On my side, I could not afford to move recklessly.

That d*mn fly was no ordinary enemy.

Unwilling as I am to admit it…… even I acknowledge that much.

A single mistake could very well lead to death.

My words———– My emotions may dismiss him as nothing more than an insect beneath me……

My instincts and the information at hand both tell me he’s a “formidable foe”.

Naturally so, after all, my future itself is at stake.

There is no meaning in underestimating the opponent’s strength in this situation.

……Wait.

At that moment, a doubt sprouted within me.

(The one inside that Fly King armor…… To begin with———-)

Is he really Touka Mimori?

Through the sight of my Divine Servants, I had seen Mimori wearing that garb.

The mask as well.

He had even used that Abnormal State Skill.

That’s why I had simply assumed “the one behind that mask was Mimori”.

I wanted to confront him directly, say everything to his face, and thus I recognized him under that premise.

But…… if I think calmly, the theory that someone else might be behind that mask is not weak at all.

The mask alone conceals much……

And unlike the early Fly King armor, this later version is looser in form.

Meaning———— any differences in build, even the distinction of male or female, are far harder to discern.

My vigilance toward the surroundings sharpened at once.

And then, deep within my chest, alarms blared.

(……Or is it the other way around?)

Could this be a ploy……? An attempt to make me believe it is not Mimori behind that mask?

No, even if that were the case———– so what?

Without piercing through with the Forbidden Curse, those Abnormal State Skills of his hold no true worth.

Whether the one inside is Mimori or not, surely that is a trivial matter huh.

————Trivial? Is it truly?

Would that man ever do something meaningless?

Not now, at the culmination of his long journey of vengeance?

(……If only I could send my clone forth, cut through that Fly King armor…… then who’s truly behind it would be easily confirmed…… but————)

Should I really send out my clone so carelessly?

(No…… Perhaps this is exactly the chain of thought he wished to provoke. To make me hesitate, to buy time? And if he is stalling for time…… lingering here would be nothing but a blunder……)

If only he would use an Abnormal State Skill.

The moment he did, I would know without doubt it was Mimori inside.

But he’s aware of <Dispel Bubble>

If he truly wished to hide who he was, he would never use his Skill here.

(Tch…… This d*mn brat, grgh……!)

[—————–]

And then, in that moment, it hit me.

(……Ah.)

Why had I forgotten something so simple?

My lips twisted into a crooked grin.

For this moment alone, I could allow myself to accept I had been thinking foolishly.

(It seems I’ve lost my composure…… a lesson to reflect on, indeed.)

“The Display of Divine Blessing Information”

Just like I had done in that meeting with Kirihara.

I, and I alone besides the Heroes themselves, can forcibly display that window at will.

With this, I can confirm if the one behind that mask is Touka Mimori or not.

And……

(This distance…… it’s within the range of forced display……!)

I thrust my hand forward, toward the Fly King lurking in the gloom.

—————-Status, Forced Display—————-

[……Fuh.]

I smiled.

The Status Window did not appear.

And yet, Forced Display had been executed.

[…………]

The smile on my lips———– twitched faintly.

Ideally, I would have preferred the window to appear.

I wanted to see it appear cleanly, to confirm that it was Mimori inside.

But no…… if I executed the Forced Display and nothing appeared, then it meant the one behind that mask was not Mimori.

In fact, not even a Hero at all.

That would be enough———- should be enough to count as an “answer”.

And yet————

(Could there still be…… some trick at work? Come to think of it, they’ve got Loqierra on their side as well……) Follow current novels on novel•fire.net

That one, too, was never meant to be a combat-type god.

Much like me, she is more of a scholar.

For instance……

She was obsessed with ancient weapons shrouded in mystery, like the Sacred Eye.

Naturally, she would know of Forced Display.

Even if she cannot exert her true power now……

She may well have slipped in some advice, some trickery.

She feigns lightheartedness, but she did climb all the way to the status she had.

I’ve always despised her, that ugly hag as she is———– but her abilities are exceptional, that much is certain.

(……Tch.)

As the results indicated……

“The one behind that mask is not Mimori.”

But can I truly…… allow myself to believe that?

[Ghh……!]

Not good.

My thoughts are spiraling into an endless labyrinth.

(D*mn…… this all……!)

<Kashima Kobato POV>

I was waiting in hiding, just before the royal castle.

I hadn’t joined the group that charged inside.

With me were the nearly incapacitated Mad Emperor, and Chester Ord, who had stayed behind as his guard.

In front of my eyes floated a Status Window.

That said, it wasn’t my own Status Window.

(Mimori-kun’s Status Window……)

Aside from the Heroes themself and Vysis———-

There was one other person who could interfere with Status Displays.

That person was me, with my Inherent Skill, <Mask>.

(T/N: Skill Name: Management Tower, Chant: Mask)

Right now, the window was masked, its status information hidden.

At first, I hadn’t understood what possible use there could be in hiding Status Displays.

When I asked Ikusaba Asagi about it in the past, she said this:

“Ahh, that’s…… you know, that. Your Inherent Skill lets you shift people’s windows around and line them all up in front of you, right? If in another world-line Poppo-chan were actually some competent character, you’d probably have rows of holographic displays lined up like some sci-fi commander, giving out orders left and right. That’s what I think the original intent of your Skill was. But well, since Poppo’s got the head of a pigeon, it’s kinda useless, huh?”

