I raised my right hand in a clenched fist and lifted it high.

“Everyone! It’s over. The Black Sun is gone!”

“Uwaaah! Hero!”

“This wasn’t something I did alone.”

I quickly continued.

“My other companions have gone to save any people who might still be corrupted. And here, our friend of the dead, Adwin, summoned the soul of a past hero to give us guidance.”

“……”

“And more than anything!”

I suddenly grabbed Neril’s hand.

Startled, she asked in confusion.

“Wh-What are you doing?”

“It’s now, Neril.”

“What do you mean now?”

“I told you. As of today, you’re no longer the Witch of Carnage. Now that you’ve achieved this great feat right before the eyes of the capital’s citizens, this is your chance.”

“…Mide.”

“Come on.”

She relaxed her arm.

Thanks to that, I was able to lift her hand too.

“This is Neril Slane. She’s the one who enchanted my sword!”

“Neril Slane?”

“Wait, is that the same Neril…”

“Isn’t she the Witch of Carnage?”

As if I’d been waiting for it, I shouted loudly.

“That’s a misunderstanding, everyone. The truth will soon be revealed to the world.”

Even if it’s not revealed, I’m going to tear Dame down and make sure it is.

“So please forget that old title, the Witch of Carnage. Neril is my companion.”

“Well… still.”

“But she’s the hero’s companion!”

“True. If the hero says so, that’s all that needs to be said.”

I held my pounding heart in check and waited for their ‘verdict.’

After a moment.

The citizens of the capital cried out.

“Mide! Mide!”

“Lady Neril! Thank you!”

“Thank you so much for saving us!”

“Please defeat the Demon King too!”

It worked.

Among their cheers was exactly the reaction I’d hoped for.

Now, if Dame officially announces that most of the accusations against the Witch of Carnage were false, it’ll all wrap up nicely.

[Will that stiff old man really do what you’re hoping?]

‘I won’t even have to ask.’

[Huh?]

‘Xenia will ask for the same thing. And Dame has never refused anything she asked for.’

Come to think of it, did Xenia manage to rescue Dame safely?

There probably weren’t any major issues, but I still worry.

At that moment—

“…Your hand…”

“Ah. Sorry.”

Startled, I tried to pull my hand away.

But—

Squeeze.

Suddenly, Neril gripped my hand even tighter.

“I didn’t say to let go.”

“…Huh?”

“Mide.”

She looked up at me.

For a brief moment, real sunlight shone down behind her.

“You cleared my name, and you even recovered the heirloom of the Erenica family, something I’ve longed for.”

“Dame recovered the heirloom though.”

“Just listen.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She continued softly.

“Remember when I said meeting you was my greatest luck?”

“…Yeah, you did.”

“I want to add one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“You are…”

She trailed off.

Then she shook her head.

“No, never mind. What am I even saying?”

Come on—why stop halfway?

You’re making me curious here.

Then—

Ding.

A notification window suddenly popped up.

<Ding! You’ve gained 12,000 Reputation Points.>

<Reputation needed for next level: 67,760 / 100,000>

<Reputation Points to be gained from this event: 18,000>

<Your name is now echoing throughout the Drucker Territory. (All points collected!)>

<Your name is now echoing throughout the Quelk Territory. (All points collected!)>

<Your name is now echoing throughout the Lior Territory. (All points collected!)>

<Your name is now echoing throughout the Avis Territory. (All points collected!)>

<Your name is now echoing throughout the Raynus Territory. (All points collected!)>

<Your name is now echoing throughout the Tetra Territory. (All points collected!)>

<Xenia Side sees you as someone “she would stake her life on.”>

<Offense Dake sees you as someone “who can fulfill his wish.”>

<Adwin Ayn sees you as “the coolest big brother in the world.”>

And—

<Neril Slane sees you as “someone who makes her happy.”>

…Ah.

I swear I wasn’t trying to look, Neril.

Xenia sat heavily on the floor, catching her breath.

Lying sprawled in front of her was Dame.

Her once-clean, beautiful home looked like it had been hit directly by a siege weapon—walls blown out, the structure nearly collapsed.

Xenia spoke.

“…Looks like I’ve got some unexpected expenses. What’s the daily wage for laborers these days?”

Dame coughed up blood and replied.

“That’s the first thing you say after beating your father to a pulp?”

“Well, who told you to let yourself get corrupted?”

