What on Earth Is Wrong With That Kid? (3)
Isaac already knew.
He knew the other candidates had been lurking around the entrance to the second gate.
Well, they were Saint candidates, after all. They must have survived his little schemes and scrambled after him somehow.
And every last one of them was a noble raised on elite education by their houses and the Papal Court.
Children taught to command people from the cradle—how sharp could they possibly be?
Ah, these little priest sprouts, just begging to be wrung by the neck.
Anyway, that was why, when Isaac took out the gatekeeper, he'd deliberately made a show of hoisting up the ring as if it were the source of his power.
Then, among them, anyone with half a brain would think something like this:
Ah! So the only reason that suckling survived the traps and trials is that ring of his!
Exactly that.
Besides, Isaac was the only one who'd been allowed to bring an item in. Of course it would draw attention.
He'd simply turned that attention to his advantage.
That was why he'd made a point of doing nothing at the first gate but the most conspicuous stunts he could manage.
Because he knew the second gate was crawling with traps too grueling for a suckling's body to handle… Yeah, right! These conniving little chicks—aiming for the Skeleton Demon King's remains, of all things?!
I'll drain the whole lot of you in one gulp!
Well, thanks to the children dressed head to toe in red, every mine-style trap in the second gate had been cleared away. And he'd predicted that roughly half of those who followed him would be left standing.
What he hadn't predicted, however, was the look in their eyes.
Sparkling.
"……"
Cold sweat streamed down Isaac as he entered the second gate.
The back of his head prickled.
Clutched in Shuri's arms, Isaac stared at the children trailing faithfully at his heels.
What is with those eyes?
Trailing after him was one thing, but why did they have to stare so relentlessly?
Yet the children looking at him only shone brighter.
"I knew it! That child must be carrying a divine relic!"
A divine relic? Wait—were you little punks actually cultists?
"Is that just what it means to come from the Saintess's line?"
No. Those kids are perverts who only know how to turn demon kings into minced meat.
Still, from their perspective, the reaction was only natural.
"He took the ring, and the Naiser lot still wiped themselves out. And he strutted around telling everyone he had his own method, come follow me and all."
"Honestly, even I thought the ring talk was going too far. It just looks like an antique with a blessing on it."
"I never believed House Eshua would pull something that unfair in the first place."
"Right. House Eshua is the most honest, upright house there is."
"But then—that means this child defeated the second gate's keeper, doesn't it? Someone like him can perform exorcism arts?"
"Of course he can! He's an Eshua!"
"True. He must be as upright and pious as the Saintess and the rest of House Eshua—a noble servant of the gods, no doubt…!"
Listening to the children's awestruck gazes, Shuri could only be dumbfounded.
Well. There's no pressing need to correct them, so I suppose I'll just keep quiet and listen.
But seriously?
Upright? A servant of the gods?
This one?
The child who twists dolls' necks clean off the moment he lays eyes on the Chief Gods' figurines?
Shuri's gaze drifted toward Isaac, who was grinning like a deranged pervert.
Whenever the attendants brought out the Chief Gods' dolls, Isaac would fly into an inexplicable fury and wrench their heads around with terrifying enthusiasm.
-Ttayaaaaaaang (None of you punks are even this handsome, by the way)!!!
Luckily he'd hidden all of them himself, or it would have been a disaster.
Anyway, that wasn't the point.
A child of about six approached Isaac.
"If a Saint truly exists, I imagine he would be someone like you."
"!"
The boy's clothing was unfamiliar, and for a Saint candidate, he was beaming far too enthusiastically at his own competitor.
Ttaya (What do you want, you brat)?
Faced with Isaac's rotten glare, Shuri narrowed his eyes as if he understood perfectly.
"…Who are you supposed to be?"
"The Prince of Julius."
At those words, the other candidates stirred.
"Julius? That's the kingdom east of Hella!"
"I heard their prince received the gods' blessing…"
Isaac let out an awkward laugh.
Ah. So it was this brat. The idiot from the neighboring kingdom?
