Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Confusion
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"...Is?"
"Yes, Saintess."
"Do I really have to get angry for you to listen to me?"
"No, it's just..."
"Or what in the world is this scene?"
"I have nothing to say..."
After washing up and donning my armor, I finished my preparations and opened the door to find Adel, perfectly ready herself, waiting for me.
"Lady Adel...?"
"We're lovers, so let's go together."
"Uh, what about the Princess?"
"She permitted it. In fact, she encouraged me to do so first."
"I see..."
I'd expected as much, but is this really okay with you, Bellatrix?
Of course, I had no right to refuse, so all I could do was warn Adel.
"Lady Adel, I understand, but please don't interfere with my duty to escort the Saintess. I've been guarding her alone up until now, so if you keep linking arms like you did this morning, I might not react properly in a sudden situation."
"Don't worry. The Princess instructed me to accompany you without hindering your duties, so I'll stay within bounds."
"Yes, then there shouldn't be any problems."
At least she's respecting boundaries.
Reassured, I headed to Ariana's room.
*Knock knock knock.*
"Saintess, it's Is."
-Come in~
Ariana opened the door as usual.
At that moment, Adel suddenly clung to me.
'Adel, don't tell me...!'
I frantically tried to pry her off before Ariana could see, but I couldn't overpower her with strength, so in the end...
"Haa..."
This was the situation we ended up in.
"Is, why are you linking arms with Lady Adel like that?"
Ariana asked me with a smile.
But the halo floating above her head spun violently, warning me that her smile wasn't genuine.
I had to explain this somehow.
Of course, my personal relationships weren't something Ariana could dictate, but the problem was that I was currently her direct Holy Knight.
Direct Holy Knights had busier duties than any others, so dating would never be viewed favorably.
Especially not from the perspective of Ariana, the one I was guarding.
'I need to think fast. Keep my relationship with Adel secret and find a way out of this!'
I racked my brain quickly and came up with an excuse in about five seconds.
I opened my mouth to recite the line I'd prepared in my head.
"Saintess, the truth is, Lady Adel and—"
"We're dating."
"?!?!"
"What?!"
Before I could even get my excuse out, Adel dropped the bombshell.
Ariana's halo spun even faster at her words.
'Oh, Mother of God.'
I closed my eyes and prayed to the Goddess.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Princess, the Saintess has arrived."
-Let her in.
The attendant opened the door, so we entered.
Bellatrix was reviewing documents, wearing her glasses.
She took them off, looked up at us.
"Thank you for coming—oh? Sir Is, your face is red. Is something wrong?"
"N-no, it's nothing..."
I could never tell her that the furious Ariana had punished me by hugging me tightly for five whole minutes.
When I asked why the punishment had to be a hug, she countered that it was what embarrassed me most, leaving me speechless.
'Ariana's oblivious in some ways but sharp in others...'
Well, that's a good thing.
Anyway, the reason we'd come to Bellatrix's office so early in the morning was that she'd urgently summoned us through her attendant.
"Ahem, then let me explain why I called you here. Have a seat."
We sat at the table in the center of the office.
Bellatrix grabbed a sheet of paper from her desk, stood, and sat on the sofa across from us.
She handed the paper we were holding to us.
Ariana took it and held it up so I could see too.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix began her explanation.
"This matter is quite urgent. Extremely serious, even. The reason I called you is..."
Demon infiltration.
The document detailed demons disguising themselves as humans and blending into human society.
'It's already this part of the story...'
Of course, I knew all about the demon infiltration.
In this game world of growth, farming, and affinity-building, this was the 'deduction' event.
Having played it multiple times, I could draw the culprit's face with my eyes closed, but blurting it out here would raise suspicions, so I played dumb.
"Demons infiltrating human society... in disguise...?"
"Yes, while it's common for them to hide in back alleys or ruins, this time they've fully disguised themselves as humans and integrated naturally into society. Even Holy Power can't detect them. We found them by chance. One was posing as an herbalist but survived having its throat slit by a mantis beast, exposing it. But we can't just kill people on suspicion alone..."
Tension hung between Ariana and Bellatrix.
"I thought perhaps the Saintess, daughter of the Goddess, might have a way, so I called you."
Her words were filled with genuine concern for her people, and Ariana, sensing that, replied:
"Got it. Let's go as soon as possible."
Naturally, it was a definite YES.
"...Hehe, I knew you'd say that, Saintess."
Bellatrix smiled sincerely.
A rare sight, but it felt just like the game—drawn out naturally by Ariana's kindness.
'What a nice scene.'
Watching the openly kind Ariana and the secretly kind Bellatrix smiling genuinely.
Whether as a possessor or as Is from this world, it was a beautiful enough sight to bring a smile to my face.
"...Ahem, anyway, now let's see what support we can provide..."
The warm atmosphere didn't last long as Bellatrix swiftly shifted topics, grabbing various documents from her desk and handing them to Ariana and me.
"This is the supply list, this is the mobilized forces. And this is..."
And so, Ariana, Bellatrix, and I pooled our heads and finished all preparations.
"Please wait until that day. We'll have everything ready by then."
Now we just had to wait for departure day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A single faint candle flame illuminated the pitch-black space.
"...Alright, let's begin the 73rd Black Mage Conference."
A weary-looking man took charge of the meeting.
His name was Raising Death.
He scanned the surroundings with a bitter expression.
Black mage meetings were originally held around a round table by the twelve strongest black mages.
But now, only seven remained before him.
"Devouring Parasite, Sacrificial Offering, Mocking Deception, Twisting Reversal—all dead. So right now, there's no one here stronger than me."
There had been exactly two black mages stronger than Raising Death.
Mocking Deception and Twisting Reversal.
But both had been eliminated by some 'Holy Knight,' so at this point, Raising Death was the strongest black mage alive.
"Mocking Deception and Twisting Reversal, who were stronger than me, stepped up and got themselves killed. Devouring Parasite and Sacrificial Offering, who could at least put up a fight with me, were told to hide but got found and killed anyway. Now do you understand why I've been hiding?"
The black mages around the table nodded, sweating coldly at Raising Death's question.
"Good. From now on, all black mages will obey my orders. Unless you want to end up like that woman who ignored my warning about a certain Holy Knight, stepped out, and died without a twist."
Raising Death looked around.
No one opposed him.
"Good. If you obey like this, I won't have to turn you into corpses. Now, first, everyone except Spreading Plague and Faithless Distrust—mobilize."
At his words, the five black mages voiced their discontent.
Bursting Blast shouted.
"Hold on! That's no different from telling us to go die right now!"
Squeezing Colic suppressed her anger and said.
"Exactly. We don't think we're weak, but with our top forces wiped out, we need more countermeasures, don't you think?"
Merging Fusion laughed maniacally as she argued.
"Uhahahahaha! With the lions gone, the foxes play king! I stayed quiet because it seemed fun to obey, but you're planning to throw us away, huh?!"
Quiet Assassination muttered.
"I... just want to hide like you."
Sorrowful Melancholy wept sorrowfully.
"Uhuhuk... Spare me... I don't want to die, I don't want to die..."
At the five black mages' rebellion, Raising Death smiled as he rose from his chair.
Then, he snapped his fingers.
*Snap!*
In that instant, a figure rose behind him.
"!! That undead is...!"
"No way..."
Bursting Blast and Squeezing Colic freaked out in disbelief, but Raising Death said mercilessly.
"Turn them into your comrades."
*Crunch! Stab! Crack! Smash!*