Maetel was in the midst of rolling around on top of the bed. She was waiting for Artpe to return when she heard someone knock at the door. She froze in place.

  [May I enter, Artpe-nim?]

  It was a voice that sounded similar to the bell that rang during the morning and dinner hours inside the great temple. It was a very clean and pure voice of a woman.

  It was amazing. For some reason, her mood turned very sour when she heard that voice.

  “Artpe isn’t here right now.”


  [Ooht······.]

  When the woman on the other side of the door heard Maetel’s voice, she hesitated. However, she once again knocked on the door.

  [Maetel-nim, may I enter?]

  “······you can come in.”


  When she said Artpe wasn’t there, Maetel expected Vadinet to turn back immediately. Why was Vadinet searching her out? In truth, Maetel was curious as to what Vadinet wanted to say to her, so she nodded her head. Of course, she regretted her decision when she let the holy priestess in. The holy priestess was shooting darts with her eyes when she came face to face with Maetel.

  “Hello. I hope you are doing well, Maetel-nim.”


  “Your expression makes me think that you don’t want me to be doing well.”


  “Oh my. Unlike how you look, you are pretty quick on the uptake.”


  If one was just listening to their conversation, it wouldn’t have been strange to see the two girls stand up and shank each other! However, they decided not to fight in earnest at this moment in time. Of course, even if they did fight, Vadinet would be slaughtered by Maetel. It would be her end.

  “Didn’t you come here, because you wanted to meet Artpe? So why did you insist on coming in here?”


  “You are right. I really really wanted to see Artpe-nim. It was driving me nuts. I couldn’t wait, so I came here. However, I was plunged into despair when only Maetel-nim was here. Still, I believe I should at least have one conversation with Maetel-nim. That is why I am here.”


  “If you want to know something about Artpe, you can ask me. I know everything regarding Artpe. Everything.”


  “Hoo hoo hoo…… I’m thankful for such words.”


  If Artpe was present, he would have died from being unable to breathe when he heard the blunt words being exchanged between the two girls. In truth, he was camouflaged outside of the room, and he was listening to their words through the Listen-in spell. Artpe was listening to their words live, and he started feeling pain in his stomach.

  “So why are you here? Did you really come here, because you wanted to ask about Artpe?”


  “No. I’ll gradually find out about Artpe-nim through my own efforts. Thank you for the offer. It is the thought that counts.”


  “So what? You said you had business with me. I want you to quickly resolve it before Artpe comes back.”


  Maetel didn’t even think about getting up from the bed. She just stared at Vadinet. Vadinet felt significantly overwhelmed by Maetel’s sheer presence, but she gutted it out.

  “What does Maetel-nim think about the temple?”


  “It is a stagnant and putrid puddle of water.”


  “······you are unexpectedly accurate in describing the problem.”


  “You are in the middle of that puddle. The pope and the other high rank priests are rotten in a different way, but you are also rotten. The light in your eyes is improper for a person that is called the holy priestess.”


  At Maetel’s blunt words, Vadinet let out a bitter laughter. She was already cognizant of this fact to a certain extent.

  “That’s right. I’m part of that putrid water. As a priestess, it shouldn’t manifest in me, but I possess unsightly desire, obsession and twisted delusions. I have it all, and I don’t plan on denying this fact. There is only one reason why I can state that I am better than the other priests……”


  Vadinet took short and quick steps to approach Maetel. She lowered her head, and she spoke into Maetel’s ear with her lowered voice.

  “At the very least, I haven’t conspired with the Demon King’s army.”


  “So you knew about it?”


  Maetel’s eyebrows twitched slightly. In fact, Vadinet was much more surprised by Maetel’s non-reaction.

  “······I knew about it, but I couldn’t do anything about it on my own. However, he came when I was about to give up. That is why I consider my meeting with Artpe-nim as a fateful encounter. In some ways, it is to be expected. Don’t you think so?”


