Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Two Masks

Daily life at the academy flowed in a somewhat ordinary way.

After class ended, I returned straight to the dormitory, drew my sword in one corner of the room, and stood still.

Sierra was beside me, counting the seconds.

“Soon...”

...Around the moment I thought it was time.

Blood trickled from my mouth.

I immediately stopped Rebellion Against Heaven.

After wiping the blood from my lips and sheathing my sword, I lay down at once on the bed behind me.

“How many seconds... did it increase?”

Then I turned my head toward Sierra and asked.

[ It doubled. Now you can withstand eighteen seconds. Your proficiency with Chapter Two has improved noticeably as well... Though I have not done anything in particular as your master... how truly admirable. ]

Sierra approached me, smiled brightly, and stroked my head.

That much was fortunate.

I silently looked at the status window floating in the air.

<​Zeto> Lv.33

Skills Owned

-Demon Swordsmanship Lv.22

-Sierra Style: Rebellion Against Heaven (Incomplete) Lv.5 - Effect of [Demon Swordsmanship] currently applied

-Keen Senses Lv.7

-Weakness Detection Lv.MAX - Effect of [Blindfold of Piercing Insight] currently applied

-Acupuncture Lv.3

Remaining Skill Points: 3

Items Equipped

-Blindfold of Piercing Insight [Legendary]

-Bracelet Bearing Wishes [Epic]

-Cursed Blade “Sierra” [Bound]

-Necklace Containing the Hero’s Protection [Epic]

-Curtain of Night [Unique]

-Tear of the Dead [Engraved]

The skill points I had obtained this time had already been spent.

However, although I spent four skill points on Demon Swordsmanship as I had done so far... the level of Rebellion Against Heaven did not rise.

Just in case, I tried raising it one point at a time, and only after Demon Swordsmanship rose two more levels did Rebellion Against Heaven’s level increase.

In the end, of the nine skill points I had remaining, only three were left.

It seemed the level Rebellion Against Heaven required had increased from one level per four levels of Demon Swordsmanship to one level per six levels.

“I thought I was not far from learning Chapter Three...”

I still did not know whether it was an efficient investment, but... at least the “blindfold” had an experience gain increase.

Levels could simply be raised.

If the amount of level it demanded had increased, that meant it was a skill worth that much more, so I decided to think positively.

“With this much...”

After finishing the calculation in my head, I spoke to Sierra.

“I was thinking of taking care of one demon today...”

At my sudden words, Sierra’s eyes narrowed.

[ A demon...? You intend to fight a demon? How long has it been since you fought the lich, and you already mean to push your body again? I am deeply worried that you may be overdoing things because you trust the bracelet’s power too much... ]

Sierra immediately scolded me.

“I suppose I have not really rested.”

Even so, it was something I had planned from before. It would be better to take care of that one before it got any later.

Eisel Ludwig.

It was part of the process to save her.

I intended to kill one of the demons targeting Eisel’s life, one who could be evaluated as weak.

Those bastards shared information with each other, so if I let even one slip away, things would become troublesome in many ways. That was why I had not touched them carelessly.

It might be a fairly early timing, but I had judged that I could definitely catch him now.

[ Disciple, have you ever faced a demon before? ]

“Not particularly.”

At my absurd answer, Sierra pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes.

“It is all right. The lich was my first time too.”

I added that one sentence with a smile in order to ease Sierra’s worries.

They were opponents I had fought endlessly in the game, but I had never fought them in reality, so it was not entirely wrong.

Demons.

A race that looked extremely similar to humans, but possessed devil-like horns on their heads.

Their horns could contain and store the life force of living creatures, increasing the demonic energy that could be called their power.

The shape of their horns differed from individual to individual, but they had the characteristic that the more demonic energy they held, the darker their horns became.

They mainly extracted life force from humans.

The reason was that the life force of beasts or monsters was lower in quality than that of humans.

The more humans demons killed, the stronger they grew.

The god they served, their way of life—everything meant they had no choice but to clash with humanity.

That was what demons were.

After listening to me, Sierra tapped her lips with a finger and walked back and forth around the room.

She seemed to be thinking about something.

Then she approached me and opened her mouth.

[...You would not be trying to enter the land of demons, so you must mean those hiding among humans. ]

Sierra said the correct answer, and I nodded.

Among demons, there were some who could hide their horns.

Just as she said, those bastards hid their horns, secretly entered human lands, mixed in among humans, lived while breathing among them, and gathered power by killing humans.

The ones who hid their horns also concealed the demonic energy flowing from their bodies so perfectly that they became difficult to distinguish from humans.

Of course, the human side also knew this and had prepared countermeasures.

For example, the Holy Order that served Chief God Heneris had even formed a knight order to hunt demons.

And the one who managed that knight order was the Saintess.

During the war, the role of the Saintess had been to cast large-scale healing magic on the battlefield, but with the ceasefire continuing, an invisible intelligence war was now being waged, so it seemed that role had been given to the Saintess.

For reference, the previous Saintess had lost her life in the war.

Afterward, after a short gap, the Saintess who appeared was “Bernice.”

Considering the “ability” she possessed as Saintess, it could be seen as a rather excellent power for identifying demons.

However, hoping that they would also wipe out the demons targeting Eisel would be too late.

Reporting would not work either.

It was not such a loose system that it would listen to information from someone whose identity was uncertain.

The ones targeting Eisel were especially cunning.

Therefore, if I wanted to reduce the number of possibilities by killing them, I had no choice but to act personally.

As for the Saintess, whether I could borrow their power would likely be decided later, when I made contact with her.

