CHAPTER 15

A Hero’s Miscalculation

I connect the gate to the inside of a hut nearby Bunogeos’s mansion just as Seiya requested. Disguised as Bunogeos, Seiya promptly opens the portal, but instead of going inside, he pulls something slender out of his breast pocket. It falls from his hand, then slithers through the gate.

“Was that an earth serpent?”

“Yeah. It’s an Automatic Naga dedicated to scouting. Our eyes are linked.”

Seiya closes his eyes and doesn’t say a word for a few moments until…

“Okay. There aren’t any beastkin in or around the hut. Let’s go.”

Only after ensuring the coast is clear do we finally make the passage. After the gate disappears, Seiya peeks out the window of the dim hut, then reminds me:

“Rista, do not speak in human tongue without my permission. Got it?”

I smack my lips, making a fishlike sound, and nod. Seiya then does something completely unlike his usual cautious self. He boldly opens the door, then begins leisurely striding down the streets of Galvano. His heavy gait is just like Bunogeos. I bob after him, mimicking a fish-person as best as I can. Before long, two dog-type beastkin notice Seiya and approach us.

“Lord Bunogeos! There you are!”

W-we’re gonna be okay, right?! They can’t see through our disguises, right?!

My heart hammers against my chest, but Seiya doesn’t seem to be even slightly startled.

“Yep. I killed the Hero, but he wounded meee, so I was takin’ care of iiit.”

He drawls just like Bunogeos while rubbing his stomach. Taking a closer look, I notice scars and cuts all over Seiyageos’s body. There’s even blood coming out of his left eye where the spell stone was. Seiya, being as cautious as he is, must have thought it would have been bizarre for Bunogeos to win the fight unscathed. The dog-type beastkin continue talking to him as if nothing is different about him at all.

“So is Lord Grandleon not heeere yet?”

“Seems that way.”

“Okaaay. Well, I guess I’ll get things prepared to welcome hiiim. Hey, if you see Lord Grandleon, then tell him to meet me at my mansiooon.”

“Yes, sir.”

Seiya begins to walk away, leaving the dog-type beastkin behind as they bow. I bob after him, acting like I’m helping.

…Phew. They had no idea. Shape-shifting is amazing!

Even after encountering a few more beastkin, nobody suspects us, and we make it to Bunogeos’s mansion. After searching every inch of the building, Seiya closes his eyes in the middle of the room. He’s probably using his scout earth serpent to remotely search the area. Before long, he approaches me and whispers in my ear:

“Okay, you can speak in a whisper.”

He places his hands on my shoulders and pulls me in. It’s the perfect romantic situation, aside from the fact that he’s an orc and I’m a walking tuna. On second thought, there’s nothing romantic about this at all.

“It looks like we still have some time before Grandleon arrives. I’m going to place some earth serpents around the mansion while we can. That way, we can attack whenever necessary… Rista, I want you to clean up the room a little. Cleaning up the place too much would seem suspicious, so make sure it still looks like there was a battle here.”

I start tidying up as Seiya heads outside. A good bit of time goes by until he returns with a young man and woman in shackles. Seiyageos tethers the frightened slaves in the corner of the room like pets.

H-he even brought human slaves! I can’t believe how thoroughly he’s preparing for this!

“Rista, these slaves— Wait.”

Seiya suddenly freezes before looking at me and nodding.

Huh?! I-is he coming?! Is Grandleon…?!

We’ve already proven that our disguises are flawless, but even then, my racing heart won’t slow down. My intuition as a goddess is ringing the alarm bell. A few seconds go by until…stomp, stomp, stomp! The room shakes. It’s even louder than horses’ hooves clattering against the ground. When I look out the shattered window, I see a carriage being led by two dragons with a colossal goatlike beastkin sitting in the front, steering it. Resting his chin on his palm, a lion ensconces himself in a chair with a backrest as his golden mane flutters in the wind. He wears jet-black armor over his muscular body. While not equipped with a sword, he has knifelike black claws on both hands. In one, he holds what appears to be a burned human arm, which he brings toward his mouth.

