#091 Reminiscence
#091 Reminiscence
The attack by the Demon King Beelzebub.
About three days had passed since then.
All the villagers who had been knocked unconscious had come to their senses, and before they could even talk about what had happened while they were out, they were all thoroughly confined to the village by people from the County of Odron.
-What happened here?
-The Hero Liliez summoned an ancient weapon called a Spirit Machine through a Holy Sword Awakening and defeated the enemy, and after that, the Demon King Beelzebub appeared and was defeated.
-......Could you explain in a bit more detail, including the full circumstances?
-Of course.
Count Odron, who had probably come up to the village because of the swarm of Narag Venomous Insects, seemed to lose his mind after hearing my testimony.
-Is Droniel... all right?
-Yes. But why the sudden formal speech?
-You are a Sage who accompanies the Hero, so how could I not? Moreover, I cannot treat the benefactor who saved my daughter carelessly. Thank you, Sage.
Fortunately, Count Odron, having regained his senses, treated me hospitably.
It was probably because he had heard from his daughter what kind of existence I was, but for me, explaining myself to someone who trusted me was incredibly easy.
-So, what happened was....
After I explained the situation.
-You understand, right?
-Yes. I understand. We must seal off the village immediately.
Count Odron decisively made the call to seal off the village.
-Information about what happened here must not leak out carelessly. We will have to swear everyone to secrecy. The villagers will understand.
-That's right. You do understand, after all. What happened to the Holy Sword Village.
-...Yes. I heard it from Droniel. So I will station soldiers in this village to keep people from leaving recklessly, and at the same time subdue any Demonfolk who might come to the village in addition.
Since the entity called a Demon King was dead, new ones could come.
For revenge.
To take blood revenge for the death of the Demon King called Beelzebub.
-The Hero killed a Demon King!
-The Hero Liliez killed the Demon King Beelzebub!
The Hero 'Liliez'.
No, why was it the Hero Liliez?
A giant fly monster had appeared and nearly turned the village into a wasteland, but Beelzebub had been killed through the efforts of Witch Bel and the Hero Lucius.
The tremendous feat of defeating Beelzebub, one of the strongest beings in the Demon Realm!
If the Adventurers' Guild measured his rank right now, Lucius could rise to S Rank.
At last, the name of the Hero Lucius would be known to the world—
-Let's keep this entire matter a secret.
That never became known.
-The Spirit Machine alone is already a headache, and I don't think people will easily believe it if we also talk about the Demon King Beelzebub. A Demon King is that much an object of terror.
No matter how much power the County of Odron held, and even if it was not the Great Demon King Belphegor.
-The name Demon King Beelzebub alone is enough to terrify people. Demon King Beelzebub. Great Demon King Belphegor. The names are so similar that even my heart sank when I first heard it. People still carry fear of the Great Demon King in their hearts. So, Demon King Beelzebub? They would end up feeling the terror that the Great Demon King might appear.
And so.
Because the fear that came from the very name 'Demon King' was considerable among people, it was decided to bury the truth about the Demon King Beelzebub.
Then what about the attack on this village?
-The village suffered three attacks in total. One was the attack of the Narag Venomous Insects. One was the assault of the beetles and the giant monster-man. And one was the attack of the Demon King Beelzebub. If we call them one, two, and three respectively, then the matters of two and three will be treated as if they never happened.
-No, how can you treat them as if they never happened? They still performed deeds!
-If we do that, people could die. You understand, right?
-No, even so....
-I am fine with it. If the people are safe, then I am satisfied with that.
-I'm fine with it too, if Lucius is fine with it.
The beetle monster-man could not be mentioned because of the Spirit Machine.
The Demon King Beelzebub could not be mentioned because he was a Demon King.
In the end, our achievements were decided to be simply the extermination of the bugs that had been attacking the village livestock—the Narag Venomous Insects that had appeared in massive numbers.
-Witch, is this really all right? I feel like I didn't do much, but Arthur and you, Witch, really worked so hard....
-It's fine. When you work as a Hero Party, unfair things like this happen every day.
Having their achievements go unrecognized was practically the fate of a Hero Party.
In fact, hadn't the Wind Hero also performed the tremendous feat of killing me, and yet no one knew who that was now?
-Being a Hero is a profession where you have to fight absurdity from the start.
It wasn't something we could formally report to the Adventurers' Guild anyway, and it was clear that spreading the information carelessly to the outside world would only bring trouble.
-And a Hero is also the busiest person in the world. Now, shouldn't you be leaving here right away?
-Me?
-Yes.
Liliez had to leave.
Because she was, unlike us, 'a person of the Church of the Goddess.'
What follows is not something I conveyed.
-There's someone looking for you over there. Go on.
-Understood. Um, that.... Excuse me? I have to go to the Church and report directly to the Pope about Celsius?
