Master 48

Prev I TOC I Next

I stepped outside with Hestia, who was perfectly disguised as a maid thanks to Bergen’s handiwork, and began heading back toward the arena.  

I wore a slightly disappointed expression as I lost myself in thought.  

‘As expected, she still can’t see it…’  

I had hoped that Hestia might have some clue about the cursed voice that had started echoing in my head, but it seemed that was still wishful thinking.  

‘Well, she hasn’t awakened yet, after all…’  

But if that were the case, what exactly was that form she had shown when we recruited Bergen?  

Was it simply that her latent potential resonated with Bergen’s desperation?  

But then, I’m also just as desperate to get rid of this voice.  

“Saintess, are you really sure you don’t sense anything from me?”  

“…Huh? No, nothing at all!”  

“Hm.”  

Just in case, I posed the question to the saintess walking beside me, but her response was the same as the one she had given earlier in the waiting room.  

‘At least it doesn’t seem to be a curse that directly harms me…’  

When the leader of the black mages had suddenly appeared before me, I had honestly thought everything was over.  

However, when I summoned my last bit of courage and rejected her proposal, she simply vanished, leaving behind the empty shell of the possessed female professor.  

…Well, no matter how powerful she was, she wouldn’t have been able to directly influence me, a white mage, while possessing someone else.  

She must have known that as well.  

That’s probably why she tried to intimidate me, and when that failed, she cast this strange curse to torment me.  

In that case, the only way to resolve this is to awaken the saintess as quickly as possible.  

Fortunately, this curse doesn’t seem to have any effect beyond talking to me, so at least it won’t interfere with my plans.  

The problem is the possibility that the so-called “Great Shadow” has already shared information with the black mages…  

…No, that’s unlikely.  

According to what Rebecca—now an empty shell—had said, the black mages had no personal means of communication to maintain secrecy within their organization.  

Instead, she attended meetings at the association regularly to receive updates and verbally relayed them to the black mages inside the academy.  

In other words, the black mages inside the academy have no way of knowing what happened yesterday.  

Even if the Great Shadow somehow managed to pass on information through its mysterious abilities, it would already be too late for them to act.  

‘Because my plan is already in motion.’  

One thing that bothers me, however, is that the three students—Robin, Charlie, and Hayden—who should be receiving medical care from Sasha, have had their doppelgängers participate in the selection tournament instead.  

Honestly, the fact that they remained motionless in the storage room for so long was a hassle.  

But thankfully, when I asked them to participate in the selection tournament, they moved on their own.  

Luckily, my tests yesterday confirmed that, as mere replicas, they are inferior to the originals and shouldn’t cause any major issues.  

However, for that very reason, they won’t be able to win the selection tournament.  

The loss of those three from the hero candidate pool is a painful blow.  

“Sigh…”  

“W-Why? What’s wrong?”  

As I sorted out my thoughts while walking toward the arena, I was brought back to reality by Hestia’s anxious voice.  

“Saintess.”  

“Yes?”  

“When you awaken, you have to treat me well, okay?”  

It might sound a little desperate, but I need to win her over now if I want any chance of making up for this impossibly difficult quest.  

“Once you awaken, no one in the Holy Kingdom—not even the Holy Emperor—will be able to touch you.”  

“R-Really?”  

“Something as trivial as what happened at the inn yesterday… You could let that slide, right?”  

For some reason, Lady Hestia avoided meeting my eyes and kept staring at the ground.  

This feels a little unsettling.  

Surely, she wouldn’t just take my help and then abandon me once she becomes the saintess… right?  

“If you’d like, I can have Bergen secretly deliver wine to the Holy Kingdom for you.”  

“…L-Leave it to me.”  

Fortunately, after I invoked Bergen’s name—who was probably passed out from exhaustion by now—I finally got a positive response from Hestia.  

“Saintess, I understand that you must be nervous.”  

“Eek?”  

But I wasn’t satisfied just yet, so I took her hand and added a few more words.  

There was no better way to convey my sincerity than through direct contact.  

“No matter what happens, until you awaken, I will protect you.”  

“……”

“So please, don’t worry.”  

As I whispered this to her with all traces of humor gone from my voice, Hestia flinched at first, then her expression became strangely complicated.  

“You really are … a strange person.”  

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she finally spoke again, but her words were quite unexpected.  

“Your aura, your actions—everything about you is suspicious.”  

“What?”  

“But your soul… it’s incredibly pure, as if you’ve never committed a single sin in your life.”  

Wait, what exactly about me is suspicious?  

My self-esteem is starting to take a hit here.  

“And there’s one more thing that’s odd…”  

As I made a slightly sulky expression, Hestia hesitated for a moment before continuing.  

“Your soul is too mature for your age.”  

“……”  

“As if you’ve lived a life before…”  

At that moment, I had to admit—she truly was a saintess.  

“…Huh?”  

“Haha…”  

“You… don’t tell me…?”  

I never expected someone to discover my secret so quickly.  

“For now, let’s leave it at that.”  

“……”

“There’s nothing good to be gained from revealing it, right?”  

