away.
"Originally, marquis Kisen and his magic corps seemed to rule over the other mages with support from the Devil of Wisdom. But when Marquis Kisen died and the Devil of Wisdom disappeared as well, those who had always opposed them rose up."
Duke Kimberly could have intervened, but it was said he did nothing.
"I heard even Duke Kimberly didn't like Marquis Kisen meddling so much. He'd only put up with it because of the Devil of Wisdom's power, but now he dropped him without hesitation."
Milia licked her lips lightly.
"With things like that, normally, the third prince would have to somehow keep the faction together on his own. But that guy did something stupid and lost the 'Member of Night' given to the crown succession candidates. So now, he's so fearful of assassination that he's hiding in his castle and refuses to come out."
"Heh. But doesn't that mean the first prince will just scoop up all the scattered forces?"
At Luca's comment, Milia grinned.
"That's what I thought would happen, so I made a move first. I found out about the Devil of Wisdom's death before the first prince did."
Milia anticipated how things would unfold and immediately asked Herote for help.
― Announce you'll become my patron.
― But I'm...
― Nobody knows you've lost your magic, and no one would dare doubt your magic.
At this point, no one knew Herote could no longer use magic.
So people still believed Herote was the greatest mage in the Hernan Empire.
― If the first prince absorbs all the power, everyone will get tired. It's better to keep a stalemate for now.
-... Understood.
Herote was quite clever.
She immediately understood what Milia was saying.
"With Herote Marcato's patronage announcement, the support of Duke Partigel's people including Robentus, and my prior alliance with those in magic-related circles, I was able to absorb a significant force as the third prince's faction collapsed."
Milia rubbed her eyes, looking a little tired.
"Of course, the first prince managed to snatch away a few, but even that much lost is pretty much a stroke of luck."
"In that case..."
Seeing Luca's expression, Milia smiled sweetly.
"If you ever form your own power base and support me... the first-ever empress of the Hernan Empire could become a reality."
"... That's interesting."
The reason the Hint of the Undying Princess was completed.
It was because she had truly drawn closer to seizing the throne.
"Now, it'll be hard for the first prince's side to openly send assassins. If the two forces clash directly, both have to be ready for destruction. The first prince, and even Duke Partigel who supports him, wouldn't want that."
"So now it'll come down to a fair fight."
"There's no such thing as fairness in stuff like this, you know."
Milia chuckled, then looked at him with a gentle smile.
"This is all thanks to you."
"I'm glad you realize that."
"... Whew. Right. It's less annoying to see you act like this than apologizing."
Milia pursed her lips in mock annoyance at his indifferent demeanor, but then let out a soft laugh.
And she folded her arms.
"Anyway, that's all I have to tell."
"Is that so. Ottbo, don't you have anything to say?"
"Me?"
At Luca's question, Ottbo scratched his cheek.
"Luca, you missed the exam, so you'll need to do a retake. Of course, on the retest, the best you can do is the minimum score needed to not fail."
"... Ah."
There had been intermediate exams while he slept.
Naturally, Luca hadn't taken them, so he had to take the retest.
"Archiond even came by because of that. This time he'll let it pass, but you have to participate next time."
"... Not something I can afford to lose."
Luca let out a short laugh.
And he swept his gaze around the room.
"So, is that all?"
"Do you need anything more dramatic than this?"
"That's not it, but..."
Luca wore a strange expression.
"Elder brother?"
It was a bit odd that Wylde, who would've been the first to come running if Luca was hurt, was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, Willow appeared quietly from the back and spoke.
"Wylde Traverse is injured. So, like you, he's in isolation."
"He's injured?"
"Don't worry. Even in his wounded state, he insisted on staying by your side, so he had to be quarantined. It means he's strong enough to be making a fuss."
They succeeded in stopping Vandello's explosive outburst of power, but Wylde was injured in the process.
Nevertheless, even in that condition, he tried to come to Luca's side, so he'd been quarantined.
"I see."
Luca breathed a sigh of relief, and Willow spoke indifferently.
"There's another important matter, isn't there?"
"There is, but..."
At Willow's words, Milia made a complicated face.
She twisted a lock of hair around her finger.
"Isn't this something we could mention later?"
"What is it?"
Feeling the atmosphere turn serious, Luca furrowed his brow.
Grimacing, Ottbo cautiously spoke.
"Luca. Since we don't know your physical condition yet, you can't try to do anything right after hearing this, understood?"
"... I can't promise that."
"T-That's a problem."
Watching the flustered Ottbo, Luca smacked his lips and nodded.
"Fine. No matter what, I'll check my condition first and then act, so go ahead."
"Well..."
After hesitating, Ottbo spoke with a nervous glint in his eyes.
"The two 10th-tier mages, except Lady Herote, are both dead. And the culprit is Demonz."
"... What?"
