Karan rose from her wheelchair. She planted both feet firmly on the floor without Daffodil’s support and grabbed the holy sword. Karan wanted to try out the sword right away, but it had to wait. First came Nick’s visit after getting out of prison. It had been a long time since the incident on the stage, and she was so excited to see him that she temporarily forgot about her condition. She planned on cheering him up. Instead, he ended up scolding her with biting words. She spoke to him kindly, wanting to comfort and encourage him after what had surely been an exhausting stay in prison. In her elation from receiving a holy sword, she had forgotten that her condition had burdened the party and would serve as motivation for them to fight dangerous battles on her behalf. Nick had told her to consider retirement. He got mad at her for not letting him settle things with Garos. He wasn’t actually angry, though—it was clear she had hurt him so badly that he couldn’t even blame her for what she’d done. Karan had been arrogant. She was forced to accept that. “All right, all right. Don’t pout over a little fight,” Diamond said, shrugging as Karan buried herself under the covers of her bed, making her look like a baby turtle. “…I’m not pouting.” “Are you okay with letting him lay into you like that?” “Nick apologized. And that wasn’t a fight.” “There’s no greater linguistic weapon than the words I’m sorry. You’re still a child if you don’t know that,” Diamond said with a sigh. “Excuse me?!” Karan flipped up her covers and glared at Diamond. Diamond wasn’t so easily intimidated. “If you’re frustrated by what he said, respond with your actions. You hurt him by trying to save his life. Next time, try saving his heart.” Karan was speechless, unable to believe what she had just heard Diamond say. “You shouldn’t need to ask me what to do. You can’t win the heart of the person you love without clashing and coming out the other side,” Diamond said. “…But it’s true I didn’t trust him. I tried to save the day without telling him anything. Now he’s lost faith in me.” “So what? You guys literally formed your party because you could relate on one thing: your inability to trust others. You made rules to help yourselves continue living as adventurers even when you start questioning everyone around you. If Nick doesn’t trust you, prove to him that you were in the right. Isn’t that how you all operate?” “Ah,” Karan gasped. That was how the Survivors had begun—by dividing responsibilities and establishing rules that would allow them to operate as a party without mutual trust. Hadn’t they made those rules exactly for a time like this? “I don’t think you were wrong to doubt that Nick could beat Garos. He’s been under a lot of pressure. He could’ve easily died, and it’s possible defeating Garos would have worn him out mentally even more. That’s why you did what you did. It might have been an error of judgment, of course, but it’s perfectly fine to look back on it now and decide there was a different answer. What do you think?” Diamond asked. “…I didn’t do the right thing. I think I went about it all the wrong way. But I didn’t want Nick to get hurt, and I don’t regret that. There were many things I didn’t know or couldn’t do anything about, and he would’ve been hurt no matter what.” “Nick is dealing with a lot. His former party members betrayed him, and now his most reliable friend may never work as an adventurer again. There’s a chance that will put his mind in a place where he’s unable to make the right decisions.” The calm way Diamond said that worried Karan. She had spoken like a doctor delivering a prognosis, which was quite different from her usual personality. It meant something. “…Nick’s a bit of a mystery, isn’t he?” Karan said. “How so?” Diamond asked. “His history with Combat Masters doesn’t make sense. Why did they adopt him, and why did they kick him out? There has to be a reason.” “I have questions about that, too. Nick doesn’t know anything…though obviously they never would have told him.” “I want to learn about Nick. And I don’t mean just what he knows about himself—I want to learn about what he doesn’t know, too, including everything related to Combat Masters and what happened at the concert.” “How about a little quiz?” Karan looked at Diamond dubiously. “What kind of quiz?” “Say you wanted to know what Nick and Combat Masters accomplished as a party and what kind of lives they led. What would be the best way to learn about that objectively?” Diamond asked. “Oh, and you can’t ask him directly.” Karan considered her words. She couldn’t claim to know everything about Nick. He had a habit of fiddling with the back of his neck with his left hand when he woke up in the morning. After washing his face, he would stretch, starting with his neck and working his way down to his shoulders, elbows, wrists, back, knees, and finally his ankles. He went jogging on sunny days and did strength training in weird poses in his room when it rained. For breakfast he liked brown bread soaked in soup, and sometimes he would cook rice to make rice porridge. When he made Labyrinth Chicken, he would cut the chili