(Rudeus POV)
A few seconds after he left, Ariel slumped down on her chair with hands supporting her head against her forehead. Sylphy also became gloomy, her ears hanging low.
"I'm sorry it had come to this, Ariel."
"You don't have to." She replied with a clear voice, hiding the signals of frustration I picked up.
"I have never seen him like this. I don't know what came over him."
Rather than what, I have a suspicion as to who came over him. His comment about me being a spirit that has taken over this body is what tipped me off. The only person who knows of it besides Nanahoshi is Hitogami. And I know that piece of trash would use it against me.
I can't figure out what his method to eliminate me here is. But like last time, he even uses those who aren't strong enough to defeat me, just like those underlings from [Tri-Daggers].
Hitogami might use Luke to instigate a fight between me and North God. I'm not ready to face a God-class opponent as my first proper challenger, especially when he possesses the strongest sword in the world. I should have kept it in my pocket dimension when I still had it.
But that's beside the point. I must warn Sandor about Hitogami possibly contacting Darius and Luke. Then, get on friendly terms with North God to avoid such a conflict in the first place.
"So, the one who Silent Seven Stars is befriended with is Dragon God." Ariel figured that out earlier from the earlier conversation.
"If you care about Luke's life and your own, then don't even think about seeking contact with Orsted."
Ariel began lifting her head and gave me a fierce glare. Sylphy even started to scold me.
"Rudy, she has already taken enough as it is. Just leave it at that, please."
"You are misunderstanding, Fitts. It was a well-meant warning. Orsted has a very clouded judgment and does not wait for even a second to kill someone if he has the slightest assumption that the person is working for his enemy."
"Rudy! Now you're being ridiculous!" Sylphy tried to scold me, but I had a backup on that.
"I'm talking about first-hand experience. Just admitting to knowing the name of his sworn enemy led him to plunge his bare hand through my chest before I healed myself from it and blasted him with my second [Bright Sky Wave], which I knew from the beginning would have only stalled him."
The tone of my voice was grim enough to deliver my point for Sylphy to at least understand how serious I was.
Meanwhile, Sandor looked at me suspiciously, and I started to have second thoughts about telling him about my link to that wannabe god.
But before that, I needed to confirm something. I'm not the biggest fan of politics, but a mistake here might cause severe outcomes.
"Ariel. What would happen if I killed Luke right now and the news reached the capital of the Asura Kingdom?"
Once I glanced at Ariel to see if she took the question seriously, I was met with a judgmental look of her own as she stood up from her chair again.
"Surely you would not make such an attempt because of a mere accusation of being Demon God Laplace."
"I believe that the enemy of Ortsed had told Luke some lies, leading to him being hostile against me even before we met or even before the information of the assassin's attack against me reached him."
"The enemy of the second Great World Power?" That changed subject brought her out of her previous mood and caught her attention now.
"Depending on your answer to my question earlier, I will give you more details. And trust me, you want to know everything you can if Luke is doing something he was advised to by that person."
"You... you think Luke is betraying me?" Ariel said, her eyes weary.
"That's not an answer."
I really want to speed this up and get it over with, but Sylphy is also in danger here, so I have to warn them.
After a long silence coming from me, Ariel finally decided to think of a hypothesis for my question. It didn't take her long to answer me, though.
"Am I right to assume that Darius has a grudge against you?"
"Would it make a significant difference?"
"Indeed it does. The Prime Minister's strong influence on people can potentially conceal any misdeeds he may have committed. Including crimes of misconduct of power."
"Is this referring to the kidnappings of young noblewomen? I was already informed of his crimes by Lord Sauros's son. How come he never went into trial for it?"
"He would use the kidnapped victims as a means of threatening against the families. But other nobles simply fear for their own lives as he is relentless in hiring assassins should he believe that it is for his own benefit. Evidence of his crimes was cleared away before a trial could have been started. Eventually, they became nothing but rumors, the kidnapped victims's families backing him up throughout it."
I see. That would explain why she suggested that he might have hired [Tri-Daggers] under Philemon's name. His lustful greed for his sexual desire seems to have no bounds whatsoever.
And it's exactly that that brought the thought about Eris's kidnapping and the funding for the Fittoa region to mind. That wannabe God must've told him that I had a role in his failed attempts to get his hands on her, and now he is planning to end me like he always threatens those noble families.
If I have to guess, it's a perfect chess piece for the likes of Hitogami. In return for sending those assassins after me, he may have bribed Darius with information on how to get his next victim.
I'm contemplating whether to tell Ariel about those incidents, but I must also keep my word on warning her about Hitogami for Sylphy's sake.
In the end, I told her about both incidents and how he may have been told that I caused both of those to have failed. Ariel didn't seem the least surprised as she straightforwardly told me her hypothesis on my question.
