TDKH 10

Chapter : 10

I swallowed hard.

It seemed the others were thinking the same thing.

Chris’s face stiffened.

“If the Mirror of God only reacts to a Demon King–class being… then does that mean a Demon King came here?”

“That seems to be the only conclusion.”

“But why? Which Demon King?”

I couldn’t answer that question either.

For a moment, memories from before my regression surfaced.

Chris said he wanted revenge.

But he had never once said that the target of that revenge was the Demon King of Deceit.

All I knew was that the subjugation had failed.

Naturally, I had assumed that the target of the failed subjugation—the Demon King of Deceit—was the object of his revenge.

But maybe that wasn’t the case.

Originally, the Demon King of Deceit had tried to kill Creed right in front of Chris.

So before the regression, Chris and the Demon King of Deceit must have come all the way here together.

If, at that time, a Demon King–class being had been with his younger sibling…

Perhaps that Demon King killed the Demon King of Deceit.

It would be obvious that the Demon King of Deceit, whose “climax” had been ruined, would have flown into a rage at him.

And then he would have abducted the younger sibling.

If this hypothesis was correct, then like Renel, Chris’s target of revenge was also some Demon King.

Of course, all of this was nothing more than speculation.

And without evidence, it would likely remain speculation forever.

But then Renel suddenly spoke up.

“There’s still hope.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Let’s try repairing the Mirror of God.”

I blinked at her words.

But Chris seemed to understand what she meant, and color returned to his face.

“T-that’s right. We might be able to find out what happened here.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Mirror of God is a treasure that distinguishes between humans and Demon Kings, but it also has the function of storing the scenes it reflects. It needs to preserve the truth so it can be shown to those of high authority.”

“So that means—”

“Yes. If the face of the Demon King who kidnapped Creed is recorded in it…”

His eyes burned as he continued.

“We might be able to identify that Demon King.”

“Will a mirror that was shattered and then put back together really function properly?”

“……”

“Well, still, it’s worth trying. We don’t have any other clues.”

“Yes……”

“Then who can repair it? Do you know a capable craftsman?”

Renel shook her head.

“If it could be repaired by human hands, would it really be a divine treasure?”

“If humans can’t repair it, should we borrow the hands of a Demon King?”

“Haha. That’s funny.”

“Good to hear.”

“I was being sarcastic! I mean it has to be repaired by someone who is human but closest to the gods. High-ranking people from the Church.”

“For example?”

“At least an archbishop. No—if it’s a divine treasure, it’d have to be a cardinal.”

I was silent for a moment before speaking.

“If we’re going to ask, let’s ask someone even higher. We need certainty.”

“Higher than a cardinal? Don’t tell me—the Pope?”

“No. Higher than that.”

Renel made a bizarre expression and muttered a word that seemed to have recently become a habit.

“Insane.”

Chris answered in her place.

“The Saint.”

Perfect timing.

We needed to meet that old connection sooner or later anyway.

Before the regression, the Saint joining our party was, frankly, shocking.

Not because our party was lacking, but because the position of “Saint” was utterly unparalleled on the continent.

Just as no famous party would ever include an emperor or a pope, it’s easy to understand.

In fact, considering that the Saint was, in some ways, even more revered than them, it was all the more astonishing.

What made the impossible possible was the Saint’s revelation.

A revelation.

It referred to the voice of God said to descend only upon Saints throughout history.

Just as that revelation had played an absolute role in pinpointing the current location of the Demon King of Deceit, the Saint’s revelations were like a manual and a compass for all humanity.

One day before the regression, we received a sudden quest—more like an order—through the guild, commanding us to present ourselves at the Vatican.

Nominally, it was to personally commend us for having slain several Demon Kings.

At the time, I tried to refuse, annoyed that such pointless business would take time away from exterminating Demon Kings, but due to the strong insistence of the other party members (especially Renel), we headed to the Vatican.

That was where we first met the Saint.

“Hello. You must be the famous Demon King–hunting party.”

Although it was the Vatican that had summoned us, none of the party members had ever imagined we would actually lay eyes on the Saint.

They were so nervous they were practically trembling, so I had no choice but to handle the communication myself.

Me, with my mangled voice from Quadruple Angle and the abysmal communication conditions of not even being able to see the other person’s face.

I focused all my concentration on understanding the Saint’s words.

Fortunately, since no one else interfered with our conversation, it proceeded more or less normally.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Dyle Magnus.”

“I am the Saint. As for not stating my name…”

“I know. None of the Saints throughout history had names. Because giving a human-made name to a Saint chosen by God is considered blasphemy.”

When I said that calmly, the Saint replied,

“That’s right. It’s a ridiculous reason, isn’t it?”

At that answer, I didn’t know what expression to make.

I turned to look at the other party members for reference, only to be reminded once again that I couldn’t read their expressions.

Soon, the Saint (though I couldn’t see her, I sensed it) waved her hand and changed the subject.

“Ever since my failure in the Bartrin territory, I’ve been constantly praying to God. Asking whether someone as powerless and pathetic as me should really continue being a Saint.”

“By the failure in Bartrin territory, do you mean the Demon King of Disease?”

“Yes. And God bestowed this revelation upon me.”

“……”

“At present, there is an adventurer party going around executing Demon Kings. Join their party and act together with them.”

The Saint (again, unseen but felt) looked straight at me and spoke earnestly.

“Please let me join your party. That’s why I invited you here today.”

“……”

“I’ve already obtained the permission of the Pope and all those high-and-mighty people. All that’s left is your consent.”

……

We asked for a week to decide.

