The worst punishment for a fallen saint made Bernoa tremble.
“Kugh. To have to endure such humiliation…”
“Then, can you refuse me? You? Me?”
“Ugh…”
She couldn’t refuse.
Bernoa, still in love with Eldakrad, had been tainted by the Demon King.
To her, I—being the descendant of Eldakrad, inheriting his will, and even holding a fragment of the Demon King—was another Eldakrad and the Demon King at the same time.
“Even the power of the Demon King, which you once offered your body to, is now within me. From your perspective, even if I’m a woman, I must look just like them, don’t I?”
“That’s why I can’t even bring myself to say anything harsh…”
Such was life.
“As a fallen saint, at least mind your words. Well, aside from that, quite a lot of your money goes into my pockets every day.”
“Hah. Is that embezzlement?”
‘Embezzlement? What do you take me for?’
“Embezzlement? You should phrase it correctly. The cult leader takes taxes under the pretense of religious duties. I, as a condition for becoming a saint, take that money and redistribute it to the people.”
“Hah…”
“So your task is simple. Take the gold coins that come in every day and either donate them to orphanages or distribute them as aid to the poor.”
It wasn’t a difficult task since subordinates would handle it anyway.
“That much, I can do.”
“And there’s more.”
“What else?”
“For starters, I’ve found out that the cult leader has a particular taste in women.”
At my words, Bernoa smirked as if I were stating the obvious.
“That’s the same in the entire church. What’s the big deal?”
Yeah, true. At first glance, it might sound like I’m warning her to be careful not to be harassed.
But in reality, it’s different.
The current cult leader doesn’t just like women—he has a thing for middle-aged married women.
Whether they have husbands or not, it doesn’t matter to him.
“This cult leader only likes middle-aged women. He uses his status to seduce even married women. Well, you look like you’re in your twenties on the outside, so you should be safe. What I’m saying is, block him from bringing in more of those women. Also, there’s a nun named Nora who’s actually a succubus. Make sure she doesn’t suck the life force out of the cult leader.”
“Are you sure this is a goddess-worshipping church?”
“Of course it is. What else would it be, a demon-worshipping cult?”
“I had no energy to debate every single absurdity right now.”
“It is. And next, the nuns are undergoing military training. Don’t complain about it. Instead, it would be great if you trained them to counter black magic.”
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
Bernoa’s face turned serious.
I could already guess what she was about to ask.
“Am I really going to a church?”
“Yes.”
Bernoa let out a cry of despair.
Your suffering is my happiness.
***
I left Bernoa to be handled separately and stepped out of the mansion.
On my way out, I ran into a man wearing the uniform of the Imperial Capital Army.
He greeted me warmly.
“Oh! It’s been a long time, Olivia.”
“Oh, um, yes. It’s been a while.”
‘What was his name again? I really couldn’t remember.’
“I heard you call my older brother ‘Orabeoni.’ Why don’t you address me the same way?”
“Ah, no, it’s not… I mean, that’s not what I meant…”
‘Rokton. That bastard must have told him everything.
Does he really like being called “Orabeoni” that much?’
“Don’t be so shy. Didn’t you used to call me ‘Orabeoni’ and follow me around when you were younger?”
“Well… I mean… Yes, but… That was back then…”
It wouldn’t be hard to call him that, but of all times, Noelle and Syria were standing behind him, grinning at me.
If I said it now, I’d never hear the end of it.
“Are you going through puberty or something? Anyway, well done. I heard you defeated Bernoa?”
“Yes, little brother.”
At this rate, I should just avoid meeting my family altogether.
‘Calling Rokton “Orabeoni” was bad enough, but now I had to do the same for the second brother? Wait, what was the second brother’s name again?’
“As expected of Ashtar’s bloodline. You truly are Eldakrad’s granddaughter.”
“So… where have you been, brother?”
“I was dealing with the gargoyles that Seto sent.”
‘So Seto targeted Ashtar first?’
That meant he had already decided to abandon Bernoa and was preparing a new Four Heavenly Kings.
He must have planned to strike Ashtar while he was vulnerable.
That strategy had failed spectacularly.
Seto had tried to sacrifice Bernoa, pick new generals, and hit Ashtar’s stronghold all at once, but he had failed at every step.
Keeping Bernoa alive had been the right decision.
“That worked out well, then.”
“Will you be staying here now?”
No, that would be too much.
“I still need to attend the academy.”
“Hmm. But why? There’s no point in staying at the academy anymore. The people there insulted you, didn’t they? Why not stay here and join the Magic Corps instead?”
Logically, that made sense.
But first of all, I was a Grand Scholar.
And there was also what the emperor had mentioned.
He called it a curse.
Noah had made a promise regarding it.
I needed to investigate that, and I had to check the imperial archives.
“Are you going to stay stuck in Ashtar territory forever, brother?”
“You’ve become quite witty while I was away. Who knows? I’ll probably be here for a while. There are still the Four Heavenly Kings to deal with.”
“Yes.”
“Seto already sent his minions. That means his hostility toward Ashtar is clear. I’ll be staying here to keep an eye on the Four Heavenly Kings for now.”
Right, the Four Heavenly Kings were still a problem.
Bernoa had been defeated.
The war between Ashtar and the Four Heavenly Kings was now inevitable.
