Chapter 44 "The Holy Nation's Pope is burning villages and putting innocent citizens on the scaffold to hunt down the Demon Race..." A week after Dane and Eri went to the Human World, Dane reported findings similar to Eri's initial report. They appeared to be making good progress, following Nahen's orders to first understand the Holy Nation's political situation. "Was he always such a cruel person before?" It was Seere's question. Despite returning most duties and authority to Seere after the conquest of the 68th Floor, Nahen was still receiving reports about Dane and Eri because they were his right-hand men. "Apparently not." "Do humans normally change so drastically like that?" "It's not to say they don't, but this is still a bit strange." He didn't feel sorry for the innocent citizens of the Holy Nation being sacrificed. He didn't care what happened to the humans of this world, who were just obstacles to seeing the ending. However, it was inconvenient for the Human World to fall into such chaos. Because... ‘Could this hasten the Hero's appearance?’ When the human world fell into chaos, a Hero would emerge to restore peace. This was an inevitable event that occurred regardless of the route taken in Evil Queen Maker. Having accidentally eliminated Luke, the first Hero and the Sword Hero, he expected the Hero's appearance to be delayed. ‘...It's inconvenient if the Hero appears now.’ The Hero was essentially a restraining force against the Demon Race. The Hero's Holy Sword could cut through anything demonic. Also, the power of the chosen Hero would increase exponentially. For instance, even if a child who knew nothing about swords was chosen, they could immediately display skills equal to a veteran knight. If even a child completely ignorant of swords could reach that level, what would happen if someone who knew even a little about handling a sword became the Hero? The Hero in the game was like a natural disaster. Upon the Hero's appearance, players had to brace for losing half their forces. This was because the Hero in Evil Queen Maker grew stronger in proportion to the player's forces. This was why Nahen felt the Hero shouldn't appear now. If a Hero appeared, he had to be prepared to lose half his forces. Losing half of the 72nd Floor's current forces would be too great a blow. "We need to resolve the matters in the Human World." "...Huh? Why?" "It would be problematic if the Holy Nation, by claiming numerous Demon Race informants exist, incites other nations. The war between the Northern Alliance and the Empire is ongoing. But, if the Holy Nation declares the Demon World as humanity's common enemy and convinces the two factions to cease fighting..." Nahen spoke with a serious expression. "The next target will be us." "But Teacher, you can handle humans easily enough. No matter how much they run wild, humans are just humans." Seere didn't know about the existence of the Hero. That's why she could say such things. Nahen shook his head and said. "If the forces of the Human World unite, their numbers will become an enormous army. Even if we are stronger than humans, there's no winning against sheer quantity." "But you're here, Teacher?" "Hm?" Seere recalled the traces Nahen had left on the 68th Floor. Traces that looked like the earth and mountains had been completely dug up. As if something enormous had opened its mouth wide and swallowed everything. And that was probably the work of the giant White Whale that appeared whenever Teacher revealed his power. Seere, having guessed this, simply said. "Even if the human army is large, with your power, Teacher, you could swallow them all." "...You saw that?" "I only saw the traces. But since I've seen the whale you keep with you, Teacher, I could guess." Nahen broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed impossible to persuade Seere without explaining about the Hero. Since most authority had been returned to Seere, her permission was absolutely necessary to interfere in the Human World. "By the way, Teacher, I have a question." "...Yes?" "That whale you keep with you, Teacher. What exactly is it?" "......" Nahen couldn't answer. Because... he didn't know either. He himself couldn't understand why this enormous and terrifying White Whale followed him. When he had summoned it directly on the 68th Floor last time, Nahen had let out a dry laugh in disbelief. Seere stared intently into his eyes, as if demanding an answer. Nahen racked his brain hard, then said something strange. "It's... It's a pet." "......" Nahen immediately regretted it. What kind of lunatic would keep a whale that size as a pet? Even he thought it was a ridiculous, foolish excuse. But Seere's reaction was unexpected. "I knew it!" "Huh?" "Teacher, you really are amazing! Truly incredible. To command such a Magic Beast as a mere pet, Teacher, you are indeed cool..." Nahen, watching Seere's reaction, blinked with a bewildered expression. Finding her reaction strange, he just stared, and Seere, startled, waved her hands. "I-I mean, I respect you, Teacher!" "Ah..." 