[The leading hero of the recent large-scale monster wave subjugation in Kakaito: Karon Luavis! Surprisingly, it was revealed that he is the wielder of the divine Sword. According to witnesses, monsters were obliterated before the blade even touched them, overwhelmed by its divine energy. The temple has officially recognized Karon Luavis as the divine Sword’s owner and declared him a Saint…]
‘He really went all out for his debut, huh.’
Kakaito was in the empire’s eastern region.
Seems like the monster wave outbreaks have spread over the past year…
I flipped through the paper.
Most of the following articles were also about monster waves.
Not much solid info to be gained.
Just that the monster waves, which started in the west, had been quiet for a while but were now happening in the east.
And that Karon Luavis had become a hero in the eastern subjugation.
No mention of the Pantheon ducal house or Raizen.
The press was clearly obsessed with the divine sword and Karon right now.
[Some say it’s proof that the god Sinoa hasn’t abandoned the empire, and wept tears of joy…]
Reading that line, I let out a dry laugh. There never was a god named Sinoa to begin with.
As I suspected, Kim Minsoo had probably gotten hold of the original divine Sword.
In the novel too, he’s declared a Saint, but not because of any heroic deeds—rather, the ancient gods staged a fake divine revelation to make him the center of attention after he acquired the sword.
In the novel, the monster wave thing didn’t even happen until later.
It began after Raizen awakened the Demon King.
‘But here… the monster waves started before the Demon King even came back. And it was the work of black mages likely funded by House Luavis.’
The Demon King hadn’t been revived yet.
That much, I was sure of.
Even if I’d missed it, there’s no way Seol wouldn’t have noticed.
The ancient gods would’ve acted too.
‘They brought me here to stop the Demon King from awakening, after all.’
So this most recent monster wave in the east—yeah, definitely the black mages again.
The Duke probably orchestrated it to set up his son as a Saint.
‘Kim Minsoo may have been the star, but that doesn’t mean no one got hurt.’
But that fact was only briefly mentioned at the end of the article.
“……”
To be honest, I don’t think I’m a good or moral person.
I’m actually closer to being selfish—the kind of person who’s willing to overlook injustice as long as I and those dear to me are okay.
The reason I was scared of the world ending in the first place was because I didn’t want to lose the life I have now.
Even so, I felt disgusted.
By the actions of Duke Luavis and Kim Minsoo.
“It would’ve been hard for Duke Luavis to figure out that Kim Minsoo had the divine Sword.”
Which means… Kim Minsoo must’ve told him himself.
‘I have the divine Sword. Make me… a Saint.’
“What the hell is Kim Minsoo trying to do?”
Is it Raizen’s death? The complete downfall of House Pantheon?
But even so, it was hard to connect that to him becoming a Saint this way.
If he just wanted to be a Saint, there were other ways.
I already knew that the current Kim Minsoo wasn’t the same one from the novel I remembered.
But I didn’t expect him to be this far gone.
I looked up at Kim Minsoo’s face in the photo.
He was smiling at the crowd cheering for him, and somehow, that smile didn’t feel unfamiliar.
“He’s like… the old Raizen.”
And like the Raizen from the novel, too.
“Ha…”
A deep sigh escaped me before I knew it.
And right then—
“Oh my, is something wrong? Why the heavy sigh?”
Startled, I flinched at the sudden voice.
When I turned toward it, the shop owner was looking at me—with a face that anyone would find likable.
It was something that started happening after I learned how to use divine power in combat and obtained the divine Sword.
Strangers began feeling a vague fondness toward me.
“It’s because the divine power within you is fully yours now.”
That was how Seol explained it, though I didn’t entirely understand what she meant.
Normally, people say that your divine power has simply increased, right?
I even asked if that’s what she meant back then, but she just shook her head.
Anyway… it was still a bit unfamiliar, but not exactly a bad feeling.
“Ah… It’s just the news. It’s all so depressing. The Monster Wave starting up again and all…”
“Ahh, the Monster Wave? But the Saint showed up! We’re gonna be okay now.”
