#147
Hero Party (1)
“I am Heinrich Saint Landguard, the First Sword who upholds the will of the Lord God. Thank you for taking the time to visit despite your busy schedule.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Saint. I am Isea Pristine of the Azerion Empire. When the savior of the continent chosen by the Lord God calls, of course I must come.”
In a reception room of the Great Temple of Rosellia, a man and woman sat facing each other and exchanged greetings.
A one-on-one meeting had been arranged between the candidate and the Saint.
“Saint? Before we begin, there is something I would like to say first…”
However, before the conversation could truly begin, the first subject Isea brought up was the unpleasant aura and sense of incongruity she had detected from Harley.
‘I thought I’d hidden it fairly well, but as expected, she’s no pushover.’
Of course, what he would say about that had already been decided.
“There is no need for you to worry about him. We are already aware of it as well, and above all, he is someone we can trust with absolute certainty.”
“So that was the case. If the Order has judged so, then it seems I worried needlessly.”
After dispelling her concerns so confidently, the topic returned to the main issue.
Since the core of the “Hero Party” that would oppose the Immortal King was Heinrich, both Saint and Hero, this matter was being carried out under his full authority.
For this matter alone, even the Saintess was merely an assistant; every decision had been entrusted entirely to his personal judgment.
“…And so, I am truly grateful that you think so highly of me, but due to various circumstances, I do not think I will be able to lend you my strength directly. I am very sorry.”
And now.
In his third interview, Heinrich was facing his third refusal.
‘I knew from the start that none of them would be eager. Most of them were recommended for political reasons anyway.’
Isea, who had been speaking calmly, bowed politely in apology.
Her courteous demeanor and clearly sincere regret were enough to soften anyone’s heart.
Moreover, her outward appearance was that of a young and delicate girl, was it not?
Regardless of her actual age, it was inevitable that one’s heart would weaken when dealing with her face-to-face.
At that, Heinrich also nodded with a gentle smile, as if he understood her feelings.
Of course, as befitted a master of everyday acting, his true thoughts were different.
‘She’s older than me with that face? As expected, no matter how I look at her, this woman seems like she’s from Earth.’
Even as he conversed with her in an attempt to persuade her, he slowly analyzed her.
A face that did not age, Eastern features, and even her name was strangely Korean.
Since he had only recently met Andrew, an Awakened from Earth, there were too many things that bothered him to simply dismiss it as coincidence.
‘That’s why I checked once when Harley shook hands with her…’
The moment he shook hands with her was brief, but it was enough time for Harley’s keen senses to grasp the state of her body.
Of course, since the other party was an archmage, he did not manipulate any energy separately, but for him, who was already practically an authority on the bodies of living creatures, that was no major problem.
The minute trembling of her muscles, the bioelectricity flowing through her body, the movements of her internal organs including her heartbeat, as well as changes in blood pressure, body temperature, and breathing.
The human body contained a great deal of information all on its own, and Harley, who had surpassed limits through “Mutation” and “Body Transformation,” had the ability to analyze it.
And the result he arrived at was—
‘Ambiguous. Maybe because she’s a mage, but unlike Andrew, she has no prominent physical traits. If she used karma to raise her mental power or magic-related abilities, Harley has no way of knowing.’
Insufficient evidence.
In the beginning, to survive in this harsh world, it would have been advantageous to raise her physical abilities even slightly, but she was merely at the level of a slightly healthy ordinary person.
Of course, at her current level, if she used mana and reinforcement magic, she could display physical abilities beyond most warriors, but she surely could not have done that in the early days after entering this other world, could she?
‘And whether the Fifth Princess intervened or not, the records of her past aren’t clear either. In this world, unless you’re among the upper class, personal information isn’t managed as systematically as on Earth…’
It had only been about three years since she received her noble title.
The only record that could be found before that was from about eight years ago: “the young princess brought in and sponsored a talented commoner mage.”
‘Though it certainly is impressive that she grew enough to receive a noble title from the Empire in just five years after being sponsored.’
She was truly the very model of a self-made talent.