'She believes me.' Nahen was genuinely moved. It was an excuse that even he thought was utterly nonsensical and unbelievable. Yet this kind-hearted child was taking it at face value. "Anyway, my point is that there's nothing good about the Human World being excessively chaotic right now. This applies even to the creature I have with me." "Mm..., yes." "So we need to find out what's going on. Unless the Pope suddenly went mad, why is he doing such foolish things..." Nahen said with a meaningful look in his eyes. "We need to investigate properly." # "Hee." Seere looked around as if fascinated. Nahen watched her with a slightly anxious expression. Although he felt uneasy letting her out of his sight because she was still a child, there was a reason Nahen was more anxious now. This was the Human World. Nahen had originally planned to come alone, but Seere had insisted, leaving him no choice but to bring her along. ‘Seere didn't have much to do for a while, though.’ For the time being, the plan was to increase the size of the army. They needed to select talent to join the legion and train them for practical deployment. This downtime was why Nahen had come up to the Human World himself. While Nahen was in the Human World, Seere would have no teacher and nothing to do. That was partly why Nahen had given in to Seere's insistence. Still, with both Seere and him absent, he felt a little sorry for Cain, thinking about the hardship he'd face handling duties in their stead. "Your Majesty? You shouldn't go too far." "Okay~." Naturally, Nahen couldn't look after Seere alone, nor would the Demon King's Castle allow it, so he had brought one more person. It was Cecily, the maid of the 72nd Floor's Demon King's Castle. It seemed absurd to bring Cecily, who wasn't a military officer. But thanks to the previous Demon Lord's peculiar personnel choices, Cecily's combat power surpassed even the elite soldiers of the 4th Legion. She was capable enough to kill members of an enemy Demon Lord's assassination squad with just a broom. "Cecily, make sure to keep your ears and tail hidden at all times." "Yes, Sir Nahen. You don't need to worry. Human magic arts won't be able to see through it." As a member of the Kitsune clan (or 'Yoko' clan), her fluffy fox tail and ears were always visible. To blend in among humans, she needed to hide them with magic. "Teacher, when is that human coming?" "It's not time yet. We arrived a little early." "Oh, really? I thought he was just being lazy because he's human." Sometimes, seeing Seere's attitude towards humans, the thought automatically occurred that this pretty and cute child was indeed a Demon Lord. Nahen didn't find it strange. This was the normal reaction and attitude. ‘Rather, treating them well would be the bigger problem.’ Just then, Nahen slightly raised his head and looked north. Belatedly, Seere also seemed to sense something and turned her head in the same direction as Nahen. "He's here." The leaves of the trees to the north rustled a few times, and soon Dane appeared. As soon as he landed, he greeted Seere first. "Have you been well, Your Majesty?" "Yes, alright." Once Seere simply accepted his greeting, Dane stood up and offered something to Nahen. It was a rectangular wooden plaque covered in text and an epaulette engraved with the alphabet. "Sir Nahen, here are the identification card and adventurer rank badge you requested." "Did you prepare suitable ones?" "Yes. Sir Nahen's is AA Rank, and the other two are A Rank. I've naturally matched the genders." The adventurer rank badges and identification cards Dane handed over belonged to adventurers who were actually active. It wasn't too difficult to deduce how Dane had obtained them. However, upon hearing Dane's explanation, Seere spoke with a slight hint of dissatisfaction. "Wait, why is my rank different from Teacher's?" "Pardon?" For a moment, Dane thought Seere was displeased because her rank was lower than Nahen's, despite being the Demon Lord. "Then Your Majesty shall have the AA Rank..." "No, I