“The Demon King’s power, huh. Honestly, I didn’t expect that at all.”
After the Elder Council Chairman Salem’s words ended, Whitney, who had remained silent for a long time, finally spoke.
“Me, the Demon King? Doesn’t that sound completely wrong? Haha.”
“…Right?”
The Elders, who were about to nod mechanically at his words, momentarily fell silent at the eerie aura Whitney exuded.
“Yeah. It really doesn’t suit you at all.”
“Haha. See? I knew you’d say that.”
“And yet you take that at face value.”
Meredia, realizing all eyes were on her, added lifelessly to the conversation, but even she was speechless after seeing how readily Whitney accepted it.
“But then, why did such an evil power dwell in me of all people?”
While everyone else was avoiding eye contact, Whitney tilted his head in confusion and asked that question.
“…You’re not the only one with the Demon King’s power.”
At the same time, from the once-quiet seat of honor came the sound of someone clearing their throat, followed by a subdued voice.
“Yes, I suppose it’s about time we talked about that.”
Gone was the frivolous demeanor from moments ago; Tiffany Astelade now exuded composure, her eyes gleaming with resolve.
“Hundreds of years ago, a prophecy of fate was passed down through the Light’s Order…”
…
“A prophecy of ruin left by the Second Saintess and the first Guardian of Radiance. The final light that will decide the world’s end and salvation, the predetermined wheel of fate—”
“…Hey, sorry.”
Just as she stretched out a hand in dramatic flourish and began spouting grandiose words in High White Mage Speech as she always did—
“Could you explain it a bit more simply?”
“Ah, uh-huh.”
Whitney, who had been staring ahead with a smile, asked quietly, and Tiffany, momentarily flustered, quickly lowered her head.
“Th-The prophecy left by the Second Saintess… might give us a clue.”
“……!?”
When completely normal language came out of her mouth, the Elders’ eyes widened in shock.
“Could you maybe tell us the content too?”
“…Okay!”
Even the current head of the once-isolated Lumen Ordo, known for delivering a finishing blow to its decline, blushed and became obedient, which was shocking enough.
“The evil god sealed by the Hero will regain its power.”
“At that time, children across the world will be born again with the lost power of the Demon King.”
But even more shocking was that Tiffany’s exposed eye, not hidden by her eyepatch, had turned pure white.
“And… huh?”
“W-Why is everyone looking like that?”
The Elders, who knew that she usually lit up her eyes for style and not real magic, immediately sensed the divine power radiating from her now-white eyes.
‘She never did that before…..She always twisted the prophecy to her liking.’
‘Truly monstrous power, even on second glance.’
The reason the Elders tolerated Tiffany’s eccentric persona despite being a ticking time bomb was because of her unparalleled talent.
Though despite their efforts, she hadn’t shown visible progress lately—
“Yes… I guess there’s a reason you’re the current leader. Your potential rivals even Saintess Hestia.”
“Now I understand why you didn’t choose a straightforward path.”
Tiffany Astelade had, within a day of reuniting with Whitney, demonstrated enough power to make even Meredia wary.
‘Why is everyone making such a fuss?’
To Whitney, who regularly saw Meredia’s eyes glow red, this was not a big deal.
‘…Oh right. This is the kind of group they are. So Lady Meredia has finally realized the truth.’
The knowing smile Whitney gave Meredia, as if saying “finally caught on, huh?” was so meaningful that even a toddler would notice—and the Elders certainly did.
‘Then I guess it can’t be helped…Well, acting is what we do best.’
‘Still, I do worry about the consequences if we’re found out.’
With that, the Elders quickly exchanged glances and began their explanation as if nothing had happened, with Chairman Salem taking the lead.
“As the prophecy states, the Demon King’s bloodline ended with the second generation. That much is confirmed in historical records.”
“…Through marriage with the Hero, correct.”
“Yes. But instead, candidates with the potential to become the Demon King began to appear.”
Their gazes now fell upon Meredia, who was seated next to Whitney.
“We’re talking about children born with special powers in parts of their bodies, starting several decades ago.”
The Holy Kingdom, the Empire, and Lumen Ordo agreed to call it a ‘blessing’ to avoid panic… but the truth is otherwise.”
Normally, Meredia would have expressed displeasure at such obvious scrutiny.
But this time, she simply looked down without saying a word.
“…I never wanted to be born this way.”
Though hidden in shadow, her pale complexion was clear, and she clenched her hand tightly as she muttered.
“Then, is that all there is to the prophecy?”
Whitney, seeing this and reaching out a hand to comfort her, quickly withdrew it at her sharp glare and changed the subject with a question.
“…There’s one more line.”
Salem turned his gaze silently toward the seat of honor, lowering his voice.
“But that part is sealed by a magical restriction, so I can’t speak it aloud.”
“…One who receives the evil god’s favor will command the children and seize the world.”
“Of course, if it’s the Guardian of Radiance, that’s a different matter.”
