Chapter 9
Elschnein’s face turned pale. What was he saying? I have to go to the New Year’s Festival with you!
“W-Why?”
Killian set down his fountain pen.
But instead of an answer, a question came back.
“Do you have any reason to attend the New Year’s Festival?”
Ugh. Elschnein furrowed her brows slightly.
A reason? Of course she had one!
But it’s a reason I can’t say out loud.
A reason, a reason…
The reason she had to go to the New Year’s Festival…
R-Right!
Elschnein fidgeted with her lips before scratching her cheek slightly and saying,
“Um, isn’t it a bit dangerous here without you? The Blood Servants and all… even demons have appeared…”
“You don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
“Huh?”
Killian raised his index finger and pointed downward. Elschnein’s blue eyes followed the motion and dropped down.
“I’ve placed a barrier over the entire estate.”
“A barrier?”
“Yes.”
Then he closed his mouth.
Elschnein blinked.
Huh? There wasn’t supposed to be a barrier around the estate in the original story.
Was it because Killian was always by Arwen’s side back then?
She briefly wondered about the deviation from the original, but Killian seemed to interpret her puzzled look differently.
“The demons were able to get in… as a side effect of what happened before.”
“Side effect?”
Elschnein already knew, but she feigned ignorance.
“Yes. I temporarily lost both my senses and divine power.”
Huh? Not just his sensing ability, but his divine power too?
Elschnein’s eyes widened. In the original, he had only lost his ability to sense.
Then, when he fought that demon last time… he relied solely on swordsmanship? That’s seriously impressive—no, wait, that’s not the point…
“I’ve recovered now, so the barrier here is perfect.”
Elschnein forgot that Killian was watching her and frowned deeply.
Divine power aside for now…
She had to find a way to follow him. What should she do? Right—the bracelet! She could use its power…
“…So basically, this place is the safest. Elschnein.”
At Killian’s firm tone, Elschnein gave up on the plan that had momentarily flashed through her mind.
If Killian said this estate was safe, then there was no reason for her to urgently use the bracelet’s power to escape.
She briefly considered giving some ridiculous excuse to follow him anyway, but quickly dismissed the idea.
“Why aren’t you answering? Do you have another reason to attend the New Year’s Festival besides concerns about safety?”
His red eyes stared at her, probing. It was the same look he had when watching her confront Helena, trying to confirm if she had really lost her memory.
Ah… what do I do.
Elschnein felt cornered. She looked away slightly, avoiding his gaze.
“Haha… no, nothing else.”
How strange.
“This is the annex, Lady Elschnein.”
“Ah. I see.”
Mikhail walked ahead with an excited face. He was giving the memory-lost Elschnein a tour of the estate.
Following him, Elschnein let her thoughts wander.
Why did he lose not only his senses but also his divine power?
And the fact that a second-class demon, not just a third-class one, had infiltrated the estate… Hmmm. As Elschnein puzzled over it, Mikhail kept chattering on.
“The annex has a large hall dedicated to your former companions, the ‘Five Stars.’”
Elschnein nodded indifferently at his eager voice.
She already knew that such a space had been created to commemorate their past deeds. It had appeared in the original story.
“There’s a memorial at the Aetern Temple as well, but that place is a bit… um, how should I say, a bit distant-feeling, kind of…”
“Too unrealistic?”
“Oh! Yes, that’s it. Haha!”
Mikhail scratched the back of his head.
Though her memory was fuzzy, Elschnein had read a scene from Arwen’s point of view describing a visit to the temple’s memorial.
It had been described as a sacred, heroic chronicle.
Well, of course the Holy Empire would want to glorify our story.
The Empire, which had nearly been destroyed, had only survived thanks to Saint Arwen, Guardian Killian, and their companions.
But the land the citizens had rebuilt with blood and sweat had long since turned to ruins, filled with monsters and corpses. The joy of survival was brief before despair set in.
To rebuild the Empire and unify its people, the former Holy Emperor decided to create heroes.
The Holy Aetherna Empire was special because it had been saved by heroes chosen by God, and as such, could not be allowed to perish.
They continued to spread that propaganda, and part of that effort included the cringeworthy name “Five Stars” and the memorial.
Simultaneous with the reconstruction, they had mobilized mages to quickly build the grand hall.
Strictly speaking, we didn’t save just the Empire, but the entire continent.
But the Empire framed it as the salvation of their own civilization.
