However, this dungeon was not merely bizarre. It was the ideal world Nameita had always dreamed of—a radiant place where different races lived side by side, helping one another.

The elf examined the letters carefully.

“These two letters are bound by powerful illusion magic.”

“Ah... as expected...”

Nameita’s knees nearly gave out beneath him. For so long, he had struggled to clear his friend’s name. And now, at last, he finally could. Tears streamed down his wrinkled cheeks.

“Illusion magic is usually the domain of the demon race, isn’t it?”

Great Mage Sema stared in shock.

“These letters were written by demons? Shouldn’t we avoid touching them?”

“It’s fine. The spell is keyed to specific individuals. Even for a demon, maintaining mental magic this strong consumes an enormous amount of mana.”

The elf with the appraisal skill seemed unusually knowledgeable about demon-kind.

Nameita wanted to say many things. The scholar within him burned with curiosity and longed to question the elf further. His pride as a dwarf urged him to thank Ian properly. Another part of him simply wanted to embrace Rick’s child.

But the child was still wary of him. Deeply wounded. A child who needed time.

Nameita intended to approach him slowly.

Then someone quietly crouched beside him.

“...!”

When Nameita turned his head, he saw Rick’s child crying as well. Their shoulders touched lightly.

Nameita’s throat tightened.

The other members of the dungeon stared at the two of them in bewilderment as they cried side by side.

“Why... why are you crying?”

“Louise is crying? I thought you could stab him and not get a single drop out of him.”

To those who didn’t know Louise well, he appeared cold to the core, and within the dungeon he was treated like a terrifying middle commander.

Half the dungeon’s soldiers had trained under Louise’s archery instruction, yet not one of them had ever managed to grow close to him.

Even those who had followed Ian since the dungeon’s earliest days were no exception. There were reasons for that—reasons tied to how they themselves had once treated Louise...

Nameita could hear the surrounding whispers.

“What will you do? Do you want to explain it yourself?”

‘A dwarf who kicks wizards around, yet still a true hero.’

Filled with gratitude for Ian’s consideration, Nameita nodded.

“Yes. If you would grant me the opportunity.”

“Go ahead.”

As Nameita rose to his feet, the surrounding crowd fell silent. Public speaking was not his strength, but as the chief of Black Rock Village, he had long ago been forced to learn how to stand before others.

And so he spoke—not eloquently, but sincerely.

“Everyone. We, the races of the Middle Realm, have all been deceived...”

He spoke of the schemes of the demon worshipers. How they had opened the Gate to the Demon Realm, then pinned the crime on the apostate tribe in order to profit from the chaos. He spoke of the distrust and division that spread among the races of the Middle Realm, and of the forgotten prophecy buried beneath history.

“...!”

Ding!

[You have uncovered the Truth of the Traitor Clan.]

⧫ Remarkable Achievement! ⧫

[Your name will spread across the continent. Every demon on the continent is now aware of you!]

Ding!

[People regard you as a hero of an epic saga.]

Ding!

[You are revered by the people!]

‘Why me?!’

Ian, who had casually handed the role of quest-solver over to Nameita and was quietly enjoying the successful resolution of the quest, nearly jumped in shock.

Why was his fame increasing when Nameita had done all the work? Was this another bug?

But considering he still couldn’t even log out of the game—which itself was already the ultimate bug—there was nowhere to complain. The game didn’t even have a customer support window.

‘This damn game again...’

The notification about ‘every demon on the continent becoming aware of you~’ normally only appeared when a player’s fame had exploded to the point of drawing massive attention.

Which meant...

From this point onward, it wouldn’t just be lesser demons they had to worry about. Named demons would start taking interest as well.

“We never knew...”

“Everyone needs to hear this. The Apostate Tribe—no, the Nomadic Tribe—do they know?”

“Even our elves, despite fighting alongside humans during the Great Demon War, harbored deep distrust toward the humans who opened the Gate to the Demon Realm...”

“I’ll contact the elder immediately. Oh, spirit of wind...”

Regardless of Ian’s feelings, the dungeon had erupted into chaos.

Everyone felt it instinctively.

They were witnessing a turning point in history.

