Chương 35: The Big Gamble

Sending Sophia to escape on her own was incredibly dangerous, but it was the most viable path forward. Halunar had told me that the secret passage was built by the very Pope who commissioned this Cathedral, intended as his private escape route. It was a one-way passage that could only be opened from the inside. That Pope had reigned in peace for twenty years, never once having to use that emergency escape route until his death. After he passed away, it faded into oblivion, and no one knew of its existence anymore.

So the probability of Sophia escaping undetected was quite high. Once Sophia made it outside, she wouldn't be able to find Rachel on her own. Rachel, in all likelihood, was still under the thumb of the Royal Family. That was why I told the girl to find Henry McCaley. This was where my riskiest bet lay. Upon receiving that cryptic message from me, he would undoubtedly have to come here for a face-to-face meeting.

If his act of killing Princess Claire hadn't been an accident, it was possible we shared a common goal: returning Rachel to her rightful place. If so, I might have just gained a powerful ally for the present. In a worst-case scenario - if Henry's killing of Claire was purely accidental or driven by some other political motive unrelated to Rachel - then both Sophia and I would likely forfeit our lives tonight. This was my final solution for the current situation.

If it failed, I would have Halunar reset everything back to the very first day. The mere thought of spending another month catering to that brat Jullius made my already anemic body feel nauseous. But I had no better alternative. Lost in these wandering thoughts, I drifted into an unconscious slumber. It was so deep that I felt as though I'd only closed my eyes for a moment, yet when I opened them, broad daylight was streaming in.

Someone was repeatedly striking the iron bars of my cell with a metal rod, creating a deafening, ear-splitting racket. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Sleeping like the dead, are we? Get up! Someone wants to see you!" That sentence jolted me awake instantly. Had my gamble actually paid off? Afterward, I was escorted to the surface. My hands were bound with rope, and the mana-suppressing shackles remained clamped around my ankles. They led me into a small room within the Cathedral, where Henry McCaley sat waiting. He was clad in black knight's armor, his sword still hanging at his hip, his face a mask of total indifference.

Even in my first Isekai life, despite having traveled with him for nearly two years, I had never been able to fully grasp the nature of this man. Henry dismissed the guards and signaled for me to sit in the chair opposite him. I was just about to ask about Sophia when he spoke first.

"Who exactly are you?" I froze, my mouth hanging half-open. The question felt... strange.

"Um, we met once before at the banquet..."

"I know you are Asher Griffin, the attendant to Jullius Griffin. You are a nobody within your clan, a student in Class F at Imperia Academy. So tell me, how did a Hero's Mark appear on your body?" I flinched, instinctively glancing at the mark on the back of my left hand.

"... You think this is a real mark? The people in the Church all dismissed it as a fake tattoo."

"I am a Hero. I can tell the difference between the real and the forged."

"You're only a Hero Candidate," I countered.

"The Hero's Mark changes every fifty years. How can you be so certain this one is authentic?" Henry fell silent, staring at me. Although I couldn't read the thoughts or emotions behind that icy expression, I sensed he was weighing a heavy decision.

"By all accounts, you should have been dead since the Awakening Day." That sentence sent a wave of goosebumps across my skin; a bone-chilling cold raced down my spine. This man knows about the death of the original Asher Griffin? Does he know I'm not the "owner" of this body? Do the people of Averula even have a concept of transmigration or possession? No. Even if he suspected possession, he couldn't possibly conclude it with such certainty. We had only met once at a celebratory banquet and barely exchanged a word.

What basis did he have to make such a claim?

"I... I don't understand what you're saying..." I didn't even realize I was stuttering. If I was exposed as a transmigrator who stole someone else's body, would they tie me to a stake and burn me alive? No, no, no. Calm down. Henry believed the Hero's Mark on my hand was real. The Mark was a gift from the Goddess; he wouldn't kill me that easily. Then, I would take one more risk.

"No, you're right." I took a deep breath and exhaled to regain my composure.

"The Hero's Mark on my hand is real, bestowed upon me by Goddess Halunar herself. I am an emissary appointed by the Goddess to assist the Heroes in subjugating the Demon King." Henry furrowed his brows slightly.

"You are an emissary of the God? Then why did you die every other time?"