Myths Reawakened

Meanwhile, Wayne was strolling the streets with his two secretaries.

Ottilia, seeing that Wayne was walking away from the Church of Nature’s headquarters, called out, “Boss, you’re going the wrong way.”

“I’m not. This is the way to the boutique. I’ve looked it up.”

“Are you buying gifts for the Holy Maiden and the Pope?” Ottilia asked with a slight pang in her heart. Wayne had never concealed his affection for the two beautiful ladies. She could’ve been like them, too, but due to becoming his contracted vengeful spirit and subordinate, she could only look on with envy from the sidelines.

“No, the gifts are for you,” Wayne said.

“Huh?” Ottilia blurted out in surprise, “What about the Holy Maiden and the Pope? Are you buying them each a gift, too?”

Wayne snorted. “Ottilia, you didn’t have any other boyfriend before me. Why are you so used to being the victim of a scumbag?”

“Because my boyfriend is a high-level scumbag who can rival ten scumbags combined,” Ottilia shot back. “I’ve practically been victimized by ten scumbags.”

She was pretty certain that during the extra days Wayne asked for, he would spend everything on Anastasia and Senna.

“Your argument is so valid that I can’t counter it...” Wayne rubbed his head. “Whatever you think, you and Regina will be going to Berlo with me, so Anastasia and Senna won’t be spending time with me day and night.”

He added after a pause, “You think too much sometimes. If we’re speaking about power imbalance, they have even less autonomy than you do. You should learn from Senna. She never cares about that and just prioritizes her desires.”

Ottilia nodded. “Perhaps...”

Different personalities informed different ways of doing things. At the end of the day, Ottilia wasn’t Senna. She had some of the common traits of an artsy hipster girl and couldn’t reach for what she wanted immediately after setting eyes on it, as Senna did.

“Do I get a gift, too, Boss?” Regina asked curiously. She would like a new bag.

“Today’s for Ottilia. I’ll buy one for you back in Londan.”

“Not fair,” Regina grumbled in disappointment, trying to humiliate herself to cheer Ottilia up. See? Though they were both secretaries, Ottilia was more important to Wayne.

It didn’t work out as she wanted. Her question immediately woke Ottilia up, and she said, “Boss, why don’t you buy a gift for Regina, too?”

“Really?” Wayne said in resignation. “This isn’t a regular ‘gift’. Not even Ana and Senna have it. You have to consider carefully before you say that.”

“Right? Think before you say anything.” Regina glared at her with wide eyes. I’m trying to help you. Why did you throw me under the bus?

“What’s that look for? Do you feel wronged?” Wayne patted Regina on the head, offended. “Even if you want a gift, I won’t give it to you. You’re too ugly.”

“???” x2

Regina couldn’t believe it. She thought she was pretty good-looking. Ottilia didn’t believe it, either. If Regina were ugly, then she, along with all the Holy Maiden candidates from last year, wouldn’t be considered beautiful.

“Let’s go. We’ll go through all the shops on this street, from this end to the other end.”

Wayne didn’t explain. Yes, a pretty girl like Regina couldn’t be further from ‘ugly’, but it was her fault for having ‘na’ in her name!

The others with names ending in ‘na’ were Filomina, Senna, Anastasia, and Mona, who had become more and more beautiful since her awakening. Regina’s sudden addition would lower the average score of the ‘na’ gang.

***

Chapel, two days later.

Derrida and Hestia met up with Wayne, who had come rejuvenated.

As Ottilia had expected, aside from reading books, Wayne had spent all his time sparring with the Holy Maiden and the Pope. The Holy Maiden of Darkness and the Pope of Nature were rivals who had been competing for years, and even when they were on their knees, they couldn’t stop themselves from mocking each other. The combo was way too appealing.

Hestia looked at the two secretaries behind Wayne’s back, frowning. “Demon, are you sure you’re taking them?”

“Yes, this is good for maintaining my image as a playboy.” Wayne held Regina and Ottilia in each arm, breaking into a self-satisfied smile. “The enemies will lower their guard. I don’t look like a secret agent at all.”

The two secretaries played along by bashfully knocking on Wayne’s chest with their fists.

Hestia couldn’t bear to look at them. Sweating, Derrida said, “Wayne, there are many ways to lower the enemy’s guard. If you need a companion, Lust incarnate could be your secretary. You don’t have to put your secretaries in danger.”

Pushing a fellow angel into a fire pit, kid? You’re just like His Horniness. Good for you!

Wayne was going to retort when he saw the bemused frown on Hestia’s face. He hurriedly waved in denial. “I’ll pass. Her figure is too lewd. If I’m going to play her boss, I’ll have to dye my hair white and sit in a wheelchair, which won’t be good for the investigation.”

He would be an engineer in his twenties, he meant—hale and hearty, but hair going white prematurely. He had seen too many people like that.

Seeing Hestia grind her teeth together, Derrida wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. These two really shouldn’t stay together, or they would start fighting before the investigation even began.

“It’ll be dangerous,” Derrida said with a wry smile. “Please reconsider.”

“I don’t have to. My secretaries aren’t regular people. Just wait. With them around, I’ll be able to act like a demon more convincingly.” Wayne smiled suggestively.

Do you even have to act? Just rein yourself in a little, and you’ll be a certified demon! x2

Derrida looked at the secretaries Wayne was holding. He saw nothing special about them other than their youth and beauty. He put aside his confusion and took a false ID out of his pocket.

“Berlo is Prussia’s home base, with tight surveillance. This is a new identity the Papal State has prepared for you. Apologies, there’s none for your secretaries.”

