Chapter 100

Heavens, that Demona wandering around the commercial district alone with a girl.

Rafia and Hector had opened their eyes so wide by now that they were worried their eyeballs might pop out and roll around somewhere.

Hector, his face completely flushed, could no longer hold back and browbeat Demona.

“Logically, it makes no sense! Why would such a pretty girl come find you and ask to eat together? Did you use your family’s influence to threaten her just because of a bet, you trash heretic!”

At that, Demona and Rafia looked at Hector with contemptuous eyes simultaneously.

‘This guy was just jealous because Soldera is pretty.’

It roughly meant that.

“Y-You really didn’t do that, right, Demona?”

However, perhaps Rafia’s impression was not much different from that, as she asked just in case.

Demona raised her voice at Hector, asking what he took her for.

“That is something a guy like you would do! I am Demona Wicronon, you loser fanatic.”

“Did you say loser?!!”

Hector yelled at the top of his lungs.

Naturally, yelling like that in the middle of the commercial district drew surrounding attention.

— Huh? Is that that guy? Pabilto?

— Seeing him angry, it seems another guy ate a meal with a girl alone.

— ……He gets that angry over something like that?

— Hey, the Pabilto family is famous.

It was a truly disastrous reputation for the Pabilto family.

However, thinking about it, he was indeed a loser, so Hector let go of Demona’s collar, feeling embarrassed belatedly.

And he asked in a small voice:

“……Then, are you going to marry that girl named Soldera?”

Demona dusted off her collar and spoke in an annoyed tone.

“Oh, you…… forget it. We just had a date. You talk as if you’ve never been on one.”

Every single action, tone, content, and expression was the ultimate wound to Hector.

Hector, falling into shock, called Roan as he faltered backward.

“R-Roan.”

“What is it?”

It was certainly not going to be anything productive to hear, but Roan replied out of politeness.

“Th-That girl earlier must be a heretic. No, she must be a heretic……”

Hector murmured this without even looking at Roan, utterly devastated.

Roan gulped.

‘……Well, you’re not wrong.’

Was this what they called stumbling upon the truth like a blind cow catching a mouse?

Roan looked up at Hector with a pitiful gaze.

There seemed to be no need for a reply.

Meanwhile, Rafia asked Demona carefully.

“Th…… By the way, why did you two really eat together? W-What did you talk about?”

“Eh? Rafia, why are you like that too? Have you never been on a date either?”

Of course she hadn’t.

But she could not say that honestly to Demona of all people.

Rafia answered relatively naturally.

“N-No, it’s just surprising that you did……”

A slightly avoiding gaze, hands clasped together fidgeting, feet unable to stay still.

Demona, observing that appearance closely, smirked and said:

“My goodness, kids should go away, kids should go~”

Crash—!

Rafia was also completely devastated by Demona’s patronizing reaction.

Demona swept her flowing blonde hair back and raised her nose.

Judging strictly by external appearance, it was natural for her to be quite popular in high society.

If only she didn’t look like a handsome scarecrow because they hung out together every day.

‘Soldera has her own reasons, but still, appearance must have played a part.’

Roan realized anew how dangerous it was to choose a partner solely based on appearance.

In any case, Demona, having defeated even Rafia, spoke to the dejected Hector.

“You remember the bet we made earlier, right? Call me big brother from now on.”

“K-Keuk……”

That was the deciding blow.

“Surely a Pabilto wouldn’t break trust, little brother?”

“Ugh…… Big Brother Heretic……”

Hector replied while gritting his teeth, as if it was the greatest humiliation of his sixteen years of life.

Demona nodded pleasedly and tapped him on the shoulder.

Roan watched all of that from a step away.

‘This somehow makes me anxious.’

He felt a tiny bit of anxiety.

***

In the continent, besides Hiloaism, which believed in the main god Hiloa and his subordinate gods, there were other religions with very weak power.

Naturally, since it was a world where gods existed, those religions also believed in existing gods.

……Unlike Earth, if one believed in a non-existent god in this world, they would truly deserve to be called a cult.

Those who believed in Eurel Sol, the god of the black sun—namely, the eclipse—were also one of those other religions.

Originally, the priests of Eurel Sol lived a frugal life serving their god in secluded places.

The problem was:

— Is this…… the temple serving Eurel Sol?

— Yes, but are you by any chance a black mage?

— Correct. Any problem?

— …….

Strangely, it was black mages who mainly visited the temple of Eurel Sol.

……For the black mages, it was due to the secluded location that overlapped with their living area, and the familiar(?) image of the black sun, but:

The simple-minded priests of Eurel Sol did not know that much.

Because chasing away a believer who came, even if they were a black mage, was against their doctrine, the priests accepted them.

Boom──!

— Black mages! They say you are harboring black mages in this temple!

— No! They are not black mages but legitimate believers……

— Shut up, you helper of heretics!

Naturally, there was no way the Holy Empire would just watch black mages gathering at the temple of Eurel Sol like that.

The Empire raided the temples of Eurel Sol all at once.

— The temples of Eurel Sol protect black mages?

— Yes, though they claim the black mages are ordinary believers.

— Hmph, call a grand council. The god of the black sun. Even the name is suspicious.

Going from a helper of heretics to a heretic happened in an instant.

Especially, the gods of the Hiloa pantheon were not very interested in the gods of other pantheons being persecuted.

— I-I will prove my god!

— Go ahead!

Since what they did to prove their god was covering the sun or stretching shadows long, it only bought more suspicion.

The one who stepped forward then was none other than:

— ……This won’t do. Bring the Holy Emperor and the Pope.

