"Looks like I'm late..."
"It's the princess. I don't know what's going on, but your brother seems to be emotionally unstable. Can you take him away quickly?"
Liliana's eyes seemed to say, "You're the reason!" But it was indeed Randel who was being unreasonable. She sighed deeply and helped Randel up.
The reason why Randhir came to Hajime was, of course, because of Kaori.
Randhir was shocked by Kaori's drastic change, so he asked her why she became like this.
In the end, he understood that the reason seemed to be the so-called "Hajime-san". In addition, when Kaori mentioned Hajime, her face showed the expression of a girl in love. Then Randhir finally understood who his real rival was.
Then, he decided that "the guy who made Kaori abandon her original body can't be a good person!" and came to settle the score with Hajime, but he saw that Hajime, whom Kaori truly loved, was hugging another woman, so he was furious.
As for Randhir, his feelings in challenging Hajime were like rescuing a princess imprisoned by a demon king... but the result was so tragic.
Randhir couldn't even get close to Shi, let alone hit him. Shi easily played him around. He felt helpless and remorseful, and tears finally welled up in his eyes.
After being helped up by Liliana, Randir finally couldn't help crying, shouting "Sister~".
Seeing this, even Hajime felt he might have gone too far and couldn't help scratching his cheek. Shizuku's gaze stung Hajime, and she resented him for arguing with a child.
However, Randhir's misfortunes don't seem to be over yet.
He buried his face in Liliana's chest and cried, and then Kaori also came into the room.
"Ah, Lord Randhir, Lily is here too... What's wrong with you? Why are you crying so hard?!"
"Ka-Kaori!? No, this, this is... I'm definitely not crying to onee-chan..."
Randhir abruptly left Liliana, desperately trying to explain.
As a boy, he would never say such words as crying and seeking comfort from his sister in front of the girl he liked.
However, Kaori roughly understood what was going on from Randel's crying, Hajime's attitude, and Shizuku and Liliana's expressions, and then made a bombshell statement that she hadn't made in a long time.
"Really...was it Hajime who made Randel-sama cry? You shouldn't bully younger children."
"No, he suddenly punched me, and I just touched his head..."
Randhir was devastated by the fact that he had been trying so hard, but in Hajime's opinion, he hadn't even been able to repel the enemy.
But what hurt Randhir even more was that Kaori took it for granted that he was being bullied. Randhir couldn't help but put his hand on his chest and groaned in pain.
"You said patting my head... you were really showing some mercy, weren't you? Your Highness is still just a 'child', you know?"
Not only was he treated like a child by the woman he loved, but he was even asked to show mercy. This humiliation made Randhir press his chest even harder.
"I did. I only shot him with sugar cubes, you know? He barely got hurt, right? I wouldn't shoot a child, no matter what."
"But didn't he 'cry' to Lily... And look, his forehead is red. It's rare to see him 'this cute'... Your Highness is just a little 'wishful thinking'. Although he may 'lose control' sometimes, he is a kind-hearted 'good boy'. If possible, I hope you can 'play with him'..."
His crying complaints to Lily were completely seen through. Although he was a boy, he was described as cute. In the end, he was even pointed out for his shortcomings that his sister often corrected, and was treated like a child.
Randhir finally got down on his knees and laid flat on the ground.
Lily wore a troubled smile, while Shizuku and the other men cried out inwardly, "Stop talking! Your Highness's HP is already 0!"
However, Kaori's pursuit did not stop.
Seeing Randhir lying on the ground in despair, Kaori approached him worriedly to comfort him.
"Your Highness, are you alright? Are you injured somewhere after all..."
"...No, I'm not hurt. Rather, I want to know what Kaori...what does Kaori think of me?"
The bruised and battered Randhir mustered up the courage to ask Kaori what she thought of him.
"Your Highness? Well... sometimes I envy Lily because I also wish I had a brother as lively as Your Highness~"
"Guwa...brother, younger brother..."
Kaori dropped the bomb with a smile on her face, causing extra damage to Randhir.
Shizuku and the uncles shouted in their hearts, "Why are you rubbing salt into your own wounds!" They showed a sad expression and used their eyes to signal Randhir to stop talking.
But Randhir was a man, though young, and he could not stop at this moment.
After learning of his father's death, Randhir cried for days. With the help of his mother and sister, he pulled himself together and vowed at his father's grave to remain strong. After the king's death, he must lead the country. How could he let such a small loss hold him back?
"So... you're saying that guy is better?! What's so good about that guy?!"
Randhir glared at Hajime, implying, "Wake up, Kaori! I'm definitely better than him!"
Even when being glared at by Randhir, Shi still hugged Yue from behind. In Randhir's eyes, Shi was just a lustful scumbag.
Kaori's reaction was clear...
"Eh? Your Highness, why are you asking me that all of a sudden? I'm so embarrassed~ But, hehe, yes, he is my favorite person. If you ask me what I like about him, I can only answer everything... hehe."
Kaori delivers a fatal blow to Randhir.
Randhir lowered his head again, lay on the ground, and trembled.
Kaori was worried about Randhir and patted his back while calling him. Randhir suddenly stood up, waved Kaori's hand away and rushed to the door.
He stopped at the door and turned around.
"I hate you guys the most ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Then he roared and ran away.
The tears glistening in his eyes as he was about to leave were definitely not an illusion. All he could hear was a distant cry of "Wuwaa ...
Seeing Randhir suddenly running away, the uncles who were originally speechless immediately shouted "Your Highness~" and chased Randhir out of the room.
"...So youthful."
"Don't act like it's none of your business... You made him cry, didn't you?"
"No, uh, it's true that I made him cry... but it was Kaori who ended up finishing him off, right?"
“Ugh, I can’t refute that…”
Seeing Randel's first love fade like cherry blossoms, Hajime expresses his feelings, while Shizuku begins to complain. Kaori, wondering what's wrong with Randel, tries to catch up to him, but is stopped by Liliana.
Liliana had known that Randhir's first love would eventually end in heartbreak, so she planned to sleep with her brother tonight to comfort him. Randhir would one day become the king of this country, and a heartbreak or two would be good experience for him.
Liliana closed the open door and walked with Kaori towards Hajime and the others. It seemed that she was not just chasing Randel, but had something to say to them.
Liliana sat down next to Shizuku.
Kaori…wanted to sit on the opposite side of Yue, on Hajime's other thigh.
She and Yue were seen wrestling with each other like professional wrestlers.
If it was his previous body, even though Yue was a guard specialist, he could directly manipulate his magic power to strengthen his body, and Kaori would be unable to compete with him. However, Kaori now has the body of an apostle, not only is she able to fight Yue... she even has the upper hand.
"Kaori... you've become so strong..."
"Shizuku, stop being so moved and stop them."
Shizuku's expression was a bit lonely, and she made some silly remarks, while Liliana complained to her.
After the shock of Kaori's death, Shizuku gradually became unreliable in matters related to Kaori. Hajime thought that he couldn't let the top student in the class, a person with a good conscience and a normal personality, become a useless person, so he flicked Kaori's forehead hard and asked her to sit next to him.
"Wow, Yue is the only one sitting here. It's so unfair..."
“…Hehe, I won’t give up Hajime’s thighs.”
"Um~ I want to start a conversation..."
Liliana spoke timidly, but no one paid any attention to her.
"Hashi-kun..."
"Don't look at me like that, Kaori. Just sit next to me, is that okay?"
“…I have no choice. I’ll give you my hand.”
"Eh? Really? Then I want you to caress my cheek with your hand like Hajime-kun usually does to Yue, is that okay?"
"It's nothing serious."
"Hehehe, thank you, Hajime-kun."
"I'll just wait for you guys. I'm okay with waiting, right? Okay, I'll wait no matter how long it takes... wuwu."
Liliana completely missed the opportunity to start a conversation. "I'm a princess... and yet I'm treated like air." She couldn't help but burst into tears.
Shizuku couldn't bear it anymore and stepped in, finally breaking the pink barrier around Hajime and the others. Perhaps because of Kaori's involvement, the barrier seemed to be more stable than usual.
This is the proof that Kaori's devotion is about to move Hajime...
"Well, what I want to talk about is that Mr. Nanyun asked me to spread rumors about the Holy Church... and it went surprisingly smoothly. As expected of Miss Aiko, no, the reputation of the 'Goddess of Plenty' is indeed very effective."
"Is that so... People tend to believe what they want to believe, especially if it's something that can drastically shake their minds. I've always believed that people would believe it. Then there's the question of how much effect it will have when something happens. But... there's no point in overthinking things that haven't happened yet."
"...Yes, but I still can't believe that our long-held beliefs were nothing but illusions... If it were just one person, it would be fine, but if the collective faith were shattered, it would surely cause panic. Mr. Nagumo's proposal is a timely relief for the royal family. Thank you very much."
Despite having a complicated expression, Liliana thanked Hajime.
Shizuku doesn't understand what they are talking about and asks for clarification.
The message Hajime released through Liliana was to inform the people about the collapse of the church's base.
Since it cannot be concealed forever, it is necessary for the palace to take the initiative to explain.
However, even if the truth is told to the people, and they are told: "The 'God Esid' you have always believed in actually only treats humans as toys and is a guy who loves war; the people of the Holy Church are also a group of religious fanatics, so we blew them up along with their base!", it would only cause the people to panic.
Therefore, Hajime prepared a draft of the explanation and asked Liliana to use it as a blueprint to explain it to the people.
The draft is roughly as follows:
1. There is an evil god who wants to start a war. He brainwashes the Pope and others, and leads demons to attack the capital.
2. The beloved son sent by God was worried about the situation, so he went to fight in person.
3. The Pope and others risked their lives, fought alongside God's apostles, and finally achieved glorious martyrdom.
4. In order to protect the royal capital, Lord Aiko's sword turns into light and descends to the earth.
Although the content is not the truth, it is not a lie and is generally consistent with the facts.
As the beloved son of the "Goddess of Fertility," he will also give a speech at a later memorial service, stating, "An evil god may usurp the name of God Esid. For the sake of the true good God we believe in, we should not simply accept God's grace, but for God, become people who can think and act independently, and use our own minds to judge what is right. This is the best way to repay the God we believe in and the martyred Pope and others."
In other words, Hajime was trying to create the illusion among the people that there were real "Evil Esid" and Hajime's fictitious "Good Esid", and then deeply implant the idea that the "Goddess of Fertility" was on the side of the latter.
In this way, even if the other party brings up the name of Esid, as long as people cannot distinguish whether it is "Evil Esid" or "Good Esid", they will not be easily misled, but will use their own minds to think about what they should believe.
In this way, when people learn that the faith they have believed in since birth is actually just an illusion, it can suppress collective panic and also become the spark of future rebellion against God... perhaps.
“I see… Nagumo-san, you’ve actually been thinking a lot. For example, you only told Aiko about the gods, and this matter as well…”
"Do you think I'm a simpleton? I only do things I think of on the spur of the moment and don't take much effort, but I usually just shoot..."
"Haha, I didn't think you were simple-minded. I meant you're reliable. Please take my words as a compliment."
Hearing what Shizuku said, Hajime shrugged, and Shizuku looked at Hajime with trusting eyes.
Seeing that they seemed to be getting along quite well, Yue and Kaori stared at Shizuku. Shizuku couldn't help but shudder when she noticed them and asked, "Huh? What's going on? What's wrong?"
"Yue, what do you think?"
"...Yeah, there's no problem at the moment. We're just friends."
“I see, ‘for now’, huh…”
"...Yeah, I need to be careful."
Yue and Kaori seemed to be discussing something in a low voice, which made Shizuku feel very uncomfortable. Then Liliana turned into air again.
Hajime wondered what the hell were you talking about, a helpless expression on his face.
evening--
As the sky gradually turned fiery red and the figure gradually lengthened and faded, a figure stood in front of the huge Zhongling Pagoda built using the rock wall of the [Shenshan] in the heart of the palace.
"sorry……"
It was Aiko who said this.
Many relics and flowers of those who died in the turmoil are placed in front of the Chunrei Pagoda.
Although the names of the dead are still being identified and have not yet been engraved on the Tower of Loyalty, Captain Meld and his men will have their names engraved there.
Among the relics are weapons that Aiko had seen before - a damaged Western sword and a gun, which were the artifacts of Aiko's deceased students - Hiyama Daisuke and Kondo Reiichi.
What was Aiko apologizing for when she murmured her words of repentance?
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