Luther remained hidden in the shadows until the old man had vanished completely, then quietly left. He did not go to meet Sophia. With both princes dead, the Third Princess was now valuable enough that she no longer needed his protection.
By the time he returned to the inn, all of Saint Millon was restless. Of course, ordinary citizens knew nothing of the shocking upheaval that had just taken place in the Imperial Palace. They had merely heard the bells announcing the emperor's death and grown worried about the country's future.
"Your Excellency Ishmael..."
As soon as he appeared, Leonard and Miss Daly came over to him.
Hmm, as Beyonders, those two must have felt the terrifying fluctuations above the Imperial Palace... Luther guessed. He spoke calmly, reassuring them, "Don't worry. It has nothing to do with us..."
Before he finished speaking, he noticed that their eyes kept straying behind him. He turned around and discovered that an emaciated figure had appeared in the corner of the room at some point.
It was an old man who looked like a corpse. His pale skin was covered in age spots, and wings sprouted from his back, every white feather soaked in pale yellow grease.
A demigod who apparently belonged to the Numinous Episcopate!
Luther immediately turned around, shielding the other two behind him.
"..."
The emaciated old man said nothing. He merely stared at Luther with dull, lifeless eyes.
He's here for me... Luther immediately guessed his intentions.
"Ince Zangwill's characteristic belongs to the Goddess Church."
"Don't expect me to hand it back," he said bluntly.
The man probably wanted to recover the half portion of a Sequence 3 Potion's main ingredient from the Death pathway that had been swallowed. But it had already fused with Ince Zangwill's characteristic and could