And that was precisely why he found her even more suspicious.
Meanwhile, their conversation continued.
“…As the Saint likely knows, my situation is not very good. After all, not everyone will follow the greater cause.”
She honestly laid out her circumstances.
As the Order of the Lord God was also a force with no small amount of intelligence-gathering ability, she seemed to assume they already knew, and did not talk around the issue.
‘So it’s because of the Crown Prince.’
Upon hearing her words, the slick face of Crown Prince Simon suddenly came to mind.
His words and actions throughout the summit, where he had subtly played politics and irritated him, as well as the evil deeds Heinrich had learned of through background investigation.
‘A struggle for the imperial throne between the Crown Prince and the Fifth Princess. And the Crown Prince is in a far more advantageous position…?’
Suddenly, a bad… no, righteous thought began to bloom in his mind.
It was still only in the conception stage, but for now he decided to remember it and make sure to put it to use later.
“I understand. The Order never forces an individual to sacrifice themselves. If you change your mind later, please contact us at any time.”
“Yes, I am truly sorry. If circumstances allowed, I would certainly have joined you. As one who pursues the path of magic, I cannot tolerate black mages who abuse it.”
As the meeting was coming to an end and he heard her formal words—
A thought flashed through his mind.
“Ah! Viscount Pristine? Now that I think of it, there is one thing I would like to seek your advice on. It is a matter that our Order simply cannot reach a conclusion on, so I would like to hear the esteemed opinion of an archmage.”
“If it is something like that, I do not mind. But I understand the lord of the Magic Tower is also here; would it not be better to ask him for magical consultation?”
“Hahaha, of course, we have already asked him as well. We wish to hear as many opinions as possible, you see.”
Heinrich gave a vague explanation and took a pen and notebook from his ceremonial robes.
Then, holding the notebook in one hand, he slowly began to draw something, speaking to her in a casual tone.
“It is an issue on which opinions are divided even among us, and we still have not reached any particular conclusion. Not only theologians, but also the mages and shamans we asked for advice said they could not be certain.”
“If it is a problem of that sort, I doubt I will be of much help…”
“That is fine. Even a simple opinion will do.”
At last, having finished his work, he looked back at Isea with a serious expression and spoke.
“By any chance, do you know of the mask that the Immortal King, Hannibal Strauss, wore?”
“Yes, I heard it was a smiling mask made of wood. For someone trying to destroy the world to wear a smiling face—there is no worse taste. What else could it be but the mindset of a madman seeking to mock everyone?”
“…Ahem, indeed. And this is a rough design of that mask.”
Heinrich cleared his throat lightly and held the notebook out to her.
“I have no talent for drawing, so there may be differences in the details, but the overall impression should be similar. Please look at this and tell me whatever comes to mind about any magical meaning it might have.”
“I see. True, masks are also media often used in rituals…”
And the moment she received the notebook and saw the drawing, her body—
Froze on the spot, as if time had stopped.
“…! Uh, this is…!”
A shrill voice slipped from her mouth, which had opened without her realizing.
Isea’s expression, which had remained calm from beginning to end, wavered violently.
As it had been drawn lightly on the spot, it was not depicted in detail, but its characteristics were unmistakable.
Curved eyes, thick eyebrows, fine wrinkles, and a large bulbous nose.
It was a mask no Korean could fail to recognize.
“What is the matter? Do you know something?”
“Ah, no…? It is nothing. I think I was mistaken for a moment. It… briefly reminded me of the village where I lived as a child…”
“Hmm, so you are saying there was a mask similar to this? Could you tell me where that village was? It may be that the Immortal King’s place of origin is in that region…”
“No, no! It was, well, something a child in the village made out of boredom! Yes, it was like a toy. And then he quickly got tired of it and smashed it to pieces. Old memories simply came to mind, and I reacted too strongly. Haha…”
Seeing her flustered after she had shown not the slightest agitation throughout the meeting amused him so much that he ended up tormenting her a bit too much without realizing it, but—
‘Got you.’
With this, he could be certain.
‘As expected, this woman was also an Awakened from Earth.’