Luca immediately understood what Ottbo meant.
"Demonz have exposed themselves?"
Those Demonz who used to operate covertly had now shown themselves.
"Well... It's a stretch to say they revealed their identities, but the killer used devilish power and left Demonz's mark behind. So, you could say it was made public that the group Demonz exists."
As Ottbo spoke, his face looked somewhat hesitant.
Noticing this, Luca said indifferently,
"There seems to be something more."
"... The one who announced it was the Order. The Order, which hadn't acted until now, is beginning to move again because of this incident."
"The Order... has moved..."
In the original story, the Order only started acting after the war ended.
Hearing they had already begun moving, Luca sensed it immediately.
'Is the end of the story...approaching?'
He already had an inkling when he defeated the Devil of Wisdom.
That the conclusion of the scenario prepared by the god of stories was drawing near.
'Still, this fast? The protagonist hasn't even appeared yet.'
Thinking that, Luca paused for a second.
'... Wait. The protagonist hasn't arrived?'
Luca thought back to the original story.
'Originally, the protagonist arrives on this continent half a year before the academy's class placement test. After that, he learns continental common sense and swordsmanship from Ben Dwight. If that's the case...'
Luca's eyes trembled.
He looked at Ottbo.
"Ottbo, how many months are left until the class placement test?"
"The class placement test? Why bring that up suddenly? Well, it's in February, and now it's late October, so four months left."
"...."
He hadn't even considered it.
He hadn't thought about when the protagonist would arrive.
The protagonist had already arrived ages ago.
'I just assumed I'd meet him at the academy, so I wasn't paying attention to the actual timing.'
Luca squeezed his eyes shut and sighed deeply.
'Well, by now Ben Dwight would have already met him. I shouldn't worry about that side.'
The divine revelation must have come down already, and Ben Dwight would've encountered the protagonist.
The focus was already shifting to himself, and since the end was near, he could think about the other side later.
Luca turned to Ottbo.
"Understood. There isn't anything else even more important, right?"
"Well...right? You already know there were more wounded from fighting the Devil of Power."
"I heard Eltima and Zeritz were hurt. Is master alright?"
"Amazingly enough, that guy didn't get hurt at all."
Willow, standing by, shook his head in disbelief.
Luca let out a short laugh.
Taking him as a master clearly seemed like the right choice.
"After killing the 10th-tier mages, Demonz haven't made any further moves?"
"The Order says Demonz now target those with strong vitality—basically, grandmaster-level individuals. There are some here, but the Order sent reinforcements, so we're okay for now."
"Reinforcements... Did a saint come or something?"
Anyway, a saint was supposed to enroll here next year, so it wouldn't be strange if she came early.
At Luca's words, Ottbo shook his head.
"No. Sir Ben Dwight himself, the hero who once defended the continent with Lady Eltima, has come!"
"... What?"
Luca's lips trembled.
"Why?"
Ben Dwight, who was supposed to go find and guide the protagonist, had randomly appeared here instead.
* * *
"Honestly. These wounds won't heal even with restoration candy. That's dreadful."
Ben Dwight looked sour as he gazed at Eltima, who still lay there with her arm and leg not yet restored.
Eltima showed a faint smile.
"I'm okay, Ben. These are like medals to me."
"Hoho. What a fearsome medal."
Ben Dwight shook his head.
Zeritz, standing nearby, glared at him.
"It's about time you returned, sir Ben Dwight."
"Haha! What's wrong? Why are you interfering when I just want to chat with my friend?"
"Lady Eltima needs her rest."
"If rest is needed, wouldn't it be better if you were gone?"
"Grit."
Zeritz still seemed unable to stand him.
Ben Dwight laughed and then looked behind him.
"Looks like the sleepy-headed boy finally woke up."
"!"
Luca appeared in Eltima's hospital room.
"Long time no see, Luca. Are you feeling alright?"
"Ben Dwight. Why are you here?"
"What's this? To treat the one who came to protect you all with such coldness—I'm hurt."
Ben Dwight formed a sorrowful expression.
To that, Luca replied indifferently.
"Didn't you receive any divine revelation? Like a command to find someone?"
"I don't know what you mean. I can't receive divine messages anymore, anyway."
"...."
Luca's face twisted into a complicated expression, then became blank.
"So you really... haven't received any message from God."
"Well... I did hear from the saint to protect an old companion, but I'm not sure if that was from that friend. Is there a problem?"
At Ben Dwight's words, Luca was silent for a moment, then turned away.
"It's nothing."
"Come now, won't you join me for a chat? I've waited quite a while for you to wake up."
"Maybe later."
Luca immediately left Eltima's hospital room and looked at his phone.
He activated the application.
Brrrr—Brrrr—
Beep.
After a few rings, someone answered.
Luca spoke slowly.
"Can you hear me, god?"