A beautiful flower bloomed in the capital square.
Beauty that truly makes one’s skin tremble.
“Uh...”
Someone in the square let out a dazed sound.
Cybel shone, stately, right at the center of the square.
It wasn’t that she struck some special pose or made a particular expression.
Just the tiniest changes—the eyes and the corners of her mouth, the gestures—movements that, measured numerically, would amount to only a few centimeters.
Even that alone changed Cybel.
People around tried hard to feign composure and proceed with the vote.
But most of them glanced at Cybel at least once as they passed.
Whether she knew it or not, Cybel gradually drew near the voting line. In other words, she was walking toward the center.
“Wow, we made eye contact! Hello!”
“Y-Yes?”
Cybel met Bruna’s eyes. Of course, the same went for Lupina beside her.
The two were flustered now.
They knew they themselves were not what mattered.
In the end, what the people would choose was not them, but the god.
It was a choice between Hera and Aphrodite.
Both were already famous beauties in the capital. Human looks are subjective; it wouldn’t be strange no matter who won.
But if an unmistakably more beautiful human appeared—
Then it would no longer be a matter of voting.
People might start saying the gods chose the wrong human.
—Accident.
Those in the square sensed that within these bounds, a sudden, unforeseen accident had occurred.
“...Arald.”
Naturally, the first to move was Frondier.
“Check on Charon.”
[Ah, yes!]
Arald answered, grasping his intent.
At the moment Cybel appeared, even Frondier’s head stalled for a beat.
Frondier hated accidents more than anyone.
Accordingly, all sorts of questions rose up to handle this.
Why is Cybel, who should be in the Empire, here?
Did she come alone? Is someone with her?
How did she get past Poseidon? Does she know the situation of this continent?
How much information does she have, and how is she acting on it?
Is this action planned, or spontaneous?
Past all those questions, he reached a conclusion.
'It’s fine.'
Whatever intent Cybel had, it didn’t matter.
If she intended to do something, Frondier would simply ride that wave.
He ought to actively help her.
The reason was simple.
'Cybel is not a villain.'
So long as Frondier believed that, Cybel was his reliable ally.
[Charon appears to be urgently speaking with another Paladin right now.]
Arald’s report.
From Frondier’s position, there were too many people to see Charon.
But the one to move first would undoubtedly be him.
“Tell Riri. If Aphrodite moves, be ready.”
[Will she move?]
“Not right now. But she won’t be able to help herself.”
Then Frondier looked to his shoulder.
“Gregory. What about Bael?”
[Looks like he’s ordering his underlings to locate the gate used by the subordinate of Astaroth you told me about. He himself is waiting for Satan.]
“Waiting?”
[I don’t really know either, but he started some sort of ritual for demon descent.]
“Without a Dragon Heart?”
[Right. There’s no notable medium for a demon contract.]
That was strange.
To summon a demon on Satan’s level, a medium of considerable power should be necessary. Was Bael different?
Frondier set the thought aside and asked,
“Are the other 72 Demons nearby?”
[Not visible.]
In that case, a fair number of the 72 Demons were probably nearby as well.
If it were fighting a god itself, that would be another matter, but fighting a human possessed by a god was doable—for they were in their own bodies.
Right after Frondier spoke, a sudden loud voice rang out.
It was Charon’s.
“A demon!”
Charon himself appeared at the front of the square.
At the end of the finger he jabbed, there was Cybel.
“A—A demon? Me?”
“That’s right, you vile thing. How dare you try to bewitch the eyes of the citizens.”
Charon suddenly called Cybel a demon and let killing intent spill out.
Strangely, with that, the square’s atmosphere began to settle.
'Aha.'
Frondier understood.
The appearance of someone more beautiful than the two women chosen by the gods.
That alone was already confusing. But if her identity was “a demon,” the citizens could be reassured.
'People believe not what’s right, but what they want to believe. Not bad for something improvised.'
Of course, Cybel didn’t know such behind-the-scenes matters. She was simply aggrieved.
“Bewitch? What did I do!”
“Silence! I shall personally render judgment at once!”
Charon was a Paladin. To citizens who didn’t know his background, trust in Charon was strong.
If he said “demon,” then it was a demon. And that was more comforting.
“A—A demon...!”
The citizens quickly began to put distance between themselves and Cybel.
“P-Proof!”
“There is no need for such a thing!”
The proof that Cybel was a demon was, in truth, “because she is more beautiful than the human chosen by the gods.” That must never be uttered aloud. It was that uncomfortable truth everyone knew.
Hence swift action. Charon drew his sword and let his aura blaze.
“Die!”
He kicked off the ground and charged at Cybel. His blade shot out in a long straight line.
Not a bad tactic, but—
“...What, are you serious?”
There was something he didn’t know.
Clang!
“Huh?”
Charon’s sword snapped in two.
He had tried to pass by while slashing Cybel, but lost only his poor sword.
Charon looked back at Cybel.
“I thought you were only half-joking.”
