“Uh, I didn’t quite catch that. Could you please explain once more…?”

‘Oh my, look at that complexion worsening. I feel a bit bad, but it can’t be helped.’

One of the reasons I settled on the amnesia roleplay.

‘I don’t need to explain why I swapped out the heart.’

I should lay the groundwork now, in preparation for when the kids interrogate me later.

“Am I your professor?”

“Of course… you are. A year has passed, but we still consider you our professor, ah.”

The Protagonist murmured his answer as if confused, then his face shifted to one of sudden realization.

Then he lowered his head and whispered softly.

“I see. Are you deliberately acting because of that person? If that is your wish, I shall comply. I trust you will explain in detail later.”

The Protagonist cast reality evasion.

True enough, believing it immediately would have been stranger.

‘Even with the Holy Emperor, they can’t believe it yet, hence this mess…’

Convincing them of the amnesia roleplay even once is exhausting.

Still, I was relieved that the Protagonist’s intensity had diminished somewhat.

Right on cue, Narrow Eyes stepped in.

“Well, let’s save the touching master-disciple reunion for later and get back to the main point. Even if the Holy Emperor dies, whoever takes his place will designate you as enemies and be hostile toward you.”

Narrow Eyes spread his hands lightly and continued.

“Do you wish to become the second Demon Lord, Michael?”

“……!”

Narrow Eyes laughed with satisfaction, making a soft “huhut” sound…

Since he can’t use facial expressions well, he has to make sounds whenever he laughs. That’s tough on his end too.

“In the end, this means we need a proper justification. In other words, we need to preemptively claim the position of ‘victims.'”

“Just get to the point. Fast.”

Oh ho. It seems the Protagonist is finally willing to listen.

Narrow Eyes swallowed a sigh of relief and began reciting the plan I had outlined.

“Now, let’s divide the roles first. You will help transport the magic stones. And those allies of yours will infiltrate as conspicuously as possible and deliberately get caught.”

Then Narrow Eyes tilted his head to one side deliberately and added.

“In fishing, the more bait, the better… huhu.”

To me, he seemed slightly unhinged.

What talent, that con-artist bastard.

* * *

That’s roughly how things played out.

The students who had put such effort into their crying act were already freed from the stocks and in combat stance.

The Holy Emperor let out a disbelieving laugh.

“What? They were definitely tied up…?! Who was managing them? Hey, how could you-“

But his words soon caught in his throat.

The high priest who had been standing beside the stocks, ready to follow his orders.

His name wouldn’t come to mind.

No, he couldn’t even recall the face clearly. It was just a blur.

Who was it? That man definitely freed those criminals. Why can’t I remember?

‘…His face shows he’s drowning in roughly this kind of confusion.’

Of course, the high priest had been Narrow Eyes.

After completing his mission of safely freeing the students from the stocks, he had naturally melted into the crowd.

The fact that just wearing a different outer garment could make someone an entirely different person was convenient, but…

‘What a somewhat melancholic existence.’

I should buy him a drink next time and console him. For now, let me just watch.

“Destroy them! Break those wretched magic stones immediately! It’s all fabricated footage!”

“That won’t be possible, Your Holiness. We still have far too many of your atrocities left to show! Don’t approach—stay right there and watch until the end!”

“Why, you…! Then seize the crowd first! Without witnesses, none of this matters-“

“What a completely rotten human being. You call yourself the Creator God’s child, yet you’d kill your own believers to silence them? I can smell the stench of your filthy thinking.”

The reason I’d gone to the trouble of putting the X-Class kids, who were simple bait, up on the execution platform was to block even the Holy Emperor’s last desperate struggle.

It’s been a while since field practice, kids.

Let’s protect them.

* * *

“W-what is that? His Holiness the Holy Emperor has really been surveilling all of us this whole time?”

“The monsters they called remnants of the Demon Lord’s army were all his doing? Even the brainwashing?”

