13
Chapter 13
"Drop by to visit once in a while."
Just before finishing packing and leaving the village, the High Priest who came to see us off said that.
......That sounded way too much like a father-in-law. I tried my best to ignore it. He wouldn't listen no matter how much I explained anyway.
I heard him tell me to take good care of his daughter multiple times.
"You too...... come visit from time to time."
The High Priest said that with a smile.
Rien responded to the High Priest's farewell with a bright smile and hugged her father.
It's a strange feeling.
Seeing how relationships that would have ended in tragedy according to the original story have changed like this.
Feeling a bit proud, I watched their farewells with a satisfied expression until...... something came to mind and I briefly rummaged through my bag.
Fortunately, what I had made before was still there.
"......This is."
The High Priest's eyes widened.
It was to be expected, in a way.
What I handed over was a map of this world.
A map drawn by me, a hardcore gamer who poured my life into Bone and Blood.
Well, there might be some margin of error due to the time difference between the previous game and this one. Even so, nothing in this world could match its level of completion.
What surveying tools could exist in this era?
Besides, how could anyone map out terrain in dangerous zones swarming with monsters?
'Good thing I drew an extra one thinking I might give it to Ciel.'
I can make as many maps as I want, so they're not particularly important to me, but it's different for these people.
They're being targeted by the Empire.
Their location here seems to have been exposed as well.
Either way, they're in a situation where they need to leave here and find another safe place.
"Probably...... it would be best to move your residence around here. There's a monster habitat nearby, but. If you play your cards right, there's a route you can take safely."
I told them about a place where they could migrate while avoiding the Empire's eyes.
Having experienced evading the Empire's pursuit firsthand while playing the previous game, giving advice wasn't particularly difficult.
"What kind of person are you exactly?"
The High Priest said that while looking at me.
......True.
Even I think I'm too suspicious.
What kind of guy carries around information like this?
'But then again, I can't just not tell them what I know.'
They're like family to Rien. It doesn't feel right to let them die when I could save them just to avoid suspicion.
Just by handing over a roughly scribbled piece of paper, the chances of dozens of people surviving increase.
I quickly racked my brain and came up with an appropriate excuse. However, that excuse never made it out of my mouth.
"......No, you don't have to answer."
The High Priest opened his mouth before I could and said that.
"Whoever you may be, I know that you cherish and care for my daughter. That's enough."
No matter how I look at it, he's just a kind and good person.
If only he hadn't been immersed in a strange religion, it would have been really nice.
To think such a person tried to kill his own daughter.
Cults are truly terrifying.
"If you ever need help, just say the word. We'll all be on your side."
The High Priest said so and pushed my back, urging me to hurry and go to Rien.
Judging by his expression, it didn't seem like empty words.
Did I get recognized as an honorary tribe member or something?
Getting a cult village as my backing.
It feels a bit strange...... but let's consider it a good thing.
Having more people willing to help isn't a bad thing.
"Shall we go?"
At my words, Rien nods.
I watched her do that... then realized something.
"Come to think of it. You haven't even heard my name, have you?"
At my words, Rien's face went blank for a moment before she visibly panicked. Seems like I hit the mark.
"I-I'm not like that! I didn't just follow you blindly without even knowing your name, it's because you're......."
"......Because I'm what?"
When I asked that, Rien's face turned bright red again.
She's still so easy to tease.
Her reactions are so satisfying, and now she's even reached the point of creating her own material to be teased about.
I feel the urge to tease her more, but let's hold back this time.
"Ian. No family name, just Ian."
Hearing that, Rien softly repeated my name.
Her appearance was quite cute, and as I watched, flatland started to come into view.
We had escaped the mountains.
Only then did I feel that this whole matter was finally wrapped up.
Sure, things got twisted in various ways. But looking at the results alone, I'm quite satisfied.
I succeeded in recruiting Rien. I even gained unexpected backing, and verified the superior performance of the Sovereign's Grace trait.
A result I couldn't have asked more for.
