Chapter 60 – The next incident location is, right there.

In his imagination, going to the Imperial Palace would be accompanied by something tremendous.

A dazzling guard escort. Royal attendants or maids sent to welcome the honored guests.

Wasn’t that what a fantasy world setting should look like? Wasn’t that a fantastical sight!

“…Something’s a little off.”

“Did you say something, junior?”

“It’s nothing, really.”

To cut to the chase, the escort did indeed arrive. A handful of attendants and maids followed.

People sent directly from the Imperial Palace arrived at the Cradle with a carriage sent directly from the Imperial Palace.

However, the “splendor” or “grandeur” one might imagine would be there was conspicuously absent.

To exaggerate only slightly, and if you were to disregard the Imperial crest, you could easily mistake it for something sent by a provincial noble family.

‘…No, isn’t this how it should be?’

The Empire, though perhaps not to the extent of before, is still at war.

And their enemy isn’t even human, but monsters lurking beyond the Gate. Horrific creatures that target humanity, no less.

They waged a titanic battle for their very survival against such beings, a war that still rages on.

They must have suffered countless sacrifices by now. Not just commoners, but nobles too. Everyone.

The Imperial Family alone could legitimately afford to retreat a step. Precisely because of that, they needed to show a willingness to relinquish a portion of their authority.

“A bit simpler than you expected, isn’t it?”

Perhaps she sensed Deus’s inner thoughts, or perhaps she overheard his muttering to himself.

Luciel, seated across from him, continued with a faint smile. (The second-year representative was in a different carriage. Deus was simply too large to comfortably fit four people in one carriage.)

“It’s absolutely not because the Imperial Family looks down on the students of the Cradle. On the contrary, they want to treat the future heroes with even greater respect. Be they direct descendants of the Imperial Family, or commoners. It doesn’t matter.”

“…”

“However, given the current circumstances, it’s a little difficult to openly flaunt extravagance. And also, we don’t want the other students at the Cradle to get the wrong idea.”

“What wrong idea?”

The answer came from Nefertiti, seated beside him.

“It’s because of Luciel-sunbae, hubaenim. Think about it. If the Imperial Palace sent people with overwhelming fanfare, would the students think, ‘Oh, they’re welcoming the students of the Cradle’? Or would they think, ‘They’re doing all this to attend to the princess’?”

“…I understand.”

Nodding, he muttered, “As I thought. The next location is almost certainly the Imperial Palace.”

There were plenty of people who, even as their nation crumbled, couldn’t let go of their authority and power.

It wasn’t just something in novels, games, or movies. It happened all the time in reality.

How many doomed royal or imperial families from the history Deus remembered before becoming Deus fit that description?

The Imperial Family here was different. They were paying homage to the sacrifices of their people, and at the same time, lowering themselves out of apology and gratitude for the same.

It must be the source from which the Empire, with a clear mind, had been able to overcome great crises and come this far.

If that Imperial Family, so level-headed, were to suddenly vanish one day?

Would those who remained carry on the will shown by the lost masters of the Empire? Or would they see it as every man for himself from now on, scattering to fend for themselves?

“Luciel-sunbae, there are a few things I’d like to ask you.”

Luciel’s smile vanished at Deus’s suddenly grave tone.

She had instinctively sensed that something was amiss.

“Have there been any…unpleasant events in the Imperial Palace lately? Even something minor, anything that’s different from before?”

A somewhat abrupt question. Above all, a situation where an outsider was showing interest in the affairs of the Imperial Family.

She could have easily said, “I cannot answer.” But Luciel decided against it.

She believed there must be a valid reason for her hubaenim to be acting this way.

“Uh, well… I can’t say with one hundred percent certainty because of my life at the Cradle…but still. No? Nothing’s different. If there was anything noticeable, my brother would have told me.”

No suspicious elements immediately visible. Nothing that could be a source of conflict.

This meant that predicting potential traitors within and preemptively suppressing or eliminating them would be quite difficult.

Perhaps there weren’t any traitors at all. Similar to what happened at the Cradle last time, the Sealstone could suddenly malfunction, leaving open the possibility of a Gate opening.

But this is the Imperial Palace, of all places. Surely, such a misstep couldn’t happen *there*.

‘Unless I throw a tantrum worthy of my cradle days and make a real mess of things.’

With that in mind, Deus was resolved to be utterly discreet within the Imperial Palace.

