I checked my current total points. My infamy points had reached a whopping 2,050! I’m rich!
Now then, where should I spend these points?
Going purely by the amount of points I’d accumulated so far, I had more than enough to level Theo up to eighteen. But I still hadn’t satisfied the number of quests that needed to be cleared.
The system window neatly laid out my current status.
500p + 1 quest cleared
: Destruction of a Divine Statue (Cleared)
→ Level up to Age 15 (Complete)
1000p + 2 quests cleared
: Temple Arson (Cleared)
: Soul Offering (In Progress)
→ Age 18 level-up conditions not met
1500p + 3 quests cleared
: Destruction of the Holy Knight Order’s Armory (In Progress)
: ??
: ??
→ Age 20 level-up conditions not met
→ Must reach Age 18 to unlock the Age 20 stage
So for now, I planned to spend all of these points on myself. As the quest difficulty rose, I needed to grow stronger as well. After much deliberation, I boosted my stats and skills a little across the board, then used the remaining 600 points to purchase one new skill.
As a result, my status window changed to look like this.
Shane (Demon Half-Blood, Age 125)
— Stats (□/10)
Strength 5 → 6
Magic Power 4 → 5
Resistance 7
Agility 8
Accuracy 5
— Skills
Innate Skills:
Flame LV. 2 → LV. 3
Stealth LV. 1 → LV. 2
Disguise LV. 1
Acquired Skills:
Lockpicking LV. 1 (new)
Lockpicking. A skill specialized for theft, just as the name suggests. The higher the level, the more complex the locks one can crack — and in less time. With enough proficiency, it becomes possible to undo not only ordinary locks but also magical barriers placed by mages.
Among the Holy Knight Order’s weapon storehouses, numbers four through seven were secured with ordinary locks. “Ordinary” they may be, but they were sturdy and complex enough that no average amount of force could break them. Storehouses one through three, on the other hand, were sealed tight by a mage’s barrier.
The weapon befitting a hero like Theo was in storehouse number one. To open storehouse one, I would need to strengthen my Lockpicking skill further.
Even now, Theo was diligently practicing his swordsmanship with the wooden sword I’d bought him. As expected of the youngest enrollee in the Imperial Academy, his skill was exceptional. Having played through the knight character route myself, I was able to teach him the orthodox swordsmanship of the Imperial Knight Order in a fairly convincing manner. We were still conducting lessons with the wooden sword for now, but soon I would hand him a real blade. And not just any blade — a truly magnificent treasured sword.
Of course, walking around with a treasured sword stolen from the knight order would attract attention in the worst possible way. So I planned to use my Disguise skill. Once Disguise was raised to LV. 2, I could deceive the appearance of inanimate objects to some degree. Passing off a rotten apple as a pristine and enticing one, or making a gleaming masterwork blade look like an old, ordinary sword — that much would be perfectly within reach.
I should probably gather more information about the Holy Knight Order.
Having played the game over five hundred times, I already knew the layout of the storehouses and how they were being monitored. But many things had been changing since I stepped in. The most current information, in the end, always came from people’s own mouths.
I thought of Madam Cecil’s tavern. It was the same when I was playing the game. If you sat in a corner of the tavern, useful rumors would roll right in.
After dinner, I asked Theo:
“I’m thinking of heading to a tavern for a bit — do you want to go to sleep ahead of me?”
Theo answered my question with a question of his own.
“Can’t I come with you?”
Taking a minor to a tavern — it gave me pause, but in this world, it wasn’t particularly taboo. In fact, in this setting, even drinking for minors wasn’t illegal. I made myself a silent promise, though. No alcohol for him, no matter what. Our little hero had to grow up good and proper.
The tavern was packed, just as I’d expected. Raucous laughter, the shouting of drunks, the clattering of glasses — all of it reverberated through the heated air. I set an orange juice in front of Theo and a deliberately low-proof cocktail in front of myself. Since drinking wasn’t the point of going there in the first place, just keeping up appearances was enough.
