Xenia spoke.
“Is this really a divine oracle?”
“You’re a Holy Knight, don’t ask me that.”
“I-I mean… it really does feel similar to the illustrations described in old histories and manuscripts.”
Why is the Oracle so famous?
Why is it considered the defining moment that marks the Demon King’s arrival and the hero’s emergence?
Sure, the biggest reason is that everyone on the continent believes in the Celestial God. But there’s clearly another, deeper reason too.
‘Because it’s undeniable.’
[That’s right. It’s an event everyone across the continent experiences simultaneously.]
‘Exactly. If it was just some vague prophecy delivered to a single person, and that person announced the Demon King’s return, it wouldn’t have spread this far.’If people don’t experience something themselves, there will always be sceptics.
But…
“An event everyone on the continent experiences at once, no one can deny that.”
And just then…
The sky opened, and the “Voice of God” resounded across the entire continent.
—“All my children who live upon this land, listen well.”
“The continent you now inhabit stands at the brink of crisis.”
“The one who has brought about this crisis… is the fake Hero, Mide Mohan.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
My party all turned to look at me.
“What the hell did that bastard just say?”
“Calm down.”
“No, seriously. He just called Mr. Mide a fake. I’m done with the whole ‘Agent of God’ title.”
Not that it meant much to begin with…
“This oracle, this one’s not from the Celestial God.”
“Oh! That makes sense!”
“Yeah. It’s Idria. Let’s hear the rest.”
We held our breath and waited for the next words.
—“Mide Mohan is a loyal servant of the Demon King of Lies and Deception, Idria.”
Whoa. That’s how you’re going to play it?
—“Idria, knowing that only a true Hero could pose a threat, established a ‘fake Hero’—Mide, to discredit the name of the ‘true Hero,’ Kaeld Wake.”
“Mide Mohan is both Idria’s apostle and pawn.”
“Do not be deceived by that wicked man.”
“Only Kaeld Wake is the true Hero I have chosen. Only he can slay Idria.”
I held my head in my hand.
‘Clever move, Idria.’
Even though I was planning to force the Celestial God to issue an oracle of his own, with this kind of preemptive slander, there’s no guarantee it will have the desired effect.
[Let’s hope the Celestial God has a little bit of tact.]
Yeah, that’s all I can hope for.
I stayed silent.
The sky was slowly beginning to close again.
The voice continued:
—“Gather under Kaeld’s banner, and cast out Mide Mohan, the Demon King’s pawn.”
“Do not be swayed by his wicked tongue.”
“As always, the Demon King shall fall by the hand of the Hero.”
“As long as your eyes remain open to the truth, you will recognize the real Hero.”
Whoosh.
The sound of light pouring down echoed, almost as if urging everyone to believe that version of events.
And then, the sky finally closed.
Only then did we exhale.
Neril spoke.
“This definitely sounds like it came from Idria.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Mide threatened the Celestial God, and it worked. No matter how pissed he might have been, a being in that position should have been able to see the situation clearly.”
“…You have got a point.”
“The real question now is: how convincing and well-delivered our side’s oracle is going to be…”
Just then…
As if on cue, the sky opened once more.
The clouds parted, and the exact same radiant light we had just seen came pouring down.
Even to my own ears, it sounded completely drained of energy.
But then Trail’s next words perked me up.
[Still, this is unexpected.]
‘What is?’
[Didn’t you notice? Look at the map more closely.]
I shifted my gaze from the numbers to the continental map and my jaw dropped.
‘W-what is this?’
Two oracles had come down in a row.
And not just any oracles, they were completely contradictory.
The first declared me as the Demon King’s pawn.
The second declared I was the Hero.
Most of the continent chose to believe the first oracle.
However, there were still many places that held unwavering faith in me.
No, there were many such places.
“Sir Mide.”
Lady Ariena, no, Countess Ariena gazed up at the now-cleared blue sky.
She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
“I’m standing here today because of you. I got to acknowledge my mother again, our people avoided war… all of that was thanks to you.”
So…
“I don’t care what the oracle says. I have always believed you were the true Hero from the beginning.”
“Dear.”
Mariana stroked the statue of her husband, Somel.
“You heard the oracle just now, didn’t you? What did you think?”
Of course, there was no reply.
But she spoke again softly.
