I turned to Anselot in surprise.

“What conditions?”

“Faith.”

“…”

“People with a certain level of faith can become cleaners and move according to the administrator’s instructions.”

“So, the Saintess of the Kingdom of Taal is not acting on her own but under the administrator’s command?”

“Yes.”

Anselot nodded, closely watching Clara.

I remembered how different Roana had been that day, almost as if hypnotized. Roana, and now the Saintess of Taal proclaiming divine will.

Quietly digesting the explanation, I suddenly became indignant. If all this was the system administrator’s doing…

‘This is a threat, right? Hurrying me to proceed with the scenario.’

A non-player wouldn’t be able to defeat the Mad Dragon.

Even for a player who can use various special privileges, the Proof of Hero was a difficult challenge.

Sending anyone from Ajestar’s lineage on this perilous journey could end disastrously. They might not return unscathed.

But ignoring the oracle is not an option… The influence of the divine Lord Lus over the continent is too significant.

The Emperor and the Empire would suffer some consequences.

‘Ah, this is really…’

[SYSTEM] You are entering a state of anger.

‘I’m angry?’

I remembered the uncomfortable sensation when my body and mind were not under my control whenever Hezen was romanced.

I was furious at the system administrator who brainwashes innocent people for the sake of system order.

“Usually, administrators’ orders involve finding and killing bugs. But to manipulate so intricately means…”

Anselot whispered softly.

“The big boss minion is here too.”

Looking around the chaotic ballroom due to the sudden oracle, I felt my eyes burn with anger.

‘Who is it? Who could it be?’

Then I recalled what Anselot had casually mentioned to me earlier.

‘Someone who wanted to help awaken the player may have handed over the hornpipe. Like one of the system’s minions, for example.’

The cleaners all moved under the administrator’s orders, so the only one who could do such a thing was the administrator himself.

“Then the one who gave Hezen the hornpipe…”

“Is most likely the same person who’s currently controlling the Saintess of Taal.”

“…”

I clenched my fists tightly, deep in thought.
“I need to stop the system administrator from running rampant.”

I couldn’t just stand by and watch people being manipulated like this.

Eventually, Mother’s birthday ball ended in a somewhat unsettled atmosphere.

The next day, Mother called us to the banquet hall under the pretext of lunch. However, the real reason she summoned us was to discuss the oracle received by the Saintess of Taal the previous day.

“I want to hear your thoughts.”

The oracle pointed to one of the Emperor’s children as the bloodline of Ajestar.

Elizabeth, who had nothing to do with swordsmanship her whole life, was naturally excluded.

Gloria, although she knew basic swordsmanship, was slightly less skilled than ordinary knights.

Therefore, Mother’s gaze naturally rested on me and my brother Orent.

Orent’s face turned pale immediately upon receiving Mother’s gaze.

[SYSTEM] enters a state of fear.

‘How quickly his state changes.’

Apparently, Orent was much weaker mentally than he appeared.

Orent Ajestar, the Second Prince of the Ajestar Empire

§Fear State§

Affection: 273

I intently looked at the blue window floating above Orent’s head.

[The Second Prince of the Ajestar Empire. Revered by people for repelling monsters at the border. (Cooperation Level: 8)]

After my awakening, a new metric, [Cooperation Level], appeared in the detailed information window of the characters around me.

As a character from the very first scenario of the game, Orent’s level wasn’t very high.

‘Come to think of it, Orent also lost to Hezen in their duel.’

In the tutorial scenario, Hezen, whom Orent couldn’t defeat, was just a beginner, not exceeding level 10.

Originally, Orent wasn’t strong enough to face monsters.

‘But how did he repel monsters at the border?’

The monsters at the border weren’t particularly strong. Ordinary knights could easily defeat them, but they were still a significant disaster for ordinary people. The problem was the sheer number of monsters that kept emerging, despite periodic exterminations.

However, after Orent’s extermination, the monsters, apparently frightened of him, stopped appearing at the border.

Therefore, the citizens of the empire in the border area praised Orent.

‘Monsters should be frightened only if there’s a significant level difference.’

I remembered when I took the S-rank invincible potion and temporarily raised my level, causing the Lv.49 Bald Kraken to enter a state of fear.

[SYSTEM] There is a level difference of more than 20 between you and .

[SYSTEM] enters a state of fear due to sensing your overwhelming power.

According to the system notification at that time, it seemed that a monster would enter a state of fear only if there was a level difference of at least 20.

‘I don’t know the levels of the monsters that appeared at the border, but it’s a bit strange that they would be afraid of Orent and stop appearing…’