peppers in half to throw away the seeds and put in twice as many as there were people. He treasured his quill and knife but went through pieces of armor like they were nothing. Many other details came to mind, including his favorite foods and fighting styles, but those were all things Karan had seen with her own eyes. There was a lot she didn’t know. She would’ve been ignorant about his complicated feelings toward Garos if he hadn’t opened up to her. There was so much more she wouldn’t know unless she asked him. What could a person who knew nothing about Nick do to learn about him? Karan brooded on that question until an image of Nick writing with his quill came to mind. “…The easiest way would be to read his guild records. But that would only show information about his adventures and nothing about his personal life,” she said. “Then what would you look at next?” Diamond asked. “His ledger.” “Why?” “A ledger is an adventurer’s personal history. If they go on a big adventure and earn a sizable reward, they’ll write that in their earnings book. If the records show hospital fees or that they gave a significant sum to a sanctuary, that would suggest a major failure. All shopping for the party would be recorded there as well.” “A person can write anything, though. How do you know the adventurer isn’t lying or covering something up? They also could’ve forgotten to get a receipt, or inflated the cost on it so they could pocket some money without anyone knowing.” “The small lies would add up to create inconsistencies. The money in the safe and the amount on the ledger wouldn’t match. Putting too little money in the safe would make the other party members poor and whoever kept the rest of the money rich.” “Right. You can say that about anything. Small lies always add up to a major breakdown. You can also start from that breakdown and find the small lies to figure out what they wanted to hide.” Diamond looked pleased by Karan’s answer, but then her expression grew grim. “Oh wait, aren’t you bad with numbers and reading?” “Yeah. If this kind of research was easy enough for someone like me to do, then Hector would’ve already found Callios. You’re telling me to investigate like him, right?” “I appreciate your high opinion of me, but there are some things even I can’t do,” a man said, entering the hospital room. “Took you long enough,” Diamond said. “Sorry. I haven’t trained a newbie in a while, so I wasn’t sure where to start,” Hector apologized without an ounce of sincerity. “Training? What?” Karan said. “That’s right. I’m about to send you on a crash course. You’re gonna learn about simple civil and adventurer law, how to tail and question people, how to investigate documents. I’ll even teach you a smattering of bookkeeping and library skills.” Hector smiled wickedly as he watched Karan’s confusion grow. “In other words, I’m going to train you as a detective.” Karan had never felt so busy in her life. Every day she woke up, ate breakfast, and spent the rest of the morning studying. Hector told her she was going to learn “basic” law, but the level he was demanding was fairly high. A teacher from a preparatory school for training government officials came on most days to plop down thick textbooks before her and give Karan lessons. An accountant who worked with Jewelry Production would also come to teach her bookkeeping. She occasionally received visits from a history or literature teacher, too. Hector clearly had a good idea of where her education was lacking. Hector came to her room in the afternoons to teach her tricks for questioning and tailing people. This was significantly easier than her morning curriculum—Karan was already proficient at speaking without drawing suspicion and following someone while staying out of sight. Consequently, her afternoons also came to be dominated by classroom learning. She spent this time analyzing Hector’s investigation records to study how he looked into different types of people. She read an investigation into a husband’s affair, an investigation into a fiancé’s behavior, a search for a lost pet, and a search for a son who had broken off contact with his family. Hector had even been hired by the Sun Knights to help a man who wanted to leave a gang, and to bring down a factory that was producing contraband. He had made a career out of the troubles of a great variety of complicated people, and Karan found his records exciting. They broadened her view of the world. She received support for her physical vision as well in the form of glasses made specially for her. They didn’t restore her eyesight to what it was before the curse, but she went from being unsteady on her feet to being able to manage walking in relatively lower light. She couldn’t go outside, though, so the glasses were mainly meant for reading. “I know you’re tired, but I’ve got one more thing for you today,” Hector said, spreading out some documents before her. “These are the financial documents of a certain adventurers’ party. A lot of them seem to be connected to the demon-god worshippers. I want you to take a look at them and infer what kind of adventures they went on.” “…This