It was when I turned away from Kyle and took a few steps towards my room.
Something suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of me, and I stopped.
“……?”
When I slightly raised my head, I saw a man.
Purple eyes and silver hair. A good-looking face with white skin and contrasting red lips.
He has broad shoulders and is slightly shorter than Kyle, but he’s still rather tall. Is he in his early 20s?
“……”
When I stepped to the side, he also did the same.
“……?”
Moving to the other side again, he took the same way.
What are you trying to do?
I told him with a slight frown,
“Would you mind getting out of my way?”
But instead of moving away, he smiled softly.
“I’m a little sad.”
It was a mellow smile, but it made my spine chill.
I had the strange feeling that was ingrained in me before.
“You don’t even recognize me.”
His voice reached my ears.
Who is it? As soon as I thought about it, the chat window flickered in front of me.
[The connection with the oracle is lost]
What?
I didn’t even press the deactivate button, but my connection to the gods was broken.
As I was perplexed, he parted his lips again,
“Will you remember if you see this?”
Then, he clenched his fist and opened his hand, revealing a silver coin with a murky light in his palm.
“……!”
I took a breath in surprise.
Because I finally figured out who he was.
The Deviamon Wizard Guild’s guild master!
At that time, I could feel another presence behind me.
“What happened to the temple, Baron?”
When I heard that, my eyes widened.
Baron? The head of the Deviamon Guild is a baron?
The man frowned and slowly turned to Kyle.
“I’ve come to investigate because the case for the temple’s annex collapse is being finalized.”
“The Lord himself?”
“Well, it’s the High Priest’s request, so I must comply.”
Kyle nodded and went on,
“It must be a false rumour that Vester is pretending to build the temple.”
Those words dwelled in my head.
Hang on. Vester?
‘If it’s Vester… Diego Vester? THAT HIDDEN VILLAIN?!’
“There were times when we bumped into each other for a while, but now wizards and priests get along just fine. Wouldn’t it be prudent to respect each other’s territory?”
His purple eyes shifted to me shortly after he finished speaking. My heart was pounding like a drum.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
After letting the two men go, my mind was jumbled.
Diego Vester.
One of the Demon Realm’s rulers and the novel’s hidden villain.
I went to him, whom I vowed to never encounter!
And I even pretended to be enchanted.
He couldn’t have known me at that time because I was wearing a holy relic that concealed my powers… but I could tell he recognized me again just now.
“Don’t let anyone in.”
I told Daisy as I walked into my room.
There were two ancient books about the ‘Demon Realm’ that I borrowed from the library.
Although neither of these books was officially non-existent, reading them over the past few days helped me understand a little more about the demon realm.
In the demon realm, there is a Demon King and Demon Princes who serve as his subordinates. Aside from that, a pyramid-shaped hierarchical society of nobles, ordinary demons, and even insignificant demons exist.
They were, of course, small in comparison to human society, but they posed a threat because all of them are capable of using black magic.
In the original story, Diego is the successor of Demon Lord Leto and a powerful wizard duke.
That was his true identity while he was living as ‘Baron Diego Vester’ in the human world.
‘How come he had to be the Deviamon Guild Leader!’
Damn it.
If only I had known he was Diego, I would never have made such an irrational move.
“The Saintess’s bedroom looks very cozy.”
When I desperately opened another thick book, I was interrupted by a voice from behind, shattering my brief respite.
I jumped up in surprise.
“……!”
It appears to be true that your voice will not come out if you’re too surprised.
He smiled lightly at me as I stared at him with big eyes, frozen in place.
“You’re also raising a cute egg that seems to have been purchased from the Pennsylvania Guild.”
Dangerous purple eyes. There was a man in this room who should not have been there.
“Oh, don’t scream. It’ll only hurt your throat.”
As my hair stood on end, I forced myself to calm down by clenching my fists.
It took a long time for the coolness to return.
After thinking about what he said, I realised there was a trick he had used that would prevent our voices from being heard outside.
“You sought to oust the Queen using Deviamon.”
The oracle’s connection must have been severed because of Diego’s influence.
“The punishment for deceiving me with a trick and pretending to be enchanted…”
He approached me, step by step.
“I’m worried about how you should receive it.”
I barely managed to hide my terror as I told him,
“I understand you’re angry. The country would’ve done the same.”
His eyes darkened at my words.
“The Queen has been completely removed. I later discovered that there was no name Celestine associated with the Queen.”
He pressed his index finger to his lips.
“But to meet you again in the temple like this.”
His low voice rang in my ears,
“Should I call this an outcome, or… should I say it’s fate?”
It felt like dark energy was engulfing me, whether it was malice or magic.
“That you, who deceived me, are the Saintess herself.”
His purple pupils contained deep curiosity.
“Why did I only find out now?”
I couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“Activate the oracle.”
I spoke clearly while looking at him. Of course, I fully understand why he’s angry with me, but I’m still a person who prioritises my own safety.
“You’ll get hurt if you come any closer.”
And the chat window in front of me glowed.
[The oracle is activated]
However, unlike usual, the oracle window was not clear and flickered incessantly.
Nonetheless, I concentrated as much as I could.
Seeing the window continue to blink, I could guess how powerful his malice was.
His eyes were bright with curiosity.
“Oh my.”
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, growls]
A white light began to form on my hands again.
“I’ve never seen a saint with a pillar.”
He muttered unknown words,
“Everyone is a string puppet, yet you stand on your own two feet.”
I reached out to him in the same way when I try to heal. Then, like a ray of light, a warm light shot at him.
It was because of the idea of it being healing powers for humans but an attack for demons came to mind almost instinctively.
Diego extended his right hand, and black darkness poured out, colliding with the light.
His darkness did not come to me, whether it worked or not. It was not ordinary wizards’ magic power, but the ‘malice’ known as black magic.
His fine brows slightly trembled.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but people can’t always win and live.”
I shamelessly advised him,
“Being hit in the back of the head once or twice lets you know the world better.”
[Odyssey, the God of Love, is curious about your relationship with Diego]
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, speaks of their reasoning]
The gods were wary of Diego, but they are now sharing their thoughts on our relationship. My light soon swallowed up his darkness.
No matter how strong his power is, this is a temple.
The house of gods, the realm of gods.
“So please just forget about the past.”
He began to back away one step at a time. Yet the look in his eyes was as relaxed as though he were in a dream, and his voice sounded monotonous,
“Celestine… Ariel Celestine.”
When he abruptly said my full name, I flinched.
“I just decided to consider this meeting to be fate.”
My light almost engulfed his darkness, but he smiled faintly as his back touched the window.
“Let’s take things slowly. We have plenty of time.”
His voice permeated my ears,
“We’ll meet again soon.”
And then his body disappeared in an instant. As if he hadn’t been there from the start.
My divine powers became disoriented and struck the windowpane, sprinkling like glitter into the atmosphere.
My hand returned to its original color. The status window in front of me became more visible.
I let out a small sigh. And I told the entire story to the interested gods. It included when I was secretly finding the Black Magic Guild and meeting Diego.
After a while, the oracle window appeared.
[The gods convene in an emergency meeting]