'......Well, there's still a long way to go though.'
Reuniting with Ciel, building strength through various means, somehow finding and stopping the cause of destruction to survive, and recruiting Yulli too.......
There's still a lot left to do.
Thinking about it makes me feel a bit overwhelmed, but well, when has that ever not been the case?
For now, I'll just dive in and figure things out as I go.
Making small talk with Rien as we headed to the guild, I organized my plans for the future.
'With this much, I've definitely gathered quite a fighting force.'
Two comrades in Rien and Ciel.
Plus securing mental resistance.
With this much, I can definitely make it in.
The Imperial Capital.
Where all of the Empire's forces gather, a place swarming with monsters.
Once that happens, I'll finally be able to do it too.
The essential task every possessed protagonist must undertake: 'Taking down the Mastermind using future knowledge.'
A smile naturally formed on my lips.
Is my luck finally turning around?
Things were going incredibly smoothly.
*****
The man clenched a cigar between his teeth and irritably furrowed his brow.
That troublesome tribe.
It was because he had lost contact with the forces sent to wipe out those who could potentially ruin the Empire's plans.
Wondering if they were disobeying orders, he tried activating the self-destruction brand that Imperial Army soldiers receive upon enlistment as a test, but there was no response.
The implication was clear.
They had been taken out.
All of those forces.
Without a single exception.
'Just how many times has this been now?'
Things had been going terribly wrong for a while now.
And in the man's mind, the cause was simple.
Those bastards who dared to defy the Empire's High Command, the Empire's master—those wretches who deserved a fate worse than death.
Black Fang.
'What the hell are they trying to pull?'
Their intentions and purposes remain completely unknown.
However, their military power is simply absurd.
Even the Black Mages hired by the Empire now all refuse investigation requests regarding Black Fang.
That's how bad it is—even though the Empire doesn't give second chances when their raised dogs disobey.
Meaning digging into those guys is scarier than death itself.
Those who tried to dig up information about that organization all met the same fate.
Destroying their own bodies beyond recognition, laughing madly until they died.
Leaving nothing but Black Fang marks on every single corpse.
In this situation, if the forces sent to raid the village were completely annihilated, there was no one else who could be responsible.
The only ones capable of such a thing were those damned Black Fang.
Troublesome.
Far too troublesome.
And that was precisely why.......
"I suppose I have no choice but to use it."
The man, the Empire's Second Prince, slowly walked forward.
A temple forbidden to ordinary citizens.
Though it was the Holy See's territory, the Holy See was in bed with the Empire anyway.
They were partners who exchanged benefits and shared the same secrets.
The Former Hero's corpse and the device powered by it.
Walking through the temple interior filled with all sorts of secrets that should never see the light of day, the Empire's Second Prince finally reached his destination.
There lay the Holy Grail.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to call it a replica of the Holy Grail.
Not a product of miracles, but a Holy Grail recreated by grinding up children full of faith and Divine Power as the primary ingredients.
This was the highest purity abomination among them all.
A factory that reduced children to mere animals that only knew how to recite prayers, extracting offerings brimming with Divine Power.
From there, selecting only the highest quality ones, screening them again and again, to create a one-of-a-kind supreme product from a thousand corpses.
However, it didn't matter.
If it meant eliminating that damned organization, even this was worth the sacrifice.
The Second Prince was prepared to use the precious card he had carefully saved.
And so, smiling, the man prayed to the Holy Grail.
To kill that damned traitor of the Empire, the 'Leader who oversees Black Fang' who had dared to raise a flag of rebellion against the Empire.
And.......
Nothing happened.
The Holy Grail merely flickered before losing its power.
As if such a person didn't even exist.
In that moment, the Second Prince's face was painted with horror.
Because the implication was clear.
'Can they really block even this so effortlessly.'
The man laughed hollowly in front of the Holy Grail that had lost its power.
Black Fang.
Appalled by just how irrational a monster the Leader overseeing that unidentified organization truly was, by that overwhelming strength.