Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Volume Chapter 10

Something was wrong.

I’d had this sense of unease for a while now.

At first, it was just a vague sense at the back of my unconscious mind.

But eventually, I became fully aware of it.

Something was definitely wrong.

But I didn’t know what it was.

A feeling of unease haunted me, but I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly was causing it.

Even at the time, I knew I had to figure out what the source of that feeling was.

But I didn’t know how much I would come to regret it if I didn’t.

Summoned by my father, I go to his office.

Lately, my father has been busier than ever.

I know why, since it largely has to do with me. Apparently, the rumor that the hero is dead has spread from the battlefield and onto the streets of the kingdom.

We can’t keep Julius’s death a secret much longer.

So the Word of God church is going to make a formal announcement.

And at the same time, they would reveal the identity of the new hero.

In other words, the time when I’ll have to stand before the people as a hero has come.

That’s probably why my father wants to speak with me now.

What I don’t understand is why Sue’s been summoned as well.

Right now, Sue is walking by my side.

Why would he have Sue take a leave of absence from the academy to come to this meeting with me?

Apparently, Sue hasn’t heard anything, either.

As I ponder this question, we arrive in front of the door.

Well, I’m sure my father will explain everything shortly.

I knock on the door.

“It’s Schlain.”

“Hmm? Come in.”

“Thank you.”

I open the door and step inside.

Sue follows me without a word.

“What is it?”

Father barely looks up from writing something on his desk.

Um, that’s my line.

“You’re the one who called for us, aren’t you, Father? What is it you need?”

“Hmm? I didn’t call for you.”

Huh?

Before I knew what was happening, the situation had already begun to unfold.

I know I tried to question it aloud.

Yet the sound doesn’t leave my body.

The effects of a Wind Magic spell, Silencing, wrap around me.

Someone must have constructed and loosed the spell before I had a chance to react.

But not many people are skilled enough to do something like that. One of the only possibilities I can think of is Sue, who’s standing right next to me.

What’s going on?

I try to speak, but the sound of the air around me quashes my voice.

The difficult thing about this spell is that, instead of just erasing my voice, it creates resistance around me that cancels out any noise I make.

As long as it’s still active, unless I can forcefully interfere with the construction of the spell, my voice won’t reach anyone else.

I’m already confused, but what happens next is enough to throw my mind into complete chaos.

Sue attacks Father.

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My eyes widen with shock.

What’s happening? Why?

The spell Sue used is Light Magic.

Magic I specialize in.

The ray of light shoots through my father’s forehead.

“Aaaaaah! Brother! What are you doing?!”

As it happens, Sue suddenly shrieks.

The overwhelming confusion makes my mind go blank.

“What’s going on?!”

The door flies open as my brother Cylis and his armored knight escort charge into the room.

“Brother Schlain attacked Father!”

“He did what?! Schlain, have you gone mad?!”

No!

It wasn’t me!

Why?! What’s going on?!

But my cries only disappear without a sound.

“Guards! Schlain has attacked His Majesty!”

Cylis’s voice, on the other hand, resounds loud and clear throughout the castle.

“Seize him!”

The armored knight leaps into action.

He unsheathes his sword and swings it toward me.

Despite my confusion, my training takes over, and I automatically draw my own sword to parry the strike.

But then the attacking knight cuts my sword in two.

This can’t be happening.

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Even if it wasn’t enhanced or anything, since I just pulled it out, there’s no way a sword wielded by the hero should be so easily broken.

And yet, my sword has been divided clean in half.

My thoughts can’t keep up with all these sudden developments.

The armored knight makes his move during my momentary pause.

The blade swings again and cuts into me.

I managed to take a step back at the last second, so it’s not a fatal wound.

However, the diagonal slash crossing my chest from the shoulder is still a serious injury.

If he attacks again, I’ll be killed.

“Yo. You don’t look so good, Mr. Hero.”

The armored knight scoffs at me.

His voice is muffled by his helmet, but it’s still unmistakable.

“You… Hugo…?”

“That’s right.”

The knight takes off his helmet.

Sure enough, it’s Hugo. I thought he lost all his skills and ran off somewhere.

“Hugo. Don’t go giving yourself away like that.”

“C’mon, why not? I wanted him to get a good look at me before he dies.”

My brother Cylis appears to have known exactly who was in the suit of armor.

But why?

“You’re curious, right? See, your big brother here wants the throne. I want revenge on you and Oka. You’re a thorn in both our sides, get it?”

