I slowly moved my eyelids and a bright light blinded me for a while.

My eyes got used to the light and I observed the familiar surroundings I was in.

"Ah. Luvia-sama! Alice-sama!"

"Come quickly, Master woke up!"

I heard giant footsteps approaching.

"Regulus!"

Shouted two girls who broke through a wooden door.

I lifted my upper body, but it hurt too much.

I watched as much of my body was covered in green moss, it was the same stuff Cedric had on his body.

This helped me recover faster as it accelerated cell regeneration.

Luvia hugged me without warning.

"You fool! Fool! Fool! Fool!"

"You're a big fool!"

She was calling me a fool while still hugging me tightly and her tears stained my cheeks.

Alice, on the other hand, was staring at me without saying a word.

Even with Luvia squeezing me with her hug, I wanted to know the outcome.

"What happened?"

Lidvia answered in high spirits.

"You won! Master you won in an amazing way!"

"I won?"

I have a vague recollection of being inside something similar to dead fish entrails.

It's true.

"What happened to the theocracy?"

"Dead. They're all dead, there's no trace of them anywhere, we can be safe now."

Alice answered me after taking a seat.

"Sounds good to me. Now there's no danger at all."

I thought so until I remembered someone missing.

"The city is being overrun by those things!"

"Where's Nero?"

Alice very relaxed took a sip of her tea that Lidvia prepared for her.

"Calm down first."

"The city is fine. I used one of my familiars to go and observe."

"No doubt those things attacked. There are large frozen bodies being destroyed and burned."

"About that guy... he's gone."

"He left? Just like that?"

"It's better that he left without doing anything than swearing revenge."

"Being honest. I don't want to see him again, not to those things either."

A slight shudder showed her at the memory of Zartras turned into that monster.

I tried to stand up, but my body ached too much.

"Where are you going? You're hurt, you must rest."

Luvia tried to get me to relax, but I can't.

"I must go back to town and make sure Mary is okay."

After saying that, Luvia looked downcast. Alice on the other hand was looking at me with very sharp eyes.

I didn't understand what was going on, so I asked Lidvia to take me to the city as soon as possible and then come back.

"In that case it's better if I carry you."

Turning to the owner of that voice, I remembered that I forgot his existence.

"Ah, Cedric."

"Why are you looking at me as if you forgot I was here?"

"I-it's nothing."

"L-Let's go quickly."

◇

We arrived quickly in the city.

The place was in chaos.

There were many destroyed buildings, injured people, strange blocks of ice being cut and burned.

But I wasn't interested in that, I wanted to know if Mary and Shannon were okay.

Cedric took me to the mansion.

We watched as injured people came in.

Apparently the count uses his house to help the injured.

As I entered, I found someone running around carrying towels full of blood.

"Russell!"

"Huh? Regulus!"

He too was surprised to see me.

He came over and smacked me hard on the head.

"Where the hell did you get yourself into, do you know the trouble that happened here?"

Should I answer him that I did?

No, I'd better not.

"Sorry... Why am I apologizing to you?"

"Do you know where Mary is?"

He pointed to one of the downstairs rooms.

"There, with her mother."

"They're worried about you."

"Thank you."

Still sore and with one leg limping, I went straight to the room.

Cedric opened it for me, and I quickly looked for those two.

I found them at the back of the room.

"Mary! Shannon!"

I could feel my wounds opening up, but I didn't care.

Mary was resting on a bed, she had several bandages on her abdomen and leg.

Her mother was wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Hearing me scream, they both turned their faces to me.

"Regulus-kun!"

Shannon shouted glad to see me.

I walked over, almost fell, or rather slipped, but managed to hold on to the bed so I wouldn't fall.

"Mary, I'm sorry!"

"You were right. Those guys were weird and dangerous."

"I swear never to cross you again, forgive me."

Instead of asking her if it was okay, I told her what I should tell her next.

Having screwed that up, I tried to tell her.

But her angry expression was changing to one of sadness.

Her tears fell on the bed sheet at once.

"Uwaah! Regu-chan!"

She started crying and hugged me.

Mary, my chest is going to bleed again, stop holding me.

"I was scared! I was super terrified!"

"Those things were horrible! I thought I was going to die together with my mom!"

"Please don't leave us again!"

Mary seemed to be holding on a lot.

I hugged her and soothed her.

Shannon wanted to cry too.

"It's going to be okay, Mary."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you."

A voice spoke to me from behind.

I turned around and saw Julie who was tired from running around so much.

"Regulus-sama, I'm glad to see you safe and healthy."

"Please, take a shower and go to the Count's office."

"To the office? Why?"

"The count wishes to speak with you about what has happened with the members of the theocracy."

My eyes widened at hearing that.

(The count is aware of my situation with them.)

"Fine."

I said that, I let go of Mary and went to take a bath and have my wounds heal a bit.

◇

After almost two hours having arrived in the city.

I was ready to see the count, I used a crutch to walk as my legs hurt so much.

As I knocked on the door, a voice that was not the count's told me to come in.

I turned the knob and in that dark room, lit by a lamp, were two people.

