Chapter 151: Is This for Real?(3)
Chapter 151: Is This for Real?(3)
What are Demons? According to historical records, Demons were invaders from another dimension who crossed over 3,000 years ago, committing various atrocities and leaving a significant mark on the world.
During the Demon War, all races fought desperately to protect this world, and thanks to the gods who shielded it, they were barely able to drive the invaders out. However, many events unfolded in the interim.
It is a well-known fact that the Demon Clan originated from these Demons. Furthermore, the gods, sensing a crisis due to the invasion, gifted the elves the Seed of the World Tree. That seed sprouted and has stood firm for 3,000 years until the present day.
Research into Demons was conducted actively afterward, but as time passed, interest inevitably waned. The environment was such that attention was naturally diverted toward other races rather than ancient Demons.
Humans, being creatures of forgetfulness, shifted their focus to other races in less than a century. Even for the long-lived elves, 3,000 years was more than enough time to let the memories of those events fade.
Moreover, after the Race War broke out 300 years ago—an event that reshaped the destiny of every race—no one gave Demons a serious thought. Everyone was too preoccupied with the other races.
Three millennia was simply too long. Since it was history relegated to "ancient literature," it was safe to say that almost no one delved into it deeply, save for a few scholars.
[Heads of state, now realizing the gravity of the situation, have begun rooting out Demon worshippers... requesting support from each Order.]
[The Order of Luminous: Demons are monsters that must never be associated with. We will ensure they are hunted down.]
[Meanwhile, Helium has also begun tracking the Radical Faction of the Demon Tribe, who have gone into hiding...]
That was, until the events depicted in the Xenon Biography began to manifest in reality.
While the pollution of the World Tree's roots could be dismissed as a coincidence, the discovery of traces of Demons was something that could not be ignored. Demons were creatures out of legends, but they had a track record of turning the world not just into a shambles, but into a sea of fire.
Although modern civilization and military power are far more advanced than they were 3,000 years ago, Demons are incredibly powerful. One can get a sense of their strength from the fact that even the elves were pushed back so far they had to receive the Seed of the World Tree from the gods.
Most terrifying of all, according to the records, was the endless quantity and variety of the Demons. There are mentions of the horizon being completely blotted out by blackness, so vast were their numbers.
As such, even with advanced civilization and technology, it is considered impossible to eradicate Demons forever unless the dimensional rift is closed. Even the Demon War 3000 years ago didn't end with the total defeat of the Demons; rather, the connection between dimensions was severed, forcing a mass reverse-summons.
Therefore, the discovery of Demon traces meant that there were people attempting to reconnect those dimensions.
"Sigh..."
While the world was in an uproar over the Demons, I sat on my bed in the dormitory and let out a deep sigh. I was currently reading the newspaper published today.
Usually, newspapers are delivered once a day for subscribers, but given the current state of affairs, a new edition was coming out almost every three to four hours.
When I returned from Elena's laboratory today, I found a thick stack of newspapers waiting for me. Reading through them one by one, the contents were truly a sight to behold.
Reports of Demon traces found here, or someone who wasn't even part of the Demon Clan using magic related to Black Mana there, and so on.
As a result of scrutinizing things that had been easily overlooked until now, evidence of connections to Demons was surfacing one after another.
Notable examples included ritual sites found in secluded caves or strange patterns discovered on monsters that had been unusually aggressive.
To top it off, they even found a so-called 'Summoning Circle' estimated to have been constructed several hundred years ago. It had been difficult to find because the ritual site was built deep underground.
Although events identical to those in the Xenon Biography hadn't broken out yet, the world's sense of alarm regarding Demons had reached its peak.
I had been worried that the Demon Clan, as descendants of the Demons, might suffer collateral damage, but the situation was actually helping the search.
Because the Black Mana used by Demons can also be used by the Demon Clan, they were even more sensitive to it. Perhaps for this reason, the Mora Sect was said to be collaborating with Helium.
'This is driving me crazy...'
I lamented inwardly as I meticulously read through the incidents reported in the paper. I had unintentionally hit two home runs in a row, and there was nothing I could do about it.
