Something was wrong.
I'd been feeling that sense of unease for quite a while now.
But I only became fully aware of it recently.
Before that, I'd just been vaguely sensing it in the back of my mind without truly registering it.
Something was wrong.
But I had no idea what.
The unease clung to me persistently, yet its source remained a mystery.
I had to uncover the truth behind that feeling, no matter what it took.
That resolve would become my greatest regret.
Father summoned me to his chambers.
Lately, Father had been busier than usual.
Since I was involved in whatever it was, I'd heard the details — but apparently a rumor had been spreading through the city that a Hero had died on the battlefield.
The time for concealing
The Divine Word Church would officially announce the Hero's death.
And at the same time, they would announce the new Hero.
In other words, I would finally have to stand before the people as the Hero.
That was presumably what today's summons was about.
What puzzled me was that
Sue walked beside me down the corridor.
They'd gone out of their way to excuse her from the academy and summon her together with me — what for?
Sue hadn't been told anything either, from the looks of it.
Still mulling it over, we arrived at the room.
Well, I'd find out soon enough.
I knocked on the door.
"It's Shurein."
"Oh? Come in."
"Pardon the intrusion."
I opened the door and stepped inside.
Sue followed silently behind me.
"What is it?"
Father addressed me while writing something on a set of documents.
Actually, I was the one who wanted to ask that.
"I was under the impression you summoned us, Father. What did you need?"
"Hm? I didn't summon anyone."
What?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, events were already in motion.
I was certain I'd just let out a confused sound.
Yet that sound never reached anyone outside.
A wind-type magic — Sound Nullification — had been cast in my vicinity.
The speed at which the spell was constructed and activated left me no time to react.
Very few people were capable of that level of power, and the only one who could pull it off right here, right now, was the person standing right next to me — Sue.
Why?
Even if I shouted, the surrounding air would swallow the sound completely.
The insidious nature of this spell was that it didn't erase my voice specifically — it erased all sound in the space around me, leaving no avenue of resistance.
Once activated, my voice would not escape unless I forcibly disrupted the spell's structure.
Before I could even process my confusion, the situation escalated further.
Sue attacked Father.
My eyes went wide with shock.
What? Why?
Sue had used a light-based spell.
My specialty — the magic I was most proficient in.
That beam of light had pierced straight through Father's forehead.
"Ahhhh! Niisama! What are you doing?!"
Sue screamed at the same time.
My mind went blank with confusion.
"What's going on?!"
The door burst open with force as Cyris-niisama and his armored knight bodyguard charged into the room.
"Niisama attacked Father!"
"What!? Have you lost your mind, Shurein?!"
No!
It wasn't me!
Why!? How!?
Even if I screamed, the sound would be swallowed.
"Guards! Shurein has attacked the King!"
Unlike my muffled voice, Cyris-niisama's shout rang clearly through the entire castle.
"Seize Shurein!"
At Cyris-niisama's command, the armored knight moved.
He drew his sword and swung it down at me.
In my panic, my daily training must have kicked in — I managed to draw my own sword and parry.
But my sword was cleaved clean in two by the armored knight's blade.
Impossible.
No matter how sudden the attack was, and regardless of whether I'd had time to apply any enhancements, a Hero's sword shouldn't shatter like a common blade.
And yet, my sword split cleanly down the middle.
My thoughts couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing situation.
The armored knight didn't miss that opening.
The return stroke slashed across my body.
I managed to half-step backward, which saved me from a fatal wound.
But the diagonal cut was deep — a severe injury nonetheless.
If another attack came, I was dead.
"Well, well. Look at you now, Hero."
The armored knight spoke in a mocking tone.
The helm muffled his voice slightly, but it was unmistakable.
"Y-You...
"That's right."
He removed his helm.
There stood Hugo — the man who'd supposedly lost his Skills and fallen from grace.
"Hugo. There was no need to reveal yourself."
"Come on, might as well. Consider it my parting gift."
Cyris-niisama's reaction was telling — he spoke as though he'd known the armored knight was Hugo all along.
He had known.
But why?
"Wanna know? Your dear brother here wants the throne. I want revenge on you and your little cronies. Both of us had you in the way — simple as that."
"Wh-What do you mean? Cyris-niisama was supposed to be the next King!"
"That's where you're wrong. The old coot of a King was scheming to name you as his successor! He figured that if he announced you as next in line before announcing you as the Hero, you wouldn't be able to casually march off to the battlefield anymore!"
"As if I'd let some half-baked scheme like that cost me my throne!"
Hugo's words drew a bitter snarl from Cyris-niisama.
That scream, too, was swallowed by the newly cast Sound Nullification — inaudible to anyone but us.
I looked at the caster who'd been maintaining that silence.
"Niisama. I'm sorry, but you'll have to die here."
The tone was familiar, but the voice might as well have belonged to a different person entirely.
The usual flat voice — now filled with a bizarre, feverish intensity — was gone. In its place was a cold, contemptuous voice, as though she were looking at something beneath her.
"Sue, why?"
"Niisama, I've simply awakened to true love. For that, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you."
Something was wrong.
Obviously, something was terribly wrong with Sue right now.
I activated Appraisal.