A-ack! He’s eating a human arm…! That’s the Beast Emperor Grandleon?!

I can feel his intimidating aura even from this far away. It’s sinister, unlike anything we’ve faced yet in Ixphoria. Watching the Beast Emperor’s entrance by my side…

“Mn…!”

Seiya suddenly strains his voice.

“His stats…! They’re…!”

It sounds like he’s using Scan. At any rate, what kind of stats does this monster have for Seiya to be so surprised? I use Scan and cast a gaze at Grandleon…

BEAST EMPEROR GRANDLEON
LV: 99 (MAX)
HP: 1,200,044	MP: 0
ATK: 856,121	DEF: 819,637	SPD: 807,711	MAG: 58,754	GRW: 999 (MAX)
Resistance: Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, Ice, Earth, Holy, Dark, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Curse, Instant Death, Status Ailments
Special Abilities: Dark God’s Blessing (LV: MAX)
Skills: Jet-Black Nail
Personality: Wicked

“His attack power…is over 850,000?! What the—?!”

I shake Seiyageos’s shoulder with my trembling hand.

“Th-th-this has to be some kind of mistake! He’s using Fake Out, right?! He’s falsifying his stats, right?!”

“Keep your voice down. What we’re looking at are his real stats.”

“B-but…! His attack and defense are higher than Demon Lord Ultimaeus’s!!”

“Relax. Just stick to the original plan and focus on making it through Grandleon’s inspection. Got it?”

Seiya pierces me with his gaze.

“I don’t have time to explain, but no matter what happens, just keep quiet. Got it? No matter what happens. If you don’t do that, we’re dead.”

“O-o-okay. G-got it.”

I tell him I’ve got it, but I’m already panicking on the inside! One of the Demon Lord’s henchmen has stats that surpass his own! Is something as unusual as this even possible?!

The footsteps get closer to the room, but I still can’t calm myself down. Without being able to resolve my feelings, I see the door to the room slowly open. Beast Emperor Grandleon appears. He quickly surveys the room, then says:

“…This place is a mess. The Hero broke into your house, huh?”

His deep voice rumbles around the room as he studies it.

After looking at Seiyageos, he turns his gaze to the beastkin behind him—me. My heart skips a beat, but he swiftly returns his attention to Seiyageos. I guess that means it’s not that unusual for the ruler of this city to have a beastkin follow him around for help.

“Bunogeos, you look injured. You okay?”

“Yeah. I—I was able to defeat the Hero…but he was more of a pain than I expected…”

“You defeated him? Well, I suppose there would be no way a mere human could defeat you.”

But Seiyageos staggers and slams a hand against the wall. He groans in pain.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”

“W-wee-hee-hee. I-I’ll live.”

“He really did a number on you, huh? I hate to do this while you’re injured, but I need to finish inspecting the place. It’ll be over soon, though.”

…I listen to the conversation, impressed with Seiya’s performance.

H-he’s good! Acting like he’s injured will make it even harder for Grandleon to see through his disguise! Even if he behaves differently than Bunogeos would, he can just blame it on the injury!

“Now, as for the reason why I’m here…”

Grandleon decided to come inspect Galvano two days ago when Seiya was assassinating beastkin with Burst Air. In other words, he was probably already planning on helping Bunogeos defeat the Hero. But since the current story is that Bunogeos scraped out a victory over the Hero, what was it Grandleon still needed to inspect?

The next thing the Beast Emperor says sends a chill down my spine.

“I’m gonna be straightforward with you, Bunogeos. I need to make sure you’re really Bunogeos.”

Wh-wh-what did he just say?!

“The tawny-haired demon told me that the Hero might defeat you and turn into you.”

I-it’s that “tawny-haired demon” again! Th-this is bad! This is real bad! They knew exactly what we were going to do!

“So I hate to do this to you, but I’m gonna need to check a few things to make sure you’re the real Bunogeos. I’ll be out of your hair after that.”