People were speculating that I was a prophet or a person from the future, and even when I protested that I wasn't, they didn't believe me at all.
Instead, they were coming up with their own reasons for why I wasn't revealing my identity. The theory that a god had placed a 'restriction' on me was receiving the most support.
'Restriction, my ass. I remember my entire past life.'
Though it was a different world, I remembered everything from my previous life. My school days, my parents passing away in an accident, and even dying of a heart attack while using the computer like any other day.
I was a reincarnator, yes, but I was certainly not a regressor who had returned from the future. But these people just wouldn't listen.
I had sent several letters out of sheer frustration, but they were flatly ignored every time. In the end, I had no choice but to decide to stay quiet until the situation settled down.
'But the Demon issue... it's getting serious.'
The pollution of the World Tree's roots was a major matter, but the Demons were on another level. Whether out of curiosity or for a specific purpose, Demons were beings that should never be summoned.
One only had to look at the damage caused when a member of the Demon Clan turned into a Demon to find the answer. The Demon War 3000 years ago was when such beings poured out in droves.
Because of this, the various Orders, especially the Holy Nation 'Savior', were moving most actively. Other countries, including the Minerva Empire, had set aside their long-standing conflicts for the time being to begin the hunt for Demons.
The same went for adventurers and mercenaries. From what I'd heard, a massive reward was being offered for reporting any locations or items related to Demons.
Of course, this was only after checking for traces of 'Black Mana.'
At any rate, a gale of Demon-hunting was currently blowing across the entire world.
The fact that the Xenon Biography was being treated as a book of prophecy was just a bonus.
'If I had included Cecile's illustration in this climate...'
I looked away from the newspaper and pondered for a moment. I had originally intended to include the illustration in Volume 13, but due to timing, the plan had changed to include it during the full-scale battle with Lilith.
This applied not just to Lilith, but to the other Seven Deadly Sins as well. Since they were important villains, it was a bit of favoritism on my part.
However, considering the current situation, I worried that including Lilith's illustration might cause trouble for Cecile.
Since the Xenon Biography was being treated as a prophecy, people might start associating her with Lilith.
'...I should save the illustration for the scene where she's defeated.'
Still, Lilith has a heartbreaking backstory—she struggles to survive just so she won't forget the man she loves. This is revealed just before Xenon delivers the killing blow.
Of course, I didn't know if this craze would still be going on by then. Lilith's defeat was scheduled to take place after the Beastkin arc.
For now, the priority was to keep a low profile and wait for things to calm down. I just had to act as I usually did.
'It's about that time, should I go meet the girls?'
I hadn't finished the newspaper, but the final lecture was about to end. Since it was Wednesday, we had a regular meeting and dinner plans rather than a date.
I had designated Wednesdays for my personal time, and Mari had readily agreed, feeling that we both needed time for ourselves.
During that time, she didn't care what I did; even if I went on a date with Cecile, she only showed a little jealousy and didn't mind much.
Of course, the next day, she would drag me straight to the inn without mercy. In fact, whenever I went on a date with Mari, the destination was always the inn.
And so, I folded the newspaper I had been reading and made my way to the lecture hall. My timing was perfect; students were streaming out of the hall just as I arrived.
Among them, naturally, were familiar faces. I felt a surge of gladness and approached them.
Lina, noticing my arrival, greeted me with her characteristic gentle smile.
"You're right on time."
"Yeah. How was class today?"
"Don't even ask. No matter how much I listen to philosophy, I can't understand a word of it."
That was the response from my girlfriend, Mari. As always, she grumbled while linking her arm with mine.
I patted the head of the cute and lovely Mari and shifted my gaze. Cecile gave me a beaming smile when our eyes met.
I responded with a smile of my own to that ever-beautiful expression.
"We're going to the cafe first, right?"
"Yeah, let's do that. It's a bit early for dinner."
"Where to?"
"The usual place."
The four of us then moved together to the cafe we frequented. In the past, our combination would have drawn various stares, but now that people were used to us, we didn't feel any eyes on us at all.
