Rena stared at the bustling birthday party for Roka in the Duke of Duras’ mansion.
Charlotte, who had been buzzing, suddenly seemed to calm down, yawned and rubbed her eyelids – and then looked at Rena.
Feeling that her eyes clearly reflected herself, Rena was slightly pressured and at the same time noticed the girl’s true intentions and nodded.
Then Charlotte slowly came out of the hustle and bustle and came up to the courtyard of the duke’s house.
When she couldn’t hear much more of Roka and the others, the girl opened her mouth.
“It’s the first time we’ve talked like this.”
“Yes, it is.”
Rena hasn’t unlocked the stealth technique.
Despite this, Charlotte stared at Rena’s figure as if it were natural and listened to the voice that only Lucifer would normally hear.
“Sister, what’s your name?”
“I do not intend to indulge in idle chatter.”
“Ew, …… maybe I’ll tell everyone.”
“I suspect that only General Duras would believe such a falsehood.”
“Mmm. Boring.”
Charlotte stares at her.
Rena pretended to be expressionless like Elsa, but to be honest, she was quite a difficult person to deal with.
It’s unclear how each response to her will affect Lucifer. You can’t have a conversation easily.
“Well, I’ll just call you big sister then. You’re stronger than big brother Theo, right?”
“If that’s what you’re thinking, then yes, I suppose it is.
“You’ve been with him all this time, hiding from others. You must really care about big brother Theo.”
She resisted the urge to say, “Of course. There is no one else who is as important to me as he is. If I could, I would hug him forever. No, I want to be hugged. I want to keep being whispered sweet words in my ear.”
Just imagining it makes her body tremble, but she can’t say that to this girl in front of her, so she had to keep silence.
“Sister, you might as strong as my father.”
“I would be honored if I could stand alongside that great hero, but I think it’s overrated.”
In fact, the first thing Rena thought of when she first met Claude was how to get Lucifer out of that place.
As it turned out, it didn’t come to that, but if that man was serious about fighting, she’d fight while protecting Lucifer, who is now vulnerable.
She can’t do that.
On the contrary, she thought, even if she fought one on one, she would not win.
The power she felt from that man was that powerful.
The fact that he has a divine sword in his hand is also significant. If the anecdotes about Claude that Mildiana’s special students were talking about during the time it took them to reach this land of Granden are true, then he is a tremendous monster.
It’s more than she can handle, no matter how strong she is.
And above all, there was a presence in the Duke of Duras’ mansion that even Lucifer could not catch sight of, let alone herself.
No matter how many times she remembered that time, she couldn’t feel the existence around that great hero. Even though she was very focused and vigilant.
It’s not just about being strong.
Mildiana’s commander-in-chief, Ludio Lambert, gave her a sense of unfathomable power, but she couldn’t help but think that he was an even more dangerous than him.
“Big brother Theo isn’t human, is he?”
“……”
“Somehow, I know. I can kind of see it, because there is a different form hiding in the background. Then I wondered what it was. It’s not an elf. It’s not a dwarf. It’s not a dragon. Then I thought maybe it’s “demon race”. What do you think? Any guesses?”
The moment she heard the word “demon race,” her heart felt like it jumped.
From the looks of her, it’s not like General Duras told her that. She doesn’t think so. If she had arrived at that answer on her own, she was a fearsome girl.
Rena decided to remain silent, which could be seen as a silent affirmation. In fact, Charlotte seemed to have made that decision.
“Demon, huh? I wonder if all demon race are like that. Sister seems to be different.”
Rena didn’t answer anything.
She was thinking that she should just keep listening to the girl until she got bored.
“Do demons have a grudge against humans?”
“…… yes?”
I shouted out.
Even though Charlotte saw how Rena looked, she didn’t feel anything in particular and asked her again.
“Do demons hate humans? Do they hate us?”
“…… Well. I’m sure there are some who do, but I don’t know the details.”
“Well, then. What would you think if I told you that the person who killed my mother was a demon?”
That’s impossible.
After the current Lucifer took complete control of Tenebrae, he established a law that no human should be killed without permission.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to wartime, but what would be the point of going to the trouble of killing a single woman?
Even now, for example, Asmodeus’ men occasionally leave Tenebrae to “taste” the humans. However, there is still an absolute restriction that they must not kill. No one ever voluntarily breaks that rule.
“I’ve been thinking. I’ve always wondered why my mother had to be killed. I wondered if there was a reason. My mother’s husband was a great man, a great hero. I was wondering if it was his enemy.”
The blue-haired girl continued with a stagnant look in her eyes.
