Chapter 56: Volume 3 - CH 19

When Kyle returned to his senses, a full day had passed since the final match. As for the winner Leyla, she didn’t show up at the awards ceremony, immediately going back into hiding, and since the second-place winner Kyle was out cold, the festival ended oddly docile. However, Kyle didn’t care much about any of that.

“This is the worst…”

Seeing Kyle hold his head in disbelief, Lieze and the others were confused, to say the least. Knowing Leyla, she probably wasn’t lying about what she said, but Kyle didn’t remember having a younger sister or brother in his previous life.

After I left Rimarze? So as soon as it was just the two of them, they went back to a honeymoon mood…

Thinking that far, Kyle shook his head, trying to rid himself of these ideas.

“I don’t want to even think about that…”

“Hey, that old hag of mine told you something during the match, right? What happened?”

Clearly, something was off about Kyle, so he saw no other option but to explain everything, to which Seran tilted his head after hearing about everything.

“Sounds like something that old hag would do, but…it sure is weird.”

“You think so as well?”

Seemingly, Seran felt an equal sense of discomfort from this fact.

“Yeah, it’s her mentality to ‘Win no matter what’. She doesn’t hesitate to use any foul methods like these, but even if she did, she would at least wait for it a bit longer to make it the most effective hit. That was too quick, and almost reckless.”

Knowing how Leyla did not shy away from any method as long as it led to victory, considering the effectiveness of this, it wasn’t very much like her.

“She also likes fighting a lot, so…did she rush to finish things? No, I doubt that.” Kyle started thinking, but he couldn’t find an answer.

“I see, so Seraia-san is…I’m looking forward to it.”

At the same time, Lieze didn’t care much about who won or lost, simply happy about Seraia’s pregnancy.

“Hey, let’s go back to Rimarze once, I’d like to meet Seraia-san again.”

Lieze always liked children, and since she was good at taking care of others as well, she felt delighted at this.

“…There’s no meaning to meeting her now, right. At least until the child is born…”

“Ehhhh?” Lieze seemed clearly unhappy with this conclusion, but Seran jumped in as well, agreeing.

“I mean, this guy was in his rebellious phase until recently, but he actually loves Seraia-san very much, so he must have complicated feelings about a pregnancy.”

“Pffft!”

“Ahh, now that you say it. He was always clingy with his mother after all.”

Kyle spit out everything in his mouth, and Lieze joined in.

“So that’s why you were so shaken during the match…Like a child.” Urza complained.

“Men always have trouble moving away from the women who raised them…” Shildonia showed a wise expression.

“S-Seran! Will you shut up already!”

“It’s the truth though…Heh.”

“You bastard…are you still angry that you lost?”

“I didn’t lose, I just gave the win to you.”

“Just accept it already!”

“Also, my sight was awful during that time…!”

“Well, I had a headache and stomach pain the entire day…!”

Seeing the two start another fight, Urza sighed.

“…You two really are kids.”

After that, Kyle was to participate in the meeting between the Kingdom of Zilgus and the Galgan Empire, but his mood was heavy. As Kyle didn’t win in the festival, the Galgan Empire had full reign to request compensation and the likes from Zilgus, and there was no knowing what they might ask for. Just as Kirlen and Orgis said, Kyle was given no responsibility whatsoever, but it was evident that their evaluation of him had dropped.

I really wanted to respond to their trust but…that hurts.

Now that he couldn’t fulfill their request, he must have taken a huge step back from his goal. The moment he thought about that, he let out a sigh, and entering the meeting room, he was met with Kirlen and Orgis.

“I’m deeply sorry that I couldn’t uphold your expectations.” Immediately, Kyle opened his mouth in order to apologize.

“No, don’t be. As we’ve stated before, no responsibility falls upon you, Kyle-dono. Rather, we are thankful that you’ve made it this far.”

Kirlen herself, at least on the surface, showed no signs of blaming Kyle. Rather, she sounded like she was praising him.

“On top of that, the Empire’s side seems to be acting off.”

“What do you…”

Kyle wanted to ask what exactly he was talking about, but then Eldorand and Maizar arrived. Right before Kirlen could even properly greet them, Eldorand spoke up.

“This might be a bit abrupt, but in regards to the incident of Callan, Galgan has decided to remove any responsibility from the Kingdom of Zilgus.” Eldorand calmly declared, which left Kirlen and Orgis surprised.

