39 – Exposure

“Mmyayyyaang.”

As if last night’s torrential rain had been a lie, a clear morning, without a single cloud, had arrived.

I greeted the somewhat chilly breeze while stretching Daisy’s cheeks, when someone knocked on the door and called out to me.

“Sir Damian. Lady Liana has come to see you.”

“Let her in.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon after I gave permission, Liana and a woman wearing a robe entered the lodging.

Liana aside, I looked at the woman next to her, wondering who she was.

A woman with a part of her body as large as her head removed the robe and greeted me.

“It’s nice to see you again, Sir Damian. How have you been?”

The Saintess Ruwen, with her long, sun-colored blonde hair, seemed unaccustomed to greeting me, and looked at me with a hint of shyness.

I accepted Ruwen’s greeting and stared at Liana in silence, and Liana, as if feeling guilty for bringing Ruwen without notice, hurriedly explained the reason.

“…It seems Archbishop Mikhail’s side has noticed something. An enormous number of troops have been deployed to prevent Dale from escaping after the hero appointment ceremony.”

They could have noticed because we’d met openly a few times, or perhaps they were preparing for possible danger in response to the northern laboratory being raided.

Whatever it was, the fact remained that it was hindering my plans. Riana, her face etched with worry, spoke to me.

“So, if we proceed with the plan as is, Dale might die. I came urgently to discuss this.”

I glanced at Saintess Lewen, who was nodding rapidly beside Riana, and paused to consider.

‘Best to keep him alive, I suppose.’

I even forged a soul contract because of what only the original protagonist could do. Letting him die now seemed such a waste.

Deciding to try my best to save him, I told Riana how Dale could survive.

“After the announcement, if he flees and transforms into a woman, he might live.”

Riana stared at me, a dubious expression on her face.

“I suppose… that’s true.”

“So, all that’s left is to prepare an escape route and the right clothes.”

“Hmm. Then I should go ahead, deliver the message, and set everything up.”

Feeling as if that wasn’t quite enough, I thought of one more amusing method.

When I told Riana about it, she looked utterly bewildered but nodded nonetheless.

“Are you sure it’ll be alright…?”

“Probably?”

“……”

“Anyway, pass this along to Dale too. If it succeeds, it should eliminate all the problems.”

“Yes.”

I thought it was about time to leave, but as I was about to head out…

Lewen, who had been hesitating beside me, finally spoke.

“Sir Damian… this is a terribly presumptuous question, but are you really going to have Dale make that announcement?”

I nodded. Lewen pressed a hand to her chest, as if in pain, and said,

“The repercussions could be… quite severe.”

“It’s fine. That’s the whole point.”

“Ah… I see. I’m a little faint of heart. Sudden changes frighten me slightly… But if you say you’ll do it, Sir Damian, then I shall trust you.”

I told the awkwardly smiling Lewen not to worry.

Then, I picked up Siren, who was curled up on the sofa like a cat, and immediately headed towards the venue for the Hero Appointment Ceremony.

* * *

The more unhappy the world is, the more people yearn for a hero.

Whether it’s to forget the unreasonable reality, or to find the driving force that is hope, I couldn’t say.

One thing was certain: a hero, by the name of champion, was desired more by the common folk than the upper echelons.

Thus, the Champion Inauguration was a festival for the common people.

Of course, that festival was an artificial construct, created by those high above.

Yet, at least for the commoners, it would feel like a festival heralding the start of change.

“So stark white. It hurts my eyes.”

“Myaaang.”

I nodded at the comments from Ciren and Daisy beside me, and gazed ahead.

Befitting a festival for the common folk, the Champion Inauguration was thronged with people.

Because of that, a far more lively and boisterous scene than usual filled my vision at once.

Gazing at this spectacle, and then entering the building, observing the designs and architecture that seemed steeped in the Order’s power, a rather intriguing sight unfolded before my eyes.

‘Just as Ciren said, stark white.’

Whether it was to emphasize the champion acknowledged by the Goddess, or to announce that the Order had invested much more power in appointing the champion, I couldn’t say.

Items of the Order’s distinct white and antiquated design were liberally arranged and placed everywhere.

Just as I was marveling at the place, which seemed to express purity through pure white,

I suddenly noticed those sitting up above, looking down.

Perhaps to obscure their faces, their figures were hidden in shadows, appearing blurred.

If anything, I thought their presence only served to contrast with the pure white Order, when the butler called to me, guiding the way.

“Young Master Damian, this way, please.”

It seemed there was a separate area reserved for honored guests.

Nodding, I entered, and felt countless gazes drawn to me.

