Chapter 33
The Book of Calamity (1)
Shaperia was so confused that she felt dizzy.
It was because of the unfamiliar emotions she felt toward Johan.
An inexplicable affection for him continued to swell inside her.
She felt drawn to him like iron to a magnet.
Could she possibly harbor romantic feelings for a boy barely ten years old? Of course not. A young lady only a few years away from her coming-of-age ceremony could never be interested in a child who had yet to even enter puberty.
Shaperia wasn’t that twisted.
Her current feelings had to be an illusion.
She steadied her breathing.
After collecting herself, she spoke.
“I made a disgrace of myself. My apologies.”
Johan smirked and joked,
“When you told me not to approach, I thought I had turned into a pile of dung.”
Shaperia hurriedly waved her hands.
“N-no! I merely...”
“It was a joke. A joke. You seemed so tense that I thought I’d tease you a little. Your reaction was quite amusing, though.”
“Calling it amusing is cruel of you.”
Her voice was barely audible.
Johan wanted to tease her further, but he restrained himself.
A far more important topic remained.
He spoke.
“Haha, perhaps I took the joke too far. Shall we return to the matter at hand? You said you had a favor to ask.”
Johan couldn’t imagine what Shaperia might want.
After calming herself, she said,
“I realize this is presumptuous of me, but I would like to remain at the lord’s castle for several weeks. I would be grateful if you permitted it.”
Had she been expelled from the Church because she had lost her power? Even if that were the case, coming to the Myatro territory, where she had no connections, and asking for shelter was strange.
The Shaperia Johan knew wasn’t brazen enough to do such a thing.
Concealing his puzzlement, he said,
“That would not be difficult, but I would like to hear your reason. It feels as though you departed with the pilgrimage procession only yesterday, so I’m rather surprised that you have returned alone with such a request.”
Shaperia released a deep sigh.
“The truth is that a terrible disaster befell the pilgrimage procession.”
“A disaster?”
“It is hardly a secret, and the world will soon learn of it regardless, so I will tell you.”
She gave Johan a detailed explanation of what had happened during the attack.
She omitted only the matter concerning the knight Rael.
Feigning distress, Johan said,
“As if a horned demon weren’t enough, an Apostle appeared as well. If everything you’ve said is true, doesn’t that mean the prophecy in the Book of Calamity has begun?”
The Book of Calamity was the demons’ scripture.
It was also known as the Apocalypse of the End.
According to its prophecy, the reappearance of the Apostles marked the beginning of the end.
Shaperia answered with a grim expression.
“I do not believe in the prophecies of some demonic scripture. However, it is undeniable that this incident is an omen of the calamities to come.”
The same thing had happened five hundred years ago.
Beginning with the appearance of the Apostles, the world had plunged into immense chaos.
Had it not been for the Seven Holy Heroes and Great Saint Margiel, the world would have perished long ago.
Unfortunately, they were no longer here.
Johan said,
“If we are to prevent that calamity, we must first uncover the Apostle’s objective.”
“It remains unclear. Even the holy relic was unharmed, so the Church’s investigative team has encountered great difficulty.”
Johan slowly nodded.
He remained silent for some time, pretending to be lost in thought, before speaking.
“I understand the situation, but you have omitted one thing. Why exactly do you wish to remain here?”
“As I said, I lost my holy power while fighting the Apostle. I have been stripped of my position as a holy knight and must spend some time as an ascetic, undertaking a pilgrimage to the holy sites.”
There was a superstition that visiting every holy site would restore lost holy power.
It was nothing but nonsense.
There was no way to recover holy power once it had been lost.
Shaperia continued,
“The nearest holy site lies dormant within the Abyss.”
She turned toward the door through which Baron Grian had departed.
“If the Warden of the Abyss permits it, I would like to visit that sacred place.”
In other words, Shaperia wanted to remain at the lord’s castle until the full moon, when the Abyss would open, and then depart for the holy site.
Johan found that suspicious.
She was likely one of the attack’s few survivors. At a time when she should have been summoned from place to place to give testimony, she instead intended to peacefully live as an ascetic?
Her behavior felt unnatural.
Johan tapped the armrest of his chair with his index finger while silently observing Shaperia.
Apparently uncomfortable beneath his gaze, she lowered her eyes and cleared her throat.
Amid the silence, Johan opened his mouth.
“Very well. I will provide you with a room. I will also open the Abyss for you on the night of the full moon.”
“R-really? But regarding the Abyss, shouldn’t the Warden of the Abyss—”
“I will speak with my father. You need not worry.”
Shaperia felt a peculiar sense of incongruity.
At some point, she had begun treating Johan as though he were the head of the family.
Despite the territory having a proper lord, a boy barely ten years old was making all the decisions. It should have seemed unnatural, yet everyone accepted it without question.
Even Shaperia herself.
He is no ordinary boy.
She felt that she needed to deal with him more cautiously.
She spoke.
“Thank you for your kindness. May the Great Saint’s blessing be with you.”
“It is a noble’s duty to assist a messenger of God. Please make yourself comfortable.”
Johan rose from his seat.
“I will assign a servant to guide you to your room. Rest well today.”
After exchanging a few more formalities, they parted ways.