handwriting looks familiar,” Karan said. “I’m not surprised. It’s Nick’s,” Hector told her. Karan looked at the cover of the ledger with surprise. The party’s name had undoubtedly been written by Nick. It said, COMBAT MASTERS. “How did you get these?” she asked. “When Nick was in Combat Masters, I would lend him a corner of my office because the inn was too loud for him to focus on his clerical work. He put the ledger in my safe ’cause he didn’t want to lose it at the inn, and it was left there after he got kicked out of the party. The mandatory retention period is long past, but I was too lazy to throw it away or burn it.” “H-huh.” “Read it if you want to help Nick.” Karan looked at Hector hesitantly. “This isn’t just any lost item or journal,” he said. “This is an important source of information about Argus and the demon-god worshippers,” he told her. “Really?” Karan asked, looking confused. She had wanted to learn about Nick, but she hadn’t expected it would give them a lead on the demon-god worshippers. “You don’t believe me, do you?” Hector said. “This was all written by Nick. It will only contain information that he knew.” “Nick had to work like a maniac to finish these financial statements while also taking care of his other daily duties. He won’t remember everything he wrote. He was always stressed out of his mind around the tax deadline.” Hector shrugged with an amused grin. “Are you sure…?” Karan asked. “Nick didn’t perform the final check on these documents. That was Argus. If Nick wasn’t sure how to categorize something, he would ask Argus and follow his orders. Occasionally something didn’t make sense to him, but he’d let it go if it passed inspection,” Hector explained. Karan looked at the ledger and financial statements again. She turned the pages and noticed that his writing was much rougher than it was now. A lot of the numbers had been erased and written over with red ink. The Nick she knew would occasionally look at his ledger and comment proudly about how neat it was, or state that “this is how a ledger should be written.” She’d thought he was just tooting his own horn, but she now saw where he was coming from. The ledger showed his party members would give him receipts late or admit they received a reward well after the fact, forcing him to constantly go back and revise what he’d written. Trying to make sure the finances agreed every single time must have been exhausting. The Survivors were much more responsible. Karan protected the safe, Zem protected the key, and Tiana monitored the ledger and money to make sure they matched. Bond could check the amount and weight of gold and silver coins at a glance, preventing any kind of trickery when money was deposited or withdrawn from the safe. Nick had been freed from the stress Combat Masters had put him through. Karan found the thought oddly amusing. “…But why are you giving these to me?” Karan asked. “I’ve gotta look into the Lemuria back issues. They’re apparently hiding some kinda hint, so I don’t have time to analyze these documents… Oh, and just so you know, the Sun Knights don’t know about the ledger yet, so keep it between us. I’ll have to tell them about it soon, though, or they’ll charge me with concealing evidence.” “Shouldn’t you submit it right away, then?” she asked doubtfully. Hector looked unconcerned. “The Sun Knights are in disarray right now. We can help solve this case faster by analyzing it ourselves. But we can always dump it on them if it’s too hard for you or you’d rather not do it. Let me go take it to them right now.” “…No. Don’t do that,” Karan said. His suggestion was a threat. “This is a record of Nick’s adventures. I’ll read it.” “That’s what I thought. Go ahead. I’d much rather give it to you than that Alice woman.” “Do you not like the Sun Knights?” “It’d be more accurate to say they don’t like me. They always get upset when I beat them to a scene or find evidence before them.” “That’s their fault for being slow.” Hector smiled nastily in agreement. “Anyway, we’ll split up the work. This is a race against time.” Karan nodded with determination. Ten days later, Karan had read the entire Combat Masters ledger and absorbed the information like a sponge. She had also devoured any additional files Hector and Diamond had managed to get their hands on. The ledger was a pain to figure out. It wasn’t just the constant revisions. There were also many mysterious expenditures and withdrawals. Sometimes the cost for maintaining weapons would be unreasonably high, or there would be a reward for a guard job that hadn’t gone through the guild. Some items Nick had likely been forced to invent to make the ledger match their money during the accounting period. She could see him racking his brain to come up with what to write while scribbling hastily in the notes column. By contrast, the earnings book—in which Nick recorded their rewards from the Adventurers Guild—was very impressive. It revealed what labyrinths they’d completed and what other adventures they’d gone on. They had made it through C-rank labyrinths like Pot Snake Cave with no difficulty at all, and they had occasionally ventured into