Chapter 36: Divinity
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Divinity
“Were you wrong, or not?”
“…I was wrong.”
“Are you thoroughly reflecting on your actions?”
“…I’m thoroughly reflecting.”
“Then why are your arms dropping?”
“…”
Kneeling on the floor with both arms raised high in the air, Aiden looked at Noel with melancholy eyes.
Even as a child, his father had never subjected him to this kind of corporal punishment. He certainly never imagined he’d be doing it as a full-grown adult, complete with dried blood crusted on his head…
“…Because I realized something rather odd.”
Ignoring his pathetic look, Noel narrowed her eyes.
“Be honest. You got yourself kidnapped on purpose, didn’t you?”
“…”
“It’s not as if you lack the fighting ability to escape.”
“…”
Busted.
Aiden laughed awkwardly. Noel sighed and brushed her hair back.
“What would you have done if this had turned into a real disaster?”
“I knew from the beginning that you’d come to my rescue, Dame Noel. I trusted you—”
Smack.
He caught a solid flick squarely on the forehead.
If she had hit him with her full strength, he would have been knocked unconscious at the very least. It was meant as a sharp reprimand telling him to stop spouting nonsense, but still—pain was pain.
Rubbing his throbbing forehead, Aiden watched as Noel parted her lips, her sharp eyes glaring at him coldly.
“Who in their right mind builds a plan that relies on wrecking their own body as a baseline? You need to cherish your life more—”
…A lengthy lecture dragged on for quite a while.
Just as the feeling was beginning to fade from his raised arms, Noel finally regained enough composure to let him put them down and sit properly.
“…At the very least, wrecking your body like that wasn’t entirely in vain. We managed to arrest the entire syndicate that had set up camp there. Fortunately.”
“What about the evidence?”
The crux of the matter was proving they were acting on orders from the Imperial Prince and the Administrative Minister.
Fortunately, seeing the faint smile on Noel’s lips, it didn’t seem like bad news.
“You won’t need to worry about that. It felt like striking a gold mine.”
“See? If I hadn’t let myself be captured to draw their attention and call you, Dame Noel, we could never have caught them so cleanly—”
Aiden snapped his mouth shut the moment he felt the temperature in Noel’s gaze plummet.
A survival instinct truly worthy of his long, accident-free criminal record.
“…Anyway.”
Noel rubbed her temples as she continued.
“The trial date has been set. We can make everything public then.”
“How many days from now?”
“Two days.”
It was an incredibly tight schedule.
It meant their enemies had no intention of backing down and fully intended to clash head-on.
“Aiden. This is likely a trap.”
“…”
“There’s no way they don’t know we’ve acquired this evidence. Yet, agreeing to the trial date so nonchalantly means they’ve definitely laid another trap.”
He couldn’t help but agree with her logic.
— System Message
▶ Main Quest updated.
▶ ‘Quest: Sham Marriage’ updated.
— Quest Info
♠ Main Quest
◈ Act 1, <Imperial Capital Rift>
— Chapter 1, <Ghost Knight Incident>
…
▶ Subjugation Battle (D-2)
◈ Sham Marriage
— You have been chosen as Dame Noel’s spouse. Maintain the contract with your partner until the end!
— A related event will occur soon. (D-2)
The translucent window popping up right before his eyes supported her hypothesis.
From the Main Quest to the specific event involving Dame Noel—not a single thing could be brushed off.
Two days from now, during the Harvest Festival, in a place packed with people.
The spirit of the Lord Protector would definitely reveal itself again.
“…”
Aiden tapped his chin, lost in thought.
He didn’t know exactly how things would blow up, but considering the place and time, it was bound to escalate into a massive disaster.
Given the Imperial Prince’s ruthless nature, it wouldn’t be a method that spared civilian lives. Either way, it was clearly designed to back Aiden and Noel into a corner.
“Tell them we agree to the schedule as well.”
“…”
Noel blinked blankly.
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“Yes.”
There was nothing stupider than walking blindly into a trap.
However.
“I know it’s a trap. But we’re going to break through it head-on.”
“…”
“They aren’t the only ones who can prepare in advance.”
If they assumed it was a trap and prepared accordingly, they could make it work.
Dragging it out would only benefit the enemy, giving them time to churn out counter-arguments and nullify the evidence they had collected.
The real problem was…
…This woman herself.
Aiden swallowed a sigh and glanced at Noel, who was looking back at him with worried eyes.
He had recently confirmed her combat prowess with his own eyes, but getting Noel’s help to fight the Lord Protector was practically impossible. It would be a miracle if she could even keep her sanity intact during the encounter.
