Chapter 91 - Dealing with the Aftermath

“Oh, what happened with that demon? Was the nickname Magician?”

“The chief said she would deal with her personally. Even if she cannot kill her, she intends to make absolutely certain she cannot interfere with the Omnipotent One...”

“... Well, neither side is allowed to touch the other now, so she can't do anything too harsh. Our young lady really is impatient. She could have sent us, but she went herself.”

The man swept his hair back and looked into the distance.

“So you pulled it off in the end.”

Ganesha Aldebaran, the man known as the Merchant of Death, gazed in admiration at the flashing night sky.

He was merely sitting in a rocking chair at a villa on the outskirts of the capital, watching the sky, yet he felt as though he could see just how violent the events within the city had been.

The demon god's energy, which Aiden had just repelled, was dispersing into the sky and vanishing.

With a human body, he had repelled the remnant of a god.

However diminished it might have been compared to the original, it was unmistakably a celestial being. That feat alone would have earned him a place in history.

But Ganesha suspected that what had just happened there went beyond even that.

He gave a little chuckle.

“Drakan.”

“... Yes?”

“Something extraordinary just happened, didn't it?”

Ganesha had quite a few hidden talents, but he was ultimately still a human confined to the human sphere. He could not perceive things beyond the realm of what he could wield.

Drakan, however, was a life-form of pure Mana. Those eyes would have seen something a little different from his own.

“... I did not see the actual manifestation, but a divine presence lingered briefly.”

Just as he thought.

Watching the golden energy spread across the sky, Ganesha smiled and nodded.

'A god descended.'

There were scarcely any precedents in the continent's entire history for beings of the heavenly pantheon descending to the physical realm.

Apparently, such occurrences had only ever been reported during events momentous enough to turn the entire continent upside down.

In other words, they were such haughty sorts that a single city nearly being wiped out would not even merit their attention.

And yet...

“Why do you think a being like that came down?”

“...”

Drakan took a moment to choose the words before finally speaking.

“Goodwill. I felt it very strongly.”

“Goodwill?”

“At the very least, it felt as though the Goddess of War liked Mr. Aiden.”

“...”

“I had the impression she had taken the opportunity to come down and see him briefly. Out of personal friendship.”

Like visiting someone dear after a long absence. She had come down to see him because the opportunity had presented itself.

As though they had known each other for a very long time.

A god, and a human.

“... This generation's Omnipotent One really is fascinating.”

With those words, Ganesha smiled and rose from his seat.

Even they had no way of knowing why such a thing had happened, or why a god of the pantheon was bestowing such unsolicited goodwill on a single human.

But one thing was certain.

What had happened once could happen twice.

If he had drawn the attention of the beings who were the source of all supernatural power once, then perhaps he could do it twice, or even three times.

In short, Aiden's already considerable value had just skyrocketed beyond all bounds.

Now, not only the rulers who had risen to prominence on the present-day continent, but even the ancient beings lying low would turn their eyes toward him.

The great, the divine, the bizarre, the sinister. All of them.

'... The support we're giving him now won't be enough.'

Certainly not.

The chief Ganesha served had taken an immense interest in Aiden long before this.

If someone else snatched him away now, with her temper, she would try to slice Ganesha into slivers while he was still alive.

They needed to secure Aiden more firmly as one of their own.

And to do that...

“... Drakan. I'm sorry, but there's something I need you to do.”

▣

A white ceiling.

That was Aiden's first impression when he opened his eyes.

“Th-the patient has regained consciousness!”

Judging by the words from someone nearby, he must be in a hospital. Aiden heard a nurse shout as she rushed out of the room.

Then Noel came running breathlessly into the room. Aiden nodded when he saw her.

“Oh, Dame Noel—”

Before he could finish, Noel hit him.

“Please!”

... Hard.

“Stop making people!”

... Several times.

“Worry about you!”

“... I'm sorry.”

Really, there was nothing else he could say.

Faced with Dame Noel on the verge of tears, he had no other answer.

... Though, to be honest, there was another reason.

'If I make the wrong excuse, she might actually kill me.'

The tears were one thing, but he could see even more anger in her eyes.

In fact, he had seen that look before. Where had it been...?

'Oh.'

It was the look his father had worn when Aiden kept going back to pick fights with the bastard who had bullied Siscella. His father had clung to him, crying and begging him to rein in his temper before he got himself killed.

“...”

Hmm.

So Noel was looking after him with all the anxiety of a parent watching a child left at the water's edge.

Realizing anew how she saw him left him with a strange feeling...

Fortunately, her anger soon subsided, and he was quickly brought up to speed.

“The imperial prince has been arrested and is in custody.”

Noel spoke as she struggled to peel an apple beside his bed.

... Whether she was peeling it or simply destroying it was, he thought, a subject open to rather heated debate.

