Contanias seemed flustered by Alon’s sudden words.

“......The academy, you mean?”

“Yes. Is it possible?”

“.......”

For a moment, Contanias fell silent.

Because Alon, who had suddenly come to see him, had asked whether he could arrange for him to enter the Imperial Royal Academy.

‘......Why?’

Contanias felt pure confusion.

At present, the Imperial Royal Academy located within the Eastern Empire.

That place, called Sia Academy by the Empire’s nobles, was certainly somewhere that provided clear benefits to nobles and citizens alike.

From the nobles’ perspective, it was good because they could build connections and receive lessons from the Empire’s finest instructors within the academy.

And from the perspective of Imperial citizens fortunate enough to enter the academy—though far fewer than nobles existed among them—it was good because they could somehow build connections there and secure their future after graduation.

Even royalty were naturally expected to graduate from the academy.

However, those were advantages only from the perspective of nobles, Imperial citizens—or at the very least, those connected to the Empire.

As for what advantages the being before him could possibly gain from attending the academy, nothing came to mind for Contanias.

“First of all, it is possible, however—”

Even so, Contanias gave a positive response.

Sending him to the academy?

It was not impossible.

The Empire was divided and fighting due to the Emperor’s absence, but the academy itself was still operating as usual.

To begin with, what had broken out was not exactly war, but something closer to a struggle for the throne among the imperial princes and princesses.

And ever since Divine blood had appeared, even that struggle had effectively entered a temporary truce. Perhaps not across the continent, but at least within the academy, the atmosphere was less vicious than before.

“In that case, would it be acceptable if I added another condition?”

“......A condition?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask what kind of condition?”

Having already seen Alon’s identity with his own eyes, and having personally witnessed his relationship with the guardian dragon, Contanias spoke politely with his head lowered despite sitting upon the throne.

At that, Alon answered.

“I want to enroll while hiding my identity.”

“......Your identity?”

“Yes.”

At Alon’s confirmation, Contanias grew even more puzzled.

This too was possible.

Alon’s face was not known within the Empire, and if they borrowed the name of some obscure frontier noble, it would not be impossible.

Still, the question remained.

“If it is all right...... may I ask why you wish to enter the academy?”

Contanias asked.

“Do you know of the Church of War?”

“!”

At Alon’s counterquestion, Contanias’s expression stiffened.

“......I do.”

“How much do you know?”

At Alon’s question, Contanias seemed to think for a moment before beginning to explain everything he had heard reported so far regarding the Church of War.

“And aside from that, because of those insane heretics called the Church of War, the villages belonging to each territory have recently become chaotic, and we are troubled because we still do not know how exactly their influence is spreading.”

After listening to Contanias explain what he knew, Alon stared at him for a moment before speaking.

“......To get straight to the point, within a few months, Divine blood will descend upon the Empire.”

“What...... did you say?”

Alon said that to Contanias.

####

Alon recalled his conversation with the Wanderer in Rosario.

‘Do you know about the Church of War?’

‘......The Church of War?’

‘Yes. If you are planning to go to the Empire, could you investigate the Church of War and deal with it?’

‘Why?’

‘Because if the Church of War has already spread through the Empire, then the situation is not very good. If they are left alone, one of the “Karma Thrones,” the “Seat of War,” will descend before long.’

‘......What?’

A very simple conversation.

And yet one that absolutely could not be ignored.

“......Is that true? The Church of War intends to perform a ritual at the Imperial Royal Academy?”

Hearing Contanias speak in disbelief while recalling that conversation, Alon calmly nodded.

“It is not certain yet. But it needs to be confirmed.”

At Alon’s words, Contanias wore a confused expression for a moment.

Then—

“Haa—”

—he let out a deep sigh before slowly asking.

“So the situation is not confirmed yet?”

“That’s right.”

“And yet the reason you intend to go personally is—”

“Because if it is true that they intend to perform a ritual, it has to be stopped.”

If this were something he could simply warn them about and leave alone, he wanted to leave it at that.

Yes, if it were a problem that could be solved with only his advice.

‘......I have to stop it?’

‘Yes. If my prediction is correct, then the Apostles of War will possess power greater than ordinary Divine blood.’

‘......Humans stronger than ordinary Divine blood......?’

‘Yes. I am certain of it. Those who ascend to the Karma Thrones can do far more than you would expect. In terms of both power and abilities. And considering their nature dislikes variables, there will probably be many of them as well.’

As Alon recalled the Wanderer’s words and let out a sigh, Contanias, who had been thinking about something for a moment, seemed to grasp the situation without difficulty and opened his mouth.

“......So this means it is not something simple enough to leave to others. You have to move personally.”

“Yes.”

“And hiding your identity is necessary in case the Church of War infiltrates the academy.”

“You understand quickly.”

Though Alon said that, inwardly he was surprised.

Because he had confirmed that Contanias was sharper than expected.

......Though perhaps this level of reasoning should have been obvious. Still, considering the image Contanias had shown until now, it felt more unexpected than Alon would have thought.

“......Certainly, the consecration barrier can stop invasions from outside, but if Divine blood appears from within—”

Watching Contanias frown, Alon wore a strange expression.

Because once again, he found him unexpected.

‘He thinks more deeply about this than I expected.’

Of course, that itself was not strange.

Even if the Empire could block Divine blood, that did not mean there would be no damage.

And if it happened within one of the Empire’s capitals, the damage would be beyond imagination.

However, the reason Alon found it unexpected was because the academy was located in the Eastern Empire.

Certainly, they had joined forces to install the consecration barrier, but the three Imperial factions were still in the middle of a succession war for the throne.

In other words, from that perspective, if disaster struck the Eastern Empire, Contanias himself would naturally gain from it indirectly.

......Of course, Alon himself had already considered that possibility to some extent and had secretly asked Ar to restrain Contanias if he tried anything suspicious.

But he had not expected this kind of reaction.

“......Understood. I will try to make arrangements for it...... but why are you looking at me like that?”

Contanias looked bewildered after noticing Alon staring at him strangely in the middle of their conversation.

At that, Alon thought for a moment before speaking.

“You seem more concerned than I expected.”

“......Pardon me, but isn’t that only natural?”

Contanias still sounded confused.

“But aren’t you all fighting over the throne?”

At Alon’s renewed question, Contanias let out an “Ah,” then answered.

“......My brothers and sisters are indeed fighting over a single seat. However, that is ultimately our problem. I do not believe that should require the sacrifice of the people.”

Contanias spoke with complete seriousness.

At those words, Alon still felt strange.

It truly sounded like the correct answer.

But the one saying it was Contanias.

‘......He was definitely a traitor to the Empire in the game......?’

......Suddenly, Alon became curious about the contents of Calypsophobia.

####

The day after Alon finished his private meeting with Contanias.

“......You’re entering the academy while hiding your identity?”

Alon explained his plan to the group.

“Yes.”

“......Because of that Church of War thing?”

“That’s right. But even so, I have no intention of staying long.”

“So this is purely to track down the Church of War.”

“Yes, but...... there is no reason to stay long because of that, is there?”

“Oh, I thought maybe Lord Alon was planning to go have fun with a bunch of young people again—”

Evan joked with a grin, but soon his voice gradually grew quieter.

For some reason, several rather dangerous gazes had turned toward him.

“I will go with you.”

“So will I.”

As Evan shrank under those somewhat frightening stares, Deus and Rine immediately spoke as though they had been waiting.

“Thank you. I was planning to ask anyway...... though Deus, are you sure? I heard you had matters to take care of.”

When Alon looked at him, Deus nodded.

“Yes. I have already finished dealing with those matters, so there is no need to worry.”

“Then that is good.”

This time, Penia spoke with a thoughtful expression.

“But if you’re hiding your identity, how exactly are you planning to do it?”

“I will probably enroll using the name of a frontier noble.”

“Mmm—certainly, since Lord Alon’s face is not really known in the Empire, that does seem possible.”

“Of course, even so, I plan to disguise myself somewhat.”

“I think I’ll need that too.”

Penia nodded and continued.

“Of course, we cannot let people realize Lord Alon has been absent for a long time, so we should probably leave a double behind there first......”

“A double......”

“Yes. Is there anyone who could serve as one? Their appearance can be changed easily enough with an artifact.”

“......Wouldn’t there be a risk of being exposed?”

“Mm—there is an artifact that can prevent that from happening as long as their behavior is perfect and they do not use any power. Of course, we would need the tower master’s cooperation, but—”

“Well, that part is guaranteed anyway.”

Hearing Penia say that with complete confidence, Alon stroked his chin.

“A double......”

“Yes. Ideally, it should be someone who knows Lord Alon well.”

“Someone who knows me well?”

“Yes. If their behavior seems strange, it will be easy to get exposed. At the same time, it would be best if they were someone whose whereabouts are vague.”

“Someone whose whereabouts are vague......”

As Alon thought about it, Deus, who had been considering something, opened his mouth.

“......Lord Alon, if it is all right, may I try searching for someone myself?”

“Do you have someone suitable in mind?”

“Yes. I think there may be someone who fits what we just discussed to some extent.”

“Hmm. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

As Alon nodded at Deus’s words, this time Rine spoke.

“Mmm. Then I suppose all of us will need disguises as well.”

“Most likely.”

“Mm—I think we’ll need to think this through carefully in several ways.”

“......Is that so?”

“Of course. If we are going to act together in the academy, we need some kind of preexisting relationship so it will not look strange. I think establishing that will be important too.”

Rine’s words.

At that, Alon let out an impressed sound and nodded.

“......Certainly.”

“That’s true. If we all gather together immediately after enrolling, it will look strange, so it would probably be best to take the names of nobles who already know each other to some extent, or arrange fitting relationships beforehand.”

Deus spoke as though agreeing as well.

And hearing that, Penia and Rine—

“......Mmm, a relationship where it would not seem strange for us to stay together immediately after enrolling......”

“A relationship...... my relationship with Master...... mmm......?”

—seemed to think about something with strange expressions for a moment.

“......Ah.”

“Mm?”

Soon, they let out quiet exclamations as though they had realized something.

“Did you think of a good idea?”

Alon asked as he looked at the two of them.

However—

“Ahem—it’s nothing, Master.”

“M-me too.”

Even though the two of them were wearing deeply meaningful expressions, they subtly shook their heads. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“......?”

Alon could only look bewildered.