In short, he had to face the Subjugation Battle without her.
Katya will help, but…
The Lord Protector’s original stats were already monster-level, just a notch below Noel’s. The real issue was that it would spawn even further buffed due to the quest’s influence.
He didn’t know the exact extent of the buff, but extreme difficulty was guaranteed.
…The silver lining is…
There was one method he had thought of to deal with it.
And someone he could ask about it.
“It seems you have another scheme up your sleeve. Are you making a plan in advance again?”
“To ensure safety in anything, thorough preparation is a must.”
Living as a criminal without getting caught required this level of foresight; it was nothing special to him.
Hearing his casual reply, Noel let out a dumbfounded sigh.
“If you had applied that kind of effort toward something constructive, you would have achieved great success long ago.”
“…I don’t really care about achieving great success.”
Just earning enough to feed his family was enough. He didn’t want anything more—then or now.
As Aiden muttered with a bitter smile, Noel spoke up, as if suddenly remembering something.
“Ah, right, Aiden.”
“Yes?”
“…Um, what are your family members’ preferences like?”
Aiden blinked stupidly.
“Preferences?”
“Things they like, things they dislike… that sort of thing…”
She trailed off strangely while avoiding his gaze—it was thoroughly suspicious.
Aiden tilted his head and replied.
“…Why on earth are you asking that?”
“…I was thinking of sending a gift or two.”
“Ah, gifts…”
…Out of nowhere?
“For my father, any decent alcohol will do. My younger sister… is still young, so she likes whatever kids usually like.”
Though he found it odd, Aiden narrowed his eyes and answered obediently.
She wouldn’t do anything bad.
Considering how she had treated him so far, the chances of her having malicious intent were extremely low.
“…I should target that side to score some points then.”
“Score points?”
“A-Ah, it’s nothing.”
“…?”
What on earth…?
* * *
“Let’s summarize.”
Inside the Inner Mindscape, Mayer spoke grumpily while continuing their idyllic, harmonious ‘sparring’ session—which was currently turning Aiden into mush.
…Honestly, Aiden wanted to stop dying. But seeing how Mayer tirelessly beat him to a pulp every night in his dreams, claiming that instincts became useless the moment the senses died, Aiden really wondered if the man ever got tired.
At least it was fortunate that he could use this time to ask for counter-strategies against the Lord Protector.
“So, you need an attack method capable of landing a solid hit on a knight whose strength ranks among the very best in the entire Empire.”
“Yes. It has to be able to subdue him in one strike.”
Ability Bestowal—which combined Qi, Divine Power, and Dharmic Power—had enough destructive power to take Katya out in one hit back then, but that alone wasn’t enough. Especially if the goal was instant incapacitation.
Looking back, he had only achieved that result by exhausting Noel’s strength first, detonating a Hellfire Bomb, and then striking a vital point.
To use it in a boss battle, just that wouldn’t cut it.
He needed vastly greater firepower to achieve his goal.
“Absolutely impossible.”
It was no surprise Mayer was so decisive, but it was frustrating nevertheless.
At Mayer’s scoffing response, Aiden let out a grumble.
“Come on, Senior.”
Talking while everything above his nose was turned into literal mush was quite a strange experience, but what the man had just said was far more important.
“Aren’t you one of the strongest supernatural ability users who defined an era? Please, give me a hand here.”
“Even the strongest of an era isn’t omnipotent. Have a conscience, will you?”
Mayer scoffed and flicked the blood off his blade.
“Your skills might have become somewhat usable, but that’s strictly by the standards of a ‘normal’ superhuman holding his own. Guys who have bled on countless battlefields could slice you into sashimi with their eyes closed.”
“…Just recently, I beat up several official knights single-handedly.”
“Aha. And has such a hotshot ever managed to land a single hit on me?”
“…”
“And I’m not even using any real supernatural abilities.”
What a damn ancestor.
What pissed him off even more was that the man was never wrong.
Aiden pushed himself up as he felt the sliced-off upper half of his face slowly regenerating.
The timing was perfect, as it allowed him to put on a more desperate expression.
“…Still, in my position, I have to wring out something even if there’s nothing there.”
If he didn’t defeat the Lord Protector, there was no way out of the Main Quest, and this was the only lifeline he could cling to.
This man was the only one who shared the characteristic of wielding multiple supernatural abilities like Aiden.
“In the first place, even if I somehow crafted an attack capable of dealing a valid hit and handed it to you, could you even land it?”
It wasn’t an unfounded concern.
In fact, given that his opponent held the title of Noel’s master, it wasn’t just a matter of the attack’s power, but whether Aiden could hit him at all.