want the same one as Teacher." In truth, the rank being high or low didn't matter to Seere. She just disliked being different from Nahen. As Dane became flustered, Nahen persuaded Seere. "Seere, this is unavoidable. I need to have a high rank so I can quickly gather information and return to the Demon World." "Mmm... Then I guess it can't be helped." "Thank you for understanding." Nahen turned back to Dane and said. "Dane, has anything changed from the previous reports and situation?" "The Holy Nation is still scouring the entire country, claiming to catch Demon Race informants. A slight change is that the Holy Nation is spreading this activity outwards." "Are they demanding judgment from other countries too?" "Yes, given the Holy Nation's status in the Human World, it seems other countries cannot easily ignore it." The Holy Nation, as its name suggests, is a religious nation. A country where the Pope is both the head of the religion and the head of state. Being a religious nation, it naturally promotes one religion as the sole state religion, which is 'Cheonshinism'. As befits a religion powerful enough to establish one of the three most influential nations in the Human World, it had many believers in other countries as well. Thus, when the Holy Nation made external demands, other countries couldn't simply ignore them. "Strange. Was the Holy Nation's Pope always so authoritarian and violent?" Dane answered Nahen's question. "No, sir. Wasn't I active in the Holy Nation's Soter City 5 years ago?" "You were." "Back then, most stories about the Pope described him as gentle and diligent." If Dane's words were true, it meant the Pope had suddenly changed 180 degrees in the past 5 years. Nahen asked Dane if there were any suspicious stories or rumors about the Pope. Then Dane replied. "Actually, there's a strange story, though its credibility seems low." "What is it?" "There's a rumor that the Pope brought a woman into his bedroom, and he changed due to her manipulation... Frankly, it seems like a false rumor. There's no way an unrelated woman could enter the Great Temple, let alone the Pope's bedchamber." All official clerics of Cheonshinism, including the Pope, could not marry. Naturally, indulging in carnal desires was forbidden, and violation would result in immediate judgment by Cheonshinism's Inquisitors. Of course, high-ranking clergy still used their power to indulge in women, but they wouldn't dare do such things inside the temple. The same applied to the Pope. As the head of the Great Temple and leader of the Holy Nation, he still had duties to uphold within the Great Temple. Otherwise, the numerous citizens of the Holy Nation wouldn't trust and follow him. Therefore, Dane, like most others, didn't believe such false rumors. "...That story warrants a closer investigation." "Pardon?" "As you said, an ordinary woman couldn't have set foot in the Pope's bedchamber. The Great Temple's Inquisitors wouldn't have stood idly by." "Indeed." "Then it means contact was made with the Pope from the inside." "...Pardon?" "It's highly likely that whoever could do such a thing is not an ordinary human." Dane's eyes had widened. Nahen's words suggested one thing. "A-Are you saying it's the work of the Demon World?" "I'm unsure which Demon Lord it is, but another entity seems to be interfering in the Human World." "Certainly, if it were the Demon Race, infiltrating the Pope's bedchamber unnoticed by Cheonshinism Inquisitors might be possible, but..." "It's impossible." Someone refuted it then. The one who spoke was Cecily. She cautiously bowed her head and said. "Forgive my interruption, Sir Nahen. But I spoke up because the conversation seemed to be going in a strange direction." "No, it's fine. What do you mean is impossible?" "There are only two ways to cross from the Demon World to the Human World. Through the 72nd Floor, our ruling floor, or by using the special gate that exists only on the 1st Floor." "I know that too. That's why I thought the 1st Floor... Beelzebub might have made a move." "Even so, it doesn't make sense. The Demon Race cannot enter the Pope's bedchamber." "...Because of the divine power?" "Yes." There was a reason for the establishment of such a massive religious nation as the 'Holy Nation'. In the Evil Queen Maker world, gods truly existed. To be precise, they were closer to 'Angels', but... ‘To humans, they would appear to possess power and status comparable to gods.’ The Cheonshin worshipped by the Holy Nation actually referred to one of the Angel Race. Out of gratitude to the humans who worshipped it, the angel Cheonshin bestowed its powerful blessing upon Babylon, the capital of the Holy Nation. That was why Cecily was saying the Demon Race couldn't invade Babylon. The immense divine power from the angel's blessing was fatal to the Demon Race. "An ordinary member of the Demon Race couldn't possibly endure being there." "...Alright, Cecily. I understand what you're saying." But Nahen knew. Beings antithetical to the great angels in heaven also existed below. "However, I still feel the need to investigate the rumor." Cecily said no more. Further refuting Nahen's decision would be disrespectful to her master, who considered him her teacher. And Nahen wasn't just being stubborn. There were members of the Demon Race who could walk around perfectly fine even on land directly blessed by an angel. No, strictly speaking, they weren't the Demon Race, but... ‘It's possible if it's a Demon.’ Demons. Similar to other games or novels, they were the counterparts to Angels in Evil Queen Maker. However, the game developers gave these Demons a rather peculiar setting. Demons were an entirely different race from the Demon Race. While many settings include demons within the broader category of the Demon Race, Evil Queen Maker did not. Instead, they were beings of higher status and greater power than the Demon Race. And they did not live in the Demon World. They resided in a place further below the lowest level of the Demon World, the 1st Floor. Great beings living in 'Hell'. ‘They have similarities to Demon Lords, though...’ Unlike Demon Lords, who were meant to reign over and rule the Demon Race, these beings had a different reason for existence. Their sole purpose and desire was the destruction of the 'Heavenly Realm', where angels and other divine races lived. If a Demon intended to meddle with the Holy Nation, which worshipped them as part of an operation against the Heavenly Realm, and contacted the Pope as part of that plan... ‘They are more than capable of it.’ It was a plausible story. In fact, while Nahen played the game, the Hero appearing earlier than expected because of a Demon's actions had ruined his build more than once or twice. If, as Nahen suspected, a Demon was involved, it absolutely had to be stopped beforehand. Only then would the Hero's appearance be delayed, giving him more time to strengthen Seere's forces. "First, we need to go to the Holy Nation's capital, Babylon." "Yes!" "Seere, you go with Cecily to Chelino City and meet Eri. Then, figure out how the Demon Race hunt is actually being conducted." "...Huh? Can't I go with you, Teacher?" Seere wore an expression clearly wanting to go with Nahen, but Nahen shook his head. "Seere, you are a Demon Lord, and Cecily is of the Demon Race. There's a high chance you'll struggle with the divine power prevalent everywhere." "The same goes for you, Teacher." Nahen paused for a moment, then said simply. "I can protect my own body with magic. But I can't handle protecting others as well." It was actually a lie. Considering Nahen's true identity, he could easily ignore the divine power generated merely from a blessing bestowed upon the land. But for a young Demon Lord and a member of the Demon Race, that much divine power was lethal. As Seere pouted her lips slightly in disappointment, Nahen reached out and gently patted her head. "Your mission is important too. You need to confirm whether they are truly gathering information about the Demon World, or just engaging in futile efforts." Only then could they inform the other nations of the Human World, not just the Holy Nation, about the truth. Though he didn't intend to just talk nicely, of course. "Understood? You have to listen well this time. Bringing you to the Human World was a huge adventure in itself, something I believe you understand well, Seere." "Yes..." "Don't stray from Cecily, and do what I asked properly. I trust you." Seere liked hearing Nahen say he trusted her. Seere, who had been listless and downcast just moments before, was now nodding vigorously. Nod, nod. "Good. Go on now. Chelino City is this way. You can find the way using the map." "Yes, Teacher. You must be careful." Nahen himself doubted if he needed to be careful, but he could understand Seere's sentiment. He smiled brightly and replied. "Alright, you be careful too." After Seere and Cecily left first, Nahen spoke to Dane, who remained beside him. "Dane, you will go with me to Babylon." "Yes." "I will give you specific orders there." "Understood."

Suspicious Movement (2)