As Tiffany repeated the prophecy again, her eyes turning white, Salem gave a bitter smile and added—
“You must understand, this prophecy is top secret. While the Holy Kingdom has the authority over prophecies and the appointment of Heroes, this information is known only to Lumen Ordo.”
After a pause, Whitney looked calmly at Salem and asked in a quiet voice—
“Then… what does that prophecy have to do with me?”
At that, silence fell over the conference room.
“Whitney Lingard. Please don’t take this the wrong way.”
Breaking the silence, Salem cleared his throat and spoke cautiously, his expression darkening slightly.
“It seems… you may be the one favored by the evil god.”
Whitney’s smile slowly faded from his lips as he heard those words.
“A-After researching Lord Whitney’s magical waves at the workshop, we discovered that a force completely opposite to white magic is interfering with his magical output.”
“…But it’s not black magic. Those two forces were never compatible to begin with.”
As Whitney’s expression grew more intimidating than usual, Aurora and Celeste, sensing pressure, finally opened their mouths after receiving a questioning glance from Salem.
“So we kept researching… and we discovered that monsters obey Lord Whitney’s mana waves.”
“H-Have you ever experienced something like that before?”
Faced with their sharp question, Whitney hesitated for a moment before confessing.
“…During the academy exam, when the accident happened, the monsters did follow my orders.”
“W-We knew it!”
Aurora suddenly raised her voice and stood up from her seat.
“T-To be honest, it wasn’t just analysis. We actually reverse-engineered the mana waves! It’s not very efficient, but it was the most accurate method…”
“Um, actually, there’s something we’ve been wanting to ask you. Would you mind staying at our lab for just one day? W-We won’t do anything weird. Just want to extract a few samples…”
As Celeste, seated beside her, joined in with a slightly crazed expression, Salem, watching them both, hurriedly cut in to cool the situation.
“This is still a council meeting. Personal requests can wait.”
“Ah, yes.”
“S-Sorry.”
Once the sudden heat in the atmosphere had settled down, Salem cleared his throat and returned to the original topic.
“Do you know what the most powerful and essential ability is for the Demon King?”
“Hmm… Maybe an invulnerable body or nearly infinite mana?”
“Those are important, yes. But not the most crucial ability.”
“Then what is it…?”
“The most important power for the Demon King is the ‘power of dominion.’”
At that moment, a memory flashed across Whitney’s mind.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t Parsha say something about the power of dominion?’
He remembered how, after the chaotic talent selection event, as he returned to the mansion, Parsha had gleefully mentioned that she awakened the power of dominion upon seeing the sigil of subordinates appear on the executives.
“Demons, monsters, black mages, and the like. The power to subdue evil beings of darkness and make them your subordinates—this is the power of dominion.”
“And after extensive research, we’ve concluded that you possess this power.”
Salem cautiously observed Whitney’s increasingly tense expression as he continued.
“You, who should wield the purest force—white magic—are also harboring the most wicked power. The two create a kind of resonance.”
“Your mana being gray, and the eerie aura a white mage should never have, are likely due to this.”
And once again, a heavy silence descended over the meeting room.
***
Finally facing the truth about my ability, I tilted my head in silence for a long time before finally opening my mouth.
“I understand what you’re saying… but I still don’t quite get it.”
“What part don’t you understand?”
No matter how much I thought about it, there was one thing I just couldn’t comprehend.
“Anyway, my original power is supposedly genuine white magic, the first to appear in thousands of years, right?”
“…That’s correct.”
“Then why would the Evil God choose to grant me such a power?”
As soon as I asked that, the Elders—clearly anticipating this moment—started to avoid my gaze.
“I’m not some Demon King or shadowy mastermind—I’m just a son-in-law.”
“……”
“And now I’m even a Hero. I mean, where else would you find someone as nice as me?”
Just as I looked around at them, trying to convey my innocence with an increasingly aggrieved face—
—BZZZZZ…
Suddenly, the communication crystal in my pocket began to buzz.
“…I’m sorry.”
“How rude.”
Even though I spent most of my past life bedridden, I knew well how much a buzzing crystal could ruin a meeting’s mood, and I hurried to shut it off.
“I’ll turn it off now—wait, no. Hold on.”
But I couldn’t help it. I had to take out the communication crystal.
“This is Parsha’s direct emergency line.”
The crystal I had was only to be used if something truly life-or-death happened to Parsha.
“Parsha, is something wrong at the mansion… huh?”
Pale-faced, I urgently asked after her well-being, but then I noticed something odd and tilted my head.
—Crackle…
The crystal I had pulled out was somehow turning black and emitting smoke.
“Oh no.”
“Wait, is that…”
“…Impossible.”
As I stared blankly at the scene, the elders around me began reacting with alarm.
“Ah, can you hear me?”
“……!”
But before I could even question the voice—
—it happened.
“Nice to see you again, remnants of the Light.”
From the blackened crystal came a voice that should never have been heard.
“A greeting from the Shadow Witch—executive of the Shadow Assembly and great teacher of black mages.”
Cliche Novel 