Chapter 96: Destroying a Four-Hundred-Year-Old Conspiracy
"Ayanokouji-sama, you haven't done anything strange to Rem all this time, right?"
On the way back to the residence, Ram, holding a basket, said to Ayanokouji, although she spoke venomous words, she was actually very worried about Rem's condition all this time.
"Although I don't know what you mean by strange in your mind, Ram, but personally, it's not over yet." Ayanokouji walked side by side with Ram, not because of Ram's poisonous tongue, "Rem is currently staying in the capital city, preparing other things with Felt and others."
"That's right. It seems Ayanokouji-sama is not so incompetent." Ram said.
"I am very grateful for Ram's kindness." Ayanokouji nodded and asked hesitantly, "Where is Garfiel, what is he doing?"
"How can Ram know what that idiot is doing?" Ram raised her head and said, with a little arrogance in her attitude, "But he has to take care of the food, clothing, and daily lives of the villagers."
"It's unimaginable if Garfiel is really taking care of the villagers."
"Although he looks cheerful, that fool actually cares a lot about the affairs of the villagers. He not only spends a lot of time every day being responsible for the food of the villagers in Sanctuary, but he also has to condition the relationships between humans and Demi-Humans."
"Got it." Ayanokouji nodded, this was relatively important information.
The words and actions shown by Garfiel were completely inconsistent with his previous behavior. This basically allowed him to confirm that Garfiel actually did not want to liberate Sanctuary at all, but someone asked him to do so.
There was no doubt that it was Roswaal.
Ayanokouji quickly followed Ram to the residence. The light here was always very dim.
"Come to me this late, Ayanokouji-sama, is there something you want to tell me?" Roswaal had a meaningful smile on his face.
"That's right." Ayanokouji didn't say much, but nodded slightly.
"By the way, I also want to know something about you, Ayanokouji-sama." Roswaal squinted his eyes, like a cunning fox, "How have you been in my absence?"
"We are facing an invasion by the Witch Cult, and the invasion of Demon Beasts should also be caused by them." Ayanokouji said.
"Invasion by the Witch Cult?"
Ram's body trembled slightly. She clearly experienced great emotional fluctuations, and her eyes immediately lit up with the flames of hatred.
The reason she was like this now was actually because of what the Witch Cult did. Her village was also massacred by the Witch Cult, leaving only her and Rem depending on each other.
On the other hand, Roswaal's expression did not change at all, as if he already knew about this.
"Furthermore, the throne selection has officially begun." Ayanokouji added.
He also observed Roswaal, hoping to get more information from his reactions.
"Has it started?" Roswaal's eyes widened, looking very surprised, "Have the five throne candidates been found?"
"No, the fifth throne candidate has not been found yet, but now there is no way to continue delaying it, so we can only force it to start." Ayanokouji could see that the surprise on Roswaal's face was very hypocritical, after not being touched by clown makeup, the deficiencies on Roswaal's face were very clear in his eyes.
"Damn, I'm trapped in Sanctuary. I can't go to the capital to help you, but I think Ayanokouji-sama should take care of everything." Roswaal's tone became calmer, as if he knew that it had become a fact that someone else would handle everything.
"Almost, Crusch of the Karsten family has withdrawn from the selection and pledged loyalty to us." Ayanokouji said lightly, as if he was saying something unimportant.
"As expected of you, Ayanokouji-sama, you really can reach this level! I really didn't misjudge you." Roswaal's smile became clear, and there was additional appreciation.
"Then, could you ask Ram to leave for a moment? There's something I want to say to Roswaal." Ayanokouji glanced at Ram, surveying the surroundings. Although his tone didn't change much, it made Ram feel unbearable.
Ram looked at Roswaal, waiting for his command.
"Of course." Roswaal smiled faintly, then waved his hand, signaling Ram to leave the room.
"So, Ayanokouji-sama, what exactly do you want to say to me?" Roswaal squinted his eyes.
"You're also the owner of the Gospel." Ayanokouji wasn't going to beat around the bush this time and said it directly.
"Oh? It seems you already know, Ayanokouji-sama." The corners of Roswaal's mouth turned upward more clearly. "Did Betty tell you that?"
"No." Ayanokouji immediately replied. "It's a conclusion I reached after a bit of thought. Your actions are sudden and irrational. After considering all aspects, it's only possible that you hold the Gospel and act based on its contents."
"Impressive." Roswaal nodded. Even though his true identity was revealed, he didn't panic at all. Instead, he nodded in appreciation toward him. "You're right, I have the Gospel."
Then, he took out the Gospel from under his pillow, which looked almost identical to Beatrice's.
"You prepared teleportation magic and deliberately brought the villagers to the Sanctuary. You calculated that Emilia and I would definitely come to the Sanctuary. You also ordered Garfiel to threaten the villagers and force Emilia to undergo the trial." Ayanokouji said slowly. "If my guess is correct, all of this was your arrangement."
