𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟎: 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧
Standing next to Kami-sama, who posed a question with a stern expression, I open my mouth.
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“The Strelitica United Kingdom is a flourishing nation. One part of the United Kingdom, the Yojhe Kingdom, was supposed to be a nomadic tribe that did not settle. . . Are they not worshipping a god that is not tied to the land?”
“No. Even if that were the case, the divinity is peculiar. . .”
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Kami-sama, with a hand over his mouth, lets out a gasp.
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“A new spirit. A spirit that emerged from people raising something in festival and prayer as a symbol of the United Kingdom. . . That’s why, despite weakening me this much, they can’t come out from the magic mirror.”
“Don’t mock me! Saying what you like, all jumbled up.”
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Straycia interrupts the conversation, her face visibly angry.
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“I am a god recognized by humans. An old god, a wicked god, something that the fallen, foolish serpent god should or should not know!”
“Calm down, Straycia. After all, they are just a weakened god at a human level, and just a child.”
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The prince next to her, like a lover, cuddles up to the mirror and lifts the corner of his lips.
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“It’s obvious that even Land God Kai is done, isn’t it? The spiritual spring is drying up, and the church’s authority and reverence for the saint are a mess in the quagmire of power struggles.”
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Spreading his arms dramatically, the second prince continues his tirade.
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“Furthermore, people tremble in fear of the orcs that I transferred from the mirror, and are convinced that the divine power of Land God Kai has also run out. I’ve pulled out the sacred relic as you said, from the spiritual spring, and severed the relationship between this country and Land God Kai. It’s unbearable to be treated for the orc’s attack after that, so I broke the saint by letting her shoot aimlessly first. Looking at Lulumia’s state, no saint would want to use the sacred relic. . . The country is over. Hehe, your time is soon, Straycia.”
“. . .Um. Your Highness.”
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I step forward and glare at the second prince.
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“Why does someone like Your Highness follow such a wicked god? Are you trying to ruin the country? You weren’t born of the land, so you’re not brainwashed, are you?”
“Brainwashed? Ridiculous.”
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The second prince laughs through his nose.
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“I love her with all my heart. . .”
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He began to speak with a blissful expression on his face.
He felt the delay in the development of the Saitishiga Kingdom, where he had gone to study with his father’s expectations in his heart. Despite being the second prince who carried the expectations of the country, he was frustrated at being buried in both ability and pedigree at the aristocratic school of the Strelitica United Kingdom. He was drawn to her, whom he met in the depths of the temple, while he was distressed and confused as a prince of a backward country and spent his days in loneliness――
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As I let his words wash over me, I searched the cathedral for any sacred relic. There’s nothing that looks like it. I thought that if we broke into the cathedral and attacked, they would protect or hide it, or give some kind of hint, but it doesn’t seem to be here.
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Ignoring the second prince, who was speaking with passion, I converse with Kami-sama in my mind.
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([Hey, Kami-sama, can the spiritual spring recover without a sacred relic?])
(Now, as the land deity, I am being cut off. If only I had the sacred relic and Charlene, I could recover even if it’s not here. . . But without them, it’s difficult.)
([Damn, so we have to look for the sacred relic first, huh?])
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“Hey, don’t ignore me, you!”
“Ah, could you please stop now?”
“What?!”
“I don’t have time to listen to the whims of a boy who’s been raised in a germ-free room.”
“Whims?! How rude!”
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The second prince blatantly reveals his disgust.
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“Who are you in the first place! Declare your name, impolite one!”
“I haven’t introduced myself, have I? Indeed, you’re right, I was impolite.”
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I straighten my posture and introduce myself – my real name is fine for this guy.
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“Former Leading Saint, Charlene Hiraes, Your Highness the Second Prince.”
“Charlene. . .”
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As if he remembered, the second prince’s eyes widened in surprise.
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“You, I thought you were nowhere to be found, no matter where I searched. . . You had changed your appearance!”
“So that’s how it is. . . You and that woman were the ones who killed me and the Saint’s Guard Knight who was looking for my whereabouts?”
“Yes. I borrowed her power to change this country. I made my old friends understand my and her purposes, and had them infiltrate the Saint’s Guard Knights and the Royal Medical Office.”
“Hmm?”
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I narrow my eyes.
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“So, you knew that these old friends of yours had become soulless puppets, and you used them anyway?”
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The second prince is taken aback.
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“Soulless? What are you talking about? Through our conversations in the magic mirror, they understood and shared our ideals.”
“. . . I see. That demoness over there hasn’t told you the truth, has she?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
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Straycia tilts her head ostentatiously.
I’m sure. She – she didn’t tell the second prince on purpose.
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Previously, Kami-sama said that the Saint’s Guard Knights who tried to kill me “didn’t feel like human beings.” In other words, they must have been made into Straycia’s puppets through the mirror. If the mirror can transfer monsters, it can let them consume hearts. And the souls that were removed were probably. . . by monsters. . .
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“How many people have become sacrifices. . .”
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I clench my fists tightly.
The orcs’ disturbance continues outside. My head is about to become a mess with anger and impatience.
At the sound of an explosion from outside, I turn to look at the second prince like I was shot.
“Prince, wake up and tell me where the sacred relic are right now.”
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The one who answered my words was not the second prince, but Straycia in the mirror next to him.
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“What a joke! There’s no way he would hand it over to you!”
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Ignoring Straycia, I ask Kami-sama.
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([Kami-sama, is it possible that the sacred relic have been sent over there through that mirror?])
(No. I’m weakened now, but the power imbued in that sacred relic is stronger than mine. It’s not something a lower deity, who can’t even get out of the mirror, can transfer.)
([I see. . . You don’t know where it is, do you?])
(I’m sorry.)
([The fact that it hasn’t gone over there and is nearby is already a gain.])
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After finishing the conversation with Kami-sama, I looked at the second prince.
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“. . . Prince, are you okay with this country being taken over by that woman?”
“It would be much better than a weakened Land God Kai. If she and I join hands, we can make this country even more prosperous, just like the advanced nation, the Strelitica Union Kingdom.”
“Even though it’s questionable whether she is a land goddess?”
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I smile boldly as if I see through everything and glare at the demon in the mirror.
While watching the woman distort her face blatantly, I shrugged my shoulders.
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“You mentioned it before, didn’t you? In the prestigious noble school of the advanced Strelitica Union Kingdom, even you were merely a ‘[foreign royal, who just came to study abroad].’ Isn’t it unlikely for someone like that to speak to a God who rules a country? Right, Kami-sama?”
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As I passed the conversation, Kami-sama nodded quietly.
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“. . . Most renowned land gods only meet with the ruling class of the land or someone equivalent. The fact that you’re close to a foreign second prince and always by his side. . . Are you just free, or. . .”
“She’s deceiving him, isn’t she?”
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I watched with cold eyes as the second prince turned red.
――Instead of glaring at me, why don’t you take a look at the woman next to you and see what expression she’s wearing now? You’ve got a spot-on look on your face.
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