It was a relief that the one to notice was Hestia, who was inherently good.  

If people found out that I had played this world as a mere game in my previous life, I had no idea what kind of chaos would ensue.  

“Well then, shall we head inside?”  

Brushing off her suspicions, I walked toward the entrance of the arena that was now coming into view.  

“It’s time to set everything right.”  

At long last, after a long, long wait, the Talent Selection Tournament was about to begin.  

*****  

“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your patience!”  

As Whitney announced, the selection tournament had finally resumed after a long delay due to the previous cheating scandal, and the excitement was palpable.  

After all, the selection tournament was one of the most prestigious events in the empire, rivaled by none.  

For organizations constantly suffering from manpower shortages, participating was a must to make an impression.  

To compensate for the losses incurred during the last tournament, the spectator stands had been expanded by nearly half, and even officials from the Holy Kingdom had attended.  

As a result, the audience size had more than doubled compared to the last match.  

“You’re late.”  

“…Haha, my apologies.”  

“Well, I suppose not many people would be eager to sit through a boring opening ceremony.”

Thanks to that, in the midst of the bustling arena, Whitney arrived at the very center—the quietest place, ironically like the eye of a storm—where Lady Meredia was already waiting.  

She greeted him with an awkward smile.  

“By the way, that person over there…”  

“Ah, hello…”  

However, Meredia’s gaze was not on Whitney but on Lady Hestia standing beside him.  

“For someone who was kidnapped, you seem to have been eating well. Your skin looks positively radiant.”  

“T-That’s…”  

“I was just making a remark, but it really seems like you were well taken care of.”  

“…I-I’m sorry?”  

When she spoke with a mischievous smirk, Hestia, who had been sticking close to Whitney, flinched and instinctively apologized.  

“Don’t worry, she may seem that way, but she’s a good person.”  

“…Is that so?”  

“Back during the engagement incident, she even started a commotion for the saintess’s sake…”  

Worried that Lady Meredia might leave a bad impression, I tried to explain as her fiancé, but before I could finish my sentence, the lady clamped her hand over my mouth.  

“You talk too much.”  

“…Mmph.”  

“Instead of babbling, why don’t you focus on your plan?”  

I know I brought this upon myself, but isn’t Lady Meredia being a bit too rough with me lately?  

She was like this earlier too—at this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if she started carrying a whip.  

“Haha! You two make quite the pair!”  

As I stood there, quietly watching Meredia’s mood, I suddenly heard a familiar, cheerful voice from afar.  

“But the first match of the selection tournament is about to begin!”  

Princess Katarina, who had taken extra care with her disguise as a man today, was walking toward us, brushing aside her golden bob.  

“So it’s time to put an end to the flirting and… hmm?”  

But her words trailed off when she noticed Hestia, who was disguised as a maid standing beside us.  

Narrowing her eyes, she turned to look at me.  

“…Lord Whitney, you’re quite clueless, aren’t you?”  

“Excuse me?”  

“How could you bring a female servant along when your fiancée is right beside you?”  

She sidled up to me and whispered in my ear, making me let out an involuntary sigh.  

“I understand women well, you see. A woman will naturally pay attention if another woman is close to the man she loves.”  

“Um…”  

“Come to think of it, there are too many women around you, Lord Whitney. Your personal knight is a woman, your butler is a woman, and even your exclusive maid is a woman. Are you doing this on purpose?”  

I mean, isn’t it natural for a personal maid to be a woman?  

And while Runiel might be an issue, Parsha is just a middle school brat with a chuunibyou phase.  

“Hmm, Lord Whitney, could it be that you’re a heartbreaker…?”  

I wanted to let her ramble just to see where she would go with it, but Lady Meredia’s expression behind me was turning ominous.  

So, I decided to tell the princess the truth.  

“…That person is the saintess in disguise, Your Highness.”  

“Gasp.”  

When I whispered the truth into her ear, Princess Katarina gasped so hard her eyes widened to the size of buns.  

“T-That’s something you should have told me earlier…!”  

“Haha… You didn’t exactly give me a chance to speak, did you?”  

“Ugh…”  

She tugged at my sleeve with her index finger, speaking hurriedly, her face flustered.  

“…I-I need to go to my seat up there now!”  

“Is that so?”  

“I-I’m sorry for making a fuss over nothing!”  

With that, the princess, who had been floundering in front of me, hastily left with a face as red as a tomato, disappearing with the quickness of a scurrying squirrel.  

“Come to think of it, I heard a rumor that before you became the saintess, that person tried to… assault you.”  

“Huh?”  

“Is it true?”  

Meredia, who had been watching with a frown, suddenly threw a sensitive question at Hestia.  

“Well… That’s a bit of a misunderstanding…”  

I had been caught off guard, but Hestia’s unexpected response made me hold my breath and listen closely.  

“When His Highness visited our territory, I… um… was being punished in my room.”  

“…And then?”  

“Unfortunately, he mistook my room for another, and I screamed without thinking. I think the rumor got exaggerated from there…”  

Oh dear, I never expected there to be such a backstory.  