However, Heinrich did not show it outwardly and nodded as if regretful.
“That is unfortunate. I had hoped there might be some clue.”
“…Yes, as for whether this has any special meaning… I do not know. I am sorry I could not be of help.”
Her agitation quickly subsided.
At an unexpected moment, she had come across information she could not possibly have imagined and had momentarily lost her composure, but she too was an archmage who had reached the pinnacle.
Regaining her cool and restoring her expression happened in an instant.
‘Well, I suppose if you suddenly had a Hahoe mask shoved in your face after living cut off from Earth civilization for over eight years, you’d be surprised.’
And it had not simply appeared; it had appeared as the mask of the Immortal King, the absolute evil trying to destroy this world and the incarnation of death.
For a Korean, it was only natural.
‘Yes, for a Korean.’
The first Earthling he had encountered, Andrew, was American.
But the second person he encountered was someone of the same nationality as himself. What sort of coincidence was this?
‘Information about Hans’s mask is bound to spread soon anyway. It’s not like only one or two people saw it.’
Since he had used that information so effectively, this was an extremely satisfying result.
Because with this, he could firmly decide how to make use of her.
***
This world had neither the internet nor communication networks, but because supernatural abilities had developed in place of science, the speed at which news spread to each region was not particularly slow.
Of course, under normal circumstances, the upper classes such as merchant guilds or local influential figures, who were sensitive to information, would usually control it to some extent for their own benefit, thereby adjusting the time it took for rumors to spread to the masses…
But the news of the Immortal King’s resurrection that had become known this time was different in nature.
At first, the information had been controlled for the sake of social stability, but at some point it reached a state where it could no longer be hidden, and in the end, with the undead’s movements and the monsters’ berserk frenzy as the turning point, it was publicly announced on a large scale.
Those with vested interests had judged that, in order to maintain the current system, it was better to accept fear spreading through society and focus the residents’ dissatisfaction on a firm and unshakable “enemy.”
As a result, stories about the source of all evil in this world, the Immortal King, began to spread rapidly among the people.
“Have you heard the news? They say the Principality of Rohan to the north of the Empire has finally fallen.”
“Huh— a country fell? Surely that was…”
“Of course, it was the work of that ‘Immortal King Hans.’ They say he personally led monsters in and turned the place into a wasteland, and the dead alone number in the hundreds of thousands!”
“…Good grief, how are we supposed to live in a world this unsettling? I only pray this place remains safe.”
The news spread even faster with exaggerations after the fall of the Principality of Rohan—
“Jesse’s mother, did you hear? They say the village dam collapsed last time not because of shoddy construction, but because Hans’s followers secretly did it!”
“Goodness, what wicked bastards. So many people suffered because of that! …Wait? Now that I think about it, last year’s ruined harvest was suspicious too. Maybe they poisoned the fields or something!”
“Oh my, oh my! Good heavens! Could that really be true?”
To the point that some people began to shift the blame for every unfortunate event onto him entirely.
“Waaah~ Can’t I change my name? The other kids keep saying things because I’m called Hans…”
“Ahem, even so, changing your name is…”
“That’s right! That would be better. You should stop being so stubborn too! What’s so important about some common name? At this rate, the child will suffer!”
“…It can’t be helped. Mm, then how about Heinz for your new name?”
It did not distinguish between men and women, old and young, and even conservative parents hurried to rename their children.
His infamy was being inflated beyond imagination and engraved into people’s minds.
Beyond great cities, to medium and small cities, to little villages, and even to mountain slash-and-burn hamlets.
Even on the Enamel Continent, though the degree differed, that name had begun to spread as well.
And in the end—
《Achievement Accomplished! You have become the “Enemy of the World,” bearing everyone’s resentment and hatred.》
《More than half of the living intelligent beings in the Auterica dimension have judged you to be their enemy. As a reward, the Special Trait “Extra Life” is granted.》
《By accomplishing an achievement, you have had a great influence on the world. Karma increases additionally.》
After the official announcement, Hans’s influence, which had been slowly covering the continent, finally passed a certain critical point.