When Xenia had rushed home, Dame had already been heavily influenced by the Black Sun.

The corruption had reached deep into his very marrow.

Seeing her father entirely covered in that black ooze, Xenia had drawn her sword without hesitation.

And she subdued Dame.

Her home was destroyed in the process, but she didn’t care.

It was filled with memories of her family, yes—but nothing was more important than her father himself.

Dame, physically enhanced by the monstrous corruption, had become incredibly powerful—but their battle didn’t even last three minutes.

“I knew you’d surpassed me… but I didn’t think it was by this much.”

“Honestly, I didn’t realize the gap had grown so wide either.”

“Hah… somehow that makes me sad.”

“Fufu. Just be proud of your daughter’s growth, Father.”

Dame gave a small chuckle and looked up at the sky through the hole where the ceiling used to be.

“The Black Sun is gone.”

“Looks like Mide did it. Can you hear those cheers?”

“Yes. ‘Hero,’ ‘hero’—it’s ringing in my ears.”

“Well, it’s well deserved. Who else but a hero could bring down a sun in the sky?”

Xenia stood up.

Dame turned his head slightly to look at her.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes. I’ve saved you, so it’s time to go back.”

“Hah… you’re really going to leave your father in this wrecked mess?”

“When the third Demon King fell in history, all the corrupted soldiers reverted to humans. You’ll recover after some rest. Besides…”

“…?”

“There’s still a lot I need to help clean up. Mide allowed me to step away from the party because of personal reasons—so I need to return now.”

“So now you see yourself not as the vice-captain of the Holy Knights, but as Mide’s party member.”

Xenia answered without hesitation.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“…”

“Father.”

“…Yes?”

“When you’ve recovered, please issue a public statement acknowledging your secret contract with Lady Neril. And step down from your position as captain.” Discover more novels at NoveI~Fire.net

Dame didn’t respond immediately.

Xenia continued, her blue eyes steady and unwavering.

“His Majesty the Emperor will likely preside over your trial personally, since you’re the head of the Holy Knights. And he respects you—so I doubt he’ll impose anything too severe.”

“His Majesty is far more terrifying than you think. But my punishment isn’t the issue. The Holy Knights will be left with a permanent stain on their name.”

“Neril was also stained with a permanent disgrace.”

“She agreed to it.”

“And now I’m asking you to agree to your part.”

Dame was at a loss for words.

Xenia met his gaze, waiting silently.

Then—

Tap.

Dame slowly stood up.

And quietly nodded.

“…So be it.”

A gentle smile spread across Xenia’s lips.

“Thank you, Father. Truly.”

“…Are you going to take my position next?”

“Well… I’m sorry to say this, but once you’re officially declared a disgraced sinner who brought shame to the Holy Knights, people won’t react kindly to your daughter taking command.”

“……”

“So I need to build up my own reputation first.”

Dame let out a small chuckle, understanding what she meant.

“By killing the Demon King?”

“Exactly. Mide doesn’t just value his own reputation, he values his companions’ too. If I stay by his side, I think I’ll become pretty famous myself.”

“……”

“I’ll think about taking the captain’s position then.”

“Hm. Until then, Abel can hold the role.”

The two of them wrapped up their discussion.

Xenia turned to leave.

But she paused for a moment, then quickly turned back and approached Dame.

“Xenia?”

“This is the best outcome now, Father.”

“……”

“When it’s the best, I said I’d greet you like this, didn’t I?”

Xenia gave Dame a light hug.

For the first time in ages, Dame was able to burst into a genuine smile.

This incident left a storm of consequences in many ways.

The first was Dame Seide issuing an official statement.

It was a confession revealing the secret contract with Neril and expressing his willingness to stand trial.

It also included his intention to step down as captain regardless of the trial’s outcome.

The people of the capital buzzed with gossip over the statement.

“So what, the things the Witch of Carnage did were actually pinned on her by the Holy Knights?”

“Looks like it. Serves those pompous knights right.”

“Still, I heard Dame acted on his own in all that.”

“Sounds like they’re cutting off the tail to save the body.”

“No, he’s not the tail—they cut off the head. Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“Anyway, as expected of the Hero. He apparently figured out that secret contract like reading the palm of his hand.”

Whenever I heard such chatter, I glanced at Xenia, but she looked completely unfazed.

“Just the fact that people aren’t calling to boil him alive is good enough.”

“Mm. True, the Witch of Carnage always felt like someone far removed from regular folks.”