Just then, the man at the next seat struck up a conversation.
“Hey, why are you sitting there drinking such pathetic stuff? A real man drinks whiskey.”
“I can’t handle strong liquor very well.”
“Ah, don’t be shy. Drink up, drink up.”
The man suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and shoved the whiskey he’d been drinking straight into my mouth. He jammed the bottle in by the neck, and the bottle’s mouth bumped against the back of my throat.
“Ugh, gck—”
A visceral wave of nausea surged up. It was jarring, but I didn’t want to make a scene, so I swallowed what I was given. If I didn’t swallow, I couldn’t breathe. The high-proof liquor burned its way down my esophagus. My throat scorched in the wake of the liquid’s passage. More alcohol had spilled down my chin than had actually gone down my throat.
A small hand shot out of nowhere and shoved the man’s forearm away.
“Lihen said he doesn’t want it!”
The man looked down at Theo with a startled expression.
“Who’s this kid?”
He blinked a few times, then slapped his own cheeks — once, twice — with a sharp smack. It was to shake off the alcohol. Once the heat that had been spreading across his face died down a little, he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look.
“Ah, sorry about that. Guess I’m pretty drunk.”
The man scrambled off to another table. Fortunately, he was just an ordinary middle-aged man with bad habits when drunk. If he’d treated Theo rudely, I would have seriously considered making him my next offering.
Theo took out a handkerchief and carefully dabbed at my chin and neck. Then he let out a sigh and said:
“I want to grow up fast.”
“Why?”
“So that if anyone tries to make Lihen drink, I can drink it all in your place.”
After he said it, he seemed surprised at himself and shook his head back and forth.
“…But if I grow up, Lihen won’t have any reason to keep looking after me anymore, right? I don’t want that.”
Ah. He was worried about being left behind. I rubbed Theo’s back to put him at ease.
“Even when you’re grown up, I’ll always be by your side. Really.”
I meant it. I had to stay by Theo’s side. Leveling him up was only possible if I remained within a certain distance of my companion. That was how the game system was designed. Well, even setting the system aside… I’d already grown quite fond of Theo myself.
Theo’s face lit up.
“Honestly, growing up scared me. I was afraid I’d grow apart from Lihen. But if that’s not the case… then I want to grow up fast.”
Looking at that bright smile, I made a decision. I would make Theo grow into an adult as quickly as possible.
I turned my focus back to the conversations drifting around me. But talk of the Holy Knight Order was hard to come by. Instead, a different kind of rumor caught my ear.
“Did you hear? Apparently there are some strange people going around lately. Worshipping the Demon King or something.”
“They’re doing human sacrifices, saying they’ll summon a demon. Lunatics.”
The hand lifting my glass came to a stop. Humans — worshipping the Demon King? That nonsensical combination brought a buried memory surging to the surface. A memory from when I had played this world as a game in the past.
There had definitely been an event like this. A side quest unrelated to the main route — one that became troublesome if left alone, and one that gave quite a generous amount of points. Eliminating the human sacrifice cult.
Of course, this was a mission that only appeared on the light-side route, so it had no bearing on me as I was now. Still, if I could recall the time and place of the next human sacrifice, I could deal with them regardless of whether it was a quest.
As far as I could remember…
Tomorrow at dawn, the abandoned ruins behind the Levio River.
Right. Then the next soul to be offered would be…
This time, I didn’t even need to think about it.
Your turn.
The dilapidated ruins were thick with an eerie atmosphere. The walls were cracked, the roof half-collapsed, and the floor was crusted with a dried mixture of old blood and candle wax. At the center stood a circle of about ten people.
The sacrifice for the evening, positioned at the middle of that circle.
Novice priest Luna.
She had been returning to the inn she was using as temporary lodging after bestowing blessings on people beneath a tent, when she was abducted. Luna’s mouth was covered with a cloth, and her hands and feet were tightly bound with rope. She could only tremble and dart her eyes around — she couldn’t say a word.