There, displayed in her Status, were the abnormal status effects: 'Hypnosis,' 'Brainwashing,' and 'Charm.' "Hugo! This is your doing!?"
"Oh? You figured it out? Did you finally catch on? That's right — my handiwork. So? How does it feel to have everything taken from you? Frustrating, isn't it? I know exactly how you feel — I lived it too! Gwahahaha!"
"Restore Sue to normal right now!"
"You think I'm just gonna do that because you asked? Are you stupid?"
My vision turned red.
But my body refused to move as I willed it to.
"Guards will be here any moment. So — time for you to make your exit."
Hugo raised his sword.
"Not on my watch!"
A small elven body interposed itself between us.
A shockwave of wind slammed into Hugo, sending him flying.
"Gaaaahhhh!"
"We're leaving!"
Ignoring Hugo's howls of fury, Teacher dashed forward.
Someone hoisted me onto their back.
"Heilins."
"I'm just as confused as you are. But right now, focus on staying alive!"
Heilins shouted over his shoulder as he ran. I cast healing magic on my wounds.
Teacher's magic blew back the approaching guards.
In the distance, soldiers could be seen fighting each other.
"What on earth is going on?"
"It's a rebellion."
"A rebellion?"
"Yes. The masterminds are Prince Cyris and Hugo. But they plan to pin the whole thing on Shun — making it look like they were the ones who suppressed the revolt."
Teacher's explanation made the blood drain from my face.
"The ones fighting right now are Lord Reston's forces. He's buying us time — we need to flee."
And so we escaped the castle.
Our destination was a single house.
"We're supposed to rendezvous with Reston here. After that, we leave the country."
"Wait, Teacher! If we don't do something about Hugo, Sue will—"
"I can't allow that."
"Teacher. If we take him down now, this whole mess should calm down. I let my guard down before, but my wounds are healed. If we go back and capture him—"
"I can't allow that."
"Teacher!"
"The Church has already announced the new Hero. His name is Hugo von Rengsando."
"What!?"
"The Church is in on this too."
I nearly collapsed on the spot.
Heilins steadied me.
"Does the elven lady have any idea why the Church would involve itself in something this absurd?"
"It's reasonable to assume that Hugo's brainwashing has already penetrated the Church's ranks."
"That's ridiculous. Brainwashing effects wear off in an instant. There's no way it could produce something on this scale."
"Normally, yes. But there is one exception."
"An exception?"
"The Supreme Skill from the Seven Deadly Sins series — 'Lust.' The brainwashing effect of this Skill is on an entirely different level from any other. There's no doubt Hugo possesses it."
The Seven Deadly Sins series?
A Skill like that existed?
I'd checked my own Skills extensively, and there was nothing of the sort.
In other words, it was an abnormal Skill that couldn't be acquired even with 100,000 Skill Points.
"In any case, we have no way of knowing how far Hugo's reach extends. You should consider this country a lost cause."
"I... can't believe—"
While I stood there speechless, Reston-niisama entered the house accompanied by a pair of familiar faces.
"Shun! Are you alright?"
"Your Highness, it's been a while."
"You've grown into a fine young man, Your Highness."
With Reston-niisama came Ana and Clevea — the two who had once served as Sue's and my maids.
Ana, who still retained her youthful appearance thanks to her elven blood, looked much the same. But Clevea had aged considerably.
And yet, they'd come running to help when they heard I was in danger.
But all I felt was despair.
"Ana. You too?"
"Hm?"
"You've fallen under Hugo's control too!"
The Appraisal on Ana's Status clearly displayed 'Hypnosis,' 'Brainwashing,' and 'Charm.' The moment I shouted, Ana's eyes went vacant.
A spell was being constructed at high speed.
I intercepted it and struck Ana unconscious with a hand chop.
Then I attempted to use healing magic to dispel the abnormal status effects.
But the status conditions in Ana's Status didn't disappear.
"Damn it! Even Ana too?!"
Reston-niisama clenched his fist in frustration.
"This is bad. We're surrounded."
At Heilins' words, I looked outside — dozens of soldiers had the house completely encircled.
"Let's fight through."
Everyone nodded at Teacher's suggestion.
"Shun, take my sword."
Reston-niisama handed me a blade.
"This is?"
"The Royal Family's ancestral Divine Sword. It's wasted on a non-combatant like me — better in the hands of the Hero."
"Understood. Thank you."
With Heilins at the front, we charged into the encirclement.
At the same time, Reston-niisama's hidden troops launched a surprise attack.
"Now!"
We broke through the perimeter.
But there was another unit waiting beyond it.
And leading them was— "Shun. You really should know when to give up."
"Kathia…"
My close friend from a previous life stood before me.
************************* "Hugo. You let him escape on purpose, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb! If that brat stays alive, there's no telling what kind of trouble it'll cause!"
"How should I know?"
"You—!"
"What's with that attitude? You think you're above me or something?"
"Excuse me!?"
"Listen — you're nothing but another piece on the board. So why don't you drop the superior act?"
"What did you say!?"
"I could kill you anytime I felt like it. You'd better remember that."
"You—"
"Letting him off easy like this? That's nowhere near enough for me. Those two are going to suffer so much more before I'm done."