“Yes. Compared to that…”

She was about to continue when more murmuring arose.

“I was more shocked by the Captain of Alkahad than Dame.”

“Oh, Patrick Benjamin.”

“Always looked like such a nice guy. But he was the main culprit behind the Black Sun.”

“Honestly, isn’t he the Demon King?”

“Damn it, my arm rotted and fell apart because of that incident.”

At those words, a refreshing smile bloomed on Xenia’s face.

Seeing that smile, Neril spoke.

“As a Holy Knight, you’re happy about someone else’s misfortune? The power of the Demon King of Corruption really is terrifying.”

“It’s not funny at all, you know?”

“If it were funny despite being sincere, that would be a problem.”

“Argh! I already have a lot of complaints about you, Neril. Did you really have to use that illusion spell?”

“Why? Patrick’s got a decent-looking face, at least.”

“Eugh.”

To be fair, Patrick had some reason to feel wronged.

If you looked only at the Black Sun incident, it was actually Idria’s doing.

But with no way to prove it—and with mounting evidence that he’d used demonic transformations to blackmail people even before the Black Sun—he had no way to avoid the charges.

Adwin asked,

“What’ll happen to Patrick?”

“Well, apparently the Emperor himself is going to punish him, so it’ll go as it goes. Like Dame.”

“‘The Emperor,’ you say… Isn’t it a bit disrespectful to refer to the ruler of the Empire like that?”

“Hey, at least I didn’t call him a bug like someone else.”

With such idle chatter, we returned to the inn.

We’d gotten a read on the capital’s mood, and confirmed that everything had wrapped up nicely, just the way we wanted.

Xenia had also taken a day off to spend some time with Dame before returning to her duties.

‘I guess it’s about time we leave.’

So I thought, and was about to speak—

Bang.

The inn door burst open, and a group of soldiers marched in.

They scanned the room, then spotted me—and their expressions changed.

Offense whispered beside me.

“It’s Alkahad. I’m out.”

“Did you commit a crime?”

“Of course I did. What do you think I’ve been living off of?”

“……”

“If Neril has deep grudges with the Holy Knights, then I was Alkahad’s number one target.”

“So I have to clear your name too, now? This is exhausting.”

“Pfft. My case’s a lot different from Neril’s. Everyone knows the Witch of Carnage, but I doubt a single civilian’s heard of the name ‘Bright Death’.”

…Well, that’s fair.

At any rate, Offense vanished in an instant, without so much as a breeze.

Even I barely caught his movement.

He was now clinging to the inn ceiling.

‘Seriously impressive.’

Step.

In the meantime, one of the Alkahad members stepped in front of me.

I looked up slightly and asked,

“What’s the matter?”

“Are you Sir Mide Mohan, the Hero, and his companions?”

“Yes.”

“We’d like to ask you to come with us for a moment.”

At that, Neril raised her eyebrows.

“What’s your problem? Xenia and Dame already explained everything, didn’t they?”

“Uh? No, I…”

“You really need to learn how to let good deeds go unpunished and just send people off kindly.”

It seemed Neril thought they were here to arrest us.

Xenia spoke to her.

“Neril. Look at their demeanor.”

“Huh?”

“They’re not here to threaten us.”

“……Oh.”

“The situation is really different from the days when you were being chased by the Holy Knights. You need to start adjusting to the new way people treat you.”

Neril’s face went blank.

Just as Xenia said, the member quickly straightened up and politely spoke again.

“I must’ve sounded too imposing. Let me rephrase.”

“……”

“We wish to escort you. Would you grant us the honor?”

Neril’s expression was priceless.

It looked like she had never once imagined someone would ever say they wished to escort her, and her eyes kept darting about.

I spoke up.

“May I ask who it is that’s inviting us?”

“Yes, of course. Though I wonder if the question’s even necessary.”

“…?”

“The Black Sun, a replica of the Demon King of Corruption’s power. And the hero and companions who brought it down. Anyone meeting such noble figures would, of course, have to be someone of equal stature.”

At those words, I figured it out.

So did the rest of our group.

Adwin stammered.

“W-wait… don’t tell me—?”

“Yes.”

The member nodded.

“You are to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

Neril muttered blankly.

“…The crown-wearing ant.”

That’s not it. Hey.

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TL : Uh oh, we’re getting close to Chapter 75 so better go review the novel on Novel Updates!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep