Chapter 269.

Doppelganger magic was a form of demon summoning contained in the Demon King summoning document. Of course, rather than a demon, the doppelganger I used could only be seen as a minor alter ego with AI that copied my thought process. Even so, the structure of the technique was based on demon summoning, so it could not be called completely different magic. It was the magic of the so-called ship of Theseus. [1]

"Why did you go and burn the Demon King summoning document?"

I couldn't help it back then. I happened to have run out of firewood. The trees near the village were so resilient that I would need to suffer for an entire day to cut one down. In addition, the freshly cut trees would burn poorly because they wouldnt dry up. And if a paper like that exists in the first place, wont the Demon King get summoned again?

"Well, luckily, thanks to you, the advent of the Demon King has been delayed." My aunt smiled lightly and manipulated the holograms to display a portrait of a mask that was half-black and half-white, like half-and-half chicken. Arwen was stunned to see the portrait.

"This guy's code name is Libra, and he's the Demon King worshipper who detected the doppelganger magic you used."

That Half-and-Half Mask was definitely the black magician who aimed for Hillis more than two and a half years ago. At that time, I was in Hillis's domain proclamation, and my senses were disrupted, so I lost him. I was too lazy to find him, and I didn't chase after him because I thought the capital would be destroyed if we fought without restraint, but I didn't expect it to come back to bite me like this.

"Should I have killed him back then?"

When I clicked my tongue, Aunt Talaria shook her head. "Arthur is not someone your grandfather, nor I can touch recklessly.

My aunt's words were unexpected, and I remarked, "He was at least a madosa-level magician, but I didn't think he was that impressive."

Aunt Talaria nodded at my assessment. "Yeah, Arthur himself isn't someone we cant handle. However, even if he dies, Libra will not disappear unless the root of it, the Demon King worshippers, disappears."

If he falls, then a second or third Libra will appear? Talk about being a Demon King. Oh, is that why hes a Demon King worshipper?

"Then, he's like a cockroach that can't be exterminated unless we destroy the place where he lays his eggs.

It wasnt a bad idea to be too careful because if I recklessly messed with them, the amount of annoyance brought by the Demon King worshippers wouldnt be small.

My aunt smiled bitterly at my analogy. "Yes, but more than that... No, there's no need to tell you yet. Firstly, even if he has detected your doppelganger magic, that's all. The information hasn't been traced to you, and currently, I'm interfering with it.

If the Big Mama Information Agency were directly interfering with the information, it would be fine to relax for now.

"So Im not in danger of any immediate harm at the moment.

"Yes, but don't let your guard down." Aunt Talaria turned off the hologram and handed me a bunch of papers as she continued, "First of all, here are the details of the Twelve Zodiacs.

I got the documents and quickly scanned them before pointing out, "But there's very little information about Sagittarius and Pisces.

My aunt sat on the edge of the table and said, "That's all the information we have on Pisces, and as for Sagittarius, I can't tell you.

"You can't tell me?

"Yeah, Sagittarius is very dangerous, so its better for you to remain unaware right now."

He must be an even greater monster if my aunt was describing him like this. It was different from two years ago when she gave me information on Aries and told me to avoid meeting him.

"Now, I'm asking you for the second request."

Her playful smile made me very nervous.

"Youve already guessed that this alliance with the Fairies has failed and that war is going to break out, right?

"So?"

"Ignoring the fool who was tricked into joining, it means that the people responsible for the kidnapping, Scorpio, and Capricorn, want war."

"That's definitely weird."

Capricorn wanted a war because he was anti-empire, but it was strange that Scorpio would desire one. According to Marsen, the person who fought Scorpio, Scorpio was Selina, the Witch of Greed. Yet, why did the Witch of Greed want war with the empire?

"Is war necessary for the resurrection of the Demon King? No, it's a distraction.

My aunt smiled and nodded at my guess. "Right, we don't know exactly what theyre planning, but the empire must be getting in the way of whatever theyre trying to do."

"Or maybe theyre trying to distract Aunt and Grandfather." Since my grandfather and aunt were inside the group as spies, we should consider this possibility.

My aunt opened her eyes wide and was lost in thought as if my words hit the mark. "It's... possible.

My aunt contemplated with a serious face before she finished organizing her thoughts and smiled as if she found it interesting. "Okay, that's a good idea to consider. It seems Hestia isnt recommending you as chief for no reason."

"No, anyone could have, wait, then the second request is... I spoke, feeling anxious.

As if my guess was right, Aunt Talaria nodded with an insidious smile. "As expected, youre quick to catch on. Im going to need you to help end the war quickly.

"How?"

My aunt shrugged at my question. "That's for you to find out. Use the Big Mama Information Agency whenever you need. Any information or funding will be provided free of charge."

I slammed the table and shouted, "This is tyranny!"

But I had no choice but to listen to her request.

* * *

In the middle of a pitch-black room, Libra lit a candle sitting on a table and spoke, "Not even wearing a mask, how careless of you, Scorpio."

Selina was wearing brown overalls and a beret that looked like something an artist would wear as she appeared in the candle-lit room. She smiled and waved her fingers jokingly when Libra rebuked her. "Ayy, whats the big deal? Its just the two of us here anyway. It's not like we don't know each other's faces. More importantly, its your fault for calling me here while I was in the middle of enjoying my break after completing the job."

Libra laughed dumbfoundedly, "Ha, you talk a lot for someone who failed."

Selina grumbled, "Hey, it's not a failure. There's going to be a war. I even recovered the captured Capricorn and released him.

Capricorn had returned to his country grinding his teeth, bearing a prosthetic that Scorpio made for his severed arm. He had to depart because a general responsible for leading the army could not continue to remain in a foreign country when there was a risk of war.

"That was the minimum goal, but you failed to kill Marsen, and hell get in the way later."

When Libra pointed out Selinas barely-justifiable excuse, she shrugged as if she didn't care. "How could I have known someone went to the temple and rescued Palamut before Barbarian got there? I even pretended I was dead to lower their guards.

The original plan was that if the half-dead Marsen dragged his injured body over and tried to force his way through the secret door to rescue Palamut, the trap would be triggered. However, even before Marsen arrived, someone rescued Palamut and delivered him to Marsen, making the trap useless.

"What? Did you try to kill Marsen on purpose?

"Jeez! You surprised me!"

"Show some presence when you move about!"

When Sagittarius suddenly talked from behind the duo while hiding his presence, Libra and Selina were surprised and got angry.

Sagittarius scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh, I heard Scorpio died, so I came out because I was worried.

"Oh, did you worry about me? That's unexpected." Selina smirked and put her hand on Sagittarius's should