  “You are free to think that Artpe is your destiny. I won’t say anything in regards to that…… However, have you told this to Artpe?”


  “No. I genuinely wanted to enjoy the sweet time I had with him a little bit more. However, I can no longer do that anymore.”


  Vadinet gritted her teeth as she spoke.

  “Those bastards finally revealed their teeth. They’ll make Artpe-nim and I vacate the premise. While we are gone, they are going to try to cause you harm.”


  “······.”


  At that moment, Maetel became surprised more than ever before. She replied as if she couldn’t comprehend Vadinet.

  “Why are you telling me that?”


  “What do you mean by that?”


  “If you let it be, there was a chance that I might have died? Wouldn’t it be better for you if that happened?”


  “Oh my. I’m the holy priestess, and I always stands by the hero’s side.”


  “However, I thought you didn’t think of me as a hero?”


  Their words were truly scary. Each girl were able to see into each other’s true intentions. She only acted like a ditz in front of Artpe. Maetel was truly sharp at reading the heart of others. Vadinet was confident in her ability to hide her her heart from others, but she became very nervous in front of Maetel.

  “That’s right. I don’t think of you as a hero. Artpe is the only hero, and I am very sure of this deep within my heart. I am a holy priestess for a single hero. I am a holy priestess only for him.”


  “So what?”


  “However, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t the true hero. It doesn’t change the fact that Artpe-nim truly treasures you. When he conversed with me, half the topics were about you. I had to try very hard to tamp down my surging anger…… You probably didn’t know this.”


  When Maetel heard Vadinet’s words, a smile blossomed on her face. In her mind, Vadinet wanted to slap that smile off of Maetel’s face, but she continued to speak.

  “If you are killed when we are absent, Artpe-nim will receive a very deep wound in his heart. At that point, I will never be able to win against you in my lifetime.”


  “You are really interesting. You really are rotten.”


  At that moment, Artpe and Maetel felt the same sentiment about the holy priestess.

  “Yes. That is why I can’t lose you like this. At the very least, that time isn’t right now.”


  “Ooh-mm. I like you, because you are honest. Hoo-hee.”


  Maetel trilled as she stood up. She was sure Vadinet hadn’t said everything within her mind. However, it was enough for now.

  “So do you know what their plan is to kill me?”


  “I dont have the exact details. However, if I’m to make an educated guess, there is only one possibility. It is the magic circle.”


  “Oohk.”


  When Maetel heard those words, she groaned. She remembered the disaster in Aedia. As if the holy priestess knew what Maetel was thinking about, she shook her head from side to side.

  “The age of Aedia’s magic circle can’t even be compared to ours. Of course, the level of security present can’t be compared either. Even with Artpe-nim’s vast knowledge and transcendant magical energy, he won’t be able to handle the power of the magic circle. He would need to receive control authority from the pope and the holy priestess.”


  “There is nothing impossible for Artpe……”


  Of course, she wanted to trust and rely on Artpe too. That is why the holy priestess didn’t undercut Maetel’s idiotic words.

  “As I’ve told you right now, I also possess control authority to the magic circle. My authority is certainly inferior than his. However, it is enough to interfere with him exercising his power.”


  “You want to stop him with just that?”


  “I cannot stop him with just that. When we confront him, the pope and the high rank priests will show their true nature. That is why we have to start thinking of a surefire plan that will bring them down.”


  At that point, Artpe let his worries go. He was still worried about it, but at the very least, it seemed the holy priestess was capable of rational thought.

  ‘As expected, she won’t turn out like the one from my past life. Her personality remains the same, but the situation around her has completely changed. In her past life, she believed the ridiculous lie that she can’t mate with anyone that wasn’t a hero. This caused her to go berserk, and she had become a Demon of her own volition. However, there are two heroes now. I’m male. There is no way she would use such an extreme option now……’


  Of course, she didn’t hide her hostility towards Maetel, and that did worry him. It seemed holy priestess only saw Maetel as a rival. Basically, she wouldn’t give up the position of holy priestess, while he remained the hero. She wouldn’t try to harm Maetel.

