Chapter 297: Deception (6)

TL/ED – Miso

"Prove it."

After mulling it over for a long while, Azrael came out with those words.

"Prove it?"

"I mean show me through action."

Azrael turned his head away, scattering seeds again.

"The duty I bear isn't some promise between one individual and another. It's a bond placed at the level of an entire species. Go ahead, beg a lock to open a door for you a hundred times over. Do you think it would mean anything?"

"You mean you want me to show you some hope of actually beating Void?"

"Ha, I'm not so greedy as to hope for that."

He snorted a laugh, then said something strange.

"Bring me the representative of the human species."

"...What?"

"If you bring one, I'll speak with them directly and put them to the test. And if they pass, I might even consider lending you my strength."

The representative of a species?

I frowned for a moment, then shrugged and took a step forward.

"I'll do it. Test me."

"Not you."

"Why not? Someone like me counts as a representative of the human species just fine. Or go ahead and summon everyone else, then."

"Why don't you start by grasping what kind of being you are? You aren't even human. Something that isn't human can't be the representative of humans."

"...The Princess isn't here right now. And the Emperor's..."

"You're failing to understand what I'm saying."

Azrael let out a sigh and shook his head.

"That noble rank you people talk about means nothing. I'm simply telling you to bring the pinnacle of the human species."

"The strongest person?"

"You can choose the criteria yourself. You're the one asking, and you're the one who needs us."

"...And what will you do once I bring them?"

"Didn't I say it would be a test? I understand what you're trying to say. But it only sounds to me like you're asking the elves to lay down their lives for the human species. And there's no reason for us to do that."

"No, if you don't fight, you'll all die anyway. Do you really think Void is going to spare you and only you?"

"That's none of my concern. The Covenant I made is to guard their honor and await the Savior, not to strive to keep them alive."

"..."

"I'll say it again. Bring me the representative of humanity. So that I can test whether they're worthy of standing alongside us."

"Fine, fine. I don't know what you're on about, but I got it for now."

Seeing how firm Azrael was, I had no choice but to make a Puddle and withdraw.

...The representative of the human species, huh.

'The strongest person is probably the right call.'

He'd told me to set the criteria myself, but given that it was a test, bringing the strongest human was surely the way to go. A certain threshold of raw strength was enough to pass most tests.

The first one that came to mind was Brimdal. He was the strongest knight I knew.

Unfortunately, though, Brimdal wasn't human. He was a Dwarf.

On top of that, his character was thoroughly rotten, so even if I could put him forward as a representative, I wouldn't want to.

That left just one option.

I descended to the Underground City and immediately swept my Current Sense around.

"...I'm fine. Right now the correct thing is to avoid stirring up any needless trouble, so even if someone picks a fight, do not react under any circumstances."

"Yes, ma'am!"

A tent in one of the city's fairly upper levels.

Karos was calling in knights without pause while poring over documents.

Even at a glance, she was moving at a fast pace, which made it clear she hadn't earned her knighthood by swordsmanship alone. She was so absorbed that she didn't seem able to check behind her, so I cleared my throat.

"Ahem, Karos."

"...! Who's there!"

-Clang! Sparks flew.

Almost the instant she drew, a blade honed razor-sharp was leveled at my neck.

'...She's become even more of a monster.'

It was a fairly quick draw. No, an incredibly quick one.

I'd watched her handle a sword several times. She'd already reached a level close to divine speed, and advancing beyond that point was extremely difficult, but it seemed she'd pulled it off.

The draw was at least one and a half times faster. It wasn't as if I couldn't block it, but since even a stab couldn't leave a wound on my body, I just gave an awkward smile.

"It's me."

"Ah, Jern... it is you."

"? You're not surprised."

Karos sheathed her sword quite calmly.

I'd expected her to ask why I was down here instead of up on the surface.

She let out a sigh, pinched the bridge of her fatigue-stained brow, and sat back down.

"The Princess told me. That you were crushed in defeat, and that you're preparing a counterattack."

"It wasn't a crushing defeat."

"...Is that true?"

"It has to be a fight before you can call it a victory or a defeat. I never even stood on the same battlefield."

"Thank you so very much for those hope-inspiring words..."

Karos began reviewing her documents again as she asked.

"So, why have you sought me out in the middle of preparing a counterattack? I'm extremely busy standing in for the Princess."

"I need you, Karos. Azrael told me to bring the representative of the human species."

"The representative of the human species?"

Karos looked at me as if wondering what nonsense I was spouting, then shook her head.

"I don't know what that is, but if I'm not here right now, riots will break out all over the place. Could you at least wait a few hours?"

"If it's possible, I'd honestly like to go right away. There isn't much time."

"Hmm..."