The Holy Spirit of Akerandir, Harden.

To the point that Eurel Sol himself descended to Harden and begged him to let his religion barely survive.

In the end, instead of closing all the other temples, Harden decided to secretly move one temple of Eurel Sol to the commercial district.

Even for Harden, there was one more big reason this negotiation was concluded.

— They say the god of the black sun was designated as a heretic this time!

— No way! If so, we should keep our distance now.

— They were good people, but why did they become heretics? You never know a person’s true nature. Scary, scary.

……Sure enough, once Eurel Sol was designated as a heretic, the black mages’ visits stopped completely.

The black mages did not think it was because of them that it became a heretic.

In any case, for that reason, Eurel Sol became a pitiful religion: if they lifted the heresy designation, black mages would gather, and if they completely eliminated it, it would be too sad.

— Sol-La-Si-Do Stationery Store —

What was created that way was Akerandir’s secret temple disguised as a stationery store.

‘And Soldera is the apostle of Eurel Sol.’

In Hiloaism, an apostle holds the status of a demigod.

But Soldera, the apostle of the weak religion Eurel Sol, was merely human—on the level of a Saintess if compared to Hiloaism.

However, thanks to receiving Eurel Sol’s favor, she also obtained the authority called ‘Shadow of the Black Sun’.

Because ‘Sol’, which symbolized being a believer of Eurel Sol, was included in her name, she was reluctant to reveal her real name.

‘But is it really right for the secret temple’s name to be Sol-La-Si-Do in the first place?’

For Roan, who knew the whole story, it was just an absurd disguise.

Well, since they said the darkest place was under the candlestick, Roan decided not to worry about it too much.

“You guys haven’t eaten yet, right? I’m going to play some more. See you in the lecture hall~”

Roan asked, puzzled.

“Do you have talents?”

“Soldera gave me a little because she said my situation was pitiful.”

“……”

Roan and his friends were lost for words at Demona’s utterly shameless behavior.

Even so, for a Wicronon to get and use money from a commoner……

In any case, Demona waved her hands vigorously at the three and disappeared into the commercial district.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye, Hector?”

“……Farewell, Big Brother Heretic.”

“Yes, little brother. Hahaha!”

Before disappearing, she did not forget to receive a greeting from Hector either.

Roan looked at Demona with complex eyes.

‘Could it be that her future marriage partner is Soldera……’

It was terrifying just to imagine.

If she married into the Wicronon family, lifting the heresy designation from Eurel Sol would be fully possible.

……Roan somehow did not like that Soldera was becoming safe before him.

“By the way, it’s interesting. It’s my first time seeing an employee our age in the commercial district.”

Meanwhile, heading to the restaurant ‘Forest of the Holy Spirit’, Rafia chattered as if curious about this and that regarding Soldera.

“Because she will enter next year. ……Probably.”

Roan answered Rafia unconsciously, then added words as he realized his slip.

Soldera’s goal was the lift of the heresy designation of the Eurel Sol religion.

Therefore, Soldera intended to enter next year and become an influential person.

Although she had to hide her identity, since the power she used was originally the god’s holy power, it was compatible with Hiloaism’s holy arts, and with Harden’s protection, there was not much problem with living.

However, unless the player specially took care of her, she would mostly drift from the mainstream and become a wandering named character called ‘Witch of the Black Sun’ after graduation.

Of course, Rafia, completely unaware of that fact, reacted with wonder.

“Really? How do you know that, Roan?”

Roan quickly searched for an excuse.

“It’s not certain, but there is a special admission system in that manner.”

Living inside Akerandir for a certain period and getting recommended by three professors to enter.

Indeed, Soldera’s admission process for next year was exactly like that.

‘The professors she received recommendation letters from were probably Gulba, Uli, and Timothy.’

Gulba just because they were friends, Uli by giving the money earned from the stationery store, and Timothy in exchange for Eurel Sol’s ancient divine token.

……Soldera was cannier than she appeared.

“To think she might become our junior, interesting!”

Rafia wore a happy expression, perhaps already imagining the freshmen coming in next year.

“……It is only the second week of admission, Rafia.”

“I’m just saying!”

Though she grumbled as if the excitement had faded at Roan’s point.

And Hector:

“I-Is that really true!”

“……The part about it being the second week of admission? Surprisingly, yes.”

“No, the part about that girl, Soldera, being younger than us!”

He was startled by the fact that Soldera was younger than them.

Was that something to be that surprised about?

His friends looked at Hector in wonder.

Since Soldera’s build was relatively slender but she looked exactly like their age group.

“Such a pretty girl…… even younger than us, why with a heretic like Demona……”

However, the point where Hector was upset was a point that went far beyond imagination.

““……””

The two who heard Hector’s words were lost for words and even stopped walking.

Thanks to that, Hector, who was trudging a few steps ahead by himself, turned around with that rock-like face and asked:

“Hmm? What’s wrong with you guys?”

“……You ask because you don’t know?”

Rafia genuinely looked at Hector with disgust.

No matter how surprising it was that Demona ate with Soldera alone:

Weren’t his thoughts far too snobbish and narrow-minded?

‘Who on earth is the heretic?’ Rafia thought.

……Rafia, who before she knew it, was thinking that either Demona or Hector must be a heretic!

When Hector tilted his head without understanding her words, Rafia felt the limit of her patience and put a full stop:

“Hector, you had better not even look for an arranged marriage partner.”

“Y-You are being too harsh, Rafia……”

Hector slumped his shoulders.