Johan immediately summoned Gaf and Ilea.
He felt that he had overlooked something.
Gaf and Ilea sat side by side across from Johan.
Ilea met his gaze comfortably, but Gaf stubbornly stared at the floor.
Johan smirked.
“How long do you intend to avoid my eyes?”
Recently, Gaf had never looked directly at Johan. He would always stare into the distance or lower his gaze.
It was because of the Great Saint’s eye.
Ilea smiled gently.
“Father, you already know the eye’s secret. Mental powers of that kind are usually weakened once the target understands their effects. Of course, you won’t be completely immune, but you’ll fare better than most. You can’t avoid the young master forever, so you should practice looking him directly in the eye. Ultimately, it’s a battle of willpower, and that is your specialty.”
Persuaded by his daughter, Gaf slowly raised his head.
The instant his eyes met Johan’s, he lowered them again.
“Damn it. This feels disgusting.”
“You certainly have no hesitation about insulting someone to his face.”
“Someone? Like hell you’re human.”
Ilea released a small sigh as she looked between them. She quickly changed the subject.
“Why did that woman come here?”
Johan briefly recounted his conversation with Shaperia.
Suspicion filled Ilea’s expression.
“They haven’t even uncovered the circumstances behind the attack, yet they sent their most important witness away? That’s rather strange.”
Ilea had noticed the same inconsistency as Johan.
Johan nodded.
“We need to investigate her. Gaf, I assume this is your area of expertise?”
As a mercenary, he must have experienced all manner of dirty work.
Tailing and spying should be familiar to him.
“What do you want?”
“Watch Shaperia’s every move and report everything to me.”
“It seems you’re paying the price for sparing that girl. Why didn’t you simply kill her back then?”
“Do you truly wish that I had?”
Gaf merely scowled without answering.
Johan smirked.
“Now get moving. It’s time to work.”
Gaf was reluctant, but he had no choice but to obey Johan’s instructions.
Whether he liked it or not, they were in the same boat.
He immediately left the room.
Once the two of them were alone, Ilea spoke.
“The Church’s investigators must be swarming all over the south by now.”
“That was expected. An Apostle appeared, after all.”
“The appearance of an Apostle marks the beginning of the end. The public will connect this incident to the prophecy in the Book of Calamity.”
“That is precisely what I wanted. Humanity must prepare for the end.”
In the original story, their response had come far too late.
Five hundred years of peace had dulled humanity’s vigilance.
Johan had forced them to recognize the danger.
By deliberately causing an Apostle to appear.
A mysterious smile formed on Ilea’s face.
“In the end, House Myatro will gain power.”
She was correct.
House Myatro had declined alongside the fall of the demons. However, once fear of evil rose to the surface again, the Warden of the Abyss would reclaim the authority the title had possessed in the past.
Johan nodded.
“Clever. You’ve identified the heart of the matter.”
“Thank you for the compliment. But was that your only intention, Johan?”
“What do you mean?”
“A thought suddenly occurred to me. Did you really walk such a dangerous tightrope and awaken humanity’s vigilance solely to strengthen House Myatro?”
By causing such an enormous incident in the south, Johan had drawn the world’s attention to the region.
For Johan, a half-demon, that entailed tremendous risk.
If his only objective had been survival, he should have avoided such behavior.
Unless he had another reason.
“What are you trying to say?”
Ilea smiled playfully.
“For instance, perhaps Johan is actually pretending to be evil while working for humanity’s sake.”
Johan frowned.
“Why would I, a demon, do that?”
“Technically, you’re a half-demon—neither demon nor human.”
Conversations with Ilea often left Johan inexplicably uncomfortable.
He wanted to end this discussion here.
Just as he was about to change the subject, Ilea spoke.
“But it doesn’t matter. I’m neither human nor demon either. When you think about it, we have quite a lot in common, don’t we?”
As though trying to escape the conversation, Johan rose from his seat.
“The sun will set soon. I should return underground.”
“I’ve already prepared everything.”
“For what?”
“Something that can only be done at night.”
Johan furrowed his brow.
“What are you talking about?”
“You made a promise to me.”
“What promise—?”
“You agreed to let me research your true nature.”
Johan let out an incredulous laugh.
“You weren’t imagining anything strange, were you?”
Ilea giggled as though she found the situation terribly amusing.
“If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll revoke my permission.”
“That’s not fair!”
“I’m certain I told you before. I can stop the research whenever I wish.”
Ilea mimed fastening her lips shut with a clip.
“Keep them that way.”
The two left the room together.
The closer they drew to the underground chamber, the more anticipation gleamed in Ilea’s eyes.
Johan gradually grew nervous.
He was entrusting his body to a witch. Anyone would be afraid.
Should I call it off even now?
No.
Johan was also curious about his true nature, and this was something he would have to undergo eventually.
Better to get it over with sooner rather than later.
He steeled himself.
“Don’t be so nervous.”
Before he realized it, they had reached the underground chamber.
“I promise I won’t hurt you.”
At that moment, flames began appearing one by one throughout the dark library.
The surroundings grew brightly illuminated.
Johan couldn’t help but feel alarmed.
“Ilea, you...”
She beamed at him.
“It’s going to be a very long night, Young Master.”