Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: In the Palm of My Hand - 1
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Kaild opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a stalactite with a water droplet hanging precariously, ready to fall.
‘A cave?’
It was unusually bright for a cave.
He pushed himself up.
And in one corner, he spotted a woman reading a book.
A round orb floated above her head.
The light pouring from that orb illuminated the cave.
“You’re awake.”
The woman, Idria, asked without even glancing his way.
Kaild instinctively realized.
‘She’s the Demon King.’
The one who had issued him quests through the communiqués.
Struggling, he rose and approached her.
Thud.
But he collapsed after just two or three steps.
Idria spoke.
Her gaze still fixed on her book.
“You’ve literally come back from the dead. The adjustments aren’t finished yet, so don’t move.”
“Who are you?”
“Idria. The Demon King of Lies and Deceit, as you’ve guessed.”
“......”
“Consider it an honor. Few have heard me admit that myself. Unless they have a soul on the level of Repia Odr.”
Kaild chuckled.
“Isn’t a fellow hero qualified enough?”
“How far do you plan to push your impudence?”
“......”
“You’re a failure who doesn’t even reach the toes of a true hero. Honestly, I had hopes for you once, but I was wrong. Bion Kunze drew an impeccable hand. Compared to him...”
She trailed off, but Kaild could easily guess the rest.
You’re trash.
Kaild ground his teeth and said.
“It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot.”
“Tenacity past a certain point is just stubbornness.”
“Damn it. Are you just going to keep mocking me? If that’s the case, why save me?”
“......”
“The sword of Maide that severed my neck—the sensation still lingers vividly. I was definitely dead. But you brought me back. Isn’t that right?”
“Hmm.”
“Reviving me means I still have value to you. So stop sneering and tell me my next task. Give me the next quest!”
Thud.
Idria closed her book.
She twisted one corner of her mouth upward as she looked at Kaild.
“If I give you a quest, will you obey nicely? I clearly told you to kill Maide without overthinking it. Or at least Serein.”
“I said stop mocking me.”
“Not at all. You’re not even worth mocking. But you do have utility.”
“......”
“Still, it’d be a problem if that fool brain of yours defies me again. Before the second round begins, I think it’s necessary to drill the hierarchy into you.”
Swish.
Idria extended her hand.
And in that instant.
“Gaaahhh!”
Kaild’s scream echoed through the cave.
What? What is this?
It hurts so much.
It felt like countless needles were mercilessly gouging his insides.
“Something’s eating away at my body! Stop it! Stop!”
“I planted my worms in your nerves while reconstructing you.”
“Guhhh. Please stop.”
“You’re merely a pawn to bring true falsehoods upon the world. I hope you refrain from crawling up in the future.”
Snap.
Idria flicked her fingers.
The agony that had tormented Kaild vanished as if it were a lie.
Swish.
Idria turned back to her book and spoke.
“Your body won’t be the same as before. The overflowing power, the bizarre constitution immune to magic and spells—all gone.”
“W-What?”
“Did you think you’d bounce back good as new after literally dying and reviving? If I could do that, why would I be a Demon King? I’d just be a heavenly god.”
She continued leisurely.
“Why do you think you were so strong to begin with? You know the answer.”
“That was... because I was ‘Bion Kunze.’”
“More precisely, because you inhabited his body.”
Indeed.
When the Demon King of Lies descended upon this land yet again—who knew how many times—by the heavenly god’s decree, the hero Bion Kunze was born as well.
But was it some mistake?
Or perhaps even this was the god’s design.
Bion Kunze was not born into an ‘empty body.’
That body already housed a soul.
The soul of Kaild Wake.
Kaild shouted.
“No! I’m the owner of this body. Bion was the intruder, like a sudden thief!”
“......”
“My soul was helplessly devoured by his overwhelming power. Bion stole my body and lived as ‘Bion Kunze.’”
“Quiet. Can’t you see I’m reading?”
“He laughed with my face, spoke with my face, won people’s hearts with my face! The villagers who once hated and shunned me started to adore me one day. To respect me.”
Kaild’s eyes bulged with ruptured veins.