Following that, Eldorand looked at Kyle, showing a gentle smile.

“It’s true that you didn’t quite manage to win the festival, but we’ve seen your achievements. Saying that they didn’t count for anything would be disgraceful on our side. On top of that…your final opponent was just too unfortunate.” Eldorand showed a bitter smile.

“She’s the one who fought on equal grounds with our old man, so it can’t be helped.” Maizar shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyway, I’m quite jealous to see Zilgus possessing such a promising and young hero…Being blessed with such an outstanding vassal, Princess Milena must be reassured.”

After that, Eldorand and Maizar both talked endlessly without giving Kirlen or Orgis a chance to say anything, simply praising Zilgus for their efforts. Finally, the meeting ended as quickly as it began, one-sidedly concluded by the Empire.

“What..was that about?”

Left behind in the meeting room, Orgis was confused, tilting his head.

“It was fortunate for Zilgus, of course, but we need to be careful about the Empire.” Kirlen inspected the door Eldorand and the others had left through with a sharp gaze, to which Orgis nodded.

“There must be something going on, indeed…However, cleaning up after these diplomatic discussions is the work of us politicians, so…Kyle-dono, thank you very much.”

“Indeed, I will make sure to inform Milena-sama of your brilliant efforts.”

The two thanked Kyle unconditionally.

“No, I’m glad I could be of help.” Kyle wasn’t fully satisfied, but at least he managed to fulfill the bare minimum, so that was a relief.

“…So, as we will return to Zilgus shortly I was hoping that maybe we could stop by at my dominion…”

“No no no, we would be pleased to have you visit us at the royal capital Malad…”

“Ha ha ha…Urk! My injuries from the final are flaring up again…”

Kyle once again used his excuse of being injured, avoiding any awkward conflict.

***

“Wasn’t that a bit too forced?” Maizar remembered their previous conversation in the conference room, showing a bitter smile.

“That much is just fine. They probably figured out that we have other plans with this. If they read that, it makes it easier for us to move.”

At the same time, Eldorand’s expression was as serious as ever. When it came to the reparations of the incident at Callan, the Empire was directly involved, so they normally couldn’t afford to let it go that easily. However, things were different if the Mera Cult were involved.

“According to Konrad, the Mera Cult, more accurately its leader, were actively moving and looking into Kyle, we have to prioritize that…After all, they are a common enemy between us and Zilgus, so I’d like to fight together…”

As a country that allowed all races beyond just humans, the Mera Cult was an existence not allowed to work in the shadows. Thirty years ago, they had managed to thin out the Mera Cult, but victims resulting from the resistance were not few in number. The influence of the Mera Cult was prominent all over the continent, so to completely erase it, they needed to work together as countries. However, as the human kingdom, Zilgus, had existed since ancient times, and the damages of the Empire were much bigger, it would have to be the Empire asking for help. For that, the Empire decided to now break earlier, hoping to bring this up in further discussions when the need arose.

“The Holiness of the Mera Cult, huh…I wonder what kind of person that is.”

The existence standing at the summit of the Mera Cult, the ‘Holiness’ was an existence looked into by the Empire, but they had no idea if it was a man or a woman, a child or an elder.

“So you’ll be using Kyle as bait to sniff out their true identity…Will you have him supervised?”

“Of course. Beadola said it would be best if we did so.”

“Old Bea did, huh…Not like her.” Maizar tilted his head, but now that Eldorand had decided on this, he had no intention of complaining.

“You seemed to have taken a liking to him as well, and Konrad seemed oddly concerned about him as well…His accomplishments in the festival were a sight to behold, indeed, and I’d love to have him on our side as well. If he were to join us, I’d put him to good use.”

“Don’t think you’ll have much luck with that.”

Hearing Eldorand’s words, Maizar showed a somewhat disappointed reaction.

“On top of that, Angela is still Angela, greatly interested in that Seran person…Either way, we’ll continue to investigate the Mera Cult. If possible, filter out the identity of this Holiness person, and completely silence them once and for all. This has utmost priority.”

He didn’t plan on eradicating them. Eldorand knew that this was impossible, as the Mera Cult had deep roots in human society.

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“The Mera Cult, huh…Big Bro, they’ve been quiet for the past few years, right? Why do you think they suddenly started acting again?”