"You've understood this much... As expected from Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, your level of comprehension far exceeds my imagination." Roswaal said with a smile.
"It seems you have special expectations of me."
"Yes, that's right. I need your strength, Ayanokouji, so that I can achieve my goal." Roswaal's eyes gradually darkened as he looked at the Gospel in his hand. "Now that you understand everything, let me tell you about it."
"You want to resurrect your former teacher, Echidna, right?" Ayanokouji took the lead and spoke before Roswaal could confess. "You've been planning this for four hundred years."
Roswaal's eyebrows twitched slightly. He knew that the other party was a very capable person, but he didn't expect him to understand this much.
"Did Echidna tell you?" Roswaal spoke slowly, clearly aware that Echidna and Ayanokouji had met once.
"I confirmed it with her, but I already knew it beforehand." Ayanokouji leaned against the wall and said. "For the past four hundred years, every generation of Mathers rulers called Roswaal has had a unified personality and appearance. Each generation dies at the peak of life. If you have a little understanding of Echidna's research on immortality, it's too easy to guess."
"As expected from you, Ayanokouji."
"By tying us to the Sanctuary, you were following the Gospel's arrangements." Ayanokouji said. "Don't you have any independent thoughts?"
"Sorry, I just need to act according to the Gospel's contents. What's recorded in it completely aligns with my goal!"
"Then what does this have to do with Emilia? Supporting her as a candidate for the throne is part of the Gospel's arrangement, right? Is this related to Echidna's resurrection?" Ayanokouji asked. This was also information he wanted to know from Roswaal.
"The goal is to let Emilia ascend the throne!" Roswaal said enthusiastically, as if he had transformed. "As long as the new king ascends the throne, the dragon will also appear. As long as I kill the dragon and collect its blood, my teacher can be resurrected!"
"What a crazy idea." Even though he said this, Ayanokouji's facial expression didn't change at all. "The dragon must be incredibly powerful. After all, it once sealed the Witch of Envy with the Sage and Sword Saint. Even if you're the strongest mage among humans, you're still just an ordinary person and shouldn't be a match for the dragon."
"Maybe I'm not a match for the dragon, but as long as I'm prepared and make all the necessary preparations, it's possible, even if the odds are only one percent or even 0.1 percent. I still want to try it!" Roswaal's eyes shone brightly.
Ayanokouji thought that such a gaze shouldn't appear in a man who usually resembled a clown.
It made no sense to prepare a mortal body to fight against an existence that's almost impossible to defeat.
At the same time, he also realized something strange.
"Since you say you want Emilia to ascend the throne, why haven't you done anything for Emilia?"
Ayanokouji thought about his previous speculation regarding Roswaal. Although he was nominally Emilia's supporter, in reality, he hadn't provided her with any significant help.
"No, no, no! This is your only mistake, Ayanokouji! You've misunderstood from the beginning to the end." Roswaal suddenly laughed.
This made Ayanokouji a little confused, but after thinking about his words for a moment, he understood the issue.
"The main character isn't Emilia, it's you, Ayanokouji!" Roswaal said with a smile. "I'm not the one to crown Emilia, you are!"
Ayanokouji's eyebrows slightly raised. As Roswaal finished speaking, he understood what he meant. He suspected that his otherworldly journey and the Return by Death ability were also predicted by Roswaal's Gospel.
This made him wary in his heart. Although he never considered the Return by Death ability a solution to problems, it wasn't good if Roswaal knew about it. Given Roswaal's extreme personality, there was a possibility that he might commit suicide to force a reset if he knew about it.
This would be highly disadvantageous, as Ayanokouji himself didn't know if there was an upper limit to the number of times the Return by Death ability could be used, and he didn't want to die easily.
However, judging by his current appearance, Roswaal might not know that he had the Return by Death ability, at least not its triggering conditions.
"What do you mean?" Ayanokouji still chose to speak without expression, wanting to know how much information Roswaal had about him.
"I know that you have the ability to correct the world—your appearance with Emilia was part of the prophecy, escaping from the Bowel Hunter, defeating the Witch Cult, tricking Betty into becoming that person. These things clearly aren't something that can be solved just with a clever mind, but you used your power to correct everything!"
Listening to his speech, Ayanokouji knew that Roswaal was the one who sent Elsa to kill Emilia, but he already had a rough guess in his mind.
"Sorry, maybe it's just that my brain is a bit more flexible than others." Ayanokouji said lightly, without acknowledging the Return by Death ability. Admitting his ability in the face of someone's speculation was a very foolish move.
"But even if there's a prophecy, you're really persistent in paying so much for a teacher who's been dead for four hundred years." Ayanokouji said without expression. "Your efforts aren't worth the reward. In my case, it seems like truly insane behavior."
"It seems you don't know much about things either." Roswaal said with a smile, "However, this is also why I think you're already a 'finished product.'"
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