“But…why…? Cylis is already next in line for the throne…”

“Funny you should mention that. See, before he kicked the bucket, that stupid king was planning to make you his heir. He figured if he named you the next king before you could be declared as the hero, they wouldn’t wanna send you into battle!”

“As if I would let my throne be stolen away for such a foolish reason!”

My elder brother Cylis exclaims darkly, seemingly without thinking.

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Thanks to a new Silencing spell set up around us, no one else can hear his interjection.

I look to the person who must have cast the spell.

“Brother. Unfortunately, you must now die here.”

Her tone is no different from how it usually is, yet her voice sounds as if it belongs to someone else entirely.

Unlike how it normally sounds, which is level but somehow still full of passion, her words are cold and full of contempt.

“Sue, why?”

“I have opened my eyes to true love, dear brother. I would do anything for the sake of that love, even if I must kill my own brother.”

This isn’t right.

Sue is definitely acting strangely.

I activate Appraisal.

The status conditions Hypnosis, Brainwashed, and Charmed appear.

“Hugo! Is this your doing?!”

“Oh dear. You noticed, huh? Took you long enough. Yeah, I did it. What do you think? How’s it feel to have something stolen from you? Sucks, right? I should know, since the same thing happened to me! Ga-ha-ha-ha!”

“Change her back right now!”

“Like I’m gonna do that just ’cause you asked nicely? What a moron.”

My vision turns red.

Dropping my broken sword, I charge at Hugo and knock him off his feet.

Blood drips from my open wound, but Auto-Recovery should take care of that.

“Oof! How do you still have so much strength?!”

Hugo groans and raises his sword.

In response, I start casting a spell to counter him.

“Oh? He’s got more fight in him than I expected.”

My magic composition dissipates.

At the same moment, I suddenly feel a horribly powerful presence behind me that I didn’t detect at all before.

“?!”

I quickly roll to one side.

It’s not any conscious thought that makes me do it. My body just reacts automatically due to fear.

Standing up, I look at the source of this sensation.

It’s a girl who looks to be around my age.

Her skin is white as death, her eyes bloodred, and her features as beautiful as a princess from a picture book.

But her ominous aura contradicts that appearance.

I immediately use Appraisal.

I’ve never seen this result before.

A skill that interferes with Appraisal?

Does that really exist?

I’ve definitely never heard of it.

But the fact that I can’t Appraise her is proof enough that this is no ordinary girl.

I wish I knew more, but there’s no doubt she’s a formidable enemy.

“Sophia! This one’s mine! Don’t go stickin’ your nose where it don’t belong!”

“Oh really? Looked like he was beating you up to me.”

Judging by their interactions, it doesn’t seem like this “Sophia” girl is being brainwashed by Hugo.

Is she working with him toward some common goal, then, like Cylis?

“Enough! Stop arguing and finish Schlain off quickly!”

At Cylis’s beckoning, Hugo and Sue turn their attention back toward me.

Sophia alone ignores Cylis’s words, instead flashing a meaningful smile.

“I won’t let you!”

At that very moment, the tiny frame of an elf cuts in.

A powerful blast of wind hits Hugo and sends him flying.

“Ooookaaaaa!!”

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With a roar of fury, Hugo tries to stand up, but Ms. Oka fires another spell at him.

However, the spell evaporates into nothing as soon as it hits Sophia, who’s now standing in front of Hugo as if to protect him.

Can she erase magic, like what happened to my spell before?

I thought only wyrms and dragons had skills like that.

“Y-you?!”

When she sees Sophia, her eyes widen with shock.

“Shun! Run for it!”

Ms. Oka smashes the floor with Wind Magic, throwing dust everywhere to hinder the enemy.

“But!”

I can’t just leave Sue in Hugo’s control and run away!

“No buts! We have to withdraw for now!”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard Ms. Oka sound this agitated before.

Is that girl Sophia really that dangerous?

Ms. Oka seems to know her, based on her reaction.

When I hesitate nonetheless, someone grabs my hand.

“Hyrince?”

“Leston told me you were in danger, so I came running. I’m sure you’re confused, but we just have to get you out of here for now.”

With that, Hyrince takes off running and pulls me along, so I reluctantly follow.

Ms. Oka’s magic blows away a guard who charges toward us.

All over the place, I see soldiers fighting one another.

“What in the world is going on?”

“It’s a rebellion.”

“A rebellion?”

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“Yes. Hugo and Prince Cylis are the ones behind it. But they’re planning to blame it on you and make it look as if they’re the ones who quelled the rebellion.”

