The name of the Saint who sealed the king of the Mythical Creatures was Sophia Azurite.

When I heard that name from Doga’s lips, the first image that flashed across my mind was that of my former fiancée, Ayaka Azurite.

On one hand, a Saint who sealed the king of the Mythical Creatures in the Underworld. On the other, the eldest daughter of one of the empire’s most prominent families. Considering that both of their family names are “Azurite,” it’s hard to believe it’s a coincidence.

Could it be that the Azurite family is trying to control the continent from both the front, as they dominate the empire, and the shadows, by manipulating the Light God Temple? And was Ayaka sent to the Mitsurugi house as a spy to accomplish this conspiracy?

I reflexively doubted this— but quickly shook my head, dismissing such suspicion. I was probably overthinking it.

The Azurite family is renowned as one of the three great houses. With the other two, the Cornelius and Paradis families, as well as the royal family watching, it seems far-fetched to assume they have maintained ties with the Underworld for three centuries.

Moreover, no matter how cunning Ayaka might be, I couldn’t believe she could deceive the eyes of the Sword Saint. I was certainly overthinking it.

…Conversely, if all the aforementioned parties were in on this, they could get away with any conspiracy. But pondering here won’t lead to any answers.

In any case, while I’m disguising myself as a follower of the Light God religion in the Underworld, I must investigate the Saint properly. Thinking about the Azurite family can come later.

As a start, I looked through the scriptures of the Light God religion that Doga handed me. Sophia Azurite is a figure revered as a Saint even by the Kijin race. It’s not hard to imagine that she is deeply worshipped within the Light God religion.

Unsurprisingly, there was a plethora of information about the Saint in the scriptures.

In essence, the beginning part said:

Approximately three hundred years ago, the continent faced the brink of annihilation at the hands of the king of the Mythical Creatures, a serpent, and its army of creatures.

This wave of slaughter left cities in ruins overnight, and the blood flowing from the dead was said to have covered the earth like a vast river.

Many countries perished, and countless people died. Faced with inevitable doom, it was understandable that many lost hope and gave up the fight.

However, while some accepted their fate, others refused to stand by and decided to resist the impending disaster.

They confronted the Mythical Creatures and were determined to defeat the serpent, the root of all evil, in order to save the world. These brave souls, known as the heroes of phantom burial, united across racial boundaries. After a long and fierce battle, they finally managed to seal the serpent.

Saint Sophia Azurite was one of those brave souls…

The scriptures continued beyond this, but by this point, the history described was vastly different from what I knew.

In the history I learned on Demon Island, the war three centuries ago was fought between humans and Kijin, with no mention of any Mythical Creatures other than the Demon God.

This war between the two races concluded with a victory for humans. The instigator, the Demon God, was sealed deep within the Demon Gate—that’s the chronicle of the past battle.

The history of Canaria Kingdom also mirrors the Demon Island’s version, leading me to believe that the history I know is the common knowledge of the continent.

However, according to the Light God Temple’s history, humans fought not against Kijin, but Mythical Creatures three centuries ago. Moreover, it wasn’t the Demon God but a serpent that was sealed in the Demon Gate.

What caused this disparity?

To my knowledge, the Light God Temple were those who, three centuries ago, betrayed humanity and sided with the Kijin. They might have altered history to hide this betrayal.

However, it seems unlikely that the Kijin would accept such an alteration. From the Kijin’s perspective, they probably wouldn’t coexist with the Light God Temple, who try to erase the battle between humans and Kijin, even if they had sided with them.

Yet, it appears that the Kijin and the Light God Temple maintain a friendly relationship in the Underworld. This suggests that there’s no difference between the histories of the Light God Temple and the Kijin.

As evidence, Doga spoke of the Saint and the serpent as common knowledge. If the Temple’s and the Kijin’s histories were different, he wouldn’t have acted that way.

With this in mind, the possibility of the Light God Temple arbitrarily altering history is quite low—at least, that’s my judgment.

Of course, just because both parties convey the same history doesn’t mean it’s the truth. There’s still the possibility that they colluded to fabricate a false history— the Temple, to hide their betrayal, and the Kijin, to hide their defeat.

In fact, Claira and Ursula seemed to have taken it with a grain of salt.

However, Emperor Amadeus II had once told me about the prevalence of Mythical Creatures on the continent in the past. It made me think that if there’s any suspicion of “altering history to hide inconvenient truths,” it might lie outside the Underworld.

“When the secret of the Demon Gate is unveiled, the world of humans will be profoundly shaken.”

The words of Emperor Amadeus II from the other day crossed my mind. While I’m unsure if he referred to the altered history, if that were the case, the Emperor knew about the alteration.

Suddenly, my earlier speculation—that the three great houses, the royal family, and the Mitsurugi house, being in cahoots could indulge in any conspiracy—felt more plausible.

For a while afterward, we delved deeper into the knowledge of the Light God Temple by speaking with Doga and reading the scriptures.

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door, and a Kijin entered. The familiar face was unmistakably that of King Azuma of Nakayama.

This visit was unexpected, and Doga quickly rose to his feet in surprise to greet his brother.

“Brother, has something unusual occurred?”

“Indeed, not exactly unusual, but I just received a message from Kagari. The matter at Mount Ganzan has been resolved.”

“That’s truly commendable. As expected of Kagari. However, brother, please refrain from discussing state secrets in front of outsiders.”

Saying so, Doga glanced sharply at me, who was all ears.

I deliberately looked away, feigning innocence. Azuma gave me a fleeting look, not chastising me, but instead scratched his cheek in apparent discomfort before looking back at Doga.

“There’s some validity in what you say. However, there was a detail in the report that piqued my interest. I wanted to confirm it with them.”

“What detail concerns you?”

“It seems Kagari rescued the siblings from Mount Ganzan at the enemy’s main base. He mentioned that he would explain how it came to be in capital. That’s fine, but apparently, there was a young gatekeeper accompanying the siblings. He’s severely injured, and Kagari has requested the best doctor from capital.”

Doga visibly grimaced upon hearing this. It wasn’t an expression one would expect to direct towards a king, but probably, the story had too many perplexities that caused such a reaction.

On the other hand, not being privy to the background, I barely grasped the conversation’s contents. However, I did understand the term “young gatekeeper.”

In the Kijin’s context, “gatekeeper” refers to the Mitsurugi family. Since Mount Ganzan likely pertains to a location in the Underworld, it means another member of the Green Woods was in the Underworld aside from us.

Considering King Azuma made a special trip just to verify, it’s likely that this individual shared distinct characteristics with Klimt, perhaps resembling Claira with white hair and red eyes.

Even without this, it’s hard to believe many members of the Green Woods would enter the Underworld at this time.

Though the fact that he’s severely injured is concerning, it seemed I might reunite with my former colleague sooner than anticipated.