After descending to the ground, I nigh immediately dropped to one knee. In an attempt to decrease my mana consumption, I decided to put away my [True Demon Form].

«Removal of hostile ‘Demiurge’-class creature confirmed. Congratulations. For a reward, please refer to the Goddesses. The GAME feature ‘Warning’ is no longer available.»

Davna, Tempest, Navillus and Sylph all approached me.

Although Davna and Tempest had concern in their gaze, Navillus was unreadable as ever and Sylph looked like she did not particularly care.

“Are you alright, Master?” Davna asked, canting her head to the side.

“Do you perhaps need a mana transfer?” Tempest asked, extending a hand in my direction even though she looked quite tired, herself.

“Master, alright?” Navillus asked, quivering.

“... You good?” Sylph asked.

“Come now, Tempest, do not be absurd,” I said, “you do not have the mana for a mana transfer. I will be fine, you lot.” I produced a pair of mana potions from my [Storage] and tossed one to Tempest.

I gulped down my own as quickly as I could—as disgusting as I remembered, if not worse—and got myself back on two legs.

After a few moments to make sure my body was feeling alright, I walked over to the place where the magic circle had been. “Still, we will have to investigate… this…?”

My attention was stolen away by a scrap of white between the charred grass. I picked it up.

A shred of paper.

“Navillus. You have been feeling left out, no? Rejoice. There is a job only you can do. Spread yourself throughout the encampment and gather any suspicious-looking paper you find. Take it all to Tempest.”

She looked half like she was going to deny my statement, but in the end decided to raise her arms in jubilation and seeped away.

“Tempest. While she is searching the ground, you search the tents themselves. Your criteria are the same. Once you both are done, meet me at the place where we spoke with the Heroes.”

She nodded and made her way back to the encampment, too.

“Lady Sylph, what will you…?”

“I need a nap.”

Before I could respond, she dissolved into the wind.

With unhurried steps, I headed back to where we had encountered the Heroes.

Davna walked alongside me. She seemed to have decided that holding on to my cape was the easiest way to make sure she would not get lost—I doubted she needed the help, what with a Red Dragon’s sense of direction, but opted not to say anything anyway.

Perhaps halfway there, I received a telepathic communication.

«As M’lord command’d, the foe b’fore my blade has been struck down.»

“Splendid. Good work, Charlotte. Investigate the area for clues and then report back to me at the clearing where I spoke with the Heroes. And do not leave them unsupervised for even a second.”

«I shall spare no eff’rt t’ realise M’lord’s will.»

“I am looking forward to the tales of the Heroes’ folly you will no doubt spin.”

«Rest assured, an inc’dent read’ly comes t’ mind.»

I chuckled and cut the connection, then looked to my side to find Davna staring fixedly at me, her head tilted slightly to the side.

I barely managed to pull her towards me so as to keep her from walking straight into a tree. “Watch where you walk,” I said, snickering.

“Ah, sorry, Master.” She placed a hand behind her head and giggled, a faint embarrassed blush creeping onto her cheeks.

“Was listening to one side of a conversation that interesting?” I shook my head. “... Ah, that reminds me. Davna, I have something to talk to you about. Come to my room tonight. Ah, take Charlotte with you, too.”

“Gotcha!”

As was to be expected, we were the first to arrive. I was halfway through the spell to put my throne back in place when a glimmer of light caught my eye—I picked up the dull, yet still pretty gemstone, which lead me to discover a second nearby, a slightly different colour and far less dull.

The first one had the colour characteristic of a spent skill-sealing crystal—in other words, it was likely one of the appraisal crystals the Heroes had used.

But then, what about the other one? Its colour looked somewhat similar to a yet-unused skill-sealing crystal—from a distance, I might mistake it for——

Did they really…?

With several questions running through my head, I appraised the thing, since it did seem to glimmer and was thus likely an artifact.

Name

Crystal of Easy Appraisal

Rank

Common

Attribute

None

Effect

By using this crystal, the user may use the [Appraisal] skill without performing the required hand-motion, as if this crystal were a skill-sealing crystal with the [Appraisal] skill sealed inside.

Cannot be used if the user does not possess [Appraisal].

Reusable.

Description

A crystal to make the [Appraisal] skill easier to use.

Apart from sparing beginners the relatively complicated hand-motion, it is not very useful.

I could not prevent a few chuckles from leaking out of my mouth.

