Antagonist Protection Service

When I made it clear I had no intention to attack the imperial expedition party, everyone appeared to grow visibly relieved, proceeding to take their time retreating from the snow-covered basin to a warmer location and recovering.

Thereafter, the Imperial Commander was the first to come up to me.

"Thank you."

"..."

Surprisingly, his words were that of gratitude.

I expected everyone to still despise me or see me as a criminal whether I saved them from the Demon or not, but... maybe that wasn't the case after all.

"Her Highness informed me of your assistance. I am also aware that you have been working alongside my son. After what happened back then, I was quite surprised."

"...?"

Soon, I realised he was referring to the murder of the former crown prince.

This guy was still the Imperial Commander back then, so although he wasn't necessarily in charge of the Imperial Knights who guarded the palace, I'm sure he was at least close to them.

He must have known something was off when the prince died. And he would have been correct, because it was true that I had the emperor reduce the amount of guards around the prince's room.

Maybe it was because he knew something was suspicious about it and confronted the emperor or Lucretia, so they clued him in.

In that case, he would've known that I was on their side this time too, even if no one else did.

'...Well. Nobody needs to know that I was waiting for the Black Fang to die first before jumping in.'

If anyone asked, it was just that I wanted to make sure the Demon was tired out from fighting.

"But, there is one question I would hope you could answer for me..."

Lowering his voice, the Imperial Commander suddenly sounded serious.

"How did you disperse the Demon's lightning with your sword? I tried blocking it, but it went right through and fried me whole! I seriously thought I was getting old there!"

Letting loose a hearty laugh, he firmly patted me on the shoulder.

I could understand his curiosity, and I guess it wasn't much trouble to explain it...

"It was magic. My sword resists magic, so I just cut through it. It was also magic of a property my sword directly counters."

"I see... That must have been my mistake. See, I was informed prior to setting out that Demons did not in fact possess mana veins as we do, and thus I was not concerned as much with preparations for fighting magic."

Well, that made sense for why he got practically one shot.

In any case, although it seemed to be true that Demons didn't have mana veins just like me, which I was told back when Joádin rescued me, he also told me most people probably wouldn't realise unless they looked closely like he had done.

At the end of the day, for the majority of people, if they looked at me with magic-enhanced eyes, all they would see is magic energy flowing around my body and probably leave it at that.

Unless they scrutinised it further, they likely wouldn't know I didn't have mana veins.

'Although, that guy definitely seemed to notice something...'

Casting a glance back into the vast basin, where a single Demon's corpse lay still in the distance, I wasn't sure if he was just keen-eyed, or if there was something I didn't know about.

'Hm... Now that I think about it, it feels like a bit too much of a coincidence that the Mana Corruption I taxed from the Demon King of the other world just so happened to be the same way that this guy used his lightning magic...'

Of course, it could very well have just been a coincidence, but it felt like a bit much.

I didn't mean to imply that this Greater Demon and the Demon King from that world were the same―of course not―just that I found it interesting how similar their systems turned out to be.

Although, maybe Demons had more commonalities than I first thought, even throughout all these different worlds...

In addition to that, I couldn't deny that I was quite curious how he managed to have magic of the Evil property.

Wasn't Evil the opposite of Holy? That's the reason the Holy Sword was able to counter it, after all, or at least that's what I thought. In that case, since there was technically no such thing as "holy magic", wouldn't it then follow that there was no such thing as "evil magic" either?

I know I called miracles holy magic in the past, but looking back, that's because I didn't know anything. In reality, that's not what it was at all.

Because they used divine energy to function, not magic energy, they were fundamentally different.

That being the case, if the 'Holy' property required divinity to exist, then what would that mean for the 'Evil' property?

Was there an antithetical to divinity that I wasn't aware of? It would certainly make sense, and if it was true, it would mean the Demon's black lightning actually wasn't magic at all, but rather a product of that Evil-aligned energy...

'Librarian? Ah, actually, don't answer that. We can talk about it later when we have time.'

[Okay!]

I thought if anyone would know, it would undoubtedly be her, but this certainly wasn't the time.

We had to return to the Imperial City and... take care of business.

After that, well... I didn't even know what it was I should do.

'...Anyway. Let's just take it one step at a time.'

Regardless, everything would progress steadily, just as it was meant to.

❖─────★★☆☆☆─────❖

[The Protagonist, 'Liam Tichá, the Avenger', has been dispatched!]

[Contract complete, congratulations!]

"Hah, for what? Wasting my time with this kid?"

All around me, the room was cluttered with smashed tables and broken bottles, alcohol wasted and drenching various patches on the floor.

The Protagonist was being hidden by the Black Fang in one of their secret bases, an underground tavern with no business on the outside. It was just a front of course, but it looked like they still managed to accrue plenty of customers regardless, judging by the sheer amount of supply they had in stock.

In any case, when I came in, he immediately freaked out, throwing bottles and dashing around the place like a monkey. I have no idea what he thought I was here for, but he must have recognised me and got scared.

Maybe he thought I came for revenge because the Black Fang tried to capture me back then.

Regardless, there was nothing he could do, and I quickly caught him. Naturally.

[Don't say that, Enki! Aren't you satisfied from having evolved your skills? So then it wasn't time wasted after all!]

"No, you're right... It's definitely a lot."

The problem here wasn't the Protagonist himself at all, but the surrounding circumstances.

Rather than starting a Contract and clearing it in a matter of days without gaining anything else, it was true that, sometimes, dragging things out to make sure I was at full capacity was the smarter decision.

The truth was, I gained a lot this time around.

From the ability to manipulate the magic energy in my blood, at least to a minimal extent, to unlocking the true power of the Winter Mother's Blessing and acquiring the power of Her divine energy, to even having the Holy Sword transform to fit that divine energy.

There was also a little bit of swordsmanship training on the side, but that was so negligible that it was basically just a lesson on footwork.

In regards to directly fighting with the sword, I honestly felt like the instincts of Heightened Senses would let me perform both better and faster.

Even still, it was seriously a lot that I had gained by coming here.

[Would you like to return to the Library right away?]

Asking me that, the Librarian's voice rang out.

"No, not yet."

[Certainly, okie dokie! Let me know whenever you're ready!]

"I will, thank you."

Indeed, the Contract was over, but it really would have been quite disrespectful to leave just like that without telling anyone.

There yet remained a few things I had to--

"Hm?"

Suddenly, something inside my cloak hummed with magic energy. Reaching in and pulling out the crystal orb from before, I realised someone was trying to get in contact with me.

"What's up?"

Holding the orb, a familiar face was soon reflected within.

"Sir Enki. Her Highness wishes to speak with you."

His hair and eyes refreshingly blue as always, Joádin greeted me.

"Oh, Lucretia? Sure, I was meaning to see her soon anyway. Is everything sorted?"

"Yes. You should be officially recognised as a great helper who assisted the expedition in taking down the Demon threat, meaning there'll be no need for you to hide any longer. And, good. She relayed to me a message to pass on to you."

"She did?"

'Why wouldn't she just say it when I visit her...'

I wondered that only briefly.

"'Do not dare to run away again whilst I am not looking'... is the message..."

"..."

Hearing him say that rather stiffly, I could imagine quite well just in what sort of tone she must have said it while telling Joádin to relay her words.

"Ahem. Cael shall be with you soon to teleport you over to the Imperial Palace... Good luck."

'Damn it. What good luck?'

Reactively frowning in response to his words, he then abruptly left before I could say anything, the crystal orb immediately ceasing to emit any light.

"Honestly..."

Giving a perfunctory sigh, I remained still in the partially-ruined tavern for a while.