“That’s what I want to know…I wish they could have just stayed quiet until the end of the world.”

They both sighed in unison and then started their meeting against the Mera Cult together.

At around the same time, Seran was called to Princess Angela’s private room. It was equipped with luxurious furniture you would expect from an imperial princess, and even the single mug in front of Seran probably cost more than an average citizen’s yearly wage. However, Seran was calm despite that, enjoying tea and some snacks. Facing him, Angela seemed in a good mood.

“You are the first person I have invited to my room except for my brothers.” She said. “Thank you very much for listening to my selfish request. Your work at the festival was truly a sight to behold.”

“I did lose in the end, though. Also, I didn’t do anything that would deserve this much gratitude.”

To Seran, this was nothing but a bit of training, and the fact that he was used by Angela even benefited him in the end. There, said Angela showed a noble posture, continuing with a more serious tone.

“…If I may be so forward with you, won’t you become my personal knight? If you were to serve under the name of Galgan, fame, and honor would be yours.”

The imperial family of the greatest country in all of humanfolk told him so. Surely, there were countless people who would kill for a chance like this.

“Ah, I’m thankful for the offer, but there’s something else I have to do.”

And despite that, Seran declined without hesitation. That being said, Angela seemed to have anticipated this reaction, as she didn’t seem too dejected, and simply let out a faint sigh.

“…Friendship between men, is it? As a woman, I don’t quite understand that type of thing.”

Naturally, she understood that he was going to help Kyle with his goal.

“It’s not anything crazy like that. I just want to win against that rotten old friend of mine.”

“That’s what you call friendship.” Angela smiled with joy, only to calm down again shortly after. “I don’t mind if it’s after you change your mind. Just keep it as a possibility that you can fall back on whenever.”

“I won’t promise anything, but…thank you for the tea. If you’d excuse me now…” Seran left the room, watching him off with a smile.

However, the second he left the room, that expression drastically changed.

“I can’t be pushy here…so I’ll wait. But, I won’t let you escape.” With an impish expression, the girl let out a snicker.

That night, Kyle couldn’t sleep once again like the night three days before, waiting for the person he wanted to meet the most right now, while also wishing he wouldn’t meet her. As before, Minagi appeared without making a sound.

“H-Hey…” Kyle greeted her with a stiff face, and Minagi showed a smile.

However, Kyle immediately understood that this was simply a customer smile of sorts.

“So, how did things go?” Kyle started with the job first.

“…The assassination worked out. Barrel’s death was classified as heart failure.” Minagi explained with an indifferent voice, no emotion in her voice. “As for my infiltration…I found hidden letters. They’re random greetings or reports, but the senders are all over the place…Though, they are coming in regularly.” Minagi showed Kyle a bundle of letters.

“Some kind of code?”

“Most likely.”

“So he’s been in contact with them…Can you decipher it?”

“It’ll take time, but it’s not impossible.”

“I see…”

If they managed to decipher that, they would surely find information in regards to the Mera Cult.

The sudden change in Eldorand’s attitude was probably related to the Mera cult. Konrad warned me, but I don’t have any duty in listening to Eldorand, they might use me as bait…Or maybe if I send them information, I could get on their good side?

Reaching that point, the question was how far he could leak that information, and to who even.

“Now then…that concludes my report about work.”

Slowly but steadily, Minagi’s voice started shaking, and Kyle’s thoughts traced exactly what she was going to talk about.

“Didn’t you say…you’d win the final…?”

“Ah, my bad. That was a lie. I thought I might as well go all out, but…Alright no, let’s talk.” Mid-sentence, the dagger in Mina’s hand suddenly was pointed at Kyle’s neck, so he panicked.

“I bet all of the money I had…How could you do this! Now I have an even bigger debt than before!”

“How did that happen?”

“Since you said you’d win the finals…and that this was the final one…I took a loan…”

“First you should repay all your current debts…”

Kyle was worried about Minagi’s spending habits.

“Last night…when I came here…while you were unconscious…I had my blade at your throat, and I had to hold back so badly…” Minagi said with a quivering voice, to which Kyle frantically tried to calm her down.

“I know, so let’s calm down, okay? I’ll make sure to repay all your debts for you.” The moment Kyle spoke those words, Minagi’s expression lit up for a moment, but she suppressed that.

“…No. I’ll be taking half of the bets after all, as we decided in the beginning.”

