What Did You Just Say? (5)
Goel froze.
Its shape was quite badly warped, but there was no mistaking it for anything other than the medal. It was the exact item Goel had ordered a servant to dispose of.
Rillai shot to his feet.
"That—! Where did you find it?!"
"It was lying at the bottom of the lake."
...What? The lake? Not the Eshua landfill?
Every head in the room turned toward Goel.
Even Isaac gave the sack of lard a look of sheer disbelief.
But Goel only kept sweating buckets, staring fixedly at the table. The elders glared at him with undisguised contempt.
Isaac had known they disapproved of him, but he hadn't imagined Goel would stoop to telling a lie like that.
Rillai, too, thought it was rather low of him — but then again, the medal had been found, so the matter was settled either way.
That wasn't what mattered, though.
"Father. That is the very thing. If you compare the medal against Isaac's power, we'll have definitive proof that... er, although it's melted... Father, was that your doing?"
"Do you think I did it?"
Huh?
Everyone's expression froze solid.
Yet the head of the house tapped the medal absently, as if it were nothing at all.
"It was like this when I found it. I imagine some holy fire melted it."
"Ah, I see. Melted by fire... I beg your pardon?!"
Hold on. What? Why?
"Melted the Pope family's gold? Isaac did?"
"Gold that neither a Cardinal nor even the Demon King could melt?"
Goel shut his eyes tight, as if he had anticipated this exact situation.
At the same moment, Rillai finally understood why his brother had fought so hard to hide the medal — why he'd tried so desperately to drag Isaac down.
This was no longer a matter of talent.
This was an anomaly.
The head of the house looked at Isaac with unmistakable interest.
"Even if it is only the lowest grade of medal, this is gold carrying the Pope's blessing, and it melted. That was an unfamiliar energy — I intended to investigate it. And it was you, all of it."
The head's eyes changed, but Isaac's expression was nothing short of baffled.
And for good reason.
'Goddammit, I don't know either, you little punk.'
No, honestly — he genuinely had no idea.
'Why is that thing melted?'
[I have been wondering the same thing, Master.]
Seriously, why was it melted?
'Any chance the Pope's family found it first and melted it?'
[And does Master wish to be beaten to a pulp by the Pope?]
'Fine, then. What about someone else in the Pope's faction melting it?'
[Then they'd deserve a beating from you, Master. Who would dare melt what even you couldn't?]
Fair point.
Isaac stared hard at the medal.
It had melted like chocolate, its shape slightly warped. Even the name engraved on it had apparently been erased in the process.
And judging by the molten trails, there was no doubt it had been melted by fire.
But how? What on earth had happened?
'It wasn't supposed to be this easy to melt the Pope's gold.'
The Pope was the only mortal directly connected to the gods.
That was why the gold blessed by his house — Blessed Gold — was so special.
It never melted. Never broke.
It was no accident that the holy faction's most important treasures were always hidden inside the Pope's gold.
Well — melting it hadn't been strictly impossible for Isaac, but it required a pile of absurdly expensive materials, so the cost-efficiency was garbage and he'd never bothered.
And yet a piece of it had melted?
By his fire?
His fire was just fire, wasn't it?
'Did I get stronger?'
Even the holy fire of priests was fundamentally the same fire, at its root. That was exactly why Isaac had always used holy fire in his own way.
So how had its power suddenly changed?
'Did being reborn in this body boost it?'
Or — no, it might have been that holy power and demonic power, fused, worked differently.
Either way, this was not something just anyone could do.
The proof stood before them: Goel biting down on his lip, and Rillai's eyes shining like stars.
"Father! If the boy can wield fire hot enough to burn the symbol of the Pope's own house—!"
At those words, Isaac grinned from ear to ear, like a man who'd been waiting all day for that cue.
'YES! That's it! Physical proof that I outrank the Pope! Proof I can show the whole world!'
"Then his flames could withstand even the Skeleton Demon King's blaze!"
"Precisely, Head of House! A born demon-king hunter! An Anti-Skeleton, if ever there was one!"
You goddamn Skeleton King fanboys!
He's GONE! Let the poor guy rest!
I'll burn you lot first!
But Rillai and the elders weren't listening.
"Not long ago, the people suffered great losses from the Skeleton Demon King hiding in our midst."
"Indeed. If left alone, the age of the Skeleton Demon King will rise again!"
Goddammit! WHO?! Who's the impostor?!
Isaac's eyes bulged with fury.
He'd let all the "Skeleton King this, Skeleton King that" slide as half a joke — but apparently—
[It appears there really is an impostor running around, Master.]
There IS?
Though honestly, it was none of Isaac's business.
Whoever the holy faction chased after — what did that have to do with him?
It split their attention, which suited Isaac perfectly fine.
So there was really no need to care about—
"Why, seventy years ago that very Skeleton Demon King appeared at the Eshua estate out of nowhere and laid a curse upon us. That grudge has not been forgiven to this day."
A curse? What curse?
More importantly, what estate?! I was never part of the holy faction in the first place!
What kind of undead gets "laid to rest," huh?!
"It's true. When you remember that the Skeleton Demon King invaded, swearing to stamp out the Saintess and every drop of her bloodline's seed... my teeth still grind. What sin had the newborn children committed?!"
No — seed?! Bloodline?! I didn't even know which family the Saintess was from — how the hell was I supposed to invade her?!
This is insane!
[Seventy years ago, at least, we can be certain it wasn't you, Master.]
NO SHIT, punk!
I fought the gods a hundred and fifty years ago, and when I opened my eyes, it was now!
Leaving the Saintess's line alone was profitable — I'd even ordered my subordinates never to touch them!
'Some bastard dared to rack up this kind of karma in my name.'
Whatever curse that impostor had laid on the Eshuas, Isaac didn't know — but now, at last, certain things made sense.
It explained why these people's eyes spun into spirals every time the words "Skeleton King" came up!
'A curse on the bloodline. So that's why Rillai said what he said to me.'
—It's all right, little one! I heard the whole story! Even if you bear the curse, we don't care!
—It's good to be kind to the child, but don't grow too attached. He won't live long anyway.
Maybe the reason this body had been masterless was that impostor's curse.
Perhaps the baby died the moment it was born — or perhaps it never had a soul to begin with.
Well, whatever.
Even if it was a curse, at worst it was some demon-spawn's curse.
[To you, Master, it would be a child's prank.]
True — the surest fix would be killing the bastard who cast it, but given his skills, Isaac could probably just analyze and unravel the curse himself.
Though he didn't strictly need to.
After all, hadn't he already eaten the Skeleton Demon King's flesh?
'Overwhelm it with a Demon King's mana, and the curse can't touch your life.'
What conceited little worm could snatch away the life of a being standing above him?
And as long as his life was safe, just about any curse fell within forgivable limits.
Why bother hunting down the caster and decoding the damn thing?
Frankly, as a Demon King, it was a curse that wasn't even worth—
"Most of the cursed die young. Those who don't suffer either failing fertility or stunted growth."
"There was even one who lived his whole life bald..."
GODDAMMIT! I am going to grind that impostor into paste and END him!!
[...Er. That bald part might not actually be the curse's doing, no?]
Curse or not, he dies!
"Dahyaak! (How DARE you cast such a curse on me?!)"
"I-Isaac, young master!"
"What's gotten into him all of a sudden?"
The attendants rushed over with the rattle, but Isaac was thrashing, his eyes spinning wild.
"Dyaayaaaak! (I'll grind his head into powder and make a supplement out of it!!!)"
He looked fully prepared to slay the Skeleton Demon King with a baby rattle.
Before long, the head of the house gazed straight into those frenzied little eyes.
"It's a closely guarded secret known only to the family, but — red eyes. A child marked by the Skeleton Demon King's curse, I'd wager."
What? The red eyes meant that?
That son of a bitch was crazy enough to leave a brand on his victims?
No wonder the direct family all had blue eyes and he'd never once seen a pair of red ones.
But Whisper found it strange.
[Curious. If a soul of your caliber entered the body, a trifle like a curse-mark should have been erased automatically.]
Then I guess my eyes were just red to begin with!
And yet, even amid all this, Goel still looked sour.
Which made sense: even a child bearing the Demon King's curse would survive, at least for now, so long as his holy power was strong.
Wasn't the family's third son living proof of exactly that?
And above all — become Pope, wield the divine descent rite that only a Pope could perform, and any trifling curse evaporates.
The moment a mortal took a god into his body, he became half-divine. Disease, curses, mortal wounds — all vanished.
In other words, if Isaac endured until he became the Saint and then the next Pope—
the Skeleton Demon King's curse would cease to mean anything at all.
That was precisely why Goel had been so wary of this situation.
'The brat already ate the Demon King's flesh — he's doomed to die for it anyway.'
But if Father were to help extend his lifespan...!
'He'd be handing Isaac wings.'
But still — fire and water, at least, had been within the expected range.
It stung, but Shuri could receive the same category of things once he came of age.
And above all, the head of the house was chronically unsatisfied with any boy born into Eshua.
The fire and water were tokens — which was to say, the head had no intention of giving anything beyond that...
"Fire and water seem too weak. We shall grant him a Holy Spirit."
Goel nodded along obediently.
"Yes! Quite right! Fire and water are far too we— ...I beg your pardon?"
At the same moment, Goel's eyes went round as saucers, and beside him, a voice erupted — one incomparably louder than any that had come before.
"A Holy Spirit?!"
"Yes. At the very least, I must grant him one capable of purifying the Demon King's mana."
"Head of House!"
This time even Isaac understood.
'Oh, you beautiful old man!'
Isaac threw his arms up in triumph.
A Holy Spirit?
He'd planned to rip one out eventually, but he'd assumed he'd at least have to wait until his speech came in and he'd grown up.
That was exactly the leverage he'd meant to demand in exchange for bringing back the Demon King's flesh.
And here it was, handed over free?
'A Holy Spirit is a matter of affinity — the younger you bond, the better. Getting one now would be a bonus. No, the jackpot.'
Chasing off the Pope's errand boy had been worth it after all. Who knew that Gold-faith snake would prove this useful?
Goel, of course, was grinding his teeth to dust.
'The people who can wield a Holy Spirit can be counted on one hand.'
Because a Holy Spirit was normally granted only as a bestowal from above.
And even a bestowal wasn't something just anyone received.
'The Azure Flame! The thing granted only to the pillars of House Eshua!'
And he was giving it to whom?
"Thank you! It will be a great strength to Isaac!"
"No — no, it is far too great an honor! Beyond all comparison with fire and water!"
Rillai rejoiced, and Goel's stomach twisted until he could barely stand it.
After all, Goel was already making preparations to sell Isaac off to another family as an adopted son.
Eshua men had such good bloodlines that they were perpetually in demand for political marriages and adoptions. And after this business, the lines wanting Isaac had only multiplied.
Which meant he had to be removed before he caught the head's eye.
"Yes — Isaac has talent matching Shuri's. I understand you wish to reward your adorable grandson, now that a sprout shows promise in a boy of this house. But—!"
"!?"
"Holy Spirits went to the exalted ones who bled and burned to raise Eshua's name. Has that child ever truly done anything for this family?"
"Brother, Isaac—"
Goel cut off Rillai's strained words.
"Even if the boy truly did burn that medal — that is provoking the Pope's house. Do you imagine they will simply sit still for it? In the end, it is an act that endangers Eshua itself."
"!"
"And that is not all. He claims he retrieved the Demon King's flesh from the vault — and then he ate it. Extracting it consumed untold medicines and manpower, and has that not simply been a burden on the family?"
Medicines and manpower?
Every last medicine had been a gift addressed to Isaac, and as for manpower — all he remembered was Rillai and the old men groaning over it.
Isaac picked his nose, but Goel stood firm.
"To grant such a child a Holy Spirit — if it is merely because he is the eldest son's child, then I must say, Head of House, that your arm bends rather too far inward. Please spare a thought for the other heirs who hold Eshua's honor dear."
The head of the house conceded the point.
"Is that so? I made a mistake, then."
At those words, Goel exhaled in relief. At last, the man was making sense.
"I knew you would understand, Father! Even Rillai and the elders are so stubborn sometimes, they simply won't listen to reason—"
"You are the one who made the mistake. Goel Eshua."
Huh?
Goel stared at the head of the house, stunned.
But the instant his eyes met his father's, he went rigid.
Anger simmered in the head's razor-sharp blue eyes.
"What were you doing, Goel, when the Pope's house sent a gift like that onto our lands?"
"...!"
"You meant to send men who dared raise a hand against Eshua soil — back home politely?"
Something had gone very wrong. Feeling the head's fury, Goel scrambled.
"Th-that is...! If a pointless war broke out with the Pope's house, Eshua itself would be endangered—!"
The head's gaze turned sharper still.
"You, who slight your own nephew — I wonder whether you have truly done anything for this family. Or is it that this Eshua looked so weak and easy to you, so easily swayed by such petty business?"
"......!!"
Cold sweat ran down Goel's back.
"You couldn't eat it yourself, so you decided to smash everyone else's bowl too? If you lack the ability, then keep that mouth of yours shut. You, who presumed to judge Eshua's dangers on your own authority, are the very one endangering Eshua — and heaping a goddamn burden on a child who has earned a rightful reward."
"......"
Goel could not lift his head.
"Even beasts protect the young of their pack. And you? Eshua is the family that protects the smallest among us. The weakest creature under our care was the very one who guarded our pride in return. If that is not an exalted deed worthy of this house's honor, then what is?"
Goel could only sweat in streams, while Isaac grinned ear to ear.
P-poor guy, he's about to cry. What's the big deal?
Man, this is satisfying. Keep it coming.