I ignored Professor’s scolding and gestured toward a seat. “There’s something I need to tell you,” I said.
Siegfried didn’t sit down across from me like I expected, though. He sat right beside me again. He was close...too close. His lips were inches away from my face, and I just couldn’t calm down. I really wished he’d move a little farther away.
“Has something happened?” he asked.
“I’m not positive, but Theodore lost contact with one of the orphans we dispatched here.”
“Could it be kidnapping? I hate to suggest it, but perhaps one of the nobles took a liking to them and whisked them away,” Siegfried said.
There were all kinds of nobles. Some were actually noble and acted for the good of others, but there were also some who seemed to think they were gods.
“One requires a sound mind to be a god, you know.”
Whether Professor himself was of sound mind was debatable. If a bottomless appetite counted as a sound mind, then maybe.
“Theodore said the last time he heard from them, they’d given a routine report mentioning someone digging into me.”
Siegfried touched a finger to his chin, looking deep in thought.
“Do you have any idea who might be behind it?” I asked.
“Well, I just received a report from Raiden.”
“From Raiden?” Raiden specialized in gathering intelligence, so there was no way I could ignore that.
“He said it seems Risthea has been investigating you.”
I’d never expected Risthea to make that kind of slipup. Maybe the royal spies were just that good, or perhaps the loss of Albert had rattled the fallen angel and now she was in a corner.
“That’s quite a coincidence, because the orphan who went missing was working for Risthea.”
“So it’s true, then.”
I looked at Siegfried. Risthea was the picture of perfection on the surface, which was why I hadn’t dared tell him she could be the one behind it all. Depending on how that conversation went, I could’ve been charged with treason.
But now Siegfried’s suspicions were fixed squarely on her. What would he do with that knowledge?
“If she’s harmed one of our children, then we need to act swiftly.”
“Hang on. What do you mean, our children?”
“Those you care for are dear to me too. And as their papa, I can’t sit back and do nothing.”
Now that the children had started calling him “papa,” he was really getting into the role—not that I had any room to talk, of course.
“First, let’s pay a visit to Risthea.”
“Do you think she’ll just admit to anything if we confront her?” I asked.
“If she doesn’t, that just means she has something to hide. And we shouldn’t give her any time to prepare, no matter what her plan is.”
I already knew exactly what she was planning, but I hesitated to tell him. Would he even believe me? That doubt must’ve shown on my face, because when I looked up, I found him scrutinizing me.
“What’s wrong, Kreis? You look pale,” he said. He reached out and gently stroked my cheek. He noticed even the smallest shifts in my expressions. I felt once more how deeply he loved me. His feelings for Kreis were real; I was sure of it. Maybe it was time to trust him?
For the first time, I finally made up my mind.
I’d never really believed in relying on other people before. I’d always thought that meant owing them something. That was how I’d always lived my life. But with Siegfried, maybe this feeling was a kind of hope, or a wish that he would choose to believe me over Risthea—take my side instead of his fiancée’s. It was the first time I’d ever wanted something like that from anyone.
“There’s something I’ve been hiding from you,” I said.
He took my hand and smiled gently, his warmth giving me all the encouragement I needed.
“Risthea is the one behind it all.”
I felt his fingers twitch.
Please believe me.
“She was the one who manipulated my father into stealing your mana,” I went on. “Actually, I don’t even know if I can call her Risthea anymore. She’s something else entirely. She’s a fallen angel.”
“A fallen angel? You mean she’s not even human? But why would...”
“She wants to turn you into the demon king.”
“The demon king?”
“Yes, she’s trying to hurt you deeply to that end.”
“Wait, if that’s what she wants, then why did she siphon off my mana in the first place?” Siegfried asked.
“Huh?” I suddenly realized I hadn’t questioned that contradiction until he pointed it out. If she really wanted to turn him into the demon king, why weaken him by taking away his power? I’d been so caught up in the horror of the sacrifice and the shock of discovering Risthea’s identity that I hadn’t stopped to really think it through.
“I think this is where I come in.”
For the first time, Siegfried reacted when Professor spoke.
“Whose voice is that?” he asked.