How could someone so good with a blade be so hopeless at every little household chore?

“He refuses to say anything about why he did it—his motives or the circumstances behind it. Frankly, though, His Majesty seems unconcerned about all that. He seems determined to see him punished as his crimes deserve.”

It sounded as though things had been resolved well enough.

Though questions remained.

“Dame Noel.”

“Yes?”

“So why was he so determined to make you his wife, in the end?”

“... To be honest, I don't know either. It never felt as though he had any particular feelings for me.”

Noel tilted her head, wondering whether he had some special motive she knew nothing about.

In truth, Aiden did not think he needed to look far for the answer.

“Dame Noel. What do you think about demons?”

“... Aren't they a race that was forgotten long ago? Why bring them up all of a sudden?”

Aiden let out a long breath through his nose.

They really had done a fine job of shaping public opinion.

Wasn't the devil's greatest trick convincing the world he didn't exist?

The demons were real. They existed. Yet even Noel, who had been caught directly in the chaos they had caused, looked as though she doubted they existed at all.

“... No reason. Just wondering.”

In that case, there was no need to launch into some long-winded explanation. It would only get him treated like a lunatic.

'And I don't need to explain it like that.'

Whatever anyone else knew, Aiden at least was certain of their existence.

People would not believe him if he spoke up, but knowing about them and being able to respond was enough.

If he truly needed help, he was certain Noel and Katya, at least, would stand by him.

And above all, a window had appeared before his eyes that was every bit as mysterious as tracking those creatures' movements.

-Skill Info

■ Omnipotence

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■ Origin

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■ Spirit Invocation

Acquire more ‘Remnants’ to unlock this trait! [1/3]

“...”

He felt as though he had acquired every conceivable kind of trait by now, but this was the first time he had seen one described in such grandiose terms.

Divine authority. Two words he had been certain would never have anything to do with him in his entire life.

At least there was a hint as to why this had appeared.

-System Log

▶ Affection with Karva, ‘Goddess of War,’ increases.

▶ Bond level increases!

▶ You may borrow 1 ‘authority’!

... Good lord.

There was nothing special about the letters themselves, but what they said was enough to make his head spin.

That enormous Dame Noel he had seen had actually been the Goddess of War.

A god's authority?

Really?

'It really was strange back then.'

When he had used the skill called Remnant, the energy flowing into his body had plainly been unlike any human ability he had copied thus far.

The sensation of wielding power beyond his capacity was still etched into his body. Even wondering how he had become entangled with such a thing frightened him...

'What?'

But when Aiden immediately opened Karva's skill window, he was taken aback.

-System Message

▶ Information cannot be viewed.

▶ Skill upgrades for the ‘Omnipotence’ and ‘Origin’ traits are required.

“... Hmm.”

So it was not simply handing everything to him. There were further conditions he had to meet to use it.

But he had already experienced its tremendous power firsthand, making it difficult to feel disappointed.

If anything, he was looking forward to it.

“By the way, Mr. Aiden.”

While he was thinking, Noel brought something over as though she had just remembered it.

It was a letter written in elegant, old-fashioned script, addressed to Aiden himself.

“This was left outside your hospital room.”

He could not think of anyone who would send him something like this.

Blinking, Aiden examined the seal on the envelope.

It bore a familiar design.

'... Ganesha?'

There was no mistaking the man's seal.

For all its elaborate packaging, the message was exceedingly simple.

-I have prepared a gift for your discharge. I do hope you will put it to good use.

... Well.

Something about that wording gave him a bad feeling.

▣

And so, the following day, after he was discharged in good health...

An utterly frigid atmosphere hung over the office at the capital's headquarters.

Katya and Noel were both glaring daggers, and Aiden himself was the focus of their stares.

The unexpected visitor was probably the reason.

Holding his throbbing head, Aiden looked at the person before him.

“... Hello.”

Or could he really call this a person?

The shape was human. But with reptilian scales covering the entire body and long, slit pupils, even an idiot could tell this was no ordinary human.

Aiden knew who this was.

Someone he had once made contact with through the system window. Drakan, half-human and half-dragon.

“I have come at Lord Ganesha's request. My name is Morrigan.”

As the matter-of-fact introduction continued, the venom in Katya's and Noel's gazes seemed to grow stronger.

... And Aiden, in turn, kept shrinking further into himself.

“Yes, Morrigan. A pleasure to meet you.”

Noel spoke with her eyes practically blazing.

“Let me ask again, just to be certain. Why did you say you came here?”

“Lord Ganesha told me to try taking Lord Aiden as my new master...”

“... Master?”

“... Did you say master?”

Katya and Noel turned their incredulous stares on him in unison.

Their expressions said they had never known he had such perverse tastes...

“...”

... Ganesha, that goddamn bastard.

Those were the only words running through Aiden's throbbing head.