241-235 Karamete-mon

The patients who sought treatment at Ebiza were the former prince and former saint of the Empire, and the rest of them were believed to be Imperial officials.

When I examined how much healing was needed, I could confirm that the former prince and former saint were leaking miasma.

I'm sure my face was a bit strained.

In an attempt to immediately begin the treatment, I decided that if they had been transformed into a demon race, the people involved in transforming into a demon race would be among those gathered, so I began to wash out the demon race with Purification Wave.

There was a possibility that it would end up being pointless because they wouldn't suffer if they remained people, but he still decided that he couldn't stumble over a small matter before the big one.

Due to the Purification Wave, former princes and saints began to suffer as well, and that's when they were going to immediately call for dispel, recovery and extra heels.

"Dangerous!

As soon as I heard that, I was pushed off from the right side.

'What are you--?　Extra Heels.

It was Mr. Bazak who pushed me.

And as I turned to him to protest the push, I saw the dagger plunged deep into his chest and his robe stained red-black with blood.

When I caught him as he was falling, he was still breathing and hadn't died instantly, so I immediately activated my extra heel.

''Are you okay?''

''Yeah, yeah. There's no pain, and after all, the recovery magic of those who become wise is tremendous.

Thank you for covering for me.

I really couldn't react at all to a throw from outside my consciousness, so I sincerely thank you.

''No, we are the ones who have been inconvenienced. I'm sorry, please treat those guys.

I understand.

It seems that Mr. Bazak was able to recover without any problems.

I think he's a pretty good person, even though he's a mage, he's able to put his body on the line and apologize immediately for any missteps.

I changed my mind and decided to unravel the former princes' demonization in order.　

The one who threw the dagger was one of those brought in as an injured person.

It seems that he was damaged by the Purification Wave, and although he suffered, he stood up and took out a dagger from where he had hidden it and threw it at me.

The person who threw the dagger was instantly incapacitated by Nadia and Estia, and it was decided that from now on, Keti, Kefin and Estia would be the three of us to hear the case.

'I am very sorry. I didn't expect someone to commit such a heinous act...''

Mr. Bazak bowed nearly ninety degrees and kept apologizing to me.

'Apology received just now, sir. More importantly, it helped us too. I was so focused on healing that I didn't notice the dagger, and it seems that there were some people in this town that we had to deal with that were mixed up with us.

Yes, besides the one who threw the dagger at me, there were two other people who had started to suffer among those gathered.

Everyone had headed that way, which delayed my care, but I had already discounted the fact that it was inevitable.

None of the former princes I treated were able to get up immediately, except for the one who threw a dagger at me.

In the meantime, I decided to ask Mr. Bazak why they were so well-liked in this town.

'Lionel was referring to him and her earlier as your highness and the saint, why are there so many admirers of the two of them in this town?'

'Master Alberto and Master Melfina questioned the way the empire is now, caused a rift between them and the emperor, and then they turned against him. They were hunted for it. And by helping those in need, they gradually became one of us.

I can hear Lionel's teeth clenching as he grits them together.

The current Ilmasian Empire continues to fund wars while failing to win them, not only imposing heavy taxes on the population to finance its war effort, but also beginning to treat civilians coldly, favoring only those who excel in military prowess.

The pressure I feel from Lionel is more intense.

'Well, wouldn't that upset the balance that was being governed?

''Yes, so the two of you were advised by the emperor that, on the contrary, you were suspected of rebellion and fled the imperial capital.

Okay. I get why they're here, Ebiza.

But that's not why they are adored.

'Why are all these people worried about me?

That's all I want to know, and I don't really want to know other information.

Still, is it my imagination or is it just my imagination that I feel like I'm being spoken to by the one who arrests the information that I need to know to be able to move delicately?

From the time you two fled to Ebiza here, it seems that the reputation of the Empire was declining day by day, and he couldn't stand it anymore, so he formed an organization to stop the Emperor's tyranny.

You formed a resistance. I'm sure the former will get it, but I'm not sure the prince who seems to be the first in line of succession would do it.

Originally, it was probably Lionel's role to stop the emperor who had gone out of control.

I can sense that your stern face from earlier is pushing the limits.

...What exactly is your organizational activity?

''Freeing slaves from the illegal slavers, bringing to justice soldiers who do as they please in the imperial capital, freeing those imprisoned for innocent crimes. And the assassination of the warlord who caused the empire to run amok... well, this one failed.

He's completely provoking Lionel, but I'm sure in doing so he's going to piss Lionel off and make this story moot.

Maybe Mr. Bazak is pretty gloomy.

There must be something in the fact that he's in control of so many people's minds, but I'm not sure if he's trying to keep them from realizing that, or if he has an agenda to get them to cooperate with us.

Considering that the ultimate goal of the resistance is to get the former prince to take the imperial throne, this failure should be a major blow to them.

The fact that I mentioned this to them may mean that they have a desire to make us cooperate with them.