His face twisted in a complex mix of rage, envy, curses, and admiration.
Tears of blood streamed down as he continued yelling.
“Bion took so easily the love and attention I craved! Why? Why me!”
“......”
“People found my sudden change baffling but just said it was great, that I looked much better, cooler. No one sought out the me who had been consumed by Bion’s soul!”
Then, one day, consumed by despair and inferiority.
He saw the communiqué.
Until then, Kaild had shared all of Bion’s senses and feelings.
But Bion acted as if he couldn’t see that communiqué.
To Kaild, crushed under Bion’s dominant consciousness, it was a ray of hope—a devil’s whisper worth devoting everything to.
“So... I bet everything on a gamble. I killed Bion and reclaimed my body. Everything was back to normal!”
“You’re getting too noisy.”
“And now, following Bion, it’s Maide? Why are there so many blocking my path? I just want to be loved by everyone!”
Idria reached out to torment his nerves again.
But Kaild had already buried his face on the ground, sobbing.
“Sniff. I’m not some sacrificial lamb prepared for a hero. I’m me.”
“Sigh.”
Idria sighed and withdrew her hand.
Well, in a way, the poor guy was pitiful.
He hadn’t chosen to be born in that body; he was surely its original owner, yet the heavenly god shoved Bion Kunze’s soul into it.
So he had to live for ten years deprived of his own body.
Until Idria discovered that bizarre cohabitation.
‘Ten years under Bion, yet he retained his ego. In another light, he’s impressive.’
She decided to be a bit more lenient.
“Anyway, your brute strength and immunity to magic and spells came from being the vessel prepared for Bion’s body. That’s undeniable.”
“But it’s still that body now!”
“The flesh containing your soul now is one I newly created. I referenced the Bion body I collected.”
“A fake... body?”
“I can fabricate most things.”
Idria continued leisurely.
“But compared to the real Bion’s body, it’s crude. His was extraordinarily special.”
“I told you it’s mine!”
“Yes, yes. Let’s say so.”
Kaild calmed a bit.
Right. Now wasn’t the time to lament the past—he needed to face reality.
His current face was the same as before.
But only the skin-deep.
This fake body was neither as strong nor invincible as before.
“Then what now? I can’t face Maide with this.”
“Of course not.”
Rustle.
Idria turned the page and continued.
“And it’s not just about the body. Your hero-grade party members are already head over heels for Maide. You think it’s easy to find talent like that in this era?”
“......What should I do right now?”
“Eat, sleep. Shit when the time comes.”
Kaild’s face twisted.
But Idria wasn’t mocking him.
Swish.
She turned another page and said.
“I have a solid plan. Until then, you have nothing to do.”
“What plan?”
“You don’t need to know the details.”
“......”
“Interrupt my reading again, and I won’t kill you... but I’ll make you endure that pain for three days straight.”
Kaild suddenly wondered what she was reading so intently.
Unable to ask, he focused his eyes on the book.
Surprisingly, it was a history book.
A Demon King reading human history—it was absurd.
Noticing his thought, Idria chuckled.
“Interesting, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“When I sow perfect falsehoods across the world, how will humans record me?”
“As the Demon King. Obviously.”
“Why?”
“Why? You are the Demon King—that’s fact.”
Idria’s smile deepened.
“I’ll turn even that fact into a lie.”
We were heading to the capital.
Jenia had received a message from Dame.
—Jenia. Doing well?
“Father! How did you contact me? I thought for sure by now I’d be...”
—Haha. In prison?
Even with the emperor’s favor, Dame’s crime of tarnishing the Knights of Light—an imperial cornerstone—was grave.
Jenia replied in a slightly downcast voice.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
—No need. It wasn’t wrong.
“If it wasn’t wrong?”
—The trial ended long ago. I was imprisoned a week back.
Neril asked.
“How’s prison life?”
—Why does it always sound sarcastic when you say it?
“Because your insides are twisted.”
—Sigh. Anyway, it’s not deadly. A bit austere, but manageable.
I scratched my head and spoke.
“But if you’re imprisoned, how are you contacting us via communication orb?”