Of the five, only Killian and Arwen were human. Tsk.
Even though she had once been human before her possession and was accustomed to human thought—she no longer was.
In any case, it wasn’t a pleasant thought to be used for such nationalistic propaganda.
“Compared to the temple’s memorial, this place… feels much warmer. I like it.”
Warm, huh? That does sound like something Killian would create. Elschnein thought as she stepped through the door Mikhail opened.
It made sense, since he had created it.
Even if one of her former companions—someone she’d known for 12 years—had kidnapped the one she loved and denied her even the chance to save him.
As they passed a short hallway, Elschnein asked offhandedly,
“By the way, Mikhail…”
“Yes?”
“I heard Killian was injured in the Kingdom of Dyren. Was it serious?”
Losing not just his sensing ability but also his divine power—it must’ve been bad.
Elschnein was curious about the divergence from the original story. She had to confirm it.
“Ah.”
Mikhail turned his head slightly. He scratched his cheek with a rough index finger.
“It was chaos back then.”
“Was the demon that strong?”
“No. That thing wasn’t a match for Lord Killian…”
“Then?”
Was it something even stronger than the ones in the original? Elschnein narrowed her eyes, recalling the last demon.
“Right after killing it, he eliminated the demon that had taken over the king’s body… and then, suddenly…”
“Suddenly?”
Mikhail’s face paled slightly as he recalled the moment. He shuddered as if remembering something horrific.
“He… released all his divine power.”
“…What?”
“Um, yeah…”
Mikhail glanced at Elschnein nervously.
“He had done it once before too, so we wondered if he… maybe felt something again. In the end, it led him to find you, Lady Elschnein, even though you’ve lost your memory. Ahem.”
As Mikhail went on, Elschnein’s face turned pale.
Releasing divine power.
It was a dangerous technique used by priests or holy knights, requiring them to risk their life—no one would do it unless they were mad.
Ah, right. He is mad. Quietly.
A demon using the King of Dyren’s body… it must’ve been during the time she saw him in her spirit form.
Come to think of it, he couldn’t say exactly where she was and passed out…
So that’s why he released his divine power?
He almost died because of me?
Releasing divine power meant the caster would temporarily exhaust all divine energy in exchange for exponentially boosting one ability.
And when divine power returned, that heightened ability would vanish.
So he must have boosted his sensing ability… just to find me.
Elschnein’s face drained of color.
That showed just how obsessed he was with Arwen.
In the end, it wasn’t a demon injury—it was because of me. Ugh.
Feeling a twinge of guilt, Elschnein lowered her head and rubbed her chin. By then, the door at the far end had grown close.
They had walked quite a bit.
Ever since Arwen fell unconscious, the story had been deviating more and more from the original. What was going on?
Elschnein sighed deeply as her mind raced.
For now, I need to figure out how to get to the New Year’s Festival.
There was no point worrying about other things for now. She had to focus.
Elschnein nodded slightly.
Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll win every battle. She needed to gather info from the person who knew Killian best.
This guy was simple enough that he wouldn’t take her questions too seriously.
“Mikhail. Let’s say, hypothetically, you had a huge reason—”
“Yes.”
“—and you had to secretly follow Killian to the New Year’s Festival. What would you do?”
Mikhail smiled brightly.
“Secretly follow Lord Killian? There’s no such way, Lady Elschnein.”
“…”
R-Right. Elschnein slowly unclenched her fist.
Mikhail cleared his throat and continued.
“Speaking of the New Year’s Festival, that reminds me! Lord Killian specifically mentioned it twice! That we must guard you perfectly while he’s away!”
…Oh, really? Elschnein’s face fell flat.
“So wherever you go! Whenever you go! I will be there! Please give me a chance to make up for letting that Blood Servant escape!”
“…”
“When you saved me in the past, I vowed to serve Lord Killian. But I also made another vow back then—to protect you with my life!”
…You did?
“So don’t worry! I won’t let even a single bug near you!”
In the blink of an eye, Mikhail’s pointless loyalty had become an impenetrable wall.
Elschnein’s face twisted in frustration.
That calculating devil. He’s using innocent Mikhail to monitor me every second!
“Ah, we’re here. This is it, Lady Elschnein!”
With Mikhail’s cheerful voice, the hallway came to an end. There didn’t seem to be a door, just a large pentagonal room that opened up immediately.
Five large portraits hung on each wall.
Each one featured a face Elschnein knew all too well.
“These portraits…”
