Vol 2 Chapter 48 – There’s No Need to Try and Look Cool with Your Dying Words【Vol 2: The Hero of the Fairy Tribe】

After seeing off Leon, who had left the room saying he would go call her, Allen immediately used the 【Mirror of Phantasm】.

It was an Artifact that altered the appearance of the user reflected in the mirror, and incidentally, it seemed the facial features changed depending on the mirror’s mood for the day. Thanks to that, he had ended up with the appearance of an unhealthy, gloomy-looking young man with dark bags under his eyes.

That said, even if he looked suspicious, his true identity wouldn’t be exposed. On top of that, he equipped his voice-altering mask and draped the Cloak of the Bandit King over his shoulders.

Then, he had Leonhardt leave the room as well. She herself had seemed like she wanted to see Labilia for the first time in a while, but she could just meet with her individually after Allen finished his talk.

Right now, Allen was the mercenary Noir. He didn’t know if Leonhardt would be able to play along with that setup without acting unnaturally, and he wanted to eliminate any elements of uncertainty.

Furthermore, Leonhardt had assassinated the King of the Holy Empire. No matter the reason, she was currently in a situation where she had killed a nation’s king and was being sheltered by the Beast Kingdom, which normally meant it was a massive crime on a level where it wouldn’t be strange for the World Knights to come and arrest her.

Even though they were former comrades, he was slightly uneasy about letting her meet an active World Knight.

(Come to think of it, Labilia aside, what are the other World Knights doing right now…)

Allen thought he might as well ask about their current situations while listening to the troublesome mess Labilia was dealing with.

With Leonhardt gone, Asmodeus, who had returned to her little girl form, was sitting quietly on Allen’s bed while swinging her legs and yawning. Just as he was starting to get annoyed at her carefree attitude…

“Sir Noir. The Third Seat of the World Knights, Labilia Sigid-dono has arrived. May I open the door?”

Ba-dump. His heart rate spiked at the prospect of an encounter with a former comrade other than Leonhardt, and feeling tense, he replied to Leon’s voice to tell him to come in.

“—Excuse me.”

Hearing a voice where feminine beauty and powerful strength coexisted, Allen felt a wave of nostalgia.

The person who opened the door and entered the room had an appearance perfectly matching the impression given by her voice, and with her brown skin, her features were better described by the word ‘beautiful’ rather than ‘cute.’

Her sharp, cool, almond-shaped eyes harbored a sense of coldness and strictness, while her other features accentuated her dignified impression.

Her beautiful crimson hair extending down to her back was tied up into a single ponytail at ear level, and her distinctive traditional clothing was adorned with decorations here and there to give off an air of nobility.

Her chest pushing up against her clothes was even more voluptuous than Leonhardt’s, as was her rear, and she was so tall she nearly matched Allen’s height.

(If I had to point something out… maybe she lost a little weight…?)

While harboring such thoughts, Allen stood up from the sofa he had been sitting on and exchanged glances with her, noting she had draped a cloak the exact same color as her hair over her shoulders.

Labilia stared at Allen for a while before she unexpectedly narrowed her eyes.

“So you are the hero who saved the Beast Kingdom.”

“…Hardly worthy of being praised by the much more renowned Third Seat of the World Knights.”

“Do not be modest. Repelling the Secret Guard led by the invading Helmis… if your strength is truly as the rumors say, it is in no way inferior to a World Knight’s.”

Allen smoothly and lightly bowed his head toward Labilia, who was wearing a faint smile. He then offered her the opposite sofa, and the two sat facing each other.

A maid quietly entered the room and prepared a hot drink on the table by brewing black tea leaves in milk and adding sugar. In a snowy country like the Beast Kingdom, a hot drink that warmed you to the core was highly appreciated.

Allen took a sip, licked his dry lips, and spoke.

“I heard from the Beast King. You had something to discuss with me?”

“…Before that, I heard a rumor that you are the disciple of the 【Obsidian Knight】—Allen. Is that true?”

Labilia asked while casting her eyes downward.

“…Yes, well. It’s just that the master happened to stop by my home village during a mission, and I had the privilege of studying under him a few times.”

He spat out lies as easily as breathing because he was used to it by now.

“To think that Geofried would choose you over Leonhardt with just that level of connection.”

“…”

“I know it is an impolite request, but… could you take off… your mask?”

Allen’s eyes widened behind the mask.

“…My mask, you say? Why?”

