Chapter 71: Kalki (Part 1)

After Regulus made what was practically a declaration of war and disappeared, a demon who claimed to be an envoy killed themselves in the prison, as if on cue.

Looking at the scene of the suicide, splattered with purple blood, I swallowed a silent groan.

We’d been royally screwed. This was suicide, but it wasn’t. I didn’t know if they needed an external justification, but this gave them one that didn’t exist before. A demon sent as an envoy died in the Empire’s underground prison. Using this as a pretext, they could declare war, whether this fact was true or false.

If not, then the suicide was to prevent any information related to the organization from being revealed.

Either way, we’d been royally screwed.

The body had already been collected by the Empire, I heard.

There wasn’t much point in trying to cover it up. Whether the envoy was dead or not, the war was inevitable, so it wasn’t surprising, but to think they’d take their own life. Leo and I, examining the suspicious scene, frowned.

“Tsk. What a mess.”

“Right. A pretext for war is just a rule made by humans, so there was no real reason to die. There might be some other reason. Or maybe this guy was just a disposable pawn.”

“If it was a piece to be used and discarded, it wouldn’t be strange, but… If it was a disposable pawn from the start, they wouldn’t have known much information, so there would be no reason to kill them.”

“…Things are flowing unilaterally. It feels like we’re being played on someone’s chessboard.”

At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if war broke out immediately.

No, no. The war had already begun.

Leaving Leo, who remained in the prison to further examine the scene, I emerged from the underground prison and observed the Imperial Knights bustling about.

They were busy procuring soldiers and supplies in preparation for war.

Decades had passed since the war with the demons ended, but the pain felt at that time still remained in the Empire. Especially those who had experienced and survived the war knew the horrors of war with the demons better than anyone. Most of the soldiers wore tense expressions, but among them, I saw those giving orders with stiff faces.

Among them, the knights I had known since I was Damian gave me a small salute, so I also saluted discreetly.

Even within the Imperial Knights, they were the most veteran of veterans. The Emperor had already informed high-ranking nobles, knights, and mages of my identity, along with the authority of a knight commander. There were some who expressed dissatisfaction and doubt about my identity, but after Leticia said something, no one doubted my identity anymore. Leo, who explained the situation at that time, saying that they had asked repeatedly if there were any objections with a pale face, had told me with a very disgusted expression.

Leo’s case was also there, so the persuasion wasn’t too difficult.

This was a good thing, but it wasn’t something to be happy about. If I had been possessed as Damian instead of Charlotte, this wouldn’t have happened. No, if I hadn’t been possessed at all, this wouldn’t have happened. I scratched the back of my head with an awkward expression.

Well, if I wanted to travel with Leo’s party instead of being an academy professor, it was inevitable.

It was also because if I traveled with Leo, a former hero, without revealing my identity as an academy professor, I didn’t know what kind of rumors would spread within the Empire. I was going to tell the Emperor the truth anyway. Leticia had roughly explained the situation to the academy’s headmaster on my behalf, so it wouldn’t be a problem to leave my position as an academy professor for a while.

Of course, if Leticia and I both temporarily stepped down from our positions as professors, the academy would take quite a hit, but overcoming the current crisis was more important.

I sighed and recalled the words Regulus had uttered just before disappearing.

-It’s a shame. The boss would have liked you as you are now.

As I am now.

Chewing on those words, I chuckled inwardly.

Regulus seemed to have noticed my identity. Perhaps he knew even more than I did. It would be strange if he hadn’t noticed, since I used the holy sword of the goddess that humans believed in so blatantly.

‘If you had used me from the beginning, you could have fought them easily even with that weak body. Tsk, you’re still stubborn.’

“…Stop talking to my head all of a sudden. It makes my head ring. And do you think it’s easy for this body to fully accept the power of the holy sword, as you say?”

‘That’s the problem of the master who abandoned the body that reached the realm of transcendence and took over the body of a half-demon who knows where it was picked up. Well…the current body is far from ordinary, but it’s still far behind the original body.’