B-rank labyrinths and returned without anyone getting hurt. The handwriting was much more relaxed than in the ledger, and Karan could tell that Nick had been filled with pride as he added each entry. Karan envisioned the tale of Combat Masters as she read the financial statements, ledger, invoices, receipts, and payment statements for their successful labyrinth adventures. They detailed Garos’s time in the party. He had occasionally spent an unthinkable amount on maintenance fees for his katana, possibly because people who had the expertise were rare in Labyrinth City, and the party members frequently spent their rewards before they even received them, which must have driven Nick crazy. There were records of an adventurer named Dean. He seemed to be a hunter, and the records suggested he bought materials to make his arrows himself. Karan got the sense he had taken things more seriously than the rest of the party. Either that, or he was an extremely picky person. There were also records of an adventurer named Berik, a heavy warrior who fought in full armor with a large shield and protected his party members in battle. He took so many hits from monsters that he was frequently replacing his shields or ordering armor repairs. The small amount of money he spent on priests, doctors, and medicine was proof of his prowess. Nick, as a light warrior and scout, probably suffered significantly more injuries that required the attention of a priest. The records indicated Berik was skilled enough to protect the rest of the party. Although Dean and Berik seemed like serious adventurers, they would occasionally borrow significantly more money than even Garos did in advance of a reward. Karan noticed they did this twice a year—first in the middle of summer and then at the end of the year—and quickly realized what they were doing. Those times aligned with the biggest dragon races of the year—the Estivation Festival Race in the summer and the Dragon King Cup in the winter. In the near decade that the ledger recorded, it looked like they won money only once, and some years they lost everything they’d borrowed on a single race. There were also records of an adventurer named Argus. He was Combat Masters’ leader and breadwinner. Nearly every record of selling labyrinth boss materials featured the comment “Boss bisected with greatsword. No damage to materials,” which proved he was able to kill just about any monster with one stroke. He even defeated monsters in C-rank labyrinths that were many times taller than humans without relying on magic. Nick’s straightforward comments conveyed Argus’s fearsome strength. Karan also spotted enormous expenses in the ledger for which Argus was likely to blame. Enormous food and drink expenses were directly deducted from their labyrinth rewards, as if he always decided to treat every adventurer present when they got paid. He was clearly so generous with money to the point of being indifferent about it. There were also often extra charges tacked on to inn fees and other expenses that probably came from Argus treating others. Karan couldn’t believe how quickly he blew their money. He was the biggest reason Combat Masters barely made a profit despite its members being skilled enough to tackle labyrinths without magic or getting injured badly enough to see a priest. Finally, there were records of an adventurer named Nick. The ledger detailed frequent expenses for adjusting the size of his armor as he grew in height. Many knives had to be bought for him as well, and there were quite a few medical expenses for which they received a child’s discount. More money was spent on Nick than any other member of Combat Masters. The frequency with which Nick needed new weapons and armor diminished significantly after two or three years. He had been only around ten years old when he joined the party, but he gradually added muscle and sharpened his skills as he grew into the man he was today. Nothing said more about Nick than the ledger, which Karan was studying now. It showed how hard he had worked to control his party members’ reckless spending, adjust when they got paid so they didn’t run out of money, and carefully reviewed his writing and calculations multiple times to avoid getting in trouble with the tax collector. Oftentimes the tax collector would get angry anyway and return the ledger for Nick to correct and resubmit. Once he’d finished that process, their next adventure would begin. Karan thought that was amazing. She had always been bored watching Nick write, thinking that surely reviewing the numbers over and over again wouldn’t cause them to suddenly change. Whenever Nick told her she should study as well, Karan would get defensive and tell herself that everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, but she still made an effort to sit at her desk and do as he said. Nick had to do all this work on his own. If she continued working as an adventurer, she might one day end up in a similar position. Knowing how to keep a ledger was a necessary skill in this line of work. “Have you noticed anything?” Hector asked. “…Their rewards are weird. The short-term