“Right here! Over here!” Professor perched on the seat across from us, looking pleased with himself. Siegfried wasn’t the only one who was stunned.
“Professor just spoke?!” Theodore exclaimed. Once again, I’d completely forgotten he was still there. Professor puffed out his chest, nodding proudly once he saw how surprised they both were.
“Listen, and be amazed! I am actually...a god.”
“What?”
“Professor...a god?!”
Both Siegfried and Theodore stared in astonishment. I understood, I really did. Who would ever expect this glutton to be a god?
“Hey! Don’t think rude things like that!” Professor bared his fangs at me, then turned to Siegfried. “And you! The moment you realized I could talk, you were already thinking about how you could get rid of me! How could you?!”
“Hang on... You can read minds?” Siegfried looked shaken. I understood that too. Having someone rummaging around in your thoughts was unsettling, to say the least.
“Honestly! You two should be more like Theodore!”
“How can it be? God truly exists...” Theodore dropped to his knees before Professor and began to pray. He was such a purehearted boy. I was so glad he hadn’t ended up being an assassin.
“Are you sure you want to talk to us, Professor?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be silently watching from the sidelines?”
“I trust you both. You won’t abuse the knowledge of my existence and twist the world out of shape, will you?”
So Professor trusted Siegfried and Theodore enough to speak openly. That knowledge alone felt good.
“But just so you know, if you do misuse this knowledge, the world will cease to exist. It’s as simple as that.”
“Are you casually threatening us? I thought you were a god?” Siegfried said skeptically.
“I’m not threatening you. I’m stating a fact.”
Throughout myths and legends, gods were known for being capricious, selfish, and ruthless. And if Professor was the origin point for all those stories, it made a strange kind of sense. Maybe gods just had a different sense of morality. Maybe he didn’t even mean to be threatening. But still, it wasn’t comforting.
“Anyway, we don’t have much time, so I’ll keep it brief. The fallen angel was once close to me, but they got angry and left. Now they want to destroy the world I created.”
That was definitely brief.
“You created this world?” Siegfried asked.
“That’s right.”
“If you’re powerful enough to create a world, why can’t you just get rid of the fallen angel yourself?”
“It’s true that I made this world, but I can’t interfere with it directly. Not without disrupting the balance, anyway. If I did, I’d have to start all over from scratch. That would be a shame, wouldn’t it?”
“So whether or not you directly interfere, the world would end either way. But why stay near Kreis? If your goal is to stop me from becoming the demon king, shouldn’t you be by my side instead?”
“Because he’s special to you. You know what I mean, right?”
Professor nodded toward me, and Siegfried quietly nodded in return. “He’s more special to me than anything.”
“Exactly. His life, or his death, would be a turning point. You possess enormous mana, but that power was never meant for a demon king—it was meant for the next god.”
“What?” I blurted out. What did he mean, the next god? “Hang on! I didn’t know that!”
“That’s because I never told you.”
“You’ve been lying to me?!”
“Not lying. Just omitting details. I didn’t really think it was that important.”
How could Siegfried potentially becoming the next god not be important?!
“I’ve gotten a little tired of being a god. So I thought I’d get someone else to take over for me.”
“You make it sound so easy, like switching jobs.”
“Siegfried was born with tremendous mana and an untainted soul. I thought, ‘This child could be the one.’ But the fallen angel figured out I’d set my sights on him. And if someone has the potential to be a god, they also can become the demon king. If I left his power to grow on its own, he might naturally ascend to godhood someday. So they whittled off some of his mana in advance, to keep that from happening.”
“King Siegfried...is supposed to become the next god?” Theodore turned toward him, looking shocked.
Meanwhile, Siegfried shook his head quietly. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to respectfully decline.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
The exchange was so easy, like they’d already understood each other. But my brain was still a mess, trying to process everything I’d just heard.
“Wait a minute! You can’t just say ‘I decline’ and ‘Okay then!’ and leave it at that!” I exclaimed.
“Why not? I know now that Siegfried wasn’t meant to be the next god.”
“What?”
“A god can’t play favorites, especially to the point of destroying the world for one person. Don’t you think that’s kind of a deal-breaker?”
“Ha ha. Yeah. I’d make a terrible god,” Siegfried said.