We chatted on the way to the cafe, and the conversation continued once we arrived. Since it was a room with thorough soundproofing, we didn't have to worry about others overhearing.
Which meant it was the perfect setting to bring up awkward questions.
"Isaac. You've been reading the newspapers too, right?"
"Of course. A new one comes out every three or four hours."
"What do you think? People are calling you a prophet or a person from the future these days."
Mari, sitting next to me, asked with a mix of curiosity and amusement. As I responded with only a wry smile, Cecile, sitting across from me, chimed in.
"I'm curious too. The stories you wrote in the book are coming true one by one. You're not really a prophet or a person from the future, are you? Or maybe a reincarnator?"
I snorted at the question and immediately countered. I was a reincarnator, but since I came from another world, I could technically say I wasn't.
"Absolutely not. If I were either of those, I would have invested in stocks or made trades, not written a novel. I don't have that kind of ambition to begin with. I'm telling you, it's all just a coincidence."
"For a coincidence, the situations are matching up quite perfectly, don't you think?"
Lina cut in quietly while elegantly sipping her coffee. Her eyes were full of mischief, but her tone was somewhat meaningful.
It was hard to tell if she was half-joking or half-serious. Of course, from my perspective, it was frustrating.
"It really is just a coincidence. And the fact that traces of Demons are appearing everywhere is a highly realistic scenario. It's been 3,000 years. 3,000 years! Even the experts mentioned that while they've been ignoring it until now, the warnings themselves existed long before the Xenon Biography was published. They were just too distracted by other things and turned a blind eye."
"Hmm... that's true. I heard that in some reports, they even skipped over things because they were too bothersome to deal with. In truth, the threat of Demons was always there; it's just that no one was paying attention. Cecile, what's the situation in Helium like right now?"
"Helium is no different from anywhere else. Instead, they're looking for traces of the Radical Faction of the Demon Tribe, who were hostile to the Human Alliance 300 years ago. The results of the investigation should be out soon."
The Radical Faction was a group that had been hostile to the Human Alliance even during the Race War 300 years ago. As their name suggested, they hated humans and even went as far as committing crimes.
Usually, members of the Demon Clan become Demons semi-forcibly because they cannot overcome despair and sorrow, but in the case of the Radical Faction, they often become Demons for the sake of revenge.
Because of this, they were a major headache for the Human Alliance during the Race War, but fortunately, things were settled with the help of the moderate Demon Clan—that is, Helium.
Furthermore, the Radical Faction was nearly wiped out by the Race War, but a small number of them escaped and are hiding throughout the world. Even now, because the cost for humans to handle them could be immense, Helium is taking charge.
"The world is quite unsettled. The pollution of the World Tree is one thing, but Demons... Did a Second Demon War really break out in the distant future?"
"It's not impossible. It's been 3,000 years, after all. Honestly, it wouldn't have been strange if a second Great Invasion had occurred during that time. They even found a Demon ruin estimated to have been built 500 years ago. We weren't aware of it, but there were many dangerous situations in various ways. Fortunately, they all ended in failure, but the magic circles installed in the ritual sites were becoming more advanced by the day."
"It's a relief they failed, otherwise..."
"A disaster might have struck. It's a good thing that connecting dimensions is difficult even for elves or the Demon Clan; if it were easy, we would have been invaded long ago."
As Mari and Lina's conversation suggested, the world's interest was currently rapidly converging on Demons. Since things once dismissed as mere legends were appearing in reality one after another, it was impossible not to be interested.
Consequently, research related to Demons was also being actively conducted. However, because most books related to Demons had been lost over time and remained only in ancient formats, they were facing many obstacles.
The only intact ones might be in the Holy Land. But I had heard that the Holy Land was currently overcrowded.
"Oh, by the way, Isaac."
"Yeah?"
"When do you plan on including the illustrations? I'm ready whenever."
While Lina and Mari were talking, Cecile asked me. She was asking when I would include the illustration of Lilith—that is, the drawing of Cecile.
I had originally decided to put it in Volume 13, but I had postponed it until later due to the timing. Since I planned to visit Helium during the upcoming break, I figured I could draw it then.
"Illustration? What illustration?"
Mari, beside me, tilted her head with a puzzled expression. Come to think of it, I hadn't told Mari.
Just as I was about to open my mouth, Cecile gave her characteristic beaming smile and answered clearly, almost as if she were bragging.
"You know Lilith, who appeared in Volume 13? You know I'm the model for that Seven Deadly Sins character, right?"
"Of course I know."
"Isaac said he's going to include the Seven Deadly Sins as illustrations and that he'd use me as a reference. He was going to put it in Volume 13, but it was difficult due to time constraints."
"...Aha. I see."
After listening to Cecile, Mari nodded slowly and then slowly turned her head to look at me. I didn't have the courage to meet her eyes and kept my neck stiff, but...
"Isaac?"
"... ..."
"Is that true?"
I had no choice but to close my eyes at Mari's chillingly calm question. When I quietly opened them again, I saw Cecile covering her mouth and giggling softly.
Honestly, she looked more like a mischievous brat than a Demon, and I almost laughed, but I barely suppressed it because Mari was glaring at me.
In the slightly heavy atmosphere, Mari looked back and forth between me and Cecile before finally breaking into a deep smile. It seemed she had thought of something.
"...Well, whatever. It's similar to my situation anyway."
"Huh? Yours too?"
"It's not about putting in a drawing like her. Instead... I'm going to have him include the intense relationship we've had so far—"
"Pfft!"
Before Mari could even finish her sentence, Lina, who had been drinking her coffee, sprayed it out. Naturally, all eyes focused on her.
"Cough! Cough! Hack!"
As if it had gone down the wrong pipe, Lina coughed repeatedly. She hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the coffee splattered around her mouth.
Just as I was about to get up to pat her on the back, Lina asked as if she couldn't believe it while still coughing.
"Cough! Is that... cough! True?"
"That I'm putting mine and Isaac's night affairs in the book?"
"Cough! Cough! Yeah... is it... okay to put things like that in?"
"Why not? There's no reason I can't. Right?"
Mari grabbed my arm and asked in a suggestive voice. Whether intentional or not, she wedged my arm between her breasts, and I could feel their soft texture through her clothes.
As I sat there with a wry smile, Cecile patted Lina's back, and once she seemed to have calmed down, Lina asked cautiously.
"Which volume... will it be in?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking which volume it will be in. It's coming out later, right?"
Why was she asking that? I looked at Lina, whose face was flushed—perhaps from the coughing fit—and answered her.
"Nothing's been decided yet. I plan to write it toward the end, but..."
"No."
"Huh?"
"Absolutely not."
For some reason, Lina was vehemently opposed. Usually, Lina would just go along with whatever story I wrote, but this time she was firm.
It was a moment where curiosity came before offense. Mari seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she asked in a puzzled voice.
"Why not? Is it because minors might see it?"
"It's not that, but..."
"But?"
I wondered if she was surprisingly conservative. At Mari's repeated questioning, Lina coughed once and stared at us.
Then, her face rapidly turned beet red, and she covered her face with both hands, speaking in a voice as tiny as a passing ant.
"...Tastefully."
"Huh?"
"Write it... write it tastefully. Then it'll be fine."
"... ..."
"If you write it wrong... and give people strange ideas... you have to think about the influence of your book..."
Was that it? Even in my previous life, many people had problems in practice because they didn't receive proper sex education and only watched pornography.
Moreover, this was a medieval era where sex education was not properly developed. While nobles were taught thoroughly by their parents or tutors, commoners were not.
Currently, things between Mari and me were getting quite spicy. We had passionately shared our bodies even on our first night, and now that we were used to it, it went without saying.
"Well... I suppose that's true. But don't worry. It won't be too explicit."
"...Alright."
"There's no censorship or anything like that, right?"
"That's up to the publisher's discretion. The state rarely steps in to censor culture directly. The publisher will probably just put a warning on the first page."
That was a relief then. I guess the Elder Council of Albenheim was the real problem.
As I was thinking that, Mari suddenly thought of something strange and questioned Lina.
"But Lina. Do you even know how we do it to be saying that?"