“But I don’t know. I think there are many people who hated my father. But then I wondered why only my mother was killed. Why Mother? No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t figure it out.”
“What would you do if you found the answer of that question?”
Rena found herself interfering.
Perhaps it was because the madness in the girl’s eyes resembled her own in the past.
“It’s easy. When I find out who killed my mother, I’ll kill them the same way. I’ll slit their belly open, ravage their entrails, and make a mess of them. Absolutely. I will kill them no matter who they are.”
It was a no-brainer.
This girl is already standing on the line of hatred.
If she really knew who did it, this girl would do it without hesitation.
She will do it. No matter how close they are to her, she will get it done.
The thought of being cornered to the extreme was something that Rena herself could think of.
Rena asks quietly, remembering her former self who went to defeat Lucifer.
“I sense in you a tremendous, just like a sense of mission, will to kill. Not even the words of a stranger or someone close to you will be able to stop you.”
“Yes, I do. I’m hoping that the time will come soon, but it never does. That’s why I wanted you to tell me. I wanted to know if any of the demon race killed my mother.”
“… I can only say that I don’t understand. On the contrary, there is no one in the demons who will benefit from doing it. ”
The demon race is ruled by the absolute power of Lucifer.
There hasn’t been a conflict in 500 years, but the demon race is not monolithic.
In fact, in several meetings held by the heads of the demon races, the demon kings – the royals meetings – the belligerent ones have wanted to fight.
However, no matter how strong the opinion is, it will ultimately be brushed aside with a single word from Lucifer.
Lucifer also has a destructive urge that is unique to the demon race. However, he continued to maintain the prosperity and peace of the demon race, despite the fact that he felt himself being burned by it.
There are many people who disagree with that opinion, but Lucifer suppresses it with force alone.
I wondered if someone who was not happy with the current situation had broken the ban.
However, the only demon tribe that ever leaves Tenebrae is Asmodeus’ dependents.
Those who are members of the lustful dependents consider humans to be food. Of course, they don’t eat them alive, they just enjoy the taste of them. They don’t kill people.
When Rena was about to tell her again, Charlotte muttered to herself.
“My mother knew a lot. She taught me many things. She told me about the great hero who defeated the Dragon King, about the divine sword, and about the history of various countries. All of them were interesting, but there was one story that caught my attention.”
“What is that?”
“The seven kings of Tenebrae…. the seven pillars, I think it’s called. There are that many, right? Among them, there is one king who went missing and never came back. He’s called Satan, the majin of destruction and killing.”
It was true that Lucifer had once told me that a majin named Satan had gone missing. He was also his best friend and apparently his right-hand man.
He didn’t say much about him, but he was a very trustworthy person. However, more than a thousand years have passed since that majin disappeared.
That was before Lumiere had invaded Tenebrae.
So, she was not even sure how much time had passed. However, there was one thing that Rena did know.
“…… Do you think it’s possible that Satan was the culprit?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know.”
“It’s impossible. There’s no way the majin of destruction would be satisfied just by killing a single woman who has no power.”
“Hmm…”
Charlotte looked dazed, but muttered as if she was satisfied.
“Forget it. Sister doesn’t seem to know anything, you can go back to brother Theo.”
“Dear Charlotte, there is only one thing I can advise you, if you are caught up in anger and forget yourself, certain death awaits you. Please do not lose your temper.”
“I don’t care if I die. If I can kill the person who killed my mother, that’s enough for me.”
Rena was already gone from the girl’s sight.
☆
“Ugh, …… kuh …….”
With a pained grunt, the black-clad man staggered to the front of the temple.
Due to the recent string of attacks on temples in the Granden territory, there were many people from the military sent to guard the place, so it didn’t take long for someone to notice the strange man’s presence.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Ugh ……, ha…ha.. ……!!!”
The tall, thin man was breathing hard and almost fell to the ground. The approaching military personnel hurried to support him.
“Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“But this guy, I don’t see where he’s injured. ……”
Unsure of the cause of the man’s distress, the soldiers looked at each other as if troubled.
At that moment, a nun rushed up to him, observed the man closely, and said.
“Hello there. Are you hungry?”
“……gghhhh ……”
Indeed, the man was drooling from the corner of his lips and groaning as he stroked his abdomen incessantly with one hand.
With no external injuries, the nun’s opinion seemed to be correct.
“There is still room for rations. Let us invite him in.”
“But are you sure it’s okay? …… Even though he seems weak, he’s still a man of unknown identity.”
