If you intend to live with that 'right eye' for a long time, I think it's worth listening to this old man's defense.

　There's no way I could say no (no) after being told this.

　I was once hired by the heroic Falcon to accompany him in trudging through the A-ranked dungeon 'The Thousand Year Corridor of the Abyss', a dungeon where the Demon King is said to be lurking - and indeed was lurking - and I was able to make up for the mistakes of the heroes in the labyrinth They were cut off at the bottom.

　After a hellish wandering, I succeeded in escaping thanks to the evolution of my 【Restoration】 skill, but it turned out that the heroic party had not returned.

　It was suspected that I was the cause of that, and the Silverwing Knights were sent to investigate - that was clearly the incident that was the turning point in my life.

　The cause of the incident, the minister himself, told me that he would tell me what was going on behind the scenes at the time. If there was a reason why I could refuse, I would even want to know.

　The Duke of Kingswell ordered the five-man guard to leave the room and left the three of them alone, including Garnett, before he began to speak.

''First of all, I want to make sure of one thing. How do you perceive the existence of 'gods', Lord?
It's a being that gives humans skills in return for their ...... faith. I couldn't even begin to imagine if they were a being with a personality or not, but ...... now I'm leaning a little more towards the former.

　Unconsciously, I bring one hand near my right eye.

　The being who claimed to be a god appeared in my consciousness when I was on the verge of death from a fatal wound during a death struggle with the demon king, Alphasul.

　He demanded that I surrender my body, but when I resolutely refused, he gracefully withdrew, put the Right Eye of Wisdom in my right eye, and disappeared.

　I've already reported the sequence of events to the appropriate authorities, and it's not surprising that Duke Kingswell knows about it, but no new information has come to hand at the moment.

　It's also unclear whether it's being kept from me for reasons, or if we really don't know anything about it yet.

'Very well. Countless gods are worshipped in the Westland, and there are countless beliefs in each profession and region. With that in mind, you can get to the point.

　Slowly, the Duke began to talk about the main topic, as if to include it in his speech.

"The entrance to the Millennium Corridor of the Abyss used to be within my family's territory. Due to the effects of the redistribution of the territory about ten years ago, it is now under His Majesty's direct control.

　It was information I didn't know at all either, but no matter what I think, the main issue is still ahead of me, so I listen to it without interrupting first.

''In the past, my brother, who was the original heir to ...... before I inherited the reigns, what in the world he thought was going to happen was that he became so involved in investigating that labyrinth that he threw away all of his responsibilities as an heir apparent.
............
"The family has given up on my brother, switched my successor to me, and then practically abandoned him and let him do what he wants.

　For a moment, my mind wanders to Theodore.

　Although that guy is the heir of the Beaufort family, a frontier count, he has become completely devoted to his hobby of dragon hunting.

　But in his case, the family has not yet given up on him, so he may be doing reasonably well.

''My brother immersed himself in research and study every day that came and went. Even after the labyrinth came under the control of the Adventurer's Guild, he was so involved that he would negotiate with the guild and get permission to continue his research without even me knowing.

　The Duke had a wry smile across his face and shook his head in an exaggerated manner.

''But the results were all ...... honestly, I had to laugh at them. When the luminescent moss of the labyrinth was claimed to be a strange medicine for immortality, and I nearly died after drinking a decoction of it, I was seriously wondering if I should leave it alone without calling a doctor.

　I'm sure that the investigation was a complete mess.

This foolish brother finally disappeared not long before the dwarves in the depths of the maze called upon us for help.
'If so, does that mean that your brother advised you to ask for ...... relief to the ground?'
I don't know. We're working on it. I don't think that's a good place to start.

　I didn't think it was possible, so I asked him, but unfortunately, he was misguided.

'When it was decided to send a brave man to the Demon King, I recommended the Falcon of the Tiger, but I did not report my brother's research findings.
'......?　Why?
'Because I was in no condition to report. Imagine a room nearly three times the size of this office, filled with stacks of papers, and I have no idea which ones are useful. I don't even know what the hell kind of information is useful.

　I tried to picture the scene as I was told, and I was immediately convinced from the bottom of my heart.

　Extracting a tiny bit of usable information from the sea of unorganized and undiscarded information - a fraction of a percent that might even exist - is a huge task that takes an enormous amount of time.

When I learned that the Falcon did not return and only you found a new power and returned alive, I thought from the bottom of my heart, 'No way! And...

　The duke's tone of voice became urgent and he leaned forward to his desk.

The day before I left for my final investigation, my brother had informed me of his latest theory. He said - there is no God in this world, skill is the power in flesh and blood, and that labyrinth has the ability to draw power from you. Of course, I laughed it off as ridiculous at the time.

　I can't help but be surprised at the unexpected coincidence.

　The hypothesis that the mithril that made up the labyrinth or the self-healing magic applied to the labyrinth evolved my [Restoration] skill was something that emanated from the mouth of Demon King Gandalf.

　Furthermore, it was none other than Alfazul who stated that the skill was a power that resided in flesh and blood, not a soul.

'I've wondered wholeheartedly whether I should report my brother's 'hypothesis' or not. If I say something like the possibility that God may not exist, this time my sanity could be questioned.
............
''However, in the unlikely event that the failure to report it would be to the detriment of the kingdom, he would definitely be held accountable. Even if His Majesty forgives me, the wind from the other nobles is bound to get stronger.

　That's well, ...... that may be true.

　At that point in time, we still only knew that 'skills evolved while wandering the labyrinth', and there was no evidence anywhere that this was due to interference from the labyrinth.

　Even if you think it might be possible, if you present it seriously in a political arena, you can be assured that you will be looked at with a blank stare.

　But if you don't take action, there will always be people who will accuse you of not telling them when the situation escalates into a catastrophe.

　Your political rivals will try to use this as a drag.

So I've decided to prepare myself for whichever way it turns out.

　The Duke retracted the body he was leaning over the office desk and creaked the back of the desk.

''Keeping my brother's 'hypothesis' under wraps, I'm going to set up a situation for the Knights to keep an eye on you, and if something unusual happens to you, I'll be ready to deal with it immediately--such a preparation.
...... So the way to do that was to charge him with mithril trafficking and killing a brave man.
'It's a shame, though, that I took longer to prepare than I expected, and His Majesty scolded me for it. It's a small price to pay.

　It's just like he said, it was the result of self-preservation.

　--It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to find a way to get out of it.

　If I reported this hypothesis as it was, my sanity might be questioned, but if I didn't report it and something else happened, I'd be in big trouble.

　So, for self-preservation, they decided to make up a suitable reason to have the knights keep an eye on me and not tell anyone about their hypothesis, but to prepare for the worst case scenario--

"(It's a horrible side note, but it's ironic that it turned out to be the right thing to do.)

　If the Silverwing Knights hadn't come at that timing, the end of the Demon King's War would have taken a completely different shape than it did now.

　In the worst case scenario, they might have allowed the Demon King's army to attack the ground.

''Needless to say, I've already reported my foolish brother's research and hypothesis to His Majesty now. When I finish analyzing the vast amount of research material, I might be able to find out something about your 'right eye' as well.
I will look forward to seeing you at .......
'Hmm. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know. I'm responsible for analyzing the material.

　The Duke of Kingswell rang the bell at hand and summoned the guards who were waiting in the corridor.

　It seems that this is the end of the secret conversation.

''His Majesty is due to return to King's Landing in three days time. If it is possible, I would like you to wait until that night. Is that alright with you?










...... of White Wolf. What did you think of the Duke of Kingswell's story?

　As we left the Royal Palace after taking care of our business and descending the gentle slope of the upscale residential area, Garnett broke the news to me.

''Well, ...... I'm not lying, but I get the impression that he didn't reveal everything either. I'm sure there's a lot of things that only the Duke himself knows.
That's what you think?
'I could tell from just a few conversations with you that you're a good person to stand around and nitpick information.

　I've been working as an adventurer for fifteen years.
　I've come into contact with many different types of people in that time, but the one that is particularly troublesome is the one that is more "cleverly concealed" than the one that is "cleverly lying".

　If it's a lie, you can cut it down and denounce it if it's a contradiction, but that's not possible if it's simply 'I just didn't tell you.

　You can make up as many reasons as you like for not saying it, such as the convenience of time or the flow of the conversation, and there are times when the blame is imposed on you, saying why you didn't ask when you intended to answer if asked.

But thanks to the Duke of Kingswell's self-preservation, I was able to meet Garnett. For that I think I can thank him for that.
...... What are you talking about, you idiot?

　Garnett stared at me with embarrassment and kicked his legs dexterously as he walked.