—The emperor granted it as a special exception. He asked me to reach out to you.
“Huh?”
—He wants to meet you. From what I gather, things are getting oddly complicated. Can you come to the capital by month’s end?
I pondered briefly.
‘The major events ahead...’
Nothing too pressing for a while.
I wasn’t sure what constructive talk could come from meeting the emperor—who poisoned the previous one and commissioned Kaild’s assassination via Serein—but still.
I organized my thoughts and replied.
“Very well. But what do you mean by oddly complicated?”
—You stirred up a storm in Hasfil territory recently, right?
“Yes. Word travels fast.”
—More than just word.
Dame’s voice grew heavier.
—The empire’s in for some uproar.
Upon arriving at the capital, we split up.
Offense, Adwin, Serein, and Risel would stay at the inn.
Offense disliked the Alcahad guarding the emperor; Adwin was uncomfortable about using Mariana to ascend the throne.
Serein went without saying.
“I’ll sit this out too. They might pressure Maide-san to assassinate me this time.”
“Hm.”
“Why not have Risel-san meet him? She’s Grade-nim’s descendant.”
Risel laughed.
“Pfft.”
A rare scornful smile from her.
Usually so gentle, but anyone compared to Grade shot her standards sky-high.
Anyway, the audience with the emperor was set for me, Neril, and Jenia.
We notified them officially of our arrival.
An audience was promptly scheduled.
En route under an Alcahad escort, Jenia whispered.
“But Neril-san, will you use honorifics this time?”
“Are you mad? Once was humiliating enough.”
“Humiliating... No, if you dislike him so much, why come along?”
“Because Maide’s going.”
“Very logical.”
Soon after.
We sat face-to-face with the emperor.
He spoke.
“You issued a proclamation in Hasfil territory. Aebis territory officially endorsed it.”
“......”
“The atrocities there were Kaild Wake’s doing. Anything to say?”
I shook my head.
“It’s exactly as you’ve heard—no need for additions.”
“Really? That man, once hailed as humanity’s hope, the hero—is truly the culprit?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not framing a rival to eliminate competition, are you?”
Neril and Jenia’s brows twitched, though I remained unfazed.
Fortunately, the slightly more sensible Jenia spoke calmly.
“Recall the incident in the capital before, Your Majesty.”
“Hm. The Black Sun?”
“Yes. Maide-san here resolved it. Nothing short of a hero’s feat.”
“I didn’t say he’s not a hero. Heroes can still burn with jealousy toward rivals.”
“That wouldn’t...”
I waved her off.
And asked the emperor.
“What exactly is happening?”
“Hasfil declared Kaild an impostor hero, an enemy of humanity blocking the true hero—you—path.”
“Hm.”
“Aebis endorsed it, as I said. Other northern territories are leaning that way. Can’t gloss over it anymore.”
“......”
“I understand their stance. You’ve felled countless knights in the north. It’s your domain, one might say.”
The emperor stroked his chin.
“But the south is the same.”
“......”
“Your name rose after the capital incident, but further south, believers in Kaild as hero vastly outnumber others.”
“I see.”
“And recently, a southern territory issued its own proclamation. Hasfil’s is blatant lies; rather, you framed Kaild.”
I sighed inwardly.
Plausible development, thinking about it.
My overall fame now surpasses Kaild’s, but his southern domain remained on the map.
Those territories would naturally revere him.
I asked.
“Hasfil led in the north. Which southern territory?”
“Dronor territory.”
I racked my brain.
Dronor...
Before stopping Tetra’s earthquake, it was Kaild’s original target, Serein said.
‘She went straight there after Tetra.’
And healed the lord there.
From near-death, so the lord’s devotion to Kaild was inevitable.
Then the emperor spoke slyly.
“So, here’s the thing.”
“Yes.”
“Could you go to Dronor and persuade Count Akain?”
Hm.
Dronor, fully in Kaild’s camp.
The lord openly proclaimed I framed Kaild.
No doubt seething with malice toward me.
And he wants me to go there?
......
I get the scheme.
I smirked.
‘Putting in quite the effort, aren’t you?’
Mr. Crowned Ant.