“Thank you everyone for coming. Please have a seat while we wait for everyone to arrive. The Congress will begin soon.”
A grand hall appeared deeper within the building. Rows upon rows of chairs lined the space, and I picked a random seat before settling in. Leon joined me shortly after.
We sat further back from where the more important people were, making it a little harder to hear and see.
But that wasn’t really a problem.
It’d be embarrassing if we couldn’t hear what was happening as superhumans.
It was just a little troublesome.
With that being said, if we wanted to, we probably could’ve sat at the front. Aoife would’ve gladly provided us with seats. Same for Delilah who gave me a glance, subtly patting the seat next to her.
I merely ignored her and took a seat in our designated spot.
Considering our status, we’d be too out of place if we sat at the front.
Not only that.
Delilah’s father was present, so…
“Oh, right. There’s something I’m curious about.”
Recalling something, I turned to face Leon.
“…For how long has our family been followers of Mortum?”
As those words left my mouth, my gaze instinctively drifted toward the delegates of the Church of Mortum. Like the other churches, they too were dressed in white garments.
They sat at the very front alongside the other churches, their robes adorned with a green insignia depicting a snake coiled around a bleeding hand.
“For as long as I remember.”
Leon responded, his tone growing somewhat faint. I narrowed my eyes. For some time now, whenever Mortum was mentioned, Leon always seemed uneasy.
Was he hiding something?
“The reason why I’m a follower of Mortum is also because of the House. Considering that they took me in, I followed what they told me to follow. Just like I’m your knight because of it.”
“Oh, then what about Julien…?”
“Julien?”
Leon licked his lips, leaning his head back.
“I’m not really sure. He always threw a tantrum whenever it was time for our religious duties. Most of the time, it was just me and Evelyn who attended the classes.”
“Oh.”
Yeah, this sounded just about right.
This indeed sounded like something Julien would do.
‘Now that I think about it, I know nothing about Julien. His past, how he turned out to be that way, and his relationship with Aldric, and the others.’
I had thought about it before, but Julien’s past seemed filled with a lot of unknowns.
My focus had been so consumed by the effort to seal him away that I hesitated to use the second leaf and uncover more about his past. In a way, I had been afraid of what would happen if I got too close.
I didn’t want to lose control of this body again.
But…
‘What about now that he’s sealed?’
Perhaps now, I could do so.
I no longer had to worry about him seizing control of the body again. In that sense, using the second leaf on him shouldn’t be an issue.
I’d also learn more about the past, and what turned Julien that way.
“Right, Leon. You also mentioned that Julien wasn’t always like this. When did you first notice a change in him?”
“When…?”
Leon raised his head slightly, his eyes growing hazy.
“…Rather than instantaneous, it happened gradually.”
“Gradually?”
“His obsession didn’t surface right away. It started gradually. At first, we didn’t think much of it, but as time passed, he grew more aggressive and unhinged. I think if the change had been instant then people would’ve started questioning if he had been possessed sooner.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“But now that I think about it…”
Leon’s eyes narrowed as he massaged the bottom part of his jaw.
“…It was around the time he began practicing curse magic with the family head that he started to change. I think that was when I first started noticing the changes in him. No, more than that… that was when he started to develop an addiction to the sword.”
“Eh?”
I stopped for a moment before hastily looking at Leon.
“Did you j—”
“Yeah, I know.”
Leon pursed his lips.
“…But I don’t think the family head had anything to do with it. Well, I’m not sure. He coached both Julien and me, teaching us the sword. But unlike me, Julien wasn’t talented at all. I feel like that might be the real reason he changed.”
“Oh, I see.”
Putting it that way, it made sense.
However, there was something else that I recalled.
“I remember you said learned a unique sword technique. The incomplete one that you asked me to help you with.”
“What about it?”
“Where did you learn that?”
“That one…? I didn’t learn it from anyone. I found it.”
“I see.”
Thinking back to his sword technique, I had indeed helped him refine it some time ago. Yet, I hadn’t seen him use it since then. That was odd, especially considering how powerful it was supposed to be.
But then again, I hadn’t seen Leon fight at his fullest in a long time.
Nonetheless, I was quite curious about that sword technique. Given how I had been able to develop the footwork for it, what would happen if I practiced it?