“They tricked me? They tricked me… Ha! There may just be hope for them yet!”

With a vexing mix of emotions, I put my shadowy, wavering throne back into place.

By what was probably sheer coincidence, both search parties arrived at the same time.

“Ah. Tempest, Navillus, Charlotte.” I rested my arm on the armrest, and my head on my hand. “I trust you have found some useful items.”

“Here you go, Master.” Tempest handed me a grand total of two sheets of paper, accompanied by a large number of illegible burnt scraps. “As ordered, we searched thoroughly, but that’s all we found… Navillus found most of it. I just put it back together.”

“Found lots of scraps!”

“... Right. Well done.” A little awkwardly, I gave the slime some pats on the head.

Awkward as it was, she seemed to appreciate it nonetheless.

“Thy faithful servant r’turns to thy side, M’lord,” Charlotte said, curtsying—as elegant as ever. “I am afraid t’ r’port that I did not find a single lead. It appears th’ Heroes’ d’vine blessing is stronger than I ant’cipated.”

“To think that that’s the same vampire as earlier…” the sword-wielding Hero said, probably a little louder than intended.

“What? Do you have something to say about Charlotte?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “If you have the guts to say it, I will hear you out… Though I cannot assure you of your fate if you badmouth my precious underling.”

“M’lord, I am und’serving of such words…!”

In contrast to Charlotte’s sparkling gaze, the sword-wielder averted his eyes with a muttered apology.

“Hmph. Spineless… In any case.” I flexed my fingers around a bit and eventually produced the fake appraisal crystal. “Would you two care to explain this?” I asked, toying around with it.

“Ah, uh, that is, you see-”

The mage did not seem capable of deciding how she wanted to start her sentence, and her eyes flicked this way and that, but were never pointed straight at my face.

“M’lord,” Charlotte said, “if thou wouldst p’rmit me?”

“Speak.”

“The wield’r of Claiomh Solais appeared t’ be cap’ble of using [Appraisal] on his own.”

“Is that so… Just as I thought, then.”

“Ah, uh, we’re sor-”

“Congratulations!”

“Huh?”

Unlike my earlier applause, this time, it was wholly serious, and I could not prevent a few delighted chuckles from leaving my mouth.

“Which of you two came up with the idea?”

“Ah, uh, that’s me,” the mage said, timidly raising her hand.

“Truly, congratulations. You have single-handedly proven that not all Heroes are braindead buffoons.”

“Uh… Thank you…?”

“Well, although I am certainly not unhappy that you deceived me, I will still be taking compensation in the form of information. Hold still.”

Before they even had time to react, I appraised both Heroes and the sword.

Status: Ebstrea

Name

Ebstrea

Sex

Female

Race

Human

Class

White Mage

Skills

White Mage

[Healing Magic] [Warding Magic] [Status Effect Resistance] [Magical Efficiency] [Self-Enhancement: Magical]

Healing Magic

You may use various light-attribute spells that are geared towards healing.

Warding Magic

You may use various light-attribute spells that are geared towards wards, barriers etcetera.

Status Effect Resistance

Passive: you gain increased resistance against status effects, no matter the source.

Magical Efficiency

Passive: all spells you cast only consume half the normal mana cost.

Self-Enhancement: Magical

Passive: your magical parameters will improve.

Hero

[Storage] [Healing Soul] [Saviour] [Self-status] [Increased efficiency: Light]

Storage

Place an item you are in contact with into or retrieve it from a special sub-space. Living beings may not be placed into this sub-space.

Healing Soul

Passive: the effect of all healing magic you cast is increased. Your presence soothes the minds of nearby allies.

Saviour

Passive: anyone who you rescue from a life-or-death situation will forcibly have their mental state calmed, and gain permanent increased mental resistance.

Self-Status

View your own status, as if through the effect of [Appraisal].

Increased Efficiency: Light

Passive: the efficiency and effect of any light-attribute or healing-type magic cast on or by you will increase.

Other

[Light-Attribute Magic: Advanced] [Fire-Attribute Magic: Advanced] [Water-Attribute Magic: Advanced] [Earth-Attribute Magic: Advanced] [Wind-Attribute Magic: Advanced] [No-Attribute Magic] [Divine Protection: Luciel]

Light-Attribute Magic: Advanced

You may use various medium-level light-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

Fire-Attribute Magic: Advanced

You may use various medium-level fire-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

Water-Attribute Magic: Advanced

You may use various medium-level water-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

Earth-Attribute Magic: Advanced

You may use various medium-level earth-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

Wind-Attribute Magic: Advanced

You may use various medium-level wind-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

No-Attribute Magic

You may use various spells that are not bound to any particular attribute. You may use these spells without chanting.

