Each nation officially announced the resurrection of the Demon Lords and the invasion of the Scarlet Demon Lord. The Pope-sama of the Yugura Church and the Archbishops vouched for the credibility of this, and many people had no choice but to accept it.

There’s no way the humans wouldn’t be surprised by the resurrection of their natural enemy, the Demon Lords, who created monsters.

But there wasn’t a big change in the cityscape. The only ones currently are the ones who hold the authority in the nations.

I am not given any particular orders as a priestess. But I will most likely be called in the near future with the pretext of forming a unit.

I have experienced fighting monsters a number of times. They are stronger than beasts, and they show no hesitation in attacking humans.

But magic works on them and there’s no need to fear them as long as they are not Uniques in terms of their individual strength. That’s what I thought.

In the invasion of the Blue Demon Lord, there were not only Kuama soldiers, but also many clerics from the Yugura Church dispatched.

At that time, I was at the back as a reserve. That’s when I saw it…

A giant undead that could easily surpass the defensive walls. It would regenerate endlessly despite being hit with purification magic, and was destroying the defensive walls.

If that’s a card of a Demon Lord, it would be better to think the threat of a Demon Lord is unknown.

But it is not all doom and gloom. There have been results that proved well enough that humans also have the power to fight against them.

There’s someone who has come from the homeland of Hero Yugura. He has successfully seized 3 Demon Lords including the Blue Demon Lord.

I couldn’t see it because of the angle, but there was someone who matched the giant undead in power. I am sure it is that person.

The resurrection of the Demon Lords and the arrival of a new hero. It is the sign of a new era. I will simply do what I can do.

That person’s words cleared away the wicked thoughts in my mind. That’s why…

“Ah, Masetta-san.”

“Hiyafuh?!”

I ended up letting out a weird yelp at the voice that rang suddenly at my back. I wouldn’t react like this just because I was called.

The reason is simple.

When I looked back, that person was standing there.

The female knight is by his side just like before. But the demi-human girl is not with him.

“Did I scare you?”

“N-No, sorry… To be honest, you did scare me a bit. I was thinking about something, you see…” (Masetta)

It would be pointless to hide things from him. It would be better to not act tough just for the sake of it.

Right, name. I have to ask his name.

“Uhm, you are—” (Masetta)

“Right, you are just in time. Are you free right now? I would like you to accompany me for a bit if you are.”

“Eh? Ah, yes. It is okay. And so, your name—” (Masetta)

“That’s great! Then, let’s go at once! Come on, Ilias, you too!”

He grabbed my hand and we entered the Morgana Guild.

Eh? Was he from Morgana? I don’t remember seeing him. Is he coming here to make a request?

…Let’s ask for his name once he is done with his business. I can’t waste the opportunity I was given.

◇◇

I showed the parchment I prepared to the receptionist and enter the guild without issues.

And then, once I arrive in front of a single door, I wait to get a response from inside.

“Come in.”

It seems like the owner of the room is there. In that case, I opened the door without reservation.

This is the private room of Morgana’s guildmaster, Ritial Zentry.

It goes without saying that the person inside was Ritial himself.

This is my first time meeting him like this. I exchange gazes with Ritial who is not showing any signs of fluster.

Aah, so he really is that type. Makes sense.

“…Who are you…would be rude. To think you would come here yourself.” (Ritial)

“Nice to meet you, Ritial-san. It seems like you know me well.”

“Yes. It is in part because of your appearance, but my eyes are also telling me so. You are the one that has been the talk of the city, the person that has come from the same homeland as Yugura, right?” (Ritial)

“It is great to see that you are fast on the uptake.”

“Eh?!”

Masetta at my back is surprised. Speaking of which, I think I haven’t introduced myself to her. Oh well.

When Ritial saw Masetta-san, he reacted faintly.

It was really faint indeed, but it was an extremely easy to understand reaction for me.

“And so, what brings you here?” (Ritial)

“There’s something I would like to ask you regarding the request of King Zenotta. It is about Chenias Morganais.”

“If it is about that, I have heard of it. It wasn’t good news. It might affect the reputation of Morgana. What is it you want to ask?” (Ritial)

“There’s something I would like to ask bluntly.”