One of them was the count sitting with a glass of liquor in his hand.

The other person was the bartender who was behind him.

"Glad to see you safe and unhurt, Regulus-kun. Have a seat please."

"Thank you."

I walked over to the seat, and collapsed carelessly onto it.

My injuries were that serious.

The count spoke to me after taking his drink.

"You see, recently some strange creatures attacked us."

"According to Julie, yesterday you had contact with members of the theocracy and then agreed to go on a quest with them."

"Can you tell us in detail everything that happened? And why are you two the only ones who came back injured?"

His gaze was sharp, so was Gram's who watched every move he made.

(I see, it's just as Cedric said.)

(They will find our situation strange after having witnesses yesterday.)

(They are evaluating if I am dangerous or if perhaps I am responsible for what happened.)

I proceeded to recount in detail, omitting several things like the castle, Nero and how he was responsible for summoning them.

"Wait a minute."

Gram said after I had finished talking for a full hour.

I was thirsty, the count poured me a glass of water and after setting it down on the table I asked him.

"Is there something wrong?"

"There is."

"Your story is certainly amazing, but there are things that doesn't add up."

"... Doesn't add up?"

He watched as I gulped after saying that. What the hell is this guy to watch me like that?

Why would a bartender have that level of observation?

"You say you rebelled against those Judgment guys because they tried to kill the elf girl."

"You guys ended up coming to a dryad's house."

"She helped you fight and then you came back here."

"All right there... then. Why are you leaving out your fight against these demons?"

"My fight!"

I panicked as I noticed how he deepened his voice towards me.

"You're wrong, I didn't fight those things."

"So you say, but when they were dressing your wounds, the doctor in charge reported several bite marks on your body and lashes."

"How do you say?"

I quickly checked the wounds to see if any marks remained.

"This was the easiest interrogation of all."

"...?"

A cold sweat ran down my spine as I failed to notice something.

"Everything I said was false, at no time did I speak to the doctor as I was smashing those ice blocks and had to stop because the count sent for me."

"Nor did I know you were here until you and the count spoke of the theocracy."

I never once said about those things, I assumed that everyone seeing them would know what they looked like.

Were some of them different from Zartras and the others?

Did I just condemn myself?

"That's not the only thing. It's very strange that members of Judgment and Testament were defeated by only three individuals."

"Even I alone could barely hurt them, and even more so if you mention that Zald and Zartras, the weakest of their squads were there."

"Here's a plug, you're covering something."

He suddenly became angry, I could feel a strange icy air surround me.

"If you are a danger to the kingdom, or an ally of the demons."

"I will finish you now in the name of the─"

"You really are someone skilled at detecting lies, huh?"

Suddenly, without expecting it, a voice spoke to us from somewhere in the room.

In the darkness of the corner, we saw a strange silhouette standing up.

It wore a strange black robe with red borders.

A black mask with horns and golden edges.

Its voice was similar to a woman's.

Gram drew his sword and covered the count with his body.

"Who are you? How did you get in without us noticing you?"

The mysterious figure introduced herself.

"How do you do, humans, I am the one you were looking for."

"...?"

"I'm the one responsible for causing all this."

"It's you!"

Gram shouted. the mysterious figure opened the blinds and with her hand on the window, made the sky go dark.

"That's right. The creatures you saw were my doing."

"The boy over there lied to protect them."

"Lied?"

Said the count in astonishment, I got a little bad for smiling.

"That's right, he and the theocracy came to my home, the castle of the Levin Kingdom."

"Levin Kingdom?"

"I own the castle and everything around it."

That's right, this is all acted out.

◇

Returning before we left the place.

"Hold on there."

Alice stopped me by grabbing my hand.

"Let me go please, I have to see if Mary is okay."

She sharpened her eyes and squeezed my hand hard.

It hurt like hell, but she let go after a while.

"I'm not stopping you from going to see that girl Maria."

"Mary's her name."

"Whatever. I'm stopping you because there's something I haven't told you."

"What is it?"

"What will you say when you get there?"

"Huh?"

She left me very confused.

"What do you think will happen when you arrive? They'll question you, since it's weird that you show up after leaving with several guys and only the two of you come back."

"Really!"

I forgot.

"Were you planning to tell them everything that happened? I don't think you're that dumb..."

"..."

"Let's forget about that."

She omitted that embarrassing detail.

"Listen carefully, you mustn't mention to anyone about the castle, or about me. You would put me in danger."

"Vampires are enemies of humankind according to stories told over the years."

Cedric told me something I didn't know.

"That was thanks to the theocracy who lied about us for years."

"I imagine you did too, or not. Lycanthrope?"

"Lycanthrope?"

I looked at Cedric who was wearing a horrified expression on his face.

"What's a lycanthrope?"

I asked curiously.

Luvia whispered in my ear.

"A lycanthrope is a special race of men and women who have a quirk in their bodies that occurs when the full moon is visible."

"A werewolf I am."

Hearing Cedric say he was a werewolf, I tried to make myself remember what that was.

I remembered seeing the information My Creator gave me about the world.

Let's see... werewolf.

Huh?

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh! A real werewolf!"