Divine Protection: Luciel

Passive: your affinity for light-attribute magic will increase. Your hardiness will increase. You will not feel pain. You will become a ‘Hero’ and gain appropriate power. You will find it easier to see through deception and discern secrets.

Status: Reynald

Name

Reynald

Sex

Male

Race

Human

Class

Holy Swordsman

Skills

Holy Swordsman

[Holy Swordplay] [Headstrong] [Wielder of the God-Sword] [Self-enhancement: Physical]

Holy Swordplay

A special version of the [Swordplay] skill that only Paladin-type jobs can obtain. In addition to various slashes and other techniques, you may use techniques that require inhuman flexibility and various magical attacks. While using a sword, your parameters will improve.

Headstrong

Passive: while fighting as a vanguard, your physical parameters will improve. While protecting one or more people, your parameters will improve.

Wielder of the God-Sword

Passive: you may use Claiomh Solais.

Self-enhancement: Physical

Passive: your physical parameters will improve.

Hero

[Storage] [Indomitable Soul] [Saviour] [Self-status] [Increased efficiency: Light]

Storage

Place an item you are in contact with into or retrieve it from a special sub-space. Living beings may not be placed into this sub-space.

Indomitable Soul

Passive: you are highly resistant to any non-natural means of influencing your mental state or spirit. While you are protecting someone, the concept of ‘fear’ disappears from your mind.

Saviour

Passive: anyone who you rescue from a life-or-death situation will forcibly have their mental state calmed, and gain permanent increased mental resistance.

Self-Status

View your own status, as if through the effect of [Appraisal].

Increased Efficiency: Light

Passive: the efficiency and effect of any light-attribute or healing-type magic cast on or by you will increase.

Other

[Light-Attribute Magic: General] [No-Attribute Magic] [Appraisal] [Physical Resistance] [Divine Protection: Luciel]

Light-Attribute Magic: General

You may use various low-level light-attribute spells with various purposes, such as attack, defence, etcetera.

No-Attribute Magic

You may use various spells that are not bound to any particular attribute. You may use these spells without chanting.

Appraisal

View the status of a person or an artifact.

Physical Resistance

Passive: you will take significantly less damage from all physical sources.

Divine Protection: Luciel

Passive: your affinity for light-attribute magic will increase. Your hardiness will increase. You will not feel pain. You will become a ‘Hero’ and gain appropriate power. You will find it easier to see through deception and discern secrets.

Name

Claiomh Solais

Sex

None

Race

Ultra Rare-Rank Artifact

Skills

>

Description

The divine, evil-banishing sword created from part of the divinity of Goddess of Light, Lady Luciel. With Orichalcum as its base material and a sharpness surpassing a dragon’s claws, there is no material it cannot cut—even the legendary Black Silver would split in two. Only a true hero can use it.

There were a few parts I was curious about, but the most interesting status was obviously that of the god-sword—that is, it was a strange amalgam of the status of a living being and an artifact.

Even a cursed sword possessed the status of a living being, so Claiomh Solais was likely some kind of pseudo-soul.

More interestingly was the blatant lie embedded in the description.

“Oh, so the sword can even cut Black Silver,” I said, briefly dropping my gaze to my hand. “Even my claws cannot do that… Do you mind if we put that to the test, o mighty Hero?”

“I, uh…” He averted his eyes. “I think we’d better not, uh, Lord Astaroth.”

It seemed he had picked up on his friend’s speech patterns, specifically in how to refer to me. Not unpleasant.

“Hmm… well, you, too, seem to possess some shred of intelligence.” I played with the magical crystal in my hand a few moments longer and then flicked it at him, hitting him right in the forehead. “Now, I do believe we were talking about something before we were interrupted… Ah, yes, I remember. My motivations. You asked me why I do the things I do. Well, there are some smaller motivations for certain individual actions, such as my collector’s spirit and my desire for revenge, but… I have but one main motivation.”

“O-only one?” The poor mage looked half like she could not believe my words.

“Yes, only one. What could motivate one to start a war on the global scale, to desire to conquer the world and subjugate all? There can only be one answer.”