loans are, too,” Karan said. She felt Nick’s kindness from the ledger, but she was filled with a great despair, too. She wondered if she would be able to share the hypothesis she’d come to with him. “How so?” replied Hector. “It’s hard to explain. It might help if we reproduce a timetable for their cash flow. Help me.” “Urgh, do I have to?” he complained. “I’m slow at math.” “So your solution is to dump it on me? Oh, fine.” Hector scratched his head and took out a magic abacus. Karan explained what she wanted him to calculate, and Hector started to click the beads of the abacus back and forth. Karan watched him with interest. “…Why are you helping Nick?” she asked. “Do you find that strange?” Hector asked, and Karan nodded. “You’re not afraid to ask difficult questions. That’s a strength of yours.” “…Is it?” “I’m being serious. You’d be surprised by how many people suffer ’cause they can’t do that.” “Are you avoiding my question?” Karan gave Hector a sullen look, and he chuckled. “What did you think after reading the ledger?” he asked. “What do you mean?” “I see an admirable guy in it.” Karan almost said she saw what Hector meant, but she didn’t feel like agreeing with him right away, so she just listened. “I met him about three years ago. Did I already tell you parts of this story?” Hector asked. “You said he saved you when you were mugged,” Karan said. “Oh yeah. Nick was the same guy then that he is now. He’s rough around the edges, but also annoyingly meticulous. Most young adventurers like him are sloppier and more reckless. You need that recklessness to make it as an adventurer.” “You think Nick isn’t reckless? Really?” “That’s not what I mean. He’s not like other adventurers who boast about their strength and pick fights with everyone who looks at him wrong. He can handle himself in a scrap, but he’s got a prudence most adventurers lack.” “…Yeah.” “I, on the other hand, was a civil official who didn’t mind getting his hands dirty with this kind of unsavory work. We had a connection as fellow misfits. There’s a bit of an age gap between us, but I think of him as a friend.” “What did you think of the rest of Combat Masters?” “Argus…kinda scared me. I didn’t want anything to do with him. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he was a major crime lord, and boy, was my gut right. He turned out to be a member of the most terrifying group of all.” “You said you helped Nick when he had problems with Combat Masters. Did you notice anything then?” “To be honest, not really. They were totally ordinary adventurers… They got up to some trouble compared to the average citizen, but there was nothing to give them away as demon-god worshippers. I mean, they were able to hide it from Nick, and he was with them the whole time. We never would’ve found out if not for recent events…” Hector trailed off, his hands freezing on the magic abacus. He then looked at Karan, a hint of fear showing in his eyes. “Karan. You don’t…suspect me, do you?” he asked. “I do,” Karan said bluntly. “Hey, what the hell?!” “I don’t have anything against you. I appreciate all you’re doing to teach me, but that doesn’t mean I can completely trust you. Don’t you find me suspicious? From your perspective, we’re all weird people who showed up and joined Nick’s party out of nowhere.” Hector’s tail twitched in shock. He was human and didn’t have a tail, of course, but Karan could still see the gesture in her mind’s eye. “Now that I think about it, you weren’t too surprised to learn we had a holy sword,” she said. “That’s ’cause I was overwhelmed by everything Diamond said to react much to Bond.” “That…makes sense,” Karan replied. Hector breathed a sigh of relief, but her questions didn’t end there. “Still. It’s not weird for you to help Nick. But it is weird for you to help us. You could do one of your background checks on Tiana or Zem or me, and you would find reasons to worry. Why are you placing your trust in us?” “All right, all right. That’s enough of that,” Diamond’s voice cut in just as Tiana had Hector on the back foot. “This is an important conversation,” Karan said without sparing a glance for Diamond. “I’m interested, too. So I’ll be even more frank. Who are you, Hector?” she asked. “Oh,” said Karan. She had thought Diamond was trying to play peacemaker, but instead she was pressing Hector further. Karan let the idol talk. “I-I’m a detective,” Hector stuttered, growing more stressed. “Then who are you working for? And don’t say me and Nick; I already know you’re doing jobs for us. Who’s your biggest client?” Diamond asked. “What happens if I don’t answer?” “I won’t hurt you or mistreat you. But I could hand you to someone considerably less kind. Answering would be in your best interest.” Hector anxiously pulled out a cigarette and almost lit it before stopping. “Oh, whoops. I shouldn’t smoke in front of a patient.” “Are you ready to talk?” pressed Diamond. “…Before I do, let me clarify two things. First, I’m not a demon-god worshipper. Please listen with that in mind.” Karan and Diamond nodded. At the very least, neither of them suspected he was connected to Callios or Argus. “Okay. And the other thing?” Diamond asked. “There’s a chance you’ll be penalized in some way for hearing this. They may disregard it because of the situation, but if not, we’re all going down together. Are you okay with that?” “…What does that mean?” Karan asked, confused. She looked at Diamond, but the idol seemed to understand what Hector was saying. In fact, it seemed she had somehow already inferred what was going on. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out if it comes to that. You don’t need to let it worry you, either, Karan,” Diamond said. Hector and Karan both nodded. Then the detective spoke hesitantly. “I’m an agent, but not for the demon-god worshippers.” The word agent jogged Karan’s memory—Olivia had used that word to describe White Mask when they fought him. “…Huh? Isn’t that a demon-god worshipper thing?” Karan asked. “First of all, there are many different kinds of demon-god worshippers. Some do nothing but pray, while others rise to leadership positions. Even people who don’t worship the demon god but have a business relationship with their followers get labeled as demon-god worshippers… Among all those people, some are classified as agents.” “Like White Mask, and probably Argus and the rest of Combat Masters,” Diamond said. “That’s right. The truth is, the other gods have a similar organizational structure among their followers,” Hector told them. “They do…?” asked Karan. “They have worshippers who offer prayer in sanctuaries and full-time priests. They also employ agents.” “So there are agents in the Sanctuary of Medora? I’ve never heard of that,” Karan said. That was not due to ignorance on her part. There were four gods in this world—Medora, the god of providence; Baer, the god of harvest; Virginie, the god of equilibrium; and Lowell, the god of encounters—and there were sanctuaries that worshipped each of them. Each sect was governed by an archbishop, while bishops managed each region and performed important ceremonies, and chief priests ran each sanctuary. Within sanctuaries, priests were organized into three tiers: high, mid, and low level. There were also traveling priests who didn’t work at a specific sanctuary and adventurer priests whose duty it was to kill monsters and bring about peace. Sanctuaries did not, however, have a position called “agent.” Not publicly anyway. “The existence of agents is known only to a select few who work in sanctuaries. They’re pretty much a different organization altogether. Agents aren’t employed by sanctuaries, and they occasionally have to work in small teams with regular worshippers, just like demon-god agents do. But those are rare cases,” Hector explained. “…Should you be talking about the other gods as if they’re no different from the demon god?” Karan asked, looking at Hector with an accusatory glare. Hector looked surprised. “I guess I should’ve started my explanation there. Of course there’s no problem talking about them that way. Just don’t do it in a sanctuary. The demon god and the gods were all developed by the Originators, so there’s no need to distinguish between the two when explaining them.” Karan knew the gods had been born in the era of the Originators. You would be hard pressed to find someone who hadn’t heard that legend. But she found the word “developed” disturbing. “I feel like that’s something I would’ve been better off not hearing,” she said. “You’ll be fine. That isn’t enough to put you in danger. Just don’t share it with anyone who can’t keep a secret,” replied Diamond. “You’ve heard of the Rueful Departure, right, Karan?” asked Hector. The Rueful Departure was a myth—or perhaps historical event—that was known far and wide as the time when the gods physically left the world. In the godless world that followed, people founded the ancient civilization and many of the countries that still existed today, and this gave birth to a wide range of cultures and technologies. The story could be considered a creation myth. “Yeah. That’s when the gods left the earth. According to the stories, the four gods retreated to the heavens…” “That’s a lie. The gods didn’t leave this world for the heavens willingly—humans forced them out,” said Hector. “Whuh?!” Karan exclaimed shrilly. She almost told Hector to stop telling dumb lies and get serious. She looked across at Diamond—there was no way she’d fall for this story—but the idol’s face was as serious as could be. Hector had the stoic solemnity of a man in a business meeting. Karan then remembered the strange and dangerous affair she’d been dragged into, and she gulped. “The people of the ancient civilization built their societies on what remained from the Originators. At the same time, they decided humanity would never evolve if they just relied on relics from the past… Those relics from the Originators’ civilization are the four gods who are still known to this day,” Hector said. “…You’re talking about the gods like they’re things,” Karan said. “I wouldn’t phrase it like that if I were you. They’re no different from Diamond.” “Yeah, that’s right. You’d better not repeat that around Bond. He’ll be furious,” Diamond agreed. She hadn’t raised a doubt so