A strange certainty spread through them—that this very moment might alter the next hundred years.

“So what if the demon worshipers opened the Gate to the Demon Realm? What changes even if we know the truth? The gate is still open.”

There were dissenting voices, but the people beside them immediately kicked them into silence.

“If you don’t understand, then shut up.”

Back during the chaos following the opening of the Demon Realm, the Vatican had delivered a prophecy:

‘All races of the Middle Realm must unite and drive out the demons.’

Perhaps it had never referred to the demon war of the past.

A new war.

A holy war to purge the demons from their strongholds was about to begin.

The fractured races of the Middle Realm would unite against demon-kind.

And at the forefront of that future stood Ian.

The moment they grasped the “truth” Nameita had proven, chills ran down their spines. Their lord had always seemed oddly ordinary at times, but there was no denying it now.

Ian truly was the protagonist of the prophecy.

Their lord was that kind of existence.

“Did you know from the beginning, Lord Ian?”

Keith lowered his voice and whispered beside him with a respectful bow. Ian flinched slightly.

Keith was unnecessarily perceptive. Ian hadn’t even been paying attention to whatever nonsense Keith had been rambling about earlier.

“Yeah.”

“Because you are an agent of God.”

“Well... yes.”

“What should we do now?”

Keith asked reverently, like a disciple seeking guidance from his master. His calm, trustworthy voice naturally drew ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) everyone’s attention toward Ian.

“Momisia. Remember the placard?”

“Yes.”

“Make another one. Spread the truth to the people. It doesn’t matter anymore if the demons see it.”

“Yes.”

Momisia immediately sprinted toward the newly constructed workshop.

“Contacca. Arrange lodgings for the newcomers and sort out their affiliations. Let them rest for now. How is the shield-soldier training progressing?”

“The tactics themselves are familiar enough. We’ll need actual combat to verify the results.”

“Good. You’ll get that opportunity soon enough, so prepare them.”

“Yes.”

Contacca also departed at once.

“Louise. Select thirty archers skilled with both the bow and close combat.”

“Yes. Shall I send them to you, Lord Ian?”

Louise wiped his face with his sleeve. By the time he looked up again, every trace of tears had vanished.

“No. Train them as mounted archers.”

“Mounted archery... Yes, we do have soldiers capable of that now. But we don’t have thirty horses.”

“That’s fine. We’ll mount them on wolves.”

“Excuse me?”

“If the wolves can’t be tamed, try using miryams instead. And if that fails... well, then it can’t be helped.”

Until the demons launched their attack, Ian intended to experiment with new tactics.

Maybe there was another hidden Easter egg buried in the game.

Louise still looked utterly baffled, but he obeyed without question.

“Sema. You’re coming with me.”

“Where to?”

“Not far. Bring your disciples too.”

“Lord Ian, you can’t treat my disciples the same way you treat me. I’m fine with it, but they were raised gently and may struggle to adapt.”

“How does anyone grow up gently in times like these? Did I grow up gently? Are they royalty or something?”

Ian looked genuinely incredulous.

“No, of course not.”

“Then that’s your fault. Why did you raise them softly? Aren’t they supposed to become combat mages?”

“...Am I also included in that criticism?”

“You’re the biggest problem. What exactly have you been doing instead of practicing Water Ball?”

“Lord Ian, you told me to teach the disciples...”

“You train while working. What, are you going to stop breathing because you’re busy?”

“.......”

Still uncertain whether that comparison made any sense, Sema hurried off toward the Mage Tower.

Watching people rapidly disperse one after another, Nameita could only marvel inwardly.

‘As expected!’

This place was not paradise itself.

It was a gathering place for those striving to create paradise.

Now that Ian had accepted him, Nameita too had to fulfill his role.

“Lord Ian. What task would you entrust to this old man? My abilities may be lacking, but I possess knowledge regarding demons, and I wish to contribute however I can.”

‘Knowledge is unnecessary.’

Ian already carried an entire demon encyclopedia inside his head.

What he needed wasn’t a reference book.

He needed a tank.

“Come with me too.”

“Where... are we going?”

“To hunt demons.”

“......??”