Then again, considering Princess Katarina’s preference for disguising as a man, it was unlikely that she had actually tried to assault Hestia.  

Did someone deliberately spread the rumor through the imperial newspapers?  

‘Hmm, there are too many potential suspects for that.’  

Even if it wasn’t the emperor, plenty of people found Princess Katarina untrustworthy.  

She really does live a tiring life.  

“Yeah, that sounds like her.”  

Even Lady Meredia seemed to agree, murmuring with a dumbfounded expression.  

“But something still feels off.”  

“Huh?”  

“…Her behavior seems even more displeasing than before.”  

Her voice was low, making it clear that she still found the princess untrustworthy.  

“Attention, everyone!”  

But at that moment, the voice of the academy’s chief administrator, amplified by magic, rang through the arena.  

“The first match will be between third-year students Robin and Charlie!”  

At last, the tournament disguised as the “Talent Selection Tournament”—in reality, the battle to determine the hero who would protect the world—was about to begin.  

“The top contenders are facing off right from the start! This will be an intense match!”  

Whether it was a coincidence or fate, the dean’s voice was filled with excitement as the two students entered the arena from opposite ends and faced each other.  

“All participants, please prepare yourselves. Except for the final match, Lord Whitney and the other judges will take turns overseeing the rounds!”  

As agreed, I was the one assigned to judge the first match.  

“Ahem. Both sides, get ready.”  

The moment I cleared my throat and spoke, the once-boisterous arena fell into silence.  

“…Begin.”  

With a solemn voice, I declared the start of the match.  

And then came an awkward silence.  

“…Hmm?”  

Feeling a strange tension in the air, I tilted my head in confusion.  

‘Why isn’t anyone moving…?’  

Robin and Charlie, who were supposed to fight, simply stood there, staring at each other blankly even though the match had begun.  

“Hey, you two? The match has started, you know?”  

Thinking they might not have heard me, I raised my voice again, but no response came.  

“What’s going on? Why aren’t they moving?”  

“Shh, they’re both top contenders. Maybe they’re trying to gauge each other’s strength.”  

“Just start fighting already!”  

As the standoff dragged on for over a minute, the murmurs of the expectant audience grew louder.  

‘Wait… Don’t tell me…’

At that moment, a thought popped into my head—one that I desperately hoped was wrong.  

‘Wait… Did these guys really just enter the tournament like I told them to and do nothing else?’  

But as the second minute passed with both doppelgängers standing motionless, it seemed my worst fear was correct.  

…This is bad.  

If the selection tournament gets halted again, it will be a complete disaster.  

I won’t be able to stop the black mages’ upcoming plan, and even if I somehow manage to prevent that, I won’t be able to clear myself of suspicion for touching the Holy Kingdom’s knights and abducting the saintess.  

“Whatever it takes, just move already…!”  

In my desperate frustration, I muttered under my breath.  

And at that very moment—  

“They’re moving!”  

“Woooooooah!”  

The two students, who had been staring at each other, finally took a step forward, and the arena erupted into cheers once more.  

“Ah.”  

And that’s when I had to confront a reality I absolutely did not want to face.  

…This is going to drive me insane.  

To prevent another selection tournament disaster, I would have to control the two doppelgängers in real time since, for some reason, they actually listened to my commands.  

*****  

Just a few minutes later—  

-BOOM! CRASH!  

The earlier fiasco at the start of the match seemed like a mere prelude, as the battle between the two students quickly turned into a fierce and thrilling showdown.  

“Wait, are these really students…?”  

“They seem way stronger than last time….”  

Even those who had missed the previous tournament, as well as those who had seen these two fight before, had to acknowledge their terrifying skill level.  

Understandably, the audience was entirely absorbed in the ever-changing battle before them.  

But there was one exception—Hestia.  

She wasn’t watching the arena.  

Instead, she was staring at the man beside her.  

“Robin will raise his shield here to brace for impact. He’ll get paralyzed, but his opponent’s magic will consume a lot of mana. He’ll likely wait it out and watch for an opening to strike when the incantation ends.”  

“…Haa.”  

“On the other hand, Charlie will immediately widen the distance once his chant is finished. He won’t allow Robin to close the gap… No, he won’t allow it. Instead, he’ll prepare the lowest-mana-cost spell to keep pressuring him. Haha…”  

For some reason, Whitney had stopped being a judge and started acting like a full-on commentator, giving Meredia a perfect play-by-play of the match.  

‘I had my suspicions, but now I know for sure.’  

After listening to Whitney for a long moment, Hestia bit her lip and came to a final conclusion.  

‘Whitney… You’re a regressor.’  

It was the only explanation that made sense—the only way to account for his bizarre actions, his unnatural knowledge, and the terrifying future she had glimpsed within his soul.  

“…That’s why you were so desperate to save me.”  

Of course, to Whitney—who was moments away from frying his brain trying to control two player characters simultaneously—her conclusion would have sounded utterly absurd.  

“I… I didn’t know…”  

But fate’s wheels were already turning, perfectly interlocked and unstoppable.  

Prev I TOC I Next