4.

There was only one difference between Kim Buja and the princess: whether they had anything to lose or not.

The princess made a choice to save even the last remaining Imperial forces, while Kim Buja made a choice solely to destroy the opponent. Whose choice was right would only be known after the results came out, but since they had already put it into action, they couldn't turn back.

"Wow, he was really strong. About where does he rank on the continent with that level?" Buja asked.

Naturally, there were no regrets either. Kim Buja's question as they left the Akanda Royal Castle contained not a shred of agony or ordeal.

The same went for the princess.

"Sir Kallis is a knight looking towards the realm of a grand sword master. He is undeniably the best sword on the continent."

Only Kallis watched the two with a look of confusion. It couldn't be helped.

"Feeling guilty? It can't be helped. How can you expect to rebuild the Empire while clutching onto your conscience?" Kallis asked Buja.

He had lived that way, and until just a while ago, he had engraved in his heart that such things were evil deeds. But now, he was stepping up to help with that deed, and the worst kind of deed at that.

"I just subdued the son of the King of Akanda, who was living perfectly fine, injected him with hallucinogens, and made him learn black magic. The deeds he committed after falling into black magic were his own choices." Buja answered.

"I know. I am just confused, so you do not need to worry."

Buja wasn't shaken. He had already decided. At the gorge, and once again, upon seeing the princess's tears.

He had thought more than ten times that he wanted to sell his soul to contract with a real demon, so wouldn't it be truly disgusting hypocrisy to feel pangs of conscience over just this?

The knights of the Empire, and his conscience as a human, had been discarded with the fall of the Empire.

He just needed time to adapt.

In fact, Kallis's major role in this operation proved that.

"Actually, I was worried because I didn't have a way to subdue high-level knights who knew how to wield a sword, but I think we can proceed with future plans a bit more smoothly."

The most basic method for a small elite group to bring down a massive enemy. Kallis possessed the most important factor for that: overwhelming martial prowess.

Thanks to him, they were able to infiltrate the castle easily and approach the prince of the Kingdom of Akanda.

What was needed after that was a little bit of gold.

"Although it was damn expensive."

To call it "a little bit" was a stretch—the price of the black magic tome was over 500 gold despite having no special content—but there was no better way to cause discord.

With this, rumors about the Kingdom of Akanda would spread.

It wasn't a movement simply for revenge.

Chumming the waters.

The Kingdom of Akanda was merely the beginning.

"Let's hide and wait until the temple moves."

The three, disguised in new appearances, stayed at a nearby inn and bided their time.

It didn't take long. The Allied Forces took the bait much faster than expected.

* * *

Kim Buja's plan was very simple.

"He who rises by black magic, falls by black magic."

It had come to the point where the Empire took the blame for being contracted with demons due to a misunderstanding, eventually shouldering that image entirely. However, if one dug into the truth, the princess had no connection to black magic.

Those misunderstandings and conspiracies were all fabricated by the Allied Forces and aided by the anti-Imperial nobles who wanted the fall of the Empire.

He intended to pay them back in kind.

"First, an environment where black magic can settle in the continent needs to be created so we can do whatever comes next."

He had to create a situation just like the dungeons on Earth.

In the current continent, black magic meant immediate death. It was an evil to be eliminated and a destined enemy to be defeated, even if one had to throw away their life.

That was why the Empire collapsed from such mere conspiracies and misunderstandings, because they reacted overly sensitively and responded excessively to issues that could have been clarified casually and nonchalantly.

Since the involved party was deemed to be words tainted by evil from the start, there was no way a response could exist.

He had to break that environment. Only then could the princess, wearing the mask of black magic, rebuild the Empire.

Of course, before that, he had to use the weapons available to him. The black magic frame didn't apply only to the Empire. Wasn't the evidence right in front of their eyes?

"They say the saintess is coming personally?"

"Because a demon might appear."

"Oh my, how scandalous. How did the prince end up with such wicked magic…"

A double-edged sword that sends even the most kind and pure person falling into an abyss the moment they are caught in it. A mold where strict and severe standards are applied, enough to include the saintess in a dispatch merely to investigate an incident!

In some ways, Kim Buja wanted to applaud the Allied Forces side. They would be fools not to utilize such an excellent weapon.

Besides that, the main cause was the declining royal authority, which failed to eliminate the source of rumors despite conspiracies suggesting the Empire was linked to black magic and that the princess set to succeed the Emperor was involved.

Just like the Allied Forces, he would use it to his heart's content. To the extent that the word "black magic" would feel as casual and comfortable on the continent as the word "dungeon" did on Earth.

As Kim Buja was formulating the plan, an unexpected word reached his ears.

"Seria is coming…"

"Huh?"

Seria.

It was a name he was hearing for the first time. But what mattered was that it popped out of the princess's mouth.

There was no way the name of a person presumed to be a woman would come out of the mouth of someone who had zero human relationships her entire life, especially at the point when the saintess was coming.