“Go ahead.” (Ritial)

“You are affiliated with Leitis, conspired with Raheight to overthrow the nations with Gestaf Heriodora, Robito Goshunait, and Chenias Morganais, didn’t you?”

The expression of Ritial didn’t change. The only thing I could tell is that Masetta-san froze at the back.

That’s right, I came here with the certainty that Ritial Zentry is the collaborator of Raheight.

Bringing Masetta-san with me was in order to pressure him a bit. If there’s a priestess of the Yugura Church that can see through lies, he can’t use lies to get out of this.

“…What an outrageous claim. It is true that I am affiliated with Leitis, but I wouldn’t do something that would hamper the prosperity of the people.” (Ritial)

“That’s the view of Leitis though. It is impressive that you have the talking skills to try to scurry away in the moment without lying, but that won’t get you through this one. I’ll have you say it straight up: ‘I have no correlation with the attempt to overthrow the nations’.”

“You are coming at me pretty strongly there. Do you have any proof?” (Ritial)

“If you want something aside from confirmation from your own mouth, I can bring Haakudoku with me. He detected you while you were using invisibility magic. We will know in one go if we compare the mana.”

“Haakudoku… The right hand of Gestaf Heriodora, was it? I don’t think there’s any credibility to the pawn of a criminal though.” (Ritial)

“Criminal? What are you talking about?”

“There’s no need to play the fool here. I heard that Kuama soldiers surrounded the house of Gestaf Heriodora the other day. It is truly saddening that all 3 guild advisors have been caught in scandals…” (Ritial)

“Aah, if it is about that, it had been deemed that it was a misunderstanding, and Gestaf had been freed.”

“Oh, is that so?” (Ritial)

“Hey, how about stopping the pointless debate? You can’t say anything that can prove your innocence anyways. Also, you know, right? …Just what kind of person I am.”

“…Right. I did hear you were a troublesome individual from Raheight, but I didn’t expect you to be cut from the same cloth as me.” (Ritial)

I understood immediately after meeting him: this guy is the collaborator of Raheight.

You often hear about how martial art masters can see through hidden potential just from looking at the person.

I have no intention of getting conceited here and calling myself a master, but I can tell with experience.

He is a pro at deceiving people.

There’s no way a person in a serious position like a guildmaster would be letting out a smell like this.

Ritial laughed quietly. Even if he doesn’t know the details, he can tell that I have the cards to prove that he is guilty here.

No, it would be safe to assume that he got an idea of it once he heard me say ‘using invisibility’.

The actions of the contact that I had Ekdoik and Rakura investigate. That person used invisibility magic to hide himself, but the direction he headed to was the direction of the Morgana Guild.

Ekdoik buried chains around the guild and did the same stakeout he did before, and he really did confirm someone coming in and out with invisibility.

After that, there were no signs of anyone using invisibility to come out until it closed, so they must have gone back from the front without the use of such.

It was easy to pinpoint who it was. We staked out the guild from morning to night and confirmed all the people that came in and out of the guild normally. And also used detection magic to check the inside of the guild where the perpetrator is not in once it has been confirmed that they have moved with invisibility.

What showed up with this was Ritial Zentry.

“I don’t want you to put me in the same vein as you. I don’t blindly accept things, you know?”

“Oh, are you saying I blindly accept things?” (Ritial)

“The ‘Illegitimate’, obviously.”

“Fumu… Allow me to inquire whether this is a bluff. Do you know what’s an ‘Illegitimate’?” (Ritial)

“As if. But I do have a rough idea.”

“Then, let’s compare the answers. I would also like to know just how much you guys are aware of after all.” (Ritial)

“It is about the people born with a special talent which occurs abruptly and as an outbreak, right?”

“…What makes you say so?” (Ritial)

“In the first place, this world doesn’t have an official meaning for ‘Illegitimate’. But in my world, it refers to the illegitimate children born from influential people outside of their legal spouse. But in this world where polygamy is okay and is pushed to get as many children as you want, there’s no opportunity to use this word… Well, it might happen if you get a prostitute pregnant or something though. In other words, the one who told you of this word was someone outside of this world: Yugura Nariya.”