“The youngest master of the Carsaril house…”

“He’s come here too.”

“I didn’t think he would attend in the middle of his annulment ceremony, but here he is.”

I could feel them whispering and looking at me from around the room.

However, uniquely, they only whispered and did not approach. It seemed that the influence of the Carsaril family, coupled with the master’s rogue reputation.

made it difficult for them to easily approach, so they merely watched me from afar.

Ignoring the surrounding gazes, I was looking down out the window when a woman caught my eye in the distance.

‘Princess Fria.’

With pink hair and pink eyes, a princess of pure lineage.

I thought, simply looking at her, that she was someone who radiated light, when Liana, who had somehow found me, poked me in the waist and began to speak.

“Your Highness will bore a hole through him with your gaze.”

“He’ll be arrested soon enough.”

“Huff. Anyway, not that. I delivered the plan and supplies to Dale.”

“Well done.”

Just as I was about to commend her and start discussing it,

the choir began singing a hymn, signaling the start, so I closed my mouth and watched the ceremony.

*

“In the name of the great Goddess, we ordain Dale as a Hero this day. Do you swear, that through hardship and adversity, you will be the sword and shield, leading the way to protect all?”

“I do.”

The ceremony proceeded smoothly.

Actually, it would be stranger if something *did* happen. The ceremony itself was like a well-rehearsed play, so any situation that could cause trouble had been eliminated.

‘Generally,’ Riana had said, ‘it’s common sense that nothing happens.’

I was smiling, listening to this, when.

Dale received the Holy Sword from the Pontiff and solemnly raised it.

Watching this, I heard a voice behind me that I didn’t want to hear.

“Now, Damian, you have one more enemy you can’t eliminate.”

Turning around, I saw Ellysia approaching with a blank face.

She must be coming to make me regret not choosing her.

“Just as you tried to kill me, Dale will try to kill you for eternity.”

That remark momentarily brought to mind De-soon, and I almost burst out laughing. But with effort, I suppressed it and replied with a straight face.

“…Perhaps.”

“Then, good luck with that.”

Seeing my expression, Ellysia seemed satisfied and was about to leave when.

Dale finished the ordination and stepped onto the platform, announcing the truth with an expression of sheer reluctance.

“I have a matter to declare to the Goddess. Grand Duchess Ellysia of the North has conspired with black mages and certain members of the Order to create rifts.”

The moment he spoke those words, a silence so chilling it felt like a physical force descended, freezing everyone in place.

I watched the rather amusing scene unfold below, smiling, and then launched a taunt towards Ellysia.

“But Dale doesn’t seem like he wants to kill *me*?”

“……”

Ellysia, seemingly struck by chaos, rushed forward and peered down, her eyes wide with disbelief.

As one cannot undo what has already transpired, her despair held no power to alter anything.

I continued my torment of Elysia, watching as she bit her lip until it bled beside me.

“So, what happens now? Do we just retract the Hero Dale title and announce it was all a lie? Ah! Can’t retract it, can we. So, what do we do, then? Care to enlighten me?”

“… What exactly have you done?”

“How would I know?”

Just as I was deliberately needling her with a slick, grating tone, a murmur began to swell from below, growing louder and louder.

“A black magician?… The Order?… I don’t know what the rift is, but they say it’s connected to a black magician?”

“Duchess Elysia? Isn’t she a noble from the North?”

“The Hero must be lying! There’s no way that’s true!”

“But would she really lie in a place like this?”

The hushed murmurs, starting from the smallest voices, grew beyond control, turning into a clamor that consumed the entire building.

I watched this spectacle unfold and spoke briefly to Elysia.

“Whatever’s going on. Looks like you’re in deep trouble.”

“……”

I tried to goad her further with a playful voice, but her mind seemed completely preoccupied, offering no response.

I savored her reaction for a moment before slipping into thought.

‘Come to think of it, the Order is reacting slowly.’

Some of those involved in the artificial sun experiment would naturally infer that I was responsible for this, but they were showing no reaction at all.

It seemed I held a vulnerability over them, making it difficult for them to readily step forward.

‘Or are they perhaps… pleased?’

Now that all eyes were fixed on Elysia, they might be thinking they could just abandon her.

They would likely try to deny the whole situation by sacrificing Elysia.

Wondering what Elysia was thinking, I stood leisurely, noticing knights, apparently seeking Dale, rushing to catch him down below.

I watched Dale flee, praying for his survival, and then turned away.

Looking at Elysia, who wore an expression as if she bore all the world’s burdens alone, I said curtly,

“Then, I’ll see you at the annulment ceremony later.”