I won’t bother describing the heated debates that took place within our party during that week.

I supported it for the very simple reason that the Saint’s abilities would help in subjugating the Demon King of Corrosion.

There were some objections, but the supporters were in the majority, so the Saint joined our party.

When we met again, I informed her of our decision.

Her first reaction upon hearing the news was this:

“Adventurers often sleep outdoors, don’t they?”

“We try to avoid it as much as possible, but when there’s no other choice…”

“Then what do you do about cooking?”

“We usually just eat simple dried foods like jerky…”

“That won’t do. From now on, I’ll handle the cooking. I’ve really wanted to try cooking.”

I couldn’t bring myself to ask why the Saint wanted to cook.

Because the very next question left me speechless.

“How many frying pans should we bring?”

At the time, I couldn’t see her because of Quadruple Angle, but according to what Renel later told me, when she asked that question, the Saint’s eyes were shining like the Milky Way.

We were on our way to where the Saint was.

Since our group had grown, we rented a long-distance carriage and a coachman.

Inside the carriage, Renel kept peering outside and exclaiming in awe.

“Wow. Whoa. So this is what they call the fruits of civilization.”

“That’s a bit grandiose for describing a carriage.”

“But is it really okay? Living in luxury like this?”

Her question gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.

Even before the regression, Renel’s standards for luxury had been excessively low.

“What was the greatest luxury of your life?”

“An egg I ate on my twelfth birthday.”

“……”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s good to save when you can. You never know what life has in store.”

Both before the regression and now, Renel always said she wanted to live a life where everyone doted on her.

I thought her dream would be hard to achieve in her lifetime.

After all, those who eat meat are the ones who know how to eat it well.

Then Chris asked,

“Is this your first time traveling by carriage, Ms. Renel?”

“Yes.”

“Then how have you been traveling until now? I heard you’ve been taking requests from guilds all over.”

“People have these things called legs.”

“……I see. I didn’t know.”

Deciding that asking further was pointless, he turned his head toward me.

“By the way, thank you very much. I’ll be sure to repay the carriage rental cost later.”

“There’s no need. It’s questionable whether you’d even have the means to repay it.”

“What? My family is better off than you might think.”

“That’s assuming you actually make it back home.”

“After we fix the Mirror of God and identify the Demon King who kidnapped my sister, I plan to stop by. I need to explain things to my father.”

Will that really go as planned?

According to my memories from before the regression, your father threw quite a few humiliating words at you for failing the mission.

When I remained silent, Chris changed the subject.

“But about our destination—why are we stopping by Bartrin? Do you have business there?”

“We’re not stopping by. That’s our final destination.”

“What? Aren’t we going to see the Saint?”

“Yes.”

“Then shouldn’t we be heading to the Vatican—”

“The Saint isn’t there.”

At my firm statement, the two of them widened their eyes.

I recalled my memories from before the regression.

Before the regression, I met the Saint after the failure in Bartrin territory.

But knowing about her failure already, I saw no reason to waste time.

Just as I had tried to prevent Chris’s failure against the Demon King of Deceit by acting in advance, this time too I intended to meet the Saint one step ahead.

“By now, a plague should be spreading in the Bartrin territory. The Saint has gone there on assignment to heal it.”

“I’ve heard nothing of the sort.”

“There’s no way you’d be fully informed of the Saint’s schedule. She may look like that, but she’s quite influential.”

“If you put it that way, Mr. Dyle, there’s even less reason for you to know it. And more importantly, aren’t you being far too casual in how you refer to the Saint?”

To be fair, he had a point.

When I first met the Saint, I had spoken very respectfully as well.

But after years of experiencing the Saint’s… airheadedness, I could no longer see her as someone of lofty status.

Then Renel spoke with a serious expression.

“He has a point.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll use honorifics for the Saint from now on. For the time being.”

“Why ‘for the time being’? And what I said made sense in the other direction.”

“Huh?”

“The Saint’s schedule. Timing-wise and geographically, it lines up pretty well.”

She fidgeted and pulled a scroll out of her luggage, unrolling it.

It was a map of the entire continent.

Pointing to several regions with her finger, Renel said,

“It started here, in the Dain territory. Then the Goren territory. Then next…”

After pointing out several territories, her finger moved one last time.

“And this year, it just so happens to be Bartrin’s turn.”

“What do you mean, Ms. Renel?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“I mean, wasn’t Sir Chris called the rising star of the Radiant Knight Order? Then surely you’ve studied the major Demon Kings in depth…”

“I’m sorry. I’m really bad at memorization.”

That was far too generous a way to put it.

If one were to compile all the ignorant remarks this guy had made before the regression, you could make a humor book that would sell quite well.

For a moment I wondered whether the Radiant Knight Order, which had once called him a ‘rising star,’ was really okay like this…

“My sister made up for my shortcomings. Being called a rising star was simply a title that lumped the two of us together.”

“But you’re the only one who’s actually famous, Sir Chris.”

“That’s because I’m more handsome than my sister.”

Chris was the kind of person who could say that himself and still not understand what the problem was.

Renel replied, dumbfounded,

“But you’re twins.”

“Being twins doesn’t mean you look exactly the same.”

“You looked exactly the same. Identical twins, according to academic theory.”

“What does ‘identical’ mean?”

“It’s still just a theory, but…”

Renel stopped mid-sentence and turned her gaze toward me.

“Anyway, Dyle. What I’m trying to say is this.”

Wisely, she seemed to have realized that prolonging a conversation with Chris was exhausting.

“It’s time for the Demon King of Disease to appear again.”