"Wow you're slow."

I'll ignore Alice's comment, Cedric bowed in response very embarrassed.

"Sorry to keep it a secret, but years ago I managed to avoid turning into one."

"I wanted to live as a normal human from now on."

"That was your worst decision, you almost got killed for not transforming."

Commented Luvia who was watching us as we entered the forest.

"I know. But my desire to avoid being imprisoned and treated like a slave again, made me lie to my current Master, the previous one I lied to and thanks to that I avoided being sold."

"Lycanthropes have a lot of strength, they can split an adult in two just by using a little force. That strength would have been of great help to us, but let's talk about that another time."

Alice picked up the conversation where we left off.

"You mustn't tell anything about what happened with the monsters either, we don't know how to explain it."

"It's true. Even if you lie, if they try to find out or inquire about you being related in any way to those monsters, it would be very damaging to you."

"In that case, would we need an alibi?"

Hearing that word, a memory came to me.

Months ago I said something about if I wanted to make a big name for myself in the world, I would need a nemesis.

I smiled after telling Alice that.

"I see. A scapegoat to blame is a great solution, but you should make it believable."

"How would you do that?"

Blaming someone is simple, the evidence for it is not.

They might think we were complicit and that would be worse.

So, I remembered two things.

One was a story about a country in the newspaper when I was on the flying boat.

The second was the name of My Creator, which was somewhat similar to that country.

So I will put them together and add more strange things to make it more believable.

"It's simple, I'll call it─"

◇

"I am the Magic God, Alzel."

That's right, that strange and ridiculous name is my alibi.

Anything bad that happens, I'll blame it on Alzel.

That way, I can achieve the fame I need to become the Sword God.

Gram shouted at Alice's statement helping me with this.

"What kind of stupidity is that Magic God!? Don't be ridiculous!"

Alice snapped at him, she doesn't like to be belittled.

"On your knees."

*Slump*

Alice used blood magic from a while ago, she wanted this to happen so she drained him little by little without knowing it, enough blood to collapse.

"Why do I feel dizzy?"

Thanks to her own blood, Gram didn't feel the symptoms of anemia until just now.

She continued talking after showing how she was enjoying herself.

"I was sleeping peacefully in my castle until the Theocracy attacked. They were always my enemies, I thought I had destroyed them, but they managed to survive."

"I killed in the most painful and terrifying ways those intruders."

"The young man there along with his servant prostrated themselves before me begging for mercy."

"I gave them mercy after torturing him in exchange for leaving his servant."

"I told him not to say anything about me if he wanted his family to be safe, but thanks to you, ruined their safety."

She reached out her hand and I pretended to squeeze my neck.

"... I can't breathe..."

Apparently Alice was a little upset with me too, what I said was true, I really couldn't breathe.

Why is she upset?

"Stop at once!"

"I'm sorry, please stop."

At the count's plea, Alice stopped.

"Hmph. Your imploring is nothing to me..."

"I know, I thought of something good."

She stopped choking me and said something I didn't expect.

"How about I summon more of my dark young to feast on the survivors again?"

"Or maybe─?"

*Freeze*

A great icy breeze freezes the place. I couldn't move, the count's feet were frozen too.

Gram was staggering to his feet.

"So it was you, was it?"

"You brought those demons here!"

"Huh?"

I unintentionally said that as I figured out what was wrong with Gram's seething expression.

Alice broke the ice on her legs and walked over to the window.

"I just came by to introduce myself anyway."

She broke the window and a pair of black wings shot out from her back.

"You were useful, kid. Maybe when I get bored I'll come looking for you to make you suffer a little, hahaha."

I could feel her resentment at that before she flew away.

Seriously, why is she mad at me?

The ice began to evaporate and the count came to Gram's aid.

"Gram-kun, are you all right?"

"Y-Yes. But, we must look for that vermin."

"Don't talk nonsense, look what he did to you while being fit."

"This is something we should talk to the palace about."

"Regulus-kun, go bring help please."

"S-Sure."

(The count asked me to go for help, it means he considers me someone trustworthy without suspicion, good.)

And so, I managed to get away with it.

◇

Time passed and everything returned to normal.

Buildings and houses were fully repaired.

People's wounds were healing little by little.

Mary was better but her leg was still sore.

I helped with various things to clear any doubts about me, Gram was there too, it was good to show that I had nothing to hide.

I didn't go back to the forest. Therefore, Luvia and the others I don't know what they will do.

After finishing today's unfinished business, I went to sleep after a great dinner and a great bath.

*Knock*

Someone knocked at the door.

Who is it?

I want to sleep, let me sleep.

I reluctantly went to open the door and got a surprise.

"Huh?"

"Good evening, may I come in?"

Shannon was standing in front of my foot, wearing a bathrobe with her hair still damp.

"Sure. Did something happen?"

"Yes."

She said after walking in and closing the door.

Suddenly throwing me on the bed, I thought it was an enemy disguised as her.

I was about to attack her when I was stunned by what she did.

She took off her robe and I could see her naked.

"Regulus-kun, I've finally decided."

"Today is the day you will take me as your woman."