Episode 27. Unable to let go of doubt (3)
‘I didn’t expect it. Prause this bastard……. I thought he could use mind-altering magic like me.’
Ragor broke out in a cold sweat. Even he was taken aback by Prause’s unexpected abilities.
‘Isn’t the demon king just being wary?’
Grinding his teeth, he glared at Prause using Chris’ eyes as a medium.
‘How does a mere human subject have mental abilities?’
Prause, surrounded by swords, still looked relaxed. Seeing that, Lagor felt defeated.
‘Damn it. Did he read all the numbers on this side? If Prause didn’t break the hallucination right before he used the magic, he would have been caught.’
Psychedelic.
It was a skill that Lagor obtained under the protection of the Demon King.
The hallucination skill can imprint yourself in the other person’s head, and it can also confuse you by stimulating trauma.
Then, when he gets rid of the hallucination, he forgets everything he saw because of the hallucination.
In other words, everything he had met and talked with Ragor up until now had been erased from Chris’s mind. Even the memory of the contract.
It is true that Lagor contacted the imperial palace to hallucinate Chris, but he left the palace as soon as he hallucinated Chris.
After the Hero or the Spirit King fled to a place where they couldn’t feel their presence or demonic energy, they contacted Chris through hallucinations and even made a contract.
That’s what he said.
‘This is the imperial palace, but it is not the imperial palace.’
No one came in when Chris raised his voice and called for the knights, because everything was going on inside Chris’ head.
‘Anyway, the hallucination has been resolved, so Chris won’t remember me, but the contract will continue. It’s something you can contact again when you need it. He won’t be able to break the contract on his own.’
As he said, the loss of memory due to hallucinations did not mean that the contract was terminated. Chris still had Ragor’s powers.
“Since the plan has changed, I must go report to the Demon King. Prause isn’t just strong. The information he has may be more advanced than that of the demons, so I should tell you that you need to be careful.”
Lagor rose from his seat.
“I guess my role ends here. If you have any concerns…… It’s a pattern on the back of the hand, but I hope you gloss over it in your own way.”
‘Because no one knows the meaning of the pattern anyway, except for me and the Demon King.’
A burning tree pattern on the back of Chris’ hand.
It was Lagor’s tenacity that he would burn the World Tree himself.
“Ah, come to think of it, the Demon King told me to bring an ‘S-class brother and sister’. He is told that he was defeated by Prause’s disciples and he returned to the village where he lived. What was your name?”
* * *
“What happened…… ?”
Chris comes to his senses as he escapes from the bondage of the mantra. She let out a short moan, clutching her own head as if she had a headache.
“…… What’s going on, is this now?”
He surveyed the situation and asked.
Logia glaring at me, the Imperial Knights thrusting their swords at me, me raising both hands, and even the warriors on the verge of rushing to protect me.
At first glance, it was the scene right before the battle.
“Your Majesty, why is that? Do you have a headache? By any chance, what kind of tricks is Prause doing? … !”
“No. The headache is gone. Rather, what is the situation now?”
What’s the situation? A nobleman, who had observed everything so far and was angry, asked a question?
I couldn’t figure out what the plan was.
For a moment, I thought it might be the aftereffects of the mantra, but I was convinced that it wasn’t. So far, I have used mantras for countless people.
No one reacted like short-term memory loss in the process.
“Prause! What have you done to His Majesty the Emperor!!”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“If not you, who else!”
“Did you try to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor Chris, who had just been crowned emperor, Prause?!”
“I said I didn’t do anything.”
They are screaming from all directions. I wanted to make the warriors reap this sword right away, but I had to endure it.
If the conflict intensified here, it would only make our position difficult.
“What? Something is weird I can’t remember…… ? No. It doesn’t matter now.”
I kept my eyes on Chris so as not to miss any of his reactions. Remember…….
“Write. Whoa.”
He takes a deep breath. He sweeps up his golden hair and stares at me.
“Logia, I’m not hearing you well. What did Prause say to me?”
“His Majesty asked if he was related to the demons.”
“I am with the demons…… ?”
His eyes were hostile.
The gaze that looked straight at me had a boldness unlike that of someone who had been agitated while being questioned just a moment ago.
I don’t know what happened, but the reaction suddenly changed.
“Prause, do you think I am related to demons?”
“…… Well.”
“I am the emperor of the empire! Does it look like it’s just going to listen to the demons?!”
“… ….”
“How easy is it to insult me like that, Prause?”
“This is not an insult, just questioning the increase in your mana.”
“Does my mana increase?”
At my words, he looks down at his hands and frowns. Again, the reaction is different.
If it seemed like he tried to hide his secret a while ago, now it seems like he didn’t know the truth itself.
“…… Whoa. Apparently, mana training definitely helped.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you know? Did you practice mana alone before ascending to the throne?”