“But still…… what’s the point of having a function that hides the display……?”

“Visual information———- Our brains get more tired from it than we realize. Like the mental fatigue people complain about from looking at their phones too much. Or how people who live in cluttered rooms get mentally exhausted more easily, since they’re overloaded with visual info every day. On the other hand, minimalists, who keep their rooms nearly empty, are said to tire less easily. Well…… maybe if stuff is always in the same place you’d eventually stop noticing it, but anyway———– the general rule is, the fewer distractions when you want to focus, the better. You know those cluttered websites or mobile game interfaces that wear you out just by looking at them? Basically, just closing your eyes already relieves a ton of brain fatigue.”

” ? “

“So yeah…… if you’ve got rows of Status Windows up, your vision gets cluttered and your decision-making drops. That function is probably there so you can hide whatever info you don’t need right now, and focus only on what matters. PC games sometimes let you hide parts of their messy UI too. ……Ahh, though with this example, Poppo probably won’t get it.”

I really didn’t understand her example.

Anyhow, my Inherent Skill lets me “hide status information”.

When I told Touka about this function though, he said:

“If it also works against that sh*tty goddess’s Forced Display, then it might be worth adding into the plan.”

And he added:

“From what Hijiri and Sogou said, it doesn’t seem like Vysis can freely control the Hero’s Skills. She’s always bragged about it like it was her power…… but maybe all she can really do is perform the summoning ritual. She might not actually be able to interfere with the Skills or the Status Displays themselves.”

If she really couldn’t freely control them———– if her degree of interference was limited……

Then even if Vysis had the ability to force out Status Displays……

It didn’t necessarily mean she could override the Hero’s Skill———- or my Inherent Skill.

That was Touka’s analysis.

“If Vysis’ interference truly did override the Hero’s Skills, then from what I’ve heard, she wouldn’t have had that much trouble with Hijiri, Sogou, or Kirihara. And if she had overwhelming superiority in interference———– she wouldn’t have any reason to be so wary of my Abnormal State Skills either. ……Well, if this guess is wrong and her Forced Display takes priority, then we’ll just have to fight with one card fewer in our hand.”

(If Mimori-kun’s prediction is correct…… and my Skill “overrides” Vysis’s interference……)

Then right now————- Mimori Touka’s Status Display exists only here, in front of me.

[……………………..]

Back then———- right as she was about to die……

When Asagi leaned in close and whispered to me.

“Your Inherent Skill———– remember how when you’re a little far away…… you can’t see the displays properly…… so you’d move the other Heroes’ windows over to yourself?”

At that time, I thought this wasn’t the sort of thing we should be talking about in such a situation.

So I answered in a hoarse whisper……

“Asagi-san, now’s not really the time———”

“It’ll be quick, just listen.”

“……U- Unn.”

“Mimori’s probably…… planning to use your Inherent Skill to hide his Status information and face Vysis. Well, I’m not trusted enough to know the details of the plan. But…… with all those Fly King costumes, and that annoyingly sluggish final-form Fly King look…… it’s obvious he’s hiding something inside and planning to use it somehow.”

So Asagi had read that much already.

“But if the Status Window itself doesn’t show up, Vysis will be even more confused.”

“Eh?”

“Even if the info’s hidden, if the Status Window’s there then she knows it belongs to “one of the Heroes”…… That already uses up a “Hero Slot”, so to speak. But…… if the Status Window itself doesn’t show up?”

“Ahh……”

Then Vysis wouldn’t even know whether the person behind the mask was a Hero at all.

“……Your Inherent Skill hardly consumes any MP, so even if you leave it active all the time it’s no problem. That means while Vysis is fighting Mimori, you can keep his Status Window “stolen” over on your side without issue. Well…… Of course, if Vysis-chan happens to have the interference power to nullify it, then the plan’s meaningless.”

Before rushing into the castle, I told Touka about what Asagi had said.

For him, the most important status information was MP.

But in this final battle, there likely wouldn’t be many situations where checking MP was essential.

And even if there was, he could just turn the display off and then back on again.

That way, the Status Window would appear in front of him.

Based on Asagi’s words, Touka had accepted this plan.

At first, it was just a plan to “hide the status”.

But it evolved into a plan to “hide the window itself”.

Before the raid, I moved Mimori Touka’s Status Window in front of myself.

As long as he didn’t turn his own Status Display off……

(Even if Vysis forces the Status Window to be displayed…… she might not be able to see the Status Window at all……)

I didn’t know exactly how Mimori Touka intended to use this in his strategy.

But———- I would do what I could do.

(It might be presumptuous of me, but…… if possible, I’ll do your share of work as well.)

Asagi-san.

(……Not just the significance behind the “hide status information” function…… but this way of using it, I’d never have thought of it myself.)

I sat down on my knees.

Thinking of Asagi, I smiled faintly.

[……………………]

Back then———- when she whispered in my ear, her final words had been:

“If it comes…… from you instead of me, Mimori will trust it more…… That’s why I told only you now.”

[As I thought———-]

Plop.

A single tear fell onto my lap.

[……You really are amazing, Asagi-san.]

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