Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter Ep2

Epilogue II: Man of Mirages 

While running through the imperial capital at night, Rogue Zandyke recalled the first time he met Liliana. He had gone to suppress an incident that was happening in a small village. At that time, the intelligence division of the army had yet to be established. Rogue was just an officer in the military. Having caught wind of an ominous ritual taking place in a village in the northern part of the Empire, he moved out with his subordinates to investigate. 

He was not sure what exactly the ritual entailed, but in its wake, an ominous being appeared in the vicinity and the corpses of many children began to pop up here and there. After investigating the nearby villages, they learned it was a tradition passed down over the generations. Every year, they would sacrifice cursed children to an evil being different from the Evil God Zekaraia. 

When they arrived at the village in question, they were in the middle of performing the ritual. Magic circles were drawn in blood all over the place. The ritual involved all of the villagers, and they were gathered around a single person, spilling all kinds of hateful words from their mouths. 

The victim of all this was Liliana, who was still a small child. Even her actual parents who should have been affectionate were part of the cheering crowd. They all treated her like a monster. At the shrine where the ritual took place, the people swarmed the huddled up and trembling girl. He could still remember the primal glitter of her right eye. 

When the soldiers tried to stop the ritual, the villagers attacked them. They said that if the ritual did not take place, then evil would assault the village. Before anyone realized it, the villagers had all lost their minds. Perhaps it was an effect of Liliana’s darkness. Rogue didn’t know if it was natural or something more. But either way, he couldn’t stand for what they were doing. Ganging up on a small child to deny her happiness shouldn’t be allowed to happen. It wasn’t something people should be allowed to do. After suppressing the rampaging villagers, the shaman at the center of the ritual left behind a few dying words of warning for Rogue. 

“That girl is a child with the natural ability to curse others... Eventually all of humanity will be harmed by her...” 

Thinking back on it, the shaman’s words may have been a curse in and of themselves when Rogue took Liliana with him. They always loomed in the back of his mind. Deep down, he must have also thought of Liliana as cursed. And after how he’d treated her, he no longer had the right to stand by her side. He regretted that he had to let her go, but he was sure that if he entrusted her to that young man who had always believed in her, she would surely be able to live happily. 

The young man had told him that even if he wasn’t connected by blood, that if he considered himself her father, he should have acted like it to the end. He should believe in his own family. That was the source of the young man’s anger. But Rogue hadn’t been able to believe in her. Completely caught up only in what was happening, he’d abandoned the girl he once saved with his own hands. 

“...” 

As he looked back at the place he was running from, Liliana’s voice rang in his head. 

“Colonel, why do you always... have to take nothing but painful jobs?” 

When he thought about it, Liliana may have always sympathized with him. 

“Colonel, if I become a soldier... would I be useful to you?” 

When he thought about it, Liliana may have wholeheartedly wanted to be of help to him. 

“Colonel, why do the nobles... hate you so much?” 

Yes, when he thought about it, everything she asked him was always out of concern for him. 

Rogue was ostracized by the nobles. She’d caught wind of it and figured out what a hard time he was having. Liliana was a smart child, after all. That must have been why she tried to save him. It was laughable. To think that he would only understand her thoughtfulness and sorrow after all this time... That was exactly why he had no right to call himself her father. 

And he no longer had any room to criticize her. Surely that brilliant radiance from the falling stars had washed everything away. But it was not yet over. He still had something that he must do. If Liliana was to live in tranquility and peace, the source of evil known as the nobility would have to be taken care of. Even if that young man was with her, some sort of retribution would surely await them. And so, as the one who drove Liliana to such violence, he had to make his move. Holding those thoughts in his heart, he quietly looked at the sky. 

“Even though I have the desire, it doesn’t go the way I want...” 

Just why was this world so hard only on those who were weak? It only granted pain to those who lived properly and stole their happiness away. As he turned these questions to the sky, there was no sign of any answer coming back to him. No, instead what he heard was an unfamiliar voice. 

“One of the Seven Swords and a colonel of the imperial army’s intelligence division... Rogue Zandyke-dono, correct?” 

