Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Ecosystem Destruction (3)
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"Hiding a 7th Circle realm while participating in the Star Birth Festival! That's the kind of nefarious scheme only devil worshippers would pull. No!? That's exactly why they are devil worshippers! Therefore, anyone we catch doing that is an undeniable spy. Am I wrong!?".
Rishir and Dray averted their eyes while chiming in agreeably.
Kordan nodded at their reactions and continued.
"But regrettably, rooting out that spy won't be so straightforward. The bastard knows his power is abnormal, after all. He'll try to masquerade at a level befitting a Star Birth Festival participant to deceive us all. That's precisely why we're racking our brains."
"Hmm..."
Rishir understood what Kordan was getting at.
The reason devil worshippers were so tricky wasn't because they wielded ominous mysteries like demonic power.
It was because they wielded demonic power.
Their true weapon wasn't the demonic power itself, but the ruthless unscrupulousness they employed to achieve their goals.
If such people were dead set on hiding their identities and posing as ordinary participants?
Distinguishing them would be an exceedingly difficult task.
Of course, it wouldn't be entirely impossible.
"We could narrow the investigation by sifting through participants with exceptional talents."
"Hmm..."
"But branding anyone displaying exceptional talent as a spy would undermine the entire purpose of the Star Birth Festival."
"Exactly!"
The Star Birth Festival!
It was a tournament for divines blessed with extraordinary talents.
Providing a stage for them to showcase their gifts to the fullest—that was the event's core ethos.
Yet in such a grand stage, singling out those who shone brightest and labeling them devil worshipper spies?
"If we hunt spies that way, word would spread across the continent in no time. 'The Star Birth Festival was just a spy breeding ground.' Not only would the festival's reputation be tarnished, but our Lunarin Family, the organizers, would be dragged through the mud too...!"
In truth.
The Star Birth Festival wasn't as ancient as its fame suggested.
Dozens of years ago.
It had begun as an annual event hosted by a high noble house—not even a great house—to revitalize their city.
The reason it had grown to its current prestige was thanks to the interest from nobles and the era's top divines.
-A tournament just for our age group to test our skills?
-Then I'm obviously taking the win, right?
For young nobles itching to flaunt their uniqueness, it was an unmatched opportunity.
And the fact that it lacked deep roots played a big part too.
With no storied history, anyone could join casually without pressure.
Ironically, its lack of pedigree allowed it to become a tournament with real prestige.
Thus, the Star Birth Festival had evolved into a massive, continent-spanning spectacle—
And for the high noble Lunarin Family overseeing it, the event had become a cornerstone of their house.
If something went wrong and its reputation suffered?
The Lunarin Family would face irreparable damage.
Kordan, a retainer of the Lunarin Family, shuddered at the mere thought.
"In that case, do you have a countermeasure?"
Rishir's follow-up question.
"..."
Kordan glanced at Dray.
Dray spoke up confidently.
"We do. A surefire solution."
"Ooh, as expected of Sir Dray."
"Hahaha, no—credit goes to Rishir."
"Pardon?"
"Because this is a plan only you can pull off."
"What kind of plan could that be..."
"Before I explain, Rishir—what do you think the devil worshippers' goal is in infiltrating the Star Birth Festival?"
"...By any chance, what are this year's top prize details?"
Rishir, lost in thought, posed the question to the pair.
The Star Birth Festival was renowned not just for its prestige, but for the lavish prizes awarded to the champion.
Perhaps that was what the devil worshippers were after.
Kordan answered Rishir's question with confidence.
"The finest spirit elixir. Made with multiple spirit cores, including a rare high-grade one, according to the alchemist."
Those involved, Kordan included, heavily suspected the spies' aim was this grand prize.
It was a treasure the Lunarin Family had painstakingly procured over years—a prize even great houses or mage towers would covet.
"In that case..."
"Yes. Their target is—"
"At least, it's probably not the prize."
"...?"
Kordan was taken aback by Rishir's utter certainty.
He'd mentioned the elixir so casually, like it was some warehouse trinket.
'Does he not grasp the elixir's value...?'
For a fleeting moment, Kordan nearly forgot Dray's endorsement and doubted Rishir.
His pride stung, so he quickly added,
"You can't be sure. That's not the only prize."
"Oh. There's more?"
"Indeed. The named sword 'Honorable Courage,' imbued with mystical power."
"A named sword... By chance, is it an ego sword?"
Kordan chuckled at Rishir's wide-eyed excitement.
The young man had a youthful spark and some genuine innocence, he thought.
"Sir Rishir, did you know? Not all ego swords are legendary blades."
"Really?"
"Most so-called ego swords can't even hold basic conversations with their wielders. They express their egos through vibrations or the like at best."
"But there are swords that talk to their owners like people, right?"