The one who showed me this clear off sensation was King Zenotta. When I asked him about an illegitimate child, he asked ‘what is an illegitimate child?’. If the term existed, the correct question would have been ‘who is the illegitimate child you are referring to?’.

I investigated just in case and managed to confirm the existence of the term illegitimate child, but the way of expressing illegitimate child was not settled in any country.

“It was a term that Yugura Nariya left, so it would mean the ‘illegitimate children’ that he himself left. I can already tell that they are not normal at this point in time. Next, Ritial, you were strangely attentive about Haakudoku who was in the residence of Gestaf.”

“It is true that I was surprised by his talent. He detected me without using detection magic despite me using invisibility. But don’t you think I simply praised him?” (Ritial)

“You? Someone who is that careful about information leaking? The only times you would do something like that would be when there’s quite the unexpected event, or when there’s an Illegitimate by the side of the person you are trying to use, right? It is because of points like this that I linked ‘Illegitimate’ to people who have strangely developed talents like Haakudoku.”

“That’s quite the leap in logic.” (Ritial)

“There were other factors here and there. I at first only thought of the meaning of Illegitimate, and thought that maybe it referred to the descendants of Yugura Nariya. But you asking to search for them as a reward for overthrowing the nations denied this possibility. If you were just finding an individual, you would use the outstanding anbus if you wanted to move secretly. Even if you were to spread out your net in 3 nations, there’s the possibility of the other party escaping outside the nations. In other words, an Illegitimate is actually a term that refers to unknown individuals that can be found by spreading a wide net search. In that case, it is possible to meet them by coincidence.”

“I am impressed that you can tell from that.” (Ritial)

“I can only respond to that with: it is because I am from the same world as Yugura. And so, you who can see through this at one glance, the one called the ‘demonic eye’…are also an Illegitimate, right?”

There’s a variety of legends of Ritial Zentry, but what stands out the most is how he excavated people overflowing with talent one after the other.

But having a discerning eye that can judge Haakudoku as an Illegitimate just from seeing him is clearly abnormal. In that case, it makes sense that he is also included in that category.

“…Wonderful. I don’t know if the residents of Yugura’s planet are just outstanding, or simply that you yourself are standing, but I should have met you a bit sooner.” (Ritial)

“If we had met sooner, I would have suspected you from the very beginning.”

“True. By the way, I would like to ask one thing, but you being able to deduce with such confidence is because Yugura would have done that?” (Ritial)

“There’s no benefit in me providing you information.”

“Too bad. But I can somewhat guess. It must be that Colorless.” (Ritial)

I can feel the wisdom of an old person in comparison to Raheight.

In the list of the forbidden I was shown before by Colorless, there were mostly things that even I would be able to state firmly they are dangerous even on Earth.

Touching upon the forbidden through dangerous research of magic would make sense.

There was the mention of genetics.

From that, I could assume that Yugura Nariya researched things related to genetics, and it was to the degree where it could be judged as forbidden.

It is because I know there’s forbidden things that I managed to reach this far by process of elimination.

“It looks like we both hate that Colorless.”

“You may hate his personality, but what I hate is the fact that he was a subordinate of Yugura. We of Leitis have no intention of forgiving Yugura after all.” (Ritial)

“It does feel like he did a lot of things aside from creating Demon Lords.”

“Yeah. But even if I were to ask about it here, I doubt the knight over there is going to let it be.” (Ritial)

Ilias has been ready to swing her sword at a moment’s notice even when we were having this conversation. I don’t see any sign of her allowing a single moment of allowance.

However, Ritial seems pretty lax despite Ilias glaring at him this much.

Since Masetta-san has also heard the situation, I could ask her to cooperate here and…ah, no good. This girl is panicking.

“I am asking just in case, but do you have any intention of being apprehended?”

“None.” (Ritial)

“That’s quite the confidence, Ritial Zentry. You think you can escape from here?” (Ilias)

Ilias took a step and stood by my side.

