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My cheats were too influential and I could change the future that was originally meant to occur… I end up changing it.

For this world, I was something that normally should not exist—a fake, if you will.

“…That’s why, I do not plan to get personally involved in the current matter as well.”

As I concluded my words, the Apostle put a hand to his chin as a gesture of pondering, removing his gaze from me.

He remained like that for a while, but then he returned to his usual smile.

“I understood the Goddess’ thoughts.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”

Though we both had smiles on our faces, the heavy atmosphere didn’t improve a bit. I wonder why?

Setting that aside, since it was a good opportunity I decided to ask him some things as well.

“On an unrelated note, are evil gods unrelated to the Empire’s matter?”
“They are. I looked into it, and there was no evil god taking part in this matter.”

The Apostle affirmed and even explained it without changing his facial expression.

Okay, next question then.

“Then, is the reason behind the Empire having abnormally few subjugation commissions an influence of the World Tree?”
“Yes.”

He actually affirmed it.

If there were no monsters, the primary industries other than nature wouldn’t be disrupted, and they could conserve military forces to strengthen the nation.

In the end, it seems like everything is going according to your plans, isn’t it?

“Understood. Thank you very much.”

I expressed my gratitude with a smile, and the Apostle accepted it at face value and bowed his head.

“I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule. I will return to the church.”
“Not at all. I apologize for boring you with such a trivial conversation.”

Confirming that the conversation ended with such a lukewarm exchange, the Apostle headed towards the door.

With his hand on the doorknob, just before opening it, he paused and said, “This is my personal opinion,” turning around. “But doesn’t the ‘future that will happen from now on’ also include the actions you will take?”
“…”
“If we think with that as a premise, then the distortions you will create will no longer be distortions… That is how ‘we’ think, at least.”

Once he said what he wanted to, the Apostle bowed and left.

He started by saying it was his personal opinion, but it wasn’t personal at all.

Two days after the transfer of Torsti, the chief of the Union Guild’s main headquarters arrived in Luneville, accompanied by a group of mages. They applied multiple simultaneous healing spells to forcefully restore Torsti’s health.

They have heard about his slow recovery so they came here with numbers, but even then his recovery progressed clearly slowly, shocking everyone present.

Nonetheless, it still recovered him enough to bring back his consciousness, and they stopped healing him when he started to stir.

“Are you awake?”
“Where am I…”

Torsti glanced around, taking in his surroundings, and then closed his eyes. It’s only natural for anyone to feel the urge to look away when they wake up and find themselves surrounded by strong warriors.

“…Do you understand what would happen by doing this?”
“We do. Or rather… we were made aware, would be a better way of putting it.”
“What…ugh!”

Torsti’s body tensed as he reacted to the words of the headquarters chief, attempting to sit up but grimacing in pain.

In contrast, the chief let out a small sigh that carried a hint of relief. It appeared that the fact that Torsti wouldn’t fully recover was viewed as a convenient outcome by the headquarters personnel, as it aligned with their intentions of having him fully accept the current circumstances.

“Mr. Torsti… No, Lord Toris Dil Raia.”
“Wha…?!”
“Your father has accused the Mercenary Guild that the beastmen belonging to them have unjustly committed acts of violence against you and caused your death, demanding the handover of the Mercenary Guild’s master and the concerned guild members.”

The demand for surrender was just a pretext; it’s essentially a request for retaliation, and everyone knows that. Naturally, the Guild has no choice but to reject it.

“By refusing the demand, your father… Emperor Raihand, has declared war on the Mercenary Guild and any organization supporting it.”
“That’s absurd! W-What does that even mean?! I… I know nothing!”
“Of course, that’s expected. You were merely used.”

Torsti’s eyes widened, and he instinctively covered his mouth, trembling with fear. To be falsely declared dead by his own father and used as a justification for war would plunge anyone into despair. In fact, even the people around him, the victims who were forced into this war, were looking at him with complex expressions. They weren’t quite feeling compassionate, but at the very least, they weren’t ridiculing either.

“Rondoville has been asked by Orbwight, which is currently engaged in a war, to detain and send you to them.”
“…Me, directly to the emperor?”
“If you were to be killed, it would make it hard to end the war early.”

Torsti briefly raised his gaze in response to the direct words of the chief, only to quickly cast it downward again. His hand, which had covered his mouth, was now removed, revealing a complexion that had turned completely pale. Clutched tightly in his lowered left hand was the wristband on his right wrist, as if attempting to suppress the trembling of his hand.

There was no way the person who had declared, “Let’s wage war because my son was killed,” would suddenly say, “Let’s stop because my son is alive. I’m sorry.” Even now, the defenses outside remained fortified, and the possibility of an attack during the transfer was highly conceivable. In fact, it was inevitable.

Whether he arrived safely in the country or not, the outcome would be either imprisonment at best or elimination at worst. Moreover, there was the potential for hostile actions from kingdoms other than the Empire, who were adversaries of the Orbwight. The Guild was taking great care to ensure his security.

“We will do our best to ensure your security, so I ask that you cooperate.”

Do as you are told.

The humble words that allowed no questioning made Torsti stumped for his words.

It may sound extremely insensitive, but I felt a sense of nostalgia because I remember feeling the same way when I realized I had been abandoned.

“…We will come again tomorrow to discuss this further. We will refrain from handcuffing you, but I hope you can forgive us for leaving guards here. Now, I shall bid goodbye.”

Following the chief’s rise and bow, the others, including Frank and myself, along with the guild members other than those monitoring him under the pretext of guards, exited the room.

Though understandable, even as we departed, Torsti made no attempt to look in our direction.

Once the chief returned to the inn and dismissed the remaining guild members, I joined Frank in the office, offering him a cup of tea before initiating conversation.

“Can I take a little of your time?”
“Hmm, what’s the matter?”

Frank, acting usual, asked me back.

While this made it easier to make my suggestion, I knew for sure that he was stressed from these problems, so I felt a little hesitant.

“I would like to request permission for something.”