[Raul's POV]
Ten days after the attack by demons and monsters on the Fortress City of Cataluna, the city's condition has begun to recover. The scattered debris has been cleared from the city streets, and food aid, tents, and medical teams from the Capital have also arrived here.
Due to this attack, our internship period had to be extended by at least ten days, though we were all originally supposed to return home today. This is because the city requires the assistance currently available to recover as quickly as possible.
After completing my work, I visited the Soul Room to speak with the original Raul. This was because, after fighting a Noble Vampire alongside Ariel the other day, I realized my strength was still insufficient to face much more powerful enemies. Without Ariel's presence at that time, I would have certainly died several times fighting him.
"Truly? Ariel really became a Saint!?" said the real Raul, looking shocked.
"Exactly. Her coronation ceremony will take place in a few days, waiting for all the leaders of the countries following the teachings of the Temple of Goddess Diana to arrive," I told him. "Are you interested in meeting her?"
"Huh? You've already found a way for me to meet and speak with her, Evans?" Raul asked, looking excited.
"That's right; there is a way that makes it possible to do that," I answered. "You can take control of this body for a short while, but this can only be done once."
"Is that so...?" Raul muttered.
Magic that can manipulate souls can only be used by high-level demons, with only a few exceptions. Long ago, the Demons invaded this world several times; not a few of them left behind magic scroll or artifacr that could manipulate souls when they were forced to leave this world again after being defeated by the alliance of humanity.
"So, did you visit me to increase the level of the Profound Codex you possess?" Raul asked again.
"Of course. Can the Mental Codex I possess open it yet?" I asked.
"Indeed. For some reason, the Mental Codex you have rose drastically compared to before," Raul revealed. "Are you picking fights with a lot of people? Besides, I also detect a new Profound Codex appearing; what actually happened?"
Is that so? It seems becoming a fugitive of the Temple of Goddess Diana Authority and killing one of the Holy Knights made many people hate me, thus causing the Mental Codex I possess to rise drastically.
"That's right; I just got into trouble with several large organizations that want me dead," I revealed to him. "That is why I want to increase the level of the Profound Codex I possess, just in case."
"I see. Your current Mental Codex can only increase all the Profound Codices you possess to level two," Raul stated.
Level two, huh?
For level two of Prince of Darkness itself, rising to level two will make the existing limitations looser. Upon reaching level two, the power of the Prince of Darkness can be used at night, whereas previously it could only be used effectively in places where there was no light.
For level two of Mirror Force, the improvement is quite simple: the shield layer I manifest will increase to two layers, allowing it to withstand stronger enemy attacks.
Level two of Full Vengeance allows me to swap the pain I have to the enemy I target. This is very useful as self-healing if there is no Healer.
"Raul, what is level two of the Phantom Thief Profound Codex I possess?" I asked him.
In the game, there was indeed a NPC who possessed this Profound Codex. However, that character never unlocked level two of the Phantom Thief Profound Codex throughout the game's story until the end.
"Emmm... if I'm not mistaken, the level two of this ability is called Neutralize," Raul said. "This ability can erase a person's short-term memory within a one-minute range," Raul answered.
It seems all the abilities within this Profound Codex are non-combat skills. I wish I had an ability that allowed me to unleash powerful and cool attacks like most protagonists.
"Alright, close your eyes, Evans. I will begin the process of increasing the abilities," Raul said.
.
.
.
.
.
After finishing the ability upgrade, I left the city on horseback. My goal was to go to the Monta Mountains to prepare my plans if war truly breaks out.
However, before heading to the Monta Mountains, I will visit the ruins of the city of Mieren—the city where the Mier people lived. However, those ruins are now better known by the name Veirmontoir.
Veirmontoir is known as the former headquarters of the Devil Cult. Half of this area lies within the Empire's territory, and the other half is in the territory of the Republic of Venetia. Both countries established bans for their citizens against approaching this area because it is considered to have traps and dark magic still stored within it.
However, in reality, that is false information to cover up a massacre that occurred in this area. Both countries do not want anyone investigating the cruel actions of their governments at that time.
About 200 years ago, the Republic of Venetia attacked the Mier people and annexed their city. However, this victory was like a Pyrrhic Victory for the Republic of Venetia. This led the Republic of Venetia to implement high taxes on the Mier people under their leadership to increase state revenue, which had been drained by financing the war with the Mier.
Several years passed, and the Mier people fell further into poverty due to the high taxes applied. Additionally, the Venetians often discriminated against them because the Mier were a people with quite a large number of citizens who could use magic.
The Venetians, all of whom are descendants of Non-Sorcerers, greatly hated Sorcerer peoples like the Mier. That is because, in the past, the Venetians were often discriminated against by other nations for not being able to use magic before they had their own country.
Because they continued to decline and felt marginalized by their new country, the Mier people rebelled and began the Second Mier–Venetian War.