Deva’s sullen voice resonated in my head.

I knew that better than anyone.

Who would have thought I’d be possessed by a game character again? Unfortunately, no one knows what will happen in a person’s life. Grumbling inwardly, I frowned.

Originally, Deva was supposed to return to Damian Radius. Although the soul was the same, Deva was an item completely attributed to my main character, Damian Radius. However, I don’t know if I heard Deva’s whining, saying that they were a soulmate and how could I put them, who had half of my soul, back in such an empty place, but the system, which was usually quiet, strangely helped Deva.

I never thought Deva would be attributed to Charlotte Cyclamen’s body.

They said the soul was the same, so the body didn’t matter. Soul contract or something… Even though I had experienced life as Damian and lived a life that mixed the game and reality, I was still not used to this.

Still, Deva would definitely be needed in the upcoming battles, and as I said before, I needed to become stronger than when I was Damian so that I wouldn’t rely solely on Deva.

‘Master.’

“Huh?”

‘Someone’s coming.’

At Deva’s words, I narrowed my eyes.

It wouldn’t be an enemy. Deva didn’t say it in a warning tone, and I didn’t feel any killing intent. Besides, if someone had broken through the security of the Imperial Palace, which was like the center of the Imperial capital, Deva wouldn’t have spoken in such a calm tone.

“Charlotte.”

“……Kalki?”

“It’s been a while. I have a lot to say, but this place is conspicuous… Would you give me some time to talk alone?”

“Yes, well…”

There was no reason not to make time, so I nodded with a puzzled expression.

She looked at me as if thanking me, and then naturally led me. To a place that was particularly quiet and deserted, even within the Imperial Palace. If I was right, it would probably be her private space.

It was certainly too conspicuous to talk in the hallway, but was it really a story that required going to a private space?

Kalki.

Or the Empire’s Greatest Sword.

She was a knight I had known since I was Damian, and the knight commander who served the Emperor closest to him.

A half-elf who had risen to the position of knight commander at a young age, even before the war with the demons was fierce. It was said to be very young by human standards, but comparing the age of elves to humans… Even if they were half-bloods, their lifespans were very long, and their sense of time was different from that of humans, so comparing them was wrong from the start.

By the way, she used to have short hair, but did she change her style while I was away?

I glanced at her long, blonde, straight hair that swayed with each step she took, then looked away.

Then, an uncomfortable silence followed.

It had been a while, but there wasn’t much to say, and it was because I had only seen her once in an official setting after becoming this form, and had never seen her in a private setting.

I didn’t know what to say, either.

What did we talk about when I was Damian? There was almost no time to talk privately on the battlefield, so I couldn’t remember any conversations.

……It’s a little, a lot awkward.

Should I say something first? Just as I was thinking that, Kalki stopped walking for a moment, glanced back, and opened her mouth.

“I was surprised. I was so surprised when I heard from Hero Leo that you had disappeared. I didn’t expect you to appear in such a form.”

“…Ah, that’s.”

“It’s okay. I’ve already confirmed with Leo and Leticia several times that you are the Damian Radius I know. Above all, if you were just an imposer, those two would never have let you go, so you must be ‘real’.”

I agreed with her answer and nodded.

Especially if it was Leticia, it wouldn’t be strange if she split me in half. Suddenly thinking that, I unconsciously raised my hand and summoned Deva.

And.

Clang, Clash!

“Hmm.”

“……What are you doing?”

Creak, Creeeakㅡ.

Sparks fly as the blades clash.

Looking at Kalki’s expressionless face as she struck down with her sword, I frowned and knocked her sword away with Deva.

Clang!

‘What is that crazy woman doing…!’

Deva’s angry voice rang in my head.

Regardless, a slight change appeared on Kalki’s expressionless face.

“‘Real’, indeed.”

Seeing Kalki say that with a raised corner of her mouth, I could only make a genuinely dumbfounded expression.

Why were there no normal women around me?