Kazuki stood firm, his expression calm but resolute. Vareon's dark aura crackled around him like an untamed storm, but Kazuki didn't flinch.
"And now," Kazuki said, his voice low yet steady, "I'll finally tell you how I came this far…"
"How I ended up standing in front of you, saying these things you were never ready to hear—making you realize truths you spent your entire life trying to ignore."
Something in his voice made Vareon pause. The dark aura around him slowly began to fade. The hall fell silent again, but this time with anticipation.
Vareon didn't speak—he simply watched.
He wanted answers.
And Kazuki was finally ready to give them.
[A Thread Back to Volume 1 – Chapter 22]
The scene began to ripple—memories surfacing from the depths.
Flashback begins.
It was the time of the demon attack on the academy, an event that shook the foundations of peace and marked the beginning of everything.
Chapter 22, Volume 1.
Kazuki had faced that demon alone.
A beast summoned from the depths of chaos, far too powerful to be natural, had found its way into the academy. The entire school was locked under a spiritual barrier—one crafted in secrecy, hidden from even the teaching staff.
That barrier had been set by Vareon himself.
And that attack… wasn't random.
Kazuki, after defeating the demon with the help of his celestial spirit Elsa, had already started asking the right questions.
[Seeds of Doubt]
"Who sent that demon?""How did it break into the kingdom's defenses?""Why the academy—and why me?"
The clues didn't make sense.
Kazuki consulted Elsa, seeking clarity. As a celestial spirit, Elsa was bound by divine knowledge and linked to higher beings. Her mother, Sneha, had once been close friends with Levi, the Guardian Angel of South Ryehem.
That made Elsa a direct thread to divine records.
So Kazuki asked her plainly:
"Is there anyone in North Ryehem or South Ryehem who could be contracted with a demon?"
Elsa's reply was firm:
"No. At least… not that I know of."
And that was the key.
Because Elsa's divine awareness covered South Ryehem through her connection with Levi—but not the North.
There were blind spots.
Kazuki's mind immediately began turning.
"If the answer is 'no'… then the unknown lies in the North."
[What the Kingdom Doesn't Know]
Though Kazuki didn't know politics deeply, he remembered something his teacher once said—words that stayed etched in his memory:
"Despite being a kind and beloved ruler, our emperor is still a victim of the Ryehem Incident."
But that was all the teacher had said.
The rest had been left unsaid, buried in history lessons the students were told they would learn later.
Kazuki realized something vital in that moment:
Even the kingdom doesn't know the full truth of the Ryehem Incident.
Something was deliberately erased. Hidden. Covered.
He didn't know what—but he knew where to start looking.
[Return to the Present – A Question from Vareon]
Suddenly, the throne room returned—the past faded like mist.
Vareon's voice cut through the silence.
"Wait," he said, his eyes narrowing."If you didn't know about the Ryehem Incident back then… then how did you explain it all to me just now?"
Kazuki turned to him, calm and composed.
He smiled.
"You noticed that, huh?"
His voice dripped with quiet confidence. Almost playful.
"Let me finish the story. You'll understand everything by the time I'm done. Including how I knew all of that too."