However, unlike the previous war, it was the Venetians who were overwhelmed by the Mier's resistance. They were even able to seize two cities from the Republic of Venetia. Seeing the worsening war conditions, the Republic of Venetia then collaborated with the Aragon Empire to help them overcome the crisis they were facing.
However, the Empire requested that half of the Mier people's territory be given to them if this assistance was to take place. Hearing this offer, the Republic of Venetia—with a heavy heart—had to accept it so that the destruction of their country due to the Mier rebellion could be stopped.
After the alliance was formed, the Knights and Mages of the Aragon Empire began attacking the Mier people. Facing the Empire's attack, the Mier were forced to abandon the two cities they had just seized from the Republic of Venetia because the Empire's forces were already approaching the City of Mieren—the largest settlement of the Mier people.
But what could they do? Being attacked by two nations at once made the Mier people swallow defeat in this war once again. The major tribes of the Mier people were then slaughtered so they could not rebel again.
The remnants of the Mier people were then turned into slaves, and eventually, the identity of the Mier people disappeared from this continent. After that, the area that was previously the Mier people's territory was turned into a forbidden place; these two countries spread false news and propaganda regarding the destruction of the Mier but silently excavated the natural resources in their former territory.
After a hundred years of their natural resources being fully excavated, both countries then left the former Mier territory to become a no-man's-land and it was slowly forgotten in history.
After several hours of traveling on horseback, I finally arrived at the former territory of the Mier people, specifically at their largest city, the City of Mieren. There were no signs of human life in this area after being neglected for hundreds of years.
I then began walking around this area to find a lost artifact. My goal in coming here was to prove the hypothesis I had regarding Siena di Reginossa. According to intelligence reports obtained by Black's subordinate agents, Siena is the daughter of the 32nd President of the Republic of Venetia, Luciano di Reginossa.
She is the only descendant of the Venetian people capable of using magic in history. She is also a gifted young talent who made several reforms in terms of military, economy, and technology in the Republic of Venetia. I suspect she is also the one who had the idea to develop firearms and implement them in the military units of the Republic of Venetia.
Knowing this, I must confirm whether her soul is reincarnated from Earth, or if she is just a Transmigrator like me. The fact that she possesses magic despite being a descendant of the Venetian people makes me suspect she is a descendant of one of the major tribes of the Mier people.
Why do I think so? It's because the Mier are one of the nations with the highest birth rate of mages on this continent. The possibility that Siena is a descendant of that people is not impossible.
After walking around this area, I found a cave whose entrance was covered in moss. I then cleaned it, revealing carvings in the Mier language written on the cave walls.
I then cut a tree branch, wrapped it in a cloth, and soaked it in oil. Next, I rubbed two stones together to create sparks to make a torch. Once the torch was lit, I began entering the cave.
Ideally, that secret door has not been entered by anyone else because, in the game, players can explore this place to find artifacts left by the Mier people. After walking several hundred meters into the cave, I found a carving covered by moss. I cleaned it again, and the carvings on the cave wall became clearly visible.
What was actually in front of me was not a cave wall but a secret entrance to obtain the artifact I sought. Next, I took out a plastic bag containing blood from the bag I was carrying. This was Melissa's blood that I took before she left the Fortress City of Cataluna.
If my hypothesis is correct, then there is a reason I felt Melissa's attitude and speaking style were similar to Liana's, and that it was not mere coincidence.
I then poured Melissa's blood over the carvings. Not long after, the door vibrated and emitted a light.
Exactly; this door can only open if the blood of a descendant of one of the major Mier tribes flows into these carvings. This means my hypothesis is proven correct.
Shortly after, the cave wall door opened. I stepped inside and found several accessories on a table made of stone. All of them were important artifacts left by the Mier people.
However, my eyes were only focused on one artifact that had the shape of a half-crescent moon. This is the artifact named Crescent Shape, left by the Mier Hero—Caligura—which has the ability to absorb magic, and the owner of this artifact can use the absorbed magic in a single use.
This artifact has a pair that will form a full crescent moon if joined and will form a new artifact named Legacy of Mieren Tribe. The name of the partner artifact to the Crescent Shape is Crescent Shift. This artifact has the power to change a person's appearance as they wish.
This means that Melissa, who often spoke with me in her tavern, is Siena di Reginossa—the daughter of the 32nd President of the Republic of Venetia. She possesses the Crescent Shift artifact, the pair to the artifact I found here, and uses it to change her appearance so as not to be recognized while performing intelligence activities in the Empire's territory. This makes Siena's mother a descendant of the Mier Hero—Caligura.
This means my hypothesis all along regarding her is correct. There are two possibilities now that this hypothesis has been proven true.
The first is that Liana, my former lover, was reincarnated into this world and named Siena, or it is only her soul as a Transmigrator like me entering Siena's body at a certain time.
The second is that, somehow, Siena can access information from my world and possesses memories of Liana, my former lover.
There is only one way for me to know the truth in this matter...
"I have to make her talk about this to me..."