“You never could respond to me before either… but just this once, I think I know what your answer would be.”
Surely, he felt the same way.
Mide had resolved the ghost incident in Raynus territory.
He had found the whereabouts of her husband, missing for thirteen years.
He had struck down the Demon King’s power and returned Somel to her.
Whatever the oracle said, it didn’t matter.
“And our son, he can see people’s true natures, you know. He sees their souls.”
So wasting time worrying about some petty oracle was pointless.
Ben, the butcher, had been haggling with a customer over meat prices right when the oracles were announced.
By the time both messages were done, he and the customer were practically best friends.
“What kind of crap was that? Mide, a Demon King’s pawn?”
“Come on, the first one’s obviously fake. The second’s the real one.”
“Exactly. That first oracle was way too long. Since when does a Celestial God ramble like that? No authority in it.”
“Right? I nearly fell asleep listening.”
After some light banter, they went back to business as usual.
In other territories, news like this would have put everyone on edge for a week.
But not here in Hasphil territory.
This was the Hero’s hometown.
No one would be shaken by some fake oracle.
The customer who finally got a discount on meat said,
“Why are you only open for the morning today?”
“Oh, I’m visiting Dianne.”
“Ah. I heard something new came to light after Mide visited her last time.”
“I couldn’t sleep for three days when I heard. I was the one who reported Dianne, after all.”
Back then, after meeting his mother, Mide had visited the lord again.
He revealed the abuse from his father that hadn’t come up in court.
The lord, deeply embarrassed, apologized for not properly investigating it at the time.
But Mide shook his head and said,
“The one who owes my mother the greatest apology… is me. And besides, that trial was under the former lord’s jurisdiction, wasn’t it?”
“Then should we release her immediately…”
“It’s true my mother killed my father. If that qualifies for sentence reduction, you’re welcome to grant it. But…”
“She has been in there for so long… It might be overwhelming to return her to the world all of a sudden. Maybe she will be safer there, until I return after defeating the Demon King.”
The lord nodded in agreement.
Afterward, he issued a formal decree acknowledging that Dianne Mohan had suffered severe abuse.
Ever since, Ben had visited her weekly with fresh meat.
That afternoon, when Ben arrived at the visiting room, Dianne was staring at the sky beyond the bars.
“Ahem. Dianne.”
“You’re here? I told you not to come every time.”
“I’m only coming because I have got the time.”
“Hehe… Let’s go with that then.”
“What were you doing?”
She turned from the sky to meet his eyes.
“A rather offensive oracle came down. It said my son is the Demon King’s pawn.”
“That thing? Don’t worry. No one’s paying it any mind.”
“True…”
She continued in a gentle voice.
“Anyone who actually knows Mide wouldn’t believe such a ridiculous lie.”
David was in a meeting with his father and vassals when both oracles came down.
Once the second one ended, silence fell over the room.
Then David said,
“Shall we continue the meeting?”
“Huh? D-David, sir?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Well, two oracles just came down and you’re so calm…”
“You’re mistaken.”
David shook his head firmly.
“There was only one oracle. The one that said Mide is the Hero.”
“Gasp...y-you are right!”
Count Acaine nodded in agreement.
“Keep a close watch. Some of our citizens may still be wavering.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We were once pro-Kaeld, so some may still call him the Hero. But as long as I, David, and Ophelia stand firm, such blasphemy will not be tolerated.”
The vassals bowed in unison.
Count Acaine turned to his son.
“Go on.”
He had gradually been passing more of the territory’s affairs to David at his request.
David had once said he wanted to be the lord when he met Ophelia again someday.
“Very well. Regarding the harvest yield I mentioned earlier…”
Dronoar territory remained calm.
As if nothing had happened.
Following Trail’s words, I checked the continental map and was stunned.
[So? The regions where your fame shines, they haven’t changed, have they?]
My fame appeared as a bright light, while Kaeld’s was a black mist.
All the territories I had personally visited were still glowing brightly.
‘Yeah… How is this possible?’
[It’s simple. Those are all the places where you personally resolved major incidents.]
‘······’
[In other words, the people who actually met you have no doubt you’re the true Hero. Even after a biased oracle like that.]
‘Trail…’
[Just keep doing what you have been doing. I know you can turn things around.]
Overcome with emotion, I couldn’t say a word.
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