"Honestly, I'm confident in my divine power, but I don't seem to have any real chance of becoming the Saint myself. I came seeking the Saint—and the remains of the Skeleton Demon King."
Well, well. So you're after my body too, huh?
The young prince looked at Isaac's hair color, his eyes sparkling with something close to conviction—close to reverence.
"Platinum blonde is the mark of Hella's founding ancestors, isn't it? Emperor the First and Pope the First! They say no one in the papal line has carried that color in thousands of years! If someone bearing the color of the great founders has appeared, hasn't the Saint already been chosen? It's direct proof of the gods' blessing!"
For some reason, the children went pale at those words. Deathly white, they began glancing around furtively, as if checking whether Kina Berith might be lurking nearby.
They wore the faces of people who'd just heard a forbidden name.
And then—
Thud!
The moment they neared the gate leading to the third floor, doll-like gatekeepers appeared in a pillar of light.
Welcome. The third gate is the Gate of Reflection.
The children erupted in cheers.
No point letting Kina Berith show up and start sparks flying—only they would get burned.
"Yes! We can move on to the next gate!"
"Thank goodness we followed that kid instead of Naiser!"
"The Skeleton Demon King's remains are ours!"
The blood rose to Isaac's face.
I said, leave the Skeleton Demon King's remains alone.
The porcelain angel dolls, meanwhile, hammered the butt of their spears against the floor.
Thud!
To pass the third gate, you need only smash us to pieces.
Show us your courage and your resolve for the trials ahead!
"Fine! Easy enough!"
The third trial was, no doubt, a test of nerve.
Everyone readied their offensive holy arts with all the confidence in the world.
But then—
"Ttaya (Stop)!"
"!!"
Isaac's cry made the children flinch.
This was the child who had dodged every single trap since the first gate. They had no choice but to hang on his every movement.
"What is it? Did he figure something else out?"
"W-wait. Careful. It might be a trap."
Watching Isaac over the angel statues, Shuri narrowed his eyes.
Yes. It is a trap.
Shuri had quietly learned the treasury's structure from his father.
Those angel dolls certainly looked like the third gate's keeper, but honestly?
It's a lie.
If the first gate was the Gate of Choice and the second the Gate of Composure, then the third was the Gate of Reflection.
You couldn't just brush past that word—reflection—which they'd emphasized before the second gate even ended.
It was a hint: think back on what happened in the first and second gates.
In short—don't judge by appearances.
A virtue befitting a grown saint: never be swayed by appearances or by the words you hear; doubt everything.
In other words, those things had told everyone to smash them to pieces—but touching them even once was the fatal mistake.
All they had to do was walk straight past.
The exact same principle as the second gate's keeper.
Or maybe that's why the second gate's keeper was a demonkin.
Demons lie, after all.
Which meant everything in the treasury was a hint leading to the next gate.
Right on cue, Isaac sucked noisily on his rattle and began gesturing furiously with his hands.
"Ttaya, ayaya. Ayayayaya."
Reading the gestures, it looked like he was telling everyone to gather to one side.
The children were all deeply moved.
"Could it be—he's showing us the way?"
"He wants us to go this way?"
Even Shuri was considerably shaken.
The direction Isaac pointed to was, unmistakably, the correct answer.
Since when does he point out the right way to anyone?
Was this the Saintess's blood showing after all?
Shuri was technically competing against Isaac within the family, but even he couldn't deny the Saintess's character.
The Saintesses had all been kind, self-sacrificing souls.
Shepherds who guided others onto the righteous path…
"Ttaya!"
CRASH!!
Shepherds onto the righteous path…
You have chosen incorrectly.
"AAAARGH!!"
You son of a—YOU ABSOLUTE LUNATIC!!
Isaac pummeled the angels' heads off with his holy art, showing them no mercy whatsoever.
Radiant Star (3rd Tier)
The porcelain-like dolls crumbled to dust under Isaac's holy art.
And the instant they shattered, the dolls' forms changed.
Fufu. Saints should never go trusting just anyone's word.
Their new forms were demons, swords and spears in hand.
Shuri went rigid.
This had to be the keeper's final trap guarding the road to the third gate.