“I wouldn’t mind adding a bit of extra as gratitude…Are you sure?”

“It’s my fault for getting myself in more debt, so I can’t accept that…” Minagi grit her teeth, but didn’t touch any of Kyle’s money.

She sure is stubborn during the weirdest times…Must be the influence of Souga.

Knowing the origin of Minagi, Kyle thought about something.

“…Let me ask one thing. I don’t know their goal, but do you think we could make the Holiness of the Mera Cult give up on me?”

“Probably not. It’d just make a bigger fight break out.”

Even if Barrel’s death was regarded as an unfortunate and untimely death, the cult would surely draw the connection towards Kyle and his group.

“Then I’d like to hire you as a proper guard. I’ll pay off your debts as an advance payment…You have time, right?”

“D-Don’t make it sound like I’m bored! Also, whose fault do you think this is!” Minagi wanted to avoid the topic of debt at all costs. “Also, I’m not made out to be a guard…”

“Then just think of it as a counter-attack. We’re pretty strong ourselves, so you don’t need to stick around 24/7.”

“…Why are you this adamant about paying me?” Minagi was dubious about Kyle’s oddly passionate attitude.

“…Might be my intuition, but I’ve felt like wanting to have you as my ally since the beginning.”

In reality, Kyle already had memories of fighting with Minagi as an ally, and he knew of her skill, but he couldn’t say that out loud, forced to hide it like this.

“Ally, huh…”

That was a word Minagi couldn’t ignore. The only person she, who lived in darkness, could open up her heart to was Souga after all. Yet, Kyle was saying it with absolutely no hesitation. It’s like he was ready to fight at her side even in the face of death.

Even though I’m an assassin…what is he thinking?

Minagi held her doubts, but Kyle’s words sounded honest to the point she let out a sigh.

“…Less than allies, we can form a temporary work relationship.”

“That’s decided then. Please take care of me, Minagi.” Kyle showed a smile that looked like it came from the bottom of his heart, offering his hand for a handshake.

“I’ll start deciphering these letters.”

Minagi didn’t take that hand, and instead melted back into the darkness.

“…Well, now I’ve raised our strength exponentially.”

In fact, so that Kyle could take care of the Mera Cult, he definitely needed Minagi’s strength, and because he lied about knowing Souga, it’d be best to keep her around close to him. It’s good fortune, really. After that, he looked down at his left hand, remembering his battle with Seran. He didn’t need to think much to realize that this power was something dangerous. But even so, he couldn’t avoid it in order to become stronger.

“…I have to get stronger.”

He looked outside the window, at the bright moon, and muttered these words with conviction.

***

Turning back time a bit, we arrive at the night the final match of the festival was held. A single individual had set up camp inside the mountains, a bit further away from the main road that left from the Imperial Capital Luos. It was a woman with a wild and aggressive facial expression, looking down into the bonfire—Leyla. Originally, putting up camp all alone in the mountains like this would require a lot of effort and skill, but she had no problems whatsoever. Next to her, she had a card-type magical item that allowed for a long-distance conversation with another individual. As the moon stood tall, it lit up brightly. Leyla picked up said card, and started a conversation.

“…Yeah, I tested him. He held out for barely thirty seconds, passing out shortly after. I came out unscathed. That’s what I told you, he’s no big deal.”

The reason Leyla was out camping so far away from civilization is that she couldn’t afford anybody to overhear this conversation.

“Of course, nobody realized. That I was just testing him…Well, I feel bad for his evaluation dropping, but I’m just too stro……What do you mean? I told you I won, right?” Leyla’s voice grew harsher. “I don’t know what you’re planning with this, but I’ll say it as many times as it takes. Kyle isn’t someone that would be of importance to you.” She tried to argue, but the person she was talking with, someone who probably was in a country far away, seemed about as thick-headed, which forced Leyla to speak even louder. “…And you’re telling me to believe that?” Leyla sounded like she had no other choice but to accept what the other person said. “…I understand, Your Holiness.”

The conversation ended with Leyla’s sigh, as she scratched her head.

“For crying out loud, forcing me to win quickly by doing something like that…What a troublesome Goddess.”

Leyla took out a small metal in the shape of a platter, shining brightly as it fit right into her palm. Shown on there was an image of a Goddess carrying a human baby in her hands—which undoubtedly was the holy sigil of a Mera follower.

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