Kaeld, disgustingly enough, carried on the oracle with a solemn face.

—The demon king’s pawn, Mide Mohan, has once again put you all to the test.

He dared to defile the name of the almighty Creator, the Celestial God who governs all things.

His treachery and wickedness made me sigh in grief.

I couldn’t help grinding my teeth.

—The Celestial God has delivered punishment upon mankind, but at the same time, he was deeply sorrowful. I, Kaeld, witnessed him weeping bitterly right at his side.

Bullshit.

If he was going to grieve over humanity’s suffering, he shouldn’t have punished them in the first place.

—Everyone, please do not abandon your faith in the Celestial God.

I will continue to petition him.

I will beg him to withdraw the rod raised against you.

But for that to happen, you must help as well.

Please, do not be swayed by the fake hero, Mide!

Let us shatter his lies.

I, the hero Kaeld Wake, will stand with you.

Do not be deceived by lies and deceit.

Ssshh.

The oracle ended there.

The golden sky vanished, and once again dark clouds rolled in.

And, just like before, the dark clouds unleashed a heavy downpour.

[Thought it would drag on endlessly, but it ended sooner than expected.]

‘Adin’s body won’t hold up. He is busy both pouring rain and delivering oracles.’

[Which means, even with over a million fame, he is straining himself this time.]

‘Yeah.’

[If we shave off just a bit more of his fame, won’t we start to see hope?]

I nodded.

Then I requested a status check on how much the oracle had swayed people.

Trail soon brought up the display.

“……”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

Mide Mohan / Total Fame: 448,800

Adin Press / Total Fame: 1,085,000

My fame had dropped.

Adin’s fame had risen.

“……”

This was going to be a long war.

And if it dragged on, it would work against me.

With humanity facing extinction under the flood, they would eventually bow their heads to the Celestial God.

I bit my lip.

Then Neril asked.

“…Did it drop? Your fame.”

“Yeah. No time for details. I will start my own speech right away.”

“Mm. I’m ready.”

Neril activated the communication orb.

I immediately began my speech.

Behind me, Neril muttered something.

But I was already immersed in speaking, so I didn’t catch it.

I would have to ask Trail later.

At that moment, Trail spoke quietly.

[…No. I didn’t hear it either.]

What I missed was Neril’s murmur:

“Adwin. Start a soul link. Exclude Mide.”

“What? Wouldn’t it be better if we all just talk after his speech?”

“……”

“Ah, okay. Just a sec.”

Adwin chanted an incantation.

Neril quietly looked at the puzzled companions, then spoke.

[Trail, you’re linked too, right?]

Trail replied before Adwin.

[Yes. I’m here.]

[Then keep this conversation secret as well. Don’t reveal it with your Eye of Omniscience either.]

[Huh?]

Neril sighed lightly.

[At this rate, Mide will never be able to defeat Adin. You all know why, right?]

[Because Kaeld will counter every rebuttal?]

[Exactly. That way, time will be dragged out endlessly, and in the end, humanity will submit to the god.]

[…]

[So there needs to be one decisive move.]

Xenia tilted her head.

[What kind of move? What can we even do?]

[Not us.]

[Huh?]

[I will.]

She took a deep breath.

[Impelium once said it. To turn fame into power, you need to be prepared to give up the thing you want most.]

[…That’s right. Wait. Don’t tell me…?]

[Yes.]

Neril spoke clearly.

[I have made up my mind.]

----------------------------------------

The oracles and speeches through the communication orb continued for some time.

—Kaeld has already been exposed as the fake hero.

Recall what happened in Atrium and Havel.

Check the declarations announced there.

Kaeld, supported by the demon king, spouting talk of the Celestial God, there is no greater deceit!

I even find it strange that the Celestial God remains silent as this fake hero Kaeld sullies his own name.

Mide Mohan / Total Fame: 468,800

Adin Press / Total Fame: 995,000

After my speeches, there was some effect.

My fame rose, Adin’s fell.

But…

—Everyone, the wicked Mide lacks power, so he rouses you with a crude communication orb.

But what about me?

Am I not speaking to you now, through an oracle shining with golden light?

How could I be blessed with the oracle’s grace?

It is because the Celestial God is with me.

And what greater proof could there be that I am the true one than that the Celestial God is with me?

If I am true, then naturally, Mide Mohan must be fake.

Mide Mohan / Total Fame: 428,800

Adin Press / Total Fame: 1,005,000

Each time Kaeld’s speech ended, my fame dropped again.

It was enough to drive me mad.

----------------------------------------

—In the past, two oracles descended in succession.

One was from the Celestial God, but the other was a fake oracle from Idria.

Thus, Kaeld’s claim of “appealing through the oracle” is no proof at all.

The only reason he is delivering speeches now is thanks to Idria’s trickery.

----------------------------------------

—Mide Mohan raised an issue with my means of communication before.

Ha. To say this speech comes from Idria’s power?

The wise among you won’t fall for such nonsense, but for caution’s sake I will say it:

Even if Idria could send fake oracles, could she do it this often?

Could the demon king really hand out oracles like meals?

I eagerly await Mide Mohan’s excuse the next time.

----------------------------------------

—Earlier Kaeld claimed the demon king can’t deliver oracles like meals, yet as always, in his irresponsible manner, he offered no evidence.

To begin with, how could the demon king even appoint a fake hero? Heroes and demon kings are eternal opposites.

It is absurd to equate past demon kings with Idria.

Kaeld knows this. But if the argument went that way, his own shame would be revealed, so he twisted it cleverly.

—Mide slandered again, but…

—Kaeld spouted yet more excuses, but…

Thus, the back-and-forth dragged on for a while.

I could only sigh.

‘This is turning into a complete mud fight.’

