LIGHTNOVELONLINE Book 10: Chapter 8
The blinding light annihilated every last one of the “enemies of Ellarc,” letting out a powerful burst of light magic that spread through the air.
The magic swept through Ellarc, completely blinding the senses of everyone it touched. Because of this, no one was aware of the powerful, divine being that had suddenly appeared nearby.
Only a few people noticed its presence. They stood in the prayer hall of Febris castle, the site of the mysterious arrival
「Y-, you are…?」
「Hmph, so you’re choosing to come out now?」
The Demon King Vermudol stood besides a dumbfounded Celis. Near him stood the maid knight Ichika and a purple-clothed girl named Ykslaas. The General of the West, Sancreed, stood before them, along with Kain and Ein. Reina stood at Celis’s side. In total, there were eight people in the prayer hall.
However, there was more.
There was a ninth person, someone that Celis had never expected to see.
It was an old man wearing a gray robe. His silvery-white hair was silky and long, and he had a long beard that grew around his mouth.
The old man’s appearance resembled something that a child might draw if they were told to draw a “wizard.”
「Y-you, you are… Are you Raidolg…sama?」
「That is right, Hero.」
「……」
Kain, hearing the words of the old man—the God of Light, Rydolg—,immediately kneeled down to salute him.
However, Vermudol wore a confused expression. He used Status Confirmation Magic on Kain.
Name: Kain Stadius
Race: Human
Rank: S
Occupation: Adventurer
Equipment: Hard Sword Tilnok, Holy Silver Armor
Ability: Protection of the God of Life S
There was no evidence of Kain being a hero. Does this mean that Raidolg personally gave him that title?
Kain, sensing Vermudol’s gaze, opened his mouth. He remained kneeling, staring at the floor as he spoke.
「Shion… No, Vermudol… I’m…」
「Are you the Hero?」
The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence.
The Hero’s destiny was to destroy the Demon King.
Vermudol had worked to create an alliance with humanity in order to stop this individual from appearing. He had worked to raise the strength of the kingdom to its limits so that he would be prepared to fight back if it ever appeared.
He had considered the possibility of Kain being the Hero for some time now, but he couldn’t find any evidence to support his suspicion. Because of this, he had ordered Ein to accompany him, to keep track of him just in case.
He had been so cautious in his effort of searching for the Hero, collecting every single piece of information that he could possibly get about his whereabouts. Now, there he was, the boy standing right before Vermudol.
Not daring to take his eyes off of Kain, Vermudol silently waited for an answer.
After a long moment of silence, Kain took a deep breath. He forced the words out of his dry throat.
「…Yes.」
「Break the seal」, Kain quietly muttered under his breath. In an instant, the status information displayed in Vermudol’s vision underwent a drastic change.
Name: Kain Stadius
Race: Human
Rank: SSS
Occupation: Hero
Equipment: Hard Sword Tilnok, Holy Silver Armor
Abilities: Protection of the God of Life SSS, Strength of the Hero SSS, Dignity of the Hero SS, Swordsmanship S, Instant Casting S, Special Magic SS
Vermudol ran his eyes through Kain’s newly changed status information. In the corner of his eye, he saw Celis stagger back, overwhelmed by some unknown force. But now was not the time to be worrying about that.
The Hero.
There was no doubt about it. Kain was “The Hero.”
How had he never realized this?
He simply never noticed? He didn’t think it could be possible? …He couldn’t find an explanation for why he had gone for so long without realizing it, even though it was right in front of him this entire time.
This feeling.
He felt a horrible, dreadful feeling, as if he were staring at a deadly blade that had been crafted for the sole purpose of killing him.
Vermudol’s body was overwhelmed by an intense desire to attack Kain, but he tried to calm himself down.
No.
He isn’t an enemy. At least, not yet.
Using his powerful will, Vermudol resisted his urge to fight… Kain’s status began to revert back to normal.
「I have suppressed my true power using a magic seal. The immense power of the Hero brings nothing but confusion to me.」
Vermudol’s sudden aggressive impulse was likely a response to Kain’s seal being taken off.
But why?
Why is Kain, a normal human being born into this world, the Hero?
「I’m afraid I don’t understand. Isn’t the Hero supposed to be someone that was ‘summoned’ into this world? Kain, I’ve gathered a lot of information about your origins, and I know that you were born in the St. Altlis Kingdom. How is it possible for you to be the Hero when you don’t fit the description of the Hero?」
Rydolg nodded his head.
「That’s right. In order to become the Hero, one must possess a soul that does not originate from Remfilia. Therefore, there is no way that a normal inhabitant of Remfilia can become the Hero.」
「Then what is Kain? His status clearly states that he is the Hero.」
「…Reincarnation.」
Kain quietly muttered under his breath.
「I was reincarnated into this world from another world. This is probably the reason why I have a different soul…」
Reincarnation. Vermudol searched through the memories of his previous life as “Ryou,” trying to recall what the word meant.
Reincarnation—To have your soul carried into another world, by some divine force, after death. Normally, one’s soul disappears after death, but through reincarnation, it could be reborn as a new life in Remfilia.
Therefore… His soul must have been summoned from another world and put into a new body through “reincarnation.”
Rydolg opened his mouth.
「I see. So it seems that your soul was summoned into this world. Philia has been getting quite forceful in her approach, I see… Doing this most certainly makes it more difficult to notice…」
「Difficult to notice? Does that mean that even you were unaware of Kain’s true identity?」
Rydolg nodded in response to Vermudol’s question.
「Yes. If the hero’s entire body had been carried into the world, just like it has in the past, it would have been easy to detect… However, when only the soul is transported, it becomes a lot more difficult. Even the boy himself didn’t realize his identity until a very long time after he was born.」
Speaking with a bitter tone, Rydolg stared intently at Vermudol.
「…So, New Demon King. I would hate to have to constantly refer to you by that title, so won’t you introduce yourself to me?」
「You’re a god, right? Can’t you just use Status Confirmation Magic on me?」
Rydolg brought his hand to his mouth in amusement.
「Tsk, tsk… Are you trying to test me?」
「T-, test you?」
「Yes. Kain the Hero, this new Demon King is… No, that’s not right… He’s trying to figure out the extent of a god’s abilities. Isn’t that right, Vermudol?」
Vermudol tutted back.
He was right.
Normally, Status Confirmation Magic can only be used by the Demon King and the Hero. However, as it was made clear by the invention of the “Crystal of Revealing,” the ability to check the status of individuals is something that can be used by anyone.
However, despite this, there have been no cases of ordinary people succeeding in the usage of the Status Confirmation Magic itself.
Though the process used to create the “Crystal of Revealing” is relatively well known, the process that the item uses to reveal the status of others is still completely unclear. But because the crystal itself is all that is needed to accomplish the task, none have bothered to research the inner workings of the crystal. There is no point in studying a form of magic that has already been developed to its limits.
However, there must be some value in determining whether or not gods are able to make use of it. It is commonly believed that the gods possess abilities far beyond anything that humans are capable of, and that they have full mastery of their respective category of magic.
It is unclear what category of magic Status Confirmation Magic would fall under, but the god’s ability or inability to use this magic is likely to give a basic idea of how much power they really have, Vermudol had thought to himself.
He asked this despite considering the possibility that Raidolg would be able to see his true intentions. Either way, the response would allow him to understand how much power the gods have, which is why he asked it in the first place.
「Well if you understand why I was asking, that makes everything a lot easier. I have a lot of things that I would like to ask you.」
「I don’t mind answering. However, before that, I have something that I need to ask you.」
Saying this, Rydolg, after looking back and forth between Vermudol and Kain, turned to face Kain.
「So, Kain the Hero. I can see that you’re trying to alienate yourself from the Hero’s powers. Why is that? If you use your powers to do good, you would be worshipped, endlessly praised by everyone around you. You could be considered a “savior” of the people.」
Listening to Rydolg’s question, Kain glanced at the sword on his waist for a fleeting moment… And then he shifted his gaze back toward Rydolg.
「You’re probably right. If I were to use the powers granted to me, I could very well become the new “savior” of the land.」
「Yes, that could definitely happen.」
「That’s what I’m scared of.」
Kain clenched his fists tightly.
「I’m scared. I-, I’m too scared… of turning into something like that.」
Vermudol was confused by Kain’s words. He would not “become,” but would instead “turn into.” It clearly was not something that Kain was hoping for, but something that he believed would happen against his will.
It was true that, if his identity as the Hero were to be known, he would naturally be praised by everyone around him… But Vermudol felt like that wasn’t what he meant.
「…Something bad happened, didn’t it?」
Hearing these words, Kain started trembling. It was clear that there was something that he feared greatly, some sort of traumatic experience that made him reluctant to use his powers.
However, it was still unclear exactly what he was fearful of. Even if he was fearful of the great power that came with being a hero, he could still easily learn to control it.
But there’s no way that Kain didn’t understand that. There had to be something else.
Responding to Vermudol’s question, Kain gave a small but firm nod.
「…From a very young age, people would always take my opinions seriously, despite how young I was. Because I still had the memories and knowledge from my previous life, I was often referred to as a genius, a child prodigy. I always thought that I was well-received because of the new ideas that I brought into this world.」
Vermudol had also used pieces of memories from his previous life as “Ryou” when he was founding the Zadark Kingdom. If Kain could access his full collection of memories, it would make complete sense for him to put them to use.
「…However, back then, I didn’t understand yet. How terrible it really was.」
No one said a word.
As everyone stared at him in silence, Kain brought his fist to his chest and clenched it tightly.