Liliez's expression immediately hardened.
-Yes. The Pope has summoned you.
-Ah.... Do I really have to go?
-He said to come even if you have to use Teleport magic.
-No, why would the commander of the Holy Knight Order go so far as to use magic....
-That means it's that important.
Having succeeded in releasing 'Celsius,' she naturally had to go to the headquarters of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess as a Holy Sword Hero.
An object that had vanished from history.
And now it had revealed itself after hundreds of years?
No, surely someone must have found it even now.
It was just that, at the very least, they had not revealed it so openly and ostentatiously before people as had happened this time.
Perhaps those currently using Spirit Machines were also keeping absolutely silent about it?
As for me, I was an existence from five hundred years ago, so their rules did not apply to me—but precisely because of that, they might try to suppress me even more.
'Of course, if you break a social consensus, it's only natural to be criticized.'
I did not know what judgment the Church would make about the Spirit Machine, but since an object erased from history had been revealed to the surface—since I had revealed it to the surface—they would find me somewhat disagreeable.
But I had things to say in my own defense, too.
'Then why did you go and erase it to suit your own tastes in the first place?'
The Great Demon King Belphegor.
I had fought a one-on-one duel against a Spirit Machine and won, yet there were no records of it whatsoever.
It wasn't Celsius, but still, was it so shameful and mortifying that a mass-produced Spirit Machine belonging to the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess had been smashed?
To cover up the fact that Belphegor had destroyed the Church of the Goddess's Spirit Machine, and to avoid revealing how powerful Belphegor was, they had erased the Spirit Machine itself from history.
I understand.
Because the Spirit Machine was so strong that Belphegor—that I, as an existence—had fought it one-on-one and barely managed to seize victory.
-No, if this were made known to the people of the world, wouldn't everyone and their brother try to use Spirit Machines!
-Now that a mass-produced Spirit Machine that nearly defeated the Great Demon King Belphegor has been revealed to the world, everyone will try to grill the Heroes relentlessly and bring Spirit Machines out into the world! Aaah, the world will fall into chaos once again!!
-What on earth was the witch thinking, showing a Spirit Machine to the world again! This era is not that dangerous an era! Why do you not understand that wars between nations could break out over the pointless desire to possess Spirit Machines!
If they asked why the witch could not see the changes of the era, I had nothing to say.
From the moment I brought it out, I too might have had to be summoned to the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess.
The witch from five hundred years ago.
From the perspective of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess, an existence who knew all the world's 'truths'—who knew all the shameful secrets of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess from five hundred years ago that they had erased from history.
I, the person called the Crimson Mage, would be considerably unwelcome, and if I did not align with their direction, they would even consider eliminating me.
I would not be eliminated meekly, but I would not meekly follow them to the headquarters of the Church of the Goddess either.
-Witch, I can't really avoid going, can I?
-Yes.
-You're too definitive. You're too firm. Even so, we shared a seat and pressed our bodies together!
-Just go. I've already told you roughly everything I can tell you about the Spirit Machine.
-Even so....
Liliez, whether she had grown attached to me by now, or whether she was afraid that if she told the Church about what I had taught her regarding the Spirit Machine, things might go wrong for no reason, was terribly afraid of going to the Church's headquarters and speaking about the Spirit Machine in my place.
But what could be done.
-Liliez Caesar Cross. You are a person who believes in the Azure Moon Goddess. Not in me.
Liliez's affiliation was not as a member of the Hero Party, but as a person of the Church of the Goddess.
And as a member of the Holy Knight Order at that, she absolutely had to return to the Church of the Goddess.
Then there was one problem.
-Then is it all right to leave the witch as she is?
Absolutely not.
As surely as the Spirit Machine had been brought out to eliminate the bugs, leaving the Crimson Mage alone would clearly cause serious problems.
Therefore, it was necessary to attach someone to watch over the Crimson Mage from close by.
Someone whom the Church of the Goddess could trust and entrust with the task, and at the same time someone who would absolutely never be swayed no matter what the Crimson Mage did.
-Then I am the right person for the job! I will attend the witch at her side and escort her to the Church's headquarters! What do you think?!
Liliez said that she would watch over me and, at the same time, bring me to the Church when the time came.
-No.
Of course, it didn't work at all.
-Liliez, you go to the Church. I will keep watch over the Crimson Mage from her side.
Who was there who could block Liliez and, at the same time, sufficiently control me?
There was.
"Saintess."
"Yes, Sage."
"Why did I become a Sage?"
"Because you are a Sage."
The Saintess, 'Yan Diere.'
"I look forward to working with you from now on, Saintess."
In place of Liliez, she decided to join Lucius's party—our party—and watch over me and the Hero Lucius.
In other words.
Yan Diere became a companion.
...The situation returns to two days ago.