“Right. That’s true… but still, a Saint can’t save everyone. There’s no telling what could happen if we’re unlucky…”
Especially since this is an island—if the dark mages trigger a Monster Wave here, escaping would be much harder.
Is the fact that dark mages are behind it not public knowledge yet?
“By the way, do we know why the Monster Waves are happening?”
“Of course! It’s those damn dark mages! Unbelievable, right?”
So the involvement of the dark mages had at least gotten out to the public.
I was worried the shop owner might mention House Pantheon, but it seemed Kim Minsoo hadn’t succeeded in framing them as the root of all evil—at least not yet.
Maybe my silence while I mulled over all that was misinterpreted, because the shop owner made a suggestion.
“If you’re feeling anxious, why don’t you stop by the temple over there? Say a prayer, get a blessing or something.”
“The temple?”
The temple…
Before coming to Crete Island, my grandfather gave me a brief rundown.
He said the temple here barely functioned—it technically existed, sure, but only a few priests served there, and all they did was greet the occasional visitor.
“You can receive blessings here now? I thought that wasn’t originally possible.”
“It wasn’t! But starting last month, the number of priests increased a ton, and now they even give out blessings! They say it’s all part of the Saint’s prophecy and plan!”
“Ah… I see…”
‘Prophecy, my ass.’
“Anyway, this just proves that Duke Luavis made the right call.”
“Duke Luavis’s decision?”
“You remember, about a year ago? When the West was in chaos because of the Monster Waves. The Imperial Family and House Pantheon took the lead in fighting and uncovering the truth, but then out of nowhere, Duke Luavis decided to support the temple. People thought it was weird. Thanks to that, we did learn the dark mages were behind it, but… in the end, it was our Saint who found the solution. I figure the whole thing was just part of finding the divine Sword.”
“Ha ha…”
So this is what media manipulation looks like.
People fill in the gaps however they want without needing the full picture.
Still, the fact that Duke Luavis had been supporting the temple…
It was probably safe to assume they were already in cahoots.
“Anyway, thanks for the info. I really learned a lot I didn’t know.”
“Oh, it’s nothing! Drop by anytime. Ah, wait.”
The shop owner rummaged under the counter and stood up, handing me a few round fruit jellies.
“These are really popular lately. Try one!”
“…Thank you.”
I gave a slight bow and stepped out of the shop.
It was true I’d come out today to gather some intel, but my mind felt heavier than I expected.
Someone like me, who ran away… probably didn’t even deserve to think this much.
“Raizen must be busy too.”
Maybe that’s why he hadn’t found me yet.
The thought passed through my mind before I could stop it, and I immediately felt pathetic.
I smacked my forehead a few times.
“Get it together, seriously.”
Raizen isn’t just anyone. If he really wanted to find me, he would have—no matter how busy he was.
There’s no cure for being an idiot.
“And if he did come looking, would I go back with him?”
I wouldn’t.
So what was the point in even thinking about it?
I shook my head, pushing away all the pointless thoughts, and started walking again.
I figured maybe a quick café visit would help clear my head.
That’s when I saw them—children lined up further down the street.
Every one of them in tattered clothes, looking ragged.
Where there’s light, there’s also shadow.
Crete Island wasn’t only home to the wealthy—it also had those who lived off of them.
Some made an honest living.
Others… begged to survive.
And among them were children.
Some born to those people.
Others… abandoned by women working at exclusive clubs catering only to VIPs.
“If this is how it is, then why do they bother doing background checks so thoroughly when people enter the island?”
Truth was, the Crete Island government didn’t really care about what happened inside.
Their focus was all on publicity and attracting more wealthy residents.
Following the line of children with my eyes, I saw a priest at the end handing out food.
So they really were doing priest-like things now.
Their increased manpower wasn’t all for show.
As I watched the priest smiling warmly at a child—
“I said I’m not eating it! I told you I’m not gonna eat what they give me!”
—a young voice suddenly screamed out in protest.