"Under the accusation of attempting to kill me, the second princess of the Asura Kingdom, by killing my Royal Knight, who died protecting me, he would convince the king to declare you a criminal of the Asura Kingdom. Furthermore, it would cause a conflict between the Three Magic Nations and the Asura Kingdom for not guaranteeing my safety, risking you being hunted in the Northern Territories and sent to the capital to prevent further conflict, where you would be put on trial and most likely end up getting executed."
"Hmm... I figured as much."
Because of his occupation as a bodyguard for Ariel, he has a little bit of protection that guarantees tribulations for me either way. That, as a result, makes it a great risk for me to act upon it. And any method of talking Luke out of it was ruined because of the humiliation I made him go through so far today.
I guess that is one of my 'you reap what you sow' situations. It's a little late to complain about it now, but it's easy to decide what to do right now.
"Thank you for your opinion. In return, I will tell you about-"
"A god tricking people. That's all she needs to know."
Sandor cut me off, showing signs of distress. Since he knows about Hitogami, he may want to protect Ariel from any danger she may be exposed to.
"Is that seriously all you are willing to tell her? She should know about Hitogami for interrogation purposes since Luke is already under his grasp. Who knows what other lies he set into his head?"
He started to back off from me, and I could guess why.
"Calm down. Just because you know him doesn't mean that I will fight you. I already made that mistake once, and I'm not gonna do it again."
"How are you sure that I'm not an enemy?"
"If you were, then you would have killed me in my sleep yesterday when I took a rest after searching for more colonies. I was in a pretty deep sleep, and that bastard ruined it by contacting me in my dream."
"What about us?" Ariel asked. "How are you certain that me and Fitts aren't getting manipulated by that god you are talking about?"
"I feel like Fitts is unlikely to do something that could harm me or anyone innocent because someone told him it would benefit."
My choice of phrasing could have been chosen differently since I could see and feel how Sylphy was blushing with happiness from the compliment in trust.
"And as for you, how you reprimanded Luke earlier made it obvious. Your change in attitude that surprised both of your bodyguards showed that you were in total dissatisfaction with his behavior. Something like that cannot be acted upon in the spur of the moment and look so natural."
It would be easier to tell her about my detection ability, but I don't have enough trust in her group as of now to let her know too much about my set of skills. Even if she knows I could wipe out her kingdom, it doesn't say how good of a close combat fighter I am.
But it seems that she felt relieved of not being suspected. How pitiful. She thinks that this is an act of trust coming from me. Wrong! For being an Asura Royal, you will never be trustworthy enough in my eyes.
"Now, about that individual whom you say is a self-proclaimed god. Please, tell me who or what we are dealing with."
I gave Sandor a glance to see him nod in approval, so I started explaining what I knew about the being called Hitogami.
Without any details as to what advice he gave, I told them about when I met him and how he appeared when his advice was needed, even when I didn't want it.
Sandor was even intrigued about my [Bright Sky Wave] disrupting Hitogami's future sight. He asked how it came to it, and I explained to him the events of what happened after Hiryū got a hit on me and how his plan looked on the outside with Randolf involved as a pawn, or to be more precise, the canon fodder in his schemes.
"It changes constantly… unbelievable."
"Just take a with a pinch of salt. We don't know if what he told me is true. It could be one of his lies."
"No, no. I heard a few stories of him having an influence on historical figures. Even in my family, we are told not to trust him. To think that Randolf became one of his victims without being an apostle is just… tragic."
"I haven't asked you this, but is Randolf like the son of a friend of yours or..."
"Actually, he is my grandson."
"Your what?!"
His grandson?! Him! I don't wanna be rude, but I would believe it more if it were the opposite. but that would mean that Randolf is a descendant of the first North God, one of the three heroes.
Hold on. It has already been 400 years since the rise of the first North God. That means Sandor here is nearly, if not as old as the Kalender itself. He must be a Demon with a long lifespan, like Ruijerd.
I heard about the first North God having married a Demon Lord somewhere before. What was her name? Something that sounded like you stuttered at the end and then repeated the name again for sure.
Sandor just threw back his head and laughed.
"Hahaha, I can see why you're shocked. He is a bit of a mix of races, so his outward appearance makes him look quite old."
"Randolf? As in, the Death God you were talking about?" Sylphy asked. " Sir Sandor, aren't you mad at Rudy for killing him?"
"Don't misunderstand, young lad. Randolf acknowledged him as his successor by presenting him with a special item. Therefore, I have to honor his will and respect his wishes."
Well, that's an understanding grandfather for you. Still out of line to laugh it off, though.
But, his laugh just now. It reminded me of a certain someone.
"Are you perhaps related to Kishirika too?"
"Hm? You even met the Demon Empress?"