“The temple is occasionally visited by such people. We help those in need. This is also the teaching of our Great Goddess of Creation, Orphelia. Wouldn’t it be cruel to turn his away without a fight?”
The soldiers looked troubled, but said they would ask for a higher decision and ran to the officers who were packed inside the temple.
“He can no longer speak. We must first provide him with a place to rest and some water.”
“But at a time like this, it’s not a good time. ……”
“Don’t say that, soldier. I’m sure you must have nearly collapsed from hunger during your journey too.”
Eventually, an officer came to the scene and checked the man’s condition. He is black, thin, and tall. He has a large sword strapped to his back.
From that point of view alone, there was no way he could have been allowed inside the temple at such a critical time, but he looked very weak.
It’s impossible to do anything with this. She can’t even walk.
Deciding to do so, they had no choice but to invite the man into the temple as I cared for him.
He was taken to the back of the temple where the atmosphere was solemn. The man was made to lie down on a couch.
A glass of water was immediately offered to the man who was struggling with rough breathing. But he wasn’t going to take it.
“Don’t worry. It’s just water.”
When the nun held it out again, speaking softly, the man brushed the woman’s hand away.
The glass flew through the air and fell to the floor, crunching and shattering.
“What?”
“What are you doing? Are you going to disrespect the Temple’s charity!”
“That’s fine. Perhaps there is some confusion in his mind. Let’s give him some sacred art.”
The nun who chants sacred rituals to purify evil and curses. Although her rank is low, she can use this to purify anything unless it is too much.
She thought so.
A light emanated from the nun’s hand and shone softly on the man. But nothing happened.
The man moans with bloodshot eyes and continues to drool through clenched teeth.
“There doesn’t seem to be any kind of magic being applied. ……?”
“Yeah, ……. If that is the case, he may be confused due to extreme hunger. Let’s give him some time to drink some water first.” (Nun)
“We’ll keep an eye on him as much as we can in the meantime. I don’t think he’ll be able to fight, but just in case.”
“Yes, I know. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. ……”
This is already the fourth recent attack on the temple.
There are only two temples left in the Granden territory. One of them was this temple, located in the northern part of Granden.
They still don’t know the intentions of those who are attacking the temple, but they must be vigilant.
It was a no-brainer.
It had happened four times. There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again, in fact, everyone thought it could happen.
One of the soldiers said, glancing warily at the man slumped on the couch while the nun was out of her seat.
“But who were the attackers?”
“At first, I thought it was the the work of a so-called magic swordman who was skilled in swordplay and magic. I thought it was some kind of powerful technique that caused the damage. I just assumed that some kind of powerful magic had made it happen.”
“But, didn’t High Court Magic said they couldn’t detect any magic?”
“Well, that’s right. If magic weren’t used, would it be the work of someone with master-class power …?”
“I’m curious about that too, but did you hear about that dancing nun?”
“Oh, that. In the end, she couldn’t say anything after that and died in prison, right? I heard that she died of starvation. ……”
Muttering this, the soldier looked at the prone man once more.
He looks like he could starve to death at any moment. If they can’t even drink water, it must be very serious.
However, it is too early to make any connection with the story of the nun.
“If she had died of starvation, the suffering would have been unimaginable. But according to the report, the nun was always smiling. Moreover, she never showed any signs of suffering until she was on the verge of starving to death.”
“It said she was hallucinating about her parents who were supposed to have died during the battle with Zenan. Even if she has seen so much devastation at the scene that she has completely lost her mind,……, is it possible to go that far?”
“I’ve seen my share of traumatized people in the war with Zenan. Some of them were delirious. They were terrified of being eaten by the dragon. ……”
“Confusion would normally cause fear to consume you. However, it said she had been repeatedly saying and doing things as if she was the happiest human on earth. I have no idea what that means, but it scares the hell out of me.”
“The nun’s theory that she is the culprit is also unreasonable. She was not under the influence of hallucinations or illusions technique. She didn’t even seem to have any fighting skills.”
“…… Will we be able to just guard the temple like this?”
“There’s nothing else to do now but obey…… And what about the man? It’s time for him to say something, isn’t it?
The nun was supposed to hand out water, but one of the soldiers dared to ignore her and handed him bread instead, which he carried as rations.
But that, too, is brushed aside.
The man was in agony and had an uncanny expression on his face, like a dying beast biting at life until the very end.
“…… don’t you really starve to death?”
As the soldier spat and quickly returned to discussing with his peers, the man blurted out in further agony.
“–God of Fertility — in the hands of a man, bless …….”
It was a muffled voice that never reached anyone’s ears but his own.
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