“It’s fine. I’ve made the preparation.” Wayne shrugged, burning the ID that Derrida handed him. Over the past two days, he had asked Senna to fabricate three identities for him, Ottilia, and Regina. They would all be Prussian locals.

Well, Regina had always been Prussian.

Seeing Wayne produce three new IDs, Derrida said in surprise, “You’re not going on the mission with us?”

“We’ll go at different times, and while you’re in the open, I’ll be in the dark. If you’re exposed, you’ll be drawing attention from me, allowing me to keep investigating,” Wayne said without a pause.

“Um, how professional!”

“Of course. Why do you think I was able to defeat demons so many times?” Wayne stared at Derrida and Hestia. “You two stand out too much, which is detrimental to the investigation. I feel incredibly unsafe when I walk with you. Please do keep a low profile at all times.”

“Don’t worry,” Derrida said, transforming his face into an average one. “We’ve received professional training in the Papal State, so we know what secret agents should and should not do.”

“They teach that in the Papal State?”

Wayne’s eyes lit up. That didn’t seem like a divine art. As expected of the top faction of the Chosen Land. They taught everything, almost like Hawaii[1].

***

April fourth, five o’clock in the afternoon.

Two black cars drove into Berlo, capital of Prussia.

Wien was over five hundred kilometers from Berlo, so taking a plane would be the best choice. Out of caution, however, both the reincarnated angels and Wayne and co. decided against taking a flight, opting to drive instead.

Derrida drove the first car in the front, with Hestia studying how she could make herself stand out less with makeup. The second car was driven by Regina, while Wayne and Ottilia flirted in the back seat, leaving her fed up.

The street view in Berlo was entirely different from what Wayne had imagined. Due to the dramatization from his past life, he had thought that during wartime, Berlo would be covered in barbed wire, with guards posted every three steps and checkpoints every five steps. Amid rumbling tanks and flying planes, the SS would go around grabbing people.

However, that wasn’t the case. Berlo seemed peaceful even during the war. The shops saw boisterous business, and crowds filled the streets rather than tanks. There were quite a lot of railed trams. There were even fishermen by the rivers.

Interestingly, Berlo maintained an eight-hour workday during wartime. Despite the intense battles taking place, the military factories still went dark after eight hours.

If you feel like you’re carrying a heavy weight, it must be because someone’s riding on your shoulders and freeloading off you. That was the case in Berlo. The city was peaceful only because of the great amount of supplies plundered from the lands Prussia had occupied.

Of course, there had been times when Berlo wasn’t at peace. A few years ago, for example, a piece of bread would cost five hundred thousand marks, and people flooded into bars to listen to speeches.

Upon arrival at Berlo, Wayne told Regina to slow down and abandon the car in a hidden corner. The door was left unlocked, with the key in the car. It wouldn’t take long for a helpful passerby to take the car home and maintain it.

“Conscientious, righteous, and take nothing that isn’t theirs. Those are only stereotypes about the Prussians.” Wayne wandered around the streets with his two secretaries, settling on a luxury hotel.

“Boss, I resent that,” Regina grumbled.

“Here, I’ll give a pat.” Wayne patted his own head before patting Regina on the shoulder, telling her to reserve a room.

Wayne’s Windsorian and Francan were both native-level, in speaking, writing, and reading. Francan, the language of romance, especially, was a language he could use with complete authenticity.

His mastery of Prussian and the official language of the Rus Federation was comparatively poor. He could speak them, but had trouble reading and writing them. It wasn’t until after his diligent study with Senna and Anastasia that he mastered the two languages.

Interest was the best teacher, indeed!

Soon, Regina booked them a suite. Wayne was supposed to be here to look for his family. With some money in his pocket, he never went anywhere without his secretaries.

The character that Senna had created for him was very much in line with his lifestyle. He only had to rein himself in a little to get into the role.

The suite was on the third floor, with two bedrooms. When Ottilia hesitated, Regina spoke up for her sake, “I’m used to being alone and can’t sleep if anyone’s by my side. I’ll take one of the bedrooms. You go and sleep with Boss to support his role.”

That’ll be embarrassing! Ottilia moved around without agreeing, waiting for Wayne to speak up.

“Should I just say yes because you claim that you’ll lose sleep? Are you the boss or am I the boss here?” Wayne huffed, standing by the window. “You two will take the same room. Before coming here, I looked at the stars and saw that an intense fight was coming. I need to preserve my energy. If anyone checks on this room at night, then you’ll come and dive into my bed.”

Ottilia’s thumping heart quieted. She glared at Regina, blaming her for her nonsense.

Regina shot her an eyeroll. “Boss, are we not heading to the church?” she asked curiously. “Aren’t we going to take on the mission?”

“We can’t go now. Let those two scout ahead to see if there’s any trap.” Wayne then went on with a more detailed explanation. “When I was on a mission at another church, the archbishop had defected and served a demon, willingly becoming the demon’s pawn in the human world. Though that was only one time, it proved that the Church of Heavenly Father has its fair share of treacherous members.”

“The Prussian leadership owns demon vessels. I don’t trust the local clergy in Berlo, so I’m not going to move with them.”

“Really, Boss?” Regina marveled. “I thought that you would try to keep a close distance from Miss Hestia.”

“I am!”

“I mean closing your distance.”

“Regina, you’ve been mischievous lately. You weren’t like this before.”

“People grow...” Regina sighed.

“Stop already. Take a break and rest. Tonight, you’re going out with me.”

Wayne took out a map, on which was an obvious red dot.

Chancellery of the New Reich!

1. A reference to Detective Conan. The protagonist has a lot of random skills that he claims he’s learned in Hawaii, taught by his dad. It’s become a popular meme. ☜