"Huh!? Akuto-kun? Erica, why are you suddenly bringing up his name?"
The instant she heard Akuto's name, Liliana immediately started stammering.
"It's nothing. I just happened to see him recently."
Seeing how adorable Liliana's reaction was, Erica smiled and casually crossed her shapely thigh wrapped in black leggings.
She suddenly remembered something.
Not long ago, she had learned from the lodging arranged on the other side that Liliana wrote novels.
After that, she obtained Liliana's manuscript from Liliana's maid, Karen, and "critically appreciated" it.
And now that she thought about it, wasn't Akuto's setup a perfect match for the male lead in Liliana's novel?
A man from the East suddenly descending before the heroine, saving her from disaster, and—aside from the heroine—having a childhood friend from Fusō.
Weren't those settings pulled straight from Liliana's own life!?
[It's all your fault, Lili.]
[If your plot weren't so cliché and so textbook, I would've guessed the prototype for your male lead a long time ago.]
…
"Huh? You saw him… he-he… he came to Italy?"
Liliana's small face flushed instantly. She hurriedly grabbed a small mirror and began fixing her appearance.
Truthfully, although Liliana had always held a very high level of affection toward Akuto, she had not had much direct contact with him.
Most of the time, she learned about him through Yuri and Ptolon's retellings.
Because of Akuto's existence, the relationship between Liliana and Yuri also changed in subtle ways.
In the original events, after Marquis Voban's god-summoning ritual, Yuri never saw Liliana again.
It was only after Liliana saved her once that Yuri finally remembered Liliana was the silver-haired girl who had suffered through the ordeal with her.
But now, because Liliana wanted to indirectly glean information about Akuto from Yuri, after the ritual ended, she proactively sought out Yuri—another survivor—and the two formed a fairly decent friendship.
Unfortunately, Liliana was simply far too pure and shy, so she never once took the initiative to go see Akuto. She could only rely on the careful descriptions from the girls around him.
…
As Liliana's close friend, Erica keenly caught the shift in Liliana's emotions. With her legs still crossed, she wore a thoroughly delighted smile.
"Yes, he really is in Italy. I saw him today. What, Lili—do you want to see him too?"
Considering that Akuto's current state seemed "off" and likely dangerous, Erica was not about to tell Liliana everything and let her dash into a risky situation.
"I-I…"
Of course Liliana wanted to go. But as a knight burdened with heavy responsibilities—and without a flight-type spell—she truly could not spare the time.
[Wait.]
Liliana suddenly realized something.
[Why did Erica bring up Akuto-kun on her own? Why did Erica ask whether I want to see Akuto-kun?]
Whether Erica had noticed anything or not, Liliana absolutely could not let Erica know about the matters between her and Akuto.
If Erica found out, she would definitely tease her to death in every possible way.
So, after整理ing her thoughts, Liliana replied again.
"Erica, why did you call me? Why are you asking about things related to Akuto-kun?"
"I'm busy right now and don't have much time. So if you have questions, ask quickly. If you don't, I'm hanging up."
…
Seeing Liliana raise her guard, Erica's full, tempting lips curved slightly, and she smiled even more brightly.
Because refusing to share information was, in itself, an important piece of information.
With a small smile and a slow lick of her lips, and because Akuto's current condition seemed abnormal, Erica decided to let Liliana off—for now.
"Actually, it's like this. Lili, a few years ago, when Marquis Voban…"
"What I want to ask is—those shrine maidens besides you… they…"
…
A few minutes later, Erica obtained her answer from Liliana.
[Just as I suspected. Those shrine maidens' injuries weren't that severe. They could've been saved. But for some reason, even though Holy Prince Akuto treated them, they still died from weakness.]
[So it really was because of… 'fate'?]
[Then how did Holy Prince Akuto become like he is now? How did he become 'possessed by a god'?]
[Wait.]
Liliana suddenly thought of a possibility.
[What if Holy Prince Akuto wasn't possessed by an unsubmissive god at all, but instead shattered fate and became a being like a "Spirit King" or a divine beast?]
It wasn't only Saint Raphael—Erica herself had also noticed long ago that Akuto carried none of the "unsubmissive" aura.
Compared to an unsubmissive god, Akuto's magical energy was far too thin!
[But even a Spirit King or divine beast shouldn't be able to stand against a god. There has to be something even more abnormal about him.]
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!
