Volume 3 Chapter 30-2 Luster Report and Key of Pharos： Explanation
"Thanks. Now, like he said, should we just skip the fighting?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Personally, I don't think we need to fight. I mean, we can if we want, but it's not necessary."
Sora just smiled, looking completely amused.
"Now, where should I start... First, let me say this: based on Horace's past actions, we know exactly what you learned, what you're trying to achieve, and why you're come this far. We know everything."
"Are you sure there's no lie in that?"
"It's fine. There's no lie in what I'm about to tell you. That's the truth."
"There's no point in lying here. So relax."
The 3 of them showed no hostility towards the Luster Report.
They were just choosing carefully what to say, trying to figure out how to share something important with Rangella and the others.
"How much have you heard from Horace, you guys?"
"About 2000 years ago, the 'God of Provisions Arzent' struck a wedge, and when something was killed across the world, the 'power' from that incident started moving towards the god. Also, 15 years ago, the Demon Lord we defeated was born thanks to a gem made by Arzent, and the technology involved came from Adventurers from Eudynes, a group my master admires, 100 years ago. I guess that's about it."
"Well, sounds like you're mostly telling the truth."
Sid nodded.
"We, the 'Key of Pharos,' were part of an Adventurers community led by Eudynes, one of the top organizations in the 'Forever' faction."
"Wait, 'top officials'... does that mean you're, like, 100 years old with that appearance?"
"Yeah. Thanks to the 'name' given by the God of Provisions Arzent, the magical energy in my body stabilized to the extreme. As a result, my body stopped aging."
When magical energy flows into the body, its quality increases.
This allows humans to perform 'physical enhancement' using magic.
And if you keep pushing physical enhancement beyond normal limits, your body's quality improves.
Horace invented that technique and drilled it into his apprentices and students. That's why everyone in Luster Report ends up looking so attractive.
Sora insisted the method was stable──maxed out, even. Clearly, 'names' were a big deal, and handling that concept mattered.
"I see. So, how did you end up working for one of those gods?"
"It was a hundred years back. Eudynes and 4 execs from the Key of Pharos challenged a god."
"So you lost, huh."
"Heh... let's just say I'm staying quiet on the details. But yeah, saying we lost isn't wrong~"
"That's when Eudynes had every last piece of their tech stolen. We were all killed once──then brought back, our names carved in. After that, we served as 'Apostles', under Arzent, God of Provisions... working worldwide."
"So basically... you died and got revived, just like master?"
"Exactly. Ever since then, everything we do is for Arzent."
"Like what?"
Sora groaned, thinking, but started explaining anyway.
"When you kill someone? You get to decide where their power goes. If they die by suicide or accident, their power bounces back to the stars. We tried to stop that from happening."
"The coins everyone uses? They're actually sensors. They pick up on 'strong, dangerous desires'──the kind that can lead to bad ends."
"So the goal was to get those sensor-coins spread everywhere, and build society around using them. That's what we were really doing."
What mattered most was cranking up the number of 'killed people' out there.
Using those coin sensors, they'd push things until people snapped──then, every so often, they'd plant the seeds to thin out the human population.
One seed? The gem the saint used when she became the Demon Lord.
"And if the sensors found 'good talent'? Arzent would plant more seeds, and start another killing──wiping out people across the world."
"I was in charge of the 1st to 3rd divisions of the Holy Knight Squad, making sure we didn't get wiped out. Can't have humans disappearing on us, after all."
"...I think I get it."
Arzent has the power to take away 'food' by focusing on 'killing'.
He gave great power to someone and let it run wild.
That's why he spread coin sensors around to detect and give 'power'.
The wild power caused huge damage around it, and as a result, many people were killed.
That's the system he came up with.
"Well, there are some convoluted parts and some that don't seem efficient, but I guess that's just Arzent's nature and limitations."
Rangella seems to understand. But...
"Then, why through the master?"
"Put simply, we can only act as Apostles, but we don't like Arzent."
"Horace also admires Eudynes and respects their will. They've got the skills and the right nature. That's why we went through them."
"...Does the master admire Eudynes that much?"
"Well, miss, putting elements of members' names into the organization's name is the same way Eudynes does it."
"And we're Remi, Sora, and Sid. No 'fa', so it's the Key of Pharos."
"In your case, Langea (Rangella), Ulrika (Ulrika), Sindy (Cindy), Tiaris (Tiaris), Ellie (Ellie), Ramel (Ramella)... The initials of the 6 disciples spell 'luster'. Report aside, was 'Luster' something Horace came up with?"
"That's right."
"Then there's no mistake, miss."
It's not like he made the decision based on the naming alone.
There should be a lot of other criteria too.
But every time Eudynes is mentioned, they seems so happy. They don't seem like they're lying.
"Hmmm. There are things we can and can't say. Mostly, we can only talk about this much."
"Indeed. As Apostles, we have a lot of restrictions."
"...Then, I'll ask my master about it."
"I think that's a good idea, miss. Horace will probably discover some truth behind that door. Anything beyond that is better heard from him."
There's probably a lot Horace wants to say.
But there's only so much they can share, and pushing for more info in that state would only leave things more unclear.
So, it's better to hear it straight from Horace.
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