Chapter 8: Contact

Chapter 8: Contact

JOHANN rested the charged hand mirror on top of the low table and flopped back on the ottoman with a sigh.

Phew. We somehow managed to pull it off…

He had thought they would need at least a whole day to fully charge the mirror, but between Leo’s preposterous magic recovery rate and Johann’s own blessed magic reserves inherited from his father, they had stored up enough magic for the Transference spell in less than half a day.

The two of them had pulled off what would normally require five or more Mages and Priests working together. Johann’s sense of accomplishment tasted extra sweet.

“…Have I finally done something somewhat useful for Elias?” he absently muttered to the peeling inn ceiling, his bones aching with the weight of his exhaustion.

Guilt over being the Sanctuary’s spy haunted his every waking moment. He could never make it up to his friends, but he wanted to be useful to them whenever he could. It didn’t matter if he was just doing it for the self-satisfaction. Even if it was minuscule in the face of things, he wanted to repay them for accepting him as a friend and fellow party member.

Lying on his back, Johann recalled his conversation with Leo before he left.

After they had finished infusing the mirror with magic, Leo, who had more stamina and energy than someone who hadn’t used any magic at all, left saying he was going to fetch Elias and Aki from the Adventurers’ Guild. Elias had said he was going to check out the Guild with Aki before they had parted ways, so it was the best place to start. Johann could only hope they successfully met up.

Meanwhile, Johann, who had utterly gone past his stamina and magic reserves, stayed to rest until Leo came back with the others. Nako remained behind to look after him, and she had been busily fluttering around the room packing their things up and making him a light meal to eat.

Nako would make a fine wife. Johann wanted to smack his head for casually thinking such nonsense. No, no, no. What am I even thinking!

He didn’t mean to look at her in that way. Exhaustion must’ve been getting the better of him. Yes, it was the exhaustion taking hold.

Either way, my head feels like it’s being pounded on by ogres… He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead and cringed with the effort.

When he opened his eyes, Nako was peering down at his face from directly overhead. “Johann, are you feeling all right?”

“Wh-Whoa! Nako!” Johann instinctively scooted away from her big, brown eyes. Or rather, he had wanted to scoot away, but it didn’t work so well lying on his back.

Nako hovered over him, adorably tilting her head, not noticing his sweaty panic. “Are you sure you are okay? Your face is red, Johann. Do you have a fever?”

“I-I do not. You’re imagining it!”

She wasn’t imagining his flushed cheeks, but he couldn’t let her figure that out. He waved his hands in front of his face, hiding it.

Nako cutely furrowed her brow, doubting his word. “Are you positive? Please don’t push yourself. You tend to put on a strong front.”

“I do not—”

“You do too! You act strong, hate to lose, and endure everything alone!”

Ugh…

“You’ve got me there,” he mumbled with a small laugh.

It hadn’t been long since Johann had met Nako, but she already had a good grasp on his idiosyncrasies. Relaxation came easy in her presence. He didn’t have to pretend around her or keep up his guard.

Seriously confronting his feelings, he had to admit he was drawn to her as a potential romantic partner. Not that he was going to make a move on her. After all, she had the Dark Lord.

Nako’s actions more than proved she cared deeply for the Dark Lord, and her lack of fear proved he treated her well. It didn’t take a genius to piece together that they were in love with each other.

Besides… Johann turned his head aside so she couldn’t see his lonely smile. As the Pope’s son, I’m not free to choose my future spouse. I’ll be unconditionally forced to accept whoever Father picks for me.

I don’t have the freedom to choose ANYTHING for myself…

Johann had grown up living to whatever beat his father played. His father’s word was rule. No alternative paths had been made available to him.

Worried about his sudden silence, Nako drew back and hurried into the kitchen. He followed her with his eyes until she returned with a glass of ice water.

“Johann, how about you drink some water? Getting some liquids in you might help you feel better.”

Grateful for her keen hospitality, Johann pushed himself into a sitting position. One sip of the water sent the cool liquid circulating through his system, easing some of his fatigue. He exhaled as a little tension seeped from him.

Now that he took a good look at his hand, he saw the cup shaking in his weak grip. My body is having a more adverse reaction than I had expected.

Johann placed the glass on the table before he accidentally dropped it and furtively observed Nako sitting directly across from him in the process. She was perched on the edge of the ottoman, staring into space while she swung her legs. She gave the impression of someone who was more innocent and younger than her age, and at the same time, she had a bewitching charm that screamed danger.

The Dark Lord’s Right-hand, huh? Does she give off a mysterious aura because she was chosen for that role? Or was she chosen for that role because of it?

Johann looked away from her face and dropped his gaze to her hands folded on her lap. Sanctuary had dispatched advisory warnings to keep special vigilance on Nako as a potential threat. As one who supported the Dark Lord, she was a threat to the Sanctuary which fully backed the Hero.

With his role as spy, Johann should hop to his feet, arrest her right here and now, and promptly hand her over to the Sanctuary—I could never do that…

She came to them to propose a truce between the Dark Lord and Hero, and she was also the kindhearted woman who had stood up for him when circumstances bound his hands. Nor could he forget that she was Aki’s precious little sister. He had absolutely no desire whatsoever to follow the Sanctuary’s will to the dot if it meant betraying himself and his friends.

Yet that feeling ran contrary to the fact he continued to serve under the Sanctuary. He couldn’t sever that connection as long as he was the Pope’s son. Whatever he did, he would someday become the next ruler of the Holy Kingdom. That responsibility tied him down just as much as anything else. He couldn’t shake free of what he was raised to do.

I’m a walking contradiction, aren’t I? Remaining indecisive will only lead to me betraying both Elias and the Sanctuary someday.

