CHAPTER 48
Who exactly was Haas-nim?

Saying the name first and then figuring out who it was—that was my current state.

I remembered seeing the name in the original novel.

In the original, she was definitely the Whiperion family's exclusive mage, a figure like an uncle to Ceres, right?

There were a few descriptions saying he was often away from the family estate but treated Ceres well, so Ceres felt close to him.

The last time Haas was mentioned in the novel was after Ares was caught plotting a rebellion.

It was a part where Ceres worried, What happened to the territory now? It would have been nice if at least Uncle Haas was here at a time like this.

After that, Ceres wasn't in any condition to worry about others, so Haas naturally wasn't mentioned anymore.

A supporting character, but an important figure to Ceres. Seeing as the gender was flipped, was it a roughly similar relationship in this world too?

I think I remember the female Haas treating me well too, but on the other hand, I also remember finding her difficult to approach.

The title I used was different, too. The original Ceres had called him 'Uncle Haas'.

But what just came out of my mouth was the much stiffer title, 'Haas-nim'.

Why was the previous me like that? Was it because, even without my past life's memories, I was still fundamentally me on the inside?

"Lord Ceres, what's wrong?"

When I fell deep into thought, Haas looked at me quizzically.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

"...No, my memories were just a bit jumbled for a second."

I immediately cut off my thoughts and responded to her.

We were more distant than in the original novel, but she was still the family's exclusive mage.

She had been working for the family since before I was adopted, so I had to show proper manners.

"Excuse me. I don't know if you heard from my mother, but I've been having some memory issues lately."

"Ah, now that you mention it, the Count did say that. That your memories were confused after you hit your head."

Haas made an expression as if she just remembered, then looked at me with pitying eyes.

"You finally recovered your health, but now you have a problem with your memories...."

"It's fine. My memories are steadily coming back too."

I started with some casual small talk before getting to the main point.

"By the way, what brings you here?"

I wasn't asking why she was at the temple, but why she came looking for me.

Something important was happening with the family, so Ares must have called her and she tagged along.

But if that were the case, she could just see me later during my bloodline verification and Saint appointment. Why come find me now?

It could just be that she came because she was worried about me.

But for some reason, I was certain she wasn't the type of person to seek me out for a reason like that.

"The head of the family, Count Ares, sent me."

When I pressed her, Haas made it clear she wasn't here out of concern, but for another reason.

"She said she wanted to meet you privately before the proceedings officially begin."

"Why? We can just see each other at the ceremony. Or did my mother not come with you?"

"She came with me. ...But there are some things that cannot be said in front of others."

Haas said in a bitter tone.

"I heard you were very angry with Count Ares over the adoption issue."

"Not really...."

"She sent me because she wanted to apologize to you privately about that."

...If that's what it was, I couldn't exactly refuse to meet her.

Before I regained my past life's memories, I had been furious when I found out the truth, but the current me wasn't.

It was just awkward. Honestly, after leaving like that last time, I found it awkward to face her too, but it couldn't be helped.

"Alright. Where is my mother?"

"Please follow me."

I left the room and followed Haas, but she headed toward an increasingly strange place.

Haas looked around before revealing a hidden secret passage.

It was a secret passage leading underground, and I was bewildered when she tried to take me down there with her.

I thought we were just going to a quiet, secluded spot good for a chat, so I was taken aback when something like this popped out of nowhere.

"Where are we going right now?"

"The Count is waiting for you down here."

When I asked in disbelief, Haas answered politely.

"Because the temple people might eavesdrop if we were anywhere else. So she asked to speak in the temple's underground."

"The temple has an underground?"

"Hames-nim informed us. She said that we might be caught by secretly installed eavesdropping magic elsewhere, so she told us to talk here."

What kind of temple has eavesdropping magic installed?

I was dumbfounded, but since Haas had no reason to deceive me, I reluctantly went down into the basement.

However, the stairs leading underground were incredibly long.

"Why would the temple build a place like this?"

Unable to understand it, I asked upon seeing the elaborately crafted underground stairs. Haas replied:

"Strictly speaking, it wasn't built by the temple."

"Excuse me?"

"As you probably know, Lord Ceres, this imperial capital was originally the kingdom ruled by the Demon King."

...I remember now. After the first Emperor killed the Demon King, she took over the entire kingdom the Demon King used and made it her capital, right?

"And among the buildings, this temple was actually the royal castle used by the Demon King."

That was a fact I didn't know.

"So they turned the Demon King's castle into a temple?"