At that moment, Erica's preset alarm suddenly rang.
"Time's up… should I go ask Saint Raphael?"
The "time" Erica meant was the time Saint Raphael had gone to Akuto's room.
Back when she heard Akuto tell Saint Raphael to come to his room at eleven tonight, Erica had set an alarm for 11:30.
The purpose was to go check on Saint Raphael's situation.
After thinking it over, Erica decided to go find Saint Raphael.
Obviously, aside from Liliana, Saint Raphael was also someone who knew at least part of the truth about Akuto.
And besides that… Erica and Saint Raphael had once been close companions as well.
…
More precisely, Erica went to find Saint Raphael mainly because she wanted to see what Saint Raphael's situation actually was right now.
Gossip was a woman's nature.
A few minutes later, Erica openly went to the hotel front desk and asked for a spare key.
Then she openly arrived at Saint Raphael's door.
Haa…
After taking a deep breath, Erica steeled herself, quietly unlocked the door, slipped inside, and shut it behind her.
"Hm? There's water on the bathroom floor?"
"So Saint Raphael-sama just took a bath."
"She bathed… but she isn't in her room."
Erica pressed her red lips together. From the scene, the answer was already obvious.
Saint Raphael-sama had made up her mind—then went to Holy Son-sama's room.
[But no matter what pantheon it is… do Holy Sons really exist who are fond of women?]
[Or did I misunderstand? Was Holy Son-sama only asking Saint Raphael-sama for help, and Saint Raphael-sama bathing was just her overthinking it?]
"Hm? Something on the desk is glowing… a strange crest?"
Approaching the desk, Erica saw an envelope with what looked like Saint Raphael's personal crest stamped on it.
Wng—
Sensing someone nearby, the crest on the paper flared with a strong violet light.
"This is… a trigger-type voice-transmission spell?"
The moment Erica realized it, Saint Raphael's voice echoed inside her mind.
[Erica-san, if I'm not mistaken, you are the one who triggered this spell.]
[Since you've triggered it and can hear my voice, it means I'm no longer in my room.]
…
Erica had not expected Saint Raphael to have predicted she would come snooping. For a moment, she felt guilty.
While Erica remained silent, Saint Raphael's voice continued.
[I can see that you have doubts about me and Akuto-kun, which is why you came to investigate my room.]
[Although I don't want you involved too deeply, since you've reached the point where you'd even sneak into my room to gather information, I'll share some of what I know—temporarily.]
[But if you know too much, you may get dragged in and never be able to cleanly withdraw.]
[If you are willing to bear that risk, then touch the crest on the envelope one more time.]
"So… you're giving me a choice?"
Erica thought for half a minute, then placed her hand on the crest.
Wng—
The envelope flared with violet light once more.
Violet had always been Saint Raphael's signature color. Erica's stole was red, Liliana's was blue, and Saint Raphael's had been violet since long ago.
Soon, Saint Raphael's voice sounded again in Erica's mind.
[Regarding Akuto-kun's identity, I still cannot fully confirm it.]
[At present, I can only be certain of two things.]
[First, he truly is the Holy Son of Christianity. When I used "David's Words," I felt a link to him, and the Words' power became extraordinarily abnormal.]
[Second, Akuto-kun has not been possessed by a god. He has always been himself. That is why he has no unsubmissive aura, and his behavior is not as deranged as an unsubmissive god's.]
[As of now, I should already have the answer in my heart. I have likely understood Akuto-kun's true state.]
[As for you, Erica…]
One minute later, Erica lowered her hand from the envelope.
Everything connected.
Everything made sense.
"So that's how it is…"
Combining this with what she had learned from Liliana, Erica formed a temporary conclusion.
"So Akuto-kun realized he couldn't forcibly 'change fate,' and during his travels he achieved an epiphany and sublimation… becoming the 'Holy Son' who has now descended to the mortal world?"
Just as she reached that conclusion, a familiar—yet utterly unbelievable—sound drifted to Erica's ears.
A muffled, breathy noise, broken and trembling, as if someone was struggling to suppress it.
Erica's face instantly stiffened.
"That was… Saint Raphael's voice?!"
By the quality of the voice, it really did sound like Saint Raphael.
But by the tone—and by what that sound implied—Erica could hardly believe it belonged to the Saint Raphael she knew.
What… was Saint Raphael doing right now?
(End of Chapter)
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