Johann knew he couldn’t stay on his current path. But he couldn’t take the necessary step forward until he found the resolve in himself to choose which side he wanted to make an enemy of, because inevitably, choosing sides would do just that.

I’m pathetic… He huffed at himself.

Hearing his sigh, Nako turned a worried eye on him. “Is something wrong, Johann?”

He returned her gaze and shook his head, wordlessly signaling it was nothing. No way could he consult her about how to handle the situation involving her.

Wanting to change the topic, he went with, “By the way, I wanted to talk to you about Leo,” instead. “Didn’t you say he looks a lot like the Dark Lord?”

Johann had to be extra vigilant about all things concerning Leo and the Dark Lord. After all, if Leo turned out to be connected to the Dark Lord and joined the Hero Party anyway, he needed to be treated as a risk to the Hero smoothly completing his journey to save the world. Should such a truth come to light, Johann had the explicit duty to report back to the Sanctuary.

However, warning the Sanctuary about Leo would put him on their elimination list. Essentially, he would be placing a hit on his own friend. Johann cared for and admired the always kind, cheerful, and intelligent Leo as a friend.

He didn’t want to be the catalyst that caused him to be hunted down like a dog by the Sanctuary. Thus, he wanted to gather all the pieces and figure it out before the Sanctuary caught on.

Nako spoke slowly, sounding like she wasn’t too sure herself. “I did say that… They don’t look perfectly alike. They just have the same vibe. Their sharp facial features are similar, I guess…?”

“Is that so? But the Dark Lord doesn’t have any relatives. Or rather, it is impossible for him to be related to anyone by blood.”

“True… I understand what you are talking about. The Dark Lord was artificially created by the Goddess, after all.”

Johann’s eyes widened ever so slightly. As he suspected, the Dark Lord had informed Nako about the roles to be played by him and the Hero.

They were born as legendary symbols of this world, but their duty went deeper than merely putting their lives on the line to wage a war for the history books. The Goddess created them to replenish the world’s Creation Energy, and it was through their sacrificial deaths that the world would live. Such was the rule of their existence.

Sacrificial lambs had no relatives. Or they shouldn’t. However, without any solid information, it was hard to draw a conclusion on speculation alone.

Johann placed his hands on his lap and tried to end the conversation. “Sorry for suddenly bringing that up. Let’s save this talk for another time. Please let me know if you learn anything—” The words lodged in his throat when he looked up. Nako was hunched over in her chair holding her head between her hands. “Nako? Are you all right?!” He jumped off the ottoman.

Moaning in agony, Nako slid off the chair onto the floor. She miserably pressed her hands against her forehead. Was she in that much pain?

Johann tried to run over to her, but stopped when she jerked her head up and yelled at him, “Please run! Johann!”

“What are—” One look at her face sent shockwaves through him.

Looming on her forehead was a crest oozing a reddish-black light. The peculiar crest was of a crescent moon embracing the full moon. Johann was dreadfully familiar with it.

That’s the crest that governs the moon spoken about in the Book of Creation!

Per his father’s orders, Johann spent most of his childhood reading and rereading the Book of Creation inside the Sanctuary’s heavily protected library. The ancient text controlled solely by the Sanctuary chronicled the life and work of the Creator during the Creation Era.

Nako’s forehead presently bared the mark of the Creation Goddess depicted in the Book of Creation. The records clearly stated that exact mark was carved into the Goddess’s forehead.

Why in the world was that legendary mark on Nako?

“Johann! Hurry!” Nako cried out, barely holding onto her senses. Her cry brought Johann back from his confused thoughts.

Nako had been imploring with him to run—danger was imminent for both of them.

Johann dashed to the back wall, snatched up his staff, and held it defensively in front of him.

Right hand latched to her forehead, Nako unsteadily rose to her feet. She stared back at him with tears in her tormented eyes, her face contorting.

“…Johann, Kerdy, I’m sorr—” After her unfinished word of apology, Nako writhed in pain, her arms limply dropping to her sides. Her head drooped like a puppet with its strings cut.

Losing sight of her expression, Johann swallowed the bitter saliva in his mouth, and closely watched her for any signs of movement.

What is about to happen?! What is going to appear before me?

In the middle of that tense atmosphere, Nako’s arms trembled. A second later, her head slowly pulled up in a ghostly manner as if she were being controlled by some invisible strings attached to the ceiling.

Johann blanched at her bluish-white complexion better suited to the dead than the living. All light vanished from her eyes—it was like looking into the pitch-dark depths of a Noh mask. Like looking into the eyes of a doll.

Nako examined her body from head to toe with clerical disinterest, then turned her neck from side to side, popping it. “…I’m finally able to take control now that she’s out of reach of that repulsive Dark Lord’s magic. This body isn’t half bad, either,” she drawled as if she were bored with the world, and flipped her long hair over her shoulder.

Her icy tone sounded like a completely different person from Nako.

Locking his sights on the transformed Nako beyond his staff, Johann ignored the sweat trailing his brow, and bent his knees for the battle he feared may soon ensue. Sweat drenching his tightly fastened hands weakened his grip on the staff and caused it to slip a little from his grasp.

The Goddess’s crest engraved in her forehead was still emitting a dark red light he wanted to wither away from.

I can’t move!

Every warning bell in his body screamed at him to run. But his fear was so great he was literally scared stiff.

Nako’s dead eyes landed on where he was sewn to the ground. Her bewitching lips turned up at the corners in her first sign of amusement. “Oh, you feel familiar. You must be a direct descendant of the Sanctuary’s founder.”

“How do you—”

In just a few words, she had singled him out as the Pope’s son. He tried asking how she knew, but she merely snorted at him.

Johann chewed his bottom lip and growled, “Who are you?”