“Heavens…! Right, why didn’t I know all this time? I thought something was off when my father suddenly changed!”

“What, you bastard? You were the first one preaching loyalty to His Holiness!”

The simplest way to break brainwashing magic is to show the truth.

The Holy Emperor’s ambition, which had threatened to affect the entire continent’s population, crumbled at just this.

‘Really, people shouldn’t be excessively greedy.’

In this world, the only thing that’s okay to overdo is your roleplay. And even that should be done in moderation to avoid trouble.

Too much is as bad as too little.

An immutable truth, without a doubt.

“Chris Dotten. How dare you… how dare a worthless stray dog like you make a fool of me… I will not let you live. Even if it costs me my life!”

Meanwhile, the Holy Emperor, having reached the stage of desperation, whipped around to glare at me.

His will to devour me first, Protagonist’s heart or whatever, was intense.

This body is no elixir of immortality, after all… Eating it would only give you a stomachache. There are far too many artificial additives.

“That’s a problem.”

Right at that moment, someone landed lightly between the Holy Emperor and me.

Truly, an entrance like the wind.

‘Did he inherit that habit of popping out of nowhere from the Demon Lord?’

Well, when the ‘Protagonist’ does it, he has style, unlike the Demon Lord. If I were an ordinary person, I might have seen that broad back and sighed in relief, thinking ‘I’m saved.’

The enemy facing him would feel differently, of course.

The Holy Emperor ground his teeth.

“Michael Foxin, you seed of filthy blood…”

“One of my roles this time includes protecting my professor. And-“

The Protagonist’s gaze swept lightly across the surroundings.

“Uaaaa, for the great Holy Emperor! For his glory!”

“Such impressive loyalty. Stop your futile efforts and stay frozen.”

The priests still under the Holy Emperor’s brainwashing charged at the crowd, a testament to the effort he had poured in.

“Stay still! I cannot allow any more casualties!”

“Kkeuk, what’s with this tree trunk! Let go!”

The commotion of the X-Class kids blocking them was tremendous.

The Protagonist turned back to face the Holy Emperor and spoke.

“The others seem busy. I’ll play with you, so be satisfied.”

“Ha, haha. You look down on me this much? Do you know who I am? I am the child of God who brought even the Demon Lord to his knees! You’ve clearly learned nothing from your father!”

The Holy Emperor clasped his hands together in fury. Then, assuming a prayer posture, he looked up to the sky and began to cry out.

“O Mother Creator God! Your son cries out to you—grant me the power to punish these insolent ones!”

Flash!

Intense light should have struck down from the sky, and the awakened Holy Emperor should have revealed his form, but-

“…Huh?”

Absolutely nothing happened.

Not even a flicker of light, let alone a minor static spark.

It was as awkward as pressing the skill activation button only to have it unceremoniously canceled.

“Wh-what is… O Mother Creator God! Your son earnestly beseeches you—grant me power! Power!”

The panicked Holy Emperor cried out to the sky again and again, but there was only silence.

The implication was clear.

‘The Creator God turned her back on the Holy Emperor.’

Or more precisely, should I say she abandoned him?

He should have behaved himself all this time. The Creator God’s personality wasn’t that great either, so how did he manage to get cut off even by her?

Truly a god-certified trash-tier human.

“Ah… ah… th-this can’t be. This can’t be! Mother! How many years have I served you! You can’t do this to me!”

Eventually, the Holy Emperor was shaking his fist at the sky in rage.

Truly showing the pinnacle of blasphemy, tch tch.

“Your conscience is dead. Your deeds are unfolding right before your eyes, and you still have the nerve to say that?”

That wasn’t me speaking. The Protagonist was being sarcastic.

‘When did his speech patterns evolve to this level?’

Between the First and this one, the thing they learned best from their teacher is insolent speech—truly lamentable. They say kids absorb the worst things like sponges…

Bead was right.

The water upstream needed to be a bit clearer.