Chapter 11 | The Assassin Prepares
My assassination target was the hierarch of the Alamite Church. I was already working on a number of plans in the back of my mind, and I continued to do so as I spoke. “I have two questions.”
“Ask away. I will answer if I am able,” Nevan responded.
“First, are you not going to inquire about the method of my assassination? Will you need me to conceal the hierarch’s death as I did with the prince?”
I’d killed a prince of this kingdom not too long ago. His murder would’ve been a scandal, so I made his demise look like it was caused by an illness. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Nevan imposed the same stipulation for the hierarch.
“All you have to do is kill him.”
“Got it.”
If I didn’t have to hide that he was assassinated, the easiest way to get the job done would be to snipe him from long distance with a rifle. The hierarch often made public appearances to give speeches—I could get him then. If I made full use of all my magic techniques, I could snipe from a maximum range of two kilometers.
This world had no concept of long-distance sharpshooting. There would be guards in place to watch for archers, but a bow could only reach two to three hundred meters at best. No one would imagine that someone could be shot from kilometers away. As such, there would be no one monitoring sniping positions and no defenses to obstruct my line of fire. Putting a bullet through his head would be easy.
The problem is, that won’t be enough to kill the hierarch if he’s a demon. Demons couldn’t be killed unless you destroyed their Crimson Hearts. Before we could do that, we needed to materialize the Crimson Heart using a spell I’d created called Demonkiller. The effective range of Demonkiller was twenty to thirty meters at best. Even if the roles of sniper and Demonkiller caster were divided among two people, the latter person would be caught immediately.
Dia would have to be the one to use Demonkiller. She was a talented mage, but her physical strength and close combat capability left a little to be desired, and fleeing after the demon was killed would be nearly impossible for her.
I needed to think of something.
“What is your second question?” Nevan asked.
“How did you discover that the hierarch is a demon?”
“Now that is an inquiry I didn’t expect.”
“I think it’s an obvious one.”
“Yes, but you aren’t going to take my word for it, are you? I expect you will do your own research.”
Nevan understood me well. Whatever she told me, I was going to search for the truth using my own eyes and ears.
“There’s a high chance that the reason House Romalung believes him to be a demon will be useful information and will make verifying this easier,” I explained.
“You have a point. The answer is simple: The Alam Karla asked me for help.”
If the claim originated from the goddess’s oracle herself, then the hierarch almost certainly was a demon.
“…How did you receive the Alam Karla’s SOS without being discovered by the hierarch?”
“I did not meet her as myself, but rather as Princess Farina’s body double. Royal families from countries that practice Alamism regularly visit the Alam Karla to receive the word of the goddess.”
In addition to being a daughter of House Romalung, Nevan was a body double for Farina, a princess of Alvan.
“That makes sense, but if the demon realizes that the Alam Karla knows the truth, it’ll kill her. She has to realize that. I don’t see why she would risk her life by telling you.”
“I did not gain her trust overnight. I have spent years winning my way into her good graces because I thought I could use her. I am also certain she chose to confide in me largely because I am from the same country as the man who killed three demons… The Alam Karla believes you will save her, Sir Lugh.”
Nevan was shrewd. This was also good news—the Alam Karla was aware of the hierarch’s true identity and was my ally. If she was yet to fall into the demon’s hands, that opened several options to me. The demon wouldn’t be able to label me an enemy of the gods so easily.
However, the demon could easily replace the Alam Karla with an imposter.
“That’s good to know. I’ll work on a plan to protect her and find a way to meet with the hierarch. I’ve confronted multiple demons. No matter how well it conceals its true identity, I’ll be able to tell if it’s a demon or not if I see him in person… I’d like to meet him as Lugh Tuatha Dé, but that would be difficult.”
We had circumstantial evidence, but I still couldn’t be certain. For that reason, I wanted to see the hierarch with my own two eyes.
“No, it will not. You defeated another demon, didn’t you? Excluding the one the hero slew, you have killed the beetle, the lion, and now a third. The hierarch himself is saying that he is going to invite you to the Holy Land and lavish you with praise for your accomplishments. It seems he wants to invite your entire class and the class president as well.”
Well, that’s convenient… Too convenient.
“It’s obviously a trap. I’m even gifting him hostages in the form of my classmates,” I remarked.
“That is likely, given the timing of the summons. Is this not thrilling? We’re in a battle of wits between human and demon.”
Nevan wasn’t wrong. It was clear that the Alam Karla held the key to this game of deception. If the hierarch proclaimed me an enemy of the goddess, nothing would come of it if the Alam Karla responded by saying I was innocent and denounced the hierarch as a demon. Conversely, if I didn’t take measures before the Alam Karla fell into the demon’s hands, it could use her role as the oracle to ostracize me from society.
