Chapter 89: Liberation

“Ah, I’ve been remiss in introducing myself. My name is Ames.”

“Never heard of you.”

“Of course not. We’ve always been hiding in the shadows, watching you.”

“…?”

For a second, I thought I misheard. What? Hiding in the shadows watching me? What is this, some edgy chuunibyou nonsense?

“Luca Modred — I am that man’s superior.”

“Supe…rior?”

“The order to drug you and turn you into a girl came from the organization we belong to. Luca Modred followed that order, and we have been meticulously observing your actions ever since.”

“…What did you just say.”

My fist clenched reflexively. Then I stepped forward toward the woman who called herself Ames.

*Grip.*

With trembling hands, I grabbed her by the collar.

“I know what you’re thinking right now.”

But Ames continued speaking in that same calm tone.

“I apologize for deceiving you all this time. There was a reason for it. Please set aside your anger for now and follow us.”

“…”

This is ridiculous.

What? No one recognized me?

‘Mr. Luca, this isn’t right.’

I feel completely played. Up until now, I thought the only person who knew about my identity was Mr. Luca. Sure, a few others showed up later, but I figured that was just people with special abilities like Mateo, or Jihyeok who’s known me for way too long.

Karelin figuring it out… well, I don’t know about that. Did the Demon God tell her?

Anyway.

‘…Come to think of it, Mr. Luca did say something. That the higher-ups had made some kind of New Drug.’

Which means the people who made that drug knew who took it.

‘Haah… I was an idiot.’

I let go of her collar. Ames straightened her rumpled uniform. I felt a little bad for getting worked up and grabbing her like that without thinking.

Maybe I should even be grateful.

Because I’ve been freed from a life where the public treats me like a murderer.

“…I’m sorry.”

So I apologized.

“It’s fine. We were the ones keeping it secret without saying anything all this time.”

Ames spoke as if it was nothing. I could sense a bit of professionalism in her demeanor.

“We’ve been watching her for a long time.”

Ames said, looking at Karelin, who was bound in chains and resigned to her fate.

“But it wasn’t easy. The power she received from the Demon God — her teleportation ability — made it impossible for us to track her.”

“So you used me?”

“That’s correct. She was targeting you. More precisely, Yoschuko Verdiol.”

“What’s the reason?”

“Because you are special.”

“…”

Well, I was already aware that I’m special.

The Special Ability I’m guessing I got when I fell into this world — Incantationless Casting and near-infinite mana.

I never bothered hiding that power and ran around showing it off, so it’s only natural people would notice.

“Do you know why your body was changed?”

“Hold on, before that — can we at least get out of here first? I’m really tired.”

This sounds like it’s going to be a long conversation. More than anything, with people watching us, this isn’t the kind of thing to drag out. I can’t keep everyone standing around when they’re all exhausted.

“Fair point.”

“Karelin is… no. That’s not my problem anymore.”

“Our organization plans to interrogate her separately.”

Ames answered without me even asking. Honestly… I don’t really feel any sympathy for Karelin.

No matter what her past was like, Karelin committed far worse crimes. She’ll have to pay for them.

“If you tell us a desired date and location, we will come to you directly.”

“You don’t have to go that far… I think this isn’t something that should be kept secret anymore.”

I said, glancing back and forth between Mateo and Jihyeok.

“So I’d like to talk about it in front of everyone. That alright?”

“You mean… you intend to reveal your identity?”

“These two already know anyway. As for the rest… I’ll figure that out later. My head hurts too much right now. I’m too exhausted.”

Fatigue had reached its limit. The backlash from the mana Explosion was slowly getting better, but before that, my body was just too worn out. I’d pushed myself way too hard for the first time in a while.

“Understood. Contact me when the time comes. Luca Modred will have my contact information.”

“Yes…”

With that, Ames glanced backward. There seemed to be nothing there, but then shadows suddenly burst out. They were people wearing the same uniform as Ames. They subdued Karelin, who was still bound in chains, and dragged her away.

I watched that scene blankly for a moment.

“…Should we head out too, I guess.”

I said, looking at Jihyeok and Mateo.

* * *

“…Ah, my eyes are burning.”

How long had it been since I last saw sunlight?

Subjectively, it felt like I’d been inside that cave for over a month.

No, wait — maybe not even a full day? I think I entered End Cave when the sun was at its peak, but now the sun was hanging lower than it was back then.

Zzzz—

“Whoa, you scared me.”

As I was scanning the surroundings, a vibration buzzed at my wrist. I checked and found it was an Artifact. A fair number of messages had come in.

Starting with “Where are you?” and “Why aren’t you answering?” — and then a message from Mr. Luca telling me not to worry.

And then.

—I looked into information about Moonlight and the Master as thoroughly as I could… but I still couldn’t find anything.

—Miss Verdi?

—Is something wrong?

It was a message from Hames. This guy, he writes his messages politely, huh.

“Hmm…”

“Is something troubling you, Saintess?”

When I was resting my chin in my hand and thinking for a moment, Mateo asked from beside me.

“Saintess? Are you talking about my senior?”

At the word “Saintess,” Jihyeok let out an obvious snicker and asked.

“That’s right.”

“You do know, don’t you? That my senior used to be a man—”

“Shut up!”

This bastard Jihyeok really hasn’t changed at all. No sense of consideration whatsoever.

“Haha, I know.”

“You knew and you still said that?”

“Mr. Jihyeok, are you familiar with this phrase? A bird breaks out of its egg.”

“…I’ve heard of it.”

“She merely broke out of the egg that was being a man, and was reborn.”

“Enough.”

The conversation was getting too messy, so I slipped into casual speech without meaning to.

“What will you do now?”

Mateo asked. Jihyeok was curious too, so he turned his gaze to me.

“…First, I want to rest.”

“Understood.”

“Hey, Jihyeok.”

“Yes.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“Can you let me know as soon as Mr. Luca wakes up?”

“Got it. Anything else you want to say?”

“…Sorry for hiding my identity all this time.”

Jihyeok’s gaze was strange, so I made a point of saying it.

Maybe he hadn’t expected me to say that, because Jihyeok looked surprised for a moment, then—

“Hahaha.”

He burst out laughing out of nowhere.

“Honestly, I was a bit hurt, Senior. But… I know your personality well, so even though I figured it out, I didn’t say anything.”

“You bastard… When did you figure it out?”

“Not at first. It was when we faced each other in that A-Rank Gate.”

An A-Rank Gate — that must have been the snowy mountain one.

“You son of a bitch, so you knew and you still went all out on me?”

“You attacked me with full force too, Senior. So let’s call it even.”

“This bastard…”

A laugh burst out of me. In the end, everything worked out fine, didn’t it?

“By the way, those people who were with Karelin weren’t the only ones there. What happened to them?”

“That woman and her subordinates took care of all of them just now. Every single one.”

Jihyeok explained in response to Mateo’s question.

To sum it up, the organization members that woman Ames brought had handled them all. Those who surrendered were just restrained, and those who resisted were killed without mercy.

“Every one of those guys there looked dangerous. If they could subdue guys like that, that organization must not be anything ordinary either.”

After hearing the story, I spoke with a hollow feeling. They could have just helped from the start… Making people go through all this trouble.

“I think we can hear about that organization from Mr. Luca.”

“Yeah. That’s why I asked you to gather everyone.”

“Is that so?”

“Mr. Luca and I have a lot to talk about…”

Of course, I didn’t plan to scold him much. I hadn’t realized some things myself.

But I did want to ask about that organization.

How the hell did they make a drug that turns people into women?

“Let’s head back to the hotel for now.”

At my words, Mateo nodded.

“I’ll go to the hospital. I’m worried about Mr. Luca.”

“Sure. Let me know when he wakes up.”

And so, after parting ways with Jihyeok, I headed toward the hotel.

“…You’re not going?”

I asked Mateo, who was trailing behind me.

“Haha, that hotel is like home to me too.”

Right, that made sense. Mateo was the hotel’s owner, after all…

* * *

“Ms. Verdi!”

“You’re back! We were worried since we couldn’t reach you.”

As soon as I returned, Marcel and Deneb greeted me.

“Your appearance…”

“I’m fine.”

Seeing their worried faces, I reached out a hand and spoke.

“I want to rest for a bit. Can I go into my room?”

“Ah, yes…”

“Oh, right. Deneb, the egg’s safe, right?”

“The egg? Yes.”

“Good. Keep watching it.”

After saying that, I went to my room and immediately manipulated the Artifact to contact Hames.

—Miss Verdi! What have you been up to all this time!

“Ah… I was busy, you know. Are you next to Glare?”

—Yes, I am.

“Good. A lot happened in a short time.”

I explained to the two of them everything that had happened in End Cave.

—So… Moonlight was being used by Karelin all along?

“Yes. Didn’t you know?”

—No… I never imagined one of those two robed figures was Moonlight…

—I can’t believe it…

Hames aside, even Glare, who belonged to that organization, didn’t know, so it seemed Moonlight’s existence had been kept secret.

—Anyway, Karelin being restrained… That’s a relief.

I heard Glare let out a sigh of relief. Probably relieved that the kids she was looking after would be safe now.

“More importantly, about Iris.”

—…I’ll take that. Our guild master’s name.

“Wow, I really didn’t see that coming…”

I never dreamed Iris would be the guild master of Crescent.

She wasn’t an Awakened One. So she wasn’t a Hunter either. But to think she’d risen to the position of guild master.

—…I didn’t know Ms. Iris wasn’t an Awakened One either.

Hames said that in a surprised voice. It didn’t sound like a lie.

—To think that non-Awakened person who died back then was… Ms. Iris.

“She’s not dead.”

I deliberately corrected Hames’s words.

“She’s still alive. And maybe we can save her.”

I recalled what Ludwig had said right before he died.

—Iris is not dead yet.

—He has her. Save her from the Demon God.

—The Demon God is currently sealed by Iris. To save Iris, you must first break that seal.

In other words, if we break the seal and defeat the Demon God, we can save Iris.

And if she leaves End Cave alive.

My innocence.

I could prove Yoschuko Verdiol’s innocence.

“Mr. Hames.”

—What is it?

“As soon as Mr. Luca wakes up, I plan to gather everyone involved in this incident and make a major announcement. Can you make time?”

—Of course.

“Ms. Glare, too.”

—Somehow I think I know what this is about. Got it.

…Right.

It was time to reveal my identity to everyone.