There was a demon cult collaborator inside the Wiblet Empire.
From a reader’s perspective, it was a fairly plausible theory.
After all, in the original work the demon that descended through the ritual had not harmed the empire at all and had only wandered around the neighboring countries.
Now that the collaborator theory had been proven true, that ‘backer’ must have devised a strategic way to utilize the demon worshippers.
“Then the picture becomes quite clear.”
“Yes. Our goal for this journey is to collect evidence of the connection between the demon cult and their backer, then publicize it across the entire continent.”
Flora said, then suddenly pulled something from her bosom and placed it on the desk.
“…This is a doping drug that the Praszkeak Guild has recently begun supplying exclusively to its executives. The origin is unknown, but it is said to greatly enhance the user’s abilities.”
“Enhancement? What about side effects?”
“It appears Saul never used this drug. Because of that, we were also unable to obtain detailed information on the substance.”
I took the pill and used Appraisal.
[Obsidrol Serum Pill (A)]
- Enhances stats in proportion to level
I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes.
The reason was the extremely familiar name written at the top of the message.
The gateway leading into the capital of the Wiblet Empire, ‘Servante.’
There, Loreno, an executive of the Pecheli Clan, was undergoing inspection along with his entourage.
Whiiiing—
An intangible energy emanating from the magic crystal orb swept over their entire bodies. It was a process to check for traces of faith-based magic or possession of illegal substances.
Normally, it was common sense to conduct inspections more leniently toward individuals of high status or background, but this arrogant empire showed no such flexibility whatsoever.
Loreno felt displeased by this fact.
For an executive of the Pecheli Clan like himself to be subjected to such a thorough inspection instead of receiving VIP treatment—this was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to come to the Wiblet Empire.
But there was no helping it.
Loreno had boldly declared to the other executives that he would push the Quentaltin Clan out of Umbril and secure a bridgehead for the clan’s southern expansion. However, the sudden resolution of the ‘Giant’s Sword’ issue had rendered all his efforts futile, forcing him to withdraw from Umbril entirely.
Having lost his standing within the clan and dropped out of the successor competition, Loreno was now reduced to faithfully carrying out whatever orders came from above.
Suddenly, he noticed another passage where a carriage was passing through without any interference. Loreno asked the inspector in a demanding tone.
“…Hey, what about that carriage?”
“Ah, that belongs to the Blispiel Clan, which received a personal invitation from His Majesty the Emperor.”
“………”
Loreno had to suppress his jealousy and irritation.
The carriage that had passed without inspection apparently carried the very person who had reduced him to this state.
April 17th, year 985.
Three days before my eighteenth birthday, I finally arrived at the capital of the Wiblet Empire.
My companions were the four clan members who had been with me for most of the journey so far, plus Estriel and Mariana.
I glanced toward one corner of the carriage.
More precisely, at Mariana sitting there.
“Your Highness, how are you feeling?”
“Not bad at all. Rather, I’m looking forward to the banquet of a great empire, Sub-Master Stroke.”
Not long ago, I had explained the secret of her birth to Mariana.
After she expressed great shock, I used the compulsion of Shambhavi’s Oath to make her declare her abandonment of the Glicia throne succession and receive a signed affidavit bearing her blood seal. Therefore, there was no longer any possibility of trouble regarding succession rights.
The reason she had given up so cleanly and chosen to cooperate was that she had no means whatsoever to oppose Queen Isabella, who had the support of the Blispiel Clan.
She was quite a sharp girl.
Through this visit to the Wiblet Empire, she would make connections with various people. Once time passed and marriage talks with princes and the like began to circulate, I planned to widely spread the information that Mariana was the king’s illegitimate daughter at the right moment.
This was a matter I had already reached an agreement on with Queen Isabella.
The carriage swiftly crossed the streets of Servante and soon stopped in front of a certain mansion.
“Wow, it’s huge!”
“This looks much bigger than our clan house, doesn’t it?”
Epio and Clara exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the residence where we would be staying for the time being.