“Ah, forgive me if I made you uncomfortable. I was just wondering if masters and disciples tend to share a similar atmosphere. It’s only slight, but looking at you makes me feel a sense of nostalgia… No, I know that’s not it. I know you’re a different person, but…”

Labilia furrowed her brow as her expression bled with anguish, and seeing her pained look, Allen felt an intense wave of awkwardness. Even though he had changed his voice, her observational skills were even sharper than Leonhardt’s.

“I simply lack confidence in my appearance, so I hide it with a mask. I have nothing to feel guilty about. Will this suffice…?”

After speaking, Allen removed the mask, prompting Labilia to take a quick glance at Allen’s face before letting out a long breath and closing her eyes.

“I’m sorry for saying something so strange. And you said you lack confidence in your appearance, but there’s nothing strange about it at all, you know?”

“…Thank you.”

Thank goodness. Thank goodness I have the 【Mirror of Phantasm】. I am so glad. Thank you, Leon.

“May I hear the crux of the matter you wished to discuss?”

“…Right. You are a mercenary, correct? You lend your martial prowess depending on the reward.”

“Yes.”

“I want to hire you for a job.”

“…Rough business? Something even Labilia-dono, a World Knight, is struggling with?”

“I likely cannot do anything on my own. Are you aware that the Great Prison Island Gehenna was attacked?”

“…Eh?”

It was the first he’d heard of it since Gehenna was the great prison built upon an island of frozen earth where only the most heinous criminals were incarcerated. During his time as a World Knight, Allen himself had sent several sinners to that very prison.

Allen was also acquainted with the Head Warden, Zerno, a long-lived, battle-hardened Giant who possessed a Brave Core. Did the attackers bring an entire army with them?

“Well, considering you were in the midst of the conflict between the Empire and the Beast Kingdom, it’s perfectly understandable. It is being kept a secret from the public, but the attacker was the Second Seat of the World Knights, the Princess of the Fairy Elf tribe, Eufaria Oberon.”

“…Huh?”

Eh, Eufaria? Eufa did?!

“D-Did I hear that right? E-Eufaria-dono is… Wait, a World Knight…”

While time completely stopped for Allen alone, the sound of someone collapsing outside the room could be heard, followed by a maid’s surprised voice crying out, “Lord Beast King?!”

Leon, were you listening?!

“She took the incarcerated Eight Demon General 【Soul Return】 and five other felons, left Gehenna, and while remaining hidden, began spreading a certain religion wherever she went.”

“…No, no, no, no, wait a second. Wait, why? Why a religion?!”

Questions kept bubbling up one after another because his comprehension couldn’t keep up.

“W-What is her objective? Do you know?”

“Most likely, she intends to borrow the power of 【Soul Return】 to bring Allen Norsh back to life.”

“What the hell are you doing, Eufaria?!”

“Hm?”

“N-No, uh, it’s nothing. P-Please, continue.”

Looking suspiciously at Allen, who was clutching his head, Labilia continued.

“That religion, the Obsidian Cult, was created by those who desire Allen Norsh’s resurrection. There are people all over the continent who lament and grieve the death of the Great Hero, and the number of believers is still increasing at an accelerating rate even now. Proportional to that, there has been a string of disappearances in various regions, so it’s highly likely that the Obsidian Cultists are kidnapping people and using them as sacrifices to resurrect Allen.”

“…”

He was completely at a loss for words. To think that Eufaria had fallen to darkness because of him, and on top of that, his faked death had ended up creating an entire religion.

Asmodeus had been trembling under the covers for a while now, but she was probably just dying of laughter. No, seriously, this isn’t a laughing matter!

“I cannot forgive Eufaria. I want to stop her, that fool who fell to darkness… In his final moments, Allen left us with the words, ‘I leave the world to you,’ and let us escape… What Eufaria is doing… is nothing short of defiling the very world that Allen loved!”

Clenching her fists tightly, Labilia’s expression contorted as she exhaled a heated breath.

“…I will continue to protect this world that he loved. Even if it means killing my former comrade, I want to fulfill his final words.”

“…”

That is why, for that purpose, I want to borrow your strength. Seeing the dark light floating in the eyes of Labilia as she continued her words, there was one thing Allen desperately wanted to tell her.

(Somehow… I’m so sorry, please don’t think about it that heavily! I just thought saying something like ‘I leave the world to you’ sounded cool! I honestly really don’t care what happens to this world…!)

Cold sweat came pouring out because this was all his fault, and he was so, so sorry.