He’d already done *that* in the cradle. Doing it again in the Imperial Palace would cement him as a traitor, hero or not.

“Hey. Deus, junior. Why the sudden question?”

Should he just make something up? The biggest reason to avoid honesty was clear.

Giving out information could just sow more confusion, or worse, the enemy could get wind of it and something completely different might happen in a completely different place.

“…Actually, with the utmost caution… I suspect the Imperial Palace might be the next location for an incident, following the Cradle, the Menagerie, and the South.”

But Deus spoke it aloud, plainly and honestly. His prediction.

“Wha- what did you say?”

“Deus, junior? What exactly do you mean by that?!”

Of course, he couldn’t expect such a composed reaction from the two upperclasswomen. They looked genuinely shocked.

And well they might. To hear such a thing about the Imperial Palace, the very heart of the Empire, especially from Deus, who had been twice involved with demons… It was only natural their anxiety would spike.

“Tell us everything! Quickly!”

“Senior! Instead of this, shouldn’t we contact the Imperial Household Agency and the Imperial Guard Knights right away…?”

They seemed about ready to unleash a bomb as soon as they arrived at the Imperial Palace.

Thus, Deus decided to calm these two upperclasswomen first.

“Wait. Seniors. How about you listen to the rest of my story first?”

“Do you happen to know anything else? Did you hear it from a demon?”

“I don’t remember that being said to the investigation team. Junior, are you hiding information? Because that could be a problem later…!”

Please. Just calm down. Please.

“It’s not something I found out. It’s merely a prediction.”

“But looking at your face right now, it seems like you’re almost more than half certain?”

“…”

Luciel’s sharp comment caused him to clear his throat with a *ahem*, *ahem*!

“Either way, there’s no concrete evidence that this is *it*. It’s just a gut feeling, without a shred of proof. To create a ruckus in the Imperial Palace, of all places, based on that… We might lose more than we gain.”

“…Excessive confusion could lead to something even worse happening, in reverse.”

“Exactly. And if too many people know, it becomes impossible to track where the information might leak.”

At that, a cold glint flickered momentarily in Luciel’s eyes before vanishing.

A completely different persona from the friendly upperclasswoman from the Cradle he usually saw. A faint sense of the Imperial Princess’s dignity she possessed.

“There’s a traitor, inside.”

“That too is just a prediction. However, if something *does* happen… Unless some entirely coincidental event occurs, the chances of that are very high.”

“Why the Imperial Palace, junior? I want to know that.”

In response to Nefertiti’s question, Deus began to explain in a way they could best understand.

“As I already told the investigation team, demons need energy to cross over to this world. And that energy is made up of all sorts of negative emotions from this world.”

“Yes. We heard that.”

“Until now, they didn’t have enough energy, so only monsters. And even afterwards, they couldn’t use energy recklessly, so they were planning to gradually release demons. But then everything went wrong, so completely wrong.”

At those words, the two upperclasswomen nodded as they looked at Deus.

Wasn’t the person who had thoroughly screwed up the demons’ plans standing right in front of them?

“Thus, they’ve lost the energy they painstakingly gathered in a futile way. So, in order to make up for that loss, they’ll try to recover a large amount of energy in a short period.”

“…So. You think they’re targeting the Imperial Palace?”

“If they succeed, it could unleash chaos, terror, and division on a scale we’ve never seen before. Senior Luciel.”

Through decades of war, the Imperial Palace had stood firm. The capital, too.

Gates had opened, and monsters had emerged, but heroes—the gifted ones—had always repelled them.

Never once had they fallen. This fact was a bedrock of faith and hope for the Empire’s people, a belief that someday, surely, they would win this long war.

But what if… what if all of that were to be consumed by flames in an instant? If even the defenses failed, and countless people died or were injured?

“…Perhaps, after all. We can’t keep this to ourselves, junior.”

“I agree with you, Senior Luciel. It’s a long shot, I know. But if that *long shot* becomes reality… At least the higher-ups need to know and prepare, so they can manage the aftermath more smoothly.”

A reasonable point. The appearance of demons was not something the gifted could handle alone.

The dignitaries, too, needed to be informed in advance, to come to an understanding. To discuss how to navigate this turbulent situation and restore order as swiftly as possible.

“I’ll change the schedule, junior Deus.”

“If you mean…”

“Somehow, I’ll make sure you get an audience with His Imperial Majesty.”

“….”

The scale was growing, expanding, and Deus could only sigh.