Chapter 30: The Last Apostle

────Rudeus’s Perspective────

"Here you are, Rudeus Greyrat."

"Yes, sir! Reporting in!"

I was summoned to the servants’ underground mausoleum at the edge of the noble district. Naturally, the one waiting for me was Orsted, and I was already kneeling so low it was nearly a dogeza.

"I sincerely apologize for everything this time…"

"………Wait. What are you talking about?"

"Well, I thought I should apologize for my repeated rude behavior and for acting on my own without consulting you…"

Even if it was my family and friends involved, I’d gone rogue on my very first job, leaving my superior, Orsted, completely in the dark.

Now that the immediate danger had passed and my head had cooled, I was genuinely remorseful. At first I’d been angry at his vague explanations and curt attitude, but the truth was he had put together useful information in his own way, and I had practically thrown all of it aside to save Pilemon.

Betraying his trust on a mission meant to earn it was inexcusable. Even if I had been under pressure, I didn’t want to just brush it off.

"In the end, it turned out well. The entire Water God Style was granted amnesty, and to spare the Water God’s life, most of them pledged loyalty to Ariel’s faction. I didn’t expect things to go this smoothly. Leaving it to you was the right call."

Orsted’s words were cheerful and optimistic. And he was right—Ariel, who was already meant to be made queen, was now directly tied to Orsted’s camp. In the recent incident, Darius had died, and Water God Reida was captured.

That old lady had drawn her sword inside the royal castle and attacked Ariel. Normally, that was immediate execution. It was announced she would be executed before Ariel’s coronation, but in reality, arrangements had been made so she would die “on paper” beforehand, either from an accident in prison or old age.

If she died before her execution, so be it—the matter would be closed, and Reida herself would go free. Despite her reckless act, she was well respected, and now that her life was spared, the Water God Style would devote themselves to Ariel’s service like workhorses.

The Notos family, originally Ariel’s backers, suffered no damage, and Auber, entrusted with the Radical Faction, had also been absorbed along with the North King Wii Taa. From Orsted’s perspective, it was a windfall. Still, regardless of Orsted’s forgiveness, it wasn’t healthy to have a relationship where I could just do things first and report afterward.

"From now on, I’ll make sure to properly discuss things with you, Orsted-sama, before acting. Cliff-senpai is still researching ways to weaken your curse. I’m sure I’ll eventually be able to consult with others besides myself to move things forward. Just as you trusted me and let me act freely, I want to trust you and work together with you. So I won’t act on my own like this again. I’m truly sorry."

"I see… very well. I’ll be counting on you from now on too."

It seemed my point had gotten across—Orsted’s aura brightened with visible satisfaction, though his face remained as intimidating as ever.

"Allow me to apologize as well. I lied to you. There’s something I’ve been hiding."

And with that, he revealed the truth about his uncanny knowledge. As I’d suspected, it wasn’t future sight but a forcibly triggered time loop. For nearly two hundred years, starting from about a century ago, he had been repeating time: if either he died or the Man-God was killed, he would carry his memories back and start over. When I asked him what iteration this was, he admitted he’d stopped counting after the hundredth.

From his accumulated experience, he knew the First Prince’s faction had no way to recover, and once the Man-God reached this point on the board, he always withdrew. The struggle for the throne of Asura was, for all intents and purposes, already decided as our victory.

"…Wait. Then who was the last apostle?"

"What are you talking about? There were two: Darius and the Water God. The last one was either one of the Three North God Swordsmen or Pilemon, wasn’t it?"

"No. Neither Pilemon, nor Wii Taa, nor Auber were apostles."

Auber had sided with Pilemon purely out of camaraderie and to test his skills. Pilemon himself had been coerced by Darius. Wii Taa had simply tried to protect the master who had begged him for help.

And that’s when it hit me. A chill ran down my spine.

"The Man-God has already pulled out. Whoever the apostles are, can’t we just check later?"

"No. In this battle, the Man-God only had Darius and Reida as apostles. If he has no means left to intervene in Asura Kingdom, that means this was his entire fighting force."

"Then what are you saying…?"

"If the Man-God only had two apostles left to use in Asura because of our interference… then that means one apostle slot was free to target my family…!"

Orsted’s eyes widened as he shot to his feet.

If my interference had reduced the available apostles, leaving the First Prince’s faction doomed, then the Man-God could have easily shifted focus early and struck somewhere else—specifically, at my family. If they were killed, my trust in Orsted would shatter completely. And since Orsted’s time loops had never included an attack on my family, he couldn’t have foreseen it…!

"This is the worst…! That bastard… that bastard…!!"

"Rudeus Greyrat! Use the Chaos Breaker’s teleportation circle and return to Sharia immediately! I’ll handle the Asura Kingdom!"

"…! Thank you! Please take care of things here!"

I dashed out of the mausoleum and sprinted back to the residence Ariel had lent us.

"Sylphy! Eris! Pack your things, now!"

"What’s wrong, Rudi!?"

"An enemy, right, Rudeus!?"

"No! There may be a Man-God apostle in Sharia! We have to return right away with Perugius-sama’s flying fortress!"

The moment they heard, the two of them quickly grabbed only the bare essentials and dashed out of the mansion with me.

"Here you are, Rudeus Greyrat. I’ve already received permission from Perugius-sama. Take this."

Outside, Almanfi was waiting, holding out the magical device needed to summon the floating fortress. Orsted must have called him and arranged everything in advance. I’d have to remember to thank him later.

"My apologies for the sudden request, Perugius-sama! We need to borrow the teleportation circle!"

"I understand. To think even Orsted could be outmaneuvered…"

Although Sylvaril looked utterly displeased that we had summoned Almanfi out of nowhere and barged into the fortress without warning, Perugius allowed us to use the magic circle without a single complaint, given the urgency of the matter.

"Rudeus! Sylphy! No time to waste—I’ll carry you!"

We landed at the teleportation circle closest to Sharia. From there, Eris grabbed us and bolted at terrifying speed straight toward the city. Her legs were too fast, and her way of carrying us far too rough—by the time we arrived, Sylphy and I could barely move. While we caught our breath and used healing magic to ease the nausea, Eris sprinted ahead toward the house.

Following close behind, we found the Greyrat estate untouched, not a scratch on it. Relieved, we entered through the wide-open door. At the living room entrance, Eris stood like a guard, radiating a confused sort of tension.

What on earth had happened here…?

Suppressing my anxiety, I carefully peered into the living room—and was greeted by an unbelievable sight.

"Welcome home, Father! While you were away, a Man-God apostle showed up, so I took care of them!"

──There was Edith, soothing little Lucy in her arms, while the would-be intruder sat before her, bound hand and foot and chained around the neck.