Spilling the Secrets
The authority of Demon King Rubias was not limited to merely displaying glimpses of the future.
Almost like a deity, she could comprehend the deeper meaning of a place, the psychology of a subject, and even the intricate web of relationships between surrounding figures. It was an egregiously fraudulent ability—so absurd that it seemed almost unbelievable she could ever suffer defeat at the hands of the Hero.
Naturally, the sheer volume of information flooding through that power was staggering, but unlike before, this divination carried a singular, sharp objective: to scour every branch of fate right here, right now, to unearth the possibility of elevating the three women's realms of power.
It was like hammering wildly at surrounding objects just to force a shapeless puzzle piece into place. The process of analyzing, combining, synthesizing, and dissecting every variable existing in the present felt less like observing the future and more like creating it from scratch.
"Agh, grrgh...!"
"Lord Alzen?!"
"Alzen!"
─Calm yourselves, all of you. It may hurt, but his body will suffer no lasting harm.
"...Are you certain?"
─Hah... How insolent, little girl. Do you fancy yourself something special just because you stand by Kang Han-gil's side? You would do well to realize that me deigning to answer you at all is an act of pure mercy.
Even as Rebecca and Cacciola bristled at the Demon King's imperious tone, confusion washed over their faces.
"...Kang Han-gil?"
"Who is Kang Han-gil...? Are you talking about Alzen?"
─Hm? What is this? You mean to say you were ignorant of even that? Hah! To think you haven't earned even the bare minimum of his trust. You truly are beneath my notice.
"What...?"
"What kind of bullshit is that—!"
Uncaring of how their voices rose in heated protest, the Demon King rolled the eyeball that had sprouted on my left arm and fixed its gaze squarely upon Muriel.
─It seems the only one here worth speaking to, aside from Han-gil, is you. What was your name again?
"...It is Muriel."
─Right. Muriel. You were Han-gil's attendant, were you not? Guard him well until the day I claim him as my own. Do so, and I shall bestow upon you a fitting reward.
"How utterly laughable. You talk of claiming Lord Han-gil when you fled like a beaten dog? Personally, I find the prospect of you becoming his slave far more probable."
─Heh heh. Quite feisty, aren't you? Like master, like servant.
The lips parted in an amused grin, only to twist viciously a moment later.
─However, foolish bravado demands its toll. Allow me to discipline you so you clearly understand your place.
Vwoooom!
"Kh...!?"
A terrifying maelstrom of mana began condensing around my left arm. Her eyes widening in shock, Muriel dropped into a combat stance in an instant.
"...Knock it off."
Smack!
I threw a savage right hook straight into the eyeball protruding from my left arm.
Yet the eyeball didn't suffer so much as a scratch.
Instead, a dull throb shot back through my own knuckles.
"Damn it... What is this, a bulletproof eyeball? Why the hell is it so hard?"
─Oh? Finished searching already?
"Yeah. Whew... That hurt like hell. I am never doing that again."
─You adapt remarkably fast. Come to think of it, your soul has grown quite bloated as well... Heh, you certainly have the talent. There is no doubt that you and I are bound by destiny.
"Cut the crap."
Clutching my pounding head, I collapsed back onto the sofa.
"...I saw all the futures I needed to see. Now get lost."
─How cruel! Is that any way to address someone who just rendered you such aid?
"That wasn't aid, it was a transaction."
─Even so, could you not treat me with a touch more tenderness?! I am a maiden, after all!
"Ha! Don't make me laugh... A maiden? You're a worn-out hag who's lived for thousands of years..."
─Worn out?! What foul slander! Despite how I appear, I am still an untouched maiden!
"Pfft, lay off the blatant lies."
─Why must you doubt me so?! Why on earth would I, a Demon King, ever mingle flesh with a low, inferior human?! Unless it were you, of course!
"You'd do literally anything for the sake of amusement and pleasure, and I'm supposed to believe you never touched anyone? Say something plausible if you want me to believe it."