Sierra approached me, her ink-black hair swaying, and hugged me softly.

There was not much strength in her body.

Then she brought her face close to my ear and opened her mouth.

Sierra’s gentle voice rang quietly in my head.

[ I suppose I cannot stop you... My disciple has a bad habit of trying to shoulder everything alone, after all... ]

“...”

[ Once this matter is over, you must promise me that you will take sufficient rest. ]

“...I understand.”

It did seem that taking a rest after this matter was over would be best.

There must have been so many things she was curious about.

Yet not a single question came from her mouth.

Sierra was simply holding me warmly.

***

Recently, a theatrical adaptation of a fairy tale starring a Saint as the protagonist had become hugely popular at the theater.

Oswald had taken the role of the Saint, who could be called the lead of the piece, and his value as an actor had risen greatly of late.

The male actor originally assigned to the role had suddenly gone missing, and Oswald had taken his place.

However, all of this had been the doing of Oswald—no, the demon Krectar.

That was right.

Oswald was not human, but a demon.

His name as a demon was Krectar.

Despite being a demon, rather than simply hiding among humans, he was working as an actor whose face was widely known.

Thanks to working as an actor, there were many cases where he shared seats with nobles, so he was able to extract human information quite efficiently.

On the other hand, he liked theater, a part of human culture.

He liked acting, and loved it.

Oswald felt thrilling joy and happiness from the act of acting twice at once: acting as a human among humans, and acting as yet another character within a play.

The demons around Oswald said they could not understand him, but he did not care much.

He believed there was no value in speaking with foolish bastards who knew nothing of art.

“Well then, Oswald! We will go ahead.”

“Yes, everyone was wonderful in today’s performance too. Do not be late for morning practice. I will practice a little longer before leaving.”

“You are always so diligent. Take care of your body sometimes too.”

Oswald gave his fellow actors leaving the waiting room a warm smile and waved his hand.

Among them was one fellow who had made a mistake in today’s play.

He did not like it.

That bastard had ruined his play.

Oswald watched him leave the waiting room and considered draining his life force, or perhaps killing him, just like the fool who had dared to try stealing his role.

In the end, he shook his head and cleared his thoughts.

“Once. If he makes a mistake just once more.”

It would not be too late to handle him then.

If an actor disappeared while tickets were selling this actively, the play would have to be suspended for a while, which would be troublesome.

Soon, he turned his head and saw a letter placed on the waiting room table.

The sealing wax firmly closing the envelope contained magic, making it impossible to open the letter without using a demon’s power, demonic energy.

It was a letter from his fellow demons.

Around the time the presences of his fellow actors had completely vanished, he infused demonic energy into the sealing wax and undid the envelope’s sealing magic.

“Let’s see...”

He took out the letter and slowly read down it.

The letter contained a story about a test subject they had once kept long ago.

“...So you were alive? Eisel... and even brazenly using the surname Ludwig?”

As he read down the letter, Oswald muttered with a fishy smile.

If he had to say, it was not especially good news.

Eisel Ludwig.

The only survivor of the Ludwig clan.

The ill fate between him and her had already continued for more than ten years.

The fact that Eisel, their test subject, was alive was troublesome in many ways.

Thus, the letter contained a proposal to hold a meeting in the near future.

“She was attending Innocence Academy...? Good choice. If it is the academy, it will not be easy to touch her.”

After reading the entire letter, he folded it and sank briefly into recollection.

Memories came vividly to mind of young Eisel, who was undergoing experiments at their hands, wearing an expressionless face, and of him pointing out that such an expression was unnatural.

Oswald had gone on at length to tell her how she could seem natural to people, and how she could act better.

“...Perhaps I should not have done that? To think she acted and directed her own death.”

Oswald felt ecstasy at the fact that Eisel had deceived him perfectly.

However, in the end, she had to die.

She was not someone who should remain alive.

The fact that she was alive meant their failure.

If this went wrong, it was a matter that could make the legion commander take their heads.

Still, the demon who sent him the letter seemed to already have a plan in mind.

“Even if he is a boring fellow who knows nothing of art, he is the smartest and most capable, so once the meeting begins, he should immediately propose a solution.”

Oswald clicked his tongue as he burned the letter.

Just when his life as an actor had finally begun going well, he had not expected something like this to happen.

Around the time Oswald finished burning the letter, he sensed someone approaching the waiting room.

Soon, one man entered the waiting room.

It was a stranger.

“...A blind man?”

The black-haired man had bandages wrapped around his eyes.

The stylish black coat suited him rather well.

“Hmm. What is the matter? This is the actors’ waiting room... Did you perhaps come to the wrong place?”

“I enjoyed the play, Mr. Oswald.”

The blind man answered Oswald’s question.

“What, a fan?”

Oswald could not quite understand the blind man saying he had enjoyed the play, but he could have heard the lines, so perhaps he meant the tone of his voice had been good.

“I thank you for viewing it favorably. However, as I said earlier, this is a waiting room where only members of the troupe may enter.”

Oswald gently admonished the blind man.

It was to maintain his image as an actor.

Recently, as he had grown famous, all sorts of strange followers had appeared, so something like this was no longer a major event.

However, the words that came from the blind man’s mouth rubbed Oswald the wrong way.

“...I thought the acting was a little clumsy.”

The blind man dared to criticize his acting ability.

“...Which part made you feel that way?”

Oswald’s brow furrowed heavily, but he decided to hear what nonsense the man would babble.

In return, he intended to take the man’s life as the price for wagging his tongue.

Soon, the blind man smiled and opened his mouth.

“Your acting as the human Oswald showed a little, I suppose.”