"Yes, it seemed a waste to destroy such a well-built structure. So the priests took it over under the pretext of purifying it and turned it into a temple."

"That's an amazing fact, but how do you know that, Haas-nim? Since I didn't know, it doesn't seem to be common knowledge."

"...Hames-nim told me this as well. She said this was a secret passage made by the Demon King, so very few even among the priests know about it, making it perfect for secret conversations."

Haas explained with a voice that seemed to be suppressing some emotion.

I found her odd but followed her all the way down.

"...Hey."

"Is something the matter?"

"Who are these women?!"

The basement we arrived at.

Seeing a space even larger than the one above ground filled with a bunch of women I didn't know, I yelled out.

"Ares. No, you said my mother was waiting! So why is it full of women I've never seen before?"

"Hmm, Count Ares might not be here, but it's not entirely filled with unfamiliar women, is it?"

Before I could ask what she meant, I spotted a face I definitely recognized among the women.

"Hey, it's been a while."

"Red?"

The moment I saw Red raising her hand in greeting, I realized who these women were.

"Demons?"

"Yes, they are demons."

"...Why bring me to a place full of demons?"

"Because I am a demon too, of course."

For a moment, I couldn't comprehend Haas's calm reply.

You're a demon? That wasn't in the original novel's setting!

And you worked for the Whiperion family for over 20 years, yet no one noticed?

"...Fine. Let's say you're a demon. But even if you are, there's no reason for you to capture me, is there?"

It was hard to believe, but with living proof right in front of me, I had to accept it.

"What's the reason for backstabbing me only now, after working for the family without issue all this time?"

"Who knows. Because I'm an evil demon?"

Haas glanced at the other demons and said. Naturally, it wasn't a convincing answer.

"This is the basement of the temple located in the capital, of all places! There's no way you'd secretly gather this many demons in the temple to do this without a reason!"

"Think about it carefully. You are the greatest beauty in the Empire. Isn't that enough of a reason for this many demons to gather and capture you?"

Haas shrugged.

"That's enough talking, so just let yourself be captured. As you said, this is the temple, so I don't want to stay here for long."

"I-I'll catch him~!"

Reacting to Haas's words, one demon stepped forward. She approached me as if she were participating in some fun event.

It seemed she wanted to earn the fame of being 'the demon who captured the famous Ceres.'

I leaned back to dodge her outstretched hand, then immediately lunged forward, extending my right hand.

I efficiently transferred the momentum from my waist through my shoulder and elbow to my right hand, striking her solar plexus with my palm.

Since I struck using physical strength amplified by Mana efficiently, her body instantly flew backward and crashed into the group of other demons.

At that, Haas's expression, which had looked as if she had already won, changed.

"What..."

"Why you!"

While Haas gaped in disbelief, another demon sprang forward in indignation.

She carelessly reached out to me, but this time, I didn't dodge. Instead, I grabbed her hand and released Divine Power.

Imbuing it with the clear intent to inflict harm.

"Aaaagh!"

The demon whose arm melted away in an instant let out a horrific scream.

Seeing one of their comrades lose an arm, the other demons must have realized the situation was serious; most of their expressions stiffened.

"Did you think I'd just obediently let myself be caught just because you told me to?"

I said to them with a sneer.

"I came here to be appointed as a Saint, you know? I'm practically your natural enemy. Wasn't it a bit too naive to think you could capture me just by luring me here?"

"...You've gotten excessively healthy in the short time I haven't seen you."

Haas responded with a rigidly stiff face.

"I didn't know you could fight so well using Divine Power. When did you learn to fight like this?"

"While you were away, I got some private tutoring from a famous Sword Master named Alios."

Since it was memories from my past life, they wouldn't understand even if I told them, so I used Alios as an excuse.

"You were quite lucky. But that level won't be enough to escape our grasp."

Haas snorted and called out to Red in a low voice.

"Help me. If we move together, we should be able to capture him with as few injuries as possible."

"Understood."

Haas and Red approached me. To face them, I activated the Divine Power inside my body to the maximum.

I planned to resist using my Divine Power and then look for an opening to escape back the way I came.

At that moment.

"Actually, come to think of it, I don't really want to help you."

Red suddenly enlarged her arm out of nowhere, grabbed Haas, and threw her far away.

"...Uh."

"What the?"

At the unexpected situation, the demons blanked out, and I was bewildered too.

In the midst of that, Red quietly stepped right in front of me.

"If you want to do anything to this guy, you'll have to get through me first."

She turned her back to me and faced off against the demons, as if protecting me.