Normally, I would like to provoke them, but that may be the real aim.

Talking to smart people like this gets tiring, so I decided to leave the conversation at once here.

'I see. Running an organization is hard work everywhere, isn't it? Now that their treatment is over, and they've used too much magic, it's time to show them to the inn.''

Can't you just wait until they wake up?

Mr. Bazak comes in to try to get me to stay, but I refuse to let him.

'I have invoked the best magic I can. I can swear it to the Lord God Kraija, the God of Sanctification. Or is there some reason you can't guide me to the inn?

''........No, it's not like that. I would like to invite you to the mansion where I live as a thank you, including the fact that I asked you to treat me unreasonably this time,

You really don't come in that way.

If it were true, I'd like to refuse, but I don't want to make waves here since I plan to leave Linna and Nanya-san in this town.

I had no choice but to stay at Mr. Bazak's mansion.

The mansion is as big as the luxury hotel we stayed at in Glandle, and it looked like there would be no problem for us to stay there.

But at this time of day, there is no way Dolan and his team can sit still, and since the yard was so large, Dolan said he was going to adjust the amphibian, and all of the Luciel production department followed him into the yard.

Nadia and Lydia followed along as guards.

Keti, Kefin, and Esther went down to the basement of the mansion to torture the three who had been transformed into demons... and to listen to their torture.

At that time, Kefin asked me for a barrel of Object X, and I gave it to him, but would that be enough?　That's what I'm thinking about.

I sat down in a chair in the living room so that I was face to face across the table from Lionel, and we began to discuss the future.

''Luciel-sama, will you be leaving tomorrow as planned?''

'I'm torn, but I intend to be. I'm just really confused, so if you have any ideas I'd like to hear them.

'His Highness Alberto was my mentor in the martial arts. He was more interested in finding a way to stabilize the lives of his people than in war.

'And now that it has been abolished by treason, you want to know what's behind it?

'Yes, sir. I am proud to be Master Luciel's squire, and I have no intention of returning to the Empire at this time. But I don't want to see the Empire decay from within like this.

So what do you want to do?

"We will work together with the organization led by His Highness Prince Albert. Our goal is to study demons and demonization, and to defeat me, the impostor. We are not here to conquer the Imperial City.

'Indeed it is. Then when Mr. Bazak comes, I'll ask His Highness Alberto to connect you with him. Come to think of it, you were talking to Mr. Bazak about something that happened on the battlefield?

'Yes, sir. It was before I became a general. I was facing a mage who was able to control the basic four attributes of magic on the battlefield, and I almost died, but I managed to beat him to death. Thanks to that, I became a general at the end of the war.

''Don't talk like you're so tough after slashing people's magic so stupidly. You have a habit of being a battlefield demon who rushed in and cut me down after I turned you into a fireman.

I turned toward the voice and saw Mr. Bazak come into the living room, followed by His Royal Highness Prince Alberto and Saint Melfina.

I stood up and looked in that direction, and Mr. Bazak began to introduce them.

''Luciel-sama, allow me to introduce you. This is the leader of the organization, Alberto-sama, and the deputy leader, Melfina-sama.

'Wise Luciel, I thank you for saving my life. I am a former First Prince of the Empire, but now I simply call myself Albert.

Thank you for saving my life. My name is now Melfina.

They thanked me and introduced themselves in a nonchalant manner, without being overbearing.

I had a feeling that they were easy people, giving me that impression.

'Thank you very much for being so polite. I will also go down as just Luciel. How are you feeling physically?

My body is still a little heavy, but it doesn't interfere with my ability to move.

'Me too. I tried to see if I could use my magic a while ago, and it was back to working.

'That's good to hear. Now, since you two are also curious, let me introduce you. This is my squire, Lionel.

He felt their faces strengthen as he introduced Lionel.

'It's been a long time, Your Highness. And this is Melfina.

Lionel gave a light bow to His Highness Albert, and the rest of the time he was firm and didn't feel disturbed.

''Are you really a real teacher?　He's a little younger than the teacher I remember....that's just the way he used to be....

'I remember Master Lionel looking a bit more like an ogre, but...'

It's partly due to the effect of being younger, but I guess the lack of a beard makes him feel even younger.

Also, the demon face was done earlier, but the fact that Lionel's face has softened as he has practiced his smile every day since he found out he was going to have a child is a result of his efforts.

'His Highness was spanked by me until he was twelve years old every time he misbehaved. Furthermore, after he came of age, he said many times to Melf, "Sir, sir. It's good. I see.

''So it was Master Lionel? Then who was the one called Master Lionel in the basement of that Holy City?

Lionel began to recount the black history of His Highness Alberto and immediately made him recognize Lionel.

Saint Melfina, who was watching the exchange, opened her mouth faster than Lionel.

All women have a very high sense of danger, don't they?

With that in mind, they decided to start discussing whether to team up with the resistance led by the former prince, or to take the empire by surprise on their own.