  “However, I’m kind of dumb. If you want to make plans, we should wait for Artpe to come back.”


  “All right. However, that wasn’t the main reason why I came here. There is something that I want to discuss that is more important than the danger you face.”


  “Ho-oh. I see. I also wanted to tell you something before Artpe gets here.”


  Huh? If he didn’t go in right now, he had a bad feeling that he wouldn’t be able to see either of them in the eyes for a while.

  Artpe had assessed the situation through his intuition. He canceled his Listen-in spell, and he was about to rush into the room. However, the entire Zero Class shook at that moment. A very low vibration rang out.

  “······the magic circle.”


  Artpe mumbled in a low voice as he stood still. This was something that occurred only when a very specific requirements had been met. It was the resonance between the magic circle and the Mana.

  It was manifesting at the heart of the Zero Class, and it’ll probably spread to the entirety of Lihazeta soon. At that point, he wouldn’t be able to stop it. He would be basically fighting against Mana that had accumulated within the city for the past couple hundred years.

  [Nyaa-ah, nyaa nyaa-ah?]

  “That’s right. ······Shit. The situation is turning into a shit show.”


  Until a moment ago, his enemies had been plotting to get rid of Maetel. However, they had suddenly and aggressively assumed the offensive. It didn’t make sense from a common-sense standpoint.

  There were only two possibilities that could explain the current situation.

  First, there was a possibility that they found out about the holy priestess’ actions. If she was moving against them, their current actions were understandable. However, Artpe was currently using his Read All Creation ability and his spells to monitor the situation nearby. This possibility wasn’t likely, so he shelved it.

  That meant the second possibility was the only one left now.

  It was the possibility that Silpennon and Aria were found out.

  “Those idiots!”


  The magic circle wouldn’t have been activated unless something critical had been discovered. Artpe gritted his teeth as he tried to chase down their location…… At some point, he realized that the city’s sky was filled with an artificial light.

  ‘Huh? Isn’t this……’


  The light came from an unknown location in the city, and it stopped at a certain altitude. It created an enormous screen that anyone in the city could see. It was the item given to Silpennon by Artpe! It was the projector Artifact, which was capable of visual transmission!

  [I never expected the heroes to know our secret…… I hadn’t been worried, because they had been so well-behaved. I never expected them to use underlings. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let them interfere with the grand design of his highness, the Demon King.]

  The pope’s voice rang out as it reached the entirety of the city. The quality of the transmission wasn’t great, but one had to take into account that Silpennon was hiding the Artifact from the pope. The fact that he was able to pull this off was amazing in itself.

  [Your highness the Demon King? You are the pope. How can you speak those words?]

  [You are speaking about the requirement of my position. That cannot bind my will and actions. Do you realize that ‘god’ is such a pitiful concept? The only thing we can believe is power! Massive power! Moreover, his highness the Demon King possesses that power!]

  These were words that shouldn’t be spoken by a pope, yet his words came out without constraint. The citizens of the city were dazed as they looked at the massive screen that had appeared above the city. They became shocked when they were faced with the picture and voice of the pope.

  The people of the city were all aware of the transmission, and it seemed the pope was the only one that didn’t know about it.

  [Everything will become tiresome because of you. I planned on cleanly eliminating one hero. At this rate, I won’t be able to guarantee the life of both heroes.]

  [······Artpe and Maetel won’t be as easy as you think.]

  [Hoo-hah. We’ll see about that. Since the status of the sacrifice is quite excellent, I’ll look forward to seeing the result.]

  “Sacrifice······?”


  Artpe knitted his brow as he mumbled to himself. He looked beyond the blurry image, and his eyes finally picked up the figure of a girl thrown into the center of the magic circle.

  It was the sight of the maid Aria, who possessed an Innate ability.