My teacher’s explanation makes my blood run cold.

“Leston’s forces are fighting them right now. He’s buying time so that we can get you out of here.”

With that, we flee from the castle.

After our escape, we arrive at a lone mansion.

“Leston is supposed to meet us here. Once he arrives, we’ll leave the kingdom.”

“Ms. Oka, wait! We have to do something about Hugo, or Sue will…!”

“We can’t.”

“But, Ms. Oka, if we can stop Hugo, this whole thing should blow over. We have to go back and catch him…”

“No.”

“Ms. Oka!”

“The Church has announced the new hero. His name is Hugo Baint Renxandt.”

“Huh?!”

“Even the Church is cooperating with him.”

I can’t help but stumble.

Hyrince offers a shoulder to prop me up.

“Do the elves have any idea why the Church would be complicit in such an absurd plot?”

“It’s safe to assume that Hugo’s brainwashing has reached within the Church.”

“Impossible. The effects of Brainwashing are only temporary. It’s not powerful enough to incite a situation like this, is it?”

“Usually, no. But there is one exception.”

“An exception?”

“One of the top-tier Seven Deadly Sins–class skills, Lust. Its brainwashing effect is far more powerful than any other skill can induce. I have no doubt that Hugo now holds this skill.”

The Seven Deadly Sins?

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Does something like that really exist?

I’ve never seen anything like that on my list of acquirable skills.

Which means they must be highly unusual skills that can’t be acquired even with 100,000 skill points.

“At any rate, we have no way of knowing how far Hugo’s influence has spread. It’s best to assume that this entire kingdom has been lost.”

“That can’t be…”

I’m speechless.

The entire kingdom is lost?

The kingdom that my father ruled, that my brother Julius loved so dearly?

“I can’t let that happen. That’s all the more reason we can’t simply let Hugo go! If we do something about him now, we might still be able to stop this in time!”

“No!”

Ms. Oka cuts down my sliver of hope with a sharp voice.

“As long as Sophia is there, we have no chance of winning.”

Ms. Oka’s expression is bitter as she speaks.

I can’t believe she would say something like that without even trying to put up a fight.

Just who or what is that girl named Sophia?

“Teacher, who in the world is she?”

“Sophia is…”

Just as Ms. Oka starts to explain, the door bursts open.

Along with my brother Leston, two familiar faces enter.

“Shun, are you hurt?”

“Your Highness, it’s good to see you again.”

“You’ve grown into a fine young man, Your Highness.”

Leston is flanked by Anna and Klevea, two women who used to be maids for Sue and me.

Anna has been helping Fei level up, so I’ve seen her once in a while, but I haven’t seen Klevea since we left for school.

Compared with Anna, whose youthful appearance is preserved by her part-elf blood, Klevea looks considerably older.

And yet, it seems she’s come running to my aid in my time of need.

But all I feel is despair.

“You too, Anna?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re under Hugo’s control, too!”

When I Appraised Anna, I saw the Hypnosis, Brainwashed, and Charmed statuses clearly.

At the same time as my shout, Anna’s eyes narrow.

She begins constructing magic at a high speed.

I interrupt her, striking her with the side of my hand to knock her unconscious.

While I’m at it, I try to use Healing Magic to cancel out the status conditions.

But the letters describing her altered state refuse to disappear.

“Dammit! Not Anna, too!”

Leston clenches his fist in frustration.

“Shit. We’re surrounded.”

At Hyrince’s words, I look outside the house to see a large crowd of soldiers.

“We’ll have to force our way through.”

All of us nod at Ms. Oka’s statement.

“Shun, use my sword.”

Leston passes me a weapon.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a divine sword handed down through the royal family. Since you’re the hero, I think it’s better if you use it. It’s outside my expertise anyway.”

“All right. Thank you.”

I accept the sword and lift up the unconscious Anna.

“Let’s go!”

We charge out into the encirclement, with Hyrince leading the way.

At the same time, Leston’s hidden troops launch a surprise attack.

“Now!”

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We push our way through the besieging forces.

Hyrince, who protected the hero Julius for so long, and Ms. Oka, who’s traveled around the world to track down her reincarnated students.

Even the royal guard doesn’t stand a chance of stopping us.

We beat back the soldiers, cutting a path in the crowd.

But when we break through, another unit is waiting for us.

And leading them…

“Shun. You don’t know when to give up, do you?”

“Katia…”

My best friend from my previous life stands in my way.