Clank-

I closed the door behind me and headed for the bookshelf to retrieve a familiar diary.

Click!

Injecting my mana into it, the diary 'clicked' and opened. Scrolling through the pages, I read through them once again.

'Die! Die! Die! Die!'

My eyes darted from left to right as I read through each page once again.

I took in all the details that I previously missed last time, regardless of how meaningless they seemed.

From the tears on the pages to the little stains on them.

I took in everything.

""

I didn't know how long had passed, but by the time I had read it for the 'nth' time, the sky outside had already gotten dark.

"....Everything checks out with what is written. Nothing has changed."

I took a deep breath then.

'Did I really go to the past...?'

By now, all signs pointed towards it. However, given the fact that nothing, in reality, had changed meant that all of this was 'predetermined'. Like some sort of 'paradox'.

One could say that had I not done what I did, reality would change.

....If that even made sense.

Then again, this was merely a hypothesis.

There could be other explanations, but thinking back to what 'Oracleus' was supposed to be, then it all made a lot more sense.

But was I really Oracleus...?

If so, why couldn't I remember a thing?

"Haaa."

I let out a long sigh.

Things were really complicated. A lot more complicated than it looked. Every time I seemed to find some answers, new questions would pop up, and so on.

But...

'I'm getting closer.'

Of this much I was sure.

....I was slowly coming closer to the truth.

All I had to do was continue doing the quests. So long as I kept up with them then I was sure I'd be able to find out more about the entire situation and this weird 'gam that I found myself in.

"All those thoughts aside, I'm still struggling to understand one part."

I paused my eyes on the dairy once more, settling over a few lines.

'I... I deserve it! Should I take the strange liquid that I found? Maybe then I can...'

It was regarding the strange liquid that Julien once took.

I was still completely oblivious as to what it was. Before I had the time to check, I was already back to the present.

Now all I could do was speculate about it.

"He said he gave it to his brother, and nothing happened apart from his strength increasing. In that case, as far as I'm concerned, it may be some sort of enhancer."

I already knew about this part.

What I was more concerned about was how he had managed to get his hands on such an 'enhancer' if it even was that.

"The Inverted Sky perhaps...?'

This was my main concern. If it really was the 'Inverted Sky' then how did they manage to reach the previous Julien?

Were they also the ones responsible for his change...? For his obsession with swordsmanship?

I needed to figure out the reason for his obsession.

It couldn't just be for the simple reason that he wanted to be a swordsman. I didn't think things were as simple as that.

There was more to it.

And...

It was highly likely that the Inverted Sky had infiltrated the Evenus Household.

"....If that's the case then they'll probably make contact with me soon enough."

The thought made my heart sink.

However, thinking about my current strength and position within the organization, I was no longer as worried.

'Right, things are different now.'

I could handle the situation better.

My only worries were if those from the Inverted Sky had really been responsible for Julien's

obsession.

If that was the case then my sudden change in attitude would caution them.

I needed to be careful of that.

"Perhaps, I should take up the sword for a bit."

Just to sell the fact that I was still clinging to it.

"....Huam"

Suddenly yawning, I was overcome with tiredness.

I blinked my eyes a couple of times, feeling them grow heavier by the second. Seeing how tired I was, I closed the diary and put it back on the bookshelf before throwing myself onto

the bed.

Today I was going to sleep in.

Yeah...

I needed sleep.

A lot of it.

***

The Evenus Barony didn't have a long-lasting history. Before the rise of Aldric Evenus, they

were nothing but a regular small Barony.

Their annual income was far lower than it was in the present, with their military nothing

worth taking note of.

....Their rise was something unexpected, and it all started with Aldric who was able to find and carefully utilize the gold mine that resided within their territory of Westernborn.

Had the finding of the gold mine been announced to the public, a great dispute would've occurred over it with the bordering noble households trying to find ways to claim it for

themselves.

However, such a thing never occurred.

By the time the Gold Mine was found out, Aldric had secretly grown the Evenus Barony into a

fearsome powerhouse.

The neighboring Household did try to have a claim over it, but in the end, they could only silently retreat while paying more attention to them.

They could no longer ignore them as they did in the past.

...The situation remained in a tight deadlock as the neighboring Households all eyed the

Evenus Household warily.

It was supposed to continue like this, but...

A situation occurred.

Plack-

A newspaper was thrown over a large wooden desk.

It read;

[Breaking] — <The Rise of the Twin Star of the Evenus Household>

Julien Dacre Evenus of the Evenus Household manages to defeat Leon Ellert of the same Household in the finals, granting great honor to the Empire. Who are they, and how was the Evenus Household able to grow such powerhouses?

"We can't let this go on any further."

A rough voice echoed within a large room.

It belonged to Viscount Theodore Raimsal of the Raimsal Household.

He was a short, lanky man with black hair cut in a bowl shape, resembling the cap of a mushroom. His nose was unusually long, giving his face a sharp, almost intimidating

appearance.

But it was his eyes-fierce and intense-that drew the most attention as if they could pierce through anyone who dared look his way.

With four territories under his name, he was a powerful noble with enough influence and power to make him viable for a seat at 'Central'-The noble coalition.

He owned several territories, with one bordering Westernborn. Three other individuals were sitting on the seats opposite him. They were;

Baron Johans Kaliak.