Rogue lowered his gaze. A single man had appeared on the path in front of him. With long, light purple hair, he had something of a transient air about him. His clothing was also unfamiliar to Rogue, but he could tell it was expensive and elegant. The man was quite skinny, but even under his flowing clothes that looked like the customary dress of some country’s nobles, Rogue could sense that his body was trained. As Rogue shot a vigilant stare at that man before him, the man threw him back a question with no context. 

“What do you think of this world?” 

Not knowing what this man’s intentions were by asking such a thing, Rogue returned with a question of his own. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Do you not also think that the way of this world is simply irrational?” 

“...” 

Feeling like the innermost thoughts deep in his heart had been revealed, Rogue’s body stiffened for an instant. However, he quickly regained his composure and warded off the man’s words as nonsense. 

“There is no way I would have complaints about the world the Goddess Alshuna made.” 

“That is a falsehood.” 

“What makes you say that?” 

Rogue shot yet another question at the man whose face said he knew everything. And as he replied, his expression didn’t change. 

“Is it not? If it is not a falsehood, then all those times you thought of your daughter as you begged the Goddess in prayer every day for a wish that would never be granted would end up being the falsehood.” 

“So you know about that...” 

Taken aback by the man’s conjecture, Rogue unwittingly ended up acknowledging what he said. It was true. He’d prayed for Liliana’s body that was being eaten away to be healed by the Goddess. Every morning, without fail, he would walk over to the Church of Salvation. However, no matter how many prayers he offered, they were never heard. 

“Though it may be presumptuous, I do believe I understand your feelings towards the world,” the man said, pointing his cold gray eyes right at Rogue. “This miniature garden created by the Goddess is made to be irrational. Is that not why demons exist? The existence of the Goddess itself is a cluster of irrationality, after all.” 

In this world where the Goddess was worshiped as everything virtuous, this man was showing contempt for her without an ounce of hesitation. He must have had a reason to claim all this so loudly, despite the fact that if anyone heard him, he would be treated as suspicious immediately. 

“Zandyke-dono, I would like you to lend us your power.” 

“What do you intend to do with my power?” 

“You already know. If the Goddess spreads irrationality, we will fight against her and change the world.” 

The words coming out of the man’s mouth were akin to scheming to usurp a god. Anyone who heard it would be stunned. This included Rogue. His voice as he questioned the man was filled with bewilderment. 

“Ridiculous. Are you suggesting you mean to kill the Goddess? That’s impossible.” 

“I mean to do so. And to that end, I would like your support.” 

Rogue stared at the man in front of him. He’d appeared, spoken ill of the Goddess, and was now asking for his help. Rogue felt like he seemed as firm as a rock in his beliefs. He was going to change the world. He would correct the irrationality of it. There was something about him that made it clear he wasn’t just a con artist. 

Right now, Rogue had nowhere to go and nobody waiting for him. He had not thought at all about what he would do after he finished doing what he must. However, what this man was suggesting, to break down what had been causing Rogue to lament in grief, may not have been a bad proposition to hop on to. Preparing to give a nod to the man, Rogue began to speak at ease. 

“Then there is one thing that I would like to ask.” 

“Speak.” 

“It is about my daughter. Right now, there is a threat to her that must be cleared away. I want it removed as soon as possible. If it is done, I will lend you my sword.” 

Rogue presented his conditions. He knew it was an unreasonable demand, but if this man had the power to defy a god, then such a request would be simple. It would prove all his talk wasn’t just talk. So in a way, Rogue’s demand was a test. However, the man nodded without the slightest hesitation. 

“I have heard your wish. By tomorrow morning, all those who would shun Liliana Zandyke will vanish from this imperial capital,” he declared. 

Rogue had no idea just what was backing this man’s confidence, but he would know come the next morning. Thinking of this, he realized there was still something he had yet to ask. 

“My apologies, but one more thing.” 

“What is it?” 

“I do not know the name of the one I will be lending my sword to.” 

Hearing this, a smile suddenly floated onto the man’s face. Was it simple joy? Or perhaps he was truly happy deep down? Rogue couldn’t grasp the nuance of his expression, but the man answered him quietly. 

“My name is Gottfried. Please feel free to call me as such.” 

With that, the man—Gottfried—turned to leave.