Chapter 1172
Rather than remain still after her curiosity was aroused, the Devil Hag decided to investigate for herself.
Had she not recently met a mortal who might know?
This old woman has something to ask you.
“!”
Lee Han, who had been looking over the magical-structure blueprints he had brought back with Caten in their lodgings, flinched in surprise.
In truth, it was only natural for anyone to be startled when a powerful being from another dimension suddenly poked her head in.
“I-Is that the one you mentioned before?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“I-It is an honor to meet you. I am Caten of House Jahan.”
Yes, yes. What a commendable warrior. You seem talented with a sword, so would you catch one of the gargoyles this old woman raises sometime?
“N-No! I am a mage.”
?
The Devil Hag wondered what nonsense this was.
Was he not a warrior?
“A warrior can also be a mage.”
Already accustomed to his senior’s eccentricities, Lee Han answered naturally. Caten shouted in a tense voice.
“I have heard stories about the great and wise Devil Hag. It would truly be an honor if I could receive instruction in magic!”
Normally, she would have thrown an impudent brat who barged in and demanded instruction straight into the cauldron, but...
The Devil Hag might have been eccentric, but that did not mean she lacked all sense of propriety.
Was the Devil Hag not the one who had come to ask a question this time?
What are you curious about? Let this old woman hear it.
Caten carefully held out .
The Devil Hag’s hand abruptly appeared in the air and snatched it away sharply.
'How difficult could the book possibly be...'
????
“Senior. I told you that you could simply ask me whenever there is something you do not understand.”
“Even so, I cannot keep troubling you, Junior...”
For a moment, the Devil Hag wondered whether this mortal was mocking her.
However, Caten’s gaze was perfectly pure, without the slightest wavering.
What kind of fellow is this...?
“Senior is outstanding in swordsmanship, but is still somewhat lacking in magic.”
Somewhat?
The Devil Hag returned the book in disbelief.
She had received every kind of wicked request from countless mages, but this was the first time she had received such a foolish one.
Do not ask this old woman to do things like this. This old woman is not a nanny. More importantly, this old woman has a question...
“Yes?”
Lee Han looked puzzled.
“Did the negotiations fail after all?”
The Devil Hag nearly struck him with her staff, but restrained herself.
Failed? If this old woman wished, she could boil a fellow like that until not a scrap of flesh remained and only the bones were left. But that tentacle freak said something strange. Someone had stolen its Authority.
“I did not do it on purpose.”
?
“?”
Both the Devil Hag and Lee Han paused.
Huh?
What are you talking about?
“What are you talking about, Devil Hag?”
From what this old woman heard... it sounds as though you stole the tentacle freak’s Authority? This old woman must be mistaken, yes?
Just as that little warrior mistook himself for a mage, that little mage must also have misunderstood something.
There had been an unusual number of misunderstandings in today’s conversation, so perhaps some wicked magic was playing tricks on fate.
“I did steal it, though?”
...What?
“I told you when we spoke last time... that I had clashed with the Frahgal Order...”
Lee Han spoke as though asking what the problem was.
He had definitely mentioned it when confiding his concerns about having clashed with the Frahgal Order.
Of course, from the Devil Hag’s perspective, she wanted to strangle this shameless brat.
...If you fought them badly enough to steal their Authority, you should have said that as well, you little swindler!
“It was not the first time I learned divine magic, so I did not think it was important. I thought Sanguros was more important.”
It was not the first time?!
At the even more outrageous statement, the Devil Hag lost her composure.
What in the world?!
“Hmm. If that makes the negotiations difficult, you do not have to proceed. I apologize. Let us pretend it never happened.”
Listen carefully, you little brat! This old woman never goes back on her word!
The Devil Hag scolded him in a voice filled with anger. Lee Han felt bewildered.
Then what was he supposed to do?
“You called me a swindler, so I was trying to cancel it. What else was I supposed to do?”
You should have told this old woman properly from the beginning instead of making a fool of her!
“...Ah... yes...”
Having been made a fool of by a mortal for the first time in a long while, the Devil Hag fumed.
And the most irritating part was that he had not particularly intended to make a fool of her. That wounded her pride even more.
No matter what dimension they came from, challengers who tried to deceive the Devil Hag and obtain what they wanted were always filled with spirit and pride, yet this brat was as indifferent as watered-down water...!
How did you steal the Authority?
“I do not know exactly, but I believe I exchanged mana of equivalent value for it.”
For that to be possible, your mana would have to... Hmm. It would be possible.
Judging roughly from when she had struck him with her staff and when she had sent the insect, it certainly was possible.
'To think such a thing is possible. Those fanatics would weep tears of blood if they heard!'
Evil-god worshipers who had reached a certain level were by no means innocent people who offered faith without selfish motives.
An ordinary believer might fall into fanaticism without thinking, but once evil-god worshipers reached a certain level, most of them began thinking along similar lines.
They would grow stronger and stronger until they themselves ascended into evil gods!
From the perspective of faith, it could be considered blasphemous. A god was a being to believe in and serve, not a goal one sought to attain.
However, the Devil Hag thought the objective of these lunatics was reasonable in its own way.
Without a goal like that, why would anyone worship evil gods like those?
In any case, from that perspective, the mortal who could simply extract Authority without paying any price was an extremely threatening existence.
Far more threatening than he himself realized.
They had to save even the smallest amount of power for their own ascension, but if an outsider who did not even believe in the god seized it and took it away, the Authority would begin leaking away...
From the perspective of a bishop attempting to become an evil god, it was understandable that they were grinding their teeth in fury. In a sense, the theft of Authority might hurt even more than the collapse of their carefully prepared plan.
...Do you understand now? What you did is not something that can be dismissed lightly.
“!”
After hearing the explanation, Lee Han was greatly surprised. The Devil Hag nodded in satisfaction at his reaction.
“I... I did not know that.”
Yes. Of course you would be surprised! You little brats do not understand what goes on inside the minds of lunatics.
“Then from now on... I should steal the Sanguros Order’s Authority and interfere with them!”
......
The Devil Hag was appalled.
Normally, when a mortal heard of an absurd plan to ascend into an evil god, they became frightened or overwhelmed, but...
...this mortal was ignoring all of that and thinking first about striking back at the enemies who had wronged him.
It was truly boldness worthy of a contractor of guest star Arna.
Are you not frightened at all?
“Huh? Ah. Do you mean by the possibility that they might become evil gods? They have failed until now, so will they not continue to fail in the future?”
The Devil Hag decided that she would no longer look down on this mortal.
The mortal before her looked like an insignificant rat, but he was a rat capable of biting powerful beings from other dimensions at any moment.
There is nothing wrong with being bold. You are a very valiant little brat. The problem is that the tentacle freaks have become extremely spiteful because of this matter.
“They are truly narrow-minded people. The orders on the continent praised me when I learned divine magic.”
It was something that would have enraged evil-god worshipers if they heard it.
Naturally, the two kinds of orders had different objectives.
One sought ascension, while the other possessed sincere faith. How could they possibly react in the same way?
Lunatics are always like that. But this old woman is wiser. This old woman also has a method that can be used in situations like this.
“What exactly is it?”
Lee Han looked at her with slightly reverent eyes.
To think she had a solution even in a situation like this.
Powerful beings from other dimensions truly were different.
We lie and say someone else did it.
“...What? Will that work?”
Although they had hidden the Einroguard emblem in the city, the incident had been too significant for rumors not to spread.
Could they really deceive them by claiming someone else had done it?
Why would it not work? The tentacle freak is holed up in a corner of a small dimension and never comes out. It would probably believe for several days that the prince had changed his mind and restored the kingdom. Besides, this old woman is respected and revered. This old woman’s words are far more trustworthy than the testimony of some insignificant mortals.
The higher one’s level became, the more selectively one accepted the truth.
Even the testimony of dozens of people could be distorted and manipulated.
By comparison, a statement made by a powerful being from another dimension carried entirely different weight.
“Then... could we say the Sanguros bastards did it?”
...This old woman said the tentacle freak was holed up in a corner. This old woman did not say it was a complete idiot.
The Devil Hag looked at Lee Han as though he were pathetic.
Even if it was easy to deceive, they still had to put in at least a minimal amount of effort.
If one lied in such a manner, even someone willing to be deceived would refuse to believe it.
“Then what are we going to do?”
Wait and see. This old woman will show you one of her spells.
A hand abruptly appeared in the air and began drawing strange patterns. They were peculiar patterns completely different from the Empire’s system of magic.
Lee Han instinctively sensed the movement of mana and memorized the changes. It was an unavoidable occupational habit for a trained mage.
Caten also stared intently at the unfamiliar magic.
And that was all.
'Hmm. The mana is moving.'
Along with a bubbling sound like a cauldron boiling, the smell of something burning rose from somewhere, and the Devil Hag shouted in satisfaction.
Done! This old woman has obtained a suitable name. With this name, the tentacle freak will certainly be deceived.
“What name is it?”
The name this old woman obtained is Stedal Nago.
“......”
Do you perhaps know that name?
***
This old woman found a name for you.
The Devil Hag returned and wrote letters across the broad back of the enormous toad.
The other party did not answer for a moment. That alone was enough for the Devil Hag to realize that the other party was surprised.
As expected of the Wisest Devil Hag. Who is it?
Stedal Nago!
I suspected as much, and it truly was that bastard! That accursed son of a bitch!
Surprisingly, the other party accepted the claim without any suspicion.
Since Stedal Nago already had a history of such actions, he was one of the leading suspects.
There had been countless rumors that the Imperial Knight Orders had come and dealt with it, or that mages from Einroguard had come and dealt with it, but the bishop had not believed them.
There had been little reason for those groups to clash directly with the order.
There were an unusual number of unbelievable rumors, but they were all the work of that cunning bastard. I will tear out his heart and use it as a seedbed for the Regenerator.
'Those tentacle freaks will not last very long either.'
The Devil Hag thought inwardly after seeing how easily the Immortal had been deceived.
If a bishop was that gullible, the future of the order did not seem particularly...
You will have to discover for yourself how the Authority was stolen. This old woman does not know that much.
It does not matter. I will ask him directly while smashing his skull. ...What price do you want?
The bishop, the Immortal, might have been gullible, but was not a fool. The Immortal did not believe that the Devil Hag’s favor would come without a price.
If the Immortal heard the name and simply pretended nothing had happened, there would be centuries of regret ahead.
There are some fellows this old woman has recently wanted to beat senseless. This old woman does not know whether you have heard of them. They are called Sanguros...
Ha. Those idiots nearly faced complete destruction once, yet they still have not come to their senses. Did they cause trouble for you as well?
'Worry about yourself for once.'
The Devil Hag was itching to mock him.
How enjoyable would it be if she ever had the opportunity to reveal the truth to this fellow and ridicule him later?