I rose from my throne, spread my arms out as though trying to envelop the entire world, turned my gaze skyward.

“Love.”

“L-love?”

“Ah, and do not assume I mean something dull like ‘love for the world’, or ‘love for the potential of humanity’, or anything, no no. I mean love like the feeling between husband and wife. If it would make her happy, I would gladly exterminate humanity or raze the world to the ground. Thus, as she has asked me such, I shall take this world and present it to her. That is all there is to it.”

“S-such a thing…” The wielder of the god-sword took a step backwards.

“What, is it so strange? Tell me, wielder of Claiomh Solais.”

I pointed to the mage.

“Kill her, or a hundred people you have never met and never will meet will die.”

“I-Is that a threat?!” He quickly rebuilt a fighting stance.

I used a bit of magic to bat his sword to the side. “It is an example. Which would you choose?”

“Ah, well, uh… Man, that’s a hard choice…”

“Liar. You say that now, but in the moment, you are overwhelmingly more likely to choose her. You just raised your sword against me, no? What stronger proof can there be? Just take that and scale it up and you have my moral compass.” I raised a hand to my face with a self-righteous sneer.

“Then your moral compass needs to be re-magnetised!”

“I shall be the judge of that myself.”

“Ah, um…” the mage said, raising her hand with a meek expression.

“What? Feeling left out?”

“No, uh… That’s not your original motivation, is it?”

She was once more proving to be the smarter of the duo.

“Well, that is about right,” I said, nodding. With a cough, I sat back down. “One would not give up the world for a love at first sight—that sort of dedication is built up over time. But judging from your expressions, my entire thought process should be alien to you. How did you…?”

“You said last time, uh, that it was related to the hint Claiomh Solais gave. And none of what you just said connects to anything the sword has said…”

“Well done. Deductive reasoning. Then, I will say it straight… For a price.” I folded my hands over one another in front of my face. “Everything you found here.”

Their faces said they knew as well as I did that this was extortion, but they begrudgingly produced a pair of packs of paper from their respective [Storage]s. Charlotte walked over, took the paper and handed it to me, and I put it away in my [Storage].

“Now that that is out of the way. It is, in simple terms, because Lady Luciel is what you would commonly call an ‘evil god’.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Hold still,” I said, and I extended a hand in their direction.

After perhaps a moment of chanting—

“[Darkness-Attribute Magic: Reveal Light].”

I revealed the bugs clinging to their heads.

They recoiled in surprise and disgust, and once more the sword-wielder drew his sword.

“Do not hurt them,” I said, which caused him to pause. “These are called Azalyths. To put it simply, it is mind-control.”

“Mind-control?!”

It was the first time I had truly heard the mage girl raise her voice in any way other than telling off the sword-wielder. A delightful scream.

“Yes. Remember the sword’s mention of ‘soul erosion’? That is what it is. These things parasitise Heroes’ souls for power and leave only an empty shell for Lady Luciel’s will. I will commend you, sword-wielder—you are holding out very well for one who is essentially in constant contact with a fragment of Lady Luciel.”

“Mind… Control…” The sword-wielder powerlessly let his sword drop to the ground and dumped himself onto the rock I had raised which was still there.

The mage mimicked him, though she did not need to drop anything given her empty hands.

“Do you want to protect humans, but be the servant of a goddess who does not in the slightest value humans’ free will? Or fight the evil god, but also the humans who worship her? Which of these paths is ‘heroic’? Decide for yourself. My army would gladly welcome the wielder of the god-sword and his companion. Ah, and like I said before. Do not hurt the Azalyths. She will notice.”

“R… Right…”

"Ah, and Claiomh Solais."

«I already know even if you do not tell me, opponent. I am the wielder's sword, to be used as the wielder wishes. I will not reveal anything to anyone.»

“Excellent. Now, then, if you will excuse me, I have a reward to pick up for solving an inter-deitic conflict…”

The mage girl rose to her feet with vigour even she herself seemed to find surprising. “Did you just say inter-deitic? As in, between gods… right?”

I nodded, a little confused. The girl tried to approach me, but Charlotte shooed her away.

She decided to ask her question to Charlotte, instead.

“Uh, c-can we… watch? So we, uh, know where the other gods are in this whole thing…”

Charlotte turned to face me, her expression stuck halfway between disbelief and amusement.