I returned to my apartment and gave Dia and Tarte the gist of the situation. Now that I had accepted this job, I needed their assistance.
“Are you serious? The hierarch is a demon?! The world is doomed,” exclaimed Dia.
With clear despair, Tarte muttered, “I can’t believe the person closest in the world to the divine is a demon in disguise…”
“We have a precedent for this, remember? The snake demon Mina infiltrated noble society in much the same way. It’s not a leap to assume that another could slip into the church,” I pointed out.
Demons were much more than just strong monsters. That was what made them so difficult to deal with.
“Do you have a plan? This is really, really bad. You made it sound like we’re finished if the Alam Karla is already under the demon’s control,” Dia said.
“That’s why I’m going to act one step ahead. I highly doubt the demon has accounted for my aircraft. I’ll sneak away as soon as we get out of class tomorrow,” I explained.
“This isn’t the time to worry about classes!” Dia shouted.
I wished that were the case. This was a battle against time; it would be best if I could skip class and depart as quickly as possible.
“You would think. The problem is, there’s someone in our class with a connection to the demons. If I do anything conspicuous, there’s a chance word of it could reach the demon posing as the hierarch,” I pointed out.
“You mean Lord Naoise… Um, aren’t the demons supposed to be competing against each other?” asked Tarte.
“Mina has been acting suspiciously since the earth dragon demon appeared. At the very least, she hasn’t done enough to earn my trust.”
I had a pretty good idea of what Mina was plotting. She loved human society and culture and wanted to eliminate the other demons that would destroy it. That much was true. However, I also had reason to suspect she wanted to obtain the power of the Demon King. To achieve that, she required at least three Fruits of Life, each of which was made from over ten thousand human souls.
Mina knew she would become a target of mine if she tried to make a Fruit of Life herself. Thus, she’d chosen to let the other demons do the work for her and then steal the fruits. However, only four demons remained, including Mina. She didn’t expect there’d only be a single Fruit of Life this late into the game, and she wouldn’t welcome the death of another demon.
“That’s true. So what will you do when you meet with the Alam Karla?” Dia inquired.
“Make sure she isn’t already under the demon’s control,” I said.
Although a true oracle, the Alam Karla was still an ordinary human. A demon would have no trouble brainwashing her. She’d be incapable of defending herself.
Nervously, Dia wondered aloud, “What if she’s already fallen under the demon’s sway?”
“I’d be finished. Ostracization from society would be inevitable. I would throw away my name and run.”
That was how enormous Alamism’s influence was. Its enemy was the enemy of every person in the nation. People would curse me as a devil and hurl stones at me as I walked down the street. Living as Lugh Tuatha Dé would be impossible.
I could exist as Illig Balor or move to a faraway land beyond the reach of the church. Either way, I’d have to live under a different identity while searching for a chance to clear my name.
“I’ll go with you if it comes to that,” Dia declared.
“Me too!” Tarte agreed.
“You do realize we’ll be treated as significantly worse than criminals?” I responded.
“I do. But that’s preferable to being apart from you,” Dia insisted.
“I am your personal retainer, my lord! I will follow you anywhere!” Tarte cried.
Their straightforward affection deeply moved me.
“Thank you. I’m happy to hear that. Please accompany me if that time comes. I’d be lonely without you both.”
“Heh-heh, you can count on us.”
“I’d never let you be alone, my lord.”
I was really glad I had bound myself to these girls. We smiled at each other, then, feeling a little awkward, I cleared my throat. Dia and Tarte looked a little bashful, too, but fortunately, Dia got us back on topic.
“So what will you do if the Alam Karla isn’t under the demon’s control yet?”
“I’ll abduct and shelter her. If we have the Alam Karla, nothing the hierarch says will have any sway. The goddess chooses the Alam Karla, and the hierarch is just a position created by humans,” I said with a reassuring smile. Obtaining the Alam Karla would give us an instant advantage. I could even get her to announce that the hierarch was a demon.
“…U-um, so basically you’ll go to the Holy Land, sneak into the cathedral—the most heavily guarded place in the world—grab the Alam Karla, and escape. All while keeping your identity hidden,” Tarte summarized.
Dia frowned. “Is that possible?”
“I’ll pull it off. I have to. I mean, afterward I’ll have to deal with the impossibly difficult mission of assassinating a demon that has disguised himself as the hierarch. If I can’t do a little rescue mission first, I’m screwed.”
Rescuing the Alam Karla would be difficult, but I could get it done. I was going to start by using my telecommunications network to prepare resources and a safe house to protect the oracle, and to get myself ready for the trip.
This was a battle against time, and I’d operate as swiftly as I could without panicking. It had been a while since I’d exercised my assassin’s intellect. I was going to succeed perfectly.
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