After receiving permission from Emperor Amadeus II to pass through the Devil's Gate, I bid farewell to the Emperor and Prince Shion, and left the Imperial Palace with Baron Zeed, the Prince's guardian.

　The sun had long since set due to the prolonged conversation with the Emperor.

　I explained the situation to Kreia, who was waiting at the Baron's residence, and we finally went to Onigashima--we arrived at the Imperial Capital today. It would be difficult for us to leave the capital immediately and head for Onigashima all night. Kreia is sick, and Claud Solas needs rest.

　Passing through the demon gate is only a passing phase. The real work lies ahead in the search for the inside of the gate. Everything must be done in a hurry.

　We stayed overnight at the Baron's mansion, courtesy of Baron Zido, and left the Imperial Capital at sunrise the next day.

　Our destination was a port town where there was a boat service to Onigashima.

　As I mentioned earlier when we returned home, there were only two flights a day to Onigashima, and the tickets for those flights could only be obtained through the examination of the Miken family.

　You could ignore all of that and take the Crow Solas directly to Onigashima, but the Emperor has given you permission to enter the demon's gate. There is no need for you to cause unnecessary trouble by behaving in a manner that is unprofessional. Everything is as it should be.

　The question was whether we would be able to pass the examination of the Miken family, but I was not worried about this.

　When I looked at my finger, I saw that it had a ring on it that hadn't been there before I arrived in the Imperial Capital.

　It was a signet ring, a ring of official status.

　The king or nobleman would give the ring to the envoy as a form of identification when he was dispatched, but the signet ring given to the Emperor of Ad Astera was far more effective than any other signet ring.

　In fact, when I arrived at the port town, I showed the signet ring to the official, and he made arrangements for my boarding pass with such force that I fell flat on the ground.


His Majesty's signet ring is truly a miracle.


　He smiled wickedly as he looked at the two tickets in his hand.

　And then Kreia, who was standing beside me, opened his mouth with a nervous expression.


"Um, Sora-dono. Are you sure you want to go to the island like this?


　Hearing these words, I looked at the white-haired bannerman with narrowed eyes.

　I thought he was excited to finally be able to go save his brother with Onigashima just around the corner, but he didn't seem to be in the mood.

　When I looked at the other man's face, thinking that he might not have been intimidated by the fact that he had to leave the island now, Kreia noticed my quizzical look and raised her voice as if in a panic.


When I say "as is," I mean, is it okay if I don't cover my face or dye my hair?

"Oh, you mean that?


　"Oh, you mean that?" Sensing Kreia's anxiety, I nodded lightly.

　For the Gouken family, leaving the island is a serious crime. Even if the emperor's seal ring (signet) is a miracle, it can't make the crime of leaving the island go away.

　Kreia probably intended to hide his distinctive appearance of white hair and red eyes and pass through the gate as someone else. Even if his true identity was discovered, he could use the prestige of the emperor as a shield to evade pursuit--that's what I was thinking. I guess that's why he was asking for confirmation.

　To this, I simply responded.


"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine as you are.

"Oh, really, ......?

"Yes, I am. That's why you should be more proud and proud of yourself.


　Hearing this, Kreia's eyes were black and white, as if she didn't understand.

　As I looked at her, I thought about what had happened this time.

　I had thought about this before, but since Kreia had made it to Ithaca without being attacked once, I couldn't take this incident at face value. Perhaps the Mikken family intentionally missed Kreia's escape from the island. In fact, there was not even a shadow of a trace of their pursuers in this port, which could be called the garden of the Mikken family.

　There's no doubt that the Mikado family used Kreia to summon me. Last time, they used the anniversary of my mother's death as a reason to summon me. This time it's "Kreia's escape from the island".

　I don't know who came up with this plan, but I suspect it's mostly to use my power after defeating the demon god. I heard that Klimt was ordered to "defeat Azuma, the king of demons" as a condition to save his sister, so I assume he will say something similar to me.

　Of course, there's no way I'm going to nod my head just because he gave me an order, so he's sure to bring up Kreia's innocence as an exchange condition.

　To the Mikado family, Kreia is now like a chain around my neck. This is why I'm not wary of my pursuers.


Regardless, let's assume we're not at fault. If you hide your face or dye your hair, you're asking for it and showing weakness.

"Very well, sir. I will follow your instructions, Lord Sora.


　Kreia nodded obediently to my words, though her face still showed her confusion.

　As you can see from this attitude, I didn't tell Kreia about my guess. I'm keeping it all to myself.

　Everything I've said so far is my imagination based on the situation. If my guess is wrong, the worst that could happen is that Kreia hears my story and is caught off guard, and my pursuers attack. I avoided that.

　Besides, in this case, there were several situations where Kreia could have died. If you succeed, good. Even if it fails and we lose Kreia, we can see through the intention of the planner that it is okay.

　This is also the case with Klimt. To put it simply, Berch's siblings were discarded as pawns.

　If I tell you my guess, Kreia will understand it without hesitation. Even I am hesitant to say, "You and your brother were discarded as pawns," based on mere guesswork.

　--But who is the originator of this idea?

　I have thought about it several times, but I have yet to come to a conclusion.

　The first name that comes to mind is Gilmore Belch, because of his overall mean-spiritedness, such as taking advantage of his sister's feelings for his brother.

　However, this time, the plan would end if I abandoned Kreia, so to speak, it was an appeal to emotion type of plan. This point is unlike Gilmore.

　The next name that came to mind was Ayaka's. On my last trip home, Ayaka even used an old code to inform me of Kreia's predicament. If you read deeper, you can think that it was to test the connection between me and Kreia.

　It's also possible that Ragna, who had heard the story from Ayaka, had made a move to send me to my death.

　However, I have a feeling that neither Ayaka nor Laguna would hesitate to trap me, but they wouldn't think of using their classmates Kreia and Klimt as pawns for that purpose. At least, the two people I knew five years ago would not have thought of such a plan.



　The last name that came to my mind was my father.

　But there's a question mark over this idea too. I don't feel comfortable with the idea that my father did this trick to get me to come to him.

　The last time he took advantage of the anniversary of my mother's death was also a trick, but the only thing he did that time was to send a letter. From the point of view of labor, it was a one-time effort.

　In contrast, this time, the effort the Miken family put into the scheme was enormous. This is not in line with my father's way.

　As far as Klimt's case is concerned, there is no doubt that my father is involved in this scheme, but if you ask me if he is the originator of the scheme, my answer will be negative.


"Well, whoever came up with the idea didn't expect me to involve the Emperor. Let's see what you can do.


　Contrary to the plan of the originator who intended to keep the matter within the Mikken family, I forced a change in the situation by bringing in an external factor, the Emperor.

　To be more specific, a little girl of less than twenty years old (Kreia) succeeded in escaping from the island, something that no one had ever done before, and yet it became known to the emperor (Mikado).

　It was only a few days ago that the demon tribe had broken through the protection of the demon gate and destroyed the walls of the holly city. On top of that, the revelation of the fact that the island had slipped away was very significant.

　--The Mikken family had fallen into a state of incompetence, incapable of subduing its enemies outside, and incapable of governing its allies within.


It's not just a matter of losing face, is it?


　He chuckled, his throat quivering.

　Once the matter had reached the ears of the emperor, any excuse later, such as "I intentionally overlooked the matter," would be seen as a sophistry to cover up the blunder.

　The originator of the idea must be very pale when he learns of this. Or will he turn red? Either way, it's a good sign. You and the Miken family will pay for all the stupid tricks you've been playing on me.

　Kreia tilted her head curiously at me with a wicked grin on her face.