“O demon, answer our call!”
One of the heretics cried out in a fervent voice. The others followed, murmuring strange incantations. A dagger was raised high. The angle was aimed straight at the heart.
It was then. A jet-black fog seeped in from somewhere, spreading like smoke, and wrapped around the wrist holding the dagger in a firm grip. It was a smooth hand clad in black leather gloves. Then a pleasant voice rang out.
“Ah, no need to offer the heart. I don’t particularly like the smell of blood.”
A black shadow took shape, and a figure emerged. Even without his face being covered, his features couldn’t be made out. Yet it was possible to tell that the corners of his mouth were faintly curved upward. It was the 13th Legion Commander of the Demon King’s army — a being whose name and appearance had been shrouded in rumor alone. This unknown existence, veiled behind a veil of mystery, had descended upon this decrepit ruin.
“Now then. I have personally graced you with an answer to your summons — what’s the next step?”
He tilted his head.
The heretics crumbled on the spot. Every one of them sank to their knees, overcome with emotion, weeping. The man who appeared to be their leader held out a sheet of paper with both hands. On it were densely written names, genders, ages, and even residences of a great many individuals.
“This is a list of humans deemed suitable as soul offerings. Please accept these sacrifices as the cornerstone of the Demon King’s resurrection.”
The Legion Commander looked down at the paper in silence, then snapped his fingers. Black flames bloomed and swallowed the paper in an instant.
“Ah, what a disappointment. You claim to serve the Demon King, yet this is the best resolve you can muster?”
He smiled. That light, easy smile made the entire space run cold.
“Shouldn’t you be offering your own souls?”
“Our… our souls?”
The man’s eyes went wide. He finally processed what the demon had said, then stumbled backward two steps.
“Le— Legion Commander. It would be far more advantageous for you as well if we remain alive and continue aiding in the offering of souls. We can do so much more for you—”
“Ah, what a chattering nuisance.”
The Legion Commander furrowed the corners of his eyes in obvious irritation. He seized the man by the scruff of the neck, then flung him aside as casually as one would a deflated ball. His body slammed into a corner. The impact sent a precariously stacked pile of firewood crashing down on top of him.
“Legion Commander, why would you—!”
The heretics stared at him, their expressions unable to comprehend it. The Legion Commander, all trace of amusement gone from his face, muttered in a low voice.
“To think you believed I would want the help of something as insignificant as humans. Just how little do you think of me.”
A mass of black fire churned and swirled in his palm. The flames immediately spread to the pile of firewood pinning the man down. If his companions hadn’t wrung out their last shreds of reason and dragged him free, the black fire would have already consumed him whole. Fear rose in a solid lump from deep within the heretics’ chests. The terror that had surged to their throats clamped shut their airways.
Having come this far, extracting the souls was simple. The Legion Commander swept his hand through the air in a fluid motion. White smoke pulled free from their bodies and rose into the air. A fissure, resembling the mouth of an abyss, yawned open and swallowed every last soul without remainder.
When it was all over, only silence lingered inside the ruins.
Luna had been watching the entire scene, having forgotten even how to breathe. The Legion Commander caught her gaze and snapped his head in her direction, then approached.
So now it’s my turn. Luna shut her eyes tight and offered a desperate prayer to the goddess. Hoping for one thread of divine grace.
The Legion Commander picked up the dagger that had fallen to the floor. Contrary to her expectations, the blade did not turn toward a vital point. He used the dagger to cut the rope binding Luna. After removing the gag from her mouth, he took her hand and helped her to her feet. The hand that brushed the dust from her clothes was, unexpectedly, gentle.
“Why… why on earth…”
Luna asked in a trembling voice. The Legion Commander looked down at her, then pressed his index finger to his lips and smiled faintly.
“A secret.”
With those words, the black shadow dissolved like mist. In the ruins, only a single priest remained — stunned to find that she had survived.