…… Is it real?
Once he used the mantra, there was no way to determine whether his words were true or false.
In addition, the reactions before and after writing the mantra were very different. I’m not sure if it’s a bluff to confuse, or if it’s sincere.
“I must have felt threatened by the sudden increase in my mana. Even so, how dare you tie me, the emperor, to the demons! You know what an insult this is, right?”
Ah, damn it.
The time has come for the questioning, which was carried out even while taking risks, to return as a reaction.
“As long as I am the emperor, I will issue a ban on entering the imperial palace from now on to all of Praus and his party who are currently here. If you violate this, the maximum death penalty will be imposed, so you better be prepared.”
“That would be a great loss to the Empire, right?”
Maria said.
“It doesn’t matter. I believe that those who do not obey my words do not need to be in the Empire.”
The warriors frown at Chris’ tough attitude. But he didn’t object to him. He seemed to notice me not saying anything.
“Didn’t you tell Alter that you had something to do? When everything is over, go back. Until I call you personally, if you teleport into the imperial palace, you’d better prepare for an all-out war with the empire.”
Before Chris could hear our answer, he turned and left. He must be saying he doesn’t care if he doesn’t listen to the answer. This is really tough.
Logia glances at me and follows Chris. The imperial knights also quietly lowered their swords and noticed. It seems to me that you don’t want to die again.
“Leave as soon as you finish your business.”
“Prince Alter was rude.”
“…… No. Go out and see.”
The knights rush out. The last knight to leave quietly shuts the door.
After seeing that, I sighed.
What is it? What is the changed reaction after writing the mantra?
What am I missing?
It is openly visible that he is hiding it, but for some reason he is unable to grasp a clear clue.
I thought I would be able to see it if I took one more step, but even that was not an easy situation since the entry ban on the imperial palace had been issued.
Because in the process of coming in, I had no choice but to take a much bigger risk than before.
Of course, you can force yourself to come in, but you should save that for when you get evidence that Chris is related to the demons.
If I take the same risk next time as this time, my relationship with the Empire will be at its worst.
That wasn’t what I was hoping for.
“Prause, what is this?”
“Listen to me carefully. Never associate with Chris. If you feel threatened, tear the delivery scroll without hesitation. You don’t have to write any letters. Got it?”
“Yes. All right.”
After hearing Alter’s answer, I spoke to Maria.
“Let’s go too.”
“Is it okay if we go on like this?”
“There is nothing we can do now.”
“But if I go back like this, won’t I get nothing and go back?”
“It’s okay.”
It seemed that he knew who was behind Chris.
There is no clear basis, but if you remove all the cases and think about it, you can think that the person behind him is Lagor.
To the question of whether he met a demon, he could have answered that if he simply recognized Lagor as a spirit, it was not enough.
Perhaps the memory was erased using a hallucination skill. Chris’s reaction just a moment ago was like questioning himself.
But the real problem isn’t who his backbone is, but why he’s trying to use Chris.
Because he hates me?
Are you trying to stir up an infighting? What are you aiming for?
Since it was a variable that did not exist in the game, I had no choice but to find out the information myself.
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“…… There are still numbers left.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
However, this number has no choice but to see a long-term game.
I put my hand on Maria’s shoulder, thinking of Chris slipping away.
“I need your help again.”
“As long as it helps Master!”
Maria burns her will.
* * *
“You have suffered a lot because of Prause since morning, Your Majesty.”
“…… No.”
Chris answered as he sat down on the chair in front of his desk. He sighed as he leaned into the backrest.
‘What is it? What the hell happened? My memory is too vague. Why did Prause ask me if I was related to demons? Why is the amount of mana really increasing in the first place?’
Even when he told Prauss that he had been training mana, he felt very uncomfortable. It was because it came out naturally, like a prepared excuse.
“I’m going to leave. Regarding mana training, I will organize a curriculum and come back.”
“Yes.”
“I hope you have a peaceful day today.”
Logia bows politely and leaves the emperor’s office. Chris frowned at Loggia as soon as she left.
“The only time mana increases is when you train or make a spirit contract. But I haven’t made a spirit contract until now. Of course, I didn’t even practice.”
So how?
As he was questioning himself, he looked at the back of his hand with a sudden sense of incongruity. As soon as he took off his black gloves, his eyes widened at the pattern he saw.
“What? What is this pattern?”
‘Did I make a contract with the spirit without my knowledge? But the pattern will always come out related to the attribute? What is this, the pattern that burns this tree…… ?’
He tried to come up with something in his head as he stared at the pattern, but in the end he couldn’t come up with it.
“Could this be why Prauss questioned me?”
Looking at the back of his hand, he clenches his fist.
“I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think there’s anything good about showing this to others.”
He put his gloves on again and picked up the papers for the Emperor’s first business.