His Majesty the Emperor of the Wiblet Empire had generously lent us an entire mansion in the heart of the capital, along with its servants.
Estriel spoke with a somewhat hollow expression.
“The VIP treatment is certainly good. When I came looking for a doctor to treat Pantilis’s symptoms, it was hard enough just to pass the inspection.”
The Wiblet Empire had no Life Church, which was deeply involved in the daily lives of its citizens. Instead, its medical field was developed to a level far beyond neighboring countries, naturally producing many renowned physicians.
“Now that you mention it, you said you’ve been inside Servante before because of your master, right?”
“Yeah. I came with priests from the Circulation Church. Having surveillance agents stuck to me the whole time was incredibly uncomfortable.”
After complaining for a bit, he cleared his throat and spoke to me.
“Ahem. Shall we stop by the training grounds inside the mansion for a moment? We can check on your progress as well.”
“Sounds good.”
We headed to the training grounds.
For the next hour, I received guidance sparring from Estriel.
“Good work.”
“Huu… huu….”
To put it simply.
I lasted about twenty seconds.
<Estriel Mirvana> [Level: 61/62] [HP: 12][STR: 12][AGI: 25] [MP: 15][Mental: 10][Sense: 17] [Divinity: 06] [Traits: Ghost (S+), Reverse Veins (A), Innate Combat Sense (A), Cleric (B), and 2 others] [Skills: Alsigima Resonance Shatter Art · Extreme (S), Alsigima Heart Method (A), Comprehensive Assassination Techniques · Extreme (A), Silent Realm (A), Desert Empire Weapon Arts (B), and 5 others] [Description: 52 years old, human race. Legendary assassin affiliated with the Circulation Church. His body does not age due to the blessing of the Circulation God.]
He still had higher stats than me in every category except [MP].
I could gain the upper hand in strength through body reinforcement using heart methods, but the overall combat power gap remained vast.
Especially the [AGI] difference of 11 points made it difficult to even follow his afterimages with the naked eye.
The fact that I had managed to hold out for a while was entirely thanks to the newly acquired Sixth Sense (B) trait.
Estriel, who felt this as well, gave me high praise.
“This is… I have no words. Your overall growth is so remarkable it’s hard to evaluate. Your proficiency in ‘Infecting’ is flawless, and what surprised me most was that beast-like predictive ability.”
Since our last meeting had been nearly two years ago, my progress—having now entered the near-Twelve Heroes level—must have been astonishing.
After the spar, while I was resting, Estriel approached me.
“Aiden, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“From what I heard from Lady Flora and the other priests of the Church of Utility, you fought in the Glicia civil war using various heart methods besides the Alsigima Heart Method. Even in the spar just now, I felt other energies besides ‘vibrating qi.’”
“That’s right.”
It was a question I had expected to hear eventually, considering how openly I had used those abilities during the civil war. So I nodded without hesitation.
Estriel looked puzzled.
“But you have the irregular constitution of Reverse Veins. How is that possible?”
“Hmm… explaining it in detail will take a while.”
I organized my thoughts for a moment before speaking.
“Actually, my Reverse Veins didn’t fully manifest until I got older. It can be considered an acquired constitutional change.”
“Acquired? Go on.”
“Before the irregular constitution manifested, I happened to learn the Brandish school’s Harmony Heart Method as my main practice. It neutralized the side effects of Reverse Veins. The reason I can use the Alsigima Heart Method alongside other heart methods is all thanks to the Harmony Heart Method.”
I explained while excluding as many meta elements related to the Tripper System as possible so he could understand easily.
Estriel let out a sigh.
“Huu, I never knew the Harmony Heart Method had such an effect. It might help with research on overcoming Reverse Veins’ side effects.”
“You were conducting that kind of research? Since when?”
“Since the time of the school founder, Sir Isidoros.”
“…Pardon?”
“The founder believed there must be a way to minimize the side effects of Reverse Veins. He even designed auxiliary heart methods and an ultimate secret art based on that premise. Though he passed away without achieving significant results.”
