Presibe stared at the man in front of her with a stunned look.
He was no stranger to her. She's met him before.
That fleeting meeting in the church, the day that damned statue was destroyed.
“……”
The man did not say a word, but merely looked at Preseppe silently.
His face still had very calm and gentle features, but his blue eyes staring at her made her feel an unexplained chill.
Rather, it seemed that even last time, he was staring at her in the same way.
Presibe looked at him steadily, just as he was looking at her.
Even though he was the one who approached her first, he never spoke.
Not long after, it was Preseppe who spoke first.
"What are you doing here? Are you one of the knights of the church? But you are not wearing their uniform."
If he was not one of the church's knights, nor one of Fenric's soldiers, then why was he here?
She had seen him in the Imperial Palace before, so he was definitely not from this village.
"And I saw you at church last time. You remember that, don't you?"
“……”
“Were you the one who smashed that statue?”
Although she asked him several questions, the man did not budge.
He didn't say anything, didn't move, just stared at her.
Prisippi became impatient. She furrowed her eyebrows and spoke in an annoyed tone.
"At least answer me something. Last time you spoke well and said you apologized."
“How did you get here?”
But he did not answer her questions, but rather asked a strange question.
“I came walking.”
Preseppe answered with a face filled with astonishment.
“But the area is guarded.”
“There was no one guarding her.”
“Weren’t there walls? I mean, the ones that are enveloped in holy power, they can’t be crossed easily.”
“It was broken. Just like the statue in the church was broken.”
She said the last sentence in an openly accusing tone, but he showed no reaction.
He just looked a little annoyed, as if he didn't like it.
“So, who are you?”
Prisippi asked again.
“Who are you to be in the palace church, and now in this forbidden forest?”
The ribbon of affection did not appear above his head. So is he just an NPC like Fenric?
But… something is different.
“There is a light coming out of you.”
"…What?"
“From your chest.”
“……?”
Prisippi finally looked at her chest.
She only carried one thing there: Nidhogg's dragon scale.
When I first found it, it was wrapped in a worn-out cloth, but it lit up a bit.
That's why, before she left Vanessa's house, she wrapped her in several layers of dirty cloth, then put her inside her underwear and closed her clothes tightly.
“It's from a demonic creature.”
“Ah…”
“Most accurate description: from a dragon.”
I had also guessed that because creatures with scales like this are few, but he had never even seen them, so how did he know?
"There's no need to hide it like that. Others won't see that light. It might just look like something suspicious."
“Why?”
“Things that contain remnants of demonic power or fragments of demonic creatures cannot be seen by ordinary humans. Only those with magical powers or those whose blood is mixed with the blood of demonic creatures can see the essence.”
“So, who are you?”
Is he charming? From the magic tower, like Ivan?
If he was, it would make sense that he was in the palace.
However, if he was the one who did it, she still doesn't know why he smashed the statue...
But the man smiled lightly, and then said something that Preseppe had not expected at all.
“Demonic creature.”
He said it as if it was completely normal.
"What?"
Presibe was surprised and raised her head to look at him.
“Isn't that what you wanted to hear?”
“No, it’s not that I… Just a moment, then why were you in the palace? You were really the one who broke the statue, right?”
Prisippi said nervously.
“If you think that demonic creatures cannot enter the palace or the church, then you have a very narrow prejudice. Don’t you?”
“Well, let's say this... then why did you smash the statue like that?”
“Do you have proof that I did this?”
She didn't have it.
“……”
Presibe kept looking at him with a frown.
He was a very suspicious man. However, for some reason, she felt strangely confident that he wouldn't hurt her.
No, wait a minute...
If he was a demonic creature, and he could tell that this shell belonged to a dragon without seeing it…
“Please, turn your face a little.”
“Why should I?”
He seems to be the arrogant type.
Precipe cursed him internally repeatedly, then spoke with a smile that did not express her true feelings.
"Please."
"……"
"please."
At those words, the man slowly turned his head, while Presibe quickly removed Nidhogg's shell from its hidden place within her chest.
"This is amazing."
Then she extended it to the man and asked him:
“It's a dragon shell.”
Although she thought that she might be doing something stupid, in this situation, there was no one more appropriate to ask than this man. Especially if it is actually a demonic creature.
“To be precise, it's Nidhogg's shell.”
The iridescent light of the shell reflected on the man's sea-like blue eyes.
"Do you know who he is? And where is he now?"
"He died."
He was her father, but she had no feeling of sadness or regret.
Only...what saddened her was the loss of hope that she could learn anything from him if he was still alive.
“He was attacked by the Knights Templar and received a fatal wound. He fell into a long slumber...and as soon as he woke up, he was killed.”
...So, this is what he meant when he said he'd be back. Vanessa was waiting for this.
But what the man said next was a bit surprising.
"He was killed by someone you knew well. About four years ago."
“Who, who?”
“Leader of the Knights Templar, Siegfried.”
“…”
“You must know very well that it was only three years after Siegfried joined the knights that he killed a dragon and received a holy sword as a reward.”
...Yes.
That dragon that Siegfried killed was actually Presse's father.
Even this was a hidden prophecy.
“But, why are you looking for your father?”
The man asked her again.
“Are you going to build a grave for him now?”
“…”
“Or are you hoping to find out something?”
The man's eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at her.
“Um, just because humans are naturally curious about their roots... something like that...”
Prisippi whispered in a low voice, feeling a little confused and afraid.
“And I... I do not intend to express my complicated feelings to you after discovering this family fact... So I hope you understand, and I sincerely apologize...”
Even though he was the one who brought up one side of this “complicated family truth,” she couldn’t find a better excuse to make.
“But, why did you even approach me...?”
Does he intend to hurt her?
Although she did not feel any danger from him, he was… a demonic creature.
Their first meeting in church was a coincidence, but today it is not. He came close himself.
"I don't know."
The man answered slowly, bending slightly to bring his gaze to her eye level.
“But I have some curiosity.”
“For my part?”
“In the western side of the Forbidden Forest... lives the Demon King.”
Precipi stiffened at that sudden word.
"He has existed on this land, in this forest, long before Atloya was even founded. Many flocked to eliminate him, and wars repeated without end."
“…”
“Just as countless people died, the Demon King was not unscathed every time. He had his limbs amputated, his intestines hanging out, and even his head cut off.”
“And...what next?”
"But he came back to life every time. Then at some point, he realized the truth... that he could only repeat this senseless conflict, this endless war."
“…”
“Even when he does nothing, people ceaselessly rush to him, and any disaster that occurs is attributed to him and used as a pretext for waging wars against him.”
Precipe said nothing, just stared at this strange man.
"Yes, as if he was born just to be hated by humans. From the beginning until now. As if it was all carefully calculated."
Then his cold eyes asked her:
“If you were in his place, how would you feel?”
A strange question that is difficult to understand.
“If you were the Demon King… wouldn’t you feel wronged?”