“That armor is from a knight of Taizu, moreover, from the division of Salvet. Being in that division at such a young age…it reminds me of your father.” (Ritial)

He must have said that while fully aware of Ilias.

But superficial provocation will only anger Ilias. I doubt Ilias would get careless with this.

“…If you are trying to shake me here, it is pointless.” (Ilias)

“I am not thinking this would be enough to shake you. However, it is easy to speak words that can shake you up.” (Ritial)

The very moment I felt like Ritial had blurred, an intense clashing sound rang.

Ilias was stopping the sword of Ritial.

That speed really does make him worthy of his name as a living legend. Well, to be perfectly honest here, I can’t see anything after a certain threshold though.

Both were grinding their swords and were at a stalemate. Ilias managed to stop the surprise attack of Ritial without issues.

Judging from the attitude of Ilias, she should be above him in terms of raw battle power.

“——, ———————–? —, ———————–?”

“?!”

The moment I thought Ritial had whispered something, the body of Ilias stiffened to a degree where it was easy to tell.

I couldn’t hear what he said, but it wasn’t magic, however, I could understand that they were words that brought unrest in the heart of Ilias.

“See? Shaken.” (Ritial)

Ilias was sent flying this way.

Considering the motions of Ritial, it seems like he kicked Ilias.

Ilias immediately fixed her posture, but Ritial had already rushed this way.

“I have understood how much of a threat you are without the need of Raheight’s words. I will end you here—I see, you are truly a small fry when it comes to battle.” (Ritial)

“So it showed in my face. Well, I am a novice after all.”

The sword of Ritial didn’t reach me. The reason being that Dyuvuleori was awaiting him with invisibility magic.

Even if rotten, Ritial is still a legendary individual, and the guildmaster of Morgana. Even if Ilias were in perfect form, I assumed the possibility of him being able to create an opening.

That’s why I asked Purple and brought Dyuvuleori with me -the person who has the highest stealth skills in this current state where Ekdoik is injured.

Dyuvuleori grabbed the sword of Ritial with his right hand. It is painful just to look at it, but there doesn’t seem to be a scratch on him.

“He is not a human, and yet, imitating the appearance of a weak human, huh. That’s comical, devil.” (Ritial)

“This appearance is the appearance that My Lord wished. Your words won’t reach my heart one bit.” (Dyuvuleori)

Dyuvuleori used his Right Leg of Roaring to kick Ritial away. An incredible shockwave spread in the surroundings, or more like, I was sent flying. Ilias, nice catch.

As for Ritial himself, he broke through the window.

“Dyuvuleori, at least do it with your left arm… Using your right leg at close range hits pretty hard…”

“That man was trying to pull something. I simply judged it would be best to use my right leg at that distance.” (Dyuvuleori)

“Damn it, I will tell Purple.”

“Wait, I properly listened to your demand.” (Dyuvuleori)

“Have more consideration for the weak. Also, Ilias, are you okay?”

“…No issues. He simply took distance with a kick.” (Ilias)

“That’s not what I meant. Ritial instilled something in you, didn’t he?”

“…Yeah, sorry. Can I tell you later?” (Ilias)

It is rare for Ilias to keep something to herself.

If that’s the case, it should be related to that? Then, it would be rude to force it out of her.

She would most likely want to ask for my opinion even if I leave it be, so I will just wait.

“As expected of the old and wise. How did it feel, Dyuvuleori?”

“I did manage to injure him a bit, but he killed most of the power. I pretty much just helped him escape.” (Dyuvuleori)

“You seem dissatisfied.”

“I let a troublesome enemy escape. Of course I would be.” (Dyuvuleori)

“It is fine. Now then, let’s finish this.”

But the Illegitimate, huh. Looks like Yugura Nariya left troublesome stuff aside from the forbidden and the Demon Lords.

…Wolfie is most likely one of those. I need to ask in more detail about it with Anbu-kun.

But I should prioritize this matter first. Let’s move.

“Ah, Masetta-san, thanks for tagging along… Masetta-san? …She is gone.”

She has completely spaced out because of the events that happened in front of her. I gave way too much information at once to a serious person, huh… Can’t be helped. Let’s thank her later.

I left Masetta-san be and made my next move.