Listening to him, I recalled the functions of the Reverse Veins trait.
Reverse Veins (A)
- The body’s qi meridians gain a heterogeneous flow.
- The vibrating nature of generated qi becomes stronger. ※Extremely poor compatibility with most heart methods. ※Cannot be acquired alongside other qi-meridian traits.
The reason this constitution didn’t have a ‘-’ symbol despite tormenting the Alsigima family genius Isidoros was simple.
This trait only imposed penalties when operating heart methods as a martial artist.
In other words, it posed no obstacle to walking the path of a mage or spirit summoner.
The conditions for attaching a ‘-’ symbol to traits without time limits or spatial restrictions were stricter than expected.
If Reverse Veins had been A-, simply tampering with the order of acquiring skills and traits the way I did would not have been enough to mitigate the vibrating qi.
This meant Founder Isidoros’s theory had its own credibility.
“However, there is no record in the Alsigima school’s history books of anyone developing Reverse Veins postnatally like you, and this is the first time I’ve seen it. Even if we research the Harmony Heart Method, it would be best not to expect definite results.”
“Hmm…”
“And in that sense, as an irregular, you’ll have to put in some effort.”
Estriel grinned.
I could guess what he meant.
“You’re saying that I might be able to embody that ultimate secret art the founder envisioned.”
“Correct. Take this.”
Estriel handed me an old book. The cover read ‘Isidoros Heart Method (Tentative Title) Primer.’
“If someone who hasn’t overcome the side effects of Reverse Veins tries to follow the breathing essentials written here, severe side effects will follow. This means you’ll have to learn this technique through self-study, Aiden.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I nodded and carefully tucked the Isidoros Heart Method primer into my bosom.
There were three days left until the imperial family-hosted banquet.
“Since we’ve come all the way to the empire, why don’t you take Clara out to enjoy the city while you still have some free time?”
“Just the two of us?”
“Yes. You’ve been devoting yourself entirely to training until now, so I think it’s about time you took a breather.”
Epio tilted his head at my suggestion.
This was work to fill in the gaps with the original story.
In the original history, Epio and Clara had naturally grown close while being chased by the Dragon Horse Cult.
However, because I—the possessor—had intervened, the two had gained a safe haven called Blispiel at an early stage. Naturally, the motivation for their feelings to blossom had become slightly weaker.
Until now, I had not actively intervened in their relationship considering their young age, but starting this year, Epio and Clara were now the same age as Chesa and I right after possession.
It was a time when it wouldn’t be strange for them to become conscious of each other.
Moreover… considering the future troublemakers who would soon join the clan, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
“That girl has been curious about the outside world ever since her time in the cathedral. She’ll be very interested in the bustling streets of the Wiblet Empire and unfamiliar gifts, so focus on that.”
“Hmm… I’m not sure what you mean, but if Clara will be happy, I’ll try suggesting it.”
“Want to go out together?”
“Just the two of us?”
“Yeah. Aiden and the others seem busy.”
“Hehe…”
At Epio’s suggestion, Clara smiled meaningfully.
“Sure. I’ll specially accept Sir Epio’s invitation for a secret rendezvous.”
“…Secret rendezvous?”
“Hurry up and get ready!”
A short while later, the two left the mansion. After finishing their meal outside first, they wandered the market streets to their hearts’ content—mostly following Clara’s lead—buying souvenirs and snacks.
Then, at one point.
[…Hey, you two. There are people with strange waves wandering around nearby.]
“Strange waves?”
“………”
At the same time, something triggered Epio’s senses. Sensing danger, the boy immediately entered a state of alertness according to the Professor’s teachings.
“Which direction?”
[If I predict the path… it looks like they’ll come out of the alley right next to us.]
“E-Epio-nim! Where are you going!”
Clara followed Epio as he headed into the back alley.
About a minute after the two crossed the narrow path, a young girl with flowing ivory-colored hair came running from the opposite side.
Epio narrowed his eyes.
The girl’s breathing was ragged, as if she was about to collapse at any moment.