─Even I am not driven to such desperation! Tell me, would you copulate with a cockroach purely for pleasure?! To me, humanity is precisely that! Save for you!
"Haaah... Whatever. Just stop making my skull ring and buzz off. Why the hell are you even wasting your breath on a 'low, inferior human' anyway?"
─Ah! Wait! This is unjust! I am truly a maid—
Snap!
The moment I severed the connection, the shrill, clamoring voice vanished without a trace.
"Phew... Silence at last. Muriel, get me a drink."
"...Yes, My Lord."
I took the glass she offered and downed the liquor in heavy gulps, staring blankly ahead for a long while.
"...Lord Alzen. Are you all right?"
Once I had settled down a bit, Rebecca cautiously stepped forward and slipped into the seat beside me.
"Yeah. I'm fine now. Doesn't hurt anymore. And I got a clear look at the future where you all achieve your breakthroughs."
"I see. I am so sorry... to put you through this on our account. But more importantly..."
"Hm?"
"Who is Kang Han-gil?"
"...Ah."
Right. Now that I thought about it, my slip had been laid bare.
"...That rotten bitch of a Demon King."
Muttering a curse under my breath, I met Rebecca's gaze.
"......"
She wore a sulky, pouting expression, yet beneath it lay an undeniable trace of anxiety.
"...How would you feel if I told you that you don't need to worry about it?"
"I would be hurt. Immensely so."
"That much?"
"That much. It would be no different from you telling me that you do not trust me."
"Mmh... I can't say I don't understand where you're coming from, but this really isn't the kind of story that does anyone any good to know... What about you, Cacciola?"
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I glanced over at Cacciola, who was fidgeting nervously while reading the room.
"...If it's truly that important, and if it's something that must remain a secret, I won't ask to hear it."
"Is that so? Wise choice. In that case, Cacciola, step outside for a minute. I need to explain things to Rebecca."
"W-Wait! That doesn't mean you have to go out of your way to keep me in the dark! Honestly, I'm dying of curiosity too! I swear I'll keep it an absolute secret, so please tell me! If I get left out of this group, I think I might actually cry!"
"...Really now?"
Seeing her behave so pitifully brought an involuntary smirk to my lips, and I gave a brief nod.
"Ah, well... You see, the thing is..."
I scratched my head, intending to explain it myself, but ended up shaking my head instead.
"...My thoughts are too scrambled right now to put it into coherent words. Muriel. Do me a favor."
"Haah... Shall I tell them everything?"
"Yeah. Tell them everything you know."
"Understood."
Letting out a soft sigh of her own, Muriel began explaining my true identity to the two of them in a clear, concise manner.
That I was an entirely different person who had possessed Stanasila Alzen's body.
That this was the reason I possessed so much esoteric knowledge.
That my real name was Kang Han-gil, and that I held the ability known as Return by Death, which prevented me from truly dying.
And that I had already died numerous times before.
With every revelation, Rebecca and Cacciola's jaws fell wider and wider, until by the end, their mouths were hanging open so slack they looked ready to drool.
"Uh, um... Please wait a moment. My head is spinning... I think I need time to process this."
"What on earth is going on... S-So you're saying you stole that body? Th-That's practically... just like what happened to my family..."
As the two women murmured to themselves with deeply furrowed brows, lost in thought, I took my time lighting and smoking a hand-rolled cigarette until they regained their composure.
"I have... a question."
The first to pull herself together was Rebecca.
"Yeah. What is it?"
"Um... Entering Lord Stanasila Alzen's body... Was that of your own volition, Lord Alzen... No, Lord Kang Han-gil?"
"No. My own will didn't factor into it in the slightest. If I could, I'd return to my original body in a heartbeat. The despair was so overwhelming that I even committed suicide several times early on."
"I see... That makes sense. Perhaps it was a miracle wrought by the Goddess."
"...Who knows."
"Then where and how did you acquire all that extraordinary knowledge, Lord Kang Han-gil? Muriel's explanation didn't account for that part."