Even to be generous about it, there really wasn't enough time. Of course, her work was extremely important too, but it was an unavoidable sacrifice. If it truly came to it, I could just set her down in front of Azrael and handle her business myself.

She kept scanning the documents with her eyes even in the middle of our conversation as she answered.

"Whatever this representative of a species is, seeing that you came to me, it sounds like you need the strongest person within the bounds of humanity. Is that right?"

"Right?"

"Then you've come to the wrong door. Don't come to me, go find Linmel."

"...?"

Linmel?

Well, in terms of strength, Linmel was on a level comparable to Karos.

But for various reasons like experience and accumulated time, Karos should still be humanity's strongest knight for now.

She must have seen the question written on my face, because she gave a small chuckle.

"It's not something I say to brag, but my skills have improved quite a bit lately."

"Ah, yes. It did look that way. Your sword strikes have gotten much faster."

"I received help. I was able to climb another rung under the guidance of a knight who has reached an even higher realm than me."

"...?"

A knight who could teach Karos.

There was no human, at the very least, who could do that. It was hard even to guess, but taking the flow of the conversation into account...

"...You mean Linmel?"

"After we came down to the Underground City, she kept looking gloomy. I thought that was understandable given the fate of humanity, so I left her alone, but then I saw a single streak of light in the training room."

Karos continued as though she doubted her own words.

"The sound came afterward. The Dwarves started repair work to stop water that had begun flowing from the ceiling."

"That's impossible."

I frowned and pushed back.

"Do you know how deep this city is? Boring a hole all the way up to the Deep Sea where the seawater is, with a sword strike, cannot be done."

"Strange, isn't it. The Dwarves said the same thing."

Karos wasn't the type to make jokes.

And the Underground City was built in the deepest earth the Dwarves were capable of constructing in. If a sword could pierce all the way up to where the seawater is, it would be about as absurd as slicing through the clouds in the sky.

Unable to say anything for a moment, I soon made a Puddle.

"I'll go check and come back. Sorry to burden you with all this work."

"...One moment."

Karos hesitantly stopped me just as I was about to move, then said with a small sigh.

"Please don't provoke her too much."

"? Yes. Of course."

There was no way I'd ever do anything to upset Linmel.

I immediately swept my Current Sense around to find where Linmel was. A small lodging, a small room. One occupant.

I made a Puddle and moved at once. To the front of her door.

Through my Current Sense, I saw that she was sitting at a desk writing something. It was surely private, so I didn't bother checking; unlike with Karos, I wanted to respect Linmel's privacy.

-Knock, knock, knock, I knocked first.

[I'm in the middle of something. I'll eat later.]

The reply came almost instantly. Her voice was as bright as usual, and I felt a light wave of relief.

I'd been worried when I heard she was gloomy, but it seemed she'd already gotten over it entirely.

"Linmel, it's me."

[...Huh?!]

A bit of thumping around.

Not long after, the door opened.

Linmel looked up at me, utterly shocked, wearing the expression of someone watching the dead return, and then she looked upward.

"Wh-wh-what? Jern?? Are you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just..."

I started to continue in order to reassure Linmel, but then I noticed something odd.

"Did you hear from the Princess?"

"H-hear what?"

"That I lost to Void."

"Ah..."

Linmel's expression darkened.

As if something she'd half-expected had just been confirmed as true.

But then her face brightened again, and she shook her head firmly.

"Jern, let's do it again! This time I'll help you, I can help you!"

"Uh, yeah. That's exactly what I came here for. But... you knew?"

"I didn't... not know."

Linmel's face grew heavy with worry, and she lightly clenched her fist.

"A-actually. I was trying to go rescue you."

"...What?"

"I saw that the world above had changed. I knew the situation wasn't good. But you weren't showing up, so I thought maybe you'd been captured..."

Linmel fidgeted, then bowed her head.

"You were right. Because I understood. Once I saw the thing up there, I realized it wasn't a being I could take on. That it was impossible to face it, that even if I'd gone with you I'd only have been a burden. You were right about all of it."

Having said that, Linmel smiled the way she usually did.

"But not anymore! I figured it all out too. How to see, and how to cut."

"..."

I'd been about to ask how on earth she knew the situation up above from all the way down here, but I swallowed my breath.

She was inside my Current Sense.

Of course, that was unavoidable. The days when I couldn't catch first-rate knights with my Current Sense were long past. My Current Sense now could catch any being without letting a single one slip, just as it had found her.

There was only one difference.

"I worked really, really hard to imitate you, Jern!"

-She, a pure human who carried no Outer God, no Wizard, not a drop of the blood of the Deep Sea's Outer God in her,

...had Fallen into some realm somewhere that I couldn't begin to comprehend.

⚬──────────✧──────────⚬

Join our discord server: .gg/96hMXymzMP