"Wh-what?"
"Listening to you, it sounds like you're saying it because you know we do it intensely. Could it be..."
"N-no, absolutely not! I'm not a pervert, why would I watch what you guys do?!"
When Mari asked with a suspicious look, Lina waved her hands and strongly denied it. But since there's a saying that a fierce denial is a strong affirmation, the suspicion only deepened.
Still, since she denied it so much, I had to believe her for once. Besides, we only did our nightly business in places with guaranteed soundproofing, so there was no way anyone else could have seen.
"...Lina."
"Y-yes?"
"...Never mind."
The fact that Cecile was looking at her with a pitiful expression was a bonus.
After tea time and dinner were over, everyone returned to their respective dormitories. Isaac had intended to enjoy a date with Mari, but for some reason, Mari went straight back to her room.
Isaac was puzzled at first, but when she said she had personal matters to attend to, he went back without a word. Of course, he didn't forget to give her a loving kiss before they parted.
Afterward, Mari returned to her room, changed into comfortable clothes, and threw herself onto the bed. Her snow-white hair with a hint of blue glowed even in the darkness.
She stared up at the dark ceiling for a while, thinking about what had happened today.
'...He lied.'
Cecile had asked Isaac. If he was really a prophet, a person from the future, or a reincarnator.
Isaac had snorted and denied it absolutely, but she, being by his side, could tell. She knew that Isaac had lied.
Because Mari could instinctively grasp a person's true intentions, she could tell that Isaac was lying. However, it was somewhat ambiguous.
It felt like a lie, yet strangely like the truth; even Mari found it difficult to distinguish. Was it a feeling that lies were mixed within the truth, and truth within the lies?
Furthermore, she couldn't tell which of the three—prophet, regressor, or reincarnator—he fit into. But it was 'true' that everything appearing in the world right now was a coincidence.
'What on earth is he?'
Mari thought deeply about Isaac. His composed behavior, which didn't suit his age, along with his deeply considerate heart.
These were not the actions of someone who was only 17 years old. Most of all, wasn't he the person who wrote the Xenon Biography? An author whom everyone assumed to be a sage or a renowned scholar.
As she chewed over each detail, there were more than one or two suspicious points.
Isaac was a fiancé she could trust and with whom she had even shared her body, but he was hiding many things in various ways.
'He'll tell me eventually, right?'
Mari decided to wait. Everyone had their secrets, and Isaac wasn't the type to hide anything malicious.
Besides, Isaac trusted her. Hadn't he revealed himself as the author of Xenon Chronicle of his own accord when he confessed his feelings?
As she recalled Isaac’s gentle smile, Mari giggled and squirmed under the covers. If she had known things would turn out like this, she would have skipped the rest of the day and headed straight to an inn after their date, but she hadn't.
The reason was...
'I never knew Lina was such a pervert.'
She had quickly caught on to the fact that Lina was voyeuring on them. Usually, Lina was excellent at masking her emotions, making it difficult to read her true intentions, but today, she had left an opening.
And through that opening, Mari had glimpsed Lina’s true heart. Looking back, there had been plenty of suspicious signs.
If this had been back when their relationship was at its worst, Mari would have snapped at her, but now...
'How cute.'
Mari found this side of Lina truly adorable—so much so that she wanted to keep teasing her.
All her previous fretting over how to strip away Lina’s mask now seemed pointless. There was such a simple, straightforward method; why hadn't she realized it sooner?
'Not yet. I'll wait until the fruit is a bit riper...'
Mari began to formulate a devious plan, anticipating the "event" to come. She had no intention of handing Isaac over to Lina, but surely the girl deserved at least a little "punishment."
She chuckled to herself, thinking serves her right, and buried her face in her pillow. Right about then...
[From the Helium side: In truth, we also possess an organization similar to the Devil Hunters. They are known as the Reapers, and much like the hunters in Xenon Chronicle...]
"..."
Isaac, reading the latest newspaper, was once again left speechless.
Why are you doing this to me?
It was a moment where he suffered a triple whammy—not of bunkers, but of "Jins."