Kim Buja had gone through countless games. He had looked for hidden triggers or Easter eggs hidden in a single word spoken by an NPC countless times, and thanks to that, he once even cut off his practically non-existent human relationships for a while to interpret the meanings contained in words spoken by people in reality.

For him, such a basic hint wasn't even a problem.

"Is the saintess's name Seria?"

"Yes."

A careful nod. Worry and fear were contained in her eyes.

"Do you know her?"

Noticing her looking around cautiously, he didn't ask further and took her hand, heading to the room. In the enclosed space, for her who was still cautious, he took out the 『One-time Soundproof Magic Circle』 he had used in the Akanda Royal Castle.

[One-time Soundproof Magic Circle]

[Grade: Epic]

[Effect: Installs a soundproof space within a 13x13x13 foot range. Can be destroyed by ★★★ level or higher dispel magic.]

[Duration: 1 hour]

[Note: This is a consumable item that is used upon a single installation. Please choose the location and place carefully. It cannot be dismantled arbitrarily.]

An Epic-grade item combining appropriate penalties and essential stats. Even an item of this level cost a whopping 200 gold, but he didn't spare it.

Perhaps what the princess was saying now could become a clue to smoothly concluding Chapter 2-1 of the Gold Mission.

"Tell me now."

He had a rough guess.

"Seria and I have been friends since we were young. Nobody knows."

The princess's words didn't stray far from his prediction.

"How?"

"The temple used to come to the Imperial Palace every cycle to sprinkle holy water. Seria was there too. And Seria was in charge of my blessings."

"Ah!"

The picture was drawn.

One of the few people the princess had a connection with.

It wasn't strange. The only daughter of the Emperor who ruled the continent. Sharing the saintess's energy every cycle, wishing only for blessings on her path ahead, would be business the temple naturally had to do as they received support from the Empire.

The problem was that despite such a close relationship, the Empire was associated with demons, and the temple turned its back.

"Seria said the order was rotting. She said the pope was corrupt, and that the elders and the highest-ranking popes were selling divine power for money. But Seria had no power. She is the saintess whom God appoints once every 100 years, but she was too young."

"True. Otherwise, the temple wouldn't be crazy enough to go along with such a transparent ploy."

It was common sense. In an Imperial Palace where the saintess and priests sprinkled holy water every month—and where the princess was personally blessed by the saintess herself—the idea of the princess forming a contract with a demon was a joke no one would believe.

In the first place, demons cannot appear in places filled with divine power, and it would be even harder for them to reveal themselves in an Imperial Palace drenched in holy water.

However, due to the temple's betrayal, that very alibi regarding the palace played a decisive role in branding her as a black magic user instead.

"Seria's testimony was the deciding factor. It was irreversible."

With this, the puzzle of how the Empire collapsed was complete.

Still, how could the Allied Forces turn the mighty Empire into a demon's den with connections to the demon race in a single moment?

This was the Empire, after all. The saintess's testimony. The temple's betrayal.

A single word from those charged with the mission of hating and eradicating demons was decisive.

"The saintess is a bitch."

It was a firm conclusion.

The princess shook her head, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Seria isn't that kind of girl."

Kim Buja knew that as well.

"I suppose she isn't. She is a saintess, after all."

He didn't know everything about this world perfectly, but judging by the standard world-building found in fantasy novels, if a real god existed, they wouldn't choose a child with a wicked nature to be a saintess.

But as always, there is only one truth.

"There's no one in the world who is inherently like that."

Everyone has their circumstances.

One didn't have to look far ahead; wasn't the Kingdom of Akanda's current situation proof of that?

"The Kingdom of Akanda, which fought on the side of the Empire—did they submit to the Allied Forces because they were traitors from the start?"

He remained silent.

Just because she knew the person didn't mean she could believe with certainty that they wouldn't do such a thing.

"Is the saintess any different from the Kingdom of Akanda?"

Of course, she might be different.

Comparing the saintess to the that traitor of a kingdom was particularly rude, considering their fundamental purposes were different.

"I'll hope that the saintess is not that kind of person, just as you say," Buja said.

The more he peeled back the layers, the more pain the princess seemed to carry.

The world must have been infinitely narrow for her. The only people she could rely on were a few servants, Kallis, the Emperor and Empress she watched from over their shoulders, and her occasional friend, the saintess. Yet, aside from Kallis, none of them were by her side anymore.

It was amazing that she was still standing firm in such a situation. A desire to protect her welled up inside Buja. At the same time, he also hoped. Not as empty words, but sincerely, he hoped the saintess would be the saintess of his fantasies.

She had to be.

For this plan to succeed.

He warned, "It could be dangerous."

"Right."

He felt as though he could see a ray of hope on a frustrating, blocked road.

Kim Buja intuitively felt that this moment would determine not only this Gold Mission chapter but also their future direction as a turning point.

And a few days later, the saintess arrived at the capital, where the royal palace was located, under the escort of the Holy Knights.

"Let's go."

Perhaps it was no different from walking into the mouth of the most dangerous opponent on the continent.

Nevertheless, it had to be done.

The distance between the two women gradually narrowed.

* * *

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