CH 94.1

Chapter 94 – The Gospel

Hakuto left Oswald, who had some work with Glass, and headed straight for Juan’s prison.

“Hello, Celestia!”

“Hakuto-kun? What are you doing here at this time?”

Celestia who was next to Marie, asked Hakuto. They were questioning Juan, who was in his cell.

The sun has already set, and the only light was from the torches.

They wondered why Hakuto had visited at such a time, especially considering what kind of a place they were in.

“Well, I was just wondering about something… and I wanted to get Juan-sensei’s opinion.“

Hakuto’s face heated up because of Celestia’s beauty, but at that moment, the only thought in his mind was to talk to Juan as soon as possible.

‘Please let me be wrong…’

………

……

…

“…there are some things I think differently, but there is no doubt. –The culprit is Father Shock.”

Celestia said with conviction to Hakuto’s conjectural guess.

“Ah!!”

The blood drained from Hakuto’s face, not pleased that his guess was almost correct.

“…What a crazy maniac.” he muttered.

“He’s a madman, that’s for sure. He should be assassinated right now, I can assure you.”

Juan became emotional and looked more dangerous than he did in the past.

Marie covered her mouth at the outrageousness of it all.

“But why… But why is he still doing it here, in the royal capital, where he’s being suspected?“

“I can’t say for sure, but Father Shock may be trying to lure the rumored Black Knight or… you, Hakuto-kun.”

Celestia replied to Juan’s question, and Hakuto, surprised that his own name and the Black Knight’s own name came out, muttered.

“Oh, me, is it…?”

“Perhaps it is the Black Knight who is the real target. With his daring jailbreaks and his so far incomprehensible misdeeds, he is probably trying to lure out the elusive Black Knight. However, it is also possible that he also has his sight at you, Hakuto-kum, as your talent as a hero is now in full bloom. It may be under the instructions of the Supreme Bishop Benedict, but his purpose is still unclear… in any case, please be careful.”

“….thank you… for your concern.”

Hakuto shuddered.

Hakuto, who thought he was the one who was hunting down the enemy, was becoming more and more worried about the unexpected evil hand that may be closing in on him.

“Besides, no matter what the enemy’s purpose is, we have no evidence. Whatever we do, we must do it in the dark, otherwise they may escape. There is also the possibility that the people of the royal capital might be put in danger. We can only keep a watchful eye on them.”

Marie advised.

“I don’t think we need to evade any longer at this point, because we can show proof. Thanks to Hakuto-kun.”

With the prospect that she could solve the case even faster, Celestia thanked Hakuto.

“What? Because of me?”

“I don’t intend to interrupt, but aren’t you all forgetting something? What about the reaction of the spell stone? Even with evidence, if the spell stone does not react, they can cover it up quite easily.“

“I have a pretty good idea why the spell stone is not reacting.”

Buried in a pile of books, Juan raised a question that still haunted him, but Celestia assured that she had already found the answer.

“Perhaps he has perfected the art of witchcraft, integrating it with magic.“

“What?”

Juan’s stuttered at this unexpected response.

“I have an acquaintance who told me about his experience with a curse. He said that he was quite surprised by the magic that stuck to him and did not leave. It was like a snake that wrapped around him, and it made a very nasty mark of a curse. He said it was a good experience and that he enjoyed it.“

“A good experience…? No, well, it is true that there are records that ancient magicians integrated curses in their magic…”

“The magical curses I have heard of are far more powerful and advanced than simply breaking down walls. In comparison to that, what the culprit is doing is something that would be possible even today, in the present.”

Hakuto’s ability to process what they were talking about naturally plummeted as the subject became more difficult.

“…If the culprit really is using magic imbued with curses, it would be easy to use it and then later dispel it. He’d have quite a lot of time to dispel the curses in advance before we examine him with a spell stone.“

“We can check that later, so we should secure the evidence first. After that, I’ll leave it to…. you.”

Celestia, with a cold look in her eyes, ordered Juan.

She spoke plainly and only used a few words, knowing that Juan would understand her intentions completely even if she did not explain it to him in detail.

“…leave it to me. I will put an end to what he is doing.“

She nodded at that, and then turned to Hakuto, who had a question mark over his head.

“There is something I want you to do, Hakuto-kun. Please make a proposal to my brother.“

“Ah, that, of course. As far as it’s something I can do…“

Celestia gave a pure and innocent smile to Hakuto, who seemed unsure of himself.

♢♢♢♢

At the training hall, Hakuto told Alto, who was wielding a great sword as usual, about the proposal Celestia made.

“….That’s what Celestia said?“

“Yes. She said it was the most efficient way….“

“….efficient, huh?”

He stopped swinging his great sword and muttered meaningfully.

“…hmm. You heard that, didn’t you? Go right ahead.”

“Yes, sir!“

One of the knights who had been standing on the side left the training hall to secure the evidence.

“You should get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow morning, we will go to the priest.“

“……”

“……?”

Alto looked at Hakuto curiously, wondering why he, who usually answered without a pause, stayed silent.

Hakuto seemed reluctant to speak, perhaps because of Oswald’s past, but he finally relented and explained the situation in a simplified form.

“Both of you are correct.”

“……”

After Hakuto’s explanation, Alto waved his great sword and said,

“If you don’t try, you will never know the result. Some things cannot be saved if we do not try to protect them. But challenging an unbeatable enemy often leads to barbaric results. Both of you’re opinions can be the right choice at times, and can be the wrong choice at times. No one knows what the future holds.”

“……”

Alto was more talkative than he had ever been.

It was the first time that both Hakuto and the knights had seen this side of him.

“I…”

He suddenly stopped swinging his great sword and thrust it down to the ground.

“I haven’t… officially stated it, but I’ve almost died… four times before.”

“What?!”

He had never heard that before.

Some of the knights standing by were also looking at each other with looks of astonishment.

The first prince, the heir to the great Kingdom of Light, had nearly died four times.

“But I continued to train in the field. Despite the opposition of those around me. I feel sorry to them, but I can say with confidence that this is why I have the strength that I have today.“

Translator’s Note:

Yep, the translator is on steroids. There are 4k word chaps now consistently.