Grandleon slowly approaches Seiya with a menacing look until he’s close enough that Seiya could feel him breathing. Then…there’s silence. The few dozen seconds that go by feel like an eternity to me.

“Your scent, aura, and stats…are all Bunogeos’s.”

“O-of course they arrre.”

As Seiyageos puts on a fake smile, Grandleon questions him further.

“Where’s the Hero’s body?”

“I accidentally pulverized him into a pulp. I wanted to capture him alive, but…”

“He was a strong opponent, so it’s understandable…but are you telling me the truth? This is you we’re talking about. Are you sure you didn’t just eat him?”

“I—I would never… Wee-hee-hee-hee…”

“Tch. Next question. Do you remember when we last communicated through the crystal ball? Let’s hear your answer.”

“H-huh? My answerrr?”

“I told you to look into it. I want to know exactly how many. I don’t need to explain myself any further, do I?”

As Seiya keeps silent, Grandleon stands over him with a piercing glare. But even then…I remain calm! Grandleon is asking for a number—the number of beastkin killed by the Hero! We already figured that much out while we were eavesdropping under the mansion! Yep. All those days living as a mole were for this moment! I can’t believe Seiya was planning on becoming Bunogeos long before he defeated him! What a genius!

“Hey, what’s wrong? I told you to check, didn’t I?”

“Y-yes… You want to know…how many beastkin were…killed by the Hero, right?”

“I do. Now answer me, Bunogeos.”

I immediately start panicking, noticing Grandleon losing his patience.

Wh-what’s wrong, Seiya?! Don’t tell me you forgot! We killed exactly three hundred! Three hundred! That’s all you have to say to dispel his suspicions!

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Answer me!”

“Th-that’s, um…”

Sweat profusely pours down Bunogeos’s cheeks while Grandleon’s fiendish aura grows.

“Answer me, you filthy pig! If you don’t…I’ll kill you!”

Wh-wh-what?! Why isn’t he answering?! My breathing grows unsteady as I lose my presence of mind. But eventually, Grandleon slightly relaxes his fierce expression.

“I knew you wouldn’t know your numbers…”

Huh?! Wh-what’s going on?!

“That’s so like you, Bunogeos.”

“F-forgive me…”

O-oh! He didn’t tell him even though he knew the answer because he figured Bunogeos wouldn’t know! Wh-what a genius! He’s too good!

“Well…it looks like you’re the real deal…”

“O-of course I am…”

“Yeah… But that filthy tawny-haired demon told me he got some noise a few days ago when he was watching the Hero through the crystal ball.”

A few days ago? That was probably when Seiya’s personality went back from “reckless” to “cautious”! Does that mean Seiya predicted the enemy was watching him and used Fake Out to create static to blur the crystal ball? B-but even then…!

“That noise still hasn’t cleared up, though. And according to the tawny-haired demon, that means the Hero could still be alive. He told me to be inquisitive because the Hero might be really convincing.”

Grandleon slams his fist against the table in an annoyed manner, and his unbelievable power instantly turns it into dust.

“That filthy demon…! I’m sick of this! There’s an easier way to tell humans and monsters apart!”

Grandleon points at the trembling girl in the corner of the room.

“Bunogeos, this is your final test. Kill that woman!”

The woman instantly screams. Even Seiyageos squeals a bit.

“A-are you sure? Killing humans is prohibited in this t—”

“Kill her. I’ll let it slide this one time.”

Sweat begins pouring out of my body.

Wh-what?! I don’t care how dire the situation is! We can’t kill a human! The slaves Seiya brought for added authenticity ended up working against him!

“Killing her should be no problem for you… That is…unless you’re really the Hero.”

Grandleon places a hand on Seiyageos’s shoulder.

“O-okay…”

Seiyageos grabs the ax on his back.