And when a week had passed…

That day too, I finished a speech through the communication orb and checked my fame.

Seeing the numbers, I closed my eyes.

Mide Mohan / Total Fame: 418,800

Adin Press / Total Fame: 1,105,000

Even right after a speech, my fame had dropped.

Adin’s fame had risen.

That was it.

After a week of relentless rain, humanity could no longer make calm and rational judgments.

In the end, they chose the Celestial God.

A bitter taste rose in my mouth.

Just then.

“Mide.”

“Hm? Ah.”

It was Neril.

Her face had grown quite drained lately.

‘She really seems to be plotting something. She hasn’t even been showing up at the speech sites recently.’

[…]

‘Spit it out already.’

[What.]

‘If you don’t want to talk, then show me the secret. The secret between you and her.’

As he had done these past few days, Trail stayed silent.

Looks like she had made him swear pretty firmly.

Neril spoke.

“Judging by your expression…”

“Yeah. Today’s results were lousy.”

“It’s more than that, isn’t it? Your speeches don’t have any impact on the continent anymore, do they?”

“……”

“It’s fine. Don’t make that face.”

Neril spoke in a gentle voice.

“For today, just get some proper rest. Tomorrow we will try again. I’m sure tomorrow we will see good results.”

“Because you have already made up your mind?”

“…!”

“For the record, Trail kept your secret to the end. Which is exactly why I plan to beat him up later.”

Neril’s eyes trembled.

I went on quietly.

“The other party members are the same. Tell them to be ready for a scolding too.”

“H-how did you know?”

“Why did you even think I wouldn’t? You know what level my intuition is at.”

“……”

“Especially when it comes to you.”

Ssshh.

I stepped closer to her.

Then, taking her hand gently, I said,

“I even know you all have been gathering together every night.”

“Mide.”

“You’re planning to turn fame into power and somehow flip the situation around, right? But I will be scrapping that plan.”

“Why?”

“Whatever it is you’re trying to sacrifice, to me it’s about as significant as giving up retirement. I’m not letting you throw that away.”

“But if things keep going this way, we will be crushed. You know that.”

That much was true.

But I deliberately acted like it wasn’t a big deal.

“If worst comes to worst, I will just overturn the whole board.”

“Huh?”

“I will go back to the starting point. There, I will cut down hundreds of Velosians, and I will kill both Adin and Kaeld.”

“……”

“Truth is, I should have done that from the start. Sticking my head into this mudslinging mess only dragged me down into the mud.”

Neril stayed silent for a moment.

Then, with a soft smile, she spoke.

“Yeah. That could work.”

“Nope. That will work.”

“Close your eyes for a while.”

“Alright. …Huh?”

Suddenly, an unbearable sleepiness washed over me.

Forcing my eyes open, I barely saw Neril holding the Gem of Desolation.

“You didn’t…”

“As expected, it doesn’t work so easily. Even draining all the essence out of the gem didn’t put you to sleep.”

“Don’t do something so foolish.”

“Mide. I had two wishes.”

She caught my collapsing body in her arms.

Then she whispered by my ear.

“One was to make you a hero.”

“……”

“The other one is… well, that’s a secret.”

“Neril.”

“I wondered which one I should give up, but the answer was obvious. If I don’t make you a hero, the world will end.”

She caressed my face.

Then brushed a kiss lightly across my lips.

Smooch.

“I’m not recklessly gambling. I have made the minimum preparations. So don’t worry too much.”

“……”

“You have worked so hard up until now. Leave this to us and rest.”

With those words, I sank into a deep sleep.

----------------------------------------

Neril laid Mide down properly.

Then she looked back.

Ssshh.

Figures rose from the shadows of the campfire.

Offense scratched his head.

“Can’t even imagine how badly we will get chewed out later. By Mide.”

“You lot won’t get scolded for anything.”

“You are the one about to give up what you want most.”

“Strictly speaking, I have just resolved to give it up. And even then, I have arranged insurance.”

Xenia broke in with a face that looked on the verge of tears.

“No one knows if that’s going to work. …Honestly, we should have told Mide from the start. But you, Neril, you kept blocking it, even saying you would die first…”

Neril shook her head firmly.

“If we had told him earlier, do you think Mide would have ever agreed?”

“…No.”

“Exactly. Let me tell you something.”

She spoke each word clearly.

“If you ask Mide to choose between ‘his own life’ and ‘his party members,’ he will always pick the latter.”

“……”

“That’s his biggest weakness. In other words, we are his weakness.”

“Neril…”

“I can’t accept that. This isn’t about pride. We are the heroes who support the hero. We must not become his stumbling block.”

Everyone bowed their heads as if guilty.

Disliking the heavy mood, Neril added in a playful tone,

“Come on, wasn’t that the reason you all hid this from him in the first place?”

“…Not everything, but yeah, I agree with most of it. Above all, Mide already gave up his retirement.”

Strength entered Xenia’s voice.

“But if we don’t give up anything, then we can’t really call ourselves his companions.”

“This time, it will be enough for me to give something up.”

“Neril…”

“If what we have been preparing every night this past week works, then there won’t be any problem.”

She signaled to Offense with her eyes.

He touched his throat with a grim expression.

Then he opened his mouth.

The voice that came out was perfectly Mide’s.

“Ready.”

“The script?”

“Don’t need one. I have memorized it perfectly over the whole week.”

“Good. Hoo…”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

Would the plan work?

And if it didn’t… what then?

‘What else.’

Goodbye, that’s all.

She smirked faintly and pulled something from her bosom.

Then, with firm resolve, she declared,

—I will give up the future I dreamed of with Mide.

At the same time, she snapped something in her hand.

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TL : Since everyone’s debating whether Mide is a fake or real hero, I’m going to leave a spoiler in the comments.