"Ah, well, that's..."
Of course it didn't.
I hadn't told Muriel about that part either.
How on earth was I supposed to confess that this entire world was just a game I used to play, and that all the grand lore and secrets I spouted were merely that game's background settings? It would only sow pointless confusion, and it wasn't a story anyone would easily believe anyway.
"...It's complicated to explain. Let's just say it all flooded into my head the moment I entered this body."
"Hmm..."
A flicker of doubt lingered in her eyes, but Rebecca's expression cleared nonetheless.
"Phew... What a relief. I was terrified that this was the work of some wicked dark mage or a High Demon."
"That's a pretty reasonable suspicion, honestly."
"Well, even if that were true, it's not like I would have left your side, Lord Kang Han-gil."
She gave a playful wink as she flattered me, and the charming sight coaxed a natural smile to my face.
"Th-Then! This has absolutely nothing to do with what happened to my family, right?! Huh?! You're not a demon, are you?!"
"Ghk—!?"
Suddenly, a half-crazed Cacciola seized both of my shoulders and began shaking me violently back and forth.
"Stop that, let go of him. What are you doing, shaking him with that brutish strength of yours?"
"C-Could you maybe have stopped her a second sooner...?"
Throwing a faint complaint at Muriel for her tardy intervention, I steadied my rattled brain before it could turn completely to mush and let out a tired breath.
"Cacciola. I get what you're worried about, but I have zero connection to the demons that destroyed your house. It might look similar on the surface, but it's an entirely different situation."
"Are you... sure?"
"Yeah. If you can't bring yourself to believe me, I won't force you... but I'd really prefer it if you did."
"......"
She fell silent for a beat, took a deep, steadying breath as if bracing her resolve, and looked up to meet my eyes with a firm expression.
"All right. I'll believe you. I decided to trust you from the very beginning... so I'll trust you to the very end."
"Good. Then I guess it's my turn to live up to that trust."
"Huh?"
When I gave an amused chuckle and gestured toward her, she tilted her head in confusion and stepped closer.
"Cacciola. Just now, I saw the future through the Demon King's authority. A future where you awaken and become a Sword Master."
"Uh... Really?"
"Yeah. And it wasn't just a single future either. Across dozens of timelines, through dozens of different paths, I saw you become a Sword Master. At this rate, your ascension is practically guaranteed. Someday, you'll definitely reach that realm."
"......"
At my words, a broad smile spread across Cacciola's lips, and a fierce, burning flame ignited within her eyes.
"Among those futures... is there one where I become a Sword Master right here, right now?"
"...There is. Regrettably, it won't be literally 'right this second,' but it's the absolute shortest path possible at this juncture. But to pull it off, you'll have to endure an agonizingly painful ordeal. If your will falters, the suffering could genuinely kill you. Think you can handle that?"
"I've already prepared myself for that much. I'll endure it no matter what."
"Whew, well, if you're that determined... Oh, and by the way, Rebecca, Muriel. That goes for the two of you as well."
"If it means advancing my realm, I can endure any amount of pain."
"For Lord Han-gil's sake, and to ensure I can protect you, I will become stronger without fail."
"Yeah... Thanks. I appreciate hearing that."
Gulping down the rest of my drink, I let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Lord Han-gil. You appear quite reluctant."
"Mmh... Does it show that much?"
"Yes."
"...Well, it has to be done anyway. She was someone I was going to have to face sooner or later."
"Pardon?"
If it was for the sake of advancing their realms, then taking this step was the right choice. But personally speaking, I really didn't want to get involved with her if I could help it.
"The Goddess... huh."
The fact that the Saintess just happened to be staying at the Duke's Castle felt almost like a cruel twist of fate.
"...Muriel. Go fetch Cecilia and Wendy for me, would you?"
"Yes, My Lord. Right away."
Watching Muriel's retreating back as she exited the chamber, I quietly closed my eyes and began sorting through the thoughts swirling in my head.