It’s actually a platinum sword that’s been transformed! It looks like he has no other choice! He’s going to act like he’s going to kill that woman, then unleash a surprise attack on Grandleon! After that, we just need to get out of here somehow…

But my prediction isn’t even close! Seiyageos approaches the slaves, then mercilessly swings his ax at the woman before she can even say anything! The powerful blow creates an explosion that shatters the floor, turning it, along with the woman, into powder and creating a massive crater in the ground!

I freeze at the horrific sight as if paralyzed.

This can’t be happening! Seiya…killed her?!

Seiyageos then calmly states:

“Wish I could’ve eaten her insteaaad… Oops! D-did I say something? Wee-hee-hee! Just kidding!”

“Now, that’s the Bunogeos I know.”

They chat in amusement, but I can’t stop trembling. S-Seiya would never kill an innocent person! He just made it look like he did! That’s gotta be it! But…! But…!

The moment his ax struck that woman is burned into my mind. I saw her limbs get chopped off moments before her body was swallowed by the crater…

As if I’ve lost control of my body, I involuntarily approach Seiya from behind.

“S-Seiy—”

Before I can even finish saying his name, Seiyageos turns around and grabs me by the arm. He then opens his eyes wide, silently signaling to me: Shut up! Don’t say a word!

Grandleon casts me a dubious gaze.

“Hey, what’s with the fish?”

“O-oh… It helps me take care of little things.”

“Did I just hear it talk?”

Grandleon begins moving toward me but suddenly stops and shakes his head with a frown.

“Ack. It smells like old fish.”

I decide to scratch my head and make fishlike noises.

“U-uwoh, uwoh.”

“Tch. I can never figure out what these fish-people are thinking.”

Grandleon faces Bunogeos once more.

“Sorry for all that, while you’re still injured. The inspection is over. I’m returning to Termine.”

After exchanging a few more words with Seiyageos, Grandleon turns on his heel to leave. I see Seiya bow, so I follow suit and bow as well.

It isn’t long before I hear the door close. When I lift my head again, Grandleon is nowhere to be found. I try to talk to Seiya, but he silently shakes his head and closes his eyes. Understanding that he’s busy, I wait in silence until he’s done. Soon enough, he gives me a nod. I guess he used his Automatic Naga to make sure Grandleon was gone.

“S-Seiya! D-did you j-just k-k-kill that—?”

I finally begin articulating what’s on my mind when Seiya suddenly grabs me by the collar.

“Eek!”

Simultaneously, there’s a sudden radiant light that changes us back to normal. The Hero…is staring at me with the eyes of a hawk.

“I told you to keep quiet no matter what happened.”

“B-but…!”

“The only reason you didn’t blow your cover was because you got lucky. If he’d fixed his attention on you, it would have been over.”

Seiya violently shoves me away, and I fall to the floor.

“B-but…! S-Seiya, you…!”

Seiya approaches the male slave in the corner of the room and raises a hand over his head.

“Huh…?!”

The light fades to reveal that the man was nothing more than a doll made of clay.

“I combined earth magic with shape-shifting. I thought Grandleon might make me kill a human to prove myself, so I prepared those two clay dolls and placed them in the room.”

“I—I had no idea you could do that!”

“Not only can they do simple movements, but they can also speak a little as well. Furthermore, I used Fake Out to make it look like they had the stats of average people, just in case someone used Scan on them. Of course, I used Fake Out on both of us as well.”

“You thought that far ahead…?!”

“Yes. But it doesn’t matter how much I prepare if you can’t keep your mouth shut.”

“S-sorry…”

After clicking his tongue, Seiya mumbles as if speaking to himself.

“Encountering enemies with stats that rival the Demon Lord’s was to be expected, but I honestly never anticipated running into one this early on, let alone an enemy with stats that surpass the Demon Lord’s. I need to make some major adjustments to the plan…”

It’s not often that Seiya is surprised. His tone is slightly gruff as well. Nevertheless, his frustration is understandable. Not only did an enemy with unbelievable stats appear, but I almost got us killed to boot. If Grandleon had seen through my disguise, we’d be dead right now…

The mood in the room is heavy, to say the least, and all I want to do is run away.