"Yeah… through… him."
"Oh. Well, don't worry about her. She is also aware of Hitogami's true nature. But besides that, I can already guess that he didn't tell you that she can locate almost anyone in the world with her All-Seeing Eye."
"She can do WHAT?!!!" I yelled out.
The room was actually shaking a bit from the volume of my voice. I probably used Voice Magic out of sheer disbelief.
All-Seeing Eye? That wasn't on the list of eyes she could have given me. Fucking bastard. He knew that and made me waste that opportunity.
I facepalmed myself for not being thorough enough back then. If only I had known about the Teleportation Disaster earlier. Maybe Ruijerd knew about her ability and would have suggested that he and Eris look for her.
"Don't blame yourself about it. She usually leaves details like these out if they are not relevant to mention. She hasn't reached the right age for her to give you an All-Seeing Eye anyway, so it wasn't on the list she may have told you."
He's right. The past is the past. There is nothing I could do about it now. Although I do feel like he is doing the same right now when saying she hasn't reached the right age or something.
"It is really impressive how many historical figures you have met, Sir Rudeus." Ariel commented in amazement.
Sometimes, that is more of a bad thing than it is impressive.
"How about we leave it at that? Now that you know about who's possibly behind this, how will you deal with Luke? And I warn you. Any funny business, and I will have to force myself to end him on the spot."
"I already have an idea." she said, smiling.
Okaaay. That developed fast. I guess, as a princess, she has to act according to the flow of the situation. But what is this creepy feeling I'm picking up by my senses? And why the hell is her smile disturbing me?!
She then clapped her hands together and gave me a closed-eyed smile.
"Let's play a little prank on Luke."
"... what?"
I wasn't the only one who was confused. Sandor looked at her deadpan as well. The only one with a clue right now was the sighing Sylphy.
What kind of shenanigan am I getting part of here? Also, prank? What is she up to? I feel like getting hired by a producer for a prank show.
"Could I know what your plan is?" I asked with a meek smile, struggling to keep a straight face after seeing her joyed expression.
"Let's leave that for another day. For now, I believe you need to see Vice Principal Jinas, correct?"
"I g-guess."
I looked at Sylphy to see her give me a weak smile back. Poor girl must've been dragged into a lot of these in the past... whatever they involved.
"Well, if you look for me, I might return for the awakening candidates' at the combat grounds."
As I went towards the door, I noticed Sandor approaching me. He handed me over the flute I gave him yesterday.
"It's still a present, so you should take it back."
I was honestly reluctant to take it back, but there might be some things in the future I may need Perugius to clarify for me. However, does Perugius even trust me? As I said, I won't use that contract with Hiryu.
"Well, I'm curious to see what kind of prank you have in mind, Ariel. See you then."
As I said my goodbyes, I trudged through the floor, letting out an exhausted sigh. The day isn't even halfway done, and I still have much to do. Well, maybe not. Jinas needs to reduce the number of people he and the others have already been making.
Things may get much easier if I could just get a hold of my curse. I would even voluntarily take in the aftereffects if it means actually using full power.
'Still struggling with yourself, huh, kid.'
'You know that very well. Even after I've killed you, not much changed.'
'Woah, woah, woah, I wouldn't say that. Look at you, getting on more friendly terms with your pals, famous throughout the countries, and a girl you keep on cruelly letting wait for you.'
'I don't wanna hear anything from a shut-in NEET whose only experience with women is going through the internet to play dating sims on his computer all day long.'
'The heck is 'internet'? And 'computer'?'
'Don't play dumb with me, Kagami. Your little mind games won't work on me anymore since the dragons incident.'
'Who the hell is Kagami?'
I stopped on my track as I froze there in place. Great. All the stress made me lose my mind. I knew it would happen eventually.
Some students started staring at me as I rubbed my temples.
'Hey. You listening?'
The volume of the voice became louder, scaring me out of my trance.
I looked around to see if someone was talking to me, but I only saw gossiping students.
'On your left ring finger.'
Disturbed as to know what this was, I did as the voice told me to.
But, the only thing that would be on my ring finger would be… the ring?
'That's right. Doesn't seem like you knew I was in there.'
'… Randolph… is… is that you… inside the ring?'
'I'm as surprised as you are. I only now got the ability to talk to you.'
'...…'
*Inhale* *pause* *exhale*
Now I know it. Regret has broken me fully. This is only the start of my damnation, isn't it?
Brushing it off, I continued walking through the hallway towards Jinas.
'Kid? Are you okay?'
'Man. Soldat was right. I really do overwork myself if I even start hallucinating like this.'
'Kid?'
'Just ignore it, me. Once you're back at your room at your inn, you go right back to sleep, and everything will be all fine~~~.'
'…... too soon?'
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