Cybel’s voice, once lively and sprightly, wilted in an instant.
Petal, crimson.
Fwoosh—
Another flower bloomed in its place.
“What was that all of a sudden? Next time I’ll really cut you!”
Cybel protested, sounding offended.
Of course, Charon’s mood right now was far beyond “offended.”
'What is that...?'
Stupefied, Charon stared at Cybel’s sword.
A flame-wreathed sword.
For a Paladin, its level could be recognized at a glance.
'Am I dreaming right now?'
Cybel’s technique—the very one even the Shepherd of Manggot had denied as reality.
A Paladin’s reaction was similar.
And seeing Charon frozen like that, Frondier chuckled to himself.
'Perfect.'
Cybel’s greatest advantage right now—
No one on this continent knew who she was.
Charon had shouted “demon” at the sight of Cybel. Of course, when he shouted it, he probably didn’t truly believe it.
But in this instant, the meaning changed.
Is she really a demon? Or a god?
If he chose wrong, what would happen?
“Why are you suddenly standing still? You picked a fight first.”
Tilting her head, Cybel stepped one pace closer.
Everyone watched that scene, holding their breath.
Elodie asked quietly,
“Shouldn’t we step in? At this rate she’ll really be branded a demon.”
“To the citizens, perhaps.”
“To the citizens?”
“If you exclude them, Cybel will appear differently to everyone else right now.”
Cybel’s looks were only one among her countless talents.
Her technique “Petal” was a unique ability no one else could imitate.
If Frondier didn’t know information about her, even he would have doubted whether Cybel was human.
Right now, to all of them, Cybel was an anomaly.
One cannot distinguish demons from gods.
To a demon she could look like a god, and to a god like a demon.
'Not only that—one more possibility will arise for the Olympian gods.'
If Cybel were a demon, they could simply eradicate her.
But they had never seen a demon with such an ability.
What if she were a god from another world?
“...Tch.”
Charon, tense, gripped his broken blade.
He couldn’t open his mouth easily.
Having blurted out “demon” the moment he saw her, he could no longer ask her identity now.
“Our comrade was discourteous.”
A lifeline then dropped to him.
Paladin Antero stood at his side.
Frondier’s face twisted peculiarly.
'What is he thinking, stepping forward?'
Of course, thoughts could not be transmitted, and Antero asked,
“Just to confirm—are you a god?”
Cybel’s face scrunched as if exasperated.
“You called me a demon, and now a god? I’m telling you, I’m human!”
“...”
Antero’s face stiffened, troubled.
With every moment that Cybel insisted she was human, the situation actually grew more difficult.
Cybel grumbled,
“I just wanted to vote and go back, so what is all this.”
Cybel’s voice carried not a shred of tension.
It meant she didn’t understand the tension building in this square at all, and that a Paladin’s strike had given her no sense of danger whatsoever.
'Can we proceed with the vote like this?'
Cold sweat ran down Charon and Antero.
Still, since Antero had ceded much decision-making to Bune and had missing memories, he was the better off of the two.
The one whose insides were burning was Charon.
'Who on earth is this woman? I need to know which side she’s on so I can...!'
Charon had been promised he could obtain full authority over Palma by Aphrodite.
From Aphrodite’s standpoint, it was only natural—she absolutely needed the demon attached to Charon to play mediator and pretend to be Poseidon.
'Hey, Purupuru! Don’t just sit there—say something!'
Purupuru, the demon who had lent him power and pretended to be Poseidon. Yet suddenly there was no response.
By contract, he was to appear when absolutely necessary, wasn’t he?
'Hey, Purupuru! What the—!'
Just as Charon was anxiously signaling his demon—
Step.
“There’s nothing to be so startled about.”
Another woman appeared all of a sudden.
She, too, possessed looks to rival Cybel’s.
Frondier’s eyes turned that way.
'Carla—no. Atena.'
Atena, who had seized Carla’s body. For some reason, she was wearing a cloak.
After being caught by Frondier once, what nerve had she to seize Carla’s body again? She would now learn.
Atena looked at Cybel and smiled sweetly.
Of course, Atena didn’t know who Cybel was.
But she could not let this chance slip by.
“They simply can’t help but marvel at whether you’re truly human, because you’re so beautiful.”
“...I almost got cut by that sword just now, though?”
“If one marvels ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ too much, that can happen.”
Can it? Cybel tilted her head.
Her gaze went to Atena.
“But you’re incredibly beautiful too, sis!”
“Hehe, thank you. I’m Carla. I serve as the academy’s principal.”
Atena brazenly pretended to be Carla.
She swept her gaze around.
'Aphrodite, are you not planning to come out?'
The goddess of wisdom smiled inwardly.
“Citizens gathered here, and honorable Paladins.”
Atena slowly opened both arms.
“I have a proposal.”
“...A proposal?”
Charon’s expression tightened.
Carla was so famous a figure that he knew her.
But he’d heard she couldn’t easily show herself to the public—was she truly this beautiful?
Atena said,
“Add me to the candidates.”