far about anything Hector had said. “…Are the gods artifacts like the holy swords?” Karan asked. “Yeah, pretty much. They’re way stronger and more advanced than us, though. They’re practically gods,” Diamond said. The way Diamond had said that made it sound as if they weren’t actually deities in the traditional sense. Karan felt a sense of dread at what else she might learn. But fearfully denying what she’d heard wouldn’t change the truth. This situation was rife with questions, mysteries, and intrigue. She needed to be tough and not let the truth faze her. “B-but…did they really need to force the gods to leave for the heavens?” Karan asked. “They apparently decided civilization would stagnate as long as people were under the protection of such intelligent and powerful beings. I said they were ‘forced out,’ but some of the gods actually agreed it was for the best. It was then that they went from gods that physically existed in our world who could bless and punish people to religious figures and abstract concepts,” Hector said. “Abstract…what?” Karan repeated, confused. She was having a hard time following, but she did her best to understand. Hector continued patiently, “Let me be clear with you. Religion is not an organization that real gods use to guide people. It’s essentially an intermediary agency. They consult the gods for help with various problems, and the gods give answers. Those gods are very powerful, but they’re not omnipotent. And the same question might get different answers depending on who you ask.” “Are there no true gods?” Karan asked. “The beings we perceive as gods were created by the Originators, who left this world for reasons unknown to enter a dimension where neither we nor the gods can observe them. It seems the Originators worshipped gods of their own, as well.” “There are gods even more powerful than the ones we know?” “I don’t know, and it doesn’t really matter. The people of the ancient civilization believed the faith and love that the Originators felt toward their gods were necessary for intelligent life. They decided that Lowell, Medora, and the others would make perfect idols for that purpose. You could say that, by this point, they had become real gods. Anyway, the Rueful Departure was this world’s beginning. The countries and sanctuaries developed after that… And that brings us to the main point.” Karan braced herself. “The gods don’t spend all their time in the heavens just sleeping. They hire agents through channels unrelated to the sanctuaries to monitor and carry out their will. To an agent, the god who hired them isn’t an object of worship, but their boss. I was hired by a god to work as a detective,” Hector told them. “That makes you something like an angel,” Karan said wearily. Hector responded with a strained laugh. “‘Angel’ is a different position entirely. They’re like a god’s extension or avatar; they’re essentially weapons… On that note, you’d be surprised by how stingy the gods are. They don’t bless their agents with unrivaled strength. I really am an ordinary detective. I don’t have a holy sword or anything special like that, so I can’t fight like you all.” “But you get paid, don’t you?” Diamond asked teasingly. Hector grinned. “I make eight million dina per year, and I have a one-time immunity from arrest I can use if I’m caught on a job. I don’t get a lot of hard tasks, either. It’s a lucrative gig.” “R-really?” Karan said. She had thought he was going to turn out to be an unknowable monster, but the more she heard, the more she realized he was still just Hector. “To be fair, if I was given any kind of special strength, the agent of other gods or hostile forces could sniff me out. Most agents live normal lives as sleepers.” “But you’re not a sleeper now, right?” Diamond asked. “Yeah. My god is observing this situation closely. I need to find out what I can and report back. Things won’t get serious enough for the angels to be deployed, though.” “Of course not! I’ll be livid if they come down here and destroy us all without giving us a chance!” Diamond shouted. “…Destroy us all?” Karan repeated. A chill ran down her back. “That’s an extreme example, but if the demon god revives completely, it’s possible the angels would descend and burn the world to ashes. Still, that hasn’t happened once in the two thousand years since the Rueful Departure,” Hector said. “That’s because a twenty- or thirty-percent Awakening has always been enough,” Diamond retorted. “…So it’s not the demon god reviving and attacking humanity that would destroy the world, but angels coming down to fight the demon god?” Karan asked. “Yep. It goes without saying that the demon god could cause a lot of destruction on their own, but we’re all working hard to end this before a devastating war breaks out,” Diamond explained. “…My head hurts. This is getting too complicated for me,” said Karan. “I don’t blame you. Let’s take a break. It’s not like I’m going anywhere. Sharing this information put us all in the same boat, and I actually feel pretty good about dragging you guys into this,” Hector said. “…Diamond. I think he’s a bad person,” complained Karan. “Agents