And sure enough, the demon dolls came chasing after the candidates, blades drawn.
The children scattered in utter panic.
"Aaack! What is this?!"
Isaac cackled wildly from the safety of Shuri's arms.
What does it look like? Bloodthirsty puppets, obviously.
Didn't I tell you, back when you saw the golem in the second gate?
That this is my subordinate's ability?
Which was exactly why Isaac had recognized them the moment the angels appeared.
Ah. So those are my subordinate's puppets too.
And being his subordinate's puppets, he knew their abilities down to the finest detail.
Those were Liars' Dolls—con-artist puppets that transformed into bloodthirsty murder machines and hunted down anyone foolish enough to fall for their words.
Ttuya (By the way, they go after the biggest crowds first).
"AAAAH!"
"WAAAH! Save me!"
Isaac went puhehehe at the sight of the Saint candidates screaming and hurling holy arts every which way.
Ttuyayaya (That's why you never let your guard down, my little chicks)!
The candidates, throwing up defensive arts, looked around desperately for Isaac.
They'd convinced themselves this was a trial meant to be solved by following him.
So all they had to do was run after Isaac—
Where's the escape route?!
But.
"Wait, where did they go?!"
Isaac and Shuri had vanished. No matter how they scanned their surroundings, the pair was nowhere to be seen.
"Find out where they—AAK!"
Isaac, standing right beside them, grinned ear to ear.
I'm right next to you, you idiots.
Isaac had activated the blessing laid upon his body.
-Isaac, let this uncle lay upon you the blessing that will help you most.
Rillai, worried that the ring alone wouldn't be enough, had secretly woven holy arts into the boy's body as well.
To be sure, he hadn't granted the abilities the other children had received—strength enhancement, movement speed, eyes of discernment—all the treasure-hunting specialties.
Instead, he'd chosen the single blessing best suited to protecting a child.
Invisibility (6th Tier)
All that fuss about bringing back the holy sword—and this is the blessing he chose.
Truly befitting the Saintess's house, so free of greed.
Or in a certain sense, perhaps remarkably shrewd?
And Isaac wasn't the only one under the veil of invisibility.
"……"
The invisibility extended to anyone Isaac was touching.
Namely, Shuri—who currently wore the expression of a man chewing dung—
And…
"G-good heavens…!"
The prince.
Isaac had been gripping the prince's collar the whole time. And while his own group remained perfectly safe, the prince was gaping in astonishment.
"Did you cast an invisibility art on me as well? You saved me!"
Clearly.
Shuri was staring at Isaac, whose eyebrows wriggled as he smirked.
But that wasn't all.
"Ttaya (I'll lend you this)."
Isaac held out the ring he'd reclaimed from Naiser to the prince.
Looking at it, the prince was moved all over again.
No child would carry something like this in as a mere ornament.
It had to carry a special blessing.
"Thank you. For an old-fashioned soul like me, unfamiliar with battling demonkin…!"
Shuri glanced at Isaac, a little startled.
This suckling is sharp.
Is he instinctively thinking about connections to the royal family?
Perhaps it was coincidence, but this prince came from a kingdom not far from the Eshua Duchy.
Banking a favor here would be a good thing in every possible sense.
"Thank you! I will never forget this grace! I shall relay it faithfully to my father the King… HURK!"
The moment he took the ring, the prince went limp and crumpled to the floor.
His divine power had been drained in an instant.
And there was no way Shuri didn't know that the ring's ability was the absorption of holy power.
Come to think of it, there were around twenty Saint candidates inside this second gate.
Exactly the minimum number required for the ring to activate.
Even better, every single one of them was gathering their divine power to cast their holy arts—the absolute ideal conditions for absorption…
At the same time, Isaac looked down at the collapsed prince and went puhehehehe.
Ttuyattuyaya (Yours was the biggest divine power out of the whole lot of them)!!
Whisper laughed along with his master.
Having witnessed everything, Shuri stared down at the child in his arms, frozen and pale as a sheet.
Uncle.
What on earth did you fish out of the ground?
Is this really Eshua blood?