Chapter 343

Flash!

Lucien and I returned to the outskirts of the equator with the light. Suddenly, Lucien had become a girl with blue eyes in her silver hair, not a vampire's eyes. I also returned as Reinhardt. "Hmm, is this your disguise?" "Yes." Lucien looked up and down at me in Reinhardt's form and crossed her arms. "You look just like your personality." "What?" There was no one around. "It's been a while since we've been to the equator." Lucien was looking at the landscape of the equator that spread far away. "Do you have a place to stay?" "Hmm... I was told to go find a guy named Argon Fonteuse, and he'll take care of it somehow." It was like leaving Lucien to Sarkergar. I trusted that Sarkergar would take care of it somehow. He was a capable guy. Lucien was lost in thought with her arms crossed. "You said you were in contact with the Black Order too?" "...Yes." "I don't know how you've been so far, but now it's really dangerous. So stay within my reach as much as possible." Kantus Magna and the Black Order. As I began to get involved with the decision-makers, I was bound to face dangerous situations frequently. So Lucien seemed to be trying to provide close protection. That's right. Lucien is right. "...I have to go to the temple." "...Temple?" I knew this wasn't the right timing to say this. Compared to the stories we've shared so far, this shouldn't be said. I have to go to school! It's winter vacation now! The Vampire Council also went on winter vacation! The temple is a priority! Strictly speaking, it's the most important! In many ways! "Oh, you...you said you were infiltrating there, right?" Lucien cocked her head, as if she had heard something from Ellerys. Infiltration...was that right? No, it wasn't. "Get rid of it. Isn't now the time for that?" Lucien said it as if I was playing in the water when a typhoon was coming. It's a bit confusing to argue with a guy who's not really a kid, but who looks like a kid. "No, I have to be at the temple. There are so many things involved there..." "...What? Are you serious?" "Yes." Lucien looked at me and bit her lips with her index finger again. I felt like she was desperately holding back curses. "No, there must be a reason, right?" Honestly, it's not like I'm just staying at the temple. It's so important to build relationships with the influential people in the temple under the pretext of rebuilding the demon world. And my classmates are the heirs of the empire, and I've told them how much influence I have on them. "...Now that I hear it, it's true." Lucien nodded as if it made sense when Reinhardt said he was infiltrating the temple to build relationships with the empire's decision-makers. Lucien warned Reinhardt about the danger he may face and advised him to stay within her reach as much as possible. Reinhardt revealed that he needs to be there to rebuild the demon world under the pretext of building relationships with influential people. Lucien eventually agreed that there must be a reason for Reinhardt to go to the temple. Translation:

However, there was an excess of casualties in this attack. Not only were all the knights killed, but also L'vieriya Ranche. At the time, we didn't fight because escaping as prisoners was the priority. Berthus seemed to be getting more and more entangled in the situation. There were too many strange things happening, not just suspicious ones. It's understandable that large-scale destruction magic was used, but there were multiple eyewitness accounts of something in the shape of a demon wandering the night sky. "Why on earth?" Was this supposed to be a publicity stunt for the demon's attack? It would have been better to disguise themselves as human conflicts, but the demons flaunted their existence by flying through the night sky. Did the demons really know about the nameless sect? Did they really know nothing about the current state of the continent? If they did, the demons should have disguised themselves as human conflicts rather than flaunting their existence. Some even say that the demons disguised themselves as imperialists or pro-Japanese people and assassinated the nameless sect and its leader, L'vieriya Ranche. If there were no eyewitness accounts of demons, this incident would have become a powerful event that would have exploded the resentment of the Holy Knights and the Five Great Gods. If they knew that, they shouldn't have attacked in this way. If they were in a position to lead the demons, they would never have done it this way. "It's not stupid." This is the stupidest thing the demons can do. This only helps the empire. You shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that the villains are so stupid. It may have been emotional, but doesn't it just fit perfectly for the empire in every situation? "Did you really try to help the empire? Why on earth?" There is no reason to do this, but it seems that the demons attacked the nameless sect to help the empire and deliberately announced their existence. Why do they have to do that? Why do the demons risk danger to do good things only for the empire? It is too optimistic to see this as a mistake of the villains. The demons helped the empire. However, Berthus couldn't figure out why they had to do it, and he was getting more and more entangled in the situation. He couldn't figure out their intentions. While Berthus was trying to develop the situation alone with narrowed eyes, a subordinate who was reporting carefully interrupted the prince's thoughts. "Your Highness... and about the order you gave me last time..." Berthus asked, "What are you talking about?" "Um... investigate the girl with the silver hair..." "Ah... that." Because of the huge incident that had just happened, Berthus had completely forgotten about it. The memory of the great insult he had spat on his face came back to him, and Berthus' face twitched slightly. "Um, yeah. Did you find out anything?" The girl with the silver hair, whose identity is unknown. "Berthus had given orders as if he had just passed by, thinking that the girl with silver hair he had encountered before might be a sibling who had been separated from him when he was young, resembling Rhinehardt, his classmate. As he had forgotten about it, it was a new experience for Berthus. Strictly speaking, this is stalking. The empire belongs to the emperor, and the first prince is one of the most likely heirs to the throne. So, if the prince openly stalks someone, it would be a huge problem. 'Anyway, I investigated the identity information of the common people, but...' 'So?' If he wanted to, the first prince could investigate not the entire empire, but at least the royal family. 'There was no identity information that matched the conditions you mentioned.' 'Well, since she said her hair was dyed... I didn't think there would be any.' There is no detailed montage, so it is difficult to hope that the identity information Berthus remembers will match. Silver hair, golden eyes, and a beauty. It's just a sloppy piece of information. So, even if she was a commoner in the empire, it would have been difficult to find someone who met the conditions. 'So, I looked into Rhinehardt, who you said was your classmate. I tried to find his identity information first...' 'Hmm, that was the most likely.' Rhinehardt is from the street, but he has identity information. Starting from his hometown, it would have been possible to find out. But the subordinate scratched his head as if it was difficult. 'But Rhinehardt's initial identity information was registered last year. There was no information before that, no matter how hard I looked.' '...What?' Berthus cocked his head at those words. 'That happens often. Some commoners live without registering their identity information... Like you said, those who live as street beggars all their lives have no identity information at all. As you said, Rhinehardt is from the street, so...' Rhinehardt's identity information was first registered last year. That means he lived as an unidentified person before that. It's not unusual. Clearly, it's not that strange. But Berthus once suspected that Rhinehardt was the heir raised by a criminal organization. Rhinehardt denied it, and Berthus didn't believe Rhinehardt's words, but he didn't investigate further. He said it was practically impossible to trace his birthplace because Rhinehardt had lived as an unidentified person for quite some time. It's been a while, so Berthus knows that some of the misunderstandings he had about Rhinehardt are no longer true. The Rotary Club to which Rhinehardt belongs is just an organization of beggars. Rhinehardt is just a beggar. He was just sent from the Rotary Club to the temple. Identity registration was last year. He entered the Royal Class by coming to the temple without fear. So, it meant that he had obtained an identity to enter the temple. Berthus thinks that Rhinehardt, although he lacks refinement, has a good sense of judgment." "Where are you from?" asked Berthus suddenly. "Hwangdo," I replied, trying to act nonchalant. Berthus then asked if I had any siblings and mentioned seeing a girl who resembled me during a festival. He had looked into my identity registration and found that it was only done last year. I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized the danger of the situation." "So... it's a bit awkward to say, but if your parents abandoned you and you had a younger sibling afterwards, you might not even know if you have siblings, right? So, if you don't want me to, I won't look into it personally, but if you do want me to, I'm trying to find out... It's not possible. It could be dangerous. We have to stop it. It could start as a favor and end up revealing my identity. It's not a joke, it's a really dangerous situation where my life is at risk. There are no other options. Almost like a reflex. That's me. I couldn't help but tell the truth. '...Huh? What?' Berthus seemed to not understand what he had heard. 'That's me.' I was curious about what kind of expression I was making. 'What...? What did you say?' Berthus began to doubt his own ears. I had escaped death, but... I wanted to die."