The ones who struck first were the Four Heavenly Kings. Considering Pector’s invasion, Bernoa’s intrusion into Eldakrad’s mausoleum, and Seto’s attack, a lot had happened in less than a month.
“I understand.”
“I would love for you to stay here, but I can’t say anything against my younger sibling pursuing her studies. Well then, I’ll go see Father. Let’s meet at dinner.”
That was fine by me.
I turned to glare at Noelle and Syria, who were standing in the hallway, smirking.
They had been watching the whole time.
They must have had fun listening to me say “brother.”
“She actually called him brother.”
“Wow, hearing Noah say ‘brother’ is surreal.”
Without hesitation, I grabbed the two and threw them out the window, straight into the garden.
Noelle was almost buried in the ground, with only her head sticking out.
I decided to take the opportunity to ask her something.
“So, Noelle, what were you doing during the expedition?”
I hadn’t seen her at all.
That went for Natalia and Revelt too.
“I was keeping the Hero, Mari, and Ella tied down.”
Hmm. That alone was an achievement.
“And they actually stayed put?”
“I knocked them out first.”
Well, if Noelle knocked them out, that couldn’t be helped.
“Lucky bastards.”
They woke up only to find that the expedition was over.
And, of course, the Hero would take all the credit.
The inner workings of Ashtar, the kingdom, and the church might know the truth, but at least the Hero’s reputation would be upheld.
“Ella did call me insane, though.”
“That’s all? You got off easy.”
“Mari complained about missing her chance to earn merits too.”
Good thing she stopped both of them.
Ella and Syria must have wanted to impress the Great Forest and the Holy Church.
Well, as long as they had the skill, it was fine if they fought for glory.
“You two seem to know each other well already.”
I glanced between Noelle and Syria.
They had already gotten quite close.
Great. I was the only one left out.
‘Maybe I should drag Bernoa around too, just to have some company.’
“Well, she is Olivia’s former little sister, after all.”
‘Did she really have to say “former”?’
“Syria, I’m still her little sister, you know? Where did that come from?”
Still, it was nice to see them getting along.
As long as they didn’t fight like Kise, it was fine.
****
“So, Noelle, what will you do now?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you going to stay by the Hero’s side?”
It didn’t seem like a good idea to stick with the Hero at this point.
“Well, whether I like him or not, it’d be weird to leave the Hero’s party right after joining.”
“True, but… that guy will probably keep hitting on me.”
Even before the expedition, he had been trying something.
That was annoying.
“Should I just beat him up whenever he does? Anyway, he’s already got his eyes on you. Maybe it’s better to stay close and keep an eye on him.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I just killed him?”
“No, that won’t do. I’ll just have to make sure he gets beaten up properly. I can’t do it myself, so you handle it, okay?”
“Alright. But, Olivia… I have a condition.”
“What is it?”
“That little brother of yours…”
“…Huh?”
“What about him?”
“Introduce me to him.”
Looks like this girl had fallen for my younger brother.
As Olivia, the princess of Ashtar, sank into deep contemplation over her troublesome younger sister, the Hero Eugene sat in the quarters provided by Ashtar, lost in thought.
The reason was Olivia.
“Isn’t there something strange about that woman?”
“You were head over heels for her just a moment ago. What are you thinking now?”
Ella sounded exasperated, but Eugene nodded seriously.
“I still like her. If she let me, I’d love to hold her in my arms at night.”
Of course.
Ella rolled her eyes, convinced that this so-called Hero only had one thing on his mind.
And yet, she found it ridiculous that she still couldn’t bring herself to abandon him.
“What are you even saying? So what exactly is strange?”
“Let’s say Pector’s defeat was just a crazy coincidence. He was always the type you could reason with. But Bernoa? That’s different.”
“So you’re saying it’s suspicious that she managed to defeat Bernoa?”
Pector was known for being somewhat reasonable.
In truth, there were plenty of fortresses he could have completely destroyed if he had been serious about invading.
But he never did—he always left once he was satisfied.
Maybe this time was the same.
But Bernoa was different.
Unless Olivia was a mage on Noah’s level, there was no way she should have been able to defeat her.
“How many people on this continent could actually take down Bernoa?”
“Exactly. Ashtar doesn’t seem eager to publicize it, but doesn’t that make it even more suspicious?”
Hero Eugene couldn’t shake the strange feeling he had.
There was something about Olivia.
A mysterious allure in her presence.
“What’s so strange about it?”
“Yeah, she already fought and defeated Bernoa once in the mausoleum.”
Syria nodded in agreement with Ella.
To them, it was just logical.
Nothing unusual.
“It’s just weird. A duke’s daughter, who isn’t even a Hero, managed that? And it’s not like she trained for decades. Look at her body—there’s no real muscle on her at all.”
Her figure was stunning.
Even beyond that, there was something about her face—an unexplainable charm that could captivate both men and women alike.
“Now that I think about it… you’re right.”
“Yet, somehow, everything about her just feels… natural.”
As if she belonged in this place.
“As if she’s someone we’ve known all along.”
“It’s almost like that gloomy magician.”
Noah—the one they called the gloomy magician.
He always managed to pull off the impossible, so nothing ever seemed surprising when he did it.
And now, Olivia gave off the same impression.
That’s what felt off.
No one actually knew how Olivia had won.
And yet, why did it feel so normal?
“Something about this is weird…”
Maybe there were more people in the world like that gloomy magician than he thought.