are allowed to collect data, but they aren’t given any power. He’s essentially a lonely onlooker, so you can’t blame him for turning out a little twisted. If anything, it seems like he was made for the job,” said Diamond. Hector shrugged as if he couldn’t argue. “Well, this bad person is gonna go have a smoke.” “Go ahead. I’m gonna take a break, too,” Karan said. They had just finished talking when Starmine Hall—or rather, all of Labyrinth City—began to shake, heralding the arrival of the Colosseum of Carnage and the beginning of the large-scale Stampede. Karan’s heart was torn in multiple directions. The news that Olivia had disappeared, that Nick had been miserably defeated, and that he had entered the Colosseum of Carnage under the patronage of the Sun Knights with the Sword of Evolution in hand were one sad blow after another. She admired Nick for his tenacity, given the situation, but she couldn’t shake the feeling they were forgetting something. That hunch was proved correct when Dead Man’s Balloon began their attack just days later. “…And that’s why I think we should get out of here, Karan,” Diamond told her. “Yeah, go.” “I didn’t expect you to agree to that so easily… I was worried about how I was going to convince you.” Karan felt no hesitation as she agreed to Diamond’s suggestion. “We’ll only be a hindrance to Tiana if we stay here. She’ll win if she’s able to focus all her efforts on fighting.” “Do you really think so? We’re being attacked by her old instructor.” “If he’s so much stronger than her, why is she still alive?” “Because backup arrived.” “Tiana’s instructor still should’ve been able to win. I think he might have let them live. The Manhunt adventurers aren’t weak, but they’re no match for a mage like him. There’s no reason for him to waste time like this, either. He even gave us wanted posters to let us know who the demon-god worshippers want to kill.” “…Are you suggesting he’s telling us to protect the people on the wanted posters?” Diamond asked, smiling like an unkind teacher who enjoyed testing her students. “I don’t know what he’s thinking, but there are people on those wanted posters who aren’t here, right? They need to be protected, too. It’s clear what needs to be done,” Karan said. “Yeah, you’re right. The problem is who should do it.” “Us, obviously.” Diamond grinned at Karan’s strong resolve. “I’ll ask one last time,” she said. “Are you sure about this? I’m sure you can feel how weak your body has become. This is the last chance you’ll have to return home like Daffodil suggested.” “Yes, I’m sure. I’m not going back.” She gripped her pen tightly. The old Karan would have snapped it without even meaning to, but now her shaking hands could only bend it. “I’m not doing all this work to run away and save myself!” she yelled. “I’m doing it to save Nick, Zem, and Tiana! If I can’t do that, then this has all been for nothing!” Karan sat up in bed, then lost her balance and fell to the floor. Diamond quickly helped her to her feet. Karan walked with a cane when she felt well enough and used a wheelchair when she was tired. Either way, she couldn’t get around without support. She had the strength to read and write. Her stamina had declined, but she could still investigate and study as long as she took breaks. She did not, however, have the strength to stand up on her own. “It hasn’t been for nothing. You’re getting stronger, little by little,” Diamond said. “I know. But it’s not happening fast enough. Am I still too weak to use your power? How can I get the strength I need? If it’s impossible, then tell me, and I’ll fight using my own power.” Karan looked at Diamond with a strong, defiant gaze. Her eyes were like those of a carnivore; they seemed to say, “I might be weak right now, but I could still bite your head off.” Diamond felt both happy and sad at the sight. No matter what people took from Karan, they couldn’t break her spirit. “…I need to explain something to you. We have entered into a contract for you to be my wielder, but I haven’t tried to give you my power yet,” Diamond told her. “…Yeah, that’s right,” Karan responded. “The reason for that is because as soon as you use this power, your world and your perceptions will change. I wanted you to obtain the knowledge and wisdom necessary to withstand that. It’s not as safe as Union. You can’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed by my power or my senses.” “I know. I already have experience wielding Bond.” “Bond’s skill is a pure manifestation of strength. He’s also nice and probably tries to avoid pushing you all beyond your limits. But I’m different. I won’t go easy on you.” “…Do your worst. Let’s see if you can figure out how to use me properly.” Diamond smiled at those words. Then she began to shine and transformed, once again taking the form of the sword that didn’t look like a sword. “Hold my handle. Then chant ‘Harmonize,’” Diamond’s voice said. Karan gripped the Sword of Resonance, and it shone with an extraordinary light. That light filled her vision and was so strong, it pierced the walls, but its beauty was even more remarkable. “Harmonize.”
Chapter 86
37 min read