There wasn’t just a difference in skill specs, but an overwhelming gap in combat technique.
However.
“Yes.”
He could hit him.
At least, he had that much confidence.
“How are you so sure?”
“I’ll manage somehow.”
“…”
“I’m the type who thrives in real combat.”
Mayer looked at him as if asking if he was joking, but Aiden met his gaze with unyielding confidence.
Well, it was do or die. If he couldn’t land the hit, he’d fail the quest and die anyway.
…And saying I thrive in real combat isn’t empty talk.
Considering the list of skills he possessed, it was an undeniable fact.
Under certain conditions, boosting his stats exponentially was no difficult task.
“…Well, confidence is good. But from where I stand, there’s still no way.”
“Ah, come on. Looking at the records about you, Senior, you grew at an absurd pace. At least share your secret with me.”
“I’m just a genius. I covered it all with pure talent.”
“…”
Aiden was temporarily struck speechless by the self-praise uttered without even batting an eye.
But it was too early to give up.
At the very least, he knew how to handle people.
“Yes. That’s why I’m asking you.”
“…”
“You’re a genius, aren’t you, Senior?”
“…”
“The greatest genius. Easily accomplishing things others can’t even dream of.”
“…”
“Ah, honestly, you can do it, right? Come on, as the Knight of Dawn, naturally—”
“—Just how much flattery are you going to spew?”
“…”
Despite saying that, the corners of Mayer’s mouth were twitching.
It wasn’t that Mayer was unaware Aiden was coaxing him with flattery, but even knowing it, he clearly placed tremendous weight on the word ‘genius’ and swallowed the bait.
Seeing how he pondered for a long time, unlike when he first heard the request, proved it even more.
“If we use a loophole, there might be a way.”
“A loophole?”
“Though there are a few conditions attached.”
Mayer spoke in a solemn voice.
“Do you know how people who use multiple supernatural abilities manage to do that?”
“How would I know…?”
“I don’t know either.”
“…”
Is this guy playing with me?
However, Mayer followed up with an explanation that was clearly not meant as a joke.
“It’s different for everyone. Some, like me, break through with pure talent. Others are born of noble bloodlines, or borrow the power of divine artifacts… every one of them has their own foundation. A unique trait that others don’t possess.”
“And?”
“I can’t grant you some sudden enlightenment, but if you can… ‘dig into’ that foundation of yours, a way forward might open up.”
Saying so, Mayer scratched his cheek and added, “Though, you’re a bit weird.”
“Pardon?”
“It feels like you’re wielding those abilities purely by coincidence.”
“…”
“Wielding multiple supernatural abilities is a chosen privilege. It means being granted Divine Authority by multiple gods. So usually, the guys who can do that are… ‘extraordinary’ enough that it wouldn’t be strange for them to possess such power.”
Catching his breath, Mayer let out a sigh and delivered his conclusion.
“As for why a guy like you, who doesn’t have a damn thing to his name, can wield it—honestly, I have no clue. That’s why I’m saying I can’t help you.”
“…”
Setting aside his rudeness for a second…
Aiden understood why Mayer was troubled.
Fortunately, Aiden was able to recall one method to clearly solve this mystery.
“…There’s one person.”
“What?”
“Someone who can explain the reason behind it.”
There really was someone.
Someone who had told him about it not too long ago.
A voice brushed past Aiden’s mind.
—It’s not well known, but they do exist. Beings that can be far more dangerous than the heavenly ‘gods’ who bestow supernatural abilities.
—You were designated as ‘mine’ by them. The power you wield now comes from that.
—Recently, because of the karma you’ve taken on, you can no longer escape it. Poor thing.
A while ago, at the Imperial Palace banquet.
Those were the words spoken by a certain shrine maiden wearing an eyepatch.
“If I go to her, how should I ask her to help me?”
* * *
“…What did you say?”
Rania A’shan spoke in a dumbfounded voice.
Shrine Maiden serving the Goddess of Ascension Urgan. Voluminous pink hair. An eyepatch. A long pipe.
Matching her distinctive appearance, her usual demeanor felt somewhat rowdy and stubborn.
However, right now, that very person was staring back at him with a thoroughly baffled face.
It was probably because she was so stunned by the sentence the man before her had just uttered.
“…I know it sounds weird, but it’s really not what you think.”
“…”
“…It’s just that there’s someone I need you to meet.”
Aiden uttered those words with an expression that looked like his world was going to hell.
His face clearly showed he never imagined he’d say such a thing to a person like her in his entire life…
“Will you sleep with me for just one night?”
“…”
“…I can explain everything, alright?”
Rania stared at him blankly.