Baron Orin Mainz.

Baron Soren Hindua.

The four nobles present had one thing in common, and that was that they bordered with one

of the Evenus household's territories.

....The recent rise of the Evenus Household had put them all in a panic, forcing them to create

an alliance between the four.

"At the rate the Evenus Household is growing, it won't be long before they bare their fangs in

our direction."

The one who was most worried about the situation was the Viscount.

...It had been him all those years back who had tried to snatch away the gold mine from the

Evenus Household.

One could say their relationship wasn't the best.

He was able to keep the the situation at a deadlock for the past few years, alongside the other

noble houses who started to worry about their rise. They too didn't have a great relationship

with the Evenus Household.

Nonetheless, they were still able to coexist until this very moment.

Neither side was strong enough to completely tear each other down.

Well, that was until recently.

The sudden piece of news shattered the deadlock that had been keeping them at bay for so

long.

"....We need to act now before it's too late."

"And how do you expect us to do that?"

Baron Mainz asked, his voice softer than expected from someone as burly as him. With a thick

mustache and long white hair, he sat with his arms interlocked as his deep hazel eyes scanned

the room.

"Julien, and their knight... Leon. They are the Empire's most prized assets. Do you expect us to

attack them like that? Do you think the Empire will sit still?"

"Right!"

"....If we do anything we might incur the Empire's wrath."

The other Barons agreed.

"You're right."

The Viscount nodded faintly. He expected such a reaction.

"I've thought about different ways to handle the situation. A marriage alliance was the first

thing that came to my mind."

His words made the other grow tense.

If he were to get into a marriage alliance wouldn't he just ditch them...?

Thankfully, it wasn't possible.

"I've been told that they are in talks with the Verlice Household for that. There doesn't seem

to be a possibility."

"Then...?"

Тар. Тар.

Drumming his fingers over the wooden desk, the Viscount leaned his body back.

He then raised his hand, raising one of his fingers.

"Realistically, we only have one option "

The room fell silent, a strange tension taking hold of the room.

"Our first option is to cripple them financially. We take their gold mine and cut out all of their resources. With how much they've grown, their daily expenditure must be enormous. So long as we manage to do so, they'll slowly start to accumulate debt to keep the household afloat."

"But what about Julien and Leon? Wouldn't they interfere? Attacking the Household would

mean attacking them..."

Baron Mainz interjected.

His words promoted the Baron Hindua to speak,

"What if we incur their wrath? They may not be able to do much for us now, but what about in

the future?"

"There's no need to worry about that. The Empire won't do a thing if we don't harm them." Conflicts between Noble Households were normal.

The Megrail Family usually never bothered with such matters. All they cared about was their

own power.

So long as they could suppress everyone then they were happy with all types of conflicts that

occurred from within.

Of course, the conflicts had to be within reason.

Baron Kaliak frowned, not satisfied with the answer.

"It's not about the Empire doing nothing to us. It's what the two of them are going to do to us

once they grow strong enough to pose trouble to us. What then...?"

Once again, the room grew tense.

Baron Kaliak had hit the nail in the coffin with his question. It wasn't that they were worried

about the current Julien and Leon.

They were worried about their potential, which they couldn't suppress or get rid of.

'Cowards.'

Viscount Raimsal muttered in his heart as he looked around.

'If not for the fact that I need them...'

Taking a deep breath, the Viscount shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay then..."

He looked around once more, leaning his back against the chair.

"Let's say we do nothing. What then? Are you just going to let the Evenus Household grow?

You said that you're worried about the potential that Julien and Leon have displayed. I am

also worried, but whether they hold a grudge against us or not doesn't matter."

"Why?"

Baron Mainz asked, his brows furrowing slightly.

The Viscount laughed before smacking his fist against the wooden table.

Bang!

"Because be it now or later, the Evenus Household will still try to reach their claws our way!"

The room immediately grew silent as the Viscount's expression twisted.

"Use your brain of yours for a second! Why worry about the potential of the two and their

potential retaliation when we might not even be here by the time the two of them become powerhouses!" His voice bellowed loudly within the room, waking up the Barons from their conservative

views. It was only after the Viscount had told them the situation directly that they realized how bad the situation was for them.

"We have no choice but to act! ...And let's say that we do incur the wrath of the two from the Evenus Household. It'll take time before they become big enough to threaten the current us, but who is to say that we're going to be the same in that time?"

"Uh...?"

11 211

"What do you-"

"Think about it."

The Viscount pressed his temple.

"...With all the resources we manage to swallow from the Evenus Household, do you really

think we'll remain stagnant?!"

"Ah."

".....!"

Realization finally dawned on the other Barons.

Indeed, if they were to come in possession of the gold mine, then they'd be able to triple, if

not quadruple their yearly incomes, and that included the fact that they were going to split it amongst each other.

The realization finally hit them as their breathing became rougher. Viscount Raimsal watched all of this with a smile as he finally sighed in relief.

But this wasn't the decisive blow.

He had something else to say.

"Lastly, I don't think we need to worry too much about the twin stars of the Evenus

Household."

"Wh-"

Before the other Barons had a chance to say a thing, the Viscount spoke, "....Especially not if we manage to take one to our side."