I hadn’t given it much thought before, too preoccupied with other matters. But if I were to ask Leon to teach me the sword… would I actually be able to learn it?
Leon had previously said that Julien wasn’t very talented with swords, but what about me?
I wasn’t exactly Julien.
Would I….?
“It appears as though everyone is present.”
A soft yet authoritative voice jolted me out of my thoughts. Almost instantly, my head snapped toward the front, where an old man with a long white beard and glasses stood.
Immediately, whatever noise had filled the hall vanished into silence.
All eyes soon focused on the elderly figure. Noticing how quiet everyone became, I suddenly grew curious.
Who exactly was this old man?
“Haha, it seems my reputation still carries enough weight to capture everyone’s attention. That being said, I can see some of you look a bit confused about who I am. In that case, allow me to give a brief introduction.”
The old man removed his glasses, displaying his clear yellow eyes.
“I’m the current Emperor of the Nurs Ancifa Empire, Joseph L. Megrail.”
“…..”
My mouth dropped upon hearing his introduction.
At the same time, I felt a little embarrassed. The fact that I couldn’t even recognize the current Emperor of the Empire was a pretty big deal.
Not only that, but his eyes were the biggest giveaway.
It was just that…
‘I didn’t expect the current Emperor—Aoife’s father—to be this old.’
While people in this world lived longer than in my old one, judging by his appearance, I was certain he was well over a hundred years old.
‘No, it makes sense.’
Thinking about it, Atlas was also extremely old. It was just that… he managed to make himself look younger, unlike the current Emperor.
As my thoughts wandered to the current Emperor, a sudden realization struck me. Hastily, I lowered my head, my gaze locking onto the shoes he was wearing. Although it wasn’t exactly easy considering that they were hidden behind his black robe, I still managed to catch a glimpse of them.
“….Ah.”
It felt as if the air had been knocked from my lungs, and for a moment, I nearly rose to my feet.
But I soon settled down and leaned back on my chair.
‘I really hope that I’m wrong.’
If it was as I imagined, then…
The Emperor was going to be murdered.
I lowered my head and covered it with both of my hands.
‘This…’
I really hoped that I was wrong.
*
The Congress was a five-day event, with each day dedicated to discussing different problems and pressing issues.
The first four days were designated for the Emperors of each nation, with each ruler taking a day to speak while the final day was reserved for the members of the seven churches.
Today’s was the Nurs Ancifa’s turn.
I had initially expected the Emperor’s speech to be a long-winded monologue filled with meaningless formalities, but to my surprise, it was clear and easy to understand.
To summarize his key points, the Mirror Dimension was becoming increasingly unstable. He emphasized the need for cooperation to prevent its expansion and maintain balance, among other concerns.
…And that was basically it.
He spoke for no more than thirty minutes before finally ending it.
Clap, clap, clap—!
As the hall thundered with applause and the Emperor waved his hand, I also joined in.
This continued for the next several minutes until it all came to an end and the silence returned.
Still standing in the middle, the Emperor smiled and spoke.
“Now that I’ve finished, I’ll be taking questions for the next thirty minutes. If any of you have something to ask, please feel free to do so.”
Immediately, over half of the people present raised their hands.
I stared at the scene speechlessly before turning my head to look at Leon. But it was right as I turned my head that I noticed something strange with Leon.
“You, are you okay?”
His entire face had gone pale, and sweat trickled down the side of his face.
Staring at him, I grew alarmed.
My alarm deepened when I saw him raise his arm. That was when I noticed his hair—every strand standing on end.
Before I could get any words out, Leon’s lips parted.
“S-something is about to happen. Something really bad.”
He clenched his shirt.
“My entire body is screaming in alarm. We need to get out of this place. We need to warn everyone that something is about to happen. I don’t know how much time we have.”
Leon tried to stand up, but just as he did, I placed my hand over his sleeve and pulled him back down.
“W-what…?”
Ignoring Leon, I took out my pocket watch.
Tik, Tik—
It was 8:34 P.M.
Leaning back on my chair, I took a deep breath and opened my status window.
That was when I activated my skill;
[Eyes of the Seer]
At the same time, my eyes drifted towards a certain individual sitting in the front.
‘I wonder if you’ll interfere once again.’
I hoped he did.
That way, I’d be able to take it all from him.