「…Guided by the God of Life, Philia, I was born in the St. Atilis Kingdom as the oldest son of a local baron.」
Kain’s father, Baron Stadius, owned a fairly average amount of land. Though there were no special products produced on the land, the brave, hard-working personality of the baron won the trust of many, and he was able to make a decent living.
However, despite his exceptionally good management of the land, he was among some the least successful in the area.
Never prioritizing his own profits, he would always work hard to ensure the safety of his tenants. One would never encounter a thief or even a goblin on Stadius land. However, this led to him being insulted by other nobility, who would often criticize him for his “savage-like” behavior.
Kain, growing up on this land, began to show incredible talent from a very young age.
“The Stadius kid,” as people would call him, soon developed an excellent reputation among the townspeople, praised for his incredible talent. He began reading and writing from the moment he was able to move his hands, and of course he was an incredible swordsman and magic user as well.
By showing promise in these areas, he was anticipated to become an excellent magic swordsman.
However, Kain’s “talent” was not limited to fighting. Together with Sharon, a young girl of a small firm known as the Tearnot Company, he began working on the creation of a specialty product to be produced and sold on Stadius land.
Every single project that Kain worked on turned into a massive success, and the living standards of the Stadius land rose rapidly. The Stadius family’s land quickly became some of the most luxurious land in the kingdom.
Eventually, it became widely known that the mastermind behind this incredible success story was a small child named Kain.
He was known not only as an incredibly talented warrior, but also as a genius “blessed with both strength and intellect.” He was able to solve every single problem he encountered with great ease.
「It all sounds great so far. Where’s the problem?」
「…I was just a child.」
Kain muttered.
「Even though I was just a child, I was able to accomplish that much.」
It was true that he was one of the most talented children around.
Thanks to the memories carried over from his previous life, he was significantly more knowledgeable and intelligent than anyone around him, even the adults. And on top of that, his ability to absorb and process new information was also unmatched.
Though he was already put in a very high position as the baron’s son, Kain was still just a small child. It would be very difficult to imagine grown, wise adults seriously listening to the opinions of a child that likely knows very little about the real world.
However, even then, Kain’s words were able to easily convince anyone. The people of the Tearnot Company were so impressed by Kain that they agreed to work together with him. Their cooperation caused the company to grow significantly.
Even at home, everyone would always be quick to listen to him. Though his father, mother and even grandfather were usually strict, they were especially kind towards him, always listening to everything that he said.
Just as Rydolg said, everything was going very smoothly.
—However, this would end when Kain’s undying sense of curiosity eventually took over him. Kain wanted to know more about himself. So to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, he decided to invent a special mirror that he could use to cast Status Confirmation Magic upon himself.
「…Do you know the difference between what can be seen using the “Crystal of Revealing” and what can be seen using Status Confirmation Magic?」
「The Crystal of Revealing can only display simple, surface-level information, while Status Confirmation Magic can reveal more detailed information about a person’s abilities. That is, if the target doesn’t resist, of course…」
As Vermudol answered his question, Kain nodded.
「That’s right. Because of this, I wanted to cast Status Confirmation Magic upon myself. However, if I couldn’t see myself, I couldn’t cast the magic, and if I cast it on the mirror, it would simply show me information about the mirror.」
Of course, because he didn’t want the people around him to find out, he did the research in secret, using trial and error to successfully make a special mirror… And he used it to cast Status Confirmation Magic on himself.
And then, he found out.
「I always felt like my words were constantly being strengthened by some unknown, invisible force. Anything I said would have some degree of persuasiveness… It was like some sort of special ability.」
“Protection of the God of Life,” “Strength of the Hero,” “Dignity of the Hero,” “Swordsmanship,” “Instant Casting,” “Special Magic…”
There was only one ability that could fit his description.
「Was it “Dignity of the Hero”?」
「That’s right. The effect of that ability is to “add a powerful force of persuasiveness” to all of my words and actions, causing people to agree with them. It also makes me “much more likely to be liked and less likely to be hated.”」
When he found out, Kain was devastated. At the same time, he began to understand. He understood why everything was going so smoothly and successfully, why everyone seemed to love him and always agree with him, why he was seemingly immune to failure of any kind.”
「My words weren’t actually being trusted. I wasn’t being loved or accepted. I was simply shoving my way through life, forcing my way to success with my overpowered Hero abilities. Even though everything I did seemed like a success, there was nothing that I could take pride in.」
Kain could no longer believe anyone. He grew scared of every single feeling of trust, agreement and love that people expressed toward him. Everything felt like a lie, an illusion made to make him feel accepted. Nothing felt genuine to him.
He grew scared of everyone, even his family and Sharon. He had spent his entire childhood brainwashed by the “Dignity of the Hero,” living a hollow, meaningless life full of lies.
Driven to the brink of insanity, Kain reached out to one final solution… The creation of a magic seal that would suppress his powers.