"Hmm. Sword spirits offering profound knowledge and enlightenment—that's the image most people have of ego swords. But even among ego swords, those are exceedingly rare. Think of heroes' holy swords; only something on that level can interact as a peer to its wielder."
"Then... the mystical power of that 'Honorable Courage' is—"
"It lets the wielder temporarily forget their fear. Impressive, no?"
"Ah, so it grants immunity to all mental interference?"
"What pipe dream is that? It's not a holy sword. It just makes the wielder briefly forget fear—like after a few drinks."
Then why not just drink!?
Rishir strained to keep the thought off his face.
"So, is that elixir and named sword the full extent of this Star Birth Festival's prizes?"
-That's the whole prize!?
Kordan took Rishir's words that way and nodded firmly.
"Yes!"
"Then their goal definitely isn't the prizes."
"...Sir Rishir, are our prizes not to your liking?"
Kordan's frustration peaked.
By his standards, unless a warehouse was stuffed with elixirs and holy swords, that reaction made no sense.
"Pardon? No, that's not it— I just think it's nothing they'd bother with. The effort outweighs the gain for their purposes?"
-He has plenty of experience dealing with devil worshippers.
Kordan recalled Dray's words and barely convinced himself.
It wasn't that the prizes held no value to him; Rishir just thought on a higher level.
"Then... what do you believe their goal is, Sir Rishir?"
"Probably the prestige of a Star Birth Festival participant. Ideally, the winner's prestige—"
"Exactly."
Dray snapped his fingers in agreement from the side.
"Rishir, great minds. That's why they're planting spies in the Star Birth Festival. Nine times out of ten, it's to make one win and leverage that fame for their ends. For them, a tool to blind others is worth far more than elixirs or named swords."
"Ah..."
Kordan finally got it, nodding along.
He recalled how devil worshippers craved innocent, ignorant lives as sacrifices.
A Star Birth Festival champion's fame could easily hoodwink such victims.
"Then Sir Dray's plan centers on thwarting their victory."
"Right, Rishir. That's why I want you to enter the Star Birth Festival. It's a plan only you can execute."
Kordan looked utterly baffled, like he was hearing a riddle.
'How on earth—'
No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't see how Rishir could stop their win.
To block a victory, you'd first need to know the spy's identity—
"Sir Dray, do you have any leads on the spy's identity?"
"None whatsoever?"
Dray shrugged.
"Then... how do you plan to stop their win?"
Dray pointed at Rishir in lieu of an answer.
"Oh, Sir Rishir—you've already uncovered the spy's identity!?"
"...Not at all?"
"...?"
Then what the hell?
Just as Kordan's confusion turned to exasperation—
Dray spoke.
"Sir Kordan, have you pinpointed the exact number of spies?"
"..."
Kordan shook his head with a pained expression.
There might be more than one spy.
Facing that horrifying possibility wasn't easy.
Kordan suddenly realized how absurd his request was.
Stop unidentified spies of unknown numbers from winning?
'Should we cancel the Star Birth Festival outright?'
He seriously contemplated scrapping the event.
Whatever fallout came from cancellation—
It'd be better than a devil worshipper winning.
At that moment.
Dray said,
"Honestly, it doesn't matter."
"Pardon?"
"Whether the devil worshippers planted ten spies or a hundred."
"What... do you mean?"
"In the end, there's only one winner, right?"
"...Pardon?"
Dray looked at Rishir.
"You can do it, right?"
His expression brimmed with certainty.
A few days after the meeting with Kordan.
"The day has finally come."
Rishir murmured as he took in the unusually bustling streets of Bondales.
The city council had officially announced the Star Birth Festival preliminaries,
And now Bondales overflowed with participants eager for the prelims and spectators come to watch.
In the past.
It was the fruit of a former councilor paying the Lunarin Family a fortune to solidify his influence in the city.
'Let me check—where was the registration again?'
Rishir crossed the streets toward the building handling participant sign-ups.
'Oh man. All these people are heading here?'
He gawked at the packed interior.
The council had prepared multiple buildings for registrations citywide.
This was just one, yet it was swarming.
"What!? Speak up!!!"
"Tell me your event!!!"
Those at the counters had to shout over the din filling the hall.
Rishir jostled through the crowd, waiting for the line to shrink—
And at last, his turn came.
"Here for Star Birth Festival prelim registration?!"
"Yes!!!"
The clerk asked without looking up from her desk.
"Swordsmanship and magic. State your events!"
Rishir's reply.
Sudden silence blanketed the noisy hall.
All eyes turned to Rishir.
"Oh, right—Sir Kordan, one thing I've been wondering—"
"Ask away, Sir Dray."
"At the Star Birth Festival finale, the top swordsmanship and magic winners face off for overall first place, yeah?"
"